Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘transgender’

Mass surveillance…threatens people’s freedom of movement.
–  Christie Hebert

Stalkers in Blue

Cops are a constant menace to all women:

An NYPD [cop] faces federal charges [for] impersonat[ing] an ICE [goon to] demand…a victim report with [her] family to a…[concentration camp]…Atickul Islam…who [sometimes uses the alias] “James W. Anderson”…to [cloak his illegal activities, was trying to destroy the lives of]…the victim and [her entire] family…in [retaliation for her spurning his sexual advances]…

The Last Shall Be First (#1246) 

Texas’ deranged jihad criminalizes kindness to troubled adolescents:

…Texas…law…[now] bars public school employees from…using a different name, pronoun or other practice that [conflicts with] the birth sex.  [The law is bizarrely] dubbed the “Parents’ Bill of Rights”…[even though it] prohibits…faculty from [support]ing…[parentally]-sanctioned c[hanges]…frustrat[ing parents whose]…rights [the law ignores]…A few of these parents joined advocacy and teacher groups to file a lawsuit…in August, seeking to pause districts from enforcing the law while the case proceeds…Some Texas school districts and boards…have adopted [totalitarian] policies to [criminalize benign] teacher…[conduct] but many…are still allowing teachers to honor students’ preferred names and pronouns [at least in person]…

If Men Were Angels (ROTW #18)

Religious communities very often punish the victims instead of the rapists:

Over the course of about 20 years in two states, [Clint] Massie…sexually abused children with…[the assistance of] the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church…his abuse was such an open secret…that mothers warned their daughters to stay away from him…[after numerous complaints] church leaders told Massie to stay away from…children…but…never reported Massie’s crimes to police…Instead, [they coerc]ed the victims to take part in [so-called “]forgiveness sessions[“] which allowed Massie…to continue abusing children…[it was] not…[until] 2017..[that a] victim…[disobeyed] preachers…to report the crimes to police…

Panopticon (#1556)

Sometimes, protests can temporarily drown out the bleating of useful idiots:

…[Oakland, California politicians almost approved] a $2 million contract with Flock S[urveillance; the measure only failed because]…hundreds rallied against the threat of [ICE goons] and other federal [spooks] spying on residents, bypassing the city’s [cosmetic] sanctuary policies.  [Politicians were so gung-ho about expanding surveillance]…that two members of the local Privacy Advisory Commission resigned…and one subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Oakland [cop shop, which wanted]…the cameras [to expand their already-dystopian] surveillance [network]…But hundreds of public speakers…rallied [despite politicians’ pinky-swearing]…to [oversee] camera data…

Walled Garden

Safetyism is rapidly destroying the internet:

OnlyFans will screen creators in the United States for criminal convictions…[using a surveillance network named] Checkr Trust…[bizarrely bleating the word “]safety[” to distract from the transparent attempt to]…exclude [in-person sex workers] from the platform…

To Molest and Rape (#1567)

Good riddance to bad rubbish:

[A typical and representative] Miami…[cop named] James Hurley Edwards died by apparent suicide in [a] Federal [cage]…just days before he faced a minimum 15-year sentence for producing and possessing child [porn]…Edwards…was first arrested [in 2014 for molesting]…two brothers, ages 15 and 16…[but was given] a [typical cop sweetheart] deal…that allowed him to avoid being listed as a sexual offender…keep his $9,000 a month pension…[and serve a mere] 364 days in the Miami-Dade County jail followed by 10 years’ probation…But [last year]…Edwards [sent another man a child porn video to a gay man via a hookup app and he reported it to the FBI, who then took over]…the complainant’s online identity and…[tricked] Edwards [into incriminating himself]…He pled guilty in September to two federal charges…and was to be sentenced [last] Thursday…

Panopticon (#1591)

The fully-realized fascist police state has arrived:

The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to [harass, assault, rob] and [abduct] people whose travel patterns it [pretends are “]suspicious[“]…The [nationwide surveillance]…network of [ALPRs feeds]…an algorithm [which] flags vehicles [for persecution] based on where they came from, where they were going and which route they took.  Federal agents…then [dispatch local cops serving as lackeys, who use bogus pretexts such as]…speeding, failure to signal…window tint or even [possession of]…an…air freshener…[to stop, interrogate, and even sexually assault drivers or destructively root through their possessions looking for loot]…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

Read Full Post »

They didn’t give a shit about anything I said.  –  Andrea Weiskircher

If Men Were Angels

Another fine example of McNeill’s Law:

An Ohio pastor…[named] Silas Shelton…was arrested…Oct. 15…[on] charges including child rape and sexual battery [because]…he [repeatedly molest]ed a minor over a period of about six years.  In August 2023, he [tried to censor]…the Heartstopper series [of YA novels] at the district’s Scholastic Book Fair…[because they] prominently feature gay characters.  “I tell you, I got sick reading that stuff,” Shelton said at the time…

Monsters (#1357)

Violence against a marginalized group never stays limited to that group:

A[n Irish] woman…who was attacked [by a violent drunk named]…Alex Bailey…in September 2022 [has died of her injuries.  Marie] MacGowan…was 86 at the time [and] had early onset dementia…she…decided to go out to the shops, not realising it was 1am.  She got lost and [was attacked by] Bailey…for 42 minutes.  He knocked her to the ground, punched, kicked and dragged her and [violently slammed] her headfirst into a [garbage] bin…then attacked her again as she tried to get out.  The attack only ended when students walking past [intervened]…Bailey had [decided]…Ms MacGowan…was [“a predatory paedophile” and “a man dressed as a woman”, apparently excusing violent assault in his mind]…

Torture Chamber (#1501)

It’s very rare for screws who murder prisoners to suffer any serious consequences:

A [typical and representative] New York [screw] has been found guilty [while] two other…[murderous screw]s were acquitted in the [brutal murder] of Robert Brooks, a…[human being they beat so savagely that that even their own union called the animalistic attack “incomprehensible”]…David Kingsley was found guilty of murder and manslaughter…[and] faces 25 years to life in prison.  Matthew Galliher and Nicholas Kieffer were [set free to murder again]…

No Escape (#1522)

The inevitable result of giving sexually-aggressive thugs total power over women:

In June 2024, Andrea Weiskircher…reluctantly filed complaints against the [screws] who had sexually abused her…inspir[ing] other women throughout the jail to file their own, detailing stories of rape, assault, coercion and sexual harassment…Within weeks, seven victims had reported [attacks and] violations…and in the year that followed…dozens more current and former female [prisoners] have come forward to share similar experiences…in [the] state that incarcerates more women per capita than any other…Some…worried that they could be denied parole [in retaliation] for talking about what happened to them.  And others who were already out on parole told reporters they could end up back in prison if their parole officer submitted a [retaliatory] violation against them…They did it anyway…

No Escape (#1528)

And this is just LA County; every single jurisdiction in the US has similar rates:

Six months after approving the largest sexual abuse settlement in US history…Los Angeles…tentatively agreed to pay another huge sum, nearly $1bn, to settle more than 400 additional claims…the…$828m [settlement still leaves]…2,500 other unresolved cases, not covered by either settlement…and that number is expected [to] increase…

Panopticon (#1558) 

Amazon has now fully embraced fascist police-state collaboration:

Amazon’s surveillance [division] Ring announced a [fascist] partnership…with Flock, a maker of [warrantless] surveillance cameras that…[enable cops to circumvent the Fourth Amendment.  Amazon still frames the conscription of supposedly-private cameras as a “]request[” despite the fact] that Ring [has a long history of violating owners’ consent if they refuse]…On the same day that Ring announced this partnership, 404 Media reported that ICE, the Secret Service, and the Navy had access to [the] Flock…network…[which now includes many millions of] Ring…cameras…

The Punitive Mindset (#1583) 

The government does to caged people what it would like to do to all people:

New Hampshire [screw]…Thomas Kelley…stole six pieces of mail in a…bid to intercept [his victim]s’ complaints from reaching their intended destination.  He [was so proud of himself he even] sent a photo to [fellow screw Christopher] Masse to prove it…and [admitted it in]…text…exchanges…multiple state and federal agencies investigated [this and many other abuses and humans rights violations] in 2023 but then declined to prosecute…[despite copious] evidence of…drug trafficking by [screws]…a plan to falsify records to cover up [severe] physical abuse of a…[caged human being], and plans to retaliate against at least one [of their victims] for making complaints…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

Read Full Post »

You’re not making art, you’re making disgusting over-processed hotdogs out of the lives of human beings, out of the history of art and music, and then shoving them down someone else’s throat hoping they’ll give you a little thumbs up and like it.  –  Zelda Williams

R.I.P. Miss Major

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a legendary transgender activist…since Stonewall, died Monday at age 78…she…had suffered from health problems for some time and had recently begun receiving hospice care…In 1962, she moved to New York City, where she…performed in drag shows…[and] became a sex worker.  She participated in the Stonewall uprising of 1969…and…[after h]er arrest…on a robbery charge…spent time in men’s prisons and mental hospitals in the early 1970s, [where] she was often severely mistreated…Upon regaining her freedom, she became an advocate for incarcerated trans people, especially trans women [cag]ed in men’s prisons and those who have survived police brutality…In the 1980s, Miss Major became involved in addressing the AIDS crisis…[and] after moving to San Diego…started a home health care agency, Angels of Care, to assist people with the disease…she [later] became a health educator with the Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center…and…[retir]ed to Little Rock in 2016…

Torture Chamber (#1074)

“Non-consensual gynecological procedures” are just institutionalized rape:

The Trump [regime] is planning to [cage] immigrants at a Georgia jail that became known for…subject[ing women] to non-consensual gynecological procedures…the Irwin County D[unge]on…drew nationwide attention in the fall of 2020, when a number of [victims] and a nurse-turned-whistleblower [reveal]ed the [rampant] medical misconduct.  After months of [unsuccessfully trying to repress the reports], the Biden administration stopped [lock]ing immigrant women there in 2021…Fourteen women sued ICE and Irwin…over the [viol]ations in 2021, [but there were] at least 40 [victims]…Early this year, the lawsuit was settled…

I Spy (#1388)

Nothing infuriates violent, self-important busybodies more than private affairs that are none of their business:

In Europe, the latest proposal for a “chat control” regulation put forward by the Danish presidency would require every internet-connected device to include government spyware…[which] would flag artwork, fan fiction, family photos and chats, relying on unreliable [computer algorithms]…Globally, [surveillance and censorship] laws…are driving users underground…virtual private network (VPN) usage has soared, as has usage of the privacy-centric Tor browser, which reached its highest level ever this year – nearly 20 million daily users, six times its long-term average…Tor was created by the US navy to counter authoritarian regimes when the “open Internet” was official US policy.  Now…western [governments are]…becoming the authoritarians Tor was designed to circumvent, while the Tor network becomes the new “open Internet”…

Enshittification (#1557) 

This will not stop until SWAT cops murder a prankster:

teenagers…are using [image-generation software] to create images of a disheveled, seemingly unhoused person in their home and sending them to their parents…[claiming] they let the…[imaginary person] in to use the bathroom, take a nap, or…get a drink of water…then, predictably, the parents lose their cool and demand they kick the [imaginary] man out.  The kids, of course, record the whole thing, and post their parents reactions to TikTok…[some gullible] parents call the [cops, potentially leading to]…“a SWAT response”…

As in modern politics, the collapse of reality online is leading to real-world consequences.

Torture Chamber (#1574)

Experiencing any kind of medical emergency when cops are around is tantamount to a death sentence:

A new…federal lawsuit [has been filed by the family of] a Minnesota postal worker [who] died after [cops] and [screws deliberately] ignored clear signs he was suffering from a massive stroke – [choos]ing [instead to pretend] his medical emergency [was] drug impairment…Kingsley Fifi Bimpong…[was dumped] on a jail cell floor [and allowed to lie] in his own urine for hours without medical attention…On the night of November 16, 2024, [a pig saw] Bimpong…driving the wrong way…into oncoming traffic…after being pulled over, Bimpong appeared extremely confused.  He couldn’t say where he lived or worked, even though he was wearing a USPS vest, and repeatedly said, “I don’t know”…[big pig] Martin Jensen [is supposedly] trained…to…distinguish…drug impairment from medical emergencies such as strokes…[but couldn’t be bothered to perform an] evaluation…[claiming it] would be “a whole bunch of time wasted”…[because] Bimpong [was black.  So instead he]…was arrested for…DWI…[thrown violently to the floor] in a holding cell…and…[left him to die] in his own waste…for more than three hours…the…nurse was not called until…he [started] foaming at the mouth and having [a] seizure…Toxicology reports…later…confirmed no drugs were in his system…

Shame, Shame (#1576)

It isn’t merely disrespectful; it’s ghoulish:

Dr. Bernice King, daughter of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr…has joined calls to stop the use of [machine learning image generators] to recreate deceased celebrities.  King voiced support for filmmaker Zelda Williams, who…criticized [computer]-generated videos of her late father, Robin Williams…saying, “If you’ve got any decency, just stop doing this to him and to me, to everyone even, full stop”…

If Men Were Angels (#1580)

Wannabe preachers are often as bad as the real thing:

In August, an adult stepson of Covenant Eyes cofounder Ron DeHaas was arrested in Michigan…Thomas Wideman…[was arrested for talking to a cop fantasy role-playing] online…as a 14-year-old [girl.  Cops]…later found child [porn] on his phone…DeHaas covered some of his stepson’s $300,000 bond…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

Read Full Post »

There’s usually some kind of boogeyman…that justifies the building of a very extreme…policing apparatus.  –  Matthew Guariglia

It’s not unusual these days for a news item to fall into more than one category, so I have to figure out which is best; in such cases I typically link recent examples of the other applicable categories, or at least include them among the tags.  But sometimes the article does such a good job of analyzing the connections between the various categories, I feel it’s better to simply call my readers’ attention to the article and urge y’all to read it in its entirety.  This Reason article from a week ago today is a good example:

…On issues such as library books, abortion, gender, and even food, the culture war is now feeding the police state.  This phenomenon started in the states, and none have pursued it with more intensity than Florida and Texas, where governors and legislatures have competed to show that they’re fighting the hardest against what they call “woke”…[but] now…using criminal law, mass surveillance, [snitch] lines, and the threat of police violence to wage the culture war…is [becoming]…a danger to every American who wants to live, work, and travel without being monitored and menaced by the state…

…the…Trump…[regime]’s campaign against universities on such issues as anti-Israel protests, transgender athletes, and critical race theory were all preceded by Florida, wh[ich]…PEN America…[has] dubbed…the “blueprint state” for the White House’s run of education-related executive orders…The sheer number of bills churned out over the past few years by Florida and Texas is notable, especially in light of how petty the targets can be—drag queens, librarians, whoever might be using a certain bathroom stall…Also notable [is] those laws’ dismal track record in court.  Federal judges, even those appointed by Trump…have repeatedly struck down culture-war bills…represent[ing] a boundless paternalism…indistinguishable from the…identitarian politics that [proponents of such laws claim to oppose, such as bans on]…cultivated meat…[one] Texas [politician ludicrously defended as]…”plain cowboy logic“…in the bizarre, zero-sum logic of politicians like DeSantis and [Nebraska Governor Jim] Pillen, the freedom to eat bacon harvested from a pig that was alive and sensate before it was slaughtered is contingent on consumers never being given a choice to try an alternative…

…What makes the creation of new criminal statutes especially worrisome is law enforcement’s sweeping power to search and investigate targets…[via] vast, nationwide databases of personal information…facial recognition, cellphone surveillance, license plate tracking, sophisticated social media monitoring, and more…the huge surveillance architecture and data-sharing networks being created now won’t go back in the box when the current…[regime] is over, nor will they consider whether their targets used to have the right kind of politics…

There’s much, much more, bridging tags including Eavesdropping, Guinea Pigs, I Spy, The Last Shall Be First, Panopticon, Pyrrhic Victory, Thou Shalt Not, Thought Control, Universal Criminality, The Vultures Descend, Welcome to the Future, and many others.  So go read it!

Read Full Post »

[Computer-edited videos are] a nightmarish mess of distorted faces, garbled text, and misshapen backgrounds.  –  Jess Weatherbed

The Pygmalion Fallacy (#1016)

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from the “Campaign Against Toasters”:

…[anti-sex fanatics] assert that sex-doll play objectifies women, contributes to anti-female attitudes, and spurs sexual assault and pedophilia.  Some…pro[hibitionists want] a ban on the dolls…and criminal prosecution for those who own or sell them.  However, a recent study shows that sex-doll owners are normal, mentally healthy guys whose problems with relationships steered them to play with sex toys that are inanimate substitutes for real women…English researchers…found no significant differences between owners and non-owners, and no evidence that, compared with non-owners, doll owners pose any greater sexual threat to women or society…Doll owners were much more likely to be single, separated, or divorced…[and] reported considerably less partner sex…owners reported somewhat less sexual self-esteem and a little more performance anxiety…they were somewhat more likely to view women as mysterious and unknowable, which dovetails with the fact that so many were single, separated, or divorced.  However…owners were less likely to fantasize about sexual coercion or report any interest in sexual aggression against women…owners’ psychological makeup “…suggests that dolls act as a safe surrogate for relationships with living people due to concerns about their own sexual performance and lack of understanding of women…Doll ownership does not appear to be associated with sexual aggression or sexual offending”…

The Last Shall Be First (#1410) 

It only starts with demonized minorities:

…the Trump [regime is] demand[ing]…confidential patient information from doctors and hospitals that provide gender-related treatments for [legal minors.  A]…subpoena to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, sent in June, includes a seven-page list of requested documents, including “every writing or record of whatever type” made by doctors related to gender-affirming care, which includes therapy, puberty blockers, hormones and [rarely] surgery.  The subpoena…also [demanded] the birth dates, Social Security numbers and addresses of patients who received transgender care…in [order] to [persecute them despite]…federal confidentiality protections for patients and their medical providers…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1479)

Privacy as we once knew it is a thing of the past:

Two…Harvard [dropou]ts are launching a pair of “always-on” [computerized] glasses that…record…and transcribe every conversation, and then display relevant information to the wearer in real time. “Our goal is to make [people much stupider and completely dependent on expensive gizmos, while appealing to their egos by telling them it will] make [them ‘]super intelligent[‘]”…said AnhPhu Nguyen, co-founder of…Halo…his co-founder Caine Ardayfio [claimed consulting a database is the same as]…“infinite memory…The [goal is] to [create a world of submorons who need computers]…to tell [them] what to say”…Ardayfio and Nguyen have [already] raised $1 million to develop the glasses…[which are] available for pre-order at $249…“[We don’t care] about…privacy”…Nguyen added…point[ing out that]…while [Facebook] glasses have an indicator light when their cameras and microphones are [active]…to warn others that they are being recorded…the Halo glasses…in[tentionally do not, so victims have no] warn…ing…“We want [the intrusion] to be discreet, like normal glasses,” said Ardayfio…

To Molest and Rape (#1496)

It was obvious this would turn out to be sordid:

The rural Kentucky judge gunned down in his own chambers last year r[outinely threatened]…young women w[ith severe criminal penalties in order to] co[erce them] into performing sexual favors…for…him and others…Mullins…[also threate]ned [victims with criminal charges, CPS and other violence] to keep [them] quiet…[some screws and cops claimed to have] heard…“nasty and sickening” stories…[ab]out…the [“]parties[“, but]…one [victim], Sabrina Adkins…[eventually bl]ew…the [whistle] during a 2022 criminal investigation into a [cop]…who…[anally and vaginally] rape[d]…a [woman trapped in the county’s cages]…Mullins’ shooting [by Sheriff Shawn Stines may have had something to do with the scheme because after the murder]…he…immediately surrendered, telling cops: “They’re trying to kidnap my wife and kid”…

You Were Warned (#1515)

The US Constitutional order is no more:

[Mad emperor] Trump is calling national security and privacy concerns related to TikTok and its Chinese parent company “highly overrated” and said…he’ll keep [unconstitutionally] extending the deadline…until there’s a buyer.  Congress approved a[n unconstitutional] ban on TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, sold its controlling stake.  But Trump has so far [unconstitutionally] extended the deadline three times…with the next one coming up on Sept. 17…and…the White House start[ed] a TikTok account [last] week…[so] it appears less and less likely that TikTok will be banned in the U.S. any time soon…

Creepy Coppers (#1527)

Some cops don’t limit themselves to one type of creepiness:

A…Georgia [cop named]…Matthew Abbott…[has been] charged with…distribution of [child porn featuring adults raping]…children between the ages of 8 and 12 years old…and [also with jerking off]…in a public parking lot near an elementary school…while [wearing his magical clown costume.  His boss hog used the occasion to vomit up a bunch of self-aggrandizing bullshit]…

Enshittification (#1557)  

A company whose motto used to be “Don’t Be Evil” has made violating its users’ consent a standard business practice:

YouTube [used computers to alter] videos without telling users or asking permission.  As…our world [becomes increasingly enshittified], what happens to our shared connection with real life?…Wrinkles in shirts seem more defined. Skin is sharper in some places and smoother in others.  Pay close attention to ears, and you may notice them warp.  These changes are small, barely visible without a side-by-side comparison…[but the creators point out] it gives their content a subtle and unwelcome [uncanny valley] feeling…Complaints on social media date back to June, at least, with users posting closeups of odd-looking body parts and questioning YouTube’s intentions.  Now, after months of rumors in comment sections, the company has finally confirmed it is altering a limited number of videos on YouTube Shorts, the app’s shortform video feature…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

Read Full Post »

If [every single]…book…[in] public school libraries constitutes government speech, the State is babbling prodigiously and incoherently.  –  Frederick Sperling

If Men Were Angels

Another “youth pastor”, another distancing “former”:

A Jersey City pastor [named]…Robert Anthony…Langston…[repeatedly molested at least] two [boys under 15 while he was “youth pastor”] of Landmark Tabernacle in Denver…in [the late ’90s.  One of the]…victims…had an abusive situation at home…[and] was groomed…to…accompan[y] Langston and his wife as they evangelized across the U.S. and eventually settled in Jersey City…[where] he…continued to be “groped and assaulted” by the pastor after [2003]…he…was “very scared” to report the abuse because “the church is very anti-homosexuality.”  The second victim…[said] Langston…“appeared to prefer boys in the church who had absent fathers or were raised by their grandparents”…

To Molest and Rape

Some rapist cops are indiscriminate in their habits:

A [California cop named]…Juan Pensina…[has been] arrest[ed on numerous charges of forcible vaginal, anal, and oral rape, but also rewarded with a paid vacation]…Pensina [raped some of] the…victims while [wearing his magical clown costume] and…[some not, both in his pigmobile and] in…[other places]…

The Last Shall Be First (#1537)

What kind of warped mind thinks this is OK?

A Minnesota teen [has] filed a charge of discrimination against a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant…after…a server followed her into the women’s restroom and demanded she “prove” she was a girl.  Gerika Mudra…[was harassed by the] server[, who]…banged on the stall door while saying, “This is a women’s restroom. The man needs to get out of here”…Mudra, a biracial lesbian who is not transgender, said she’s been in similar situations before…but…[this] woman [would not] leave her alone…[until] she unzipped her hoodie to show she has breasts.  The server didn’t say anything in response but left the restroom…

Thought Control (#1548)

Florida censors lose every challenge, but it doesn’t stop them:

A federal judge…struck down [most] of a Florida law that’s been used to remove [thousan]ds of books from public school libraries since it was enacted in 2023…Judge Carlos Mendoza…struck down…[provisions] that made it easier to challenge books if they included any sexual content…[so] the…[standard] reverts back to…the Miller Test…The 2023 law…[had exposed] educators…to…criminal penalties and los[s of] their teaching certificates if [any censorious Froot Loop chose to point at any book while barfing the word “]inappropriate[“]…As a result, Florida led the country in school book bans last year with 4,561 instances…State officials [horrifyingly] argued…that Florida was entitled to regulate books in public school libraries [because] such actions amounted to…“government speech”…

Mad Libs (#1550)

These algorithms are not only unintelligent; they are making those who use them less intelligent as well:

…doctors [who rely on chatbots can lose] skills after just a few months…a new study..[showed machine learning programs could] help…health professionals…detect pre-cancerous growths in the colon, but when the assistance was removed, their ability to find tumors dropped by about 20% compared with rates before the tool was ever introduced…[bureaucrats] around the world are…[trying to cram so-called “]AI[” in]to [healthcare systems] with a view to boosting…pro[fitabil]ity…[but] doctors [quickly] become over-reliant on its recommendations, “leading to clinicians becoming less motivated, less focused, and less responsible when making cognitive decisions without [computer interfere]nce,” the…paper [said]…Yuichi Mori…one of the scientists involved, predicted that the effects of de-skilling will “probably be higher” as [machine learning systems are crammed into more areas of expertise]…

Walled Garden

The open internet is becoming a thing of the past:

…age verification laws went into effect in Wyoming and South Dakota, requiring sites [any politician points at while barfing the formula] “material that is harmful to minors” to verify visitors are over 18 years old.  Th[is is not] just…two more states joining the nearly 30 that have [embraced]…invasive, ineffective methods of keeping kids away from porn online…[because] unlike the laws passed in other states, they don’t state that this applies only to sites with “33.3 percent” or one-third “harmful” material…which…opens a huge swath of sites to the [surveillance] burden…The same [pro-censorship gangs] that have lobbied for age verification laws…have also spent years targeting social media platforms…and…streaming services like Netflix, for hosting adult content…age-gating the entire internet only pushes adult consumers and [adolescents] alike into less-regulated…spaces and situations, while everyone just uses VPNs to get around gates

The Cop Myth (#1562)

It’s too bad they don’t inflict all of their violence on each other:

Carlos Baker, the Chicago [cop] who [murdered] his partner Krystal Rivera…[has now] attacked a[nother] female [cop]…The [victim reported]…that Baker and another woman beat her [on August 10th] at [a] bar…[because she wouldn’t] delete [certain] videos taken on her cellphone…[she] escaped, with the help of others, and had a friend take her to [the] hospital…It’s not clear what’s on the videos…Officials…have referred to the shooting [of Rivera] as an accident, but [her] family has called for an outside investigation …[because] Rivera had been a key witness to the theft of a…gun…and [Baker may have wanted to silence her.  His]…career as a cop has been [characteriz]ed by disciplinary problems from the start, including a complaint…[due to his stalking] another…woman at a bar…[and threatening] her…[with] a gun…and…more than a dozen [other reports] of misconduct since joining the [pig herd] in December 2021…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

Read Full Post »

They are trying to turn us into immigration agents.  –  Medicaid official

Time Warp

WTVT in Tampa, Florida recently published a bizarrely-anachronistic article that reads like something from the height of “sex trafficking” hysteria, 13 years ago.  Given that it’s a Fox affiliate in a Trumpist stronghold, I reckon that isn’t too surprising, but it still evokes a sort of negative nostalgia to see the sentence, “A first-of-its-kind study said there are 200,000 Floridians who are living as sex slaves”, in a 2025 article, followed by a version of the Shahada; the bizarre statement that “Florida is unlucky in that it has a plethora of large cities all connected by highways, slews of big events, and large airports and seaports” (because a large economy is bad?); the even stranger statement that “Florida is a hotbed of things like tourism, entertainment and agriculture” (the word “hotbed” generally has a negative connotation); and quotes from Selah Freedom, a Sarasota-based “rescue” organization that makes its money via a religious “diversion” program for sex workers so unpopular, the only way it gets participants is by cops literally forcing or frightening women into it.

Only Rights Can Stop the Wrongs (#752)

The political crowbar called the “TIP report” has been largely disused since the first Trump regime:

…the Trump [regime has] cut 1,353 positions at [the] State [Department]…eviscerating…the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, [which]…for 25 years…has worked to [spread misogynistic propaganda] and [impose sex work criminalization] around the world.  Its remit includes producing an annual [propaganda tool]…that grades every country on the issue…[as an excuse to impose] economic repercussions from the US, [but in reality has been widely recognized as a politically-motivated sham]…This year’s report was due on June 30, but has not been released…

Panopticon (#1409) 

As I predicted just 18 months ago, Amazon’s retreat from fascist collaboration was short-lived:

Ring founder Jamie Siminoff is back at the helm of the surveillance doorbell company, and with him is the surveillance-first-privacy-last approach that made Ring one of the most maligned tech devices.  Not only is the company reintroducing new versions of old features which would allow [cops] to [pressure]…Ring users [directly], it is also introducing a new feature that would allow [cops] to [demand] live-stream access [without a warrant, thus]…rolling back…the reforms it’s made in the last few years by easing  [warrantless] access to footage from millions of homes in [order]…to spy on protestorsfind people who have had abortions or track down [migrants].  Siminoff has [also] announced…that the company will now…be “AI first”…[probably meaning] face recognition…employees at Ring will [now] have to show proof that they [they are too intellectually lazy to think or write for themselves] in order to get promoted…

No Escape (ROTW #11)

The last time we saw this lawsuit, the number was 95:

Another 107 people [have] filed complaints…against the state [of Illinois] for…allowing rampant sexual abuse in…juvenile [prisons], joining 800 other…victims who have filed…lawsuits in the last 14 months…In May 2024, 95 people [victimized] in [the] facilities filed a lawsuit [over] continued abuse by [screws and other] employees…another hundred…filed a complaint the following month and nearly 300 joined them in September.  The 907 [victims were]…abuse[d] from as long ago as 1996 to as recently as 2023…and…ranged in age from 9 to 17.  More than 500…[were] abused between 2000 and 2009, and 86% are male…Fifteen complaints..[specifically name] current Eldorado Mayor Rocky James…[who was a screw] for 29 years…[before transitioning into politics via] the [screw] union…James [raped]…minors for at least 12 years…[often after] handcuff[ing them] to [their] bed[s] before…[rap]ing [them] repeatedly…

Thought Control (#1513)

The urge to censor is a dangerous mental illness:

Members of North Idaho’s interlibrary loan consortium [have]…officially dissolved the Cooperative Information Network that allowed materials to be shared…[among 16] libraries…libraries will no longer share books between each other freely at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.  An online collection with almost 24,000 e-books and audio books shared between the libraries is also up in the air…the dissolution was spurred by concerns of a potential lawsuit…[over] Idaho’s [censorship]…law that went into effect last year [and] requires libraries to…restrict…minors from accessing [not only books, but also] the…catalog in…which [they are listed]…

Thought Control (#1538)

Just keep plunging that ice pick in; the bad thoughts will go away eventually:

The [highly-politicized] Alabama Public Library [board has begun]…the process of [banning books on]…gender…[using one of the mad emperor’s illegal proclamations as an excuse].  APLS chairman John Wahl sent a letter to every public library in the state…demanding submission to the order or risk losing funding…The proposed rule changes will require 45 days of public comment and further administrative actions, meaning any changes to the code will not take effect for several months…

I Spy (#1553)

If you think this will go away when Trump does, you are a fool:

The [IRS] is building a computer program [to] give [ICE goons] unprecedented access to…the home addresses of [all American]…taxpayers…In the past, when [pigs wanted to root in]…IRS data…[they were required to] give the IRS the full legal name of the target, an address on file and an explanation of why the information was relevant to a criminal inquiry…[because] privacy laws [do not] allow…“the sharing of…hundreds of thousands of tax records for a broad-based [harassment campaign]”…Trump’s [henchmen, however, do not care if what they’re doing is]…illegal [or even] criminal…in [fact, this kind of rooting]…is…a felony that can carry a penalty of up to five years in prison…

And it isn’t just the IRS:

[ICE goons] will be given access to the personal data of the nation’s 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities, to [allow them to hunt] immigrants…and [anyone else they please]…some [Medicaid] officials [and politicians] have challenged the legality of…[the] move, [to no avail]…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

Read Full Post »

Sentiment analysis not only does not work, it cannot work.
–  Calli Schroeder

Monsters

A large fraction of US politicians implicitly or explicitly approve of this:

A 19-year-old [lesbian] was…attacked…at a McDonald’s in…Carpentersville, Illinois…about an hour outside of Chicago…Kady Grass…and her 13-year-old cousin were [order]ing food…when Grass decided to use the bathroom.  Both the restroom stalls were full, so she walked out…[and] one boy out of a group of three began [insulting] her [appearance]…and [tried]…to [provoke a] fight…Then [started]…to a[ttack her], with one…punching her in the front and the other hitting her in the back…A manager…attempted to break up the fight, but he also “got hit in the process”…In an attempt to protect herself, Grass closed her eyes and fell to the ground, which led to the two [attackers] stomping on her head…[until she was knocked] unconscious…Grass…suffered a broken nose…[and extensive] bruises…[19-year-old John] Kammrad was arrested on May 17…and…charged with…aggravated battery…[his juvenile accomplice was also charged and]…the two girls occupying the bathroom…will face misdemeanor charges for stealing Grass’ wallet, phone and her cousin’s phone…

The Course of a Disease (#1443)

Prohibitionists are once again trying to inflict the evil “Swedish model” on Scotland:

[Scottish politician] Ash Regan is introducing a bill that would [impose]…the “Nordic Model”…Regan also wants to see…sex [workers spied on and harassed by cops]…a campaign…has been specifically set up to oppose her proposals, with sex workers stressing safety concerns

The Last Shall Be First (#1484) 

The only way to keep information from being abused by the State is not to collect it in the first place:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Dallas pediatrician, Dr. May Lau for [refusing to forcibly detransition] “at least 21” minors…Within weeks, Paxton’s office filed similar suits against two more physicians…effectively shut[ting] down these three doctors’ ability to practice…it is a striking example of how government officials can weaponize private prescription records to target anyone they want….[via] the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program…established in the 2000s to [drive pain patients to suicide and destroy the lives of pain doctors]…Testosterone, classified as a Schedule III controlled substance, is automatically tracked in the PDMP database…[which is why] virtually all of the patients were transmasculine…estrogen is not a controlled substance…subject to PDMP surveillance…PDMP datasets typically include patient details…refill schedules, and identifying information for the prescriber and pharmacy.  In nine states, the PDMP entry even contains the diagnosis code…[so a pig rooting in] the file could directly see why a person was prescribed a drug…once a pharmacy uploads…data to a PDMP, that information is no longer covered by HIPAA privacy rules…[and] every state allows police or prosecutors to [root in] PDMP data…without so much as a warrant…Some PDMPs even…[rat out patients the algorithm deems] “suspicious”…PDMPs…function as a nationwide surveillance network….While abortion medications…are not federally scheduled controlled substances…Louisiana recently classified…Mifepristone as a controlled substance, which [will] now be tracked by Louisiana’s PDMP

I Spy (#1494)

Local politicians’ virtue-signaling is powerless against the fascist panopticon:

Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez announced this year her department has a “zero contact policy” with ICE…But [that is a lie;] the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office received over $1 million from the federal government last year…for sharing sensitive information, including names, birthplace and country of origin, under the…State Criminal Alien Assistance Program…managed in part by ICE, [which] uses federal dollars to reimburse local jails and prisons for…[cag]ing…immigrants…even in so-called sanctuary cities and states that forbid…[cop] co[llabo]ration and data sharing with ICE…A spokesperson for Sanchez’s office defended the county’s participation [with, “who are you going to believe, us or the facts?”]…some jurisdictions have chosen to withdraw from SCAAP in recent years to keep from feeding more information into ICE’s deportation dragnet…San Francisco terminated…participation in SCAAP ahead of the first Trump [regime], though Alameda County did not follow suit…Wisconsin’s Dane County, has also quit since Trump’s return to power…

The Cop Myth (#1503)

Cop deals with problems exactly as he was trained & encouraged to, and everyone is shocked:

A…[typical and representative California cop named]…Daniel Hutsell…[murdered] his wife, Dinella Hutsell, [then shot himself.  Their daughter]…called 9-1-1…to report that both her father and mother were dead.  The boss hogs thought it was very important to state that he was not wearing his magical clown costume at the time, but this was not his first murder]…He was [part of a gang]…who shot and killed Stephen Murray…on July 17, 2019…and [naturally escaped scot-free]…

To Molest and Rape (ROTW #17)

Hey, female cops; how’s that collaboration with the police state working out?

Alexus Byrd-Maxey [was a naif who watched far too many cop glorification shows as a] child…But on March 17, 2023, [she had a rude awakening about what cops are really like when]…another recruit [grabbed] her…and [rubbed his dick against her ass]…She [naively believed] confront[ing] him…[would lead to] remorse…Instead…she saw him smirk…[the typical and representative cop], a man named Eric Tabb…started telling other recruits that Byrd-Maxey had overreacted and that h[is dick was really his hand and her butt was really her] shoulder…when Byrd-Maxey reported the incident [she quickly discovered how the “thin blue line” works when she]…was fired from the academy for supposedly cursing and using gang language…Tabb soon became a…[cop] and [was set loose to terrorize the public]…Eight months…[later], Tabb was arrested for…repeatedly [groping other sows]…Tabb now faces multiple felony charges…[which] is [unusual because]…Chicago [cop shops typically refuse]…to vigorously investigate…sexual assault by [pigs], whether those complaints were lodged by [sows]…or members of the public….allowing [rapists] to abuse again and again…

I Spy (#1530)

In mass surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

The U.S. [surveillance establishment] is now buying up vast volumes of sensitive information that would have previously required a court order, essentially bypassing the Fourth Amendment…So the government…is working on a system to centralize and “streamline” the use of commercially available information, or CAI, like location data derived from mobile ads…spy agencies will use the web portal not just to search through reams of private data, but also run them through [computer programs] for further analysis…the “Intelligence Community Data Consortium” will provide a single convenient web-based storefront for searching and accessing this data, along with a “data marketplace” for purchasing “the best data at the best price,” faster than ever before…for the [NSA]…CIA…FBI…Homeland Security…and [14 other spook houses]…sidestepping constitutional and statutory privacy protections…Once the website is up and running, the…portal will eventually allow users to analyze the data using large language models, [complete with their characteristic]…factual errors and fabrications.  The portal will also facilitate “sentiment analysis,” a…pseudoscientific endeavor purporting to discern one’s opinion about a given topic using implicit signals in their behavior, movement, or speech…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

Read Full Post »

Educated non-scientists encountering Dr. Einstein’s adjustable mass and time or Dr. Schrödinger’s undead kitty can perhaps be forgiven for throwing up their hands in despair and deciding that all facts are relative.
–  “Dr. Schrödinger and His Amazing Pussycat

No motive, however pure, and no consensus, however large, can fully transform an evil act into a good one; the best we can hope for is that nobody involved could see a better alternative at the time.
–  “A Necessary Evil

[Bigots] are no better than chickens mindlessly attempting to peck others to death for the offense of being different.  –  “Monsters

When the employer is politically connected and the workers employed in providing entertainment, cheap goods or creature comforts for the bourgeois, you can be sure the word “trafficking” will not appear no matter how slavery-like the conditions nor how egregious the coercion.  –  “The Missing Word

Read Full Post »

They’ll do whatever they want!  –  Mary Faith Casey

Whatever They Need To Say (#648)

Gentrification is one of the most common motivations for persecution of all kinds of sex workers:

Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto has declared a gentrification war on South LA’s Figueroa Corridor under the guise of ending sex trafficking…she has weaponized an archaic law, The Red Light Abatement Act, to shut down immigrant-owned motels…in preparation for pre-Olympic gentrification…subject[ing] an already over-policed neighborhood to further hypersurveillance and…raidsThe Act makes the property owner responsible for vice crimes committed on their property…Essentially, businesses can be forced to shut down based on a [mere evidence-free accusation] that sex work is happening on their property, whether or not they knew of the activity.  As a result, property owners discriminate against sex workers…

The Last Shall Be First (#1147)

Puritanism is throttling the entire world:

Hungary’s parliament [has] passed an amendment to [its 14-year-old] constitution that allows the government to ban [LGBT] public events...another [increase in] authoritarianism…by the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition led by populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán…The amendment codifies a law fast-tracked through parliament in March that bans [such] events…including the popular Pride event in Budapest that draws thousands annually…That law also allows [pigs] to use facial recognition tools to [harass] people who attend prohibited events...with fines of up to 200,000 Hungarian forints ($546)…The new amendment also states that the constitution recognizes two sexes, male and female…denying the gender identities of transgender people, as well as ignoring the existence of intersex individuals

The Last Shall Be First (#1342)

Florida knows it will lose any challenge to this law:

A transgender woman was arrested last month for refusing to leave the women’s restroom at the Florida State Capitol.  Marcy Rheintgen, a 20-year-old college student…acted intentionally to challenge Florida’s antitrans bathroom law…sending 160 letters to state representatives, the attorney general, and…Ron DeSantis [announcing the planned date and time of her visit and] asking that she not be arrested for using the…women’s restroom…[creepy pigs] followed her inside and warned her that if she did not leave…she would be arrested…but…opted to arrest her [for “]trespass on property after warning[” so she]…won’t be able to challenge the [bathroom] law…in court…

The Cop Myth (#1492)

This one directly describes very typical cop behavior as “uncharacteristic”:

A…[New York cop named]…Aaron M. Alshaman…[was rewarded with a paid vacation for attempting to burn his girlfriend’s house down at 4:30 AM while wearing his magical clown costume]…The two-family, two-story house is still intact and livable but it is damaged…the fire was [quickly] deemed to be arson and…strong…evidence [points to]…Alshaman…

Torture Chamber (#1501)

A society can be judged by the way it treats its prisoners:

For decades, America relied heavily on psychiatric asylums to treat—or, in many cases, to warehouse and neglect—people with serious mental-health conditions.  Then the grand project of “deinstitutionalization” began…[start]ing [in] 1963…the funding for that vision never materialized.  Instead, new policies criminalizing poverty and addiction swept up people in severe psychiatric distress, who often ended up in county jail—where…they might languish for months or even years…The number of people jailed pretrial has nearly quadrupled since the nineteen-eighties; people with mental-health issues tend to be detained significantly longer than the rest of the population.  Today, the nation’s three largest mental-health providers are New York’s Rikers Island, L.A. County’s Twin Towers Jail, and Chicago’s Cook County Jail…private companies…[are] contract[ed]…to provide medical and mental-health care at a capped cost; any additional money expended…comes out of the corporation’s earnings…[so, predictably,] jails that provide…health care through the top five companies in that market…[have] death rates…eighteen to fifty-eight per cent higher than those of jails whose medical services were publicly managed.  Of the five…NaphCare had the highest death rate…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1517)

Censorious politicians aren’t just copying each other; they’re vying to make their new laws the most unconstitutional:

Missouri…Attorney General Andrew Bailey [is] push[ing] regulations to [censor the internet without bothering to go through the legislature].  Under a new [proclamation by a politician without lawmaking power], commercial porn sites are required to [violate the privacy of] users…at both the website and device level.  [How Bailey imagines he has the power to do this, or how his magical proclamation demanding device filters will stand when others have been struck down, all while somehow magically]…upholding the privacy rights of legal-age users, [is unclear, as is how he imagines he has the power to determine how]…search engine[s work]…

It’s bad enough when human reporters parrot politicians’ bloviation, but it’s intolerable when a website uses a computer program to do it (while insulting readers’ intelligence by sticking a fake byline on it).

Thought Control (#1526)

A few sane judges are the only thing protecting US libraries from morally-defective control freaks:

A lawsuit filed against Rockford [Michigan] Public Schools [seeking to ban] over 14 library books [absurdly labeled] “sexually explicit” has been dismissed by the Court of Appeals…The lawsuit was filed by [outside agitators who hid their identities to dodge public ridicule]…and…the court…said…they had no legal right to sue because criminal claims require a prosecutor’s approval…[and] the books were not illegal…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »