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Posts Tagged ‘Utah’

They are holding my puppy for ransom.  –  Caleb Gibson

If Men Were Angels

“Pastor and sex offender” is a large and ever-expanding group:

…a [Florida] pastor [was arrested] after two underage girls described the sexual abuse they endured at his hands…Derrell Redding…abuse[d one young teen and one girl under 12, but]…in August…the two girls decided to tell their aunt and uncle…

Many of them are “youth pastors”:

A [California preacher named]…Nicholas Garrett Corl…was [arrested for molesting]…a child under 14…an employee from [his]…church [called the cops on him]…Corl…[is] Youth Pastor…teaches…classes, [and] is the athletics director and basketball coach…

Others don’t have a church of their own:

A [California] priest…[named] Rodolfo Martinez-Guevara…[h]as [been] arrested…[for] possessing “over 600 images of child sexual abuse material, including…prepubescent…boys”…Martinez-Guevara…is affiliated with the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit Religious Order…[but] has been removed from ministry by the archdiocese and his order…

The Mote and the Beam (#786)

The government’s latest sleazy trick: attacking with civil suits rather than criminal charges, because the burden of proof is reversed:

A lawsuit filed by the Los Angeles city attorney’s office targets a motel…with a [harassment campaign] that…[is intended to make political coin out of the moribund “]sex trafficking[” hysteria for the politically-ambitious but unimaginative] Hydee Feldstein Soto[, who bloviated mathematically-imbecilic talking points from over a decade ago but lacks the spine to admit she hates whores]…

Between the Ears (#1104)

“Smart” devices aren’t, part umpteen:

A company that makes a [male] chastity device…that can be controlled by a partner over the internet exposed users’ email addresses, plaintext passwords, home addresses and IP addresses, and — in some cases — GPS coordinates, due to several flaws in its servers, according to a security researcher…who…gained access to a database containing records of more than 10,000 users, thanks to two vulnerabilities…He…reached out to the company on June 17 alerting them of the issues in an attempt to get them to fix the vulnerabilities and protect their users’ data…[but] the company…[neither] fix[ed] the vulnerabilities…no[r] respond[ed]…Given that he wasn’t getting any answers, on August 23 the researcher defaced the company’s homepage in an attempt to warn the company again, as well as its users…Less than 24 hours later, the company removed the researcher’s warning and restored the website…but…did not fix the flaws, which remain present and exploitable…

Property of the State (#1245)

The government thinks it even has the right to leer at the inside of your body:

Scientists in Poland have…developed lab tests that can detect whether people have taken abortion pills—and those tests are already being used to investigate pregnancy outcomes under the country’s abortion ban…Advocates in the U.S. have told people for years that, if they had to go to the hospital after taking the pills by mouth, medical workers wouldn’t be able to tell…these drug tests could mean even more people criminalized by the healthcare system…Hospitals in the U.S. routinely test pregnant women for drugs without their consent, sometimes [abducting] their newborns and other children as a result…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1304)

“Fentanyl” is becoming another porcine pretext for harassing and robbing people:

Days after Irvine [California cops pretend] they saved a pit bull puppy from a fentanyl overdose…a preliminary drug test on the pup came back negative.  [Now]…the city [is demanding] more than $2,000…ransom…[from] Caleb Gibson, the dog’s owner, [who said]…“I’m a college student on financial aid, so I don’t have that kind of money to throw around”…[cops] maintain…that the animal had overdosed [despite the negative test]…the…[fact] that dogs are far less sensitive to the drug than humans…and…[the fact that] it is not possible for [humans or] animals to overdose simply from being exposed to the substance by touching or inhaling it, despite police [fantasies]…to the contrary…

Served Cold (#1359)

Surprising absolutely no one who understands McNeill’s Law:

Tim Ballard’s exit from Operation Underground Railroad…followed an investigation into…sexual misconduct involving seven women…the [rescue industry con art]ist, who appears to be preparing for a Senate run, invited women to act as his “wife” on…overseas missions [suposed]ly aimed at rescuing victims of sex trafficking.  He would then…coerce those women into sharing a bed or showering together, claiming that it was necessary to fool traffickers…The total number of women involved is believed to be higher than seven, as that would only account for employees, not contractors or volunteers…Ballard…[already has a] new [rescue industry] organization, the SPEAR Fund; and…the [Mormon] Church…[has] accused Ballard of inappropriately using the name of a church elder…“for Tim Ballard’s personal advantage and activity regarded as morally unacceptable.”

Spotlight (#1373)

While I’m pleased to see Asstoon fall, the surveillance company he founded will still be outing sex workers to the pigs without him:

Ashton Kutcher has resigned as chairman of the board of Thorn, the anti…sex [worker] organization he co-founded in 2009 with his then-wife Demi Moore.  His wife Mila Kunis, who served as an observer on the organization’s board, is also stepping down.  The move comes in the wake of outrage over their letters of support for Danny Masterson, who has been convicted of raping two women…

 

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!

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Far too often, journalists reserve their free speech defenses for people they actually like.  –  Matt Welch

To Molest and Rape

Seems like there’s more to this than we’re being told:

A [typical and representative] Detroit [cop] is on house arrest and facing life in prison after [rap]ing his…wife last week…David Apperson…was arraigned…on a charge of first-degree sexual conduct, which carries a sentence of up to life in prison…

You Were Warned (#1208)

Imbecilic judges side with censors & ambulance-chasers against the law and the Constitution:

…the 7th Circuit has decided…that Salesforce can be held liable for [supposed] sex trafficking on Backpage, even if Salesforce had nothing to do with the underlying crime, or any knowledge of it…because Salesforce magically should have known that Backpage was engaged in sex trafficking [even though it wasn’t], overturning a lower court ruling that had dismissed the case…this directly contradicts both the 9th Circuit and the DC Circuit, and appears to also go against what the Supreme Court ruled in Taamneh…The ruling, by Judge David Hamilton…and signed on to by Judge Doris Pryor…is…really bad?  Divorced from reality?  Driven by nonsense and moral panic?  All of those…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1305)

Cops really don’t care how many false positives these systems shit out:

Porsha Woodruff was getting her two daughters ready for school when six [cops] showed up…to…arrest [her] for robbery and carjacking…She was eight months pregnant…[but] Detroit [cops]…held [her] for 11 hours, [interrogated her and stole]…her iPhone…After [finally]…bond[ing out]…she went straight to the hospital where she was diagnosed with dehydration and given two bags of intravenous fluids.  A month later, two weeks before giving birth to her son, the Wayne County prosecutor dismissed the case against her…Woodruff is the sixth person to report being falsely accused of a crime as a result of facial recognition…[mis]used by police…all six…have been Black; Ms. Woodruff is the first woman…It is the third case involving the Detroit Police…Woodruff [has] filed a lawsuit for wrongful arrest…

Vulture Watching (#1343)

In which Texas tacitly admits it wants women with problem pregnancies to die:

A Texas judge issued a temporary injunction against the state’s abortion ban…[but] this injunction was itself blocked just hours later by an appeal from the state attorney general, leaving a final decision on the case to the Texas Supreme Court…Judge Jessica Mangrum issued an injunction against the law as part of a ruling in Zurawski v. State of Texas, a lawsuit brought by five…women who…were denied medically necessary abortions due to unclear language in the state’s abortion ban…”With the threat of losing their medical licenses, fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and up to 99 years in prison lingering over their heads,” the suit states, “it is no wonder that doctors and hospitals are turning patients away—even patients in medical emergencies”…

R.I.P. Jim Larkin

The reality of veteran newspaperman Jim Larkin’s untimely demise on July 31 at age 74 has begun to sink in, with remembrances, articles, and commentary appearing on social media and legacy media alike…

Creepy Coppers (#1362)

Cop is a cop is a cop is a cop:

A[n] adjunct professor at Utah Valley University [who was also a typical and representative cop] from California was arrested on multiple child pornography charges…Daniel Waddington…tried to record a video of a 13-year-old girl showering through a crack in the door…[he] told the girl he was just recording the audio of her singing, [but] the person who reported [him]…later found…more than 300 images and videos of child pornography…on [his laptop and phone, plus]…a photo shot up a woman’s dress or skirt in…a classroom at [the] university…

To Molest and Rape (#1363)

Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:

A Georgia [cop] was recently arrested…[for] molest[ing] a teenage girl…Patrick Benjamin Ventura…[fell under] suspicio[n because he was apparently molesting her while he was supposed to be working]…

And certainly not actual children:

A…Baton Rouge [cop named]…Demichael Robertson…was…[arrested for molest]ing a child in his care who was under the age of 12…

 

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!

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[An FBI] suggestion…is not a suggestion. It is in fact effectively an order.  –  Darrell Issa

Surplus Women

Cops love awkward, overcomplicated language:

Three women [have been] found dead near the Trinity River in [Dallas, and]…Oscar Sanchez Garcia…is being charged with th[e]…murder[s].  The body of 60-year-old Limberly Robinson was found in late April.  25-year-old Cherish Gibson was found dead in the same area two months later.  The third woman was found [July 15th and] has not yet been identified.  Police believe at least two of the victims have possible ties to prostitution…

Would it have been too difficult to say, “at least two of the victims may have been sex workers”?

No Difference (#889)

Will this be another victory for US evangelical prohibitionists?

Kenya is…introducing legislation that would criminalise openly identifying with, or supporting, the LGBTQ+ community…including openly identifying as LGBTQ+ or wearing Pride emblems.  Those found in breach of the law would face a minimum of 10 years in jail while those found guilty of performing same-sex acts would face a minimum of 14 years…anyone found guilty under a clause for “aggravated homosexuality,” defined as engaging in “homosexual acts with a minor or disabled person and transmitting a terminal disease through sexual means”, could be executed.  The bill heavily mirrors Uganda’s…which was signed into law earlier this year.  Similar bills are also being proposed in Tanzania…South Sudan…[and] Ghana

You Were Warned (#1344)

“This bill is not about kids’ safety, because it will put their safety at risk”:

With…KOSA…be[ing] debated in…Congress…Joe Biden [has] come out [to] give a full throated endorsement of the horrible, dangerous, bill that will damage privacy and harm children…the Republicans have been quite vocal about how they support KOSA because they know they can use it to suppress LGBTQ voices.  They flat out said that they believe that “keeping trans content away from children is protecting kids”…KOSA….[is] not about “protecting” kids privacy at all.  It’s about giving the government more control over kids.  The nature of the bill will require more data collection…[and] create serious 1st Amendment concerns by holding companies potentially liable if kids face harm that…an [ambulance-chaser can pretend was somehow related]…to anything they found online…

Now would be the time to call your congresscritter to scare it away from being associated with this police-state garbage.

Torture Chamber (#1344)

I’m sure they occasionally yelled “Stop faking!” at him as he wasted away:

By the time he died alone in his Miami-Dade jail cell in the summer of 2021, (5’10”) Randy Heath weighed just 113 pounds…[because] guards…allowed [him]…to languish [for 9 months] in the jail’s mental health unit…[and] did not properly feed, monitor, or administer…medication…the…Medical Examiner’s Office…[claims] Heath…died from “food asphyxia” after a large piece of orange blocked his airway, with the contributory cause being pica, an eating disorder in which people compulsively eat things that aren’t food…Heath…had been in and out of…jail since 2002 on various charges…[but the most recent arrest] in April 2020 [was on the pretext that he touched] his ankle monitor [in a manner disallowed by The State]…He would remain on the floor of his cell unattended for hours…in his own urine and feces…Although he was regularly prescribed medication for his mental illnesses, his toxicology report detected no medicine in his system at the time of death…

Censor Chic (#1354)

Partisans deny this when it’s their side making “suggestions”:

…based on current evidence, the FBI has not explicitly demanded that social media companies censor any specific posts or news stories.  But…[as] the Supreme Court [said] nearly 60 years ago: Americans “do not lightly disregard public officers’ thinly veiled threats to institute criminal proceedings against them if they do not come around.”  Much is said in our current discourse about…power imbalances…When your boss asks if you can stay late or come in on the weekend, you can say no. But in the back of your mind, you know there may be consequences…It’s…a similar dynamic when the government sends “suggestions” to private individuals or companies over which it exercises…authority…When the FBI floods social media platforms with “alerts” about content it obviously wants taken down, it doesn’t deserve a pass just because it didn’t say out loud: “or else”…The FBI uses the weight and authority of its office to lean on platforms in an attempt to do what the First Amendment forbids it from doing directly: suppress protected speech.  This tactic is called “jawboning,” and is not something we should blithely accept in a society committed to free expression as a fundamental value…

Served Cold (#1357)

Ballard’s increasingly-bizarre antics have apparently upset his partners in profiteering:

Tim Ballard, the celebrity [“sex] trafficking[” profiteer] whose heavily fictionalized exploits served as the inspiration for the [fak]e box-office hit Sound of Freedom, is no longer CEO of the Nazarene Fund, the Glenn Beck-backed [rescue industry] organization…a letter is circulating in Utah’s philanthropic community, which claims that Ballard left OUR following an internal investigation…[after] an employee filed an HR complaint after returning from a mission with Ballard…

Elsewhere, Kaytlin Bailey uses Ballard’s fanciful story as a springboard for discussion of why “rescue” narratives are not only nonsense, but distracting from measures that really help sex workers.

Torture Chamber (#1358)

It does not help young victims of governmental brutality to infantilize them as “children”:

…inside…the…largest juvenile [prison]…in…New Mexico…[young people] between the ages of 12 and 17 are routinely subjected to strip searches, held for weeks in cells without toilets, and left with only a thin plastic sheet to block out the glare of hallway lights that never turn off.  Girls face particularly harsh conditions, often placed in…solitary confinement…chronic understaffing…[is used to excuse holding prisoners] for weeks, in temporary booking cells with no toilets or sinks…[yet somehow there are enough staff for weekly sexual assaults euphemized as “]strip searches[“.  Girls who]…refuse…to [submit are]…locked in…cell[s] until [they “]consent[“]…

 

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!

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Public spaces are not majority spaces.  –  Judge David Nuffer

Broken Record (#851)

Omaha’s repeated rehash of this same silly tale is even more pathetic now that the trope has died off nearly everywhere else:

The College World Series is back in…Omaha…[so] human trafficking [profiteer] groups are asking you to be on high alert.  “Nebraska’s a hotspot,” [burbled] Julie Shrader…of Restoring Wings.  A 2,900-mile corridor connects Nebraska to neighboring states, putting it at the center of a national road system…

Because clearly it’s unusual for a largish midwestern city to be near the center of the country, or connected to other states by highways.

Checklist (#1134)

Uber already encourages its drivers to spy on riders and rat sex workers out to the pigs:

[Politician]s are working to [attempt to revive the moribund “]sex trafficking[” hysteria by attempting to stoke panic about] rideshare apps…[after] Uber ma[de] changes to its age requirement…[It now] allows minors ages 13 to 17 to request rides without an accompanying adult…Sabrina Crawford is [a rescue industry profiteer and sex trafficking fetishist who wants politicians to infantilize young people even more than they do now]…

A Broker in Pillage (#1155)

When laws pretended to control cops contain no criminal penalties, cops simply ignore them:

You can sign this piece of paper, abandon the $18,000, avoid arrest and continue on…Don’t sign, and you will go to jail.  You could face felony charges.  Your van will be towed.  Your dog will be taken to the pound…[Pretextual] stops like these, where passing motorists are pulled over, searched and…any cash that’s found [extorted from them], are big business in Seward County, population 17,692…Here, money is routinely s[tolen by police] without anyone being charged or proven guilty of anything.  The sheriff’s department has specialized in and perfected the practice, known as civil asset forfeiture, despite a 2016 law meant to ban it in Nebraska….which…was designed to require a criminal conviction before the state could seize money…but [politicians] left two loopholes.  Seizures over $25,000 could circumvent state law entirely by being adopted into federal court.  And [cops] could still [steal cash] under state law if [they pointed at the money and barfed out the magic word “]drugs[“] even if there are no drugs in the car…It’s the legal tactic Seward County now uses far more often than any other county in Nebraska…

The Last Shall Be First (#1338) 

Both sides in the culture war have completely taken leave of their senses:

California…parents could potentially lose custody of their children if they refuse to support their child’s decision to “transition” to another gender…Currently the policy is limited to divorce proceedings, but opponents have argued that it will inevitably expand.

The Cop Myth (#1339)

Reporter tries to bury the lede; headline writer won’t participate:

Maryland [cops]…arrested a [typical and representative cop named]…Jason Michael Colley…[for child abuse, only a year after he was let off with a slap on the wrist for beating] his 6-month-old daughter…[to] death…on September 19, 2017…[and trying to pass it off as] seizures…Judge Julia A. Martz-Fisher sentenced Colley to…50 years, suspending all but eight years to be served on private home detention.  She also ordered Colley…not engage in physical punishment of children [but he has apparently ignored that]…

As I’ve often said, cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors.  And certainly not small children.

The Last Shall Be First (#1345) 

Why do people need “permits” to exercise their speech rights in the first place?

The city of St. George [Utah] must issue a permit for a…group…to host an all-ages drag show in a public park, a federal judge ruled, calling the city’s attempt to stop the show unconstitutional discrimination…Southern Utah Drag Stars and its CEO, Mitski Avalōx, sued the city…after [it] denied the group permits…in April…citing a never-previously-enforced ordinance that forbids advertising before permit approval.  The permit denial based on that ordinance, [Judge David] Nuffer wrote in his ruling, was a pretext for discrimination…

The Last Shall Be First (#1346) 

The time, money, and energy our society is flushing down the “culture war” toilet is incalculable:

A federal judge delivered a stinging rebuke to Florida [politicians]…over…a new state law that banned minors from receiving “puberty blockers” and other types of gender-affirming care…Judge Robert Hinkle…blocked the state from applying the ban to three minors whose parents are part of an ongoing lawsuit…and…the ruling suggests that a key part of the law itself could get knocked down as the legal challenge proceeds…Hinkle’s 44-page ruling called the…ban…“an exercise in politics, not good medicine.  This is a politically fraught area.  There has long been, and still is, substantial bigotry directed at transgender individuals.  Common experience confirms this, as does a Florida legislator’s remarkable reference to transgender witnesses at a committee hearing as ‘mutants’ and ‘demons’…”

 

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!

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Librarians should be able to do their jobs rather than be forced to tiptoe through the minefield of…political positions.  –  Rita Christensen

Bad Girls

How to be a stupid, greedy whore:

A[n Irish] sex worker [named Lorna White] and her…boyfriend [Jason Hamill]…have been sentenced to [about] four years [in prison each for]…us[ing] threats of police involvement and exposure to extort £7,900 from their victim…[it is unclear whether White is a bona fide sex worker or an extortionist who merely takes clients in order to set them up, because] in July 2019, the couple were handed [similar] sentences after they admitted extorting more than £3,000 from [another]…man White had sex with…making repeated demands [for money] between July 1, 2017, and May 10, 2018…

Imaginary Evils (#1133)

Another sign the moral panic is over: prosecutors have backed away from labeling this “sex trafficking” as they initially did:

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn indicted Nicole Daedone, founder and former CEO of the cultish sexual wellness company OneTaste, and former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz…on forced labor charges…[US attorney] Breon Peace…said…“the defendants are alleged to have sought complete control over their employees’ lives, including by driving them into debt and directing them to perform sexual acts while also withholding wages.”  If sentenced, Daedone and Cherwitz will face up to 20 years in prison…

The Course of a Disease (#1152)

Maine is once again attempting to impose Swedish-style criminalization:

Maine [politicians] are on track to…rechristen prostitution as commercial sexual exploitation…institut[ing]…the “Nordic Model”…a scheme…linked to…[increased] rates of sexual violence…

Served Cold (#1248)

Tim Ballard’s newest shtick: falsely claiming others are collaborating with his “sex trafficking” antics:

…Despite the founder of O.U.R., Tim Ballard suggesting in January 2023 that [Mel] Gibson was involved in [a supposed] four-part docuseries, Gibson’s representative [says]…that [this is] no[t]…accurate…the Twitter page Leading Report…claimed…[the] alleged…series [is about] the [imagined] “$34 billion global child sex trafficking market involving countries like Ukraine“…The site wasn’t the only one to [share] the [claim, and there are]…several [supposed] links…between Gibson and…O.U.R…Though he’s not credited on IMDb, Ballard [also] claims Gibson did the final edit for his [long-delayed] movie Sound of Freedom

Thought Control (#1256)

I’m glad to see FIRE getting involved in this:

[Politicians] in Orem, Utah, have banned its public library from setting up displays highlighting Pride Month, Black History Month, and Hispanic Heritage Month, along with other heritage-themed holidays.  And then they banned librarians from criticizing the city’s decision—threatening to discipline them for “insubordination.”  But now, the Utah Library Association (ULA) has threatened to sue, teaming up with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)…to warn the city that it could soon face a lawsuit for violating librarians’ First Amendment rights…

Thou Shalt Not (#1341)

Crypto-moralists believe that people enjoying a food is sufficient reason for declaring it “unsafe”:

America’s favorite artificial sweetener could…damage…your DNA.  Splenda is the brand name for sucralose…It’s…600 times sweeter than sugar and is the best-selling artificial sweetener…But sucralose has been found to be genotoxic [in petri dishes], meaning it breaks apart the DNA in chromosomes [when cells are soaked in huge amounts of the stuff in petri dishes]…The new study adds to earlier [bad] research that [claim]s sucralose…can also cause intestinal damage…[actual] health experts…question the relevance of the new study.  “The findings…do not practically reflect what occasional or even frequent ingestion of sucralose-sweetened food and beverages have on health,” [said] Dr. John Damianos…[of] Yale School of Medicine…

Unsurprisingly, this one has the same buried lede (including the verb) as the previous attempt to demonize artificial sweeteners, only last month: “Instead of…diet soda, switch to seltzer water…Instead of…[diet] foods…grab fruits…”

Torture Chamber (#1345) 

Any country in which “officials” can get away with this has no business calling itself “free” or “liberal”:

Nineteen Rikers Island [prisoners] died last year, marking a high the New York jail complex hasn’t seen in more than 20 years.  Each death has received significant media attention…[so] New York City…[plans to eliminate the bad publicity by] no longer inform[ing] the press when [one of its victims] dies.  This comes after two [of those victims], Rubu Zhao and Joshua Valles, died in May.  The department didn’t publicly report either death.  Zhao died after reportedly falling or jumping over a railing on the top floor of [the] psychiatric facility…and…the…Department…has attempted to claim that Valles’ death wasn’t “in custody” because he was compassionately released on May 24 after he was sent to the hospital [due to a fractured skull] and [put]…on life support…

 

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!

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Won’t somebody please actually think of the children?  –  Elizabeth Brown

Panopticon (#1001)

The “security” system that isn’t:

Amazon will pay $30 million in fines to settle allegations of privacy violations related to…its Ring video doorbell and Alexa virtual assistant services…Ring…grant[ed] access to private videos to its employees and contractors.  It also allegedly neglected to implement basic privacy and security measures, allowing hackers to gain control of consumers’ cameras and videos by breaching their accounts…”Ring gave every employee—as well as hundreds of Ukraine-based third-party contractors—full access to every customer video, regardless of whether the employee or contractor actually needed that access to perform his or her job function”…[one] Amazon employee viewed thousands of video recordings of female users in private spaces like bathrooms and bedrooms over several months.  This incident went unnoticed by the company’s security team until another employee discovered and reported it…

Thought Control (#1277)

It’s always nice to see authoritarian fanatics hoist with their own petard:

The Bible has been removed from all elementary and middle school libraries throughout the Davis School District [in Utah] after someone c[orrectly pointed out that it contains material now considered grounds for censorship in Utah.  Hypocrites responded by filing]…a[n] appeal to the ruling…asking for the district to retain the Bible in all district schools…[despite its considerable] vulgarity [and] violence…[the complaint] not[ed] that the Bible includes mentions of incest, bestiality, prostitution, genital mutilation and rape, among other things…

Torture Chamber (#1278) 

Your “leaders” refer to this as “correction”:

Rikers [Island] officials [lied, claiming one of their victims] had suffered a heart attack…[when in actuality] an autopsy shows that he had a fractured skull…Joshua Valles was [told “Stop faking!]…when he complained to s[crews] about head…[pain resulting from the fracture]…court monitor Steve Martin..learned that…Valles [had been fatally assaulted] not from the Department of [Locking Humans in Cages], but from an external source.  Pressed on what had happened, DOC staff [simply lied]…Commissioner Louis Molina…[even] urged [Martin] to [support the lies about] what happened to Valles…the endemic violence of Rikers Island…was deemed so severe in the federal lawsuit that gave rise to the monitorship eight years ago that it constitutes a violation of the constitutional rights of the people [locked up] there…

You Were Warned (#1288)

It’s a relief to see the courts sending so many ambulance-chasers packing:

The Supreme Court [has] declined to take up a case from a [soi-disant] victim of sex trafficking who [tried to use FOSTA] to [get a big payout from] Reddit…[because her former boyfriend posted videos of them having sex when she was slightly under 18]…The [attempt] was the latest targeting…section [230, hoping to destroy the open internet in pursuit of personal profit]…Earlier this month, the court [protect]ed Google and Twitter [from similar nuisance lawsuits by] preserving…Section 230 [from castration in the name of a bogeyman, though in that case it was]…terroris[m rather than “sex trafficking”] …“There are other important big tech cases in the pipeline, but this seems to confirm that the justices aren’t going to come back to Section 230 anytime soon,” [law professor Steve] Vladeck said…

The Last Shall Be First (#1318) 

Politicians don’t care how much public money they waste defending asinine culture war theater:

U. S. District Court Judge Thomas L. Parker…[has] declared Tennessee’s anti-drag Adult Entertainment Act to be unconstitutional…A…Memphis based…theatre company, Friends of George’s, had sued the state of Tennessee…[because] the law [is] unconstitutional under the First Amendment.  In April Judge Parker ordered a temporary injunction halting the…law…hours before it was set to take effect[, saying:]  “If Tennessee wishes to exercise its police power in restricting speech it considers obscene, it must do so within the constraints and framework of the United States Constitution…”

Dangerous Speech (#1329)

‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less’.

U.S. District Court Judge Diane Humetewa denied a defense motion asking her to dismiss the five-year-old criminal case against veteran newspapermen Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin…[because] the U.S. Department of Justice [is] talking out of both sides of its mouth, with the DOJ insisting on one interpretation of the U.S. Travel Act before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, while arguing for a looser application of the same law in Phoenix against Lacey, Larkin and four co-defendants…

You Were Warned (#1344)

When the Unsinkable Liz Brown does a deep dive on some species of tyranny, there’s no way for me to adequately choose a pull-quote to feature here, so I’m just going to advise you to read her latest, on attempts to undermine free speech, destroy the internet and expose all private communications to the probing snouts of cops under that venerable excuse for tyranny, “THE CHILDREN!!!™” and tell you that it covers KOSA, EARN IT, STOP CSAM, age verification lawsTikTok bans, and much more.

 

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!

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She was looking for…content for her name and her income, and at our expense.  –  Sadie Martinez

You Were Warned (#1170)

Prohibitionists, censors and profiteers will continue to harass businesses thus until FOSTA is overturned:

The…9th Circuit has dismissed a lawsuit that accused Twitter of participating in a sex trafficking venture.  The suit—which invoked…FOSTA…was brought by two John Does and…Morality in Media…The 9th Circuit [recently]…found Reddit not guilty of sex trafficking in similar circumstances to this case…

The Widening Gyre (#1230)

Another sign that the moral panic is largely over:

…Katie Sorensen…posted a video that was viewed more than 4 million times in which she [pretend]ed that two strangers tried to grab her young children outside a store in Petaluma, California…Following the video, the accused couple, Sadie and Eddie Martinez, recognised themselves in a photo and came forward to strongly deny the claims…Sorensen was convicted of making a false report of a crime and…faces a jail sentence of between six months and one year.  Sorensen’s lawyer says that his client did not lie to the police[, but rather was just stupid and hysterical]…

You Were Warned (#1292)

These attempts to destroy the internet are just going to keep getting worse:

Congress has resurrected the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a bill that would increase surveillance and restrict access to information [under the pretext] of protecting children online…its latest version…would still require surveillance of anyone sixteen and under…[and] put the tools of censorship in the hands of state attorneys general, and would greatly endanger the rights, and safety, of young people online.  And KOSA’s burdens will affect adults, too, who will likely face hurdles to accessing legal content online as a result of the bill…KOSA would make platforms liable for the content they show minors, full stop.  It will be based on vague requirements that any Attorney General could, more or less, make up…

The Mob Rules (#1307)

Websites targeted by a censorship bill are trying to turn the power of the mob back on politicians:

Pornhub…disabled access to its platform from all Utah IP addresses, in response to the state’s latest anti-porn law…The LDS church…considers all pornography to be a ploy by “the adversary” (i.e., Satan) specifically created to destroy Mormon families by tempting male heads of households.  In addition to cutting off access to its content for Utah-based IP addresses, Pornhub…replac[ed] its landing page for those addresses with an SFW video in which [adult performer] Cherie DeVille explains the reasons for the content restriction…

Predictably, searches for VPNs immediately surged in Utah.

The Last Shall Be First (#1322) 

The “bathroom bill” political fad is back after a three-year hiatus:

Kansas has passed what has been described as the “broadest” anti-trans bathroom bill in the United States…overturn[ing] a previous veto by governor Laura Kelly, who has continually spoken out against anti-trans legislation…the…bill…bans trans and intersex women from toilets, changing rooms and prison facilities that align with their gender, as well as…defini[ng]…a female [for purposes of the law a]s a person who produces “ova”…meaning cis women who are infertile and are unable to produce eggs [w]ould [technically be] barred from spaces…

The Mob Rules (#1323)

This is exactly what those who passed this bill wanted:

A countersuit has been filed by two of three women who were named in a [nuisance] lawsuit by a [Texas] man…who alleged they conspired to help his then-wife obtain an abortion.  [According to the]…suit…Marcus Silva…[was] emotionally abusive…to…Brittni Silva, who is now his ex-wife…He subjected her to verbal abuse and manipulative behavior…[such as] hid[ing] her car keys to prevent her from leaving their house…Brittni determined she needed a divorce…[but] continued to live [with Marcus] and in July 2022, [he] went through [her] purse and phone and discovered one of two pills used for a medication abortion.  He put the pill back into her purse, [then went through her phone to find the text messages]…to…Jackie and Amy…He filed a police report on July 18, 2022…admitting he…knew about the pregnancy before it was terminated…

To Molest and Rape (#1334)

Your “leaders” sometimes refer to child molestation as “community support”:

A [typical and representative Surrey cop] has been jailed for six years for “abhorrent” child sex offences.  William Redwood…admitted 33 charges in[volv]ing [molestation and] making…and distributing…child [porn of both]…boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 17…from 2016 to 2020…

At other times, they call it “correction”:

A[n Oregon screw] has been charged…with repeatedly molesting a child in Salem over a [recent] four-month period…Cenobio Jauregui…sexually abused a [relative] under 14 years old…five times between December…and April…

And at still other times, they call it what it is, but treat it like no big deal:

A [typical and representative Minnesota cop named]…Eric Gramentz…was sentenced…to…a…[mere] 90 days in jail, followed by 25 years of supervised probation…[in addition to the] year [he has been caged] since his arrest.  He also received a stayed sentence of 12 years…that he would likely have to serve if he violates any of the terms of his probation…[which] include attending a sex offender program and not having any unsupervised contact with any minors.  He’ll also have to register as a predatory offender…[his] victim…was [only] 11 or 12 years old [when the abuse began]…

 

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!

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Discussions and debates [about sex work are] happening in the absence of those who are most affected by it.  –  Solomon Friedman

If Men Were Angels

“Youth pastor”, “youth leader”, “youth director”…can’t y’all settle on one term for preachy molesters?

A [typical and representative] youth director at a[n Iowa] church…[named] Travis Albers…has been charged with [sexual abuse of] a child…Trinity Reformed Church in Pella…[did not] fire…him [until] after his arrest March 5…

No Difference (#431)

Another victory for US evangelical prohibitionists:

Uganda’s parliament has passed a bill which would criminalise people who identify as gay, or a[ny] sexual minority…Under the proposed legislation, friends, family and [busybody strangers]…would have a duty to r[a]t [out] individuals in same-sex relationships…Homosexual acts are already illegal in the east African country.  But the bill seeks to go further and criminalise people on the basis of their sexual identity…Individuals or institutions which support or fund LGBT rights’ activities or organisations, or publish, broadcast and distribute pro-gay media material and literature, also face prosecution and imprisonment…In 2014, Uganda’s constitutional court nullified a similar act…because it had been passed by parliament without the required quorum…

Safe Position (#1123)

Katz is doing exactly what Swedish criminalization proponents do: lying and harming women:

[After] sex worker Yang Song fell to her death [as the direct result of] an NYPD raid on [her workplace]…New York elected officials…[made their usual empty] promise[s]…Melinda Katz…assured voters that she would not prosecute sex workers, [but since she is a proponent of]…the…[evi]l Nordic Model…sex workers [knew she was lying]…Katz’s record reveals she has…continu[ed] to prosecute most of the prostitution arrests that are made…Queens continues to have the highest prostitution arrest rate in the city…and…Katz has…only declin[ed] to prosecute one case in her whole term.  She has maintained the highest rates of prosecution for prostitution…in the city…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1247)

A decent article despite the usual journalistic credulity about prohibitionist claims:

In the heat of a [prohibitionist crusade to censor the internet], Mindgeek, owner of Pornhub, [has been] acquired…by the private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners.  Pornhub…has faced intense [persecution despite]…hosting [far fewer] videos that depict…child sexual abuse [than platforms such as Facebook].  After a[rch-prohibitionist Nick Kristof provided a platform for the evidence-free claims of anti-sex worker activists], Visa and Mastercard suspended services from the site…in 2021 it took Pornhub [dramatical]ly less time to remove reported child sex abuse material…than other platforms…Pornhub responded to…notifications…from NCMEC in less than five hours on average, compared to the total average from…websites, which was [five times longer,] more than 24 hours…Out of 30 million reports of child exploitation to NCMEC in 2021, Pornhub submitted just over 9,000 reports…Ethical Capital Partners plans to support and center sex workers and sexually explicit content creators in discussions about legislation and regulation, including what payment processors like Visa and Mastercard do and don’t allow from sex workers and pornography websites…

To Molest and Rape (#1253)

Cops really believe they’re above the law:

Rick Duncan, the [typical and representative Minnesota] sheriff previously convicted of harassing and stalking an employee, is being sued by another woman…[because] he used nearly identical means to coerce her into sex around the same time…Prosecutors last year also charged Duncan in a new case with five counts of criminal sexual conduct over [rapes] dating back to 2017…Duncan fabricated evidence to [threaten the woman into submitting to rape, but made] it appear as though the [threats] were [somehow coming from an anonymous third party]…Duncan [simultaneous]ly [confused] the woman [by claiming] he would keep her safe…A federal jury last year awarded more than $1.1 million to th[e employee], who[m]…Duncan [tried to rape with similar bizarre tactics]…Duncan was also charged criminally [but merely]…sentenced to four years of probation.  At his sentencing, he [blamed his rapist behavior on members of the public being mean to poor widdle piggies]…

Thought Control (#1268)

My first profession is becoming almost as much a target for authoritarians as my second:

Local police have been called out to Texas public libraries to [forcibly censor] books…in at least five instances….Adam Steinbaugh…[of FIRE said]…“They are treating librarians as suspects. That should be concerning for everyone”…No librarians have [yet] been charged with a crime.  But in recent months Texas [politician]s have proposed a dozen bills that would change state law to make it easier to prosecute them for obscenity…

Morality Lessons (#1285) 

Once Utah passed this unconstitutional bill, it became another case of “monkey see, monkey do”:

Eight states are weighing [censorship] bills that would force phone and tablet manufacturers…to automatically enable…censor[ship software whether the customer wants that or not]…The only way to disable the [automatic censor]…would be through passcodes.  Providing such a passcode to a [legal minor] would be forbidden, except when done by a parent…Many device manufacturers already have adult content [censorship software] available for use, though it is not the norm to have them turned on by default…In recent years, some phone makers have added [more aggressive censorship software] that use[s error-prone algorithms of the type used by Facebook to censor artwork and pictures of plastic dolls] to censor individual images on certain applications.  One of these…bills was passed…in Utah but cannot go into effect unless five additional states pass similar laws — a provision included to prevent Big Tech companies from isolating the state a[s it deserves]…This year, Florida, South Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee, Iowa, Idaho, Texas and Montana [politician]s are all considering versions of the bill…

 

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!

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You’re going to kill me.  –  Lisa Edwards

Since every one of this week’s links, all provided by Cop Crisis, was just horrible, I’m sure y’all will understand if I inject some levity by way of the video.

From the Archives

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!

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Too bad.  –  Kevin Sykes, to his victim

Torture Chamber

Where “disgraced” is used to mean “accurately represented”:

Two [Florida] sheriff’s deputies are out of the job and face criminal charges after [wanton]ly pouring scalding water on [human beings trapped in cages].  Casey Howell and Enzo Finamore…[had apparently made a habit of this because beside the three victims in the current abuse,] two [other prisoners had] similar injuries and statements…Howell and Finamore [got the] hot water from a water dispenser…[which has now been] removed from the…jail wing [in order to prevent monkey see, monkey do behavior from other screws]…

If Men Were Angels

“Youth pastor”, “youth leader”…can’t y’all settle on one term for preachy molesters?

A [typical and representative] youth leader from [Utah named]…Kevin Sykes…pleaded guilty…to…sexually abusing a young boy for years, beginning when…he…was 10 years old, and giving [him]…as much as $15,000 to keep the abuse secret.  During one incident in 2019 when the boy told Sykes to stop because he did not like it, Sykes told him, “Too bad” and, “I’m paying you money not to say anything”…Sykes…[also had] pornography on his phone [with boys in that same age range]…his boss [found out and] reported…hi[m to the cops]…

No Escape

The state keeps giving men power over women, then acting surprised when the utterly predictable happens:

A Miami woman serving part of her federal prison sentence on house arrest didn’t have any [way out] when [Benito Montes de Oca Cruz, the screw] assigned to monitor her…sexual[ly assaulted her]…So, she s[ecretly recorded him groping]…her…[then forcing] her…[to disrobe and] get[ting]…on top of her.  He [forced] her [to] masturbate him…[so] she [saved his jizz]…for DNA testing and [gave it to cops along with] “two short videos”…

To Molest and Rape (Another Rapist Roundup)

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

…a…female [cop] is suing the city [of Iron Mountain, Michigan because]…she was groped, harassed, and discriminated against before she was forced to resign.  Teresa Williams…endured years of harassment and retaliation…her partner…Garth Budek…and her supervisor…Joseph Dumais…groped and sexually harassed her and…when Williams complained…her…abusers, who are also defendants in the suit, disciplined her and threatened her with further punishment, including prosecuting her, her husband, and her minor children…

Stalkers in Blue (Another Rapist Roundup)

Another cop demonstrating exactly what he is:

An Akron [Ohio cop named]…Mikel Dillon…was arrested…[for repeatedly filming an underage girl nude without her consent] for more than a year from March 29, 2021, to Dec. 11, 2022…Dillon has been [rewarded with a paid vacation]…

The Mob Rules (#1311)

Laws enabling nuisance lawsuits will keep multiplying until they’re ruled unconstitutional:

In 2013, [Arizona politician] John Kavanagh…introduced his first attempt at a “bathroom bill” that would criminalize transgender people for using restrooms that match their gender identity.  That bill was flushed away following national outrage.  A decade later, Kavanagh…has…again target[ed] the use of restrooms by transgender people in schools and [circumvents the fact that similar bills have been struck down by courts every time they’ve been enacted by empowering] individuals to sue if they [suspect they have] encounter[ed] trans people in school bathrooms…

Since “bathroom bills” largely became passé in 2019, the rapidly-metastasizing mob-rule enforcement mechanism is the real story here.

To Molest and Rape (#1316)

I suspect there are no rape charges because her remains were too far gone for evidence to survive:

A [typical and representative] Georgia [cop] has been charged with felony murder and kidnapping in the death of 16-year-old Susana Morales[.  Cops started to suspect Miles Bryant] after…a gun he had reported missing was found near her skeletal remains…Bryant…was previously [only] charged with concealing a death and falsely reporting a crime…it’s not known whether…Bryant knew [his victim]…but…he…live[s] in the…apartment…complex she had visited th[e] day [she died, and apparently accosted her when she left about 10 pm]…

 

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!

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