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Posts Tagged ‘Vermont’

I wanted them to die.  –  Marco Evaristti

As I so often do for non-superstar musicians, I’m sending Roy Ayers off with his best-known performance.  The links above the video were provided by Brooke Magnanti; Kevin Wilson and Aaron Ross PowellC.J. Ciaramella; Stephen Lemons; and T. Greg Doucette, in that order (I don’t recall who contributed the last one).

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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There is no legal mechanism…that allows [the government] to intervene while a fetus remains in somebody’s body.  –  Harrison Stark

Property of the State (#431) 

Burble burble BLUE STATE burble drool:

The Vermont Department for Children and Families went to extraordinary and illegal lengths to [abduct a newborn] from its mother…aided by a…[secret surveillance] program that monitors the pregnancies of multiple Vermonters, [provoking] a new lawsuit…[from] the…ACLU…[centering] the case of one mother, identified only as A.V., in which [bureaucratic busybodies]…used confidential medical information to [get a judge to grant permission to abduct] her daughter before she had even given birth…[including] a court order for the hospital to [violate her body by] perform[ing] a caesarean section [against her will]…DCF [abducted] the infant…immediately after she was born…only to have the child returned by court order months later…the [ordeal began when] A.V. temporarily moved from her…apartment to…a homeless shelter…[whose] executive director…[took it up on herself to report “]concerns about her mental health[” to]…DCF…[which] conducted an “assessment” of A.V…[including snooping into her] confidential [medical] records…without A.V.’s knowledge or participation…“Tragically, A.V.’s experience is not unique,” the suit reads. “She is only one of many expectant Vermonters who have been ensnared in DCF’s speculative surveillance and brazen intervention into their pregnancy and birthing plans”…

O, Canada! (#934)

Canadian cops still use long-debunked “sex trafficking” tropes to sell their grotesque sex worker intimidation tactics:

“The goal today is to save and rescue people from human trafficking,” [oinked a herd of silly pigs and sows at credulous “reporters”, before moving on to a whole lot of propaganda long past its sell-by date, including words and phrases like]…trafficking victims can…be…put on a circuit…human trafficking is…growing…“in Calgary…everywhere you look someone’s being trafficked”…“It’s the second biggest crime”…“I use a…program called Traffic Jam”…“The crown means most likely they’re being trafficked“…ALERT calls [lying to women trying to earn a living] “interventions”…They are on the lookout for a trafficker who might be waiting and watching…

These wanking fantasies are so 2012, I checked the date on the story several times.  Perhaps it fell down behind a file cabinet and when it was recently found, somebody decided to just print it anyway?

A Moral Cancer (#1249)

The government is intentionally trying to create a black market so as to start a horrific new front in the drug war:

…the Biden administration [recently] proposed a rule that would effectively ban cigarettes by requiring a drastic reduction in nicotine content…to 0.7 milligrams of nicotine per gram of tobacco.  That cap technically complies with a federal law that bars the FDA from banning tobacco products or “requiring the reduction of nicotine yields…to zero.”  But the negligible amount of nicotine allowed under the rule would amount to both in practice…current smokers would be apt to inhale more deeply, take more or bigger puffs, or consume more cigarettes to get the nicotine dose to which they are accustomed, which would increase their exposure to the toxins and carcinogens in tobacco smoke…If “NNC cigarettes” are added to the list of proscribed drugs, we can expect many more examples of people entangled in the criminal justice system…it is unclear wh[at] Trump’s pick to run the FDA, Marty Makary…thinks about the nicotine cap…

The Mob Rules (#1436)

Forced-birth fanatics are now actively attempting to empower abusive men:

As [forced-birth fanatic]s launch legal efforts to stop abortion pills from reaching women in states with bans, they are increasingly turning to one group with uniquely intimate and specific information to help them find cases: [abusive] male sex partners of women who decided to end their pregnancies.  The strategy [has] propelled a…lawsuit filed last month by [serial legal system abuser] Ken Paxton that cited first-hand information from an [abusive partner] to accuse a New York doctor of illegally providing abortion pills to a woman in the Dallas area…Paxton’s office…[i]s…searching for potential plaintiffs [for similar opportunistic lawsuits, and]…next month…Texas’s largest [forced-birth] organization [will] launch…an advertising campaign on Facebook and [Twitter] to reach the [abusive] husbands, boyfriends and sex partners of women who [want revenge on]…those who assisted the women in ending their pregnancies…The effort is the latest indication that, nearly three years after the fall of Roe v. Wade…[sociopath]s have remained largely stymied in their quest to [force women to give birth whether they like it or not so as to create more tax cattle for the State]…

Opting Out (#1438)

It was inevitable that British politicians would join the currently-fashionable “monkey see, monkey do” parade:

Websites that host porn…or other…content [bureaucrats choose to point at while belching out the word “harmful”] must have “robust” age verification in place for UK users by July at the latest, Ofcom has [proclaimed]…services which host their own pornographic content “must begin taking steps immediately” to bring in age checks.  Other “user-to-user” services, such as social media, which allow porn…and…other…content [politicians dislike], will have to enforce the age checks by July…the new [demands are] “the next step” in implementing the Online Safety Act, [but will not remotely be the last]…

Checklist (#1489)

Airlines:  do you really want to keep accepting liability for employees harassing passengers due to the government propaganda you force-feed them?

A Black [cop is suing American airlines because] he was falsely accused of trafficking his wife, who is White…while on their way to…their honeymoon…Anthony Williams…and his wife…Katsiaryna Shasholka…were on a flight from Phoenix to Miami in September 2022 when…a [busybody] passenger accused Williams of human trafficking and reported him to airline employees…wh[o]…upon landing…falsely imprisoned…the [couple]…[who are also suing] the [busybody] passenger…and two airline employees [who enacted their creepy sexual fantasies against the plaintiffs]…

I Spy (#1504)

The point of this delay is to let public outrage die down before they quietly restart the same offenses:

General Motors…and its subsidiary OnStar agreed not to disclose sensitive vehicle geolocation and driver behavior data to consumer reporting agencies for five years…[after it got out that GM] collected, used, and sold…[the] information from millions of vehicles…without notifying consumers and obtaining consent…agencies used the data to compile reports that insurance companies then…used to deny insurance and…raise rates…[as part of the settlement,] the company must [henceforth] obtain driver consent to collect data, and allow [car owners] to delete or limit data…

 

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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If you want to kick the door in…you’re more than welcome to.
–  Paige Mitchell

Above the Law

Your “leaders” at work:

A [North Carolina politician named]…Richard Braswell…[has been] sentenced to…prison…[for] 20 to 33 months and [condemned] to [the]…sex offender [registry] for 30 years…[because] in April 2022…[he molest]ed a 13-year-old girl…Divorce records filed by Braswell’s wife said…he…“took the victim and her brother with him to work under the pretense of having them do some work for him, then sent the victim’s brother on an errand”…

The Cop Myth (#1306)

Sleeping with cops isn’t safe for men, either:

…three Elyria [Ohio cops] stormed a man’s home, tased and arrested him without [cause or] warrant on May 11, 2023…Raul Ortiz…[was attacked by his cop] ex-girlfriend, Brittany Warner, [with two other thugs and permission from senior sow Paige Mitchell.  The gang] kick[ed] down Ortiz’s front door[, supposedly] to retrieve [Warner’s] belongings…though she no longer lived [there]…then tased, arrested and charged Ortiz with five felonies, all of which were later dropped…[politicians] wrote that [Mitchell’s okaying this]…“defied common sense”…but [she was only given a slap on the wrist.  Henchthug]…Colty Hersh [was given an even milder love tap, and]…the third [thug] involved, Chris Lewis, was [not even given a stern lecture.  Boss Hog]…William Pelko didn’t [even deign to notice his pigs’] actions until…a year after the [crime was committ]ed, just eight days after [local news] first reported it…Ortiz has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Elyria, [the cop shop] and each [offending cop]…

When Ambulance-Chasers Run the Hospitals (#1444)

The claims in these nuisance lawsuits are increasingly absurd:

More than a dozen states are filing lawsuits…accusing TikTok of harming the well-being of children by using [magically-]addictive product features that keep them [spellbound] on the platform, in a [moronic] salvo that amplifies the company’s legal perils as it tries to stave off a federal ban.  Attorneys general from 13 states and the District of Columbia are a[bus]ing…local consumer protection laws by [ascrib]ing [supernatural powers] to [a program], exposing young users to mental and physical risk…The complaints represent the second multistate attempt to [loot] a major social media company…[using spurious] claims they are contributing to a youth mental health crisis in the United States [which is actually caused by government-encouraged intrusive surveillance and infantilization of young adults], following a flurry of similar lawsuits against Facebook…last year…California AG Rob Bonta…is co-leading the [witch hunt] alongside…New York AG Letitia James, [claiming]…that TikTok [vampirical]ly designed the app to “feed on young users”…[the rest of the nitwit parade consists of] Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington…

The Punitive Mindset (#1457) 

Modern attorneys general are vile even by the low standards of politicians:

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and 13 other [fascist] attorneys general [have] filed a petition…asking a federal court to block new rules that reduce the cost of phone and video calls with people in prisons and jails…The [politicians object to] new rules…prohibit[ing] telecommunications companies from paying commissions or kick-backs to jails and prisons…and [to] long-term benefits that include lower risks of reoffending and an increased likelihood of successful re-entry…[which would reduce the] prison…[popula]tion…[they also object to] prisons and jails [being less able to bleed needy families to increase their profits]…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1467)

Politicians and bureaucrats are empowered to force stupidity on others:

Every morning, before opening the mail, Tulsa County Election Board employees Kerry Martin and Taylor Gutierrez put on N95 masks, face shields, medical smocks and surgical gloves…[because] Election Board Secretary Gwen Freeman [is a yokel who believes copaganda about]…election boards across the country receiving mail containing fentanyl…“one piece of mail that was sent to the state Election Board in Oklahoma City…included a multi-page document and…flour…[causing] Freeman [to absurdly belch out “]dangerous substances[“] …“It’s unfortunate that we live in a society [where idiots] have [the power to force us] to do this kind of stuff,” Martin said…

The Cop Myth (#1477)

If he’d been wearing his magical clown costume, this would’ve gone very differently for his victim:

A homeowner shot and killed an…Atlanta [cop] who…broke into his home…around 5 a.m. [without a magic scroll of permission]…Aubree Horton…was…recently [named] “Investigator of the Year” at the [cop shop]’s annual [self-aggrandization] breakfast…[fellow cops excuse]ed Horton [as] “experiencing a mental health episode or under the influence of narcotics”…[when he was] shot [by his intended victim] in self-defense…

Torture Chamber (#1480)

Your “leaders” call this “correction”, but “journalists” shouldn’t parrot them:

[Screw]s routinely lock severely mentally ill men in [cages] on Rikers Island for weeks and even months in [flagrant] violation of city law, [according to] a jail social worker who [finally developed enough backbone to quit] three weeks ago…

 

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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The government has such loose standards that they let people weaponize them.  –  J.D. Lott

Torture Chamber (Chamber of Horrors)

The State tortures thousands of people for crossing an imaginary line:

For years, federal investigators…immigrants, and advocates have called for ICE to shutter the Winn [Migrant Torture] Center…[due to rampant] abuse, mismanagement, and inhumane conditions, [yet] in May, the Biden administration temporarily extended the facility’s contract…and..ICE will likely extend it again for five more years…During…a…protest [in January the prison sent in a goon squad]…dressed in black riot gear…who…began deploying canisters of pepper spray without warning…[while yelling] “Shut up motherfuckers!” [at] the[ir victims]…then [swarm]ed through…[the dungeon, pepper-]spraying detainees in the face…they…then exited the [scene of their crime], locked the doors and windows, and cut power and water.  For three hours or so, the immigrants…were denied medical care, aside from a few individuals who had [been beaten unconscious by the thug gang]…

A Broker in Pillage (#1373)

These evil schemes need to be completely shut down as unconstitutional:

Detroit police can no longer s[teal] cars through civil asset forfeiture unless they can show that the car was used for trafficking drugs…the Michigan Supreme Court ruled…that…it is not enough to merely claim that a car was near a suspected drug crime or that a passenger possessed drugs for personal use…The ruling is the second recent court decision limiting the asset forfeiture powers of Wayne County, which encompasses Detroit, and the second one specifically involving [Stephanie] Wilson’s Saturn Ion…[which cops stole] in 2019 because she gave rides to her daughter’s father to or from a residence [cops had pointed at while oinking “]drug activity[“, but]…Wilson was never cited, arrested, or charged with a crime…Wayne County s[tole] over 2,600 vehicles  between 2017 and 2019 and raked in over $1.2 million in [ransom] revenues…

You Were Warned (#1383)

Politicians no longer care about whether their new diktats are Constitutional:

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer…[is about to] force a vote…on…KOSA…a[n internet-censorship bill which invents]…a “duty of care” for a huge swath of digital companies…to protect minors from exposure to anything that [politicians decide is a]…”harm”…The only way to “prevent and mitigate” services from contributing to these [politically-designated “]harms[“] is for companies to either drastically censor every user’s speech or to block minors from using [thei]r service, which means checking IDs for everyone.  Even if used in the most neutral and narrow of ways possible, the potential disruption of free speech and anonymity online is cataclysmic.  And…the political appointees at the Federal Trade Commission…will wind up…[using] KOSA to further specific political agendas—including crusades against abortion, LGBTQ rights, second-amendment rights, sex worker rights, big businesses, language that progressives deem disrespectful, and sexuality broadly…

Unsafe for Human Consumption (#1388)

Cops won’t drop this fantasy until “news” media stop obediently parroting it:

A…[whiny-baby cop in] Southport [Indiana had a panic attack while harassing a motorist]…Tony Wilson…[was root]ing [through his victim’s] car…[and saw] a dollar bill [with traces of white powder]…he [fantasized] was fentanyl…he [was so terrified he pissed himself]…and [then fainted]…his bosses [used the non-event as an excuse for swaggering and oinking out a lot of hysterical self-aggrandizing nonsense]…

Without Let or Hindrance (#1392)

Calling “child protection” on people is merely a quieter form of “swatting”:

J.D. Lott…his wife Britney…[and] their eight kids…[were] three years into a cross-country, home-schooling, Instagram-documented road trip in a bus they refashioned into an RV…wh[en]…online trolls…[decided] to weaponize child protective services…a group, FundieSnarkUncensored, that makes fun of people it believes are Christian Fundamentalists…had been…armchair diagnosing…the[ir] healthy newborn [Boone, claiming he] had “severe sunburn,” “was lethargic,” and had “jaundice”…they used a…video the Lotts had posted from their Florida campground stay to geolocate the[m]…then…called the local Florida DCF office and repeated, verbatim, the accusations…the [agency] decided t[o destroy their lives and]…threatened to issue a nationwide order to [abduct all of their] kids…Lott called the Family Freedom Project…a Texas nonprofit that helps families wrongly accused of abuse by child services…the FFP…found a…[lawyer and] a…[non-government] doctor…to have [a] child welfare evaluation…As soon as the Lotts pulled into the parking lot, a cop car pulled in behind them, lights flashing…the [doctor] took a look at baby Boone and determined that he did not have jaundice, severe sunburn, or lethargy.  The other seven children were examined and found to be in good health as well.  The doctor informed the family that the cops would not be [abduct]ing the kids…But when the state threatens to take away your kids, it’s not exactly no harm, no foul, sorry for the inconvenience.  The experience still gives some of the kids nightmares…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1447)

Everyone abused by cops using this error-prone surveillance system needs to sue:

In 2020, Robert Williams was wrongfully arrested after facial recognition software incorrectly identified him as the person responsible for a 2018 shoplifting spree.  Detroit, Michigan, police jailed Williams for more than 30 hours—even after it became clear that he was not responsible…Williams ultimately sued.  Last month, the case was settled, with Williams set to receive a $300,000 payout for his wrongful arrest…Donald Bussa, [the pig] who conducted the investigation, relied almost exclusively on the facial recognition software, not even looking into Williams’ whereabouts at the time of the crime…or interviewing [store] employees who were [actually present]…After Williams was arrested…he was held for hours before being interviewed…[and] once he was…the case against him quickly unraveled…[but] even after police [admitt]ed they had the wrong person, Williams still wasn’t released for another eight hours.  It took nearly two weeks for the charges against him to be dropped…

To Molest and Rape (#1457)

“Lewd and lascivious conduct” sounds so much nicer than “raping a 10-year-old”:

A [typical and representative] Vermont [cop named Todd Chisholm] has been [let off with a mere] 30 days in prison a[fter making a sweetheart] plea [deal] in which he pleaded guilty to lewd and lascivious conduct…[after repeatedly raping his girlfriend’s 10-year-old daughter starting] in…2003…Chisholm…[also has] 6 years of probation…[but] if [he hadn’t been a cop], Chisholm could have been facing life in prison…

 

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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A person is not more dangerous…based on the amount of bong water that person possesses.  –  Minnesota Supreme Court

This week’s video is only 44 seconds long, but as it’s one of my favorite moments from ’60s television, it was too good to pass up.  The links above it were provided by Franklin Harris, Mike Siegel, Phoenix Calida, Nun Ya, IncarcerNation (x2), and Franklin Harris again, in that order.

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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Ron…[DeSantis’] obsession with [LGBT people] has always been about politics and power, not policy or medical facts.  –  Nikki Fried

Surplus Women

Your “leaders” work hard to ensure this happens more often:

A man who murdered a woman and attempted to cover his tracks by burning her body has been jailed for at least 20 years.  Robert Brown…killed [a sex worker named] Victoria Greenwood…[after luring her to] his flat in the early hours of Friday, 10 November [under pretense of hiring her for outcall].  CCTV footage showed her on the ground outside trying to escape, but being pulled back inside the property…A pathologist found that Ms Greenwood had suffered skull fractures suggesting she had been hit by a heavy, blunt object.  There was no evidence she had inhaled fire fumes, which indicated she was dead at the time her body was set on fire…

Panopticon (#1150)

Too few states have held this, because the spying is too convenient for cops:

In March, the Alaska Supreme Court held in State v. McKelvey that the Alaska Constitution required [cops] to obtain a warrant before photographing a private backyard from an aircraft…the government…[absurdly argued that] the surveillance [was OK because it was undetected].  In response…the Court observed that…“if the surveillance technique cannot be detected, then one can never fully protect against being surveilled”…the Court added pointedly, “the rise of drones has the potential to…[make such surveillance far more comm]on“…With this decision, Alaska joins California, Hawaii, and Vermont in finding that warrantless aerial surveillance violates the…constitutional prohibition of unreasonable search and seizure…

Creepy Coppers

One of the people the government empowers to police your sexuality:  “A [typical and representative Georgia screw named Steven Bunte] has been arrested…[by the] fed[s]…for…[child] pornography

The Vultures Descend (#1333)

Ruling thus on standing doesn’t actually mean a great deal:

 The Supreme Court…unanimously preserved access to [mifepristone because]…opponents lacked [standing] to sue over the…[FDA]’s approval of the medication…But the high court is separately considering another abortion case, about whether a federal law on emergency treatment at hospitals overrides state abortion bans in…emergency cases [where] a pregnant patient’s health is at serious risk…

The Last Shall Be First (#1350) 

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

Florida’s ban on puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy for transgender minors and restrictions for adults are both unconstitutional…U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle…sided with the plaintiffs in the class action…because [the law] solely targeted transgender people…[receiving] “medications routinely provided to others with the state’s full approval so long as the purpose is not to support the patient’s transgender identity”…

If Men Were Angels (#1439)

Religion is often used an excuse for molestation, even when the molesters aren’t actual preachers:

A…high school coach in Texas…told [cop]s that it’s “God’s divine plan” for him to continue [molesting] a 15-year-old student [he seduced]…Cole Underwood [was reported by the school]…superintendent…[after] surveillance video showed Underwood meeting the [girl] alone after hours despite being told not to be alone…with her[.  She told cops he molested her] in his office more than 10 times between February and May…

Shifting the Blame (#1445)

And yet, they’re still not implicating cops that we know were Heuermann’s buddies:

John Ray, an attorney who represents the families of some of the Gilgo Beach murder victims, spoke to reporters on ‘evidence’ he says could implicate family members of Rex Heuermann including his 27-year-old daughter, Victoria.  Ray accused the alleged serial killer’s daughter of posting disturbing images to social media.  “This appears to be the remains of a human being that looks half-eaten,” Ray said, pointing to photographs…found on her Tumblr blog via a link from her LinkedIn page…it “appears that she [has] erased all of her [other] sites…We can infer from this…that this girl was made over the course of years, somehow, to become accustomed to liking what you see here”…

 

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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He was in his bedroom asleep and you go in shooting.  –  Michael Monroe

A recent thread on BlueSky reminded me of this song, which I liked very much as a kid.  Carl Douglas actually had a number of songs which described movies he had seen; another of them was “Witchfinder General”, which I shared back in January of ’17.  The links above the video were provided by Mark Draughn, Scott Greenfield, Radley Balko, IncarcerNation (x2), and Billy Binion, in that order.

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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They just shot him down like a dog.  –  Bonnie Pigram

Mojo Nixon has gone to be with Elvis, but since I already featured his masterpiece in October ’21, please enjoy this one instead.  The links above it were provided by Jesse Walker, IncarcerNation, Phoenix Calida (x2), Franklin Harris, Walter Olson, and IncarcerNation again, in that order.

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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You would think…the government would want to encourage a substance that helps people to quit smoking rather than discourage its use.
–  Kyle Kutasi

The Face of Trafficking

Note that cases of actual coercion don’t look much like the myths:

Three [Missouri] men kept a student from India in a locked [basement] and forced him to work, do chores and endure severe beatings over the course of several months…Venkatesh R. Sattaru was charged with human trafficking, kidnapping and other charges after…forc[ing] a 20-year-old college student who moved to the U.S. last year to work for Sattaru’s company and sleep…on an unfinished floor without access to food, water or a bathroom…Sravanvarma Penumetcha and Nikhil V. Penmatsa…helped Sattaru further the abuse by issuing beatings and lashings with electrical wire, PVC pipe, metal rods, wooden boards, sticks and [plastic] hoses…a neighbor…called [the cops after]…the…student…ran out of the house…trembling uncontrollably, heavily scarred and suffering from bruises and swelling all over his body… Sattaru is a wealthy, powerful man in India with political…connections…and [cop friends, so the victim] feared that he would be killed if he identified Sattaru…

Dutch Threat (#1005)

Though cloaked in “helping” language, this is actually just a way for the Dutch government to establish more effective financial surveillance over sex workers:

Dutch banks want to make it easier for sex workers to open a business bank account…Sex workers often encounter problems with business bank accounts because they work a lot with cash, making it difficult for b[usybodie]s to know where the money comes from.  It is also difficult for banks to determine the sector’s typical income and expenditures, which complicates [pry]ing [into their financial affairs]…the banks [have] set up a new Sector Standard, which specifies that banks can use sex workers’ tax returns to determine where their income comes from and what is typical for them…

Creepy Coppers

Cops of all types love their child porn:

A [typical and representative Vermont screw named]…Benjamin Mallery…pleaded guilty to [a minor charge]…under a plea deal [to avoid a series of child porn charges.  Unlike non-cops, Mallery will skate] with…a…[mere] 60 days — with 10 years of probation…and…[condemnation] to [the]…sex offender [registry]…

Typical and representative cop Blake Gruny of St. Johns County Florida was arrested for child porn in early October, and typical and representative cop Jordan Collins of Elgin, Illinois was charged for the same thing on December 6; both stories consist mainly of their bosses strutting around, vomiting bombastic rhetoric about how these typical and representative predators are neither typical nor representative.

You Were Warned (#1341)

Politicians no longer bother to consider whether their new diktats are Constitutional:

A TikTok ban in Montana is likely unconstitutional, a federal judge [has] ruled…Judge Donald Molloy…issued a temporary halt to enforcing the ban.  It was scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2024, and [politicians with dollar signs in their eyes imagined they would collect]…$10,000 penalties per day for app stores or TikTok “each time that a user accesses TikTok, is offered the ability to access TikTok, or is offered the ability to download TikTok”…

A Moral Cancer (#1374)

A dangerous new front in the Drug War claims its first victim:

A[n Australian] man has been charged with possessing liquid nicotine despite Health Minister Mark Butler [ly]ing [that] smokers will not be personally targeted [by cops due to] vape cr[iminalizatio]n.  Trinite Williams…pleaded not guilty…after [cops found it while rooting through] his car on October 8 [in order to find something to charge him with]…Mr Williams’ lawyer Kyle Kutasi [said] his client was “extremely frustrated” because he [was foolish enough to actually] believe…a [politician’s lies]…

Stalkers in Blue (#1386)

Cops are sexual predators who often specifically target traumatized women:

A Surrey [BC] RCMP [cop] abused his power to search police databases for information on a troubled 19-year-old sex worker…then appeared at [her] home under false pretences to [try to maneuver her into] sex…Peter Leckie knew the young woman had recently experienced the murder of her father, a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and entry into the sex trade…[this is not the first time] Leckie…specifically targeted [vulnerable] women…[yet he was let off with] six months of house arrest and…a year of probation…

The Widening Gyre (#1388)

Poor “sex traffickers” have apparently been forced to give up their ambitious schemes to abduct women and children from big-box stores such as Target and Ikea, and instead to pathetically lurking in strip-mall parking lots.  While they could once afford to lure them with roseshoney, or $100 bills, they’ve now been reduced to attempting to trick them with empty candy wrappers.  And while one of these dopey Twitter posts once attracted thousands of “likes”, I’ve never seen as much mockery as this one drew.  So scary!

 

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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Seniors are living longer and are more active…thi[s]…can pose greater risk.  –  “Analysts”

I really enjoy good song parodies, and I think Remy’s are some of the best ones out there these days.  The links above the video were provided by Stephen Lemons, Mike Siegel (x2), Scott Greenfield, SWOP-USA, Jesse Walker, and Nun Ya, in that order.

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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