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Posts Tagged ‘Wisconsin’

ICE is the worst of the worst.  –  Peter Moskowitz

Buried Truth

A textbook example of McNeill’s Law:

A Florida [politici]an from Donald Trump’s home district could potentially face the death penalty under a law he had championed as a state legislator.  Mike Caruso…[one] of Gov. Ron DeSantis[‘ gang], [has been]…arrested for…molesting his [toddler] grandson…on…at…le[ast]…three separate [occasions]…Caruso was previously accused of child sexual abuse [several times], but [always managed to get away with it before]…

The Cop Myth (#1602)

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

A [Florida cop murdered] his [ex-]girlfriend and then [killed] himself…Troy Savetz…was [lurking at his victims’s] house [when she return from an outing with her two children].  He [accosted her] and…[when she] tried to call 911, [he stole her] phone…She then told her children to go in the house and call 911…Savetz…the[n abducted the woman] and to[ok her about]…6 miles [away, where he shot her]…

Above the Law (#1605)

The 100% predictable outcome of handing this kind of power to thugs:

A new report by the Ohio Immigrant Alliance…re[veals]…a [predictable] level of sexual criminal behavior within ICE and CBP.  Out of 152 cases of identified [goons] accused or convicted of criminal behavior, 131 of them, or 86.2 percent, were charged with sex offenses.  Seventy-eight of them—51 percent of the entire cohort—”committed sex offenses against children—the single largest category on the list”…these are just the [goons] known to be…[sex] crim[inals].  Indictments are rare…

Panopticon (#1642)

This will never stop without aggressive resistance:

The [Trump regime]…has [install]ed Flock cameras…at [national] parks including…Yosemite…and…rangers are not happy about it…“Surveillance is a disrespectful invasion of privacy”…[said one]…Another…said…“Every American should be free to visit our national parks without…being…tracked by the federal government”…

Panopticon (#1658)

Do you feel safe yet?

…Flock S[urveillance] has [lied] for years that its technology “cannot recognize, identify, or track individuals.”  It has now built a system that…can identify drivers and track vehicles by their patterns of movement alone…the tool can pick out potential witnesses by how often their cars pass through a neighborhood, or surface a driver’s “associates” from the cameras they [both] pass…the system also reaches police case files, 911 dispatch logs, and commercial identity records, [so] those plates can be turned into names, home addresses, and relatives.  It can search for people in an area drawn on a map based on nothing more than a physical description…and [return]…arrest records, case files…Social Security numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, relatives and associates…One prompt Flock pre-loaded into the system reads: “Find me witnesses based on vehicles most seen in [neighborhood] during [last 14 days] during [daily timeframe]…Another prompt instructs the system to list everyone arrested more than twice in two years for “any offense”…and then…map where those people live…

Stalkers in Blue (#1660)

Cops will abuse warrantless surveillance for as long as it exists:

A [Polk County Florida cop named]…Christopher Anthony Goodson…was arrested on Aug. 11…[for using the Flock surveillance system to stalk his estranged wife 717 times in two years, and] was [rewarded with a] paid [vacation]…Goodson[‘s]…supervisor [had no clue about his behavior until the victim was]…contacted by The Washington Post, which…[had discovered the flagrant ab]use [while preparing a story]…Goodson [tried to excuse] his [crime by characterizing it as “]keep[ing] track of his children’s location when they were with her”…[but he tried to cover it up by inputting bogus] reasons for his searches, [accus]ing [her of] road rage and reckless driving, drug possession, traffic infractions, theft, fleeing police, and assault-battery offenses…other recent incidents [of Flock abuse include] a…Massachusetts…[cop named Jason Rogers stalking the ex-girlfriend he had abused, and a]…Wisconsin [cop named Cristian Morales stalking his then-current girlfriend]…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1660)

These things are designed to appeal to the dregs of humanity:

a…large number…of videos [have been] recorded at middle and high schools using [perve]rt glasses — almost always [Mark Zuckerberg]’s [Pervert] Glasses™, d[isguised as ordinary]…Ray-Ban [glasses] — and shared to…TikTok and Instagram…Much of the behavior on display is plainly harassment and bullying, often filmed without the subjects’ knowledge or consent and uploaded online to humiliate them further.  [Predictab]ly, every single one…[was] captured by teen boys — and their bad behavior was overwhelmingly directed at girls…[Unfortunately, even though] schools aren’t exactly public spaces…[and] several states…have two-party consent laws…[the schools themselves and the police state they serve have set a bad precedent by spying on students both in classrooms and out for years]…

 

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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Before today, I cannot think of a single time when a Bing search result was more valuable than the Google equivalent.  –  Russell Brandom

When I saw this essay from C.J. Ciaramella two months ago, I was immediately reminded of a different Australian nun who was also an early ’70s pop star, because this one got very heavy play on New Orleans Top 40 stations in 1974; it also made its way into the guitar masses which were popular at the time.  The links above the video were provided by Mike Siegel, Ryan Marino, Walter Olson, Violet Blue, and IncarcerNation (x2), 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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Without the constitutional safeguard of a warrant requirement, [cops] predictably…abuse their access to [surveillance] systems for things like stalking [women].  –  Michael Soyfer

Don’t Call It Trafficking (#1463)

A baby step toward eradicating the noxious “troubled teen” industry:

Ron Wyden [has], introduced a Senate bill, the BRIDGES for Kids Act, to better regulate residential treatment centers – closing loopholes that have allowed for the abuse of vulnerable youth…follow[ing a two-year investigation] by the Senate Finance Committee…which…found that abuse, neglect and acute safety concerns…are “endemic” to the [“troubled teen” industry]…the Department of Health and Human Services would create a national public dashboard that would compile and publicly report on data like how often [victims] are restrained…secluded[, injured, or killed]…and…states would be required to look into significant complaints within two days…The bill would also no longer allow privately accredited facilities in 21 states to skip some licensing…and…would invest in community-centered alternatives, increasing federal support for…[young people] in the [foster] system placed with kin…

Welcome to the Future (#1540)

No information entered into an internet-connected device is actually private:

…therapy sessions on the telehealth platform Talkspace are…record[ed] and store[d to create]…“one of the largest mental health data banks in the world,” containing 140 million message exchanges.  The end goal: training a soon-to-be-released [pseudo-]therapy [chat]bot…In a traditional therapy session, therapists might scribble only a few sentences recording a patient’s progress…by creating a transcript of the exact back-and-forth of a digital therapy session, Talkspace has created a new [way for the State and other malefactors]…to [invade] people’s private lives…Talkspace executives [pretend to] investors [that] data is anonymized, but [don’t tell them] such anonymity can [easily] be broken…by…court order…[while] in a[n ethic]al therapy session that wouldn’t be true…Talkspace executives e[ven lie]…that the company is compliant with…HIPAA…[which] the Electronic Frontier Foundation [points out was]…not [an actual protection even before the Trump regime started its data grab]…In 2022…Talkspace [was forced to admit to the US Senate]…that…the company [allows some] data [to be] used for ads.  [It has also]…shar[ed the] personal information of New York City teens with Facebook, Amazon…Google, and Microsoft via website trackers…Talkspace [hides all this in convoluted language embedded deep in the fine print of] the company’s privacy policy

Shame, Shame (#1570)

Remember when ninnies thought realistic porn cartoons were the worst use for this technology?

Last week, Taylor Swift filed a trio of trademark applications to protect her image and voice…[because] deepfakes [of her] continue to proliferate across social media…Swift and other stars have recently had their likenesses used in scammy advertisements…a cluster of sponsored videos on TikTok…appear…to show Swift, Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, and others promoting…fraud…[and] mal[ware designed]…to…[capture] the…[marks’] personal information…the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America [has] sued [Facebook for lying]…about its [supposed] efforts to crack down on scam ads…[while actually] profit[ing] by allowing them to proliferate…social media scams have surged overall, with Facebook scams accounting for the highest total of financial losses…

Crippling Thought (#1604)

Scenes from the early days of a dark age:

Academic freedom continues to decline globally, with a marked fall in the US, according to the 2026 update to the Academic Freedom Index…academic freedom has slipped in 50 countries, with just nine [including Bangladesh, Syria, Thailand and Uzbekistan] registering improvement…[those in decline include] the UK…Portugal, Germany, Austria, Italy and Greece…the United States [in particular] has experienced a remarkably sharp drop…compared to other countries in Western Europe and North America…beg[inning] in 2020 and intensif[ying] last year, driven by…attacks by the Trump [regime against] faculty members, staff and students…The pressure on universities and research institutes in the US was more dramatic than in other countries such as Hungary, India and Turkey, where institutional autonomy declined more gradually…

Stalkers in Blue (#1611)

With warrantless surveillance, no woman is safe from cops:

[Cops] across the US are [predictably] using automated license plate readers…to stalk [sexual prey]…there are already 14 cases across the country where cops…abused ALPR access to follow spousesexes, and even complete strangers…with the majority of the…cases coming after 2024…when…Flock S[urveillance] initiated a massive expansion into over 4,000 US cities…In Milwaukee, for example, a…[typical and representative cop]…named Josue Ayala resigned after…using Flock to track his…[girlfriend and her] ex, almost 180 times over just two months.  The two victims only became aware they were being stalked [by using]…HaveIBeenFlocked.com…Flock [now infests] over 6,000 cities across the US, with over 76,000 license plate readers and counting…[so] the number of active ALRP abuse cases…is [undoubtedly very high]…

Walled Garden (#1619)

Western nations are competing to out-China China:

The Greek government is pressing ahead with a [scheme] to [attempt to] ban anonymity on social media, aiming to curb [criticism of politicians, which they slander as “]hate speech[“.  But because Greek pigs and spooks have]…attempted – unsuccessfully – to identify users who [say things politicians don’t like]…the…[government wants to] find a way to require platforms to verify the identity of [people who post via] accounts…[belch]ing…the [meaningless catchphrase “]real person[” as part of a song-and-dance intended to transfer blame for government-mandated surveillance]…to…platforms…[while absurdly characterizing inflicting violence on people for their ideas as “]safeguarding democracy[“]…

Once this falls flat on its face, they’ll next try to criminalize VPNs.

Mad Libs (#1628)

Do I really need to say, “Don’t give your credit card to a fucking chatbot”?

…there are enough digital security problems out there…with[out so-called “]agentic AI[“, meaning chatbots which can fuck up idiots’ lives directly instead of merely urging them to do so.  But]…now…the authentication-focused industry association known as the FIDO Alliance [has] said…it will launch a pair of working groups to develop industry standards for validating and protecting payments and other transactions carried out by [chatbo]ts.  The goal is to pro[tect people stupid enough to give a chatbot access to their finances from obvious perils such as]…phish[ing or losing control of the chatbot to hackers]…The standards would…include cryptographic tools that digital services could use to confirm [chatbo]ts are accurately and legitimately carrying out an authenticated person’s instructions, as well as [data harvest]ing frameworks to give users, merchants, and other service providers the ability to validate transactions…initiated by [chatbo]ts…

Why are so many modern journalists so bad at pronoun usage, especially the second-person pronoun?  Because I guarantee you that no chatbot will ever “be buying…stuff for” me, “soon” or otherwise.  But I guess that’s too much to ask of some kid who thinks $100 is a reasonable price for fucking sneakers.

 

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 political incentive to vote for anything labeled “child protection” is enormous.  –  Juan Vasquez

Surplus Women

Most of the victims of serial killers are typically sex workers:

Prosecutors have charged a man [responsible for] some of the deaths linked to the “Texas Killing Fields“, an area near Houston where the bodies of dozens of women were found beginning in the 1970s…the bodies of more than 30 women were found there…[over the years, probably from] multiple perpetrators…[but] James Dolphs Elmore Jr….[has been indicted for the murders] of 16-year-old Laura Miller and 30-year-old Audrey Cook, whose bodies were found…in 1986…prosecutors [were] also…seeking indictments against Clyde Hedrick…Elmore’s longtime friend.  But…Hedrick died by suicide last month before the grand jury came back with a decision…

The Puritan Recrudescence (#1503)

Puritans consider damage to women’s livelihoods a feature of their censorship schemes:

…Nearly 50 percent of the U.S. population now lives in states with age verification laws that target adult content on the internet.  These laws [not only] restrict freedom of expression for adult consumers, but [also] are proving even more costly for the people who actually work in…adult entertainment…Over 45 percent of sex workers have seen a noticeable drop in their income…[and] nearly 98 percent of [them]…attribute at least some of this to the “war on porn,” which includes age verification laws.  The average income for an online sex worker…clocks in around $58,700 annually—but 38 percent…report making only between $10,000 and $40,000 annually.  More than half…have income from outside of the adult industry, while about 35 percent are solely dependent on adult work…so when it comes to age verification laws, clearly much more is at stake than the freedom of the consumer…

Mad Libs (#1586)

Microsoft admits its chatbot is merely an error-prone toy:

An update to [Microsoft’s] Terms of Use document for Copilot on October 24, 2025 [states]:  “Copilot is for entertainment purposes only.  It can make mistakes, and it may not work as intended.  Don’t rely on Copilot for important advice.  Use Copilot at your own risk”…[unfortunately,] a…[dis]couraging statement from an anonymous Microsoft spokesperson [says] the disclaimer…will be altered [to something less honest] with [the] next update…

I Spy (#1590)

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

…Ron Wyden [and five other politicians] sent a letter to [Trumpist henchwoman] Tulsi Gabbard, [saying]…“We…urge you to let the American people know what, if any, impact the use of commercial…VPN…services can have on their privacy rights against warrantless surveillance”…since the [politicians] have access to classified intelligence, they may have seen evidence that…VPN providers…might [already] be a target for the…NSA[, which] can conduct [surveillance] …through the controversial [FISA] Section 702…which allows…warrantless surveillance of [any] US persons…communicati[ng with any entity outside] the US[, including VPN companies]…

To Molest and Rape (#1606)

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

Washington County [Utah has] agreed to [reward typical and representative] Sheriff Nate Brooksby [with] $100,000…after he abruptly resigned following [his repeated] sexual harassment …[of female staff and at least one] deputy’s wife…Brooksby [also] interfered in an investigation into Jeff Johnson, [his pet] deputy…[who] was charged with…[stalking people via] criminal investigation records…Brooksby [claimed his victims wanted it but also]…offered his resignation [in exchange for a payout]…

Part of the Picture (#1610)

Puritanware has a long history of security issues:

At least three people warned Quittr, an app that [claims it can] help men stop masturbating, about serious security issues for months, but the creators of the app didn’t fix them until weeks after 404 Media reached out for comment multiple times [and courteously refrained from naming it until it was fixed]…Quittr’s founder, Alex Slater…[didn’t bother fixing his product because he was too busy living] the opulent lifestyle the success of Quittr has afforded [him], including driving exotic super cars and living in a Miami mansion…

Walled Garden (#1619)

A politician who cares about civil rights is a rare bird these days:

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers [has] vetoed an age verification bill…cit[ing] First Amendment problems and the practical impossibility of implementing age-gating systems without creating new privacy risks for every adult forced to hand over identification just to browse the internet…the age verification bills proliferating across state legislatures share a common DNA — and much of it traces back to lobbying efforts by large technology companies and third-party identity verification vendors who stand to profit enormously from mandatory compliance regimes…who[se]…burden…falls disproportionately on smaller operators while giving large platforms — which already collect vast amounts of user data — a structural advantage…age verification mandates are functionally a surveillance infrastructure project dressed up as child protection

 

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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Only Stalin and North Korea’s Kim dynasty have ever reached this level of absurdity.  –  Nina L. Khrushcheva

There aren’t many seasonal videos any more, but once in a while it’s possible to stumble upon a good one.  The links above the video were provided by Nun Ya, Charles Hill, David Ley, Mike Masnick (x2), and Franklin Harris, 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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Online age verification is not just a major invasion of privacy, but a potential bonanza for cybercriminals.  –  Attila Tomaschek

If Men Were Angels

“Pastor” + teacher = “youth pastor”:

Fort Collins [Colorado cops] have arrested Matthew McGinley…[a typical and representative] pastor and teacher [for grooming and molesting]…a…student…for more than one year…[starting in] the 2018-2019 school year…and…continu[ing]…until the victim cut off communication [in 2020]…McGinley [later confessed] to…a church leader…

Do As I Say, Not As I Do (#1548)

Boss hog tries the same bullshit with cops that cops routinely feed the media:

…[A Massachusetts boss hog named] Michael Alibozek…was…[rewarded with a paid vacation after offering money to a sow fantasy role-play]ing online [as a sex worker.  In order to get higher charges and negatively influence the judge, the sow]…arranged for a meet-up [in a]…school parking lot…Alibozek [absurdly claimed] that he “went on a website to try to get girls off the street…He meets with them, talks with them, and attempts to set them straight”…

Walled Garden (#1570)

Western nations are competing to out-China China:

Under the pretense of protecting minors and preserving morals, [politicians] in the United States and the United Kingdom are putting the privacy of millions of citizens at risk.  Age verification bills…[have metastasized] across much of the US since 2022…but…the latest proposals from [wannabe cens]ors in Wisconsin and Michigan take aim not just at access to adult content, but at virtual private networks as well…internet users have been turning to VPNs to make it appear as though their connection is originating from a different location, effectively bypassing [surveillance laws]…As a result, VPN use has skyrocketed, which is a boon for VPN providers, but…free VPNs [can hide]…malware [that will]…log their internet activity or misuse their personal data…Online age verification is not just a major invasion of privacy, but a potential bonanza for cybercriminals.  With millions of internet users uploading images of their faces alongside their government-issued IDs…age verification companies have become extremely attractive targets for hackers…[regardless of politicians’ empty] promises to keep data safe

Buried Truth (#1581)

No, this is a different pro-censorship Michigan politician caught on hookup sites:

The name, email address, and home address of [Michigan politician] Bryan Posthumus…along with a credit card bearing his name, appear in data from Ashley Madison…AdultFriendFinder and Fling.com…Posthumus used [“family values”, anti-LGBT, anti-abortion, and associated buzzwords to drive his political career, but]…his…Fling.com…lists top interests as “fetish,” “group sex,” and…an interest in men, women, or couples….

Dangerous Speech (#1583)

The only thing they “regret” is not getting away with this:

The county [whose sheriff illegally raided] a small-town Kansas newspaper…in 2023 will pay a cumulative $3 million to three journalists and a city councilor…the…Sheriff’s Office also crafted a statement [pretend]ing regret…the…agreements [cover] Eric Meyer, the owner and editor of the Marion County Record…Ruth Herbel, the [politician] whose home was raided in tandem with the newspaper office, and two other journalists. The agreements coincide with consent judgments expected to be submitted in their federal cases against the county…the paper…[still has other] ongoing cases against the city…

I Spy (#1587)

Bounty hunters are the lowest, most toxic species of vermin tolerated by US society:

…ICE…is allocating as much as $180 million to pay bounty hunters and private [dick]s who verify the address and location of undocumented people ICE wishes to…[abduct.  These and similar bottom feed]ers all have access to powerful [and often illegal] surveillance technology and tools…rang[ing] from…ALPR…databases [to]…location data harvested from smartphones

Sexcrime (#1588)

Censors never, ever stop until they are forced to stop:

…Proponents of [a new UK bill pretend] the mere existence of choking porn [magically] harms women, even when it’s created consensually between adults…[politicians] are also proposing a range of other regulations related to sex work, including one that would define publishing sex worker ads as “pimping” and another that could criminalize paying sex workers for webcam performances…The [choking] ban…would [even criminalize possession of]…realistic [cartoon porn]…so…anyone who has previously downloaded or purchased any BDSM porn could be prosecuted…and…imprisoned…[another] amendment would let porn performers retroactively withdraw consent…[making adult performance] contract[s unenforceable]…yet another…would make it illegal to possess…any [image manipulation] software…

 

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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Amazon [is] serving as a midwife for…law enforcement technologies.  –  Jay Stanley

The Punitive Mindset (Chamber of Horrors) 

“Drug” fantasies are just a pretext; the real reasons for this are petty torture of prisoners and more profits for the carceral state’s fascist partners:

The Illinois Department of [Torturing Caged Humans] will now permanently scan most physical mail sent to [its victims] and…upload…[it] to [the overpriced, substandard] tablet [prisoners are forced to buy if they want to read anything or have any contact with the outside world]…the [only exception is]…legal mail…the [screws’] union…has encouraged the move [to help obscure the well-known fact that drugs in prisons are smuggled in by screws]…the department [even absurdly vomited the word “]emergency[” to justify the move]…But a bipartisan legislative committee [refused] to [buy] the [claim]…at least 14 other states [deny their victims] physical mail…[even though] the rate of random positive drug tests [dramatically increase after such schemes are implemented, as do overdose rates]. In Ohio, lawyers [have reported that screws] are opening confidential mail

I Spy (#1469)

In mass surveillance, fascism beats communism hands down:

ICE…has bought access to a surveillance tool that is updated every day with billions of pieces of location data from hundreds of millions of mobile phones…this…gives ICE…an “all-in-one” tool for searching both masses of location data and information taken from social media…without a warrant or court order…ICE spent more than $5 million on…Tangles…and [its tracking add-on] Webloc [which were developed] by an Israeli company called Cobwebs…[which merged with another fascist conglomerate called] Penlink in July 2023

Welcome to the Future (#1475)

Welcome to the “safe” future you keep voting for:

…Amazon’s [Orwellian-named “]law enforcement and school safety team[“], led by a…Washington [cop], is aggressively courting new customers…[for] its own surveillance offerings and an expanding array of [surveillance] tools that run on its [servers], among them…car tracking from…Flock…[ML systems]…with billions of records on U.S. citizens from Lucidus…now owned by Flock…app…[connected fascist fusion] centersGun detection software from ZeroEyes…[LLMs] that can…write police reports…[algorithms] from Veritone [which] can identify and track individuals in surveillance footage or video posted to social media…[and] Verus…which constantly monitors and transcribes [im]prison[ed human beings’ phone] calls

I Spy (#1513)

Politicians will never stop until privacy is completely abolished:

The UK government…is…[once again trying] to [force] Apple to create a backdoor into its cloud storage service, this time targeting only British users’ data…In February, Apple withdrew its most secure cloud storage service, iCloud Advanced Data Protection, from the UK [in response to the previous spying attempt]…Caroline Wilson Palow…of…Privacy International…[points out that] the new [attempt is]…“just as big a threat to worldwide security and privacy” as the old one…“If Apple breaks end-to-end encryption for the UK, it breaks it for everyone.  The resulting vulnerability can be exploited by [governments], [cop]s and other bad actors the world over”…

Thought Control (#1537)

It took seven years for people to start fighting wannabe censors:

Educated We Stand, a national nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending public education…has quickly become a counterweight to Moms for Liberty and other groups pushing [pro-censorship] “parental rights” agendas in education.  The group reported a 78% win rate in endorsed school board races nationwide last year, including major victories in Florida, Wisconsin, and Michigan…The organization…raised more than $375,000 in grassroots donations in its first six months and says its mission is to fight book bans, elevate the voices of teachers and parents, and champion equity-focused, evidence-based policies…

Welcome to the Future (#1540)

Privacy as we once knew it will soon be a thing of the past:

The U.K. may be about to…require every adult…to have a digital ID in order to work in the country, with these IDs becoming mandatory by 2029…when somebody presents a plastic driver’s license, that interaction is between the two parties, and the government is none the wiser…But digital…IDs…are…built so…the system notifies the government every time [they are] used…giving the government the ability to track [physical movements and internet] history…a digital ID system, once created, would prove catnip to politicians…[who would demand its] use…for taxes, travel, health records…government benefits…social media accounts…[and] age-gated websites…[and would] link…[it] to facial recognition…database[s]…a lot of bad ideas regarding technology…in Europe, and especially the U.K., seem to wind their way over to the U.S. eventually…And as of June, 13 states had launched digital driver’s license systems and an additional 21 have passed legislation that would enable or study such a system…

Walled Garden (#1573)

The open internet is becoming a thing of the past:

Bluesky will begin [forcing adult Ohio] users…[who don’t have VPNs] to [submit to intrusive surveillance via]…Kids Web Services’ (KWS)…This is the same [concess]ion [to censors] that Bluesky is already using in South Dakota and Wyoming to comply with similar laws…

 

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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Help me, I can’t breathe.  –  Francis Gigliotti

If Men Were Angels

On Aug. 28, New York State Police arrested [a Methodist minister named] Ronald E. Wenzinger…for [talking online to a cop fantasy role-playing as a teenager]

Cashing In On Shame

What was once pure fraud can now be accomplished in reality:

…one specimen of widely available spyware has turned [w]hat [used to be a scam] into a…[serious crime by] detecting when the user is browsing pornography…screenshotting it, and taking a candid photo of the victim through their webcam…an open-source variant of “infostealer” malware known as Stealerium…like all infostealers, is designed to infect a target’s computer and automatically send a hacker a wide variety of stolen sensitive data, including banking information, usernames and passwords, and keys to victims’ crypto wallets.  Stealerium, however…also monitors the victim’s browser for web addresses that include certain NSFW keywords, screenshots browser tabs that include those words, photographs the victim via their webcam while they’re watching those porn pages, and sends all the images to a hacker—who can then blackmail the victim…cybercriminals attempt…to trick users into downloading and installing Stealerium as an attachment or a web link, luring victims with typical bait like a fake payment or invoice…

Welcome to the Future (#1440)

Oh what a surprise, how could anyone have predicted this, etc:

…Axon[‘s]…Draft One…[is a program] that [is supposed to] turn [cop] body camera footage and audio into intelligible police reports…civil rights advocacy groups like the [EFF] and ACLU…[have pointed out that LLM’s] tendency to insert inaccuracies into texts—including wholesale inventions known by technologists as “hallucinations”…[make such systems unreliable and dangerous].  Axon [claims] its…safeguards…[are] designed to ensure [cop]…actually read…the…reports rather than rubber-stamping them.  But records obtained by Mother Jones through [FOI] laws almost uniformly show [cop shops] that use the software turn…such features off….[to] reduce…or eliminate…human oversight…reports generated by the…tool…have [certainly] been used in plea deals…essentially [telling] lie[s]…to the court that can’t be easily revealed…

I Can’t Breathe (#1447)

Dare I hope fewer coroners are willing to cover up cops’ crimes?

The death of a Massachusetts man this summer outside a fish market was attributed [in part] to…police…The July 11 death of Francis Gigliotti was deemed…a…homicide [by]…the medical examiner…[but] District Attorney Paul F. Tucker…is…[trying to justify the cops’] actions [anyhow]…Seven [cops]…were [rewarded with paid vacations for the murder of a man who]…was [intentionally] restrained…face down…[even though the DoJ]…has warned [cops] for decades to roll [prisoners] off their stomachs as soon as they are handcuffed because of the danger of positional asphyxia…

When Ambulance-Chasers Run the Hospitals (#1456)

Ambulance-chasers have given themselves the power to rob internet companies:

…the Federal Trade Commission…is proposing that Aylo, [owner of] Pornhub and other popular porn…platforms, be ordered to pay the state of Utah $5 million…[due to supposedly] violating…Utah’s Consumer Sales Practices Act by failing to stop Pornhub users from uploading [porn] the [state has demonized]…In its complaint, the FTC spends a lot of space listing Pornhub tags and titles such as “helpless teens,” “internet creeper,” “shower spy cameras,” and “shamed sluts”…No one let FTC workers visit the Netflix homepage.  We’ll soon have an investigation into how Netflix is promoting murder and corporate espionage and witchcraft…Porn, like other types of entertainment media, often relies on fictional characters and scenarios…some of the content users uploaded to Pornhub may have actually been illegal…[but] Pornhub…tightened up its content rules…in 2020…And most of the things that the FTC objects to are policies [from] before 2020…[also,] distributing child pornography is a crime.  If a web platform is knowingly distributing child pornography, the proper recourse is for the Department of Justice to bring a criminal case…

The Cop Myth (#1461)

Cop violence is never limited to adults:

[A] Texas [cop named] Micah Smyth [was turned in by his wife for inflicting multiple injuries on their small child.  Smyth]…claimed to have accidentally dropped the child while a[bus]ing his other child in the bathroom…the…injuries [were so severe] the child [had to be] taken to [specialists at a] Children’s Hospital in Lubbock…who…found…a fractured skull with a brain bleed, bruises on his back and a healing rib fracture…that [could not be] solely based on an accidental drop…Smyth…was arrested and charged with…child [abuse both] in this case…[and] an additional…charge from 2022 [which his cop buddies previously ignored, thus allowing three more years of abuse]…

If the victims are young enough, there may even be consequences:

A [typical and representative] Milwaukee [cop] is heading to prison…[for] abus[ing] his infant daughter…Martinese McDaniel…[was left with the child by his] girlfriend[, who] came home one day in January 2023 to find the…two-month old…wasn’t breathing and McDaniel…[shaking] her…in a panic.  A pediatrician diagnosed the infant with brain bleeding, hemorrhaging, rib fractures, bruises and other injuries consistent with abuse.  McDaniel gave investigators surveillance video of his home…with one hour of the video [conveniently] missing during the time that his daughter stopped breathing…

Eavesdropping (#1501)

Just a reminder that these hackers exploited vulnerabilities intentionally placed into systems to allow “authorized” busybodies to spy on you:

[The full extent of last year’s massive]…attack by [the Chinese government’s] Salt Typhoon [hacking team] is [finally becoming clear]…It targeted more than 80 countries and may have stolen information from nearly every American…[by] exploit[ing  vulnerabilities intentionally inserted into] global communication networks [to allow cops easy wiretap access]…British and American officials have described the attack as “unrestrained” and “indiscriminate.”  Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain were also signatories to the statement, which was part of a [childish “We see you!” strategy] directed at the Chinese government…The…hack…highlights China’s ambitions for global [domina]nce, which were [recently] on display…at an elaborate military parade in Beijing that featured fighter jets, tanks and thousands of troops marching across Tiananmen Square…

 

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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Border Patrol agents are taught that women lie, and that…agents…are the victims.  –  Jenn Budd

Imagination Pinned Down

As much as I’d like to believe this of a boss hog, this reeks of Satanic Panic “ritual abuse” fantasy engendered by false memory syndrome:

The daughter of a New Jersey police chief claims he repeatedly raped her for more than a decade as part of a “ritualistic” cult allegedly involving their neighbors…Courtney Tamagny’s [lawsuit includes her father] Scott Tamagny, his neighbor Kevin Slevin and others…Slevin has…countersued Courtney for defamation…the 20-year-old claims her father and Slevin…and…other middle-aged men…with masks on their faces…[lit a] fire and [burned] animals…[while] chant[ing, starting]…in 2009 when [she] was around 4…until 2020, when she was 15…[she] claims she suppressed memories of the abuse for years…and…began recalling them after [seeing] a…therapist…in 2022…[her] alleged[ly recovered] memories in[clude] the…claim…that generations of her father’s “bloodline” had been in a satanic cult…that…raped…children and burned them alive in…“tunnels” [where] they would…covertly [hold] their rituals…as part of a national cabal of satanists engaged in child trafficking…she claimed [her sisters and]…upward of 10 [other] kids were…in[volved even though nobody else has similar “memories”]…her [lawsuit]…also named the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the State of New Jersey, various state child protective services and others…

This girl clearly needs competent professional help, not encouragement from lawyers and quack “therapists”.

Creepy Coppers

Seems like a significant fraction of child porn is spread by cops:

A Montgomery County [Maryland cop named]…Mark Burhoe…[was arrested on child pornography charges.  In an unusual move], he…was suspended without pay, [but both his boss and an ex-cop criminologist used the opportunity to bloviate copaganda about how he would get]…”no special treatment”…

This one has double-distancing: “former” and “probationary”:

A [typical and representative Wisconsin cop named]…Owen Halls was [typical and representative]…when he was fired in March fo[r being caught with…child pornography[.  Halls was] reported [by one of his roommates] in June of [last] year…[but] police [dragged their feet for six months]…Halls [has already confessed but pled not guilty to child porn charges anyhow]…

Above the Law (ROTW #14)

Federal thugs behave just like state & local thugs:

A…Border Patrol [goon named]…Bart Conrad Yager…[has been] charged with…pandering…child sex trafficking…[drug dealing] and…fraud, [all committed] between July 2023 and March 2024…A decade ago, [he raped a woman in] Tucson…But CBP [didn’t bother to] investigate…Yager, a[nd]…Tucson Police [put] the…victim [through such an ordeal she eventually dropped the charges because]…Yager [kept] threaten[ing her] with violence a[nd neither]…police [nor CBP did shit about it.  The fraud charges against]…Yager [are because he] misrepresented his location during work hours and fraudulently claimed travel reimbursements…for…hotels…he…[used to see] underage [sex workers]…as young as 13…[he was also known for] sexual harassment…[of] nursing and contractor staff [who] “knew him to be ‘crazy with a hatred towards women’”…Yager is [only] the latest…Arizona-based CBP [goon to]…be…charged with…sexual misconduct…crimes…Ramon Marquez…was arrested in May…[for repeatedly molesting] a 16-year-old…[and] in January…Efren Lopez Cornejo [escaped with]…lifetime probation, but no jail time [and no condemnation to the “sex offender” registry], after he accepted a…plea [bargain for]…indecent exposure….[and] sexual abuse of a…family member…[who] was 9…

To Molest and Rape (#1523)

When will the mainstream media admit that pigs in schools are a menace?

[A] Chino [California cop named]…Matthew Solano, who had been [paid to lurk in]…school[s to spy on, harass, and intimidate students, predictably molested]…two [underage girls.  When the school told the cop shop]…Solano was immediately [rewarded with a paid vacation, but]…was [not] arrested [until six months later]…Solano was [also involved in the snitch-training DARE scheme]…

To Molest and Rape (ROTW #21)

Another rapist cop finds a victim via a grooming program:

A San Jose [California cop named]…Saul Duran, was [arrested for]…sexual assault of a minor…[because he raped two teenage girls] about 13 years ago…[he met his victims through] a…police department [grooming] program called the Parent Project…

To Molest and Rape (ROTW #21)

Cops should not be allowed anywhere near legal minors:

A [New York cop named]…Sydney Mills…rape[d]…a…14 [year old girl while]…wearing…[his magical clown costume.  He was arrested and charged with multiple sex crimes.  In a rare moment of honesty], Ulster County District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji said…“I’d like to be shocked or surprised, but I’m not”…

 

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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Wear your boots, kids.  –  Mary K. Brown

The great Tom Lehrer had so many hilarious songs, I decided to pick one that, in his case at least, turned out to be wrong.  The links above it were provided by Phoenix Calida, Wendy Lyon, Mike Siegel, Walter Olson, C.J. Ciaramella, Radley Balko, and J.D. Tuccille, 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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