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Links #808

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 [email protected] or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

In the News (#1600)

[Public libraries]…exist so that no one—not a church, not a politician, not a board—gets to decide who deserves access to the truth.  –  Keri Lambert

R.I.P. Tracy Elise Image

Tracy Elise Johnson…died on Nov. 17, 2025…[of] glioblastoma…In the 1990s…she developed a framework she called “female-led sacred healing through the body-temple,” eventually founding spiritual communities in Seattle and later Arizona devoted to…tantra-informed teachings…and ancient feminine-centered traditions.  She envisioned her ministry as a modern revival of global goddess temples, grounded in the belief that women’s bodies are inherently sacred and healing.  [From 2012 to] 2016, her spiritual work [was used as an excuse for years of persecution by the State].  She chose integrity over convenience, enduring years of hardship, incarceration, and supervision without renouncing her beliefs.  Her story, later covered internationally, became…evidence of how our culture still struggles to honor the sacred feminine without fear…

If Men Were Angels (#1455) Image

“Ministered to” is a hell of a euphemism for “molested”:

Joe Campbell, a Pentecostal preacher who for half a century ministered to thousands of children across four states, has been arrested on child sex abuse charges…in Elkland, Missouri…where he [now awaits extradition] to Oklahoma…[and possible] life in prison…[for multiple cases of rape and other] sexual…abuse…in the 1970s and ’80s when he was an Assemblies of God minister…one of th[e first to accuse him was] Kerri…Jackson, now 53, [whom] he molested…for years in Tulsa in the early 1980s, beginning when she was around 9…some of the [victims have] pursued [justice] for most of their lives…Past attempts…in Oklahoma and Missouri failed [due to stonewalling by] police and prosecutors…But the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office…[is now] applying a frontier-era statute that pauses the statute of limitations for suspects who flee…elsewhere.  Prosecutors recently used the same legal theory [against typical and representative] megachurch pastor Robert Morris…Oklahoma…authorities[‘ change of heart was motivated by an]…NBC News [investigation] published…in May…children [were taught by] their parents…to [see]…Campbell as an almost mythical figure…with [magical] power to…cast out demons and heal the sick.  He gr[oomed]…girls from broken homes…and…was…[at first protected by] Assemblies of God officials…[until] 1988…Around 1990, he founded a nondenominational church [which]…became a refuge for…convicted sex offenders…

Thought Control (#1491)

Surely you didn’t think they’d be satisfied with only threatening librarians and teachers:

…[Luanne James, the] newly hired library director [of Rutherford County, Tennessee]…asked [the library board] for whistleblower protection….[after] board chair [Cody York] direct[ed] her to [censor books at his sole say-so] and to…produce a spreadsheet listing [the] names, home addresses…and [other information about any patron who had checked out one of the forbidden] books[, presumably for targeting by official or unofficial violence]…he [also]…showed her books he had [stolen from the library to unofficially censor them]…the Rutherford County Library Board [has endured] repeated battles over [demands for censorship by anti-intellectual authoritarians who have no place on a library board]…A motion to remove York followed James’s [report of his] misconduct…[but] the [censor-dominated] board declined to do so…the…developments mark…a new and dangerous phase in…[the] Rutherford County [culture war that] now threatens to become a national test case for how far government power can [undermine] public libraries…Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett…re[cently demanded a purge of thousands of books from]…Tennessee…libraries…in [a show of obeisance to the mad emperor]…

The Cop Myth (#1566) Image

Sleeping with a cop is one of the most dangerous things a woman can do, even if she’s a cop herself:

A…[former] Chicago [cop is suing her former cop shop because they intentionally and repeatedly] ignored complaints that [her ex-boyfriend cop] had “repeatedly physically, mentally, and sexually abused” [her].  The [victim is] identif[ied]…as Jane Doe…[and psychotic cop] Marco Torres viciously abused her and threatened her life…[while] high-ranking officials, including then-chief of the Bureau of Internal Affairs…Yolanda Talley, not only failed to protect Doe, but also retaliated against her for reporting the abuse…Torres relentlessly tried to find Doe’s new home address despite an order of protection against him…he [told another cop]…that he needed her address because he has a “guy from gangs” who “can get rid of her” for “a grand”…[the boss hog]s were aware of the…message, which the recipient sent to in[ternal affairs], but they never warned Doe…or [did anything else]…Doe [later] found a GPS tracking device on her car which…Torres used to stalk her…he was [finally] convicted of assault in December 2024 over his previous threats to kill Doe…[but] she had [been] report[ing] Torres’ abuse…[since] November 2022…and…at least two other [cops had] rep[ea]tedly submitted written reports…describ[ing] violence and stalking against a different female [cop] years earlier…

When Ambulance-Chasers Run the Hospitals (#1578)

States now routinely use nuisance lawsuits as a way to circumvent the Constitution:

Indiana[‘s Trumpist] Attorney General Todd Rokita…[has] announced…that his office sued Aylo…for [suppos]edly violating the state’s age verification laws due to [not attempting] to block users using…VPNs…all IP addresses in Indiana are still blocked, as the company chose to withdraw from the state’s digital space to comply with [Indiana law]…But…Rokita is proposing…that…Aylo…is…to…blam[e for]…the existence of VPNs…Corey Silverstein, an attorney who represents adult industry clients…[said] this [is]…”a dangerous concept…because what’s next? Power companies? Landlords that lease data center space?”…[David Greene of the EFF said,] “What the state’s lawsuit seems to be doing is saying that Aylo deceived Indiana consumers when it said it was geoblocking Indiana users…[because] it knew that…VPNs [exist]…It essentially bases liability on the failure to accomplish impossibilities”…

The Vultures Descend (#1580)

Prohibition can never succeed, regardless of which substance is prohibited:

[Due to] abortion…[being] criminalized…an increasing number of women [worldwide] are accessing abortion pills outside of the formal medical system…Women Help Women [is] a global telehealth…service that supports self-managed abortion by providing abortion pills and information about how to use them…After a decade of relying on pharmaceutical companies to supply them…Women Help Women…recently announced they have begun working directly with drugmakers in India to produce their own innovative combipack of mifepristone and misoprostol for distribution around the world…the…pack…includes one mifepristone tablet and eight misoprostol tablets…[because] some women want extra misoprostol to ensure a complete abortion…Its smaller packaging also requires less postage [so it] is easier to mail discreetly…

The Last Shall Be First (#1587)

“Protecting children” is an all-purpose excuse:

…the Trump [regime has] announced…a…[de facto] ban…[on] gender-affirming care for transgender young people, even in states where it is still legal…[against the advice of] the American Academy of Pediatrics…[one] new…rule…prohibits doctors and hospitals from receiving federal Medicaid reimbursement for gender-affirming care provided to transgender patients younger than…18…The second…blocks all Medicaid and Medicare funding for any services at hospitals that provide pediatric gender-affirming care.  Virtually every hospital in the country takes Medicare…The American Civil Liberties Union has announced plans to sue to stop the rules; other legal action is also expected…[Secretary of Pestilence Robert] Kennedy…insisted that [all doctors]…are wrong [and presented a trained parrot which absurdly squawked about]…God…[then Trump stooge] Dr. Marty Makary, who [mismanage]s the Food and Drug Administration, announced that the FDA would be sending warning letters to businesses that manufacture chest binders…

 

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 [email protected] or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

Boxing Day 2025

ImageJust a reminder of what this day is for: relaxing and sharing with the less fortunate. And they needn’t be strangers. Happy Holidays, and Blessed Be.

Christmas Day 2025

ImageA Very Merry Christmas to all my readers, and Blessed Be!

Christmas Eve 2025

ImageMerry Christmas, dear readers, and may you all find everything you hope for under your tree!

Diary #808

Yes, this was taken from the spa; in the cold months my old back injuries often act up, so it’s nice to be able to immerse myself in hot water with a cup of cocoa and Christmas music.  And by the time you read this I’ll be done with last-minute holiday preparations, and should be ready for company tomorrow evening.  Merry Christmas from me, Axel, and everyone else here at Sunset!

Links #807

How much are the kids being experimented on?  –  R.J. Cross

It seems only fitting to bid goodbye to Rob Reiner with a Christmas song from his most famous creation.  The links above the video were provided by Jesse Walker (x2); Ryan Marino; Angela Keaton and Franklin Harris;  The Onion; and IncarcerNation, 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 [email protected] or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

Yule 2025

ImageThe apparent path of the sun will reach its southernmost point at 15:03 UTC today; that makes this the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest day of the year in the Southern. This is a time for remembrance, renewal and rebirth; I wish for all my readers the blessings of the season, and pray that all of you get all you hope for in the new year. Blessed Be!

In the News (#1599)

Brothels yes very well, but it must be an option, not an obligation.  –  Edouard Hesse

Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (#522) Image

This is vile even by the abysmal standards of cops:

A…[lying British pig] deceived two women at the same time over many years in a sustained betrayal of both of them…Mark Jenner had a relationship [built on lies] with a[n anti-corruption] activist, known as Alison, for five years without disclosing to her that he was in reality a…[cop] who was spying on p[eacefu]l campaigners.  During those years, he was married, with his wife knowing nothing about his relationship with Alison…She became the first wife of [one of the lying pigs in Jenner’s gang] to testify at the inquiry…The woman, known only as S, who has now divorced Jenner, said she was “sickened” by the [ringleader]ers of the [gang] who permitted the deception to happen and treated her badly.  She told the inquiry she had willingly taken on the extra burden of childcare and housework to support her then husband while he was [deceiving and raping other women], as his [ringleader]ers [lied to] her he was doing important…work for the country…

Confined and Controlled (#919)

Politicians who push brothels don’t want to help sex workers, but to control us:

France’s…[authoritarian] National Rally [party] is preparing to introduce legislation to bring back legal brothels…as sex-worker-run cooperatives…[politician Jean-Philippe] Tanguy…said he’s come to believe that the current legal framework, [the Swedish model], does not actually make life better or safer for sex workers, since it drives the industry underground…He called the system “the height of bourgeois hypocrisy”…France…officially ended its legal brothel system back in 1946 [as part of an overreaction to its humiliation at the hands of the Nazis]…A move to decriminalize clients and allow sex workers to work together would be a step in the right direction for sex worker rights and safety.  But any plan that allows this exclusively in brothels would still perpetuate many of the harms of criminalization…

Unchristian Nation (#1498)

Government at every level crusades against Christian charity:

Phoenix [politicians want to] ban…people from providing medical treatment…to the homeless at city parks…unless they [buy an expensive permit from] the city…The…[proposed law is intended to increase disease among the homeless by banning] distribut[ion of] sterile [needles and] syringes and…to [steal] $2,500 [from any group that engages in such charity, but will also criminalize]…heat-relief care during the summers.  That includes electrolyte sodium, blankets to prevent thermal burns, sunscreen, hats and umbrellas…

The Prudish Giant (#1509) 

Why does anyone still trust Facebook?

[Facebook] has removed or restricted dozens of accounts belonging to abortion access providers, queer groups and reproductive health organisations in the past weeks in…one of the “biggest waves of censorship”…in years…Facebook [properties] Instagram and WhatsApp…[were also censored, silenc]ing tens of thousands of people…in what appears to be a growing [Trumpist alignment]…Many of these were from Europe and the UK…[but] groups serving women in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East [were also attacked.  Facebook absurdly]…denied [that its censorship is]…censorship…[even though] it blocked abortion hotlines in countries where abortion is legal…[as usual, the company is] condescending and unresponsive [to complaints]…

I Spy (#1538)

The erosion of US air travelers’ rights which started with TSA is now complete:

…[Several times a week, TSA creates] a list…of travelers who will be coming through airports.  ICE can then match the list against its own database of people [it has declared] subject to deportation and send [goons] to the airport to [abduct] those people…the collaboration…led to the [abduction] of Any Lucía López Belloza…[from] Boston Logan Airport on Nov. 20 and [her subsequent] deport[ation] to Honduras…[the scheme] is the latest way the Trump [regime] is [building a giant]…federal [database] in service of the [mad emperor]’s goal of [establishing] the [most oppressive regime] in U.S. history…[ICE] activities at airports [are also intended to terrorize the population in general] and [will cause still] longer passenger wait times…

Above the Law (ROTW #22) Image

Federal thugs behave just like state & local thugs:

…a…Border P[atrol goon named]…Luis Uribe…[went on a] rampa[ge against Chinese]…sex workers [in Chicago in 2022, raping]…and robb[ing at least]…four…women [at gunpoint.  All Border Patrol goons are] a danger to the community…[but] Uribe [is]…the “worst of the worst”…and [stalked his victims to violently rape them on multiple occasions.  He has been indicted by a grand jury and faces potential life in prison]…

Shame, Shame (#1591)

Any true Christian would recognize this as blasphemy:

[Several] large [Post-Christian] churches…[promoted] a wave of [computer]-generated [slop] that flooded social media in the wake of [Trumpist bigot Charlie] Kirk’s killing…Many [of the slop videos] featured [pseudo-]religious themes, a byproduct of Kirk’s own [decision to increasingly exploit Post-]Christianity near the end of his life.  Imagining Kirk in [a childish, Bronze-Age notion of] heaven was a common theme…as [was depicting a cartoon of] Kirk [alongside cartoons of] historical Christian martyrs and saints…and…assassinated [US political figures including]…the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr[, whom]…Kirk [had repeatedly attacked]…in [real life.  But the slop went from merely vile to fully blasphemous with cartoons of]…Kirk with Jesus Christ…[wearing a MAGA] hat…

 

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 [email protected] or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

Tweet Wave

Who first used the German word "blitz" ("lightning") to describe sudden, intense bursts of violence? I forget.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-14T19:43:33.619Z

I just can't get beyond the resemblance.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-16T19:29:02.571Z

When cops use profanity at us, think of what they're telling us. Would you ever curse at your boss? No, but he can curse at you because he has power over you. What would happen if you cursed out a cop? But they curse at us routinely. That tells you how they perceive their relationship with us.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-17T08:31:30.244Z

The universe does things on a subatomic level that would get you arrested for bank fraud if you tried the financial equivalent.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-19T04:59:00.841Z

People suffering from advanced dementia often fall back on old "scripts". It's why your senile great-grandmother calls you by your mother's (or even grandmother's) name, and it's why Trump seems to think he's still on a TV show he did two decades ago.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-19T18:14:28.117Z

Magnificent. Words that deserve to be included in future editions of Bartlett's.If you're not following Ken, why are you even on here?

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-20T18:37:49.142Z

Reporters need to ditch the word "taken" when writing about actions of government thugs.The property wasn't "taken" by goons; it was STOLEN.The person wasn't "taken to the ground"; he was TACKLED.The person wasn't "taken into custody" as if on a date; he was ABDUCTED.Stop soft-peddling evil.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-21T18:12:37.117Z

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Reading what people say about Twitter makes me realize that the vast majority online expend absolutely no effort on account hygiene. If they treated their bodies like they treat their social media accounts, they'd never bathe, brush their teeth, or change their clothes, and would eat only junk.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-23T18:27:53.081Z

I will never cease to be amused by the notoriety Fate chose to bestow upon a minor Sumerian merchant of the 18th century BCE.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-24T18:42:59.559Z

Crypto-moralists believe anything unpleasant must be “good for you”.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-25T08:41:09.810Z

In the late 19th century, the Ottoman Empire was called "the sick man of Europe". Now the American empire has become the sick man of the entire planet.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-26T19:46:57.721Z

I found my own solution to Thanksgiving guest tensions many years ago: I host. Nobody dares start shit in MY house.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-27T17:53:29.116Z

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-29T03:35:45.932Z

I have lived my life in such a way that I can't picture either of these women accurately enough to compare them in my mind. And I'm very pleased about that.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-11-29T18:42:27.556Z

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I block every single MAGA account and every associated lunatic on Twitter the first time I see it. As a result, I now see far more Trumpery on Bluesky than on Twitter, because people keep screenshotting and calling attention to accounts I blocked long ago.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-03T18:04:51.442Z

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-04T09:14:45.895Z

What's the Greek word for rule by mathematical imbeciles?

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-05T18:10:12.603Z

I'm so exhausted by journalists, who should know the meaning of the words they use, referring to people who are not cautious of change but rather mindlessly destroy every Chesterton's fence they can find, as "conservative".

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-05T20:21:41.880Z

"We are not the party of participation trophies…"I hate to break this to you, but…

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-07T03:39:24.651Z

Maybe this misuse of the word "democracy" is a problem of Millennials and Zoomers, who are too young to remember that about half the communist dictatorships of the late 20th century had the word "Democratic" in their names, eg "Deutsche Demokratische Republik" (German Democratic Republic).

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-07T18:47:29.470Z

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Mad emperor babbles like a baby: "A pwus pwus pwus pwus pwus!!" {claps tiny pudgy hands and gurgles}

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-09T20:02:40.319Z

Ahem.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-10T09:23:43.373Z

Image

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-12T19:50:01.065Z

OK, y'all, we all get it: politicians and partisans are all huge hypocrites who theatrically perform anger when the "other team" does the same thing they do when in power.Find another goddamned tweet boilerplate. Holy shit.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-13T18:34:07.084Z

The problem is that the tech industry is intentionally conflating two different things under the fantasy label "AI". Machine learning is a real, useful tool; chatbots are a toy and a technological blind alley. Conflating the two is like pretending color TV is the same technology as a hula-hoop.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-14T18:46:37.811Z

I'm sick of the idiocy of the term "kinetic strike".As opposed to what, a static strike?

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-16T17:48:03.150Z

My home town, ladies & gents.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2025-12-18T08:51:51.030Z