Aiken Area Progressive

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Planned Parenthood x Tumblr — Never Going Back

Tumblr stands with Planned Parenthood. We believe that access to their vital healthcare services is a fundamental human right. In times like these, we must take it upon ourselves to support them on behalf of the millions of women who depend on them.

Join us on Sunday, March 12 at 6:00pm CT at Mohawk, 912 Red River Street, Austin TX during the SXSW interactive festival for the “Never Going Back” rally for Planned Parenthood.

The all-ages event is open to the public (RSVP here) and will feature live performances by Sleigh Bells, Girlpool (@girlpoool), Hoops, and PVRIS (@thisispvris). Planned Parenthood reps will be on site to share resources, literature and ways to get involved and stay active.

If you can’t join us in person, please join us in spirit with a donation to Planned Parenthood.

And if you’re in town early, Tumblr CEO David Karp and Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards will be discussing the importance of activism and allyship on the SXSW stage on March 10 with moderator Aminatou Sow, Editor-at-Large at Racked.

[aikenareaprog]

More details added.

[rewiredotnews]

We’ve never relied on euphemism and we never will. 

[aikenareaprog]

And as of 12:01 am Thursday, we permanently ceased the usage of the term "alt-right" for posts dated from that day (12/1/2016) onward on our site.

[ethiopienne]

How White People Can Support People Of Color Right Now

Allyship isn’t a one-time thing — it’s a series of investments. Here are some concrete actions you can take to support people of color in Trump's America.

Ah, 2016.

That was the year of the nationwide dumpster fire, we’ll tell our grandchildren one day. The year the Warriors blew a 3–1 lead in the finals. The year we lost David Bowie, Prince, and Vine. The year a man successfully campaigned on racism, misogyny, and anti-immigrant sentiment all the way to the highest office in the land.

Things have felt confusing, scary, and downright dystopian in the two weeks since the election. Projections about the future make me feel like I’m living inside hastily written chapters from a rejected Margaret Atwood novel (“a little heavy-handed with the metaphors, don’t you think?”).

There’s a whole lot of terrifying (and fake!) news out there. There’s been an alarming resurgence of hate crimes against people of various backgrounds, with no sign of slowing down anytime soon. With so much happening so fast, it’s hard for anyone to know what to do except lie in bed crying and making memes. But chances are, if you’re white and you’re feeling overwhelmed right now, the people of color in your life are dealing with even more compounded forms of stress and straight-up fear — and for good reason.

When the news of Donald Trump winning the election first started to pour in, my phone became a life raft. Texts and calls and DMs and emails from other people of color rolled in urgently, each one bleeding into the next for days on end: “Are you alone? Are you okay? Are we okay? I love you. I saw this coming, but I’m scared. We will keep going. We have to keep going.” We held each other because we had to. Because we have to. But the sparse messages from white friends were less steady, more unsure: “How could this have happened?” and “I don’t know what to do” flanked each “How are you?” The requests came soon after, the way they often do. “How do I fix this? What do we — white people — do?”

Exhausted and overwhelmed, I didn’t have answers at first. I needed rest before I could respond. Before I could teach, before I could reach back into my experiences organizing on campus and beyond to do this newly urgent work. But now, two weeks and several terrifying cabinet appointments later, I want to help teach them how to build us all a raft. Show them how to be the most helpful friends they can during these ominous times. So I pulled together this very nonexhaustive list of ways to help. We’ve entered a new storm, but lessons from the past can still guide us. Here’s a start.

[aikenareaprog]

Good article that we’re sharing. However, the writer failed to mention that Cleveland blew a 3-1 lead in the World Series and that Game 7 was won by a domestic abuser.

[aikenareaprog]

Our site (aikenareaprogressive.wordpress.com) is a progressive news site. What that means that we will have sex news on occasion. If pictures are used in those occasions, we tag the post as Not Safe For Work both in the title and in the Category, at minimum. Roughly 1% of the photos on AAP is sexualized pics. What that means is that 99% of the nude pics on our site - including breastfeeding and female toplessness - is totally NON-SEXUAL. Non-sexual nudity does not merit NSFW tagging. The fight for nudity rights is an essential component of feminism. Without that, feminism is Bullshit.

[jovan1984]

LTE bands for the interchangeable Xiaomi Mi 5. OS can be changed from Android to Windows and vice versa.

[aikenareaprog]

Radio specs.

[aikenareaprog]

At the NFL’s Lucas Oil Stadium, sexism and gymnophobia intersect

INDIANAPOLIS — Last week, after an NFL game, the Jacksonville Jaguars prevented Graham Watson of Yahoo Sports, Joey Chandler of the Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News and an unidentified third woman journalist from gaining entry to the locker room.

Sounds like a simple case of sexist gatekeeping, right?

Not so fast.

Those quick to condemn the Jaguars for what they did seem to conveniently forget where this game took place.

It took place in one of the most gymnophobic states in the nation, Indiana.

Here is the relevant section of the Hoosier State law, under the “Indecent Acts” statutes:

IC 35-45-4-1 Indecency

Sec. 1.

(a) A person who knowingly or intentionally, in a public place:

(1) engages in sexual intercourse;

(2) engages in deviate sexual conduct;

(3) appears in a state of nudity with the intent to arouse the sexual desires of the person or another person; or

(4) fondles the person’s genitals or the genitals of another person;

commits public indecency, a Class A misdemeanor.

(b) A person at least eighteen (18) years of age who knowingly or intentionally, in any place, appears in a state of nudity with the intent to be seen by a child less than sixteen (16) years of age commits public indecency, a Class A misdemeanor.

(c) However, the offense under subsection (a) or subsection (b) is a Class D felony if the person who commits the offense has a prior unrelated conviction:

(1) under subsection (a) or (b); or

(2) in another jurisdiction, including a military court, that is substantially equivalent to an offense described in subsection (a) or (b).

(d) As used in this section, “nudity” means the showing of the human male or female genitals, pubic area, or buttocks with less than a fully opaque covering, the showing of the female breast with less than a fully opaque covering of any part of the nipple, or the showing of fully covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state.

(e) A person who, in a place other than a public place:

(1) engages in sexual intercourse;

(2) engages in deviate sexual conduct;

(3) fondles the person’s genitals or the genitals of another person; or

(4) appears in a state of nudity;

commits indecent exposure, a Class C misdemeanor.

IC 35-45-4-1.5 Public nudity

Sec. 1.5.

(a) As used in this section, “nudity” has the meaning set forth in section 1(d) of this chapter.

(b) A person who knowingly or intentionally appears in any place in a state of nudity commits public nudity, a Class C misdemeanor.

(c) A person who knowingly or intentionally appears in a public place in a state of nudity with the intent to be seen by another person commits a Class B misdemeanor. However, the offense is a Class D felony if the person has a prior unrelated conviction under this subsection or under subsection (d).

(d) A person who knowingly or intentionally appears in a state of nudity:

(1) in or on school grounds;

(2) in a public park; or

(3) with the intent to arouse the sexual desires of the person or another person, in a department of natural resources owned or managed property; commits a Class A misdemeanor. However, the offense is a Class D felony if the person has a prior unrelated conviction under this subsection or under subsection (c).

Reading all of that, I’ll say this: the Jaguars’ organization may not know this, but by preventing access to the Lucas Oil locker room, the Jaguars were actually being proactive by keeping their entire team from being prosecuted for private indecency, public nudity and/or indecent exposure.

(NOTE: Private indecency has the same punishment as public indecency in Indiana.)

I feel for Ms. Watson and Ms. Chandler, however, people in the journalism industry should know the laws of each state (and municipality, for that matter) before they make a grievance about locker room access. And just because the NFL mandates that all journalists be allowed timely access to the locker rooms, that policy does not override state laws and local ordinances. State laws and local ordinances do trump sports sanctioning bodies’ policies, though.

The Association for Women in Sports Media should be doing a lot more than just issuing statements. This incident is precisely why the Association for Women in Sports Media needs to be on the front lines campaigning to repeal all laws currently banning public nudity.

They should be in the town halls and state legislatures demanding that all anti-nudity laws be repealed at once. As the NFL fans (I’m not among them) saw last week, anti-nudity laws negatively impact the jobs that women journalists do more harshly than the laws do for male journalists who are afforded (somewhat) easier access to the locker rooms of women athletes. No one knows what Ms. Watson, Ms. Chandler or the third woman journalist would have done besides report on the team they were assigned to, but in Indiana, if any of those three women saw the Jaguars players naked, those players would have been prosecuted for indecent acts. In a League that’s already filled to the brim with players with criminal histories, the last thing the NFL needs are a team full of players convicted of public indecency, private indecency or indecent exposure.

Also, the incident in Indianapolis brings two issues that intersect each other near daily: sexism and gymnophobia. Sexism, because women were blocked from entering a men’s locker rooms. Gymnophobia, because of the laws and ordinances that are used to prosecute and convict anyone simply for being naked, with these laws denying people of their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. I’ve been saying that sexism and gymnophobia are intersectional feminist issues that we need to deal with ever since the breastfeeding issue was thrust right out in the open in the late 2000s. Our Constitution is being trashed by conservatives at every turn. Our constitutional right to be naked in public is a Feminist issue and a reproductive justice issue, and our civil rights to be naked in public is an issue that mainstream feminists need to be on the front lines fighting for!

Our right to be naked in public absolutely intersects with the right of journalists to have access to locker rooms of the opposite gender! As long as we are denied our basic freedom of being naked in public, the locker rooms issues that manifested last week will persist.

Time for women, journalists or not, to take to the streets and call for the complete abolition of all anti-nudity laws once and for all.

[aikenareaprog]

Social media slams Verizon for refusing to sell the Microsoft Lumia 950 XL

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. ― When Microsoft announced the Lumia flagships, only one carrier committed to selling the devices: AT&T. Microsoft is still in talks with the other four carriers, asking them if they plan to carry the phones. Verizon hasn’t said anything about the phones. And their customers are seething mad over their dodge, or as many would say, refusal to sell the Lumia 950 XL. These were the responses from Big Red’s own customers on Twitter:

@verizon Are you going to offer the Lumia 950/950XL? I hope so. I'd hate to switch to att.

— David Johnson (@TennCat64) October 7, 2015

@verizon Either step up to the plate and carry the new MS Lumia 950 & 950XL, or you've lost a customer. Sad to go, but bye bye.

— Mostly Odds (@MostlyOdds) October 7, 2015

@verizon Several people in our office are wanting the Microsoft #Lumia 950. Don't make us switch to another carrier.

— Jesse Cook (@squimjay) October 6, 2015

I'll be cancelling my @verizon if they don't carry the Lumia 950, that's for sure.

— Shawn Keene (@LtCmdrKeene) October 6, 2015 Tweets about @verizon 950 !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");

[aikenareaprog]

Lumia 950 and 950 XL announced!

NEW YORK CITY — This morning, Microsoft announced the Windows 10 flagship phones, the Microsoft Lumia 950 and the Lumia 950 XL.

Both phones have Continuum, 5 megapixel front facing cameras, 20 megapixel primary cameras, Windows Hello and microSD card slots, dual SIM option, CDMA/EVDO radios and LTE bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 40 and 41.

There are three main differences: the Lumia 950 is a half inch smaller than the Lumia 950 XL, Lumia 950 has a Snapdragon 808 while the 950 XL has the 810, and the Lumia 950 XL has an LED flash on the front facing camera.

The Lumia 950 will cost $582.99, while the Lumia 950 XL will cost $688.99. AT&T will sell the Lumia 950.

The power of Windows 10, in your pocket. Microsoft @Lumia 950 is coming to AT&T. http://t.co/1BrvF1igHw

— AT&T (@ATT) October 6, 2015

What are your thoughts about these devices?

[caraobrien-deactivated20191215]

(Photo: James Nachtwey)

(Part 2/2, see Part 1)

As a result of Nicolae Ceausescu’s Decree 770, many unwanted Romanian children were placed in the country’s orphanages and institutions. Some had disabilities, often the result of botched abortion attempts. Others were abandoned by parents that could not afford to care for them, or simply did not want the burden. By 1980, more than 100,000 children were in state care. When Ceausescu’s regime began paying back foreign loans in the 1980s, the conditions in state institutions went from bad to horrendous. Mortality rates skyrocketed, reaching as high as 50% at one facility in Cighid. Physical and sexual abuse by staff members was widespread, and the malnutrition and neglect suffered by the children caused many of those without disabilities to become developmentally disabled. Food, medicine and clothing were scarce. The children slept several to one bed, often without adequate mattresses and blankets. There were children who went for years without seeing natural light. The conditions of the institutions were hidden from the public until Ceausescu’s overthrow in 1989, though many that did know of the squalid nature of these facilities may have just been too afraid to speak out under Ceausescu’s government. “After 1989, what we saw was something like what the Nazis did in concentration camps,” said Dr. Liviu Maior, the minister of education.  One of the most tragic results is an extremely high HIV infection rate among those that were abandoned. 10,000 children contracted the disease while in state care after being injected with blood as a nutritional supplement. Because the Romanian government did not recognize the threat of AIDS at the time, needles were re-used and the disease spread. 7,000 survived to adulthood, thanks to the use of antiretroviral therapy. However, survivors face prejudice once they leave the institution. Approximately 25% of schools will refuse admission to HIV+ students. Romanians look down upon those infected with the disease, shunning sufferers and leaving them without any support. Many now live on the streets. The effects of neglect and abuse are still being felt by the abandoned children. Turned out on the street at the age of 18 with little education and suffering from the trauma of having lived their entire lives in institutions, many are forced into prostitution in order to support themselves. Rape and other forms of violence are commonplace. The street urchins of Bucharest spend their time sniffing glue and trying to survive on meager earnings, while the rest of the population regards them with disgust. Many are HIV+ and the syphilis rate is as high as 95% among the homeless youth. Their chances of having a normal life are severely limited due to a lack of identification papers. Improvements in some of the institutions have been minimal since Ceausescu’s overthrow. As recently as 2006, Mental Disability Rights International published a report documenting the horrors of Romanian facilities.

Staff agreed to unwrap several of the children. One girl, who looked to be about 4 or 5 years old, was actually 17 and weighed no more than 25 pounds (about 10 kilos). As the staff removed the restraint, her skin came off with the sheet, leaving a raw open wound beneath it. Another boy looked to be the size of a baby, but was 7 years old. He too, when unwrapped, was wasting away, his legs covered with sores and his fingers chewed and swollen. – MDRI investigator

The EU has criticized Romania for the conditions of the institutions, as well as the lack of transparency and regulation of international adoptions. Human trafficking within the country and outside its borders has become routine. This is the lost generation of Romania.

Sources:

What happened to Romania’s orphans? by Kate McGeown for BBC News, 8 July 2005

Life in Ceausescu’s institutions by Kate McGeown for BBC News, 12 July 2005

Romania’s abandoned HIV babies, 20 years on by Chris Rogers for BBC News, 22 December 2009

Orphanages, hospitals and the streets remain the homes for many of Romania’s children by Ruth Sorelle for the Houston Chronicle, 28 April 1996

Ceausescu’s Orphans by Massimo Calabresi for Time Magazine, 24 June 1996

Romania suspends international adoptions from the Associated Press, 21 June 2001

Hidden Suffering: Romania’s Segregation and Abuse of Infants and Children with Disabilities, Mental Disability Rights International, 2006

[caraobrien-deactivated20191215]

Decree 770: Abortion Outlawed in Communist Romania

(Part 1 of 2)

In 1966, Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu issued Decree 770, outlawing abortion and the use of contraceptives in an effort to reverse the country’s very low birth rate.

There were exceptions to the anti-abortion law. An abortion could be obtained if: (1) a woman’s life was in danger, the woman suffered from serious physical, psychological or sensory problems, or if one of the parents suffered from a grave hereditary disease; (2) the woman was over the age of 45; (3) the mother had already given birth to at least 4 children and still had them in her care; (4) the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest.

Celibacy was not an option for many Romanians, as anyone still childless over the age of 25 was required to pay a “celibacy tax,” a heavy burden for a population living in poverty. Even those who were unmarried or unable to conceive had to pay the tax. Condoms and other methods of contraception were smuggled into the country and sold for more than most Romanians could afford. Additionally, sex education was forbidden and books about reproduction and contraception were deemed “state secrets” only to be used for medical training.

From 1966 until Ceausescu’s overthrow in the 1989 revolution, the fertility of Romanian women was under the constant surveillance of state officials. Women under the age of 40 were taken from their place of work every 1-3 months and subjected to mandatory medical exams to determine if they were pregnant at the earliest stage possible. These exams were often done in the presence of government officials, nicknamed the “menstrual police” by some Romanians. If a woman failed to conceive, she would be subjected to questioning by government officials. Miscarriages were looked upon with suspicion, despite the fact that they were commonplace due to the overwhelming rates of malnutrition in the impoverished country.

Women turned to having illegal abortions as a means of avoiding having more children that they could not afford to raise. Because of the dangerous methods of these back-alley abortions, the maternal mortality rate skyrocketed. In 1989, the recorded number of women that died during pregnancy or childbirth was 169, 10 times higher than the recorded number of any other European country. 89% of those deaths were abortion-related.

Even more shocking is the fact that these are only the recorded numbers. Under Decree 770, women were given prison sentences if convicted of having an illegal abortion. If a woman went to the hospital to seek help after suffering complications from an illegal abortion, they were refused treatment until they betrayed the name of the person that performed the procedure. Out of fear of punishment, many women did not seek medical attention until it was too late. These deaths remain uncounted, so the total number of women killed in the 23 years abortion was illegal in Romania will never be known.

What is known is that illegal abortion was the predominant cause of death among women of child-bearing age, the tragic result of a law meant to increase the population. From 1966 to 1989, the official death toll was reported to be 9,452. Again, this figure does not include the women that did not seek medical care.

See Part 2.

Sources:

A Cautionary Tale: Revisiting Ceausescu’s Anti-Abortion Policies, a public lecture by Gail Kligman, Professor of Sociology at UCLA

Ceausescu terrorized Romanian women by Michaela Wrong for The Deseret News, January 1, 1990

Overplanned parenthood: Ceausescu’s cruel law by Karen Breslau for Newsweek, January 22, 1990

[aikenareaprog]

Planned Parenthood is a victim of a 9-11 style attack by anti-choicers, Center for Medical Progress

NEW YORK CITY — Today is a day of reflection.

A reflection of the terrible events of fourteen years ago.

But, to supporters of women’s liberty, there are radicals in the majority in Congress who, along with the Center for Medical Progress, want to pull off a 9-11 style attack on Planned Parenthood.

This, shortly after three terrorist attacks on Planned Parenthoods in the states since the Center for Medical Progress produced fraudulent videos about the organization that is the Statue of Liberty of Reproductive Rights. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives disinvited Planned Parenthood because inviting the organization would have provided everyone with clear evidence that the CMP was out to libel and slander Planned Parenthood.

Instead, they invited only one women’s liberty activist, Priscilla Smith, to testify.

She wasn’t able to be pigeonholed by the right wing extremists on the panel. That’s why they instead picked on James Bopp. He literally was coached by the far right and parroted every single talking point they told him to. He was far from the only one being coached by CMP radicals.

Most, if not all of their other witnesses (except for Ms. Smith) were coached by anti-abortion terrorists to repeat their talking points.

While there is not a shred of evidence that Planned Parenthood did anything illegal, there is plenty of evidence, near and far, that the Center for Medical Progress broke numerous state and federal laws. In fact, there’s more than enough evidence to shutter CMP once and for all.

Forty-two splices and anywhere between twenty-two and 4,022+ big-time omissions by the CMP is more than enough for Planned Parenthood to haul this group to court and force the CMP out of business. Add in the violations of California’s two-party consent law, and violations of anti-fraud statutes in every state they made the videos in, the CMP is toast. But, no one wants to look at these facts because they get in the way of manufactured outrage against a perfectly legal practice.

While we are reflecting on the attacks by Islamic terrorists that killed 2,988 in New York City, let’s keep our sights on the fact that there are Christian terrorists who are trying their hardest to help the CMP pull off their own 9-11 against Planned Parenthood, an organization located in the very city that the Twin Towers fell.

We need to stymie these radical right wing terrorists and their sympathizers in their tracks.

[aikenareaprog]

Nude-In happens on September 26!

If you want to protest against the loss of civil rights in San Francisco, you'll have a chance to do so in a couple of weeks. Per Gypsy Taub: Dear body freedom lovers, thank you all so much for your continued support and thank you so much to those of you who donated at the last protest and before that. I am still $99 short of our August payment to Gill Sperlein. I just added $100 of my own money and bought a $500 money order to send to him. We will also need to come up with our September payment. I am really broke right now and really can’t continue making payments out of my own pocket, so please help us keep the lawsuit going. Our lawyers have invested a huge amount of time in our lawsuit while getting paid very little, so please help us make those minimal payments. Please paypal donations to: [email protected] or email me if you prefer to send a check directly to Gill or to me. In this email you will find an update about our lawsuit against the nudity ban, an invitation from Rusty Mills to join a nude march on September 20 and an invitation to join our nude in on Saturday, September 26th at Jane Warner Plaza. here is an update about our federal lawsuit from Gill Sperlein: SF Nudity Litigation Update – The Struggle Continues A group of nude activists including Gypsy Taub and George Davis started litigating against the City’s nudity ban even before the ordinance even went into effect on February 1, 2013. The Court agreed that the Plaintiffs had properly alleged a claim for selective enforcement because the SFPD has vigorously enforced the statute against Taub and Davis while at the same time they ignored nudity violations that occurred during other more politically connected events. The City settled that claim. However, the settlement does not prevent the City from continuing to enforce the statute in unconstitutional ways. “In order to change the City’s behavior, we must appeal the other claims,” says the Plaintiffs lawyer, Gill Sperlein. “Although the Court ruled that the ordinance is not unconstitutional on its face, Plaintiffs can still seek redress in the courts if San Francisco enforces the statute in an unconstitutional manner. Although the ordinance allows nudity at permitted parades, SFPD continues to refuse to grant Plaintiffs’ parade permit applications in order to prevent Plaintiffs from using nudity to expressively demonstrate the importance of not being ashamed of one’s body. Plaintiffs therefore have filed an appeal. Briefs are currently being drafted. The first brief is scheduled for late October. Oral argument is likely to be heard in the middle part of 2016. If successful, the case will be returned (remanded) to the district Court so that the factual record can be developed and a final order issued. Support body freedom by participating in San Francisco’s Leather Walk, Sept 20 There will be an urban nudist contingent in the Leather Walk parade on September 20 in San Francisco. Registration is free — but you can make a donation if you want to. (Donations support the event itself as well as the AIDS Emergency Fund, and Breast Cancer Emergency Fund). The event features various fetishes such as leather, nudity, S&M, B&D, genital jewelry, and other forms of “kink”. Our contingent, the Fans of Urban Nudism team, of course, focuses mainly on public nudity. Since this event has a parade permit, San Francisco’s neo-victorian nudity law is suspended for the entire duration of the event — at least from 11:30 a.m. (and quite likely from 10:00 a.m. when registration begins) until the parade ends sometime in the afternoon. To participate in this event as a member of the Fans of Urban Nudism team, go to the Leather Walk website at https://www.classy.org/san-francisco/events/leatherwalk-2015/e53409 and click the blue button “Join a team” near the upper right of the page. Then follow the instructions, which will include registration. You can also register at the event itself, starting at 10:00 a.m. at 440 Castro Street (a bar located half a block north of Harvey Milk Plaza). Be aware that this may require waiting awhile in line. The event begins at 11:30 a.m. with entertainment at Jane Warner Plaza (Castro and Market Streets), and the parade starts at 12:15 from Harvey Milk Plaza across the street by the subway station. The parade goes down Market Street and then winds around the South of Market area, ending at the Eagle Bar on Harrison Street. We can’t guess what the weather will be like, but assume that the pavement on the street will be hot and be prepared to wear something on your feet (flip-flops, at least). If you plan to take public transportation after the parade ends, you should have a garment with you to cover your cock, balls, cunt, and butt during the ride, since the city’s anti-nudity ordinance makes it illegal for these to be visible on public transportation. Saturday, September 26th at 12 noon at Jane Warner Plaza, San Francisco We are going to hold out annual nude in the day before Folsom Street Fair. We tried to obtain permits but the SFPD keeps playing mind games and has not given us a permit. We would love to see you there anyway. There is a good chance that there will not be any police interference. We had a nude protest last Saturday and the police blatantly ignored us. Worst case scenario is that they might give us a 5 minute warning and ask us to get covered. You can bring a G-string to put on if they do if you don’t want to be cited. We will have fun no matter what – we always do! I will bring our great signs and we will have a march around Castro. The nude-in was originally organized by Mitch Hightower and Woody Miller. We hope to see you there! with love, Gypsy Taub [email protected] www.MyNakedTruth.TV

[aikenareaprog]

Erick Erickson outs himself as a hypocrite

ATLANTA, Ga. — Earlier today, Erick Erickson banned Donald Trump for sexist remarks aimed at Megyn Kelly.

He said that his stage is family-friendly and that Mr. Trump’s ban is all about ‘common decency’.

Right.

Here’s what he said about my girlfriend, Sen. Wendy Davis, 24 months ago this week.

It is a bit embarrassing that Abortion Barbie doesn't even have her facts straight on Kermit Gosnell considering abortion is her issue.

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 6, 2013

There’s a reason why the entire conservative movement is no different than Mr. Trump.

[aikenareaprog]

The Naked Stalker and the Gymnophobic Frisky Writer, Part I: the naked man must turn himself in on stalking charges

This is part 1 of 2 of the Stalker and the Gymnophobic Frisky writer.  This is a brief rant post against the naked stalker.  Part II will be a rant post against Sarah Grey, the gymnophobic Frisky writer.

  PHILADELPHIA – Dear naked male stalker,

Why are you messing with people who are not interested in you promoting the Naked Bike Ride?

You are no different than the Christians who bother people with their leaflet handouts.

Furthermore, why did you not turn yourself in after you were accused of stalking several women in the Philly metro area, including one who clearly mentioned midway through a piece on the Frisky that she was not interested in talking to you?

Yes, being naked in public is an inviolable right, however, stalking is assault, and that’s a crime.

You committed a crime.

Turn yourself in on stalking charges.

[aikenareaprog]

Body cams coming to Drakesboro?

Muhlenberg Sheriff’s Office may require body cams on officers

GREENVILLE, Ky. — Body cameras have been all the talk since the August 9, 2014 murder of Michael Brown by Ferguson (Mo.) Police Office Deputy Darren Wilson.

That talk ramped up even more when Walter Scott was murdered by former North Charleston Police Office Deputy Michael Slager a few weeks ago.

Now, Muhlenberg County could be the first county in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to require body cams on their officers.

The Muhlenberg County Sheriff’s Office is one of several law enforcement offices in western Kentucky looking to purchase body-cams.

Sheriff Curtis McGehee says body cameras are a good tool for police organizations because they protect both the officers and citizens.

He believes body cameras would be positive for his officers too.

“We want to maintain the highest level of safety for the community and our officers and we feel like body cameras could be beneficial to us, should a critical incident occur,” McGehee told WFIE.

Right now, Sheriff McGehee says the Central City Police Office is the only police organization in the county to have body cameras.

Sheriff McGehee is trying to weigh the pros and cons, saying the only negative is the high cost to purchase the equipment.

He says right now, the cameras would only be used for officers on patrol both on foot and by car.

Again, he says they’re still mulling over the decision.

WFIE 14 News

NoKy man attempts to abduct ten-year-old girl

EDGEWOOD, Ky. — The Edgewood Police Office is among numerous agencies big and small looking for an alleged child abductor.

Edgewood deputies said they’re still searching for the suspect’s white panel van.  Tips from the community, some of them promising, have deluged the police office.

A ten-year-old girl told deputies she was near two schools on ROUNDHILL CT, Saint Pius and R.C. Hinsdale, around 17:00 on April 20 when the van deputies are currently looking for suddenly appeared with a man behind the wheel.

He lied to the child, telling her that her mother was hurt, trying to coax her into the van.

When that didn’t work, he then told her another lie: this one about her father.

At that point, the victim called the EPO and the suspect fled.

The incident is especially troubling because the EPO noted it’s similar to an incident reported on the week of April 15 in neighboring Grant County.

A girl in that case described the van as a square-bodied, white panel or work van.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Edgewood Police Office through the Kenton County emergency communication center.

WAVE-DT 3

Men arrested for kiddie pornography possession

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky State Police have arrested two men for possessing and distributing kiddie pornography.

Late last month, the Louisville (Ky.) Police Office went to a residence after complaints of marijuana.  They obtained a search warrant.

Afterwards, they called in the Kentucky State Police for another investigation.  Troopers then went undercover to obtain sexually explicit and exploitative images and video of children from the residence of where marijuana was alleged to have been cultivated and grown.

The troopers found PNGs and MP4s of children engaged in explicit acts.

The suspect, Gemini Jay Wink, 41, was spotted by Kentucky troopers in the driveway with several electronic cigarettes, and they said he was vaping marijuana oil.  A large amount of ground marijuana and drug paraphernalia was also found inside his home.

One day later, Kentucky troopers did another undercover investigation.

In this investigation, troopers found an Oldman County man sharing PNG and MP4 images of prepubescent children who were engaged in explicit acts.  They decided to obtain the images.

The internet protocol address was traced back to Matthew W. Browning, 32.

Mr. Wink was arrested and charged with three charges related to child pornography along with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Mr. Browning was arrested and charged with five counts of distribution of matter portraying a sex performance by a minor.

Each charge against each man carries a 12 to 60 month jail term.

Bond for Mr. Wink has been set at $10,000 cash.  He will be back in court on May 11.

Mr. Browning was booked into the Oldham County Jail.  Jail officials said he was released later the same day after posting $2,500 bond.

WAVE-DT 3 (Wink) WAVE-DT 3 (Browning)

[aikenareaprog]

GSU crash victim’s family slams trucking company with lawsuit

Family accuses company of negligence in incident that killed five co-eds

SAVANNAH — A family of one of the five Georgia Southern co-eds killed in a Bryan County crash on April 22 has decided to go to court.

The mother of 21-year-old Abbie Deloach has filed a lawsuit against Total Transportation, a trucking company based out of Jackson, Miss. and US Xpress Enterprises, a trucking company based out of Nashville.

An investigation by Atlanta media showed that the companies have a checkered safety record.

The Georgia State Patrol has said the April 22 crash on Interstate 16 appears to have been caused by a tractor-trailer that smashed into stop-and-go traffic slowed by an unrelated wreck. Ms. Deloach and four fellow co-eds, all of whom were nursing majors from Georgia Southern University, perished.

Total Transportation CEO John Stomps did not immediately return a phone message Thursday.

The Deloach family does have an uphill battle due to state and federal laws that shield vehicle manufacturers from most lawsuits involving fatalities.

WSAV-DT 3

Midlands Tech deputy, professor arrested for sexual assault, indecent exposure

WEST COLUMBIA — A Midlands Technical College campus deputy and professor is out of both jobs after he was arrested for assaulting a woman.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division says Columbia deputies arrested Charles Riley, 48, on charges of sexual assault and battery and indecent exposure. He was taken to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.

According to the arrest warrant, Deputy Riley is accused of sexually assaulting a co-ed in his academic office at the MTC South Beltline Campus, located in Columbia, on April 20. The warrant says Deputy Riley showed the woman his private parts. She told investigators Deputy Riley was her class instructor.

South Carolina state law forbids sexual relations between professors and students at institutions of higher education under an extremely broad "position of authority" clause in its state statute.

The arrest warrant also says Riley "admitted to the offense."

Midlands Technical College and the Columbia Police Office requested SLED's investigation.

"Mr. Riley served as a law enforcement officer and adjunct faculty at Midlands Technical College," said spokesperson Todd Gavin. "Midlands Technical College is committed to the safety of our students and employees."

Deputy Riley was a SLED agent from October, 1999 until he resigned in April, 2006, according to a spokesman for the agency.

WIS News 10