Confirmed: Attorney General Sean Reyes is a wanker

[BigPiney]

What you don't believe the Lincoln Hypothesis?

I am tempted to read that just to find out how much bullshit is contains, but then I see the 30 books waiting to be read on my kindle and I put that thought out of my mind.

[frank ryan]

Man, my BS meter was redlining from day one with that group. I will be shocked if it isn’t all a complete scam.

This article is pretty thorough in confirming that:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vic...with-the-truth

[Donuthole]

Yep. It’s a total grift. I’ve said that from day one. A group designed to profit off of fear and sensationalism, while sheer statistics and numerous datums just don’t support that there is any justifiable fear of kidnapping and/or sex trafficking within the US.

The group is approaching $20M in annual donations and only $2-3M in verifiable expenditures per year. Conveniently, they claim the other money is spent overseas and can’t be tracked without giving up information that would betray their international work.

No doubt Ballard has millions tucked into offshore accounts.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7a3...with-the-truth

This article is pretty thorough in confirming that:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vic...with-the-truth

frank, I, too, would have ignored me once it became clear that my prediction that all of your worrying about a Trump coup was for naught.

[Moliere]

Notice you don't hear a PEEP about child sex trafficking now on social media. To me, that was just a way for conservative suburban white women to try to drown out BLM with this 'VERY IMPORTANT CAUSE.' I'm pretty sure Ballard is a Trump guy and his whole grift about "WE NEED A WALL TO HELP WITH UH... STOPPING CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING" was a way for him to plug into the Trump base to drain $$$.

I agreed with this back when it started. It was clear they needed something else to post about instead of BLM o they found it. Now, no one seems to care...

[tooblue]

Yep. It’s a total grift. I’ve said that from day one. A group designed to profit off of fear and sensationalism, while sheer statistics and numerous datums just don’t support that there is any justifiable fear of kidnapping and/or sex trafficking within the US.

The group is approaching $20M in annual donations and only $2-3M in verifiable expenditures per year. Conveniently, they claim the other money is spent overseas and can’t be tracked without giving up information that would betray their international work.

No doubt Ballard has millions tucked into offshore accounts.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7a3...with-the-truth

Are you sure about that? Critical thinking skills suggest that while the under ground railroad group is possibly a scam, sex trafficking in the US is prevalent ...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ee/6331680002/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ls/3908214001/

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/12/...s-child-abuse/

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55304115

https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-51391981

[tooblue]

Are you sure about that? Critical thinking skills suggest that while the under ground railroad group is possibly a scam, sex trafficking in the US is prevalent ...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ls/3908214001/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ls/3908214001/

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/12/...s-child-abuse/

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55304115

https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-51391981

And here's the article that finally got people to pay attention to the illegal content found on Pornhub:

The Children of Pornhub Why does Canada allow this company to profit off videos of exploitation and assault?

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/04/o...afficking.html

[Donuthole]

I could rephrase. Ballard’s group preys heavily on an irrational fear that thousands of girls are being snatched off American streets and forced into sex slavery. That is definitely not happening. They want it to seem like every child in America is at risk of ending up enslaved.

Sex trafficking is real, and it should be addressed proportional to the extent it is happening. But it is happening at a fraction of the rate OUR wants/needs you to believe it is happening.

[MartyFunkhouser]

I could rephrase. Ballard’s group preys heavily on an irrational fear that thousands of girls are being snatched off American streets and forced into sex slavery. That is definitely not happening. They want it to seem like every child in America is at risk of ending up enslaved.

Sex trafficking is real, and it should be addressed proportional to the extent it is happening. But it is happening at a fraction of the rate OUR wants/needs you to believe it is happening.

It is like claims of election fraud. Of course fraud occurs, but not at the extent that Donald Trump is claiming in an effort to raise money to pay his campaign debts.

[tooblue]

I could rephrase. Ballard’s group preys heavily on an irrational fear that thousands of girls are being snatched off American streets and forced into sex slavery. That is definitely not happening. They want it to seem like every child in America is at risk of ending up enslaved.

Sex trafficking is real, and it should be addressed proportional to the extent it is happening. But it is happening at a fraction of the rate OUR wants/needs you to believe it is happening.

I am not disagreeing with your characterization of Ballard's group. But I do disagree with your estimation of proportionality. The notion of a fraction is relative. In the interest of full disclosure my wife runs a small organization addressing the dangers of pornography. It is non-denomenational and focuses on encouraging parents to have open, honest and healthy conversations about porn with their children.

She has protested in front of MindGeek's (the parent company that owns porn hub) offices in Montreal. She is a member of a variety of coalitions and attends child exploitation conferences in Washington DC. etc. She has met almost everyone involved in addressing these issues regardless the angle from which they view it. Her and many of her colleagues were/are wary of Ballard's organization (which now seems to have been validated).

One thing I have learned is child exploitation is pervasive in North America. I fixed one of my links in my post below, but include it here again:

'Operation Stolen Innocence': More than 170 charged in Florida child sex trafficking network

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ee/6331680002/

"I know it's hard to believe that something like this happens here in our community," said Lorena Vollrath-Bueno, felony chief for the State Attorney's Office. "But it does." ...

Vollrath-Bueno, a veteran prosecutor of child sex crimes, said human trafficking is a $150-billion-a-year global industry, with nearly two-thirds of the profit coming from commercial sexual exploitation.

She said estimates suggest 50,000 people are trafficked each year in the United States alone.

“The exact numbers ... are hard to define because human trafficking, like many crimes, lives in the dark,” she said. “It is notoriously underreported.”

Vollrath-Bueno said victims can be adults or children, male or female and exploited for sex or labor. In the U.S., she said, the average age a child enters the sex trade is 12 to 14.

“Children with low visibility in the community, unstable home lives, mental health issues, drug issues, frequent runaways, are most at risk,” she said. “I say ‘most’ because any child can be at risk.”

It doesn't happen as portrayed in TV shows or the movies, and it doesn't just happen on other continents.

[Donuthole]

I am not disagreeing with your characterization of Ballard's group. But I do disagree with your estimation of proportionality. The notion of a fraction is relative. In the interest of full disclosure my wife runs a small organization addressing the dangers of pornography. It is non-denomenational and focuses on encouraging parents to have open, honest and healthy conversations about porn with their children.

She has protested in front of MindGeek's (the parent company that owns porn hub) offices in Montreal. She is a member of a variety of coalitions and attends child exploitation conferences in Washington DC. etc. She has met almost everyone involved in addressing these issues regardless the angle from which they view it. Her and many of her colleagues were/are wary of Ballard's organization (which now seems to have been validated).

One thing I have learned is child exploitation is pervasive in North America. I fixed one of my links in my post below, but include it here again:

'Operation Stolen Innocence': More than 170 charged in Florida child sex trafficking network

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ee/6331680002/



It doesn't happen as portrayed in TV shows or the movies, and it doesn't just happen on other continents.

Even if their estimate is reasonable (and estimates are almost always skewed in favor of the person providing them) and there are 50,000 people trafficked each year in the US, that is roughly one tenth of one percent of the total youth in the US. Assuming they are mostly girls being trafficked, it is roughly two tenths of one percent of all girls aged 10-19.

In short, while tragic for those affected, this "epidemic" is so far down the list of things that should be getting boat loads of attention right now in the United States, it would be laughable if it weren't such a sad topic. Consider the extent things like homelessness, mental health, or texting and driving impact peoples lives relative to the amount of press those issues get. But they aren't (pardon the pun) sexy topics, so we rally behind issues like sex trafficking.

Again, I'm not saying this doesn't deserve attention proportional to the extent it exists. Or even double or triple that amount, proportionally speaking, since it is such an awful life for those involved.

[frank ryan]

frank, I, too, would have ignored me once it became clear that my prediction that all of your worrying about a Trump coup was for naught.

Yeah, you equating me a birther because I said I didn't think Trump would leave office unless compelled hasn't aged well. I never used the word coup with you or specifically mentioned an armed uprising.
But let's be real, Trump isn't morally above any that.

[Donuthole]

Confirmed: Attorney General Sean Reyes is a wanker

Yeah, you equating me a birther because I said I didn't think Trump would leave office unless compelled hasn't aged well. I never used the word coup with you or specifically mentioned an armed uprising.
But let's be real, Trump isn't morally above any that.

Oh, you’re going with the “I really won that argument even though none of the stuff I was scared would happened have actually happened” approach? I gather you are also with those SDSU fans who declared themselves victors of Saturday’s football game. Makes sense.

You still have about a month to be proven right, though. So don’t give up hope yet.

[tooblue]

Even if their estimate is reasonable (and estimates are almost always skewed in favor of the person providing them) and there are 50,000 people trafficked each year in the US, that is roughly one tenth of one percent of the total youth in the US. Assuming they are mostly girls being trafficked, it is roughly two tenths of one percent of all girls aged 10-19.

In short, while tragic for those affected, this "epidemic" is so far down the list of things that should be getting boat loads of attention right now in the United States, it would be laughable if it weren't such a sad topic. Consider the extent things like homelessness, mental health, or texting and driving impact peoples lives relative to the amount of press those issues get. But they aren't (pardon the pun) sexy topics, so we rally behind issues like sex trafficking.

Again, I'm not saying this doesn't deserve attention proportional to the extent it exists. Or even double or triple that amount, proportionally speaking, since it is such an awful life for those involved.

I understand your need to double down on your position. You feel you have presented a winning argument in favour of a stated desire to remain indifferent. But it is that indifference that allows this issue, and all of the other issues related to it to remain pervasive in our society.

Trafficking can't be so easily compartmentalized and dismissed as an issue that is distinct from all other societal issues and therefore deemed unimportant in the larger context. Because the moment you do deem it unimportant, any other issue you would place higher up on the "list of things that should get boats loads of attention" your efforts at championing those issues are undermined by inertia.

That is not to say you have to suddenly become an anti-trafficking or anti-porn activist and evangelist. It simply means you should be more careful about equating the questionable behaviour of an individual or group in context to tragic circumstances with an issue such as trafficking and exploitation as not being significant.

[Donuthole]

Confirmed: Attorney General Sean Reyes is a wanker

I understand your need to double down on your position. You feel you have presented a winning argument in favour of a stated desire to remain indifferent. But it is that indifference that allows this issue, and all of the other issues related to it to remain pervasive in our society.

Trafficking can't be so easily compartmentalized and dismissed as an issue that is distinct from all other societal issues and therefore deemed unimportant in the larger context. Because the moment you do deem it unimportant, any other issue you would place higher up on the "list of things that should get boats loads of attention" your efforts at championing those issues are undermined by inertia.

That is not to say you have to suddenly become an anti-trafficking or anti-porn activist and evangelist. It simply means you should be more careful about equating the questionable behaviour of an individual or group in context to tragic circumstances with an issue such as trafficking and exploitation as not being significant.

And I understand your perspective on this is skewed by your wife’s involvement. And you probably think that provides you more insight and enlightenment on the level of pervasiveness, but in actuality it likely makes this appear to you to be a more prominent issue than it actually is. Much like one suddenly notices there are a lot of [insert color/make/model] cars on the road after he buys one of those. In actuality, there are no more on the road than before. I’m not faulting you for that. Just pointing it out. o

[fusnik]

50k a year trafficked? No shot.

That means over the last 20 years 1 million girls have been trafficked? 2 million parents have lost a child and 4 million grandparents?

Obviously not everyone has kids, not everyone has grandkids etc, people die, but tell me how my rationale is wrong. Does anyone know any family, friend, friend of a friend that has someone that’s been trafficked?

I know cops in town and I’ve talked to them about this. Las Vegas is, according to them, the number one trafficking place in the country and it’s never a 16 year old, it’s a 22 year old Ukrainian or 21 year old Thai working off immigration debt through sex work. And rarely do these women turn in their handlers since most are complicit.