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You can't discount economic effects. Auto insurers past few years have been getting killed to the point it was a drag on official government statistics, and the reasons there were a combination of higher labor costs, shortage of shops, parts are more expensive, more complicated cars, and having to deal with more lawyers in accidents. Home insurers would be affected by all those.

This is a thread about home ownership insurance, not car insurance. But thanks for playing.

Labor, materials, and real estate effects for repairs/replacement apply to home ownership insurance do they not?

Yes. You are so close now.

The only direct evidence that Trump knew about the scheme to falsify the business records is Cohen's testimony. So if they can convince jurors that his testimony can't be trusted that might given them reasonable doubt as to Trump's knowledge of the scheme. And they definitely showed that he has lied about a lot of things in the past. Not saying it's enough to doubt his testimony (not like we weren't expecting it), or to conclude there isn't enough other circumstantial evidence that Trump knew they were falsified, but it's the biggest glove they've laid on the prosecution's case so far.

The thing is, even if Cohen is slimey and has lied about some things, the point at the end of the day is - you don't need to believe Cohen 100% in everything he says, you just have to believe Cohen when he talks about the Trump records part of it. And given the other circumstantial evidence that supports Cohens claims, that at least backs up Cohens claims about that situation, outside of whether Cohen is telling the truth about other things.

Right, all kinds of organized crime convictions occur where the key witnesses are deeply immoral and dishonest people. What matters is if his testimony fits the outline of facts which it does. "This person has lied before" is not the big own they think it is, I mean he was Trump's lawyer so no **** what do you expect?

Even red avs are buying into Republicans bad faith muddying of facts here because they've been so persistent about it.

[Feminism, racial justice, and Greta Thunberg have all disappeared]

The internet and social media aren't changing the world anymore and all the movements of the 2010s have given up. Feminism, racial justice, and Greta Thunberg have all disappeared.

Speak for your personal Instagram feed.

But yes, we're in a state of social media-mediated cultural malaise.

[Or to quote a very old piece of folk wisdom, "What’s the sense of wrestling with a pig? You both get all over muddy . . . and the pig likes it.'”]

When you fight Republicans using their own corrosive tools, they win.

Was Rep. Crockett justified in hitting back at Rep. Greene?  Absolutely. Rep. Greene has done plenty that deserves criticism - whether it's her performative stupidity, her atrocious personal conduct, the horrible things she's said, etc. But going after her for her looks legitimizes this sort of pettiness, and lowers the already low level of discourse in our government.

Or to quote a very old piece of folk wisdom,  "What’s the sense of wrestling with a pig? You both get all over muddy . . . and the pig likes it.'”

if the pig already dragged you into the mud, you're gonna need to wash your clothes either way. Better to try and teach it a lesson. Don't jump into the mud first, but if you're stuck in it, hit back.

When you fight Republicans using their own corrosive tools, they win.

Was Rep. Crockett justified in hitting back at Rep. Greene?  Absolutely. Rep. Greene has done plenty that deserves criticism - whether it's her performative stupidity, her atrocious personal conduct, the horrible things she's said, etc. But going after her for her looks legitimizes this sort of pettiness, and lowers the already low level of discourse in our government.

Or to quote a very old piece of folk wisdom,  "What’s the sense of wrestling with a pig? You both get all over muddy . . . and the pig likes it.'”

What about this piece of folk wisdom, "When a bully hits you, hit them back"? Americans love a fighter. The whole "turn the other cheek" thing just comes off as aloof. Hit 'em back.

Damnit was hoping it would be another video of two twinks porking in the senate chamber again

immediately going onto AtlasOOC with this one

I'm probably going to jinx it, but here it goes: is it me? Or is this trial going unusually well for the prosecution?

Sorry all. I did jinx it.

Acquittal or hung jury is of course going to happen. Trump probably gets re-elected, and everything continues to suck.

I think you are overreacting.

I hope so, but this isnlt the development the prosecution needed in the home stretch.

You are both correct.

McConnell opposes bill to ban use of deceptive AI to influence elections

"The American Republic may be in her grave, but she's still twitching, and we haven't filled the dirt in yet," he said, before launching a palsied swing of his shovel at America's bleeding scalp. "I've been trying to murder this country for 50 years, and I'll see her dead if it kills me."

Oops, sorry - that was the answer I got from Google's Gemini when I asked it, "How would a truthful article describe Moscow Mitch's thoughts on the Constitution of the United States of America?". A quote from the actual article text is below.

“The core question we’re facing is whether or not politicians should have another tool to take down speech they don’t like,” he said. “But if the amendment before us extends this authority to unpaid political speech, then we’re also talking about an extension of speech regulation that has not happened in the 50 years of our modern campaign finance regime.”

The Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act, which would ban the use of AI to create misleading content, is backed by Senate Rules Committee Chair Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.).

Aryeh Neier, a confounder of HRW thinks Israel is committing genocide based on "its sustained policy of obstructing the movement of humanitarian assistance into the territory".

As early as October 9 top Israeli officials declared that they intended to block the delivery of food, water, and electricity, which is essential for purifying water and cooking. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s words have become infamous: “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly.” The statement conveyed the view that has seemed to guide Israel’s approach throughout the conflict: that Gazans are collectively complicit for Hamas’s crimes on October 7.

Since then Israel has restricted the number of vehicles allowed to enter Gaza, reduced the number of entry points, and conducted time-consuming and onerous inspections; destroyed farms and greenhouses; limited the delivery of fuel needed for the transport of food and water within the enclave; killed more than two hundred Palestinian aid workers, many of them employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the principal aid provider in the blockaded territory before October 7; and persuaded many donors, including the United States, to stop funding UNRWA by claiming that a dozen of the agency’s 13,000 employees in Gaza were involved in the October 7 attack or have other connections to Hamas. (An investigation by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, released on April 22, concluded that Israel had provided no evidence to support its allegations and that UNRWA is “irreplaceable and indispensable.”) The air strikes on April 1 that destroyed all three vehicles in a World Central Kitchen convoy, killing six international aid workers and a Palestinian driver and translator, seemed a continuation of these policies. Israel’s explanation that this was the result of a “misidentification” has aroused skepticism. As a result, other humanitarian groups may be deterred from providing aid.

https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2024/06/06/is-israel-committing-genocide-aryeh-neier/

Obviously "The Boss".

Our Factory still survives despite major manufacturing outsourcing losses over the decades under both Republican and Democratic Presidential Administrations.

I still get letters in the mail advising me how as a displaced factory worker under NAFTA, I supposedly can get all sort of extra benefits.

Bit kinda the scene where Timber Mills got shut down in the PacNW because of systemic overlogging of the Forests of Oregon since the '50s, while the big timber bosses shifted their ops down to the Southern States while meanwhile claiming they needed to harvest the last of the Old Growth.

Still our cleanrooms still survive, since ultimately these cannot be shifted easily overseas, especially when connected with key R&D activities.