The Great Recession was awesome in some ways - mass incarceration in the US started to fall and states started to end marijuana policy. Hitting the swine in the pockets made them realize that keeping almost 1% of the population in the jail was too damn expensive.

Good - if they stopped being proactive and only reacted to serious crimes involving people actually being harmed, the US would likely be a more pleasant place to live. Quality of life pigging lessens quality of life for everyone.

Yep - something like a civilian complaint review board. Also, plenty of people would be happy to take the job of pissing pigs off, considering how utterly vile most American cops are.

Finding someone not guilty by reason of insanity doesn't mean they walk free: it means that they end up in a secure psychiatric facility for years to decades.

I never did.

Germans, Swiss, and Austrians have it right - clinging to cash like a Pashtu tribesman clings to his weaponry.

Why not an HDMI cord from server to TV?

Let me connect an external hard drive full of music and movie files - that's all the smart I need. Otherwise, HDMI input and ATSC.

This is why more people should start paying for as much as possible with cash. Re-normalize it. If they ask why - many stores and restaurants here in NYC charge you 4% or so extra for the privilege of using a card (due to processing fees). Think of it as getting 4% cash back on many purchases.

The problem is venue shopping - they could find a judge that's either a fascist at heart, subject to kompromat, or on the take in some manner.

Or you made an informed choice to value human freedom over mere years of life. Quality vs quantity.

I think Trump thinks about the children far too often, unfortunately.

That's great if you already have a friend network ... being able to walk to the bar on the corner isn't the same as flying your flying car 100 miles from some bumblefuck turdhole.

Everyone living in stinking bumblefuck sounds lonely as all fuck ... I want to interact with strangers at random. The spice of life, being outside of existing friend and family bubbles. But, I get it ... Americans are asocials, generally speaking.

Diseases and dead people, for one. Belonging to a different tribe/culture/race (it's actually one of the reasons for ritual scars, later tattoos and haircuts, specific clothing, uniforms and so on).

Exactly. Home Assistant makes it easy to unify several brands under the same hood.