We don’t have that kind of granularity anymore, both because RFK Jr and DOGE have significantly cut public health funding and because there are so many variants out there now and so little difference between them in terms of presenting symptoms

“Don’t Mess With Texas” was an anti-litter campaign and nothing else.

Real bud has been for sale in Texas for years now and has been completely unregulated. This regulation imposed by the Dept of State Health Services effectively kills the sale of the real stuff in stores by counting THCa in the total THC equation, which was not counted before. Lab derived stuff will still be for sale

What has happened over the past few years in Texas regarding THC is amazing. Weed is available everywhere. Compared to regulated states like Colorado, it was the wild west. It took the state legislature 3 sessions (6 years) to finally pass a bill trying to make THC illegal again, and Abbott vetoed it.

Well, I’m not happy about these new regulations, which basically make smokeable flower illegal and impose new fees that are certain to put quite a few small shops out of business, however most THC products are going to be remaining on the market, and we’re still going to be able to legally order everything that’s been banned through the mail, which I consider a huge win in this state.

I think they want the TSA to get funding, and I bet they’re pretty agnostic re: ICE funding

If only we all treated everyone like this, in accordance with their SkyMiles status.

We’re kind of not at all having an energy emergency, actually. Most states have pretty diverse energy generation portfolios, so electricity costs are not as responsive to global oil prices as e.g. gasoline for cars. The reality is there’s already tons of wind and solar online, and that’s going to continue even if Trump tries to stop projects on federally controlled land

There was a story on CNN about significant market movements that occurred 15-20 minutes before Trump sent the tweet

The calculus here isn’t strictly whether it’s “healthy” or not. There are quite a few ingredients that can be derived from both plants and petroleum, for example, and I would choose the one derived from plants every time

True, but that does surprisingly little to prevent homelessness.

Yes, but it does a LOT to keep people experiencing homelessness off the streets and in shelter. In US cities that have harsh winters, they also have many fewer homeless folks visible on the streets than you’d find in California or Texas, where people can pretty much live outside in perpetuity

Trump assumes the IRGC are as dumb as him and the people he’s surrounded himself with, which is going to be catastrophic for how this goes for him. The IRGC are theocratic authoritarians who are not motivated by money, and he can’t conceive of this, so is clearly at a total loss as to how to handle the situation he has created

They’ve been letting some ships through heading to India and China, and were talking about setting up a vetting system to allow more ships through

US here. Uh…can you share what those war objectives are? We have not been told

$80/paycheck is incredibly low cost. I’m assuming what you did was select the “high deductible” option when you enrolled in coverage. If so, there might be an HSA option you can still enroll in, where you save a bit of money in an account pre-taxes and can use it toward any medical expenses. I definitely pay for the “mid” plan my agency offers, which has a flat $30 copay for any outpatient visit

Oof. The desperation is palpable and does not bode well for the future of Facebook. May it burn in hell

As Kinky Friedman once said:

We reserve the right to refuse service to you.
Take your business back to Walgreens!
Have you tried the local zoo?

Their 2024 gross revenue was about $1.9 billion, so $250 million would be over 13% of their total annual revenue

Many rivers begin with glaciers. The Colorado, Mississippi, and Rio Grande, for example, still receive glacier melt to this day

This used to be me, but I put a hook by the door where I handle my bag back up after I’ve unloaded it. I rarely go to the grocery on impulse though, so I’m always making a dedicated trip and leaving from my house, and the routine of it finally sank in. I highly recommend an extra large tote with stiff sides. I can typically fit an entire shopping trip in there for our family of 3 and just sling it over my shoulder

I’ve been using a wireless mouse at work now for over 12 years and can count on one hand the number of times I’ve had to change the batteries