Anyway, having actually, you know, read the bill: There's nothing bespoke about the age verification requirement. Any of the meaning extant systems and PH already uses such in Louisiana. The only problem piece for me is that "prurient interest" is... real broad

Haha watch me go on Goody Goody's website here and by liquor without ID an-hold the phone

That was the most insane discourse in a while

Da immigrants are gonna take me wife! Skill issue

It's distinguishable in that it's much much funnier

My other hot take on this is that the feds could make all this go away with little-to-no tightening of border controls but they won't because it would require structural changes in federal bureaucracies and inconvenience non-border states

He's also adept at dodging. Just an incredible ability to avoid taking hits for things that would (sometimes fairly sometimes unfairly) sink other governors.

But these political instincts are purely about staying in office, they aren't being used to *do* anything. Usually the opposite.

They should but it won't make much practical difference.

(also he plays nice with Paxton and West and with e.g. Phelan at the same time. He just has good instincts for navigating Republican politics and will happily adopt any position or posture needed for his purposes)

Most Texas voters are, on some level, upset about some aspect of the border/immigration so he can safely throw in fully with the MAGAs on it without seriously injuring his prospects elsewhere. Then he turns around and does normiecon stuff and voila, nobody happy, everyone content

The thing with Abbott is he doesn't even believe this shit he just knows it's the right battle to pick for his electoral purposes

Yeah it turns out every prominent academic/intellectual in the 20th century was *astoundingly* bad

E.g. Bsky is all left wing, Mastodon is... well very bad apparently, Threads was all brands, and Truth Social requires you to burn the word TRUMP onto your eyeballs in order to log in

You just aren't going to beat Twitter's network effects until Twitter actually goes bankrupt and stops operating.

Plus all alternatives thus far have suffered from founder effects that make it hard to grow

A lot of people confuse "Well written and not cringingly didactic" for "No message"

I'm not gobsmacked but huge "I scroll while I watch TV energy"

Wait is this real and if so how did you see it when I didn't

Valentine's Day is in 4 weeks

"Hitler so dood" what a language

Actual headline from South Africa in WWII:

4000 years ago they'd be worshiping him literally

I think it's because he's Large

🚨🚨
the baby knows how to say "duplo" but pronounces it "booplo"
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Wow you've given me cancer

Good question

I figured that since one piggy had roast beef and the other had none that meant the piggy that "went to market" went to buy beef