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smokebomb

Certifiably Surly
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Posts posted by smokebomb

  1. 4 minutes ago, royiv said:

    Hot Wheels vetoed the ban. Let’s see how Patrick reacts.

    https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/22/texas-thc-ban-bill-greg-abbott-veto-senate-bill-3/
     

    Quote

    GOV. GREG ABBOTT VETOES THC BAN

    THE MOVE IS LIKELY TO INFURIATE LT. GOV. DAN PATRICK, THE POWERFUL HEAD OF THE SENATE, WHO HAD CALLED THE BAN AMONG HIS TOP FIVE BILLS OVER 17 YEARS IN THE LEGISLATURE.

    BY KAYLA GUO

    JUNE 22, 202511:38 PM CENTRAL.

    Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday vetoed a contentious state ban on THC products, keeping the Texas hemp industry alive while spiking a top priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

    Senate Bill 3 would have banned consumable hemp products that contained any synthetic cannabinoid, often known as delta-8.

    Abbott, who had remained quiet about the issue throughout the legislative session, rejected the measure just minutes before the veto deadline amid immense political pressure from both sides of the aisle, including from hardline conservatives typically supportive of Patrick’s priorities.

    Abbott’s veto puts him directly at odds with Patrick, the powerful head of the Senate, who had called the THC ban among his “top five” bills during his 17 years in the Legislature and threatened in February to force a special session if he did not get his way.

    Supporters of SB 3 argued that a full prohibition was necessary to protect young people from consuming products with high concentrations of THC. Patrick, in a May news conference renewing his criticism of the industry, called THC-infused products — such as gummies, beverages and vapes — a “poison in our public.”

    The measure became one of Patrick’s most visible priorities this session, as he visited several cannabis stores and filmed amateur-style investigative videos of what he described as dangerous practices. 

    Abbott’s veto comes six years after the Legislature inadvertently opened the door to a surge in hemp-based products when lawmakers, meaning to boost Texas agriculture, authorized the sale of consumable hemp.

    Though that 2019 law does not allow products to contain more than trace amounts of delta-9 THC, it did not establish that same threshold for other hemp derivatives. Critics say the hemp industry exploited that loophole to usher in more than 8,000 retailers selling THC-laced edibles, drinks, vapes and flower buds across Texas.

    Since then, the state hemp industry has exploded, accounting for roughly 50,000 jobs and generating $8 billion in tax revenue annually, according to one estimate. 

    The hemp industry, in addition to some military veterans and farmers, had pushed for stronger regulations over a ban. Veterans and other Texans managing chronic pain and other conditions described how consumable hemp products have helped them cope and allow them to avoid opioids. 

    But Patrick and his allies managed to advance a full prohibition through the House, swapping out a proposed regulatory framework — which would have barred sales and marketing to minors, bolstered law enforcement and banned certain synthetics — for a ban. 

    As an attempted counterbalance, the Legislature also boosted the state’s medical marijuana program, expanding the types of products, the number of dispensaries and the qualifying health conditions, as well as reducing some of the costly regulations on dispensaries.

    Whether Abbott would veto SB 3 became a leading question after the end of the legislative session, with the governor giving few hints and maintaining only that he would carefully consider every piece of legislation that landed on his desk.

    After SB 3 passed, the hemp industry waged a high-octane campaign urging the governor to veto the bill and accusing lawmakers of putting politics over sensible policy. Opposition to the ban came from across the political spectrum, amping up pressure on Abbott and putting Patrick in an unfamiliar position in the crosshairs of conservative activists who tend to march in lockstep with him.

    “This is stupid,” Dana Loesch, the former National Rifle Association spokesperson who now hosts a nationally syndicated conservative talk radio show, wrote on social media responding to Patrick’s argument that the ban would keep THC away from children. “It's like the gun ban argument with a different variable. Kids aren't buying it anymore than any other controlled product (alcohol, cigarettes, et al) and if they are, do your job as a parent and parent instead of idiotically expanding government.”

    Ahead of Sunday’s deadline, Texas Democrats said if Abbott didn’t veto SB 3, they hoped the ban might help galvanize voters against Republicans in next year’s statewide elections. Abbott and Patrick are both up for re-election, though political experts said the issue alone was unlikely to pose a serious political threat.

     

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  2. 12 hours ago, Blotto said:

    Allright....I'm tempted to grab a flight on one of these shitbuckets as they are apparently the only direct flight between Austin and Asheville these days. How bad is this going to be? Worse than Spirit? I guess I could always fly direct into Charlotte and grab a rental car for the weekend, but that seems like a lot of additional cost and hassle. @Celery Man you ever fly Allegiant to austin?

    Aw shit, I think CM is in Raleigh, not Asheville. anybody else fly Allegiant lately?

    We flew out on them last week from Austin to Knoxville. The flight was fine and the plane was on a newish Airbus. The South terminal is super simple & easy so that makes things easier on the Austin end. They are no frills & we only use them for directs we can’t get otherwise out of Austin. If you want to check multiple bags & pick your seat, their cost approaches that of other airlines. 
     

    As mentioned:

    1. You have to pay for both checked baggage & carry on (your small personal bag is free)
    2. You have to pay to select your seats or your group could get dispersed all over the plane. 
    3. Bring your boarding pass (digitally or in paper) or they will charge you ($5?) to print it at the airport. 
    4. At Austin, the Allegiant staff is nice but they handle both checking bags & customer service. Don’t expect them to be speedy if you’ve a request. 
    5. You aren’t, but I’d never fly them if there was a connection. They typically don’t have service every day so any delays/cancelations could result in a multi-day delay to your destination. 

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  3.  

    7 minutes ago, Tonesky said:

    Thanks, this validates my initial sense that IF we choose to cruise, Virgin Mediterranean seems the best option.  I understand that the average passenger is older, but what about 18-21 year olds?  If we do this, will there likely be young adults my kids can latch on to, or will they be hanging with geezers like their parents?

    Compared to other cruise lines, Virgin skews towards an older crowd in general and more so on the Mediterranean cruises due to their higher costs. It is not a ship with as many 20 year olds so if they are looking for a bunch of 20-something young adults to hang with, Virgin won’t have a ton. But the general atmosphere on Virgin is young at heart so I think they’d still have fun. Virgin also has a mixer for solo cruisers (any age) the first night for people who are looking for a friend group to hang with. And with all the events the cruise puts on throughout the trip, they will have plenty of things to choose from. 
     

    Damnit - I am sounding like one of those cruise people I said we weren’t… 

  4. To set the tone - we are not cruise people but we did a Mediterranean cruise on Virgin Voyages last fall. It was a lot of fun and we would consider doing another one, maybe for Alaska. Again - we are not really into cruises and we have zero desire to do any of the Caribbean cruises, not even on Virgin. For that, we would just visit any islands individually.

    What convinced us to do a Virgin Mediterranean cruise:

    1. Europe is a long trip and traveling to only one of the many islands from the US is not really efficient. We were never going to say "Let's travel to Europe and visit Crete or Sardinia" but the cruise allowed us to see many places we never really would have otherwise. 

    2. Virgin looked to offer a very nice/not cheap experience and it was. We did upgrade to Rockstar status, which removes waiting in any lines and a larger cabin. I totally would suggest it if you can afford it. You also get a personal concierge that takes care of bookings events/other requests as well as access to a less crowded deck area. The "skip to the front of the line" was worth the price alone. 

    3. No kids under 18 on Virgin are allowed. This is huge and not because we hated kids, but because it changes the atmosphere. There are a lot of adult themed events on Virgin that I believe you do not get on other cruises. This will keep you & your 18 year old kids engaged and entertained while not felling like an amusement park. 

    4. No buffets - all of the dining is restaurants. Most of them were decent and nothing was awful. It also means there is not a lot of options for snacking, which we liked. 

    All in all, I would definitely suggest Virgin for anyone without young kids and especially for traveling the Mediterranean. 

  5. An FYI for anyone springing for a new roof - if you can afford it, look at getting the new grade 4 shingles that are available. They have the same impact resistance as metal roofs but are not as expensive. The Malarkey ones we installed are still pricey but we got over a 33% reduction in our insurance premium because of them. It highlights just how much hail & roof replacement is affecting insurance costs here in Texas.
     

    Also note that some of the insurance customer support people aren’t aware of the discount - the rep I talked to said it wouldn’t matter but gave me the form to submit anyway. After submitting the documentation, the insurance company came back with the reduced cost. 

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  6. 17 hours ago, Helobious said:

    I’ve heard this all my life (always from people that happen to smoke all the time and can’t go a day without it) and it’s completely ridiculous. Plenty of people are addicted to weed, because it’s possible to get addicted to anything. If you think nobody is addicted to weed you didn’t know many stoners growing up. 

     

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  7. 7 minutes ago, sidis said:

    you know the real answer to this.

    and for all the people that believe he is going to be rolling in all the btc, pardons do not impact civil asset forfeiture. his conviction was final and appeals exhausted. the pardon does not erase the fact of conviction or exempt from civil liability. i am actually curious to see if there are any civil suits brought against him now that he's out by the parents of kid in florida or the parents of the kid in perth or any of the other ones that died. not sure about limitations there.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/crypto-crime-lord-ross-ulbricht-235509730.html
     

    He paid off his fine when the government seized a stolen wallet of his. Some question whether now he might be able to get it back with the pardon. If I was him, I’d take the possible $650m and move on. He got a second chance, use it. 

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  8. On 12/20/2024 at 1:08 PM, BurntOrange&White said:

    We'd have to finish .500 in conference to have a chance to make it yeah? Anything less is a crap shoot?

    Typically 20+ wins gets you into the tournament. We have 18 conference games to play, so yes - .500 in conference should get us into the tournament with exactly 20 wins, especially since the SEC is so stacked this year.

    However, as of today, only 5 of those conference games are against teams not ranked in the top 25. We will have to fight tooth & nail to get 20 or more wins this season. 

  9. 15 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

    I wasn't paying complete attention to the story -- did I hear that it's a no-tuition school or did I dream that?  If that's actually true, the Pell grants would seem to be a non-issue.  I wouldn't begin to know how they'd make that work, though.

    The CBS article says that tuition is free - for now, implying that it will not be free in the future:

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uatx-launches-touting-ideological-openness-debate-60-minutes-transcript/

    My guess is that this is a way to get students to attend while the school works towards its accreditation, which won't happen until after the first class graduates. It seems to model a tech startup where you give out the product for free or reduced cost and then start charging more once it catches on. 

    I will be curious to see if it works or if it ends up being an expensive private school that has the same same type, but differently voiced, echo chambers they accuse traditional universities of having. 

  10. 1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

    I assume the school isn't accredited?

    https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/08/university-austin-uatx-launch-2024/

    Quote

    Last month, the board gave the school permission to start granting degrees by authorizing a two-year certificate. The board can renew the certificate every two years for an eight-year period while the school seeks accreditation from a national accrediting body. The school’s founders believe the standard accreditation process needs reform but acknowledge oversight is necessary so degrees are considered legitimate. Accreditation is also required for students to receive federal Pell grants to cover tuition and fees.

    Accreditation takes a long time, hence the eight year period the state gave them. It is also why a lot of for-profit schools just bought failing non-profit schools - so they could be covered by their accreditation and not spend the years required to get it on their own. 

    I bolded the important part above - accreditation is required in order to get Federal money. Otherwise, why do you need accreditation? If you are against the system and trying to revolutionize it, why do you care that the "failed system" doesn't recognizes you? 

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