That is expensive! In Texas it is $33 for a standard driver’s license and lasts 8 years. All these recommendations to get a passport card make a lot more sense now. I was confused at first because passports here are way less affordable than a driver’s license and you can’t drive with a passport, so you still need that driver’s license in a car-centric state. Real ID started rolling out in 2012 so people have really been dragging their feet if they still don’t have one. I don’t think you can get a driver’s license or ID card here without Real ID. Also stores that sell alcohol don’t take a passport here either, so you need a state ID if you want to drink.

Do you really want to leave Republicans in charge of the legislature until Cruz is up for reelection?

xAI is Elon’s AI company. I don’t think the value at which he is willing to sell his one company to his other company applies much to anything outside of Musk’s companies.

It is normal for older people to be jaded. Having the young, idealistic age start out life jaded and miserable really drags the average down.

The person who shared this here specifically said [US President] Trump is losing soldiers which is a fairly specific indicator. You can look up which countries have a person named Trump in charge. The linked website is a US website writing for a US audience so they don’t write their headlines as if they are a global news organization.

Just because someone has a higher paycheck and a slightly nicer car doesn’t mean they have made it beyond living a paycheck to paycheck grind. Most of these people are living in a slightly more expensive neighborhood that eats up a lot of those slightly higher wages and they still have to budget for major purchases like a new car. Tesla owners aren’t a bunch of hedge fund managers living in mansions behind gates, separate from the rest of us. I don’t have a Tesla myself, but I live in a boring suburban neighborhood full of Teslas.

Not necessarily, it could be like Russia electing Putin into office. In 2008 he traded roles and became prime minister due to the consecutive term limits they had there, then he went back to the presidency and abolished that whole restriction so he could remain president for the rest of his life. Russia still has elections, but opposition candidates get disappeared. It’s more of democracy theater than actual democracy.