I can't get online porn.

[Kyle]

Not that I ever would look at it or even seek it out. But apparently Texas passed an age-verification bill that would hold porn companies liable if a minor accessed their site. So the porn companies now block access in Texas.

Meanwhile, porn shops line the major interstates and strip clubs are all over the place.

Texas is stupid.

[Mike]

Yeah, that's how you know you're in Texas when you're coming down i-35. You cross over the river from oklahoma, and there it is: a huge XXX adult store! And I mean it's right on the border. You have to wait another 2 miles before you get to the welcome to Texas visitor center.

[Kyle]

Yeah, that's how you know you're in Texas when you're coming down i-35. You cross over the river from oklahoma, and there it is: a huge XXX adult store! And I mean it's right on the border. You have to wait another 2 miles before you get to the welcome to Texas visitor center.

That reminds me of when I was driving to Colorado and when you're getting ready to cross from Texas into New Mexico, there's a huge billboard that says, "Welcome y'all! Legal marijuana in 1.5 miles on the right!"

[Mike]

Yeah, that's how you know you're in Texas when you're coming down i-35. You cross over the river from oklahoma, and there it is: a huge XXX adult store! And I mean it's right on the border. You have to wait another 2 miles before you get to the welcome to Texas visitor center.

That reminds me of when I was driving to Colorado and when you're getting ready to cross from Texas into New Mexico, there's a huge billboard that says, "Welcome y'all! Legal marijuana in 1.5 miles on the right!"

HA! That's awesome! I'm used to going into Missouri and seeing fireworks billboards or entering South Dakota and seeing billboards for EVERYTHING THAT EXISTS IN SOUTH DAKOTA!

[Phoebe]

Wall Drug: 228 mi. Free water!

I wish I knew better what the relationship between porn availability and various forms of criminal violence might be. Some people have argued that widespread availability of porn led to a reduction in some kinds of sexual violence but I haven't seen conclusive, case-closed evidence about any of this, nor is it clear how well these studies assess widely underreported events. Honestly I think porn is wretched and ugly, but it's a freedom thing and if people want it, they should be able to publish it and view it assuming no crimes were otherwise committed in the process. One worries about exploitation and violence in that industry too but it's not all like that, I gather - some version of locally-produced, carbon-neutral, free-range porn where the actors aren't exploited, I don't know. Texas seems so extreme but then you realize, it's a lot closer to a "purple" state than many others...

[Kyle]

If it makes you feel better, Phoebe, I can attest to the fact this: ever since Texas banned online porn, I have committed no violent crimes (against myself or others). So maybe it's working.