Monkeys aren't writing the next Shakespeare novel because they're too busy looking for thots on Instagram

https://twitter.com/dsemumi/status/1121226340085243904

A centralized truth for Ben.

Wudda planet.

Matt Taibbi weighs in on RussiaGate.

This fiasco will surely end up being a net plus for Trump. The obstruction parts of the report make him look like a brainless goon and thug, but the absence of what Mueller repeatedly calls “underlying crime” make his ravings about an elitist mob out to get him look justified. This is not an easy thing to achieve, but we’re there, and the press is a big part of that picture.

News audiences were betrayed, and sooner or later, even the most virulently Trump-despising demographics will realize it and tune us out. The only way to reverse the damage is to own how big of a screw-up this was, but after the last three years, who would hold their breath waiting for that?

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russiagate-fiasco-taibbi-news-media-826246/amp/

Ah, politicians. Unsafe at any speed.

https://reason.com/2019/04/24/california-politicians-hiked-gas-tax-now-demand-investigation-into-states-4-per-gallon-gas-prices/

Gummint totally agrees with Benny!

Golly— It's almost like government prefers a "centralized clearinghouse" because it's easier to monitor. And regulate. And tax. And devalue.

Nicholas Kristof on Melinda Gates' new book.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/opinion/melinda-gates-microsoft-feminist.html

Excerpts:

...One of Melinda’s first challenges came in the harsh, male-dominated techie culture at Microsoft. “It was just so brash, so argumentative and competitive, with people fighting to the end on every point,” she writes. She began thinking about quitting.

Then she found a woman colleague, Charlotte Guyman, who felt the same. “It’s not O.K. for women to cry at work, but it’s O.K. for men to yell at work?” Guyman once asked. With other women employees, they began to create oases in Microsoft where courtesy was not seen as a sign of weakness. A critical mass of women employees helped civilize the company...

Right back at ya Cridster. Troll on.

On the RussiaGate, IRA, I've seen that line quite a bit lately. That this is unprecedented and if the media doesn't confess their sins and turn away they will lose all market share. Baloney. Does Taibbi not remember Dan Rather and his 'False but true' smear on Bush. There are plenty of examples. RussiaGate is just another brick in the wall, not the whole wall.

Ah, politicians. Unsafe at any speed. ~ I R A Darth Aggie at April 25, 2019 6:57 AM

Having done some work in fuel, I got a first-hand education in California's gasoline situation. Most of the problems are politics-driven, not always tax-driven.

California was governed mostly by Southern California for a long time. Los Angeles has air quality issues. So, the politicians implemented a fuel policy to help reduce LA's air issues.

The formulation required for gasoline to be sold in California is stricter, and so more expensive. That stricter formulation is required only in California. So, refineries produce an amount to meet the estimated need and refine the rest of the gasoline in their supply to the lower standards other states require; meaning that when California runs low on gasoline, there is not a ready supply of replacement gasoline. California gas suppliers cannot simply purchase surplus gasoline "off the rack."

California, like most states, specifies separate summer and winter formulations but, unlike many states, does not allow the mixing of the two formulas during the transition period. Stations must run out of one formula before switching to the other. Thus, every spring and fall, California begins running low on gasoline in the seasonally-prescribed mix.

In general, the summer formulation is more expensive to make and yields fewer gallons per barrel than the winter formulation, making the summer gasoline more expensive in all states.

Complicating matters further, California is the first state to switch to summer formulation and the last to switch back to winter formulation.

The US Energy Information Administration reports about the switchover to summer blend gasoline, "In California switchover dates are earlier, and summer-grade gasoline must be in use for a longer period."

And the summer blend season in California is longer. According to NACS, "In California, the season for summer-blend fuels is longer than the rest of the country. Both Northern and Southern California’s summer-blend requirements run through the end of October." Other states switch over in September.

Thus, even the slightest disruption to the supply of gasoline can drastically affect the retail price of gasoline in California. There is very little leeway to absorb politician shenanigans, demand shifts, and refinery issues

***SPOILER ALERT***

https://babylonbee.com/news/avengers-endgame-viewers-disappointed-as-thanos-killed-by-captain-marvels-gender-inequality-lecture

Taibbi not remember Dan Rather and his 'False but true' smear on Bush. There are plenty of examples. RussiaGate is just another brick in the wall, not the whole wall.

Yes, yes, but much like the boy who cried wolf, the media won't be eaten on the first day. One day they'll wake up, and find that even their like-minded viewers have tuned them out.

If they're lucky. If not, they'll find that they're being mocked by everyone not in the media. There's only so many conspiracy theories that Maddow can peddle before people realize she's just a progressive clone of Alex Jones.

One of Melinda’s first challenges came in the harsh, male-dominated techie culture at Microsoft. “It was just so brash, so argumentative and competitive, with people fighting to the end on every point,” she writes.

Too bad they didn't put that fighting into improving Windows. Or Office. Or *shudders* Clippy.

Rather wasn't the first one IRA. There has been a long slow bleed from traditional media sources. That trend is driven in two major ways today by the internet. On the one hand people have access to other sources. Without their monopoly, pulling CNN and Rather type shenanigans doesn't work too well. On the other hand the internet lets media companies centralize. More and more reporters only live in a few cities. They only know the issues in those few cities. Hence they have no connection with the vast geographic majority of the US. And consequently people living there place little value on those papers. For an example look at NY Times reporters who went to Iowa to report on things. They sounded like a Jane Goodall special on rare primates. Unfortunately for that reporter the people in that small town had access to the internet. They were able to call him out as a fraud and a liar.

Ever wonder how much is a buttload?

https://twitter.com/Owen_Stephens/status/1121194251046416384

Feds indict a judge for helping an illegal sneak out of the courthouse to avoid ICE.

Snowball starts a-rollin'.

Gandalfina wants you to go Mount Doom to destroy that one ring:

https://twitter.com/OJessicaNigri/status/1121462593078431744

"the next Shakespeare novel"

Much Ado About Little Women On The Prairie.

Do Hamlets Come From Little Pigs?

I Am Henry The Eighth, I Am

The novels didn't sell well but the subsequent stage productions were much leaner and, rumor has it, successful.

This happened to me when I started the freshman year at a Big Ten university.

AHEM

This happened to me when I started the freshman year at a Big Ten university.

Funny how much younger plagiarist Biden calls to mind Phil Hartman (in some especially unctuous role).