From Jalopnik:
Drivers In Oregon Will Finally Be Allowed To Pump Their Own Gas
For most of the country, the idea of pulling into a gas station and then waiting for someone to come over and pump your gas for you is just weird. Millions of people pump their own gas every day without blowing themselves up or dumping it all over the ground. But with some exceptions, if you’re getting gas in Oregon, you haven’t actually been allowed to pump your own gas. Until now.
Oregon Live reports that state lawmakers recently passed a bill that will end the requirement for an attendant to pump your gas for you. You’ll still be able to get the full-service experience if you want, but now only half the pumps will be required to have attendants. The rest can be opened for self-service. Either way, though, you’ll be paying the same price because the bill doesn’t allow for a discount if you pump your own gas.
…
The bill had the support of the Northwest Grocery Association, which reportedly claimed it’s hard to hire enough attendants, which means half of the pumps are frequently closed anyway, so it wouldn’t eliminate jobs. And while some Oregon residents have been adamant that they don’t want to give up the convenience, plenty of others expressed support for being allowed to skip the line and pump their own gas just like nearly everyone else in the U.S.
…
Assuming Governor Tina Kotek signs the bill, it would go into effect immediately, leaving New Jersey as the only state that still doesn’t allow self-service. Come on, New Jersey. Give it up. Join the other 49 states. We’re doing just fine.
Well shit, nobody saw that coming in Russia.
Bergen county coming in at number 4
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12227073/The-neighborhoods-America-highest-levels-toxic-forever-chemicals-drinking-water.html
What’s Russian for “got popcorn?”
Putin sounds desperate.
That speech was not at all confident.
1st rule of Dictator Club: Don’t let somebody else have his own army.
2nd rule of Dictator Club: Don’t let somebody else have his own army.
“Some men may succeed because they are destined to, but most men succeed because they are determined to.” – Henry Ford
I was a gas jockey for many years in my teens and into early 20s while going to school. I guess my post retirement next career move won’t be going back to being a petroleum transport engineer. Perhaps a warehouse jockey? I’ve done that, too. Retirement from my white collar world isn’t coming anytime soon.
Popcorn time in Ukraine:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8Js3rgM/
Quick question.
Who is paying Wagner now?
Who is paying Wagner now?
NATO? Where did they get their money in the past?
Who is paying Wagner?
Wagner is a defacto Pirate Organization. They are going for the spoils of top military command, contracts and anything they can get their hands on – after Putin submission or removal.
Is not just allowing a private army that is not under your direct control (think the one eye Oath Keeper leader), but an army made of criminals that by definition have a high level of fighters with the dark triad tendencies along with low level of concienciousness.
Wagner guy saw that Putin was preparing to take him by a 4th floor window and he decided to make the first move. After all what is the point of being a toadie if you can’t enjoy your ill gotten gains. The fact is because of sanctions if you are a russkie billionaire you are limited to Russia, China, and some middle east countries.
Autocrat thuggish regimes are always walking an invisible line. The moment weakness is shown they are discredited and any fear people have goes out the window. Look at Argentina – a military dictatorship that started the Falkland War, once they lost the dictatorship was discredited in the eyes of the people and more importantly in the eyes of the bureaucratic machinery that enforced the thuggish laws – at that point no one is going to make an effort, shed a drop of sweat or tear for the autocrat and things fall rapidly apart.
Putin ends up a) figure head of new set of oligarch running the show b)like H in the bunker c)like Ceaceuscu in front of a firing squad d)in exile in China or middle east.
Pentagon lost $6 billion last week, sounds about right.
You know Russia froze Wagner’s bank accounts, and those guys won’t fight without the paycheck. So, somebody is paying.
Fast: I thought you said at one point that you would be retiring in a few years.
The Chechen leader Kadyrov is continuing to support Putin.
3b,
A few years could be… um… a few years or five years… or more. I would love to say I can do it in two years but who knows which way the wind blows?
Fast: Understand, so 3 to 5 years for you, maybe less, possibly more.
Depending on what happens over the weekend in Russia, the Fed may have to cut rates next week. I am guessing some people are considering that possibility.
3b,
The opposite. Same or higher. Ukraine resolved and less Russian oil coming to market because of civil war = higher oil driven inflation world wide.
This means that is very likely that Russian troops will abandon or be withdrawn out of Ukraine into Russia to fight for whatever faction their chain of command or they themselves happens to be loyal to. Which means that the Ukraine invasion is wrapping up sooner than later with Ukraine getting its original border back. Problem solved for Europe.
It does means that Russia looks like is going to have a civil war just like 100+ yrs ago. I expect different government structures that presently make up will split apart or mix and match – all of them are run by local autocrats – so they are going to make their own deals. But oil and anything else they produced might be nixed for a while until clarity happens. By the way Chechen is really small in population and is like saying West Virginia – the problem there was Islamist running amok which Putin appointy took care of. He won’t go -he’s pragmatic enough to realign his interests.
From wikipedia:
46 oblasts
The most common type of federal subject with a governor and locally elected legislature. Commonly named after their administrative centres.[259]
22 republics
Each is nominally autonomous—home to a specific ethnic minority, and has its own constitution, language, and legislature, but is represented by the federal government in international affairs.[260]
9 krais
For all intents and purposes, krais are legally identical to oblasts. The title “krai” (“frontier” or “territory”) is historic, related to geographic (frontier) position in a certain period of history. The current krais are not related to frontiers.[261]
4 autonomous okrugs
Occasionally referred to as “autonomous district”, “autonomous area”, and “autonomous region”, each with a substantial or predominant ethnic minority.[262]
3 federal cities
Major cities that function as separate regions (Moscow and Saint Petersburg, as well as Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Ukraine).[263]
1 autonomous oblast
The only autonomous oblast is the Jewish Autonomous Oblast.[264]
Stu,
This guy made me think of you.
His name is Tom Stuker — a 69-year-old New Jersey car dealership consultant — and he’s the biggest mistake United Airlines ever made.
In 1990, United offered a lifetime pass for $290,000. Stuker jumped on it and has pretty much lived in seat 1B — his favorite — ever since. He once went 12 straight days without sleeping in a bed. Just kept jetting from Newark to San Francisco to Bangkok to Dubai and back again, the equivalent of four trips around the world, leaving the sky only for the airport lounge.
According to Stuker, 2019 was his best year. He took 373 flights that covered 1.46 million miles. If he had bought all these flights in cash, it would have cost him $2.44 million.
Why? Duh. For the miles. “Best investment of my life,” Stuker says. He realized that frequent-flier miles aren’t just valuable for booking more flights. Once you get them, you can sell them, trade them, win auctions with them. Stuker has lived like a sultan on United miles ever since — lavish hotel suites all over the world, weeks-long Crystal cruises, gourmet meals from Perth to Paris.
He says he even parlayed the miles into enough gift cards to redo his brother’s house. The miles maestro once cashed $50,000 worth of Walmart gift cards in a single day. United quit offering the passes a long time ago, so don’t get any ideas.
He gets award miles even though he’s not paying for these flights (since he’s using his pass)? I’ve booked a grand total of two award flights on United and didn’t think I receive miles for those types of reservations.
So, which one is it?
Putin ends up a) figure head of new set of oligarch running the show b)like H in the bunker c)like Ceaceuscu in front of a firing squad d)in exile in China or middle east.
Stable,
My Magic 8 Ball keeps telling me answer E. But I don’t trust it that much, because in the past it told me to invest in Enron, Countrywide and now DNA and Kathy something.
But E is Putin, Trump, the 4 Pee Tape Ladies, Small Con as navigator and Banana Joe as captain in Ocean Gate back up “Little Titan” on the way to Q Anon’s new revelation of a secret underwater city for Q believers under the Titanic.
Joyce,
Idk how it works. Stu might know.
But to play this game he paid a lot of money for that pass. More than a trip to the Titanic.
And that was older, more valuable money.
How you win an election:
https://youtu.be/EpMLAQbSYAw?t=2089
I don’t know if any of you are American Civil War buffs (I’m certainly not) but I am fascinated every time I find something online or on cable. It turns into a must watch. I wasn’t all too familiar with the battle in Northern Virginia in the Spring of 1864. It was a dry Spring and artillery fire was starting multiple brush fires. As a result, the injured could not escape and were cooked alive. After two days of brutal battle, it was a standstill with thousands of casualties; twice as many Union deaths than Confederate.
I recently watched a four hour series on U.S. Grant on the History channel which lead me to the link above. Truly fascinated with anything regarding the U.S. Civil War. Anybody an expert on the war?
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/wilderness
Fast
Spoiler
The North won.
I used to be a big civil war buff. Ken Burns’ Civil War documentary got me into it. (If you haven’t seen Ken Burns’ “The Civil War” definitely watch it!).
Bruce Catton has a good biography of Grant. And Shelby Foote’s “The Civil War- a narrative” is a classic. Plenty of good bios of Lincoln- all worth a read.
A visit to the Gettysburg battlefield is also worth it. Really cool to walk up Little Round Top and see where JL Chamberlain’s troops did their famous bayonette charge.
Looks like the Wagner coup attempt is over.
Lol
Hold my beer says:
June 24, 2023 at 3:34 pm
Fast
Spoiler
The North won.
re: “Wagner coup attempt is over”
Somebody paid the back wages.
We may be getting a new White House Press Secretary soon, it’s been a long year for her that is for sure.
Here is the latest, apparently all of the press outlets want answers, as there may be real evidence of prior corruption when Biden was VP. I will preface this again “may”. seems many press many outlets are now investigating the Chinese connection.
https://twitter.com/ContrarianTribe/status/1672732212649918466
I’ve been to Gettysburg, stopped at each spot on the map, got out and reflected. I’ve also seen pieces of Burns’ documentary but not entirely. I think I’ll do some reading and viewing on the subject this summer, it is intriguing. I do have a Confederate note, some of the common notes can be had for $30 bucks or so: https://tinyurl.com/4twyuc5n. Forget about Confederate coinage, almost impossible to find.
Humm – Prigoszhin leaves Russia for Belarus? Seems he must have been promised something? Perhaps President of Belarus? President Lukashenko has so far refused to send in his troops from the norther borders.
Civil War ushered in a new age of warfare and drug abuse.
In case you are wondering what I am talking about…the first hardcore drug addicts.
“The Soldier’s Disease was code for addiction to morphine or other opiates. Given the industrial nature of the Civil War, and the state of medical treatment at the time, the source of the addiction developed from amputations caused by shrapnel wounds.”
Boom!! Exactly why I am in DNA. Let’s go!! Just made my day.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/23/magazine/golden-age-medicine-biomedical-innovation.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Constantly having to lie all day starts to really grind on you after a while. So tiring in fact she didn’t say anything at all. Reminded me of a goalie with 30 forwards shooting pucks at her while she was just deflecting them.
Frontline has a good (older) video on AI. They badmouth the Chinese on it.
America will be doing the same to it’s own people, I give it 10 years or less.
Every Ring camera will be linked to the Borg.
Slow cooking your frogs is one thing, having them make the pot, fill it, jump inside, and turn the heat on all by themselves is actually an amazing feat.
Americans are a silly group, they are creating the dystopian nightmare all by themselves under the guise of “freedom” and “justice.”
Dolts don’t realize they are actually doing it out of fear. Amazon and your government thank you for your “contribution.”
Phoenix man,
You need to increase your anti-depressant dosage, even Trump put you in the “Don’t let in List” in his Mar-A-Lago and other Golf resorts under the “Debbie Downer” Category. It’s better than Small Con and Banana Joe because they are under “Too poor/No High School/ Don’t own Tuxedo” Category.
Look if you need help, I’m sure we can have a collection here to ship you to a nice weekend in Vegas, but with the cheapskate crowd here – it might be a crack ho motel 5 blocks from the beach in Atlantic City, but one of our degenerate gamblers in here will given you a lot of his comp coupons.
You need to say this and loud….. https://youtu.be/JxxNvfVfDB0
Phoenix
And some state governments want to install tracking devices in your car, supposedly to make sure you pay your fair share for using the roads as gas tax receipts shrink from ev use and cars with better mpg and work from home.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/fuel-taxes-plummet-states-weigh-042526446.html
HMB,
They will get it any way they can. I wonder how Jersey is going to go for their road tax money.
I would think it’s easy for them to get it from Tesla’s system. Elon wouldn’t have no problem giving up your data for a favor in the future.
10 or 11 figure sum? Not joking
Juice Box says:
June 24, 2023 at 8:55 pm
Humm – Prigoszhin leaves Russia for Belarus? Seems he must have been promised something? Perhaps President of Belarus? President Lukashenko has so far refused to send in his troops from the norther borders
Prigoszhin
I’m guessing that he never was going to do anything, he was just making a point and a spectacle. Putin will now implode like a submersible.
If Karine Jean-Pierre was packing heat I’d bet she would have busted off a cap or two on some of those reporters.
Her head was practically on fire.
Chocolate Shirley Temple is the perfect press secretary to represent this administration and the modern democrat; defensive, angry, frustrated, lost, odd and unfocused. Manchin and RFK Jr. have become so disillusioned over the current state of the democrat party that any one of them would most likely win the election. O’Biden wouldn’t stand a chance in a primary. Progressives are terrified. “Who will love us and take care of us? How can we fleece the muppets for our own gain with if an old school democrat runs for president?” I actually listen to RFK Jr. and Manchin when they speak. The O’Bidens, Newsoms, Clintons and Obammys of the world are a bunch of ‘sack of shit’ charlatans.
One for the Hunter Hard On Crowd.
Brian Hopkins For Congress GA-06
@TheBrianHopkins
Let’s say for one minute that Hunter Biden did send the text message in 2017. Let’s for one minute assume the Joe Biden is sitting right there with Hunter while composing the message. Let’s even go further & say that Joe Biden told Hunter what to say in the text.
What office did Joe Biden hold in 2017?
In 2017, what law did then private citizen Joe Biden break?
Now let’s assume that he didn’t provide a product. Let’s even assume that it was pay for political influence.
If Biden was paid for political influence while a private citizen, isn’t that what lobbyists do everyday?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but if Biden is guilty of all these things Republicans have stated above isn’t he only guilty of lying while NOT under oath? Isn’t that exactly what Donald Trump did for 4 straight years?
I fail to see the need for a Congressional investigation! Please tell me where I’m wrong & remember I made a bunch of assumptions in this hypothetical situation!
#BrianHopkinsforCongress
“Chocolate Shirley Temple”
Gary, you are better than that.
Couple of observations from Bill Burr’s show at Prudential on Sat night…
– Refreshing to see a comedian equally lampoon R’s and D’s. Will be interesting to see what happens first — a more general return to the old days when comedians took shots at everyone, or BB gets canceled.
– Dice Clay was one of the opening acts; said that he was warning us about political correctness 35 years ago, and when joking about letting children transition to the gender of their choice, pretty much summed up the entire state of affairs in this country in one sentence — “what the f**k are we doing?”
Fab
Wouldn’t that make him an unregistered foreign agent?
Your problem is, your standard has become “was it legal” as opposed to “is it moral”.
NSFW. NYC. Fun times:
https://twitter.com/JosBtrigga/status/1672777116725788676?s=20
America having a meltdown. Demask
https://twitter.com/Timcast/status/1672996990278418435?s=20