Oh, boo-hoo

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While I’d prefer that he spend the effort on bombing Iran back to the stone age (and there are indications that he may do just that this weekend), this is fun, and it has the added bonus of making our silly senator Murphy heaping mad.

Colbert was cancelled because his show was losing $40 million a year, not because Orange Man demanded it, although it’s hard to believe that a show featuring a Democrat Party shill* with this kind of penetrating comedy genius could lose money:

* And acknowledged as such by his bosses:

Gasoline profiteering

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The usual crowd of political hacks, including CT’s State Attorney Tong, are screaming about “price gouging” oil companies and retailers and promising to “do something about it”. If they’re really concerned about drivers paying too much at the pump, they might look to their own tax policies first: The average gas station makes a net of between 3¢-7¢ per gallon sold: in Connecticut, the state makes 50¢, and the feds take an additional 18¢.

Just saying.

Why Gasoline Costs More in Connecticut

The average price of a gallon of gas in Connecticut hit $4.62 this past Tuesday, according to AAA—roughly 12 cents higher than the national average. Why the premium? It comes down to a trifecta of taxes:

  • The Federal Tier: An 18.4 cent-per-gallon tax that hasn't changed since 1993. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) has proposed a bill to temporarily suspend this federal tax through October 1st to provide some summer relief.

  • The State Flat Tax: Connecticut tacks on a fixed 25-cent-per-gallon motor fuel tax.

  • The "Hidden" Percentage: Unlike most states, CT also has a 8.1% petroleum products gross earnings tax. While you don't see it as a separate line item on your receipt, wholesalers pass this cost directly to the station, and ultimately, to your wallet.

Gas stations operate on razor-thin margins for fuel. On average, a gas station earns a gross profit of about $0.30 to $0.40 per gallon. After covering overhead expenses like labor, utilities, credit card transaction fees, and taxes, the net profit shrinks to just $0.03 to $0.07\) per gallon. [1, 2, 3]

The breakdown of how the pump price translates to actual profit:

  • Gross Margin: The markup before expenses, typically around $0.30 to $0.40. For context, major operators average around $0.47 in gross margins.

  • Overhead Costs: Expenses such as rent, maintenance, freight, and insurance total about $0.22 to $0.30 per gallon. Credit card fees alone can eat up over $0.10 per gallon depending on local pricing.

  • Net Profit: The final take-home amount is just $0.02 to $0.07 per gallon. This makes fuel primarily a driver of customer traffic rather than the main profit center. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

The Real Money Maker
Because the net profit on a gallon of gas is so low, most gas station owners rely on their attached convenience stores to stay profitable. While store sales account for only about 30% of total revenue, they often contribute to 70% of a station's total profits, bringing in gross margins of 30% to 45% on items like snacks, tobacco, and drinks

But wait, Connecticut, there’s more! 25¢ more!

You’ll recall that decades ago our Hartford Yahoos passed a “temporary” so-called “Windfall Profits Tax” with a provision, they claimed, that would prohibit the oil companies paying it from passing it on to consumers. Everyone knew that pass-through prohibition would be declared unlawful — our state Democrats just put it in as window dressing to fool their voters while they got the tax enacted — and it was, immediately. So the Democrats, despite a promise that they’d repeal the tax if consumers were required to pay it, merely changed the name of the levy to “Petroleum Products Gross Earnings Tax”, and drivers have been paying an extra 25¢ ever since.

Connecticut’s 8.1% Petroleum Products Gross Earnings Tax (PGET) typically adds about 20 to 26 cents to the price of a gallon of gas. Because it is calculated as a percentage of the wholesale price, the exact per-gallon cost varies, but state law caps the taxable wholesale base for gasoline and gasohol at $3.00 per gallon. [1, 2, 3]

Because of this statutory cap, the PGET cannot exceed roughly 26.4 cents per gallon on gasoline, even when wholesale prices surge

Update: reader Pierre Delicto suggests an updating of Tong’s picture. Maybe “Thong Tong”?

UPDATE II: Thong Tong II:

Lies, damn lies, and media reporting

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AOC Holds Up a Jar of Georgia 'Drinking Water' Polluted by a Nearby Data Center

Pure bullshit, and not just what’s in her stool sample. First, here’s tha actual story, not the false one first published by People’s Magazine (exactly the type of information source we would expect Miss AOC to derive her “knowledge” from), but the debunking of that article by the water authority involved. Not surprisingly, rather than acknowledge the falsity of its first artcle, People reposted it; repeat a lie often enough and (some) people will believe it.

Here’s what the water authority itself says:

Facts about the QTS Fayetteville Data Center Campus Project

Facts about the QTS Fayetteville Data Center Campus Project

May 13, 2026

Fayette County, GA - We want to share the facts and correct some misinformation about the QTS Fayetteville Data Center campus project.

Our letter on May 15, 2025, was unclear, which caused misunderstandings about how much water QTS is allowed to use and expectations for the project. The purpose of the letter was to explain the construction activities, administrative billing issues, and the higher construction water rate.

The Fayette County Water System started upgrading all 33,000 customer meters to smart meters, known as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), to improve meter reading accuracy, detect leaks, and enhance customer service. While switching to the new system, it was discovered that some meters were still connected to the old system and not linked to the new digital system for billing or usage tracking. Once this problem was found, QTS and Fayette County Water quickly worked together to resolve the billing and meter tracking issues. QTS was immediately billed at the $6.46/per 1,000 gallons construction rate, which is double the normal retail rate for past water use, and QTS promptly paid this bill.

…. QTS's water usage is typical for a project of this size. Over the past year, QTS monthly usage is less than 1% of Fayette County Water’s current production and permitted capacity. Fayette County Water is allowed to produce 22,800,000 gallons per day and currently produces about 17,300,000 gallons per day.

This project does not affect residential water pressure, and there are no wells in the Fayette County Water System.

On Tuesday, People Magazine posted yet again its story about how a data center in Georgia was gulping down 30 million gallons of water, lowering water pressure for nearby residents.

And then comes that posturing idiot, Miss Orcaza:

His defense lawyers says "this type of thing happens every day". True, and Trump's trying to stop it

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[Illegal alien] Big rig driver charged in Lodi after crash on Highway 99 leaves 2 dead, 5 injured

A big rig driver is accused of taking off from the scene of a crash that killed two people on Highway 99 near Lodi on Tuesday, authorities said.

The crash happened on northbound Highway 99, south of Harney Lane, shortly before 12:30 p.m. 

The California Highway Patrol said three vehicles — a Toyota Camry, Nissan Frontier and Kia Forte — were slowing down to come to a complete stop in the far right lane. Officers said a Freightliner Cascadia was traveling behind the three vehicles. 

Officers said the driver of the big rig, who they identified as 24-year-old Manvir Singh, failed to stop the Freighliner and crashed into the rear of the Kia Forte. This caused a chain reaction, causing the Forte to crash into the Frontier and the Frontier to crash into the Camry. 

Two males, ages 16 and 20, in the Forte died, officers said.

Five other people were taken to the hospital, including two people with major injuries. 

The CHP said Singh took off running from the scene of the crash. He was taken into custody nearby and booked into jail.

The San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office charged Singh on Thursday with two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, reckless driving causing specified injury and hit-and-run resulting in permanent injury or death. 

Prosecutors said Singh tried to drag one of the victims out of the car after the crash. But after they screamed, they said he ran off and eventually ordered an Uber. 

They also argue that there were no skid marks on the roadway, suggesting that Singh never tried to brake before his big rig slammed into the back of the Forte. 

Singh's defense attorney pushed back on the charges, arguing this was a tragic accident and not gross negligence. 

"What was the gross negligence? He wasn't drunk, he wasn't doing drugs," said Jacob Benguerel, his defense attorney. "There's no evidence that he was doing anything other than driving a big rig down the road, and there was an accident. I mean, this is the type of thing that happens every day." 

And then the report finally gets around to the nub of the matter:

The Department of Homeland Security said Singh entered the U.S. illegally in Arizona in July 2023 and was released by the Biden administration. 

We’ll have to wait to find out whether Mr. Singh has a CDL and, if so, where he got it. I know how I’d bet.

Willowmere Circle goes pending

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44 Willowmere Circle, Riverside, hit the market with a guide price of $3.2 million, went immediately to highest and best, and is reported pending today. I’ve always thought it was fabulous house, designed and built by my childhood friend Jackie Rutherford’s parents, both landscape architects, in 1963, who then moved the family from Summit Road to here and lived happily ever after. I’m hopeful that the current buyer is planning on keeping it, but these days, who knows?

And they'll be hand-knitted by Somali refugees

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Angus King Wants Medicare Funded Bath Mats

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) announced a novel proposal on Wednesday to cut Medicare spending: send 20-30 million $11 bath mats to Medicare recipients to prevent costly falls.

“I’m the Johnny Appleseed of bath mats. Whenever I go to see somebody and they don’t have one of these in their shower, I buy one and send it to them. Now here’s the proposal, though: why doesn’t CMS [the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] send one of these to every Medicare recipient in the country,” said Sen. King.

“I did the back-of-the-envelope calculation; it would pay for itself in about nine months,” he added.

King’s idea would see CMS purchasing 20-30 million $11 bath mats in the hope that they stop enough falls that ultimately cost the taxpayer welfare programs more.

And why stop there? What about grab bars, presumably installed by trained NGO employees, who would pinkie-swear that they’d really, truly delivered and installed them, even if Miss Okumba Swazulli’s residence might seem an unlikely home to require 3,467 grab bars and 12,000 toilet mats.

“Allow CMS to spend money on prevention, things like grab bars and bath mats. Right now, Medicare will pay for a broken hip, but they won’t pay for a grab bar in your shower; that’s just insane,” said King.

King’s initial estimate of 20-30 million $11 bath mats would cost $220-330 million.