Corridors of Power, Now Moving at Warp Speed! From Tuesday’s Washington Post Ben Terris profile of Benny Johnson, who was once fired from Buzzfeed for plagiarism:

“D.C. has always been the city of second chances; now it just moves at meme speed. And no one can ride a meme like Benny Johnson.”

Helen Rogan, my magazine colleague a few decades ago, called this particular style of bad writing “The Hearty Hack.” The Post Style section once had a lot of it. I thought it had almost vanished. Good to see someone carrying on the tradition. … P.S.:  1) Has D.C. really been “the city of second chances”?  Janet Cooke, Stephen Glass, Gary Hart, Jack Abramoff, call your offices!  … 2) Terris says “Benny rebounded unusually quickly, fielding offers within weeks of his dismissal.” Weeks! In today’s wired world, moving at meme speed, don’t talented, newly unemployed people usually get offers within … I don’t know, nanoseconds? …  Backfill: Terris’ smarmy piece already provoked some controversy, summarized here. At kausfiles, you don’t ride meme. Meme ride you.  …