The nicest thing that I can say about Nancy Pelosi is that she's the vice president in waiting after the 25th Amendment kicks in on Joe Biden, who was formally declared the winner yesterday. She'll be Kamala's second in command provided that transfer of power happens before January 2023. 

A recent survey (until the 9:14 mark) shows that people hold her more accountable than Mitch freakin' McConnell--and McConnell is bonafide horrid. All Pelosi had to do was to pass a standalone stimulus or try give us a UBI and pay small businesses to remain open through this pandemic. Instead, she told reporters to "calm down" and that "we feed them."

Bottom line: Nancy Pelosi is a worse negotiator than Nido Qubein whose poor skills led to the current zombie state of Oak Hollow Mall when Dillard's and Sears prevented him from building High Point University's pharmacy school where it made the most sense.

Uber & Lyft: From Underdogs to Gatekeepers

In response to all of the hoopla with Uber and Lyft in California, an honest assessment about the two ridesharing companies.

The truth is that Uber and Lyft used to be disrupting forces but are now rent seekers who are interested in holding onto their power and keeping out others.

The turn from upstarts to bullies started when Austin, TX called the ridesharing companies on their bluff, forcing them to leave town. Alternatives popped up but the 2017 South by Southwest Festival that most of them weren't ready for prime time. Whining by the elites attending the festival helped the experienced players lobby Texas legislature to pass a law that overruled the will of the Austin City Council in 2015 and Austin voters in 2016. After Governor Abbott signed it, the big companies returned while the alternatives saw their share plummet with most of them going out of business.

Ridesharing has taken place in cities where bus service has been slashed. There's a reason why Vancouver has bucked the trend. There has been talk about cooperatives and decentralization. If it happens, then, Uber and Lyft will deserve whatever happens to them when things are opened up.

• Looking back to a previous post, it appears that the skeptics were right about Warren Buffett's motivations in owning newspapers as he's not only selling both of the Triad's dailies but is getting out of that business altogether
• Speaking of monopolies, this is pretty accurate
• FDR is not coming through that door anytime soon but with the way things are going, it's more likely that America will have something akin to fascism than to socialism by the next financial crisis and that regime won't hesitate to squash any rebellion against the ultra rich ruining everyone else's lives