Fast And Furious -- The Next Big Thing -- August 21, 2020

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The two most fascinating stories right now, 1:16 p.m. CDT, August 21, 2020:

• general: how Covid-19 will change America:
• a one-off: Uber/Lyft in California

Link to "how corona virus changes America" here. One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet (or if it has, understated): how the pandemic will affect pharmaceutical R&D, and the pace of new drugs coming to market. 

I don't think President Obama would have ever considered "Operation Warp Speed" and Joe Biden can't operate at normal driving conditions, much less at "warp speed." Anyone who disagrees with me on that lives in a different world than I do, but that's fine. President Obama was glacially slow; very, very reflective; said to be a very, very deep thinker; very smart; and went to Harvard. They say President Trump shoots from the hip; does not seem to be very reflective or thoughtful; thinks at warp speed but perhaps not deeply; played around in college; and went to Wharton (?). Fact check me on that. 

Millions of first graders across the nation now have the same teacher, spelled i-P-a-d. And most of those first graders are "doing that" on the WebEx platform. Sophia signs in at 0800 every morning (with assistance from an adult, usually her 16-year-old sister) and Sophia is then signed in for the day. Her teacher's avatar is the "whale" and Sophia has six icons to select from as she goes from class to class. 

The most fascinating story right now: Uber and Lyft in California. 

California gave them to the end of the month to convert all their individual contractors into employees. Lyft called the state's bluff and announced they were suspending Lyft services in California effective midnight, August 20, 2020 (last night). A California judge stepped into lift that ruling (for the time-being) before giving Uber a chance to respond.

My hunch: Uber was going to use the next nine days to a) steal market share from Lyft; and, more importantly, b) steal drivers from Lyft. Too bad the ruling was lifted. This would have been fascinating to watch. But the issue did not go away. I hope Uber and Lyft get the chance to suspend services in California. Wasn't there a movie, "A Day Without Mexicans"? Imagine a day without ride-sharing.

By the way, I am convinced there is much more to this story than meets the eye(s), and if it doesn't make sense, google it and/or follow the money. In this case: follow the money. How much do you want to bet, Soros (used as a metonym in this case) has bought up a million NYC yellow cab medallions for a really, really cheap price, betting that NYC will follow the lead of California.