Friday, November 21, 2025

Ticketmaster’s Reckless, Privacy-Shredding Covid Plan to Get You in Their Seats

Ticketmaster wants to use technology to make events safer. Too bad its ideas are intrusive and medically questionable.

Tapped-Out Tenants Take Charge as Landlords Pursue End Runs Around Eviction Moratorium

Tenants face harassment and lockouts to pressure them to leave their homes — but renters are fighting back.

2:00PM Water Cooler 11/12/2020

~ Covid chart ~ Unimpressive Michigan affidavits ~ Epistemological crises ~ Biden walkbacks begin ~ Trump v. Biden spending per vote ~ The awfulness of Proposition 22 ~ Obama’s new book ~ Google bills for storage ~ Bank of Solidarity

Dealing with the Second Wave: Subsidies, Instead of Ordering Closures

Could officials use carrots rather than a stick to induce short-term closures of high risk businesses like restaurants?

Links 11/12/2020

Home Health Aide Services for the Elderly as a Lemon Market

Some shaggy dog stories and analysis on wh the home health care aide industry performs poorly, at least here in the US.

Bloomberg Warns: A Covid Vaccine Could Help the Virus Spread

And just when you started to think an effective Covid vaccine would fix everything….

What Did You Miss While You Were Following the US Elections?

Since the US elections weren’t the only recent event of importance, an international news smorgasbord.

2:00PM Water Cooler 11/11/2020

~ 2020 pantry clear-out begins ~ Polling debacles ! ~ Can polling be fixed? ~ Election legitimacy, now and then ~ AOC on ground operations ~ Pfizer ramping? ~ Biden’s Covid plan ~ Nursing home Covid mortality and loneliness ~ Animal Crossing ~ Zamyatin’s “We” ~ Bob and Ray ~ A hole in one

Matt Taibbi: A Dangerous Moment for the Democratic Party

Matt Taibbi describes why the Democrats are likely to draw all the wrong lessons from their shabby 2020 results.

Links 11/11/2020

The Super Cold Covid Vaccine Distribution Problem

The more you look at Pfizer’s vaccine, the more you have to think they really really needed that first mover advantage.

Unions Raise Worker Wellbeing

Quelle surprise! Unions look better than they used to, due to the worsening of non-union work.

James M. Buchanan, Segregation, and Virginia’s Massive Resistance

Later “Nobel” prize winner James Buchanan took his first policy stance by supporting segregation in Virginia via proto charter schools.

2:00PM Water Cooler 11/10/2020

Covid charts ~ Can Biden avoid Obama’s mistakes? ~ Manchin on fundamental change ~ Biden transition and Silicon Valley ~ Candidate concessions ~ Vote challenges ~ Boeing 737 ~ Pfizer’s vaccine makes me queasy ~ Book hoarding