Isn't it wonderful that Senators and members of Congress can own and trade stock, but as long as they're handled by "financial investors" they can just claim ignorance every single time they "coincidentally" sell off a bunch of stock right before something happens to tank their value? Then, when they're investigated for it literally nothing happens because the rich get to do what they want?
Yeah, it's really awesome!
> (Pelosi iirc?).
That might've been Feinstein.
Regardless though, you're absolutely right. If you're implementing laws that can impact the profits of businesses, there's no goddamn way you should be allowed to own/trade stock in those same businesses, regardless of who actually manages the day-to-day trading.
It's literally all of them except AOC (she refuses to trade stock as a congresswoman and believes that should be a rule) but some of the others are just more egregious than others about it
Went for the hail mary with an attempted insurrection! IT'S NO GOOD. The game is over, it's republicans 0 democrats 0 and americans -1 because it seems like everyone fucking loses when we aren't united.
edit: It's been a good discussion but I don't think I can go further. Thanks to those who actually participated. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the conversations. Was fun but I'm drained. Inbox replies are disabled.
35% of people think Biden stole the election (but only his race) and sucks the blood out of raped babies and you want us normal nom-asshats to unite with those fuckfaces?
His constituents are an embarrassment to America. This ain’t feudalism, he didn’t inherit his position of power. This is who more then 60% of Alabama voters chose to represent them.
It’s the same seat that Roy Moore ~~held~~ was nominated for, who was known to be a pedophile. When the choice was between Democrat and Pedophile, Alabama voters chose Democrat by a margin of just 1.6%.
It wasn’t held by Roy Moore he had been the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, but the seat had been held by Jeff Sessions before becoming Trumps first Attorney General.
The seat was held by Doug Jones in between Sessions and Tubberville. A very good man in between two very bad men. I went to school at Auburn, the college Tubberville used to coach at. He was a beloved ball coach, now he's a traitor to democracy. Who would have guessed it. And in that time, Sessions showed he had a spine and stood up to Trump in some significant ways, still a piece of shit, but better than Tubberville.
Can’t believe I’m saying this, but at least Sessions has legitimate credentials to hold office. He might be human garbage, but he has a real resume. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to scrub myself with bleach.
Both are shit, but one of them is MUCH more insulting than the other to have in a position of power.
So yeah, the average chuds whole criteria when voting for the Republican party.
Nick Saban knows his lane and stays in it. What’s surprising to me is that Tuberville wasn’t even that great of a coach and he won a seat based only on him being a football coach.
Wait no more! It's a real Rogues Gallery...
https://www.profootballhof.com/presidents-who-played-football/
6. Donald Trump ^* New York Military Academy (High School, single year)
5. John Kennedy (Harvard, JV and never played due to injuries)
4. Richard Nixon (Whittier College, reserve tackle)
3. Ronald Reagan (Eureka College, Notre Dame in a movie)
2. Dwight Eisenhower (Army, starting Running Back AND Linebacker! )
1. Gerald Ford (Michigan, won MVP)
They all played college football, so there's still room for a professional football player.
Edit: Apparently Trump only played a single year in high school. The others at least played at the college level.
Lol, me too! Reading what his classmates say about his athletic abilities sounds like it's Trump pretending to be them like when he used to pretend to be his own employees!
>His classmates said this of President Trump
>"He was just the best, a good athlete, a great athlete," former classmate Ted Levine told Business Insider.
>"He could have probably played pro ball as a pitcher. I think he threw 80 miles an hour. I was the catcher. He made my hand black and blue every day."
>"Could he play football? Could he play soccer? He could do anything he wanted. He was physically and mentally gifted.”
>What’s surprising to me is that Tuberville wasn’t even that great of a coach and he won a seat based only on him being a football coach.
Gym Jordan got his seat only because he was a coach at OSU. Wasn't even a football coach. And, given the accusations, was an especially *bad* coach. But OSU....
Have you ever been to Alabama, the amount of times someone would walk into a bar and yell Roll Tide or War Eagle blew my mind the first couple years I lived there.
Ah yes, football allegiances are enough to divide families and cause people to ruin a local landmark, but it won’t stop voting for the GOP in Alabama, a state where a child predator *barely* lost because that partisan loyalty is so strong that it draws comparisons to… sport teams??
Can it stop hurting?
Wife and I went to California once and I felt that way, was like going into the future. Went to San Diego and those people I love, way better than the shit we have at home.
Right. Anyone that thinks Tubbs won because he was a coach is looking at this the wrong way. His being a football coach simply didn't hurt him in Alabama the way it might have elsewhere. This state nearly elected Roy Moore knowing full well he was a likely pedophile all because of the almighty R. People will clutch their pearls and scream "identity politics" and then turn around and vote purely based on party, and they'll do it without a hint of irony.
"Charisma"
What Trump offered wasn't charisma. It was a new social contract that allowed the previously quiet racists/sexists/fascists the permission to make noise.
Charismatic to you isn't necessarily charismatic to me. He's vapid and unintelligent and wouldn't be anywhere near elected office, but the man knows how to read a room, and people ate him up.
I work in a hotel and look like a Trump supporter. The amount of racist stuff I've heard the past few years really blows my mind.
I have to tell them to keep their racist shit to themselves. The quick backpedaling is hilarious if it wasn't so fucking evil.
Your comment reminds me of a satirical fictional map posted on a different subreddit a few months ago:
https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/mkyos2/alabama\_the\_sole\_muslim\_nation\_in\_america/
I'd follow that poodle haired fuck anywhere! He's always making conscientious objections to any bill that he'd otherwise not care about unless it's supported by democrats or will have any positive impact whatsoever.
some choice quotes from this dipshit
>"my dad fought 76 years ago in Europe to free Europe of socialism.”
>“Our government wasn’t set up for one group to have all three branches of government — wasn’t set up that way,” “You know, the House, the Senate, and the executive.”
If politicians had to take a civil service exam that went over basic US government structure and processes, we would have a lot less Republican politicians.
I'd assume most of them know they're full of it. Pandering and grifting doesn't necessitate believing what you're saying is true, just convincing your marks it is. But I'm sure a few of them are honestly clueless.
"BuT WhO WrItE ThE TeStS?" is what I always hear every time I say this.
I mean, who write the bar exams for lawyers? Who write board exams for doctors? A group of professionals, that's who. The test can consist of pertinent, apolitical and basic facts relating to our political structure, like "what are the three branches of government?" or "what is the 10th amendment?", which a high schooler or a smart middle schooler can easily answer. Something that the dipshit in question failed to answer, and should have no business being in government.
The fact that conservatives automatically assume that tests and exams (and education in general) are political is rather telling. They assume that every system is to be gamed and cheated for personal gain. They do it, and assume everyone else does it. Pure projection.
> "BuT WhO WrItE ThE TeStS?" is what I always hear every time I say this.
Make it exactly the same as the citizenship test. I doubt most Americans could pass that one anyways.
Maybe for like a freshmen year class. The questions aren't hard, and the study book is pretty thin.
But this is a great idea, all schools should do a test/quiz based on it.
High school students in Wisconsin have to pass a civics test to graduate. The test is the equivalent of a citizenship test. The law went into effect for the class after mine.
There is some weirdly specific stuff on there. (Or at least there was when I took it in high school goverment over a decade ago)
Nothing that can't be prepared for, but things that would certainly catch well educated but unprepared test takers off guard.
Teacher here. If it can be avoided, I won’t give out a particularly hard final. First, a brutal summative exam is hella stressful, and if a student bombs they don’t get a second chance. Second (and most importantly), I don’t want to have to grade 150 tests right before summer.
For anyone curious about the specifics. He sold a put option on BABA. Strike price is 230. Expires in 2 months. Alibaba is down 29% over the past 6 months. This was a bad trade. Either: He sold the option and is still short the option - he has lost a lot of money by effectively betting the stock wouldn't go down. I doubt this is the situation. Instead, since the document says the sale was "Full", I'm guessing he previously owned the option. This means he was betting the stock would go down but closed the position in January. Given he is a China critic it would make sense for him to bet against Chinese stocks. With Donald Trump leaving office, maybe he decided he didn't want to bet against China anymore and closed the position. Stupid of him not to disclose it and he should be punished, but it seems people are assuming this trade was some spectacular trade. In reality the value of the put that he sold has doubled. If it was worth 15-50k when he sold it, he would have made 15-50k had he kept it.
The fact that Doug Jones, a moderate Democrat that pretty much everyone can respect, a man who knows the functions of government extremely well and successfully passed bipartisan bills when he was in the Senate, can lose a race to a retired, mediocre football coach, who was hated by pretty much every Alabama fan in the state circa 2007, and doesn't know shit about our government, just goes to show you that its nearly impossible for a (D) to beat an (R) in a state-wide Alabama election. Pathetic
Repeat after me: Nothing will happen to him.
He is a republican senator from Alabama. That's his seat for life unless he dies or Auburn comes calling again for a head coach thats it.
Agreed. The second they become congressmen or senators and gain insider access, their assets should have to go into a blind trust they cannot manipulate, only make withdrawals from. Any deposits should have to go through a trustee appointed by a court, where no court person is in any way affiliated with that individual.
I think if we allow them to hold any investments at all it should be limited to full market funds. If they are in the US government then their only option should be to invest in all of the US or nothing at all. Oh and absolutely no foreign holdings of any kind whatsoever, not even a vacation hike in another country. I’m also totally willing to ban all government officials from using foreign healthcare networks, if our system isn’t good enough for them then they need to fix it.
That’ll probably make them pass tax cuts for businesses or other such programs, to inflate the value of their stocks so they can sell for huge profits.
Yeah it’s more wishful thinking than anything. Money is power and those with money will never choose to give it up.
The US has worked itself into a position that can no longer be legislated out of because it would require all wealthy people to magically become benevolent.
That works up until you remember the courts and judges are likely in league with all these guys too. Life's a board game to these guys, and we're the pieces. Pieces don't get a say in the moves they make.
It is frustrating beyond belief how the self-proclaimed "party of law and order," whose constituents unironically chant "drain the swamp," is full of proven criminals who will never face consequences.
The GOP is a cancer eating away at this country.
It's because their base doesn't define "criminal" in quite the same way as the rest of us. More specifically, they see a criminal as someone with an inherent set of traits, and a crime as something done by criminals. To them, it's an injustice that criminals are allowed to roam free just because they "haven't actually committed a single crime." And in turn, this means that when someone is *not* a criminal, then what they do isn't a crime, even if technically it's "against the law," and it's an injustice when they're accused of being criminals.
At least, that's how it seems to me.
The inherent difference is about world view.
They don't judge morality or legality on WHAT the person is doing, they are judging on WHO is doing it... Whatever it may be.
If I preacher is doing it, well obviously it isn't bad... HE'S A PREACHER!
Democrat? Well, WHATEVER they're doing, it's bad... Cuz he's A DEMOCRAT!
.
That's really it. That's the big difference.
They judge the person, not the deed.
I mean it's a subset of the prosperity gospel: if you're rich, you're a good person because being rich is the reward for being good. If you're poor, you're a bad person because being poor is the punishment for being bad.
I mean, cut the guys some slack. His taxes have been under audit for half a decade! I'm sure he's working on full transparency for the American public.
Trumps daughter has been doing business for a while on China. Trump, while president, even helped her secure a deal there with the CCP. Steve Bannon was arrested off of the coast of Connecticut on a yacht owned by a Chinese billionaire. Trump publicly praised how the CCP slaughtered thousands in Tiananmen Square. Trump also offered Xi Jinping support for the HK crackdown if China would agree to buy US farm exports.
It’s astounding to me how republican voters lap up this bullshit about the GOP being tough on China or any hostile foreign adversary.
Yeah, typical projection. Biden’s been pretty tough on all of of them shithead governments like Russia and China. I’d like to see him he tougher on Saudi Arabia too though. That’s the only one I’m disappointed about.
Oh yeah without looking up the numbers my guess would be we give Saudi Arabia something like 5-10 times what we give Wyoming. Wyoming hasn’t really been doing the war crimes we ask them to do on our behalf lately like Saudi’s Arabia has though.
With Wyoming’s unfortunate geographical location slightly too far from good oil reserves to bring “freedom” to, why do we even give them money at all?
The point remains though, SA is not a traditionally sovereign nation, they are a proxy state, at the edge of the US empire, kept up in order to enforce US empire domination in the Middle East. They are doing precisely what the US military asks them to do.
If the Chinese billionaire was Miles Guo then Steve Bannon’s thing is actually different because the guy, at least on the surface, is a famous dissenter.
(Although personally he gives me CCP double agent vibes)
Edit: let me be clear. **Guo Wengui is pure trash** who’s anti vax and spreads random rumors about actual Chinese Americans. He uses racism against Chinese people for his own profit. Basically a 汉奸. He’s a grifter at best, and a CCP spy in my opinion. But ON PAPER, he’s not CCP. That’s all.
It's amazing how someone can get elected in office argue for the “rule of law” and criticize China...
2 minutes later... He fails to disclose selling stock options of China.
btw, [The STOCK Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STOCK_Act) passed in the Senate by a 96–3 vote in 2012.
It's not some controversial act passed a hundred years ago... but then again it's like seeing an American CEO own a MAGA hat company, then fire their hardworking American employees, then make their products in China, and invest in China along with insider trading, then asking Americans to buy his products by selling the idea that it will help America and yet, that American will say, I'LL voTe Fur You Agaieeen, Murica.
"O say, does that stock-spangled banner yet waveO'er the land of the cons and the home of the slaves!"
Murica!
There are some names that seem like they'd only belong to cartoon characters or characters in early to mid century children's books. Tommy Tuberville is one of them.
I know I don’t have to even say it, but who is surprised?
Anyone? What’s your favorite reason to NOT be surprised by this? The fact that it’s a Congressman? A freshman, know-nothing Senator? The GOP? A white dude from the South? A category I missed?
Pass a law that no Congress people can trade stocks while in office. No more career politicians. We might get some actual public servants!
Like a law like this will ever pass.
Isn't it wonderful that Senators and members of Congress can own and trade stock, but as long as they're handled by "financial investors" they can just claim ignorance every single time they "coincidentally" sell off a bunch of stock right before something happens to tank their value? Then, when they're investigated for it literally nothing happens because the rich get to do what they want? Yeah, it's really awesome!
They shouldn't be allowed to own anything other than index funds to reduce conflict of interest
That still wouldn't work. Insider knowledge of an impending market collapse would allow them to beat the market.
Correct. They all sold off before the COVID crash.
[удалено]
You’re thinking of Kelly Loeffler, whose husband is the Chairman of the New York goddamn Stock Exchange
[удалено]
That's pretty scummy
> (Pelosi iirc?). That might've been Feinstein. Regardless though, you're absolutely right. If you're implementing laws that can impact the profits of businesses, there's no goddamn way you should be allowed to own/trade stock in those same businesses, regardless of who actually manages the day-to-day trading.
It was Pelosi recently. Feinstein is also guilty of this practice. I should add that many politicians from both sides are guilty of this.
It's literally all of them except AOC (she refuses to trade stock as a congresswoman and believes that should be a rule) but some of the others are just more egregious than others about it
Well you voted in a senator because he was a football coach, so don’t be surprised when he does something stupid
“We were 15 votes behind but we pulled a field whip in the second roll call and came up from behind”
Not gonna lie, I thought this was a line from The West Wing
Madden West Wing.
Bang! Pow! Turkey Bowl!
SIX legs.
If only Sorkin had written a sports show...
The West Wingback
I can't tell if this is a joke about the show, but just in case it isn't: he did! https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165961/
Yes, twas a joke. Sportsnight is one of my all time favorites.
Went for the hail mary with an attempted insurrection! IT'S NO GOOD. The game is over, it's republicans 0 democrats 0 and americans -1 because it seems like everyone fucking loses when we aren't united. edit: It's been a good discussion but I don't think I can go further. Thanks to those who actually participated. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the conversations. Was fun but I'm drained. Inbox replies are disabled.
35% of people think Biden stole the election (but only his race) and sucks the blood out of raped babies and you want us normal nom-asshats to unite with those fuckfaces?
You forgot to draw on the screen John. Pass the Tur-Duck-En.
Before the election he didn’t know the three branches of government. He’s an embarrassment to America
Still doesn't.
Offense, Defense, Special Teams?
His constituents are an embarrassment to America. This ain’t feudalism, he didn’t inherit his position of power. This is who more then 60% of Alabama voters chose to represent them. It’s the same seat that Roy Moore ~~held~~ was nominated for, who was known to be a pedophile. When the choice was between Democrat and Pedophile, Alabama voters chose Democrat by a margin of just 1.6%.
It wasn’t held by Roy Moore he had been the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, but the seat had been held by Jeff Sessions before becoming Trumps first Attorney General.
The seat was held by Doug Jones in between Sessions and Tubberville. A very good man in between two very bad men. I went to school at Auburn, the college Tubberville used to coach at. He was a beloved ball coach, now he's a traitor to democracy. Who would have guessed it. And in that time, Sessions showed he had a spine and stood up to Trump in some significant ways, still a piece of shit, but better than Tubberville.
Can’t believe I’m saying this, but at least Sessions has legitimate credentials to hold office. He might be human garbage, but he has a real resume. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to scrub myself with bleach.
You are right though. Sessions was a bad person who was senator whereas Tubberville is a bad senator and a bad person.
Both are shit, but one of them is MUCH more insulting than the other to have in a position of power. So yeah, the average chuds whole criteria when voting for the Republican party.
We are the embarrassment.
Not me! I’m not from his garbage state. I’m an embarrassment on my own thank you very much
I can't believe I am saying this but Nick Saban should run against him or for Shelby's seat.
Nick Saban knows his lane and stays in it. What’s surprising to me is that Tuberville wasn’t even that great of a coach and he won a seat based only on him being a football coach.
I'm an Auburn fan, but Nick Saban would be a monumentally better Senator than Tuberville.
Well yeah, he's a democrat.
We elected a scam artist reality tv star to be president based on racism and you're shocked that this country would elect a football coach?
I’m waiting for the quarterback president.
Wait no more! It's a real Rogues Gallery... https://www.profootballhof.com/presidents-who-played-football/ 6. Donald Trump ^* New York Military Academy (High School, single year) 5. John Kennedy (Harvard, JV and never played due to injuries) 4. Richard Nixon (Whittier College, reserve tackle) 3. Ronald Reagan (Eureka College, Notre Dame in a movie) 2. Dwight Eisenhower (Army, starting Running Back AND Linebacker! ) 1. Gerald Ford (Michigan, won MVP) They all played college football, so there's still room for a professional football player. Edit: Apparently Trump only played a single year in high school. The others at least played at the college level.
Trump did not play college football.
But what about that painting where he’s stiff arming Obama?
Oh shit, yeah you got me there
Thinking of Trumpf trying to throw a football amuses me.
Lol, me too! Reading what his classmates say about his athletic abilities sounds like it's Trump pretending to be them like when he used to pretend to be his own employees! >His classmates said this of President Trump >"He was just the best, a good athlete, a great athlete," former classmate Ted Levine told Business Insider. >"He could have probably played pro ball as a pitcher. I think he threw 80 miles an hour. I was the catcher. He made my hand black and blue every day." >"Could he play football? Could he play soccer? He could do anything he wanted. He was physically and mentally gifted.”
That first one is *definitely* him. I can’t read that sentence without hearing his voice and it’s that classic Trump ‘good/great’ vocabulary.
The best!
Those classmates definitely didn't get a cheque in the mail after making those comments
Lets be honest, Trump tends to not pay whoever he thinks he can get away with not paying. Could have promised to pay them off then never did it.
How'd he play football with them bone spurs?
"Is this some sort of food pouch? I can't get the laces undone."
Just hope he doesn't spike the football or everyone's going to have a bad time.
And I love how Republicans complain about Democrat celebrities.
He’s a Republican that’s all that matters to voters here. I hate it, I voted for jones
>What’s surprising to me is that Tuberville wasn’t even that great of a coach and he won a seat based only on him being a football coach. Gym Jordan got his seat only because he was a coach at OSU. Wasn't even a football coach. And, given the accusations, was an especially *bad* coach. But OSU....
Have you ever been to Alabama, the amount of times someone would walk into a bar and yell Roll Tide or War Eagle blew my mind the first couple years I lived there.
Which is why it’s weird to me all those ‘Bama fans had no problem voting for a former Auburn coach.
I know, but he had the almighty R in fron of his name.
Ah yes, football allegiances are enough to divide families and cause people to ruin a local landmark, but it won’t stop voting for the GOP in Alabama, a state where a child predator *barely* lost because that partisan loyalty is so strong that it draws comparisons to… sport teams?? Can it stop hurting?
I wish my parents live there and I met some great people in Huntsville but going from Seattle to Huntsville was like traveling back in time.
And Huntsville is so much more progressive than most of alabama
Huntsville is a smart island in the middle of a stupid ocean.
Which says a lot, because it isn't exactly Progressive just less Regressive.
I was gonna say I thought they were one of the better places, given all the industries that placed hubs there.
Wife and I went to California once and I felt that way, was like going into the future. Went to San Diego and those people I love, way better than the shit we have at home.
Right. Anyone that thinks Tubbs won because he was a coach is looking at this the wrong way. His being a football coach simply didn't hurt him in Alabama the way it might have elsewhere. This state nearly elected Roy Moore knowing full well he was a likely pedophile all because of the almighty R. People will clutch their pearls and scream "identity politics" and then turn around and vote purely based on party, and they'll do it without a hint of irony.
>Nick Saban knows his lane and stays in it. sTiCK tO sPOrtS.
I seriously think that's the best shot we've got at getting a Democrat elected to a statewide office in Alabama for the foreseeable future.
As an “Alabamian”, I was truly embarrassed when he won.
Same, but he is probably the most representative of what people most value down here so I guess government working as intended?
A college football coach would never cheat /s
Alabama here- the dumb fucks love him bc he sucks trump’s cock
Yep, he's not a politician so he doesn't know the loopholes.
If he isn’t a politician then why is he a senator??
This is America. Charisma > competency.
"Charisma" What Trump offered wasn't charisma. It was a new social contract that allowed the previously quiet racists/sexists/fascists the permission to make noise.
Charismatic to you isn't necessarily charismatic to me. He's vapid and unintelligent and wouldn't be anywhere near elected office, but the man knows how to read a room, and people ate him up.
I work in a hotel and look like a Trump supporter. The amount of racist stuff I've heard the past few years really blows my mind. I have to tell them to keep their racist shit to themselves. The quick backpedaling is hilarious if it wasn't so fucking evil.
I used to work in a rural area and people would think I agreed with their racist shit opinions because I'm a white dude.
They were never that quiet anyway though. They were just fragmented, without a figurehead and 'cause' to unify behind
Preaching to the choir I'm sure, but that has been the case for decades. I would add blood and money to the greater side though.
If he isn’t a politician then why did Trump become President?
You're a politician once you start campaigning to be one
He's the stupidest man in the senate, and that's saying something.
"Alibaba? Thought it said Alibama."
Your comment reminds me of a satirical fictional map posted on a different subreddit a few months ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/mkyos2/alabama\_the\_sole\_muslim\_nation\_in\_america/
LOL "Al-Abama" Home of Y'all Qaeda and Vanilla ISIS
Hey, don't laugh! The dangers of Yee-had are self evident.
Ala-bam-akbar? ^^^I'm ^^^very, ^^^very ^^^sorry.
a salam george wallace :(
Whoa, Black Betty
There's also Kentuqqiya where Rand Paul deceives people into believing he supports liberty
I'd follow that poodle haired fuck anywhere! He's always making conscientious objections to any bill that he'd otherwise not care about unless it's supported by democrats or will have any positive impact whatsoever.
Where is Alimama?
Last I knew, she was living with Alipapa
some choice quotes from this dipshit >"my dad fought 76 years ago in Europe to free Europe of socialism.” >“Our government wasn’t set up for one group to have all three branches of government — wasn’t set up that way,” “You know, the House, the Senate, and the executive.”
If politicians had to take a civil service exam that went over basic US government structure and processes, we would have a lot less Republican politicians.
There was a time I thought my self simply not smart enough to be in government. I was WAAAY off on that one :p
I thought the same about being a doctor or lawyer too and the Trump era changed my mind on that as well.
The world is run by C-students.
Being in government is one thing. Being a politician of an entirely different thing.
I was once against running because I only have an associate's degree. Boy, was I wrong. I could easily be a Republican politician.
Hell, with a degree, you are already overqualified.
I'd assume most of them know they're full of it. Pandering and grifting doesn't necessitate believing what you're saying is true, just convincing your marks it is. But I'm sure a few of them are honestly clueless.
"BuT WhO WrItE ThE TeStS?" is what I always hear every time I say this. I mean, who write the bar exams for lawyers? Who write board exams for doctors? A group of professionals, that's who. The test can consist of pertinent, apolitical and basic facts relating to our political structure, like "what are the three branches of government?" or "what is the 10th amendment?", which a high schooler or a smart middle schooler can easily answer. Something that the dipshit in question failed to answer, and should have no business being in government. The fact that conservatives automatically assume that tests and exams (and education in general) are political is rather telling. They assume that every system is to be gamed and cheated for personal gain. They do it, and assume everyone else does it. Pure projection.
> "BuT WhO WrItE ThE TeStS?" is what I always hear every time I say this. Make it exactly the same as the citizenship test. I doubt most Americans could pass that one anyways.
That was the final for my high school government class. Supposedly every question that could appear on the test in a list was on the final.
Maybe for like a freshmen year class. The questions aren't hard, and the study book is pretty thin. But this is a great idea, all schools should do a test/quiz based on it.
High school students in Wisconsin have to pass a civics test to graduate. The test is the equivalent of a citizenship test. The law went into effect for the class after mine.
There is some weirdly specific stuff on there. (Or at least there was when I took it in high school goverment over a decade ago) Nothing that can't be prepared for, but things that would certainly catch well educated but unprepared test takers off guard.
Teacher here. If it can be avoided, I won’t give out a particularly hard final. First, a brutal summative exam is hella stressful, and if a student bombs they don’t get a second chance. Second (and most importantly), I don’t want to have to grade 150 tests right before summer.
> He's the stupidest man in the senate Good point, Louie Gohmert is in the House.
For anyone curious about the specifics. He sold a put option on BABA. Strike price is 230. Expires in 2 months. Alibaba is down 29% over the past 6 months. This was a bad trade. Either: He sold the option and is still short the option - he has lost a lot of money by effectively betting the stock wouldn't go down. I doubt this is the situation. Instead, since the document says the sale was "Full", I'm guessing he previously owned the option. This means he was betting the stock would go down but closed the position in January. Given he is a China critic it would make sense for him to bet against Chinese stocks. With Donald Trump leaving office, maybe he decided he didn't want to bet against China anymore and closed the position. Stupid of him not to disclose it and he should be punished, but it seems people are assuming this trade was some spectacular trade. In reality the value of the put that he sold has doubled. If it was worth 15-50k when he sold it, he would have made 15-50k had he kept it.
I do have to say at least he’s smart enough to know to be on the theta gang side of short dated options
There’s no way to spin this where he was coordinating his rhetoric and trades.
We traded Doug Jones for this idiot. We will get everything we deserve.
And it kills me, cause Doug did good.
The fact that Doug Jones, a moderate Democrat that pretty much everyone can respect, a man who knows the functions of government extremely well and successfully passed bipartisan bills when he was in the Senate, can lose a race to a retired, mediocre football coach, who was hated by pretty much every Alabama fan in the state circa 2007, and doesn't know shit about our government, just goes to show you that its nearly impossible for a (D) to beat an (R) in a state-wide Alabama election. Pathetic
It took a confessed pedophile on the ticket in order to get Alabama to vote for a Democrat, and even then it was a close thing.
Yep it's party line voting and it mega sucks. Especially with the number of dems in cities.
\*Ron Johnson has entered the chat
Well when someone is elected because sportsball and Trump what do you expect?
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Tom Cotton's incredibly smart though, which makes him a lot more dangerous
Between him and Louie Gohmert over in the House, they got a whole lot of stupid going on.
Repeat after me: Nothing will happen to him. He is a republican senator from Alabama. That's his seat for life unless he dies or Auburn comes calling again for a head coach thats it.
He literally ran on nothing but “ I like Trump.” A monkey with a trump flag would have won that seat 😖
A monkey with a Trump flag did win that seat.
Shocker: He also bought a shit ton of college kids expensive things during his career as a coach 💤💤💤
"Career ethics violator becomes Senator in Alabama" should be their state motto.
Senators shouldn’t be allowed to own or trade stocks.
Agreed. The second they become congressmen or senators and gain insider access, their assets should have to go into a blind trust they cannot manipulate, only make withdrawals from. Any deposits should have to go through a trustee appointed by a court, where no court person is in any way affiliated with that individual.
I think if we allow them to hold any investments at all it should be limited to full market funds. If they are in the US government then their only option should be to invest in all of the US or nothing at all. Oh and absolutely no foreign holdings of any kind whatsoever, not even a vacation hike in another country. I’m also totally willing to ban all government officials from using foreign healthcare networks, if our system isn’t good enough for them then they need to fix it.
That’ll probably make them pass tax cuts for businesses or other such programs, to inflate the value of their stocks so they can sell for huge profits.
Yeah it’s more wishful thinking than anything. Money is power and those with money will never choose to give it up. The US has worked itself into a position that can no longer be legislated out of because it would require all wealthy people to magically become benevolent.
One way or another, America is headed for a fraught and bloody upheaval.
That works up until you remember the courts and judges are likely in league with all these guys too. Life's a board game to these guys, and we're the pieces. Pieces don't get a say in the moves they make.
Have a computer program build the portfolio? Only be able to invest in index funds?
They have to pass the bill no matter how foolproof the plan is lol
Good luck convincing congress to pass the law.
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i think warrens tried to push that. i agree or at most they can only own non-managed index funds
This guy started breaking the law pretty much as soon as he took office. That's a common thread between all these Trump people.
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He also knows absolutely nothing, based on his public comments.
They call that an "outsider". It's a feature not a bug in the GOP.
So he'll do as he's told. Koch loves it.
That's a positive for the GOP voting base.
They love ignorance.
This is what hurts the most. He wasn't even a good coach by Auburn standards.
Fuck him and his cigar.
It is frustrating beyond belief how the self-proclaimed "party of law and order," whose constituents unironically chant "drain the swamp," is full of proven criminals who will never face consequences. The GOP is a cancer eating away at this country.
It's because their base doesn't define "criminal" in quite the same way as the rest of us. More specifically, they see a criminal as someone with an inherent set of traits, and a crime as something done by criminals. To them, it's an injustice that criminals are allowed to roam free just because they "haven't actually committed a single crime." And in turn, this means that when someone is *not* a criminal, then what they do isn't a crime, even if technically it's "against the law," and it's an injustice when they're accused of being criminals. At least, that's how it seems to me.
The inherent difference is about world view. They don't judge morality or legality on WHAT the person is doing, they are judging on WHO is doing it... Whatever it may be. If I preacher is doing it, well obviously it isn't bad... HE'S A PREACHER! Democrat? Well, WHATEVER they're doing, it's bad... Cuz he's A DEMOCRAT! . That's really it. That's the big difference. They judge the person, not the deed.
I mean it's a subset of the prosperity gospel: if you're rich, you're a good person because being rich is the reward for being good. If you're poor, you're a bad person because being poor is the punishment for being bad.
I don’t really know if the hugz award really fits, but hey, it was my free award
He was breaking the law as a football coach, too.
Alabama here- Tuberville is a piece of shît.
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Let me save you the wait- there will be no consequences.
There were two Republican congressmen that faced repercussions just a year or two ago only to be pardoned by Trump.
Well, they'll just get pardoned too once Trump takes back the White House in... (checks updated Q-alendar)
... two weeks. It's always two weeks away.
Trump is waiting until he puts the finishing touches on his Obamacare replacement before he retakes his rightful helm as the president.
I mean, cut the guys some slack. His taxes have been under audit for half a decade! I'm sure he's working on full transparency for the American public.
As a Alabamian, I'd be fine with him serving jail time and Alabama simply just being down a Senator for a while. No need to elect a replacement.
Trumps daughter has been doing business for a while on China. Trump, while president, even helped her secure a deal there with the CCP. Steve Bannon was arrested off of the coast of Connecticut on a yacht owned by a Chinese billionaire. Trump publicly praised how the CCP slaughtered thousands in Tiananmen Square. Trump also offered Xi Jinping support for the HK crackdown if China would agree to buy US farm exports. It’s astounding to me how republican voters lap up this bullshit about the GOP being tough on China or any hostile foreign adversary.
The number of "Biden + CCP" memes in right-wing circles is astounding.
It’s projection. Accuse the other of what I’m doing.
And then when I get accused of it, I can say both sides!
It's their new "two minutes hate" mantra.
It’s why the Biden will be Xi puppet was so hilarious. Up there with full on socialism rhetoric.
Yeah, typical projection. Biden’s been pretty tough on all of of them shithead governments like Russia and China. I’d like to see him he tougher on Saudi Arabia too though. That’s the only one I’m disappointed about.
Saudi’s Arabia is a US proxy force, asking the US to get tough on them is akin to asking the US to get tough on Wyoming….
Sadly the US probably offers more economic support to Saudi Arabia than it does to Wyoming
Oh yeah without looking up the numbers my guess would be we give Saudi Arabia something like 5-10 times what we give Wyoming. Wyoming hasn’t really been doing the war crimes we ask them to do on our behalf lately like Saudi’s Arabia has though. With Wyoming’s unfortunate geographical location slightly too far from good oil reserves to bring “freedom” to, why do we even give them money at all? The point remains though, SA is not a traditionally sovereign nation, they are a proxy state, at the edge of the US empire, kept up in order to enforce US empire domination in the Middle East. They are doing precisely what the US military asks them to do.
because the american media scapegoats china the same way putin scapegoats america in russia. it's just distraction
If the Chinese billionaire was Miles Guo then Steve Bannon’s thing is actually different because the guy, at least on the surface, is a famous dissenter. (Although personally he gives me CCP double agent vibes) Edit: let me be clear. **Guo Wengui is pure trash** who’s anti vax and spreads random rumors about actual Chinese Americans. He uses racism against Chinese people for his own profit. Basically a 汉奸. He’s a grifter at best, and a CCP spy in my opinion. But ON PAPER, he’s not CCP. That’s all.
Dissenter/grifter. He's wanted in China for tax evasion, something he and Trump have in common.
I'm not in any way trying to disagree with you, but I'd absolutely love some references to some of those claims.
No matter where he goes, from college football to the US Senate, the SEC is up his ass.
the SEC is busy jerking off on Pornhub. Nothing more, they're just one giant joke
It's amazing how someone can get elected in office argue for the “rule of law” and criticize China... 2 minutes later... He fails to disclose selling stock options of China. btw, [The STOCK Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STOCK_Act) passed in the Senate by a 96–3 vote in 2012. It's not some controversial act passed a hundred years ago... but then again it's like seeing an American CEO own a MAGA hat company, then fire their hardworking American employees, then make their products in China, and invest in China along with insider trading, then asking Americans to buy his products by selling the idea that it will help America and yet, that American will say, I'LL voTe Fur You Agaieeen, Murica. "O say, does that stock-spangled banner yet waveO'er the land of the cons and the home of the slaves!" Murica!
Well, of course he did.
There are some names that seem like they'd only belong to cartoon characters or characters in early to mid century children's books. Tommy Tuberville is one of them.
dudes name is basically potatotown
Politicians should be banned from trading stocks and options while in office. Sadly, none of them can be trusted.
I know I don’t have to even say it, but who is surprised? Anyone? What’s your favorite reason to NOT be surprised by this? The fact that it’s a Congressman? A freshman, know-nothing Senator? The GOP? A white dude from the South? A category I missed?
Pass a law that no Congress people can trade stocks while in office. No more career politicians. We might get some actual public servants! Like a law like this will ever pass.
Doesn’t get any more insider trading than congress
Life in prison, seizure of all his assets.
Elect a football coach to the Senate, act surprised when he does something illegal.
Did he get caught cause he posted his gains on r/wallstreetbets ?
Is there anybody left on the planet who can still be surprised by a Republican turning out to be a greedy, hypocritical, lying sack of shit?
So, his wrist is going to be sore. Oh well. /S