Current SEC chair cast only vote against suing Elon Musk, report says
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I know what will make the SEC more efficient, lots of terminations, especially in the "ongoing lawsuits" department /s
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Remember, it's only "weaponization of the government" if a Democrat does it. It's totally fine if Republican's use "activist" Judges, remove security details from people they don't like, and use departments and commission's to go after people they don't like or disagree with.
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150 million? Essentially zero dollars as far as Musk is concerned. Why even bother?
I feel like the norm against punitive damages ensures the rich never face consequences. Is there hope this could change?
I feel like the norm against punitive damages ensures the rich never face consequences. Is there hope this could change?
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The SEC's seeking "$150 million in alleged unjust enrichment plus a penalty", but no mention of how big the latter might be.
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When Democratic representatives wield power, we call it tyranny. When Republican representatives wield power, we ask why the other side didn’t stop them.
It’s a perfect system to destroy a country slowly, then all at once.
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penalties need to start being a % of current stock value or % of gross annual earnings similar to the EU.
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There is no penalty appreciable enough in the American justice system for Musk to ever care, and that was true even before he bought a president.
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My main motivation to live to old age is to make sure I'm around long enough to see this fucker's eventual death make the news so I can throw a party.
Problem is that his unlimited money means he'll probably outlive me.
Problem is that his unlimited money means he'll probably outlive me.
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Unfortunately, that's not quite true.
He cares, it just doesn't matter. But he still cares enough to do something about it.
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One would expect the investment community to be screaming about enforcing the rules as it's ultimately their money that is being lost (stolen?) by these transgressions for the enrichment of the perpetrators. That's not to mention the current attacks on contract law by a certain individual. But crickets.
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Who has jurisdiction over the purported $1.4 Bn missing from Tesla's accounting?
The FTC? SEC? IRS? DOJ? FBI? NSA? Secret Service? Maybe Elon is counting on them all getting stuck trying to get in the door at the same time, like a Three Stooges skit.
The FTC? SEC? IRS? DOJ? FBI? NSA? Secret Service? Maybe Elon is counting on them all getting stuck trying to get in the door at the same time, like a Three Stooges skit.
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The absurd thing was stalling on bringing the case for almost 33 months, then finally moving on it just days before the Coronation of Musk the First. It's a simple technical charge with abundant evidence, should have hit the court in 2022.
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It's absolutely disgusting that overt corruption is now a feature rather than a bug in our system.
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The thing about accounting crimes is the investigation can be so complicated that investigators throw up there hands. Look at Enron. It took 5 years to bring Lay and Skilling to trial.
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I remember when I could look at corrupt countries - with names with Democratic Republic - which were pure kleptocracies, and thought, 'glad I live in a strong democracy.' Little did I know.
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Drop table users;
Ars Centurion
The first Trump administration had the most billionaires in their administration in history.
As a result Americans voted him back into office, and now they beat their old record.
Sheep voting wolves into office is a the republican way.
They even made the argument that billionaires are more honest because they don't need the money.
Now that might strike you as the most idiotic thing you have ever heard, but you have to keep in mind the audience.
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The naked corruption and self dealing will never stop shocking me. I hope.
Good.
Signing political loyalty pledges in the agencies of the executive branch is not a practice we should ever assent to, and if it creeps in somewhere, it must be ruthlessly eradicated at the first opportunity.
These agencies are not the president's goon squads.
...ya'll remember when Bush was the most shocking bad guy? God, what I wouldn't give to have the shoe-dodger-in-chief back. I never thought I'd want THAT.
But at least Bush lived on the same planet as the rest of us, wasn't grossly malicious, or even grossly incompetent—frankly, people who say he was are immune to evidence—for all the bad shit he did actually do.
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In some countries, the fine amounts are related to the transgressor's income, like it should be. $150M for Muskrat represents less than 0.05% of his alleged wealth. If you are paid $50K a year, that would amount to a $25 fine. What a crushing blow.
https://www.motorbiscuit.com/worlds-most-expensive-speeding-ticket-1-million-fine/
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Indeed, that is exactly why they are billionaires! The money just somehow fell into their hands! In fact, that is exactly why the grifter in chief continually runs so many scams, he doesn't need the money, he just wants it.
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Bush was on Colbert Report a few years ago and was asked something about the nuclear codes (IIRC). He responded with "I can't even spell nuclear!"
I disagree with his politics, but at least he's human enough to make fun of himself for a laugh, so yeah I'd love to have a beer with him. And if you told me 20 years ago that I'd say that I would've laughed in your face.
TL;DR: I agree with you.
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Well, there's that South Carolina firing squad, which is already warmed up!
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There are currently at least 20 threads on here where I could post this, and there are THOUSANDS of Youtube videos and blog articles where I could post this every single day:
It's absolutely amazing how deep the impression of the average American by external observers in the rest of the liberal democratic West has cratered. It seems more and more like you have bred and nurtured a society of under- and misinformed spineless ultra-individualist cowards. Sleepwalking morons who are utterly clueless and helpless about how to stop - or even slightly bother- an authoritarian dictator who is taking over their democracy RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM. Just about every damn HOUR, another blatant red flag gets raised, another pathetic - supposedly bullwark against this kind of thing - potential obstacle gets rolled over.
It's absolutely unbelievable, pathetic, humiliating, disappointing, hair-pullingly frustrating. Baffling, unreal, otherworldly and frightening.
Compare this to what's currently happening in f*cking Turkey, probably considered a half Islamic theocratic hellhole by most Americans.
Seriously, wake-the-fuck-up, and get those electric chairs out of longterm storage. Win back some f*cking basic respect.
Set a goal of kicking at least 5 lethargic sleepwalkers per week in motion, whatever, but don't just sit onyour lazy ass while the window of opportunity closes.
/rant over
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thelongdarkteatimeof
Ars Praetorian
Americans were more upset about New Coke than they are about New Fascism taking over their country.
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You do realize that "the government" is the people, right? It can be used where tax dollars are normally used instead.
You just said you wanted to pay more so that criminals can continue to exploit you.
Seriously, just who is this "big bad gubmint" that touched you in a Bad Place?
Learn how a system works before shit talking it, you lazy fuck.
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I do love how the current administration is trying its damnedest to completely undermine any trust in the USA stock markets. Once insider trading is the norm, those outside of the boardrooms are just going to alleviate themselves of those stocks and switch to other options where they won't be played as patsies.
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The way I see it, US has always had this sort of profound contradiction where it is culturally and rhetorically disconnected from reality in many ways. Dysfunctional, but also wealthy and powerful, amoral but claims it is God's Gift to the World, structurally corrupt but identifies as the world's exemplar of integrity. It's everything. Leads in many areas of science (post-war anyway) but half the population is willfully anti-science and anti-intellectual. Played a leading role in coming up with the concept of international law and the League and UN charters and contributed to many conventions, but doesn't ratify or respect them itself. A continuous identity crisis in divisions and contradictions and compromises all the way back to the three-fifths one, and probably further than that.
So when we talk about the "deep state" and many of our procedures being convention rather than written in stone, what we're saying is that enough people and inertia believed their own half-truths enough to drag the whole country along. But it's a house of cards. Then again it's not like writing things down is fundamentally different if nobody cares.
I think that destroying that soft current, those norms and expectations and identities, is the real danger of "MAGA". They have slim and somewhat dysfunctional and corrupt majorities, with individuals switching between falling in line and fighting each other for power. I don't think they'll actually do so much legislatively (but who knows, given how the Democratic party has been), but that lasting damage is done anyway. How and why are people going to pull each other toward their rhetorical ideals in any way when those ideals are flipped upside down and those who do are demonized and under threat? The really fascinating case studies for me are those self-identified Republicans - however many are left - who also found ways to delude themselves on all the above, because you really need to be an expert in mental gymnastics. They've been purged form party leadership or silenced. But anyway, now we're increasingly brazen. Lying is virtue. Greed is good. Winning in the short term is all that matters and all others must lose to do it. Corruption is for the winners to define against the losers. Laws and principles don't matter. Reality is malleable. Truth and justice are wrong and "woke". Big Fuck Small.
Russian style cultural nihilism and unrestrained exploitation. Incidentally I also think that's why much of the New Right has such an affinity for Putin and Russia. They don't care, but they like what they see, as long as they come out on top in it.
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Well that stuff tasted just like Pepsi, but it was in a Coke can.
That's practically a crime against the laws of nature!
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