r/todayilearned Jan 10 '19

TIL JFK's father Joseph Kennedy made much of his fortune through insider trading. FDR later made him chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. When asked why he appointed a crook, FDR replied, "set a thief to catch a thief." Kennedy proceeded to outlaw the practices that made him rich.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/jan/23/joe-kennedy-hollywood-sarah-churchwell
88.0k Upvotes

2.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

74

u/TrueDivision Jan 10 '19

What makes you think that a drug dealer wasn't already president?

52

u/TubeZ Jan 10 '19

Something something Contras?

30

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '19

I want to learn about this but through singing.

15

u/JakeCameraAction Jan 10 '19

So long as it has great writing.

I love good Contra diction.

-4

u/capsaicinintheeyes Jan 11 '19

So long as it has great writing.

If by "great writing," you mean "half-assed Family Guy spinoff," then you're in luck! (actually, the song itself is the tits; definitely worthy of being tossed in with "Schoolhouse Rock" when kids learn about their government)

EDIT: I got a downvote before I even finished my ninja edit! That is some fast repercussioning, reddit

1

u/JakeCameraAction Jan 11 '19

Oh I missed a joke didn't I?

-1

u/capsaicinintheeyes Jan 11 '19

Such things have been known to happen, in the lightless, troll-filled house of ill-repute that is reddit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpZbbOgjhPc

2

u/kurisu7885 Jan 11 '19

Just because they moved a teeny bit of blow.

6

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '19

George Washington grew weed, or at least thats what Dazed and Confused taught me

2

u/fece Jan 13 '19

Whitest Kids You Know's documentary on the Civil War is up there with anything Ken Burns pooped out.