From Kelly Riddell at the Washington Times:
With a cadre of like-minded, wealthy donors, Mr. Soros is dominating the pro-legalization side of the marijuana debate by funding grass-roots initiatives that begin in New York City and end up affecting local politics elsewhere.
Wait a minute, “grass-roots”? I get the pun, but when a billionaire secretly bankrolls groups to push his agenda, isn’t the proper term “astro-turfing”? Anyway:
Through a network of nonprofit groups, Mr. Soros has spent at least $80 million on the legalization effort since 1994…
His spending has been supplemented by [recently-deceased billionaire] Peter B. Lewis…an unabashed pot smoker who channeled more than $40 million…
What is it, with the Democrats/Left giving a pass to all their manipulative billionaires?
Mr. Soros’ Open Society Foundations have annual assets of more than $3.5 billion, a pool from which he can dole out grants to pet projects, according to 2011 tax returns, the most recent on file for his charitable organizations.
David and Charles Koch, the billionaire brothers who often are cited for their conservative influence, had $308 million tied up in their foundation and institute in 2011.
Finally, I may as well state my own view, and readers can agree or disagree. I do oppose prohibition of marijuana for the same reason I oppose prohibition of alcohol: the prohibition doesn’t work and creates more problems than it solves. Having said that, I don’t use the stuff and find its heavy users (or addicts) repellant.
I assume you meant this rhetorically. We’ve known for some time that Democrats and Leftists are hypocrites of the worst sort, not only ignoring it when their side does it, but when it is shoved in their faces, make excuses or say, “Well, you do it too!” as if that justifies it.
And I totally agree with you on marijuana, as long as they can clearly determine when someone is too impaired to operate a vehicle under its influence and then tax the hell out of it.
BTW, I don’t use it either. Did years ago, and noticed a very clear increase in the potency over the years.
I would say legalize everything, but then there’s drugs like heroin. But, then, you have people addicted to prescription opiates. We’re losing the war on drugs and need to do something different, though. I don’t know what that is.
Obviously, personal responsibility is paramount, but addiction is still a disease. Banning drugs doesn’t work. I’d suggest the money is best spent getting people to understand and live with their addiction in a constructive and human manner. But, then, how to do that?
There are no easy answers. But, it would help for everyone to get on the same page I guess. That’s a good start.
If George Soros has a libertarian bone in his body, then I’m a Nazi. We’re talking about a guy who crashes currencies for fun and profit. What is he playing at?
Soros, in my alleged mind, is a power narcissist. He has developed his own belief system and he has the money (read power) to orchestrate trained dogs leap though hoops for his amusement and gratification.
Politicians are whores for money and power and they are all too happy to jump through Soros hoops. They get to smell each other’s hind portals and pee on one another all the while they beg for treats. Soros likes watching the game.
What are the chances that any one of the following pooches would nip at the master: Pelosi, Schumer, Reid, Clintoon, Obama, Biden, Durbin, Kerry, or any Democrat all the way down to vote fixer.
Soros is the ring master of the stinkbug circus and he likes it like that.
Not to mention, Soros has spent a lot of money getting Evangelical groups to support foreign adoptions and amnesty for illegal immigrants. The man really seems to enjoy making people into whores who forsake their principles for the sake of money.
For me the concern is driving while high. To my knowledge there is not an affordable means to determine when used or how much. Also effects everyone differently. Three hits and I’m asleep but I have friends who smoke all day.
1) Perhaps Soros has heard about our billionaires and, lost in translation, thought their name is Coke; 2) perhaps Soros et alia agree with Marx that religion is the opiate of the masses; since a religious population is more difficult to control, they are responding in kind (technically not an opiate), a drugged population being easier to manipulate.
Interesting choice of words, Sean L, as I think it has been suggested (by Soros himself, in a 60 Minutes interview) that he may well have collaborated with the Nazis.
And if this is true, I’m not inclined to let him off the hook because he was 14 years old at the time.
No, we shouldn’t. I remember constant allegations that Benedict XVI was a Nazi because he was forced to join the Hitler Youth, like every other boy in Germany. The fact that his family was very anti-Nazi is always conveniently forgotten by these folks.
So tit for tat, in my book. If we have to put up with the Pope being a Nazi, why not George Soros?
IIRC, Soros was 14 when his father sort of pushed him into doing some pro-Hitler, anti-Jewish things. Later as an adult, Soros asserted that he has “No feeling of guilt about it… no sense of guilt.” I can’t fathom that as anything except (1) Terrible repression, implying a twisted psychology; or (2) Sociopathy (absence of conscience).
Yes, he distributed papers to Jewish lawyers to report for some sort of “inspection,” which was just cover for forced deportations. Apparently, his father told him up front what was going down.
Given his habit of destabilizing currencies for fun and profit, the man strikes me as a sociopath.
I’ll give you some friendly disagreement on his currency trading being, in itself, an example of sociopathy. You can’t destabilize a currency that isn’t ripe for it. Pushing it where it’s already going can be an act of justice. The British pound (what Soros did most famously) had it coming. Soros beat me to it; good on him. My objection to Soros is an objection to the particularly destructive forms of leftism that he generally chooses to finance.
Broken clocks are right twice a day.
ILC-
Soros said more than that:
What a quaint rationale: “Someone had to do it; it might as well have been me.”
A man of great moral virtue.