10/4 What personal gain does Soros have for not electing Bush
(did Bush turn down Soro's contract or something? If anything
Soros has a lot of gain from Bush's tax cut for the super
wealthy). And did http://factcheck.com/georgesoros.com help undecided
voters determine which way to vote?
\_ Soros is rich enough that he can go with his conscience, which
he never did when he was younger. He is an example of someone
who can afford to be a liberal.
\_ among the other plantation owners
\_ What a hypocrite. Okay, I'll go with my conscience when I become
super-rich someday.
super-rich some day.
\_ Maybe Soros sees how BushCo is royally fucking up this country and
wants to use his power and influence to do something about it?
Did you actually read the speech? Maybe it's hard for Bush supporters
to imagine someone doing something without gaining from it financially?
\_ Maybe he has witnessed fascism in his lifetime and doesn't
want to see it again. Maybe he doesn't like the idea of the
plutocracy which will result from the Bush tax agenda. Maybe
he sees that serfdom is a bad idea.
\_ Soros is concerned about the drift toward totalitarianism
in this country. He grew up in a Soviet block state so
he knows the dangers.
\_ You know, most ex-Soviet block folks are not on the DNC
side... Equating Bush et al with fascism is like equating
Cheney with the neocons -- stupid. -- ilyas
\_ You'll have to explain this one in more detail, tou've lost me.
\_ You'll have to explain this one in more detail, you've lost me.
\_ Pronoun dereference error. -- ilyas
\_ I've definitely had issues with the man who destroyed the Thai
\_ Not true. I beat him to the punch. Fascism is governement
working hand in hand with industry. The bush administration
is replete with examples of cronyism, favoritism,
deregulation (read lawlessness). All fascist tendencies.
\_ This is incoherent. -- ilyas
\_ First of all totalitarianism is not the same thing as fascism.
Are you deliberately trying to change the topic by Godwin'ing
it? Secondly, do you honestly believe that George Soros is
"stupid?" He seems pretty brilliant to me.
\_ I wasn't the first to bring up fascism in this thread.
I ve never met Soros, so I can't comment on how 'stupid'
he is. I think being concerned about totalitarianism is
always healthy. Thinking that Bush is a dangerous lunatic
like we had 60ish years ago is ... overreacting.
Bush is not a dangerous lunatic, he is a frat boy.
I ve heard so many shrill comparisons of Bush and
that short german guy that I have a hard time taking
these sorts of discussions seriously anymore. Having
said that, is anyone willing to give a thoughtful
argument for how the US politics are in imminent danger
of sliding into something unsavory if Bush is reelected?
-- ilyas
\_ Bush has eroded civil liberties, more than any
president in my lifetime. This concerns me. And I
certainly did not bring up facism. I think you are
responding to the wrong entry. Just because
totalitarianism took one historical path (by
following a lunatic) once in history 60 years
ago does not mean that there are not other ways
to it. Read up on the history of Mussolini, Pinochet,
Franco and Peron for more germane historical
examples.
\_ Yeah, that concerns me too. However, compare to
Roosevelt during WWII (specifically internment and
press restrictions). -- ilyas
\_ Or WWI, which was even more severe, with the
alien sedition act. But the problem with these
comparisons is that during WWI and WWII we were
fighting a state actor and had a clearly
defined goal and endpoint to the civil
liberty restrictions. Today, we are fighting
"terror" something so ill defined that it
will never be defeated. And to top it off,
Bush used a war that he chose to get into
as an excuse to further the crackdown on
civil liberties. Combine these and you start
to see a dangerous precedent, especially
compared to historical actors who have
done similar things.
\_ Yes, that's true. Though one wonders how
these restrictions managed to steamroll
their way into law. It's not like the
POTUS can randomly rewrite laws without
some help (or at least inaction) from other
branches. I am less concerned with Bush
specifically, and more concerned with the
government machine which makes the
crackdown not only possible but a reality.
The office of the POTUS doesn't have enough
power to be a worry in and of itself.
-- ilyas
\_ Don't underestimate the power of
demagoguery combined with an enraged
populace. Though I suppose the biggest
threat has passed for the moment. What
about after the next 9/11? And there
will be a next one.
\_ I've definitely had issues with the man who destroyed the Thai
economy for fun and profit preaching about high-minded politics
but I am mostly over it.
\_ Is he heavily invested in dollars? Could he be afraid
"4 MORE YEARS!" will result in the dollar losing value?
\_ warren buffet also likes kerry, and he has like a 19 billion
bet on the dollar falling. |