Now that we have established that Putin wants Trump to be President
—and that Trump and his team view Putin and Russia to be a great country, a great potential ally and a great place for the Trump brand to profit (a no-brainer gift from Putin in return for the death of NATO, the death of Eastern Europe, and the total isolation of the USA ). Now is a good time to look at the far right’s greatest straw man argument. When confronted with the fact that money is corrupting American politics and destroying American democracy, the far right spout “George Soros” as if they are making some kind of coherent argument. They love Sheldon Adelson’s money, Adelson is a great guy. They love Putin’s helping hand, Putin is a great guy. But they hate Soros. Soros the communist, the Jew—and yet still get to call themselves patriots. Their new bromance hero is Putin, and Putin hates Soros too!
So what is the story, who is Soros? Why does Soros make it so easy for us to employ our ever ready bullshit detector to all things Stupidparty—and what is the difference between Soros and Adelson?
Mention too much money in politics—and a nitwit is bound to materialize with the stunning news that George Soros is George Soros, and this foreign sounding communist is single-handedly trying to do something foreign-like, and communist. That is evidently why we need money in politics, or why we don’t need money out of politics (to stop Soros because George Soros is…).
In this vacuous argument, we see proof positive the destructive force of false equivalence. Is is absolutely stunning that because of Soros these nitwits are totally content to allow the top .001% of the population,who have no concept of the needs of the people (who only want to enrich themselves) to buy up Democracy so that they can write the rules of the game—a game in which they will be the only winners.
Thus, just as I have set the record straight regarding false equivalence, I would like to look at the numbers, look at the man (Soros), and finally look at the difference between George Soros and the number one Stupidparty donor (who is not a Koch by the way)—because in these stories we can yet again see clearly the difference between a human soul and a Stupidparty soul.
Super-Rich people power—and where does Soros fall…
Some people are so wealthy that they are worth more than the net worth of whole countries. One American family (the Walmart family) is so wealthy they have the same amount of wealth as 40 million American families combined. Some people are so rich that they believe they can select the leader of the largest supposed democracy in the world. There are many ways such people can try and influence events. One way is through the newly minted Supreme Court’s Citizens United super PAC’s. Here are the largest individual donations to super PACs.
2012 Top Donors to Outside Spending Groups:
“These are the top individuals and organizations spending their money to influence your vote. That is, these are the top DISCLOSED donors. Some categories of outside spenders, such as 501(c)(4) groups, are not required to disclose the identities of their contributors.
“In 2012, the top 100 individual donors to super PACs, along with their spouses, represent just 1.0% of all individual donors to super PACs, but 73% of the money received.”
The total amount for the top 20 is $241,000,000 of which 85% apparently helps the Stupidparty.
George Soros, Stupidparty enemy # 1,
The Man, not the Myth: Soros the Communist? I don’t think so:
George Soros survived the Nazi-occupation of Hungary and fled the communist regime as a teenager. He worked as a railway porter and waiter in London before becoming the world’s richest hedge fund manager, executing daring trades that earned him a legendary reputation. In 1992, with Stan Druckenmiller by his side, he shorted the British pound and made such an impressive profit that he became known as the man who broke the Bank of England.
OK—Soros the Nazi? Here (see image, my comments in red font) is a typical Stupidparty meme:
Soros, who is Jewish, was 13 years in 1944 when Hungary was occupied by the Germans. He was being protected by a Hungarian Agriculture Ministry employee—posing as his godson. His godfather was ordered to do an inventory of a Jewish property. Soros accompanied his “godfather” (who could not leave the boy at home) for three days as he went to oversee the confiscation of property from Hungarian Jews.
So having dealt with that odious nonsense lets move on:
George Soros is a currency speculator and has worked tirelessly to further capitalism, especially in Eastern Europe. So while Soros was most concerned about George Bush’s sins against humanity, the illegal war, torture-detention stuff, he pretty much sat out the 2012 election.
And then . . .
“The news was greeted with a major sigh of relief in Democratic circles: philanthropist George Soros had decided to open his checkbook—to the tune of $2 million—to several liberal outside groups, the leading edge of what is expected to be $100 million in spending by the Democracy Alliance, a group of major Democratic donors.”
Perhaps he gave more in ways that are hard to investigate—just like all the individuals listed above. So call it $4m against $billions. The Stupidparty argument is a myth, but it is also revealing. The thing is that not only is George Soros a hard-core capitalist; he is also somewhat like an Asset Stripper or a hedge fund manager—occupations one might think are very far from humanistic. Perhaps George Soros recognizes the imbalance, because he happens to be one of the world’s leading philanthropists. Between 1979 and 2011, Soros gave away over $8 billion to causes related to human rights, public health, and education. He played a significant role in the peaceful transition from communism to capitalism in Hungary (1984–89) and provided one of Europe’s largest higher-education endowments to Central European University in Budapest. Soros is also the chairman of the Open Society Foundations. (Data from Wiki)
So while Stupidparty disciples revile him, most of humanity would revere him—since he has done so much work across the world to fight poverty and bring capitalism and freedom to countries on the brink. That sounds like Stupidparty Bush foreign policy—but without the need to kill everyone. It sounds like charity—but charity that does not simply involve giving to one’s own club (the Church) but rather to people who actually need help. It sounds like giving rather selflessly instead of trying to buy politicians, who will then vote to cut their tax rate or the minimum wage, so that they can pocket more $billions. It’s sound like this”wicked man”, this false flag equivalence gave a modest $2.8m, a tiny fraction of a what another individual gave—a person with a very different agenda—an agenda of greed and treason.
Sheldon Adelson:
Thus having dealt with that evil bête noire Soros, who sits number 20 on the list of top givers, we will look at Stupidparty hero #1, who contributed 25 times more than Soros during the 2012 election cycle, an insignificant numerical difference if you are that oxymoron—a Stupidparty mathematician.
“According to two GOP fundraisers with close ties to the Las Vegas billionaire Adelson ultimately upped the ante and then some, spending closer to a previously unreported $150 million, the fundraisers said.”
Like Soros, Adelson made his billions engaging in one of the more suspect forms of capitalism, Adelson tapping into a recreation that many progressives and conservatives view with concern gambling. Progressives are concerned by its regressive nature, exacerbating poverty, while those on the right worry about sinning (a bigger concern, it seems, than poverty, which I find revealing).
Adelson was not always so Stupidparty. What might be the driving factors? His Las Vegas casino holdings are under investigation by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, focused “on the casino company’s operations in Macau, the world’s biggest gambling hub, court documents show. A former executive in Adelson’s empire, whose allegations are believed to be central to the probe, cites potential illegal dealings with a public official, as well as a tie to an organized crime figure.”
“The legal headaches besetting billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp. now include a grand jury in Los Angeles, part of a federal money-laundering probe of his Nevada-based casinos.”
UPDATE: Aug. 2013: “Las Vegas Sands Corp. has reached a deal with federal prosecutors to pay more than $47.4 million to the U.S. government in order to avoid criminal charges over alleged money laundering activities.”
Like Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch’s hand in making America Stupidparty—Adelson is doing to Israel.
Adelson does not simply love money; he also has a passion for Israel. Since he is Jewish, that in itself is no surprise. He owns Israel’s largest newspaper. One reason for this circulation triumph may be this newspaper is free. Boys will have their toys.
“In Israel, Mr. Adelson is better known as the force behind the five-year-old free newspaper, Yisrael Hayom (Israel Today), which is seen by some as the Israeli print equivalent of Fox News. Touting Israeli patriotism, it is among the most widely read newspapers in the country and has a reputation for its fiercely loyal coverage of Mr. Netanyahu—and now Stupidparty presidential nominee Mitt Romney.”
Adelson’s Free Newspaper Sounds Just Like Fox News:
A study conducted by Moran Rada (Israeli Democracy Institute) showed that while competing newspapers’ coverage of Netanyahu was “not especially fair,” Yisrael Hayom’s coverage was biased in favor of Netanyahu in most editorial decisions, that the paper chooses to play down events that don’t help to promote a positive image for Netanyahu, while on the other hand, touting and inflating events that help promote Netanyahu and the Likud. Oren Frisco reached the same conclusion after the 2009 Knesset elections, writing that throughout the campaign, Yisrael Hayom published only one article critical of the Likud, and tens of articles critical of Kadima.
Mr. Adelson describes his paper as fair and balanced, which sounds suspiciously like you know who and is “Stupidparty speak” for not fair and not balanced.
Well, of course, an individual can pretty much believe what he wants. So what were Adelson (and his close friend Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu) up to during to the 2012 election cycle? Initially, Adelson pretty much single-handedly kept Newt Gingrich’s campaign afloat during the primaries.
Politico reports:
“Even as Newt Gingrich’s campaign teetered on the edge of collapse in March, the wife of a casino mogul gave a pro-Gingrich super PAC another $5 million. The contribution brought the Adelson family’s pro-Gingrich tally to $20 million—a figure Sheldon Adelson himself was floating in December. The Adelson’s almost single-handedly funded Winning Our Future’s (Gingrich’s Super PAC) operations since its inception in December, but in recent days, Adelson has signaled he will put his wealth behind Stupidparty establishment candidates.”
This became Gingrich’s platform on Israel:
Since this has written, Gaza has simply become more of a hell hole, more hate on both sides. The fearful conservative brain loves to hate, whether is be extreme conservative Muslims, extreme conservative Israelis’ or the extreme (Stupidparty elements in the USA).
After Gingrich implodes, Adelson then needs to be a real player for Romney.
Adelson’s Romney-boosting support reportedly “limitless”as Forbes reported:
A well-placed source in the Adelson camp with direct knowledge of the casino billionaire’s thinking says that further donations will be “limitless.” Adelson, will do “whatever it takes” to defeat Obama, this source says. And given that Adelson is worth $24.9 billion—and told Forbes in a recent rare interview about his political giving that he had been willing to donate as much as $100 million to his initial presidential preference, Newt Gingrich—that “limitless” description telegraphs potential nine-digit support of Romney. Adelson, this source continues, believes that “no price is too high” to protect the U.S. from what he sees as Obama’s ‘socialization’ of America, as well as securing the safety of Israel. He added that Adelson, 78, considers this to be the most important election of his lifetime.
Perhaps his foreign policy concept -how to make peace with the Arabs -have the Americans nuke the Arabs:
Romney Policies on Israel.
On his world tour in 2012 (of basically insulting everyone) Romney was in Israel and naturally keen to keep the contributions flowing; it is not as if average Americans were rushing to contribute. So coincidentally, Romney would be much tougher on Iran. (Bear in mind that short of war, the international community already has an unusually cohesive and severe approach). He would recognize Jerusalem as [Israel’s] capital. For good measure, he insulted the Palestinians by declaring that cultural differences—not decades under Israeli occupation—are the reason Israelis are more successful economically. It’s hard to say how this could affect policy if he were president, but it is not encouraging.
“The real audience for Mr. Romney’s tough talk was American Jews and evangelical Christians, some of whom accompanied him on his trip. He is courting votes and making an aggressive pitch to donors, including Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino magnate with the hard-line pro-Israel views who is spending more money than any other American—$100 million—to defeat Mr. Obama.”
During Romney’s infamous 47% moocher country-club talk, he confided that there was no point in seeking a peace process in Israel, since it was just too complicated, i.e., better leave it all up to Netanyahu to run the show.
Netanyahu.
Netanyahu’s last bastion of international support really lies with the Stupidparty. This has been further proven by his ability to get 47 Stupidparty Senators to commit Treason in order to further Netanyahu’s agenda. People like Clinton and Obama and nearly everyone else on the planet (except Stupidparty) not only have some empathy for the Palestinian people, but also recognize that having America acting as a totally partisan broker in the Middle East is bound to energize terrorist support and other anti-Western activities.
Netanyahu interfered in the U.S. elections by trying to embarrass Obama and make him appear weak on Israel and Iran. This is how the Israeli opposition saw it. From Israel’s Haaretz newspaper:
“Following U.S. President Barack Obama’s victory in the American presidential elections, on Wednesday former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of blatantly interfering in favor of Stupidparty nominee Mitt Romney, adding that he did so in the name of Netanyahu and Romney-backer Sheldon Adelson.
“‘This represents a significant breach of the basic rules governing ties between nations, made worse by the fact that these are allies like Israel and the United States,’ Olmert said during a meeting with the heads of New York’s Jewish community.”
What is so ironic about this odd alliance between Netanyahu and the Stupidparty is that the evangelical wing of the Stupidparty merely sees Israel as the location for the end of times, that event will see the demise of all non-Christians. This odd alliance is more “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” even when such friend will never be invited to dinner.
It looks very much like Adelson would like to appoint the next president of the United States, and there appear to be two key motivating factors. His Jewish heritage is so deeply rooted within him that one has to wonder which country he’s most loyal to—evidently, a key concern to all those “birther” Americans. He is clearly capable of massively influencing U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East by effectively buying up the presidency.
Regarding the assertions that Adelson is breaking the law and being investigated by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission—well, it is difficult enough for Obama appointees or any politician to pursue this, knowing that unlimited funds can be thrown to political opponents. As a general rule, the candidate with the most money wins. So if Obama is being massively intimidated, does anybody believe that a Gingrich or Romney appointee, or anyone in the Stupidparty, will have any motivation to enforce the law (assuming pertinent laws have not been gutted as payback for political contributions).
Bear in mind one other huge motivation. Romney never detailed his economic plans, as he knew if he did, not quite so many people would vote for him. But his plan was quite simple, and it was based on the debt argument. Simply put, there would be austerity,—paid for by everyone except the wealthy. The wealthy would carry on getting wealthier as a result of tax cuts for the wealthy. So Adelson’s “unlimited” spending was actually a drop in the bucket, compared to amounts he would gain under Romney. From Adelson’s point of view (and I believe he has admitted as such), gambling on Romney or any other Stupidparty candidate was a bet he could not possibly say no to.
So can we see the difference between Adelson and Soros? Can we see him as the polar opposite—if not, then simply turn back about four pages and start again?
Joseph Anthony says
A comment mentioned that the Republics think Putin is great and Russia is a great country, implying that because the Republicans think so, they are not great. Well, Putin may be questionable but Russia is a great country with a rich cultural heritage, a music scene far superior to that of the United States and a population that may have its problems with poverty and bad government and a corrupt economy and alcoholism but with a population better educated than are Americans. It has historically always been a big mistake to underestimate Russia and her people.
Patrick Andendall says
It is always a bit silly to suggest one Country is greater than another.
Robert says
The problem with your article defending Soros is, Soros has bankrupted 7 countries and is an agitator, and someone who believes in a one world government, whether you like that or not.
It is financial and historical fact and on the record.
Another fact is, globalization is unsustainable and centralized power is dangerous not only because of the power it has but it is corruptible and once corrupted it is never good for anyone, save those in charge of it.
Another historical fact.
Patrick Andendall says
Perhaps you should get a grip on what a fact is. Opinionated and disingenuous drivel does not = fact. But what is the point of pointing out that fact to a mental midget?