[ExI] Astroturf - Is anything 'real' out there? (Richard Loosemore)

[F. C. Moulton]

It is useful to remember that George Soros has given support to ending
the laws against marijuana.  Soros has long been a critic of the Drug
War.  Soros was also a critic of the totalitarian regimes of the former
Soviet blog.

On the other hand it is important to remember that Koch brothers are
also against the Drug War.  And they support legalizing same-sex marriage.

So we see several areas where Soros and the Koch brothers agree.  But
there are also areas where they disagree.  Rather than just blithely go
about painting one or the other as being the embodiment of horribleness
how about a bit of nuance.  How about considering the basic premises
that cause them to agree in some areas and disagree in others?  How
about some serious discussion and reflection?

Consider the relationship between Soros and the ideas of Karl Popper;
consider the influence of F. A. Hayek on the Koch brothers; then
consider that Popper and Hayek were friends and shared common
interests.  And it is interesting to recall that the Cato Institute
which has been funded in part by the Koch brothers had Soros there just
a few months ago.  Soros was part of a panel to discuss the new edition
of Hayek's book The Constitution of Liberty.

So it is considerably more complex than much of the simple minded
bickering that we have seen recently on this list.  And while I on the
topic on the quality of recent posts I would suggest that people want to
discuss the libertarian philosophy that they do some back research and
get a clue about the subject.  And I say this equally to those who claim
to be supporting libertarianism and those who claim to be opposing it;
that much of what you are posting is either incomplete, misleading or
inaccurate.

We can all do better in the quality of our posts so please let us try.

Fred