Watching the Koch Brothers

[bjkeefe]

Now that it's become apparent to all but a few operatives who habitually misspell boogeyman that Charles and David Koch are of paramount importance in funding Republican operations, it's time to dedicate a thread to documenting their efforts. To the degree that they can be dug up and exposed, I mean.

To start us off, here's a fine piece of investigative reporting from Mark Ames and Mike Elk of The Nation, beginning as follows.

Big Brothers: Thought Control at Koch

On the eve of the November midterm elections, Koch Industries sent an urgent letter to most of its 50,000 employees advising them on whom to vote for and warning them about the dire consequences to their families, their jobs and their country should they choose to vote otherwise.

The Nation obtained the Koch Industries election packet for Washington State—which included a cover letter from its president and COO, David Robertson; a list of Koch-endorsed state and federal candidates; and an issue of the company newsletter, Discovery, full of alarmist right-wing propaganda.

Legal experts interviewed for this story called the blatant corporate politicking highly unusual, although no longer skirting the edge of legality, thanks to last year’s Citizens United Supreme Court decision, which granted free speech rights to corporations.

“Before Citizens United, federal election law allowed a company like Koch Industries to talk to officers and shareholders about whom to vote for, but not to talk with employees about whom to vote for,” explains Paul M. Secunda, associate professor of law at Marquette University. But according to Secunda, who recently wrote in The Yale Law Journal Online about the effects of Citizens United on political coercion in the workplace, the decision knocked down those regulations. “Now, companies like Koch Industries are free to send out newsletters persuading their employees how to vote. They can even intimidate their employees into voting for their candidates.” Secunda adds, “It’s a very troubling situation.”

The Kochs were major supporters of the Citizens United case; they were also chief sponsors of the Tea Party and major backers of the anti-“Obamacare” campaign. Through their network of libertarian think tanks and policy institutes, they have been major drivers of unionbusting campaigns in Wisconsin, Michigan and elsewhere.

“This sort of election propaganda seems like a new development,” says UCLA law professor Katherine Stone, who specializes in labor law and who reviewed the Koch Industries election packet for The Nation. “Until Citizens United, this sort of political propaganda was probably not permitted. But after the Citizens United decision, I can imagine it’ll be a lot more common, with restrictions on corporations now lifted.”

[...]

After guiding employees on how they should vote, the mailer devoted the rest of the material to the sort of indoctrination one would expect from an old John Birch Society pamphlet (the Koch Brothers’ father, Fred Koch, was a founding member of the JBS). It offers an apocalyptic vision of the company’s free-market struggle for liberty against the totalitarian forces of European Union bureaucrats and deficit-spending statists.

[...]

Further into the company newsletter is an article headlined “What’s a Business to Do?” It portrays corporate titans like the Kochs as freedom-fighting underdogs, modern-day Sakharovs and Mandelas targeted for repression by Big Government statists ...

[...]

Easily the strangest and most disturbing article of all comes from the head of Koch Industries himself, Charles Koch, who offers an election-season history lesson to his employees. Koch’s essay sets out to rank the best and worst US presidents in terms of their economic policies. Charles—who with his brother David is worth $44 billion, putting them fifth on the 2010 Forbes 400 list—warns his readers that his history lesson may surprise them. And to his credit, Koch doesn’t disappoint.

Koch glorifies Warren G. Harding and his successor Calvin Coolidge for producing “one of the most prosperous [eras] in U.S. history.” [...]

[...]

According to most historians, the Harding and Coolidge administrations’ free-market romp was one of the key factors that led to the Great Depression. Their time in office was marked by obscene corruption, racial violence, unionbusting, feudal wealth inequalities and, shortly thereafter, the total collapse of the American economy.

The rest.

(h/t: Ken Layne)

And on a related note:

Scott Walker Now Going After Doctors Who Helped Union Protestors

[operative]

BJKeefe, going into full-fascist mode.

[handle]

BJKeefe, going into full-fascist hunter mode.

Fixed.

I would say the Kochs are fascist leaning but Denville, I suspect is the real deal. Try to fly a little closer to what is, please.

Seriously OP you do yourself a disservice.

[operative]

Originally Posted by handle

Fixed.

I would say the Kochs are fascist leaning

Then you haven't a clue what fascism is.

[handle]

Originally Posted by operative

Then you haven't a clue what fascism is.

Click the link genius. Then read.
Here's the deal, if you want to insult a democrat by using extreme over the top exaggeration, you call them a commie, at least you are going in the right direction. It's like saying New Yorkers are from the south, it becomes obvious even to the most uniformed reader, you don't know up from down.
Maybe you need a nap? Or a map? Seems like you are flailing here.

[operative]

Originally Posted by handle

Click the link genius. Then read.
Here's the deal, if you want to insult a democrat by using extreme over the top exaggeration, you call them a commie, at least you are going in the right direction.

There's much similarity between Communism and Fascism (Hayek amongst others have noted that they are really of the same mindset), which is why, for example, W.E.B Dubois had such positive things to say about Nazi Germany. The Left happens to currently be more in the Fascist direction than the Communist direction.

[handle]

Originally Posted by operative

There's much similarity between Communism and Fascism (Hayek amongst others have noted that they are really of the same mindset), which is why, for example, W.E.B Dubois had such positive things to say about Nazi Germany. The Left happens to currently be more in the Fascist direction than the Communist direction.

I can't get the kids to nap when they get like this either..

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by handle

I can't get the kids to nap when they get like this either..

LOL!

[chiwhisoxx]

May as well use this thread to also include the sometimes overwrought and paranoid criticisms of the Kochs as well. That means....good god, is that Lee Fangs music!?! (hat tip to Simmons!) Powerline has a great takedown of Lee Fang about a story he did on the Koch's and contango markets.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archive.../04/028825.php

Partisan lenses aside, Fang really did seem to write a story about contango markets...without even having a vague understanding of what contango markets are.

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by chiwhisoxx

May as well use this thread to also include the sometimes overwrought and paranoid criticisms ...

... coming from the Power Tools site? I agree. No need to read past the opening line of the Assrocket piece you for some reason thought worth recommending:

The Think Progress web site is a Soros-funded mouthpiece for the Obama administration.

However, the post which provoked the huffing and puffing is well worth reading: "The Contango Game: How Koch Industries Manipulates The Oil Market For Profit."

There's a word for the Kochs when they're in this mode ...

[chiwhisoxx]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

... coming from the Power Tools site? I agree. No need to read past the opening line of the Assrocket piece you for some reason thought worth recommending:



However, the post which provoked the huffing and puffing is well worth reading: "The Contango Game: How Koch Industries Manipulates The Oil Market For Profit."

There's a word for the Kochs when they're in this mode ...

Yes, sometimes the people at powerline have some annoying boilerplate-ish lines about Soros and the left (not all that different than some of the stuff about the Kochs....) but I'd like to see someone substantively defend Fang here? Seems pretty clear he doesn't know what he's talking about. Powerline wasn't the only one to go after him for this.

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by chiwhisoxx

Yes, sometimes the people at powerline have some annoying boilerplate-ish lines about Soros and the left (not all that different than some of the stuff about the Kochs....) ...

Ah, once again: chiwhi and his Just Like™ refrain. (Do you ever think about what you're doing to your credibility with this all-too-frequent response?)

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the non-stop wingnut howling about him notwithstanding, George Soros is actually not a sinister character on the political scene. He is aboveboard in his funding (unlike the Koch brothers) and what he funds is for the benefit of large groups of poor and/or average people (again unlike the Koch brothers).

I'm pretty sure that this thread will establish that over time.

... but I'd like to see someone substantively defend Fang here?

Not sure why there is a question mark there.

Seems pretty clear he doesn't know what he's talking about.

You mean, based solely on the word of a known political hack of the worst sort, "it seems pretty clear."

Powerline wasn't the only one to go after him for this.

And all the rest are so secret you dare not link to them? Or did you go looking, and realize, belatedly, that everything you could find was of the form ... blah, blah, blah, here's a link to Power Tools ...?

[TwinSwords]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

Ah, once again: chiwhi and his Just Like™ refrain. (Do you ever think about what you're doing to your credibility with this all-too-frequent response?)

Well, it's not just cheewee. It's one of the standard arguments used by the right to excuse their depravity, and it's how they have trained the media to behave, as well. No wingnut perfidy can ever be discussed, ever, without the media or some wingnut immediately falling back to "but the Democrats do it too!!!1!"

If you think about it, it's not much of a defense for whatever perfidy was originally highlighted, is it? No. It's merely used as a distraction, a way to draw attention away from their own sins and to cloud the issue.

Watch for it. They use it in response to everything.

[bjkeefe]

Greenpeace:

Billionaire oilman David Koch used to joke that Koch Industries was "the biggest company you've never heard of." Now the shroud of secrecy has thankfully been lifted, revealing the $55 million that he and his brother Charles have quietly funneled to climate-denial front groups that are working to delay policies and regulations aimed at stopping global warming.

A lot can happen in a year. Today, the Kochs are being watched as a prime example of the corporate takeover of government. Their funding and co-opting of the Tea Party movement is now well documented.

Charles G. Koch and David H. Koch have a vested interest in delaying climate action: they've made billions from their ownership and control of Koch Industries, an oil corporation that is the second largest privately-held company in America (which also happens to have an especially poor environmental record). It's timely that more people are now aware of Charles and David Koch and just what they're up to. A growing awareness of these oil billionaires’ destructive agenda has led to increased scrutiny and resistance from people and organizations all over the United States.

Greenpeace has updated its original March 2010 report "Koch Industries: Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine" to expose the connections between these climate denial front groups and the secretive billionaires who are funding their efforts.

We have added three new files to our ongoing case studies demonstrating how Koch Industries uses its dirty money and influence to deny the science behind the climate crisis:

From our 2011 report update:

Koch Front Groups Attack RGGI—The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Koch Industries Backs California Proposition 23
The Kochtopus Media Network


From our 2010 report:

The Koch-funded "ClimateGate" Echo Chamber
Polar Bear Junk Science and Koch Industries
The "Spanish Study" on Green Jobs and Koch Industries
The "Danish Study" on Wind Power and Koch Industries
Koch Organizations Instrumental in Dissemination of ACCF/NAM Claims


The Koch brothers, their family members, and their employees direct a web of financing that supports conservative special interest groups and think-tanks, with a strong focus on fighting environmental regulation, opposing clean energy legislation, and easing limits on industrial pollution. This money is typically funneled through one of three "charitable" foundations the Kochs have set up: the Claude R. Lambe Foundation; the Charles G. Koch Foundation; and the David H. Koch Foundation.

The rest.

Direct links to the reports, which are extraordinarily detailed and thoroughly sourced (PDF): 2010 | 2011

(h/t: NYT's Green blog)

[bjkeefe]

Raw Story and the NY Post report. You decide.

(h/t: RM/FB)

[bjkeefe]

... the Charles G. Koch Foundation," says an op-ed by two FSU professors (original, cached). They continue:

In 2008, the foundation signed a memorandum of agreement with FSU in which they committed to a proposed budget of $6.5 million over a period of six years, with most of the effort to be located in the economics department. The provisions called for the hiring of five professors and other staff; establishing a program for the Study of Political Economy and Free Enterprise (SPEFE) and a program for Excellence in Economic Education (EEE); and the development of educational programs for undergraduate students.

A careful reading of the memorandum reveals a number of strings attached to the "gift." [...]

This op-ed led the St. Petersburg Times to look into it, and Ed from Gin and Tacos noticed. (Ed is a professor at another college.)

PRAGMATISM vs. THE GAG REFLEX

The great but largely forgotten journalist Sydney Harris once said, "You may be certain that when a man begins to call himself a 'realist,' he is preparing to do something he is secretly ashamed of." That quote kept coming to mind as I read this:

My favorite Calvin and Hobbes panel features Calvin lamenting not that everyone has a price, but that the price is always so low. [...]

Probably just a coincidence (via) that the dean of the College of Social Sciences at FSU is named ...?

Not exactly consistent? Rasmussen, meanwhile, sang quite a different tune in a letter to the Tallahassee Democrat responding to the professors, striking a strident tone, accusing the profs of “ideological bias,” and asserting something that appears to be demonstrably untrue: [...]

We don't actually know that Dean Rasmussen is related to every conservative's favorite pollster. But we do know something: FSU's department chair is a total tool:

Bruce Benson, chairman of FSU's economics department, said that of his staff of 30, six, including himself, would fall into Koch's free-market camp.

"The Kochs find, as I do, that a lot of regulation is actually detrimental and they're convinced markets work relatively well when left alone," he said.

Benson said his department had extensive discussion, but no vote, on the Koch agreement when it was signed in 2008.

He said the Koch grant has improved his department and guaranteed a diversity of opinion that's beneficial to students.

"Students will ultimately choose," he said. "If you believe strongly in something, you believe it can win the debate."

Benson makes annual reports to Koch about the faculty's publications, speeches and classes, which have included the economics of corruption.

Orwell wept.

Of course, FSU is still at the fluffer stage compared to another school we could name:

The big exception has been George Mason University, a public university in Virginia which has received more than $30 million from Koch over the past 20 years. At George Mason, Koch's foundation has underwritten the Mercatus Center, whose faculty study "how institutions affect the freedom to prosper."

To save the resident operatives the effort of huffing and puffing about "bogymen" and that THERE IS NOTHING TO SEE HERE, we will link to ex(?)-Reason employee and perennial liberal-basher David Weigel, who says THERE IS NOTHING TO SEE HERE. (But at least he gave the backstory and the link to the op-ed.)

P.S. A Facebook page has just been launched to protest this Kochtopus purchase.

(h/t: grazinexile)

[chiwhisoxx]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

... the Charles G. Koch Foundation," says an op-ed by two FSU professors (original, cached). They continue:



This op-ed led the St. Petersburg Times to look into it, and Ed from Gin and Tacos noticed. (Ed is a professor at another college.)



Probably just a coincidence (via) that the dean of the College of Social Sciences at FSU is named ...?



We don't actually know that Dean Rasmussen is related to every conservative's favorite pollster. But we do know something: FSU's department chair is a total tool:



Orwell wept.

Of course, FSU is still at the fluffer stage compared to another school we could name:



To save the resident operatives the effort of huffing and puffing about "bogymen" and that THERE IS NOTHING TO SEE HERE, we will link to ex(?)-Reason employee and person I used to cite approvingly when he bashed the tea party but is suddenly the devil incarnate now that he occasionally has an unkind word for liberals David Weigel, who says THERE IS NOTHING TO SEE HERE. (But at least he gave the backstory and the link to the op-ed.)

P.S. A Facebook page has just been launched to protest this Kochtopus purchase.

(h/t: grazinexile)

fixed

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by chiwhisoxx

fixed

Nice try to deflect attention from the Koch story, j.o., but you're wrong. I used Weigel as a source on the teabaggers not because he "bashed" them but because he was making an effort to do straight reporting on them.

[TwinSwords]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

Nice try to deflect attention from the Koch story, j.o., but you're wrong. I used Weigel as a source on the teabaggers not because he "bashed" them but because he was making an effort to do straight reporting on them.

It seems strange to me that j.o. thinks you should show loyalty to people, and not to ideas. This concept that you might agree with and approve of Weigel's work sometimes and disagree with it other times seems entirely foreign to him.

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by TwinSwords

It seems strange to me that j.o. thinks you should show loyalty to people, and not to ideas. This concept that you might agree with and approve of Weigel's work sometimes and disagree with it other times seems entirely foreign to him.

Good point.

[TwinSwords]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

Good point.

Well, except it doesn't seem strange at all. It seems entirely normal, considering it's j.o. we're talking about.

[operative]

Originally Posted by TwinSwords

Well, except it doesn't seem strange at all. It seems entirely normal, considering it's j.o. we're talking about.

It never ceases to amaze me how certain individuals (almost all on the left) seem intent on conducting themselves on BH in a manner that seems more fitting in junior high. From the formation of cliques to the sophomoric name-calling, it's as if some folks are intent on reliving their 'glory days' of being the 9th grade bully.

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by operative

It never ceases to amaze me how certain individuals (almost all on the left) seem intent on conducting themselves on BH in a manner that seems more fitting in junior high. From the formation of cliques to the sophomoric name-calling, it's as if some folks are intent on reliving their 'glory days' of being the 9th grade bully.

Says the young man who never stops rushing to the defense of Whatfur.

And your "almost all on the left" is comically inaccurate. The only question here is the familiar one when dealing with you and your chums: lying or stupid?

[operative]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

Says the young man who never stops rushing to the defense of Whatfur.

Delusions

And your "almost all on the left" is comically inaccurate.

I'd ask for you to prove this but then I really don't care to see more lies, spin, and deception. You're free to embarrass yourself as much as you like, until the BH staff finally tires of your antics.

[handle]

Originally Posted by operative

It never ceases to amaze me how certain individuals (almost all on the left) seem intent on conducting themselves on BH in a manner that seems more fitting in junior high. From the formation of cliques to the sophomoric name-calling, it's as if some folks are intent on reliving their 'glory days' of being the 9th grade bully.

Bill Maher:
"I'll stop calling you "teabaggers", when you stop calling it "obamacare".
Goes for me too.
And if you think he's sophomoric, you really oughta watch his show.

9th grade bullies? Did whatfur write that post for you? He used to berate leftists for being girlie-man nerds!

[operative]

Originally Posted by handle

Bill Maher:
"I'll stop calling you "teabaggers", when you stop calling it "obamacare".

I didn't realize you equated the president's name with a vulgar term for a sex act.

And if you think he's sophomoric, you really oughta watch his show.

I think there are more apt ways to describe Bill Mahr. Namely, someone who is far less intelligent than he and his narrow band of devotees believe him to be.

[handle]

Originally Posted by operative

I didn't realize you equated the president's name with a vulgar term for a sex act.

the presidents name is obamacare?
And the teababbers, called themselves the teabaggers, and vugarity is in the eye of the beholder.

Originally Posted by operative

I think there are more apt ways to describe Bill Mahr. Namely, someone who is far less intelligent than he and his narrow band of devotees believe him to be.

Wait, I thought you said BJ was delusional, is this a deflection / projection?

You may disagree with people, but inferring they are dumber than most people think, treads dangerously close to the name calling you are railing against IMO.
HBO doesn't bankroll shows with a narrow following, nice try though.

I have a suggestion:
read > think > post > preview > think again > post > preview > submit. In that order.

[operative]

Originally Posted by handle

the presidents name is obamacare?
And the teababbers, called themselves the teabaggers, and vugarity is in the eye of the beholder.

You're referring to exactly one sign, against the overwhelming body of TPers who found the term to be vulgar and inappropriate, and do not get cute. You know what it is and you shouldn't waste bytes attempting to pretend otherwise.

You may disagree with people, but inferring they are dumber than most people think, treads dangerously close to the name calling you are railing against IMO.

I think it's more recognizing something that is rather plainly obvious. I'd say the same thing about Jon Stewart, btw, but Stewart is smarter than Mahr.

HBO doesn't bankroll shows with a narrow following, nice try though.

There's a difference between the casual viewers of his stupid show and the actual band of devotees that think him to be quite bright when he's simply a vulgar clown and provocateur.

[handle]

Originally Posted by operative

You're referring to exactly one sign, against the overwhelming body of TPers who found the term to be vulgar and inappropriate, and do not get cute. You know what it is and you shouldn't waste bytes attempting to pretend otherwise.

Good! so you'll quit calling it "obamacare"? 'Cause you know damn well what the connotation of that is meant to be.

Originally Posted by operative

I think it's more recognizing something that is rather plainly obvious. I'd say the same thing about Jon Stewart, btw, but Stewart is smarter than Mahr.



There's a difference between the casual viewers of his stupid show and the actual band of devotees that think him to be quite bright when he's simply a vulgar clown and provocateur.

And batman could beat superman, who's being sophomoric again?

[operative]

Originally Posted by handle

Good! so you'll quit calling it "obamacare"? 'Cause you know damn well what the connotation of that is meant to be.

What would that be?

And batman could beat superman, who's being sophomoric again?

Assessing the relative intellectual merits of tv personalities is hardly sophomoric.

[handle]

Originally Posted by operative

What would that be?

So you are saying those that call it obamacare are not trying to make it sound bad, as in that bastard obama forced this on us? Now who's being cute?

Originally Posted by operative

Assessing the relative intellectual merits of tv personalities is hardly sophomoric.

It is when you are calling them "vulgar clowns" for disagreeing with you. This could hardly qualify as "Assessing the relative intellectual merits". What no nice "brown shirt" or "pol pot", or "thug" type name calling? Now thats some highbrow shit.

[operative]

Originally Posted by handle

So you are saying those that call it obamacare are not trying to make it sound bad, as in that bastard obama forced this on us? Now who's being cute?

I see it as just giving credit to the person who was responsible for it. Same as Romneycare. And if Paul Ryan would ever get his plan through, you could call it RyanCare.

[handle]

Originally Posted by operative

I see it as just giving credit to the person who was responsible for it. Same as Romneycare. And if Paul Ryan would ever get his plan through, you could call it RyanCare.

Now you are just making stuff up. It's called Obamacare so Obama haters will hate the program, and you know that. If not, you are more clueless than I thought.
Ryancare should be called the deathertarian plan. It has several options: Be rich, get rich or never get sick.

[operative]

Originally Posted by handle

Now you are just making stuff up. It's called Obamacare so Obama haters will hate the program, and you know that. If not, you are more clueless than I thought.
Ryancare should be called the deathertarian plan. It has several options: Be rich, get rich or never get sick.

Ah so that's what you guys have been trying to do: http://bloggingheads.tv/forum/showth...are#post188155 http://bloggingheads.tv/forum/showth...are#post158854

[rfrobison]

Originally Posted by handle

Ryancare ...has several options: Be rich, get rich or never get sick.

And just which of those three options do you object to?

[chiwhisoxx]

Originally Posted by operative

It never ceases to amaze me how certain individuals (almost all on the left) seem intent on conducting themselves on BH in a manner that seems more fitting in junior high. From the formation of cliques to the sophomoric name-calling, it's as if some folks are intent on reliving their 'glory days' of being the 9th grade bully.

The idea that these people were the bullies in 9th grade is pretty comical; I'd guess it was the other way around.

[handle]

Originally Posted by chiwhisoxx

The idea that these people were the bullies in 9th grade is pretty comical; I'd guess it was the other way around.

Very astute, I used to beat the shit out of bullies.

[operative]

Originally Posted by chiwhisoxx

The idea that these people were the bullies in 9th grade is pretty comical; I'd guess it was the other way around.

Ah now that may indeed be more like it--a repressed inferiority complex from years of being bullied by Wal-mart shopping, pickup-truck driving athletes.

I thought fraternities existed to alleviate those woes, though. (I never had the slightest bit interest in getting anywhere near a fraternity while in my undergrad years).

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by TwinSwords

Well, except it doesn't seem strange at all. It seems entirely normal, considering it's j.o. we're talking about.

It's a conservative tendency to emphasize loyalty to a person (or organization, or bumper-sticker-level "philosophy") in stark, binary terms. "Either you're with him or you're against him" makes sense to them. Nuance, complexity, context ... these are things to be ridiculed by them.

[uncle ebeneezer]

As slimy as this story is (though not surprising) it sorta seems like a waste of $/effort. Econ depts. seem to already tout "free market!!" pretty consistantly. Economic Academia is hardly a place where I would be too worried about Liberal Bias if I were a libertarian billionare.