2,000 Protesters March On Koch Industries' D.C. Office

2,000 Protesters March On Koch Industries' D.C. Office

thinkprogress.org

Though they don’t want you to know about it, the billionaire Koch brothers are bankrolling a massive campaign to roll back progressive achievements, and today, labor, civil rights, and climate activists turned out at dozens of rallies across the country to demonstrate against the Koch’s secretive influence in American politics and to stand up for labor and civil rights.

In Washington, D.C. today an estimated 2,000 protesters marched on Koch Industries’ Washington D.C. offices and attempted to give Charles and David Koch an invitation to come out and speak with the protesters. Not surp

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www.democraticunderground.com

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It's FANTASTIC to see people putting the heat on the Koch brothers! They've slithered under the radar for too long, it was only a matter of time before the light of truth shone on them and exposed their very real, very anti-citizen agendas.

For all the slimy money they've contributed to taking rights away from people, workers, for giving undeserved rights and welfare to corporations, for funding/fomenting anti-scientific global warming denial, for having their fingers in the pies of some very oppressive/destructive/pollutive/inhumane industries... they deserve to be fiercely watched, shamed and dethroned!

thinkprogress.org
(visit the link for the full news article)

Nice, a bunch of teachers once again ditch their students to protest against paying for part of their healthcare.
Great example, NEA!

Originally posted by NoHierarchy


It's FANTASTIC to see people putting the heat on the Koch brothers! They've slithered under the radar for too long, it was only a matter of time before the light of truth shone on them and exposed their very real, very anti-citizen agendas.

For all the slimy money they've contributed to taking rights away from people, workers, for giving undeserved rights and welfare to corporations, for funding/fomenting anti-scientific global warming denial, for having their fingers in the pies of some very oppressive/destructive/pollutive/inhumane industries... they deserve to be fiercely watched, shamed and dethroned!

thinkprogress.org
(visit the link for the full news article)

Those evil gay rights free market Libertarians! If only there were against gay marraige like Obama is.

The problem the left has with the Kochs, is not that they give, but that they dont give to them. At least these guys give their own money to causes they believe in, Unions give a lot more money, and do it from forced dues from other peoples money

Very good news. I hope more and more start to wake and speak out, protest and shout no. This system of monopoly, black ops, and social dawrinism must be stopped and freedom, equality and joy restored to every person equally. I like your avatar. I agree.

Originally posted by Oaktree
Nice, a bunch of teachers once again ditch their students to protest against paying for part of their healthcare.
Great example, NEA!

edit on 5-4-2011 by Oaktree because: (no reason given)

Way to spin it like a real huckster!

When workers and citizens use THEIR RIGHTS to stand up to USURPATIONS OF THEIR RIGHTS, that's a fantastic example. In fact, many countries have an established culture of worker solidarity and solidarity between teachers/students. The Koch brothers foment the very same kind of false divisions/competition amongst the poor that keeps us locked into subservience to the system and war with each other rather than fighting our real enemies.

Originally posted by firepilot

Originally posted by NoHierarchy


It's FANTASTIC to see people putting the heat on the Koch brothers! They've slithered under the radar for too long, it was only a matter of time before the light of truth shone on them and exposed their very real, very anti-citizen agendas.

For all the slimy money they've contributed to taking rights away from people, workers, for giving undeserved rights and welfare to corporations, for funding/fomenting anti-scientific global warming denial, for having their fingers in the pies of some very oppressive/destructive/pollutive/inhumane industries... they deserve to be fiercely watched, shamed and dethroned!

thinkprogress.org
(visit the link for the full news article)

Those evil gay rights free market Libertarians! If only there were against gay marraige like Obama is.

The problem the left has with the Kochs, is not that they give, but that they dont give to them. At least these guys give their own money to causes they believe in, Unions give a lot more money, and do it from forced dues from other peoples money

edit on 5-4-2011 by firepilot because: (no reason given)

Seriously?? Have you read anything that the Kochs are involved in? They're hardly your friendly local entrepreneur investing money in causes they believe in. Anybody with half a brain can read about the Koch brothers and their dealings and realize that they're some of the most vile, slimy, and quasi-Fascist corporatists on the planet. Stop trying to turn the focus away from the elephant in the room towards a mouse in the corner. I mean... whose side are you on?? Common workers who bust their asses making more/less the same money as anybody else does? Or those pooooor innocennnnt rich corporatists who are just sooo sick and tired of their money being "stolllennnn" from them. It's a rigged game and the Kochs (and their little puppets) are using double-speak propaganda to commit unprecedented class warfare against those below them on the totem pole. Just because you have some childish and misguided hate for liberals/hippies, DOESN'T MEAN that the Kochs are your friends.

reply to post by NoHierarchy


Huckster? Hardly.
Perhaps if you got your information from sites other than thinkprogress and democratic underground you'd have a more balanced view of reality.

Until then, keep fighting the power, brother!!!

Originally posted by NoHierarchy

Seriously?? Have you read anything that the Kochs are involved in? They're hardly your friendly local entrepreneur investing money in causes they believe in. Anybody with half a brain can read about the Koch brothers and their dealings and realize that they're some of the most vile, slimy, and quasi-Fascist corporatists on the planet. Stop trying to turn the focus away from the elephant in the room towards a mouse in the corner. I mean... whose side are you on?? Common workers who bust their asses making more/less the same money as anybody else does? Or those pooooor innocennnnt rich corporatists who are just sooo sick and tired of their money being "stolllennnn" from them. It's a rigged game and the Kochs (and their little puppets) are using double-speak propaganda to commit unprecedented class warfare against those below them on the totem pole. Just because you have some childish and misguided hate for liberals/hippies, DOESN'T MEAN that the Kochs are your friends.

Liberals and hippies are not the same thing whatsoever. Most liberals I know are for big government, most true hippies are more social libertarians who want to be left alone. Any hippy who is in favor of big government, is no hippy.

The left would have had more credibility with me if they had been against someone like George Soros, who much of what you typed in your paragraph would apply to just fine. He is is as sleazy as it comes, and likes to bankroll groups on the downlow. Why was there no outcry from the left about him?

Oh it was because he was bankrolling them.

while I am no fan of the Koch boys

I do however wonder if these rallies
did the same thing they did last month
and hire the protestors out for a day's work
and paid them to picket like they did before.

I believe there is another thread here on
ATS where this was addressed.

If I'm not mistaken, I think the going rate
for hire-a-protestor is around $100.00 each
with a free meal (lunch).

Originally posted by Oaktree
reply to post by NoHierarchy

 

Huckster? Hardly.
Perhaps if you got your information from sites other than thinkprogress and democratic underground you'd have a more balanced view of reality.

Until then, keep fighting the power, brother!!!

The Koch bros- who use loopholes to hardly pay taxes at all- got rich taking advantage of all the things supplied by the tax base of the U.S.- Infrastructure, security, fire protection, transportation, education, etc. You have not only been paying for these things through your taxes, but you and every other american has been paying the Koch bros, GE, Monsanto and other corporations taxes for them for years.
You have been paying into a system that is redistributing wealth UPWARDS.
Do you think that if you support them now in an even greater bid to redistribute the middle classes wealth into their pockets they will toss you a few crumbs?

Well don't hold your breath.

reply to post by NoHierarchy


From my files.


Vote for 5 Worst Things the Koch Brothers Have Done

The billionaire Koch brothers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to gain political influence and change America. Their work and spending is driven by the goal of increasing their own profit through decreasing regulations. The expansive and diverse nature of their efforts makes it overwhelming to keep tabs of all they’ve done that has caused harm.

…The Kochs accomplish their goals by funding a massive array of right wing front groups, think tanks and tea party efforts. They largely operate outside of the public eye, and target their funding to infiltrate public opinion, the media, judicial decisions and legislation. Over three dozen organizations are funded by the brothers, and they spend additional money lobbying and backing political candidates.

Everything the Kochs do is to fight for a country free from protections and any degree of a social safety net for working Americans. The Kochs are not the only uber-wealthy in America who are using their money to buy political power that will increase their profits, but they are a key example through which to tell this story.

Koch Brothers Exposed

William F. Buckley warned his conservative followers about the Koch bros, calling them anarcho-totalinarianists.

And from a conservative perspective

There are many varieties of libertarianism, from natural-law libertarianism (the least crazy) to anarcho-capitalism (the most), and some varieties avoid some of the criticisms below.

source Marxism of the Right


another read

What the Kochs were doing, as Mayer astutely notes, is implementing the strategy originally laid out by Lewis Powell's now infamous 1971 memo to the director of the US Chamber of Commerce, by which the political culture of the United States would be transformed on behalf of individuals and corporations of great wealth. The primary obstacle Powell identified was not the remnants of the late-'60s antiwar and civil rights movements, which were both in the process of disintegration. Rather, they sought to undermine the "respectable elements of society" and replace them with people like themselves.

source


a scary read

The Clark-Koch ticket receives only one percent of the vote in the November 1980 elections, forcing the Koch brothers to realize that their brand of politics isn’t popular. In response, Charles Koch becomes openly scornful of conventional politics. “It tends to be a nasty, corrupting business,” he says. “I’m interested in advancing libertarian ideas.” Doherty will later write that both Kochs come to view elected politicians as merely “actors playing out a script.” Doherty will quote a longtime confidant of the Kochs as saying that after the 1980 elections, the brothers decide they will “supply the themes and words for the scripts.” In order to alter the direction of America, they had to “influence the areas where policy ideas percolate from: academia and think tanks.”

source

Excellent step forward in addressing those who are our real enemies.

As a small gesture I plan to create and print out for myself a reminder list of products not to buy and companies not to patronize so as to avoid feeding the sharks. I have seen bits of info here and there but it is hard to remember as these guys are so integrated into the mainstream. Who knew buying a Dixie Cup is helping payroll these guys? It may seem petty but little things like not buying their stuff might just be the proverbial stake to the heart of these devils. The only thing they care about is money and the power it brings. Deny them that and they are through.

reply to post by Oaktree
First you kill the union then you lay off the teachers. How's that for Walker=Daniels=Snyder=Kasich=Boehner=PaulRyan deserting not only kids but all of the people they were elected to serve.

Union members, liberals, hippies, and racists marching on someone they disagree with, wow, who'd a thunk it? I guess since as usual the administration and people like Soros get a pass it's all good. Poltitical Correctness and the media hand in hand again.

reply to post by NoHierarchy


It's nice to see these scuzzbags are finally starting to get some public attention for their shady antics. But it's also equal parts hilarious and depressing to watch the conservatomatons who still rush in to automatically defend their plutocrat masters.

The Koch Brothers are like villains from a 60's Batman episode. They mostly just hang out in the back hatching their evil plot, but whenever it gets exposed they quickly call in their bit-player henchmen: "Get 'em boys!!"

The drones are intellectually wimpy, since they have nothing to fight with other than mindless cliches leftover from the McCarthy era, or the "hey look over there, it's George Soros!!" line. But there's always a big enough army of them to give the bad guys just enough time to escape and begin hatching schemes for the next episode.

The thing is the plots are getting so damn predictable it seems even some of the sheep are finally starting to figure it out.

reply to post by NoHierarchy


Growing up in America, in the shadow of WW2, I often wondered how Germany, a country with a rich intellectual, cultural, and industrial base, could fall prey to Hitler and the Nazis. I began to see something happen in this country in the 1980s, when Ollie North, a Marine who was supposed to act with honor, stood up and lied to Congress, and was not remorseful. Instead, he became a hero to many.

from the USMC

A U.S. Marine must never lie, never cheat, never steal, but that is not enough. Much more is required. Each Marine must cling to an uncompromising code of personal integrity, accountable for his actions and holding others accountable for theirs. And, above all, honor mandates that a Marine never sully the reputation of his Corps.

The erosion of honor, when Ollie North etal violated all of the above, was the breach in this country's wall of moral courage. The Berlin Wall may have fallen, but so, too, had our wall of honor. From then on, politics was whatever one could get away with, democracy be damned. And corporation think tanks rumbled through the breach, as Panzer tanks had rumbled across Europe, crushing the enemy with "spin".

How could the Koch ticket only garner 1% in 1980, and now be so successful at many govt levels, with many followers of this anarcho-totalitarianism we were once warned about, by their fellow conservatives? Through the same means of control the Nazis used: messaging carried out through propaganda machines, indoctrination, forcing their fellow political party to tow the party line.

Just keep believing it........Soros is just as if not more evil and against America. We are all screwed and have been for quite awhile, so playing like it's one side is really short sided. Funny thing is, the ones one both sides have agendas, the lefts are just more destructive and some of it's members are forced to pay for it.

Originally posted by firepilot

Liberals and hippies are not the same thing whatsoever. Most liberals I know are for big government, most true hippies are more social libertarians who want to be left alone. Any hippy who is in favor of big government, is no hippy.

The left would have had more credibility with me if they had been against someone like George Soros, who much of what you typed in your paragraph would apply to just fine. He is is as sleazy as it comes, and likes to bankroll groups on the downlow. Why was there no outcry from the left about him?

Oh it was because he was bankrolling them.

That's why I am a proud Independant . . . And a hippie with a vegetable garden, far away from "normal folk".

At this point, I just read the news and am able to ignore it. I'm very grateful for living in a small community in the countryside. Not scared of government, since I think we need one, but it needs to be more focused on the local level. Big government isn't the answer. But neither is no government. We are too chaotic as a species to govern ourselves, but the tyranny needs to be stopped.

Basic things that people need are not provided or even taught. We've been living in this materialistic dream for so long that too many of us don't know anything about where our food comes from, how our clothes are made, how homes are built... In school were taught that 2+2=4, how to spell "cat", and pretty much sent on our way by the time we are 18 to become another drone for society. A few of us, if we're lucky, go to college to earn silly degrees in Business to be, I suppose, an advanced drone.

I wish we could be more aware of what children are capable of, if they show proficiency in science or math to encourage that so that maybe they can become an engineer to help design better computer systems or renewable energy methods. Or artists, or musicians, or teachers who teach useful skills for self-sufficiency. The power is in the Knowledge that is not going around fast enough, and I feel that that's what people like the Koch brothers want to suppress.

There are more of us then there are of them, but too many of us are still drones. I am happy to hear that it could be changing, though.

Namaste.