Koch Brothers

[Magda Hassan]

The father of the billionaires Charles G. and David H. Koch helped construct a major oil refinery in Nazi Germany that was personally approved by Adolf Hitler, according to a new history of the Kochs and other wealthy families.

The episode is not mentioned in an online history published by Koch Industries, the company that Mr. Koch later founded and passed on to his sons.

Not the sort of PR thing they want to publicise. But they shouldn't worry as most people think they are raving loony fascists any way. And they did the same for Stalin too. So nothing if not bipartisan.

[Peter Lemkin]

The father of the billionaires Charles G. and David H. Koch helped construct a major oil refinery in Nazi Germany that was personally approved by Adolf Hitler, according to a new history of the Kochs and other wealthy families.

The episode is not mentioned in an online history published by Koch Industries, the company that Mr. Koch later founded and passed on to his sons.

Not the sort of PR thing they want to publicize. But they shouldn't worry as most people think they are raving loony fascists any way. And they did the same for Stalin too. So nothing if not bipartisan.

Ah, but their father reportedly liked working with German Fascists, but did not like Soviet Communism. It is known, if not generally acknowledged, that big American/British capitalists and oligarchs were helping to build up the USSR at the time of the Russian Revolution in their grand 'chess game' to create an enemy they could later rail and fight against. And to this ilk, a dollar is a dollar and it doesn't matter where it comes from...as long as they get lucre and control.

[Drew Phipps]

I bought and read Jane Mayer's "Dark Money" book. It was a truly eye opening look into both the Koch family, and the how and where and why that the 1% is pouring money into the political system. Although the book focuses on the Koch family, several other prominent American billionaires are "outed" as either assisting the Kochs, or engaging in parallel ventures. If you want to understand how the 1% buys elections, and what they have to gain for their investment, you should read this book. If you think that you might be ok with certain candidates in the US presidential election, you should read this book.

It is the second most terrifying book I have read this year (the most terrifying was John Loftus' "America's Nazi Secret").

[Peter Lemkin]

Yeah, What little Democracy we had in the USA ended in the 60's and the USA has steadily become an Oligarchy, run by the ultra-rich individuals, banks and corporations [who are usually so intertwined they are one]. One dollar, one vote is how it works out and that concept was approved by the Supreme Court. Throw in the electronic voting machines which have all but taken over, plus the control of who gets to even run and limiting to two parties which are one.....and the Citizen gets NO vote - no real say except perhaps in some limited level on the local level. This trend is slowly coming to Europe now too. It has long been the preferred way of running many governments in the rest of the World and promoted by the 'colonial' powers. I would suggest holding a funeral for Democracy at some point - only a few small quaint nations still practice this lost concept.

[David Guyatt]

I bought and read Jane Mayer's "Dark Money" book. It was a truly eye opening look into both the Koch family, and the how and where and why that the 1% is pouring money into the political system. Although the book focuses on the Koch family, several other prominent American billionaires are "outed" as either assisting the Kochs, or engaging in parallel ventures. If you want to understand how the 1% buys elections, and what they have to gain for their investment, you should read this book. If you think that you might be ok with certain candidates in the US presidential election, you should read this book.

It is the second most terrifying book I have read this year (the most terrifying was John Loftus' "America's Nazi Secret").

Loftus is a really excellent investigator and writer on these issues. His Unholy Trinity is also a great read.

[Drew Phipps]

Koch brothers will not use funds to block Trump nomination.
Michelle ConlinMar 2nd 2016 7:22PM

http://www.aol.com/article/2016/03/02/ko.../21321882/

NEW YORK, March 2 (Reuters) - The Koch brothers, the most powerful conservative mega donors in the United States, will not use their $400 million political arsenal to block Republican front-runner Donald Trump's path to the presidential nomination, a spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday. "We have no plans to get involved in the primary," said James Davis, spokesman for Freedom Partners, the Koch brothers' political umbrella group. He would not elaborate on what the billionaire industrialists' strategy would be for the Nov. 8 general election to succeed Democratic President Barack Obama.

Donors and media reports have speculated since a Koch brothers summit in January that they would launch a "Trump Intervention," which would involve deploying the Kochs' vast political network to target the billionaire businessman and former reality TV star in hopes of removing him from the Republican race. Many Republican party elites and business backers are eager to see Trump, a political outsider who has tapped into America's rising anti-establishment sentiment, fail in his bid for the nomination.

But with Trump racking up a series of sizeable wins in the early nominating contests, there is a growing sense of inevitability he will win the party's mantle. Three sources close to the Koch brothers, who oppose Trump's protectionist trade rhetoric and views on immigration, said the Kochs were concerned they had not yet seen any attack on Trump stick.

The brothers are also smarting from the millions they pumped into the 2012 Republican presidential bids of Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, only to see both candidacies fail, the sources said.

*****

Rather sporting of them to let the electoral process work itself out.

In case anyone is keeping track, the "two candidates" approach from 2012 seems to be cloned writ large for the 2016 election. Jane Meyer from "Dark Money" claims that ALL the Republican candidates in the race solicited Koch support. She documented Cruz's and Rubio's and Christie's change of position on issues that concerned the Kochs after such solicitation. The Koch's dark money manager has also tacitly supported Fiorina.

BTW, Charles Koch, in a 2015 interview with Forbes magazine, claims to have budgeted 300 million dollars for the presidential race and 600 million dollars for other races in 2016.

[David Guyatt]

Very considerate of them as you say, Drew - there's nothing like watching dollars of the wealthy elite ooze to their chosen candidates as part of the democratic process.

[Drew Phipps]

Koch Industries calls for end to partisan politics

Jun 10th 2016 8:48PM

http://www.aol.com/article/2016/06/10/ko.../21393318/

When you think of Koch Industries, you probably think of their dozens of products or the millions of corporate dollars spent for GOP candidates. But now the company is hoping to change your mind. "We believe it's time. Time to remove the barriers, to end the divide. To replace winner-take-all with a system where we all can win," a narrator said.


That video is part of a campaign called "End the Divide." It was launched by the company on Friday and calls for Americans to put aside partisan politics. The campaign also vows the company will be putting more money and effort into enacting public policy and social change. Charles Koch told USA Today: "Let's stop attacking people we disagree with and trying to silence them. Let's instead try to find common ground and learn from each other so we can innovate."


The campaign hits on issues like how the criminal justice system is "rigged" and disproportionately impacts the poor, and how government regulation hinders business growth. Though the campaign may seem to be a strange fit for the conservative billionaires, the shift has been coming for a little while. Koch officials recently got rid of an oppo-research unit created to gather information about liberal groups and Democratic candidates.


And the Kochs have been arguing for criminal justice reform for years, secretly pumping millions into campaigns to fix the system and teaming up with members of the right and the left who think it's broken. Though critics are sure to say this is all a business strategy, the company has already made changes to its own policies to reflect the campaign. For instance, it's stopped asking potential employees about their criminal history on applications.

*********
Emphasis added. I'm quite sure those pesky government regulations governing public health, pollution, and unfair labor practices (to name a few) really do still concern the Kochs. I'm happy that at least one company in America will be tapping into the vast pool of cheap (non-immigrant related) labor that the War on Drugs has manufactured.


However, this program stinks more like a concession speech than a call to action. In case you were wondering about how "recently" the Kochs had their change of heart about spending millions of dollars on opposition research, it was AFTER Trump carried New York and the rest of New England in April, and mere days before Cruz suspended his campaign. It's hard to imagine a greater public relations coup for Trump could be arranged.


Having failed in their bid to either be, or own, a candidate at the top of a party ticket for president, and after two decades of inciting the most partisan bickering seen in my lifetime, NOW the Koch want cooperation? I'm hearing the Donald use the "L word". I'm hearing Hilary talk about the "vast right conspiracy." I'm also seeing all those die hard Tea Party types (who were willing to shut down the government instead of legislating in the public interest) wondering when the knife in their backs will arrive.


Sorry, rich guys, you bet on the wrong horses, and to use a phrase I'm sure you recognize, "Margin call!"