#koch brothers

[contemplatingoutlander]

Interesting proposal by Nate Loewentheil in a guest column in The New York Times. Not only was his proposal thought provoking, but two of the comments regarding it by readers were also worth contemplating. Below are some excerpts from the column, followed by the two comments.

Here is a proposal for the environmental movement: Pool philanthropic funds for a day, buy a small plot of land in Washington, D.C., and put up a tall marble wall to serve as a climate memorial. Carve on this memorial the names of public figures actively denying the existence of climate change. Carve the names so deep and large, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren need not search the archives. This is not a metaphor. The problem with climate change is the disconnect between action and impact. If politicians vote against construction standards and a school collapses, the next election will be their last. But with climate change, cause and effect are at a vast distance. We are already seeing the consequences of our past and present greenhouse gas emissions. In coming decades, those emissions will wreak their full havoc on the climate, and it will take hundreds, possibly thousands, of years for those pollutants to fully dissipate. But in the short term, the most immediate burdens are borne mostly by the poor in America and distant people in distant lands. Misaligned incentives are at the heart of why some political and business leaders deny and delay. [...] I would first nominate those who have sown confusion over climate science, like Myron Ebell, who recently retired as director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment, where he sought to block climate change efforts in Congress, and served as the head of Donald Trump’s transition team for the Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Ebell has argued that the idea that climate change is “an existential threat or even crisis is preposterous.” Then there are lawmakers who have consistently stood in the way of federal action, like the recently retired senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the author of the book “The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future.” [color emphasis added]

Below is the first thought provoking comment to this article:

There is, in Iceland, a memorial to a dead glacier - the Ok Glacier. It reads: "Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier. In the next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it." [color emphasis added] --Chris D., Colorado

Photo of the plaque at the at the Okjökull (OK Glacier) memorial.

Here is the second thought provoking comment to this article:

For reference this graph https://i.redd.it/ljifc828iui31.jpg is from the Exxon internal scientific report on climate change, 1982, produced by scientists working for that fossil fuel corporation. Look at what their graph predicted for 2020. Approaching 420 ppm CO2 and a rise of 1.2 C degrees above pre-industrial temperature - very close to what we actually got in 2020. Then look at what the graph shows for later this century, based on not reducing emissions. Very serious temperature rises, that could make agriculture very difficult in many countries. Yes, and then Exxon, having seen this, got involved in PR campaigns to "cast doubt" on climate science, to protect their assets. [color emphasis added] --Erik Frederiksen, Ashville, NC

1982 Exxon graph depicting average global temperature increases over time correlating with increases in atmospheric CO2. NOTE: Graph color was modified for greater clarity.

Fossil fuel companies like Exxon, and fossil fuel oligarchs like the Koch brothers should be included in any "Climate Wall of Shame."

#climate change #disinformation about climate change #climate change deniers #climate wall of shame #myron ebell #james inhofe #koch brothers #exxon #fossil fuel industry #ok glacier memorial #nate loewentheil #the new york times

[probablyasocialecologist]

“The fossil-fuel industry is very good at getting what it wants because they get the lobbyists best at playing the game,” Roberts said. “They have the best staff, huge legal departments, and the ability to funnel dark money to lobbying and influence channels. “This database really makes it apparent that when you hire these insider lobbyists, you are basically working with double agents. They are guns for hire. The information you share with them is probably going to the opposition.”

#fossil fuels #climate change #lobbying #koch brothers

[odinsblog]

Billionaire fossil fuel mogul David Koch died August 23, 2019. Though he will rightfully be remembered for his role in the destruction of the earth, David Koch’s influence went far beyond climate denial. Ronald Reagan may have uttered the famous words, “Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem” back in 1981—but it was David Koch, along with his elder brother Charles and a cabal of other ultrarich individuals, who truly reframed the popular view of government. Once a democratic tool used to shape the country’s future, government became seen as something intrusive and inefficient—indeed, something to be feared.

“While Charles was the mastermind of the social reengineering of the America he envisioned,” said Lisa Graves, co-director of the corporate watchdog group Documented, “David was an enthusiastic lieutenant.”

David Koch was particularly instrumental in legitimizing anti-government ideology—one the GOP now holds as gospel. In 1980, the younger Koch ran as the vice-presidential nominee for the nascent Libertarian Party. And a newly unearthed document shows Koch personally donated more than $2 million to the party—an astounding amount for the time—to promote the Ed Clark–David Koch ticket.

“Few people realize that the anti-American government antecedent to the Tea Party was fomented in the late ’70s with money from Charles and David Koch,” Graves continued. “The Libertarian Party, fueled in part with David’s wealth, pushed hard on the idea that government was the problem and the free market was the solution to everything.”

In fact, according to Graves, “The Koch-funded Libertarian Party helped spur on Ronald Reagan’s anti-government, free-market-solves-all agenda as president.”

Even by contemporary standards, the 1980 Libertarian Party platform was extreme. It called for the abolition of a wide swath of federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Bureau of Land Management, the Federal Election Commission, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Federal Trade Commission, and “all government agencies concerned with transportation.” It railed against campaign finance and consumer protection laws, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, any regulations of the firearm industry (including tear gas), and government intervention in labor negotiations. And the platform demanded the repeal of all taxation, and sought amnesty for those convicted of tax “resistance.”

Koch and his libertarian allies moreover advocated for the repeal of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other social programs. They wanted to abolish federally mandated speed limits. They opposed occupational licensure, antitrust laws, labor laws protecting women and children, and “all controls on wages, prices, rents, profits, production, and interest rates.” And in true libertarian fashion, the platform urged the privatization of all schools (with an end to compulsory education laws), the railroad system, public roads and the national highway system, inland waterways, water distribution systems, public lands, and dam sites.

The Libertarian Party never made much of a splash in the election—though it did garner almost 12 percent of the vote in Alaska—but doing so was never the point. Rather, the Kochs were engaged in a long-term effort to normalize the aforementioned ideas and mainstream them into American politics.

(continue reading)

#politics #republicans #libertarians #koch brothers #koch bros #libertarianism #conservatism #ronald reagan #reaganism #charles koch #david koch #libertarian party

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Color me shocked.

Fox News is hosting the GOP debate in Wisconsin.  During this build up segment, Martha MacCallum introduces the “random Republican voters” in Wisconsin who will watch the debate.  Except, well… there’s a little problem.  MacCallum introduces Chris Lawrence as a “Wisconsin GOP voter” who seemingly supports Ron DeSantis.  However, MacCallum fails to mention that Chris Lawrence actually works for the Koch Network, who have recently pledged to spend $70 million to defeat President Trump.

@RaheemKassam

Hi I looked into “Wisconsin voter” Christopher Lawrence, why didn’t you tell people he’s a paid activist belonging to the open borders network that recently pledged $70M to stop Trump?

‘Globalist’ Koch Network Blows $70M of Donor Cash to ‘Stop Trump’.

From Sundance Treehouse Blog: "The ‘Koch network’ group Americans for Prosperity Action is dropping $70M+ on a bid to stop President Donald J. Trump becoming the 47th President of the United States, according to a new report which suggests the libertarian billionaire backed organization is campaign in the Republican primaries “for the first time in its nearly 20 year history”.

The money is in addition to a $200M+ fund established by corporate backers for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s campaign, and will likely be used for “digital advertising on the issue of electability in the presidential race,” in addition to direct mail. In such scenarios, high percentages of donor cash ends up in the pockets of campaign consultants and vendors.

The Koch network includes groups such as Americans for Prosperity, Stand Together, i360, the American Legislative Exchange Council, the State Policy Network, the CATO Institute, Americans for Tax Reform, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Atlas Network, the Heritage Foundation, the Independent Women’s Forum, the Manhattan Institute, the Reason Foundation, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and many more.

 The organization’s LIBRE initiative even campaigns in favor of amnesty for illegal migrants.

 The co-option of the Tea Party movement was spearheaded by the Kochs, who turned it from a citizen-led organization into a pro-corporate, libertarian shell, before dumping it when press attention became too inconvenient.

“The globalist Koch Brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, are against Strong Borders and Powerful Trade,” Trump tweeted in 2018. “I never sought their support because I don’t need their money or bad ideas.”

Not only has Chris Lawrence worked for the Koch Network for the past 9 years, he is also the Senior Field Director for the Koch group Americans for Prosperity.  In essence, Lawrence is a political operative planted in the group by Fox News to support Ron DeSantis and make it appear like he is an innocuous voter.  Fox News and Martha MacCallum should be embarrassed, but they won’t be. 

Don’t forget, Ron DeSantis supporters Eric Erickson and Guy Benson sit on the Koch Network AfP Advisory Board (see here).

It’s all one big game of illusion, and Fox News is once again a big part of the Republican fraud.  Proving yet again, that everything in the Ron DeSantis orbit is astroturf, phony, manufactured and made up."

#debates #faux news #corrupt media #Dishonest DeSantis #the national pulse #corrupt GOP RNC #rigged #koch brothers #ron desantis

[gaypiratesgalore]

Apps that help you make more informed decisions when shopping:

Buycott

Buycott allows you to select campaigns you care about/ things you want to avoid (e.g, chocolate produced w/o child labor, Palm oil, nestle, human trafficking, prison slave labor, Koch industries, union-made, etc), then when you scan a barcode of a product, it will tell you if the company supports or conflicts with causes you care about

Android

Apple

Beat the Microbead

The Beat the Microbead app allows you to scan the ingredients on packaging to see if your product contains microplastics. You will immediately see if the scanned product contains microplastics and, if so, which ones.

Apple

Android

Ingredient scan results for Neutrogena oil-free acne wash

#environment #microplastics #union made #fair trade #koch brothers #climate change #ethicalskincare #ethicalbrand #prison labor #boycott #palestine #vegetarian #cruelty free #capitalism #informed consent #ecofriendly #microbeads #plastic #income inequality #neutrogena #garnier

[inthefallofasparrow]

Do Cities Really Need All These Cars? | SOME MORE NEWS

#cody johnston #walkable cities #traffic #pollution #car industry #community #elon musk #koch brothers

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

#us politics #political cartoons #drawings #art #andy singer #republicans #conservatives #gop #us history #president ronald reagan #fuck ronald reagan #rush limbaugh #exxon mobil corp #fox news network #rupert murdoch #drudge report #Matt Drudge #koch brothers #center for fiscal policy #cato institute #alex jones #infowars #Genesis Communications Network #one america news network #breitbart #steve bannon #donald trump #trump administration #maga #alt right

[corporationsarepeople]

One of the worst people on earth has characterized his society-ruining mistakes like they’re akin to accidentally hitting someone’s side mirror with your car.

#us politics #koch brothers #charles koch #republicans

[defensefilms]

Jason Whitlock’s Pivot To RedPill Content Is Concerning

Okay, strap in, take a seat, grab a coffee, because I been wanting to address this topic for a minute, nahmean, and there���s a lot to unpack here, so let’s get it.

I remember the redpill content back in the day and it was different.

What you see now, with guys comparing bank acocunts, cars and status, and the absurd belief that women should automatically see this as something fit to marry, is relatively new to the space. This only started happening when older content creators entered the space, ie. Richard Cooper and Kevin Samuels.

In 2012, 2013, 2014, the kinds of conversations in this space were not glowing reviews of women in the dating market, they were also slightly more nuanced in how they happened, or they things they would note/talk about.

I’m glad a lot of these guys have found ways to get out and start looking for the relationships they want, because it’s important for a man.

Me, myself, I’m what dudes on Youtube would describe as a pookie/ray-ray type. I got these here few ways of making cash, a little spot, my Hyundai and a fly New Balance collection.

So while I am not some “high value” dude, I still empathize with a lot of the MGTOW guys, even speaking up for them sometimes, and it wasn’t like I was immune to dealing with the same situations or noticing the same types of things that they did. 

I can definitely see why a women will look at some of the “high value men” and have misgivings, because at the end of the day, money ain’t the only thing moving the needle with women.

I’ll keep it funky for you, Jason Whitlock being involved in the redpill space, discredits all redpill content.

This is a man that found ways to bash black women, even outside of the context of relationships or marriage, and if you don’t believe, then check some his commentary regarding Simone Biles and Serena Williams.

The reality is that people getting passports to see what’s going on in other parts of the country, or the world, is not a new thing. Why are these guys getting thier own label, or being placed in a new category for doing something that people have been doing for the longest of time?

Because you’re only a passport bro, if you travel abroad and say negative things about black women on the way out, too.

What this is about, is your boy Whitlock finding a way to turn “passport bros” into a right-wing talking point, because it helps/ falls in line with Republican sentiment regarding a demographic of people whose vote they’ll never be able to win in a Democratic/ free election.

That matters. Don’t sleep

Is Whitlock concerned about relationships or is this the new cash-grab because the pro-Trump nonsense ain’t getting the numbers that it used to?

Think about it. This is a man that has made so many egregious comments about a lot of things really. So knowing that, do you think it’s easy for bro to get interviews with current or former pro-athletes on his channel?

Hell nah.

Being associated with this guy is death to any athlete’s brand, that’s why he can only get retired players for interviews, if any at all.

Point is, this is not Whiltock stumbling on to something big for his channel, it’s more like a hail mary by a guy that can’t understand that Ben Shapiro and Steven Crowder fans don’t want to see him, and the Koch brothers won’t offer him anything close to what those other 2 are getting.

The thing that bothers me is why are Black women being singled out?

I don’t care if it looks like caping because in reality, the things passport bro’s are mad about are things you would see from any other demographic, but you actually need to get around in order to know that.

Latin men, Asian men, African men, European men, they all travel to find what they want, and they’re not going that far and wide because it’s convenient, it’s because they feel they have to in order to give themselves a shot at happiness.

So why is there an extra layer of criticism for Black women, when in reality this is an old trend, and all the other demographics have likely dealt with the same thing?

I’m not falling for the pump-fake, fam, especially not when Whitlock is interjecting himself out of fake love and concern.

I spend a lot of time on Youtube where people often disparage others based on looks and weight, and if Whitlock wanted to be a leader to the black community, he’d start by leading his ass to weight-watchers or at the very least a scale.

And as always, any post regarding Jason Whitlock must feature the image below, and this one is no different. 

#jason whitlock #redpill #passport bros #high value men #kevin samuels #mgtow #pookie and ray-ray #republicans #koch brothers

[rickmctumbleface]

#joe manchin #koch brothers

[gottahaveguts]

Conservative Organizations, completely aware of how unpopular the overturning of Roe is are now going to issue huge ad buys for propaganda campaigns.

Already getting ads like this.

#roe v wade #roe versus wade #politics #propaganda machine #Koch brothers #Murdoch #PragerU

[n0thingiscool]

Above is a list of corporations who actively donated to overturning Roe v. Wade...

#roe v wade #right wing #evil #america #home depot #kentucky fried chicken #pizza hut #taco bell #1800contacts #mikes hard lemonade #tyson foods #tyson foods inc #cigna #jp morgan #continental tire #dish network #gopuff #walmart #koch brothers

[inde-60]

#gop #gop goons of putin #capitalism #koch brothers #Instagram

[nando161mando]

William Koch FUCK YOU

#William Koch FUCK YOU #williamkoch #koch brothers #fuck you #trillionaire #billionaire #millionaire #killyourlocalcapitalist #killyourlocalfascist #anti capitalism #antinazi #antiauthoritarian #anticapitalista #antifa #antifascist #antifaschistische aktion #anti capitalist love notes #anticapitalistically #ausgov #politas #auspol #tasgov #taspol #australia #fuck neoliberals #neoliberal capitalism #anthony albanese #albanese government #eat the rich #eat the fucking rich

[dbunicorn]

I don't believe most billionaires are entirely self made. Inherited money is even more an oxymoron in a merit based eorld

There's a lot of corruption, flexing the rules, bias, cronyism. It's fucking crazy to think the existence of a trillionaire is in any way a moral, human or societal imperative. You disgust me.

The wealth that manipulated citizens is greed claiming its power

Business is not exclusive to pharma, real estate, fictionalized assets, gambling or tech.

I find it odd how the energy space, doesn't get funding as it could transform the world. Or novel drug discoveries, efficiency in healthcare, materials science, space exploration.

It's like a dilapidated system of convoluted bullshit that doesn't work for most people is the only way you can retain power.

I guess I couldnt fucking stomach myself fucking over little old ladies, peoples children or decent people. Oops. I guess I'll never be ridiculously wealthy.

#koch brothers #corruption #dark money #citizens united #domestic politics #foreign affairs

[pocoloco2018-blog]

A Potentially Huge Supreme Court Case Has a Hidden Conservative Backer

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Wednesday that, on paper, are about a group of commercial fishermen who oppose a government fee that they consider u...

#SCOTUS #suoreme court united states #koch brothers #bought and paid for #americans for prosperity #unethical #immoral #unconsciously #koch funded