Charles Koch just turned 78. Actuarially, he’s got one foot in the grave and is well past the last life insurance chronological demographic of 75. His brother David is approaching that point at 73 years of age. The two aging men are at an advanced stage in their lives when wisdom, reflection and good works should rule each of the their declining number of days remaining on this earth.
Instead, Charles and David are sibling cancers metastasizing through every organ of the American body politic. Possessed of a Forbes-estimated net worth of $36 billion each, more money than either could spend in 100 lifetimes, the siblings remain active cancers of lust for power, greed, hatred of a black president, all minorities who are black or brown, most of all, the poor and on many issues, women. Neither gives a damn about pollution, global-warming, your child’s exposure to dangerous and rancid air and food or anybody’s health and welfare but their own.
They were and continue to be the driving financial and philosophical force behind a Tea Party that matches every one of their sick values to a “Tea.” I cannot imagine a more heartless and worthless duo on U.S. soil. The Koch’s phony Website, Americans for Prosperity (at least the wealthiest 1% of Americans) is a monument to their hatred of Barack Obama and anything and everything he stands for.
The Koch’s very existence is a blight on society. And yet they prosper. They fund like-minded inhumane, anti-federal government, pro-free market numbskulls for all manner of elective offices. My 4th District Representative, Trey Gowdy, he of the laughable Issa Government Oversight and Reform Committee infamy, is a Koch favorite.
Like an obedient mongrel, Gowdy rolls over to every yea or nay commanded by Koch money. It’s great for the Kochs.generally a negative for the average citizen. Here’s what I want you to do. Go here: It’s the Koch Industries (inherited of course) home page. Charlie is Chairman of the Board and CEO; David owns 42% of the action.
There’s a description of what each of the Koch companies does. Most are involved with oil, gas, chemicals and fertilizer; the very elements that the Obama administration insists must be subject to ardent oversight and highly regulated with the well-being of America’s population as the top priority. Enormous irony; A Koch company manufactures pollution control equipment.
Now track every Tea Party congressional vote on regulations and the environment that might impact the Koch industrial empire bottom line. Without question, the Teapublican legislators vote exactly as the Kochs demand they vote. All you have to do is cross-track subject matter of Americans for Prosperity and Koch contributions. Some contributions actually show up under the Koch banner; much of the money makes its way to campaigns sympathetic to the Kochs through fronts or is hidden altogether thanks to Citizens United and the five forgettable fools constituting the Supreme Court’s far right wing.
As much damage as the two brothers have done, it could have been even worse. A few months ago it was announced that the Kochs had given up on their attempt to buy the Chicago Tribune and its seven other papers including the Los Angeles Times. Unions and people with IQs raised hell that the papers would become little more than Koch right-wing propaganda rags, as indeed they would have. The PR explanation by Koch reps: The papers were not “economically viable.” Translation; the unions would have been a pain in the ass.
The Kochs call themselves libertarians. The most simplistic definition of libertarian I’ve seen comes from the Libertarian Party Website: “A libertarian is a person who upholds the principles of individual liberty especially of thought an action.” Talk about a vapid verbal expanse of nothing. The explanation is furthered with the such empty words and phrases as personal freedom while maintaining personal responsibility, opposition to any government interference in personal, family and business decisions. All Americans should be free to live their lives and pursue their interests as they see fit as long as they do no harm to others.” The government’s only role is protecting its citizens. That’s it!
What freedoms and liberties are being compromised by government? Behave yourself and pay your taxes and the answer is damn near none. Start skirting the rules and, yeah, you might get in some trouble with the feds.
Salon.com has provided the best answer to the most obvious question. Why in our modern-day world are their no libertarian governments out of nearly 200 in existence? None! There might be a libertarian idea or two that some countries have given a whirl, but a libertarian government? Nada. And there never will be because no man is an island. You want to build a road from your house to work? How about checking the safety of all the meds your family might be taking? And that West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion where roughly 30 plus tons of the chemical compound, ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) blew the s**t out of the surrounding area, killing 15 and injuring hundreds?
The Texas state officials who should have been keeping an eye on things, let the owner take the Ron and Rand Paul Texas libertarian route of “personal responsibility” for the storage of this volatile mix. The plant hugely overshot the legal storage limit of ammonium nitrate and by golly, gee whiz, like any good libertarian, eschewed any “government interference” in their business decision. I repeat, 15 dead and hundreds injured.
So give me a break. Libertarianism is a wonderful refuge for hucksters like the Kochs who want to work the system, walk on the edge and get away with stuff. So Koch worshipers do me a favor. When you kneel down by your ratty bed tonight (because the Kochs and their billionaire ilk have seen to it that your wages have stagnated so you can’t afford a decent bed to sleep on), pray that the brothers retire to a peaceful, faraway place where they can rock the day away thinking about what complete a**holes they’ve been and what tremendous harm they’ve visited upon our once great country.
With the money influence on campaigns about to be abetted by an upcoming Supreme Court decision that could allow for unlimited purchases of elections, the Democrats need to respond in kind. George Soros can’t carry the entire load with his $20 billion. There appear to be lots of wacked-out right-wing billionaires with at least Soros’ worth to flood the election market while the Dems must make do with the Hollywood glitterati. Progressive Steven Spielberg is representative with $3.1 billion and Seinfeld actress, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, believe it or not, will be in the same Spielberg neighborhood, a rumored $3 billion once her loving daddy, currently 81, goes to his great reward. I’m counting on the largely liberal West Coast director, actor, music talents to dethrone the Teapublican House of Representatives even though their left-wing rich aren’t nearly in the same ballpark as the Kochs and their kooks. Babs is worth some $340 million, Clooney slightly more than half that total at $180 million.
So string enough greenbacks together people and let’s rid DC of Kochs and Teapublicans forever. Remember how much they hate the feds anyway.
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