Charles and David Koch

Creating a whole new generation of paranoid Tea-Partiers:

A Senate Education Committee presentation last week from N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson included proposals for curriculum resources in "American History I: The Founding Principles," a mandatory high school course. Among the 12 resources Atkinson listed is the Bill of Rights Institute, a Virginia-based nonprofit launched by Koch's charitable foundation that distributes teaching materials such as weekly lesson plans, videos, interactive games, seminars and webinars for history students.

Click the link, read the story. And pay close attention to the graphic at the top, with the ominous "Are They Watching You?" heading. This is straight-up political propaganda, something you'd expect to see from a totalitarian regime. Which, ironically, is what they are trying to imply is the danger. Such contradictory behavior is indicative of a hidden agenda, in this case being Koch's desire to strip away government regulations simply to enhance their profit margins. And we're going to let them teach our kids?

Aided and abetted by ALEC, of course:

ALEC's Electricity Freedom Act model bill was written by the Heartland Institute, a shill group made infamous for comparing those who recognize climate science to terrorists like Ted Kaczynski. Todd Wynn, a corporate influence peddler who heads ALEC's Energy, Environment and Agriculture task force, named North Carolina as one of several states ALEC will focus its clean energy attacks

I sincerely hope this bad idea gets stopped in its tracks. But if it doesn't, everybody needs to remember the original (bad) deal: in order to get SB3 passed, utilities were allowed to reinstate the previously disallowed process known as Construction Work In Progress (CWIP). If SB3 goes, CWIP needs to go too.

Trying to defend the indefensible:

In January 2009, just days after the inauguration of President Barack Obama, Charles and David Koch met in their company headquarters in Wichita with their longtime political strategist, Rich Fink. The country was headed toward bankruptcy, they agreed.

Any critical reader would already be shaking his/her head, even with no previous knowledge about the Koch Brothers. Too early for any evidence for such fears, the agreement had to be based on political ideology or thinly-veiled racism. Or both. But don't expect any musings about that in this (Wichita) article. It might be a McClatchy paper, but it's also ground zero in the Koch empire.

Trying to keep up with the really rich guys:

Pope has maxed out to the RNC, but it’s not possible to know the totality of his giving 2012, because he gives much of his money through non-profit groups that don’t disclose their donors, and his foundation only discloses its contributions months after giving them. But he said he’s not sure how much more he intends to give this year. “I’m getting close to being tapped out. So, I don’t know whether I’ll be giving more or not.”

It must be sobering for the spoiled rich kid to find out his fortune is paltry compared to that of a billionaire. The Koch brothers might give him an affectionate pat on the back from time to time but, in the scheme of things, he's just a dog fetching a newspaper for his master:

Just caught these idiots bragging on Twitter:

AFPNC 6:26pm via web AFP to launch one million dollar ad buy in NC exposing Obama radical energy policies #ncga #ncpol #ncgop Ad on air next week

I'm going to issue a challenge right now to the mainstream reporters who will comment on this ad when it comes out: When you talk about this ad, you need to reference the oil industry, if not the Koch brothers themselves, as being behind the commercial. If you don't, you're misleading your audience/readership. We'll be watching. Speaking of watching, watch this:

The battle lines are being drawn, and we're right in the middle:

The war over America’s coastal-energy future has officially begun, and the result could determine whether we see wind turbines or catastrophic oil spills along our coastlines in coming years.

This isn't just about offshore contraptions, though: The Koch brothers make the bulk of their money from pipelines, quite often of the rusty and leaky type, which the East Coast has (so far) not had to worry about as much as other regions. That could change, and very soon.

It's what every American should be asking themselves this week. The Tea Party too.

Do you stand with the modern-day British East India Corporations and their masters (the Kochs, the Olins, the Bradleys and other royals that want to unmake the American Century and rig American democracy like they rigged the financial markets)? Or do you stand with the people in your community? Who do you serve?

What's the use in being rich if you can't intimidate people?

The resort grounds were “closed for a private function,” the resort’s head of security, James Foster told POLITICO, ushering the reporter outside, where private security guards, wearing gold lapel pins bearing Koch’s “K” logo, threatened “a citizen’s arrest” and a “night in the Riverside County jail” if the reporter continued asking questions and taking photographs.

Hat tip to JW at Watauga Watch for the link. This kind of stuff is just downright spooky. If you've got enough money, you can become a country unto yourself.

Hundreds protest astro-turfing election-buyers:

Hundreds of environmentalists, union members and liberal activists converged on Rancho Mirage on Sunday to rally against what they see as the influence of two of the nation's leading financial backers of conservative causes.

Protest organizers said they hoped to raise awareness about the Koch brothers and what activists portray as their shadowy attempts to weaken environmental protection laws and undercut campaign contribution limits.