WORTH A READ

[luckyleftyme2]

SHOULD WE DEMAND TO HAVE IT PUBLIC RECORD WHO SPONSORS POLITICAL GROUPS?
The Koch brother who dropped out of the family business calls it "organized crime"
http://readersupportednews.org/off-site-news-section/69...

Just what is this Koch Industries? Should it be called a "company?" If so we need to re-think the idea of what a company and a business is supposed to be. Even the brother of Koch Industries owners David and Charles Koch called the company an "organized crime" operation.

Koch money is a key driver of the conservative movement. Almost every <1> conservative-movement rock <2> you turn over <3> has Koch money <4> crawling around <5> under it. As the movement becomes more and more of a pay-to-play operation, conservatives of every stripe do more and more to protect and enrich the Koch operation. This has included blocking, disrupting and avoiding official investigations of accusations. It also includes funding front groups to advance the political and financial interests of the company and its owners.

PLEASE CHECK OUT THE LINK -SEEMS MONEY MATTERS MORE THAN MORALS!

[luckyleftyme2]

1. THIS IS JUST ONE OF MANY LINKS TO FOLLOW

Business Week lays out the evidence <8> in detail. The timing, with Republican administration/committee/agency/department after administration/committee/agency/department impeding and/or dropping investigations into Koch activities is also clear.

In 2000, CBS' 60 Minutes ran a segment, Blood And Oil And Environmental Negligence <9> looking at the activities of the Koch brothers and their private company Koch Industries,

As we told you when we first reported this story last November, the Koch family of Wichita, Kansas is among the richest in the United States, worth billions of dollars. Their oil company, Koch Industries, is bigger than Intel, Dupont or Prudential Insurance, and they own it lock stock and barrel.

William Koch, brother of company owners David and Charles, called the company an "organized crime" operation:

Koch says that Koch Industries engaged in "(o)rganized crime. And management driven from the top down."

"It was – was my family company. I was out of it," he says. "But that’s what appalled me so much... I did not want my family, my legacy, my father’s legacy to be based upon organized crime."

In March, 2001 the incoming Bush administration repealed the "responsible contractor rule" that barred companies that chronically defraud the government and/or violate federal pollution, wage and other rules from receiving federal contracts.

Then, in 2002 the Bush II administration awarded Koch the contract <10> to supply oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. (There were accusations that the government bought oil when prices were high, and sold it when prices were low.) The contract was renewed in 2004. Koch received tens of millions <11> in other government contracts during the Bush years.

The story <12> and timeline of the Koch operation (and its front-groups) go on <13> and on <14>, organizing and funding <15> climate-denial front groups <16>, front-groups run and funded by the Koch Brothers <17> organizing and funding the Tea Party <18>. (Please click the links.)

Think Progress <19> in particular has been following the activities of this "company" <20> and its front groups <21>, and it is certainly worth taking a look. See REPORT: How Koch Industries Makes Billions By Demanding Bailouts And Taxpayer Subsidies (Part 1) <22>,

Koch funds both socially conservative groups and socially liberal groups. However, Koch’s financing of front groups and political organizations all have one thing in common: every single Koch group attacks workers’ rights, promotes deregulation, and argues for radical supply side economics.

DON'T YOU THINK WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW WHO IS FUNDING ANY ORGANIZATION THAT IS TAX EXEMPT?
ESPECIALLY ONE THAT IS POLITICAL, AND AGAINST WORKERS BENEFITS?