Greetings!
We have all heard of the Koch brothers by now but how much do you really know about them, their money, how they got it and how they use it?
I consider the Koch Industries as enemies of the State; working against Democracy and the freedom of the American people. The Koch brothers are another example of absolute power corrupting absolutely. The Koch family made huge profits working for the Bolsheviks in the late 1920s and early 1930s, building refineries, training Communist engineers and laying down the foundation of Soviet oil infrastructure. The family’s initial wealth was not created by creativity and unfettered capitalism, but by the grace of the centrally-planned economy of the Soviet Union.
The comrades were good to the Kochs and today Koch Industries is the second-largest private company in America. With annual revenues of $100 billion, Charles and David Koch, who are worth about $20 billion each are infamous as the largest sponsors of right-wing causes. Today, it operates thousands of miles of pipelines in the United States, refines 800,000 barrels of crude oil daily, it buys and sells the most asphalt in the nation, is among the top ten cattle producers, and is among the 50 largest landowners.
William Koch, the third brother who had a falling-out with Charles and David back in the ’80s over Charles’ sociopathic management style, appeared on “60 Minutes” in November 2000 to tell the world that Koch Industries was a criminal enterprise. In 1999, William decided to take his brothers down. He sued Koch and accused the company of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars in oil from federal lands. The case was settled two years later, with Charles agreeing to pay $25 million in penalties to the federal government to have the suit dismissed. It turned out to be a great deal for Charles and David, considering that in the 1980s their “adjustments” allowed Koch Industries to siphon off 300 million gallons of oil without paying. It was pure profit–free money–to the tune of $230 million.
If you can stomach learning more about the Koch family and their involvement in Fascism in America here are two good places to start:
http://www.observer.com/2010/daily-transom/how-libertarian-koch-bros-benefit-corporate-welfare
Make a great day,
Tom
