Let me say first, the purpose of this post is not to wring hands, to be cynical, or to proclaim defeat before the battle is even joined. There will be plenty of other web writers to do that. What I do hope to do is raise the appropriate alarm so people can make decisions accordingly.
It is true, as the Washington Post writer says on line, that mainstream journalists are reporting on the new Koch brothers effort to buy the election of 2016 as if it is just another corrupt political deal. That view is true as far as it goes. Yet, some kind of line seems to have been crossed in the drive to amass nearly $900 million to influence the election next year. More details are at the excellent article below. (Just use caution when reading the cynical twist to the story.) What we have is a brazen and fairly open attempt to make sure the profit motive remains the motive for American business, even if it means people get filthy rich at the expense of all the rest of us. The ugliness of this huge.
Any person or persons who would engage in this kind of activity are engaging in a form of emotional self-love. That is the best way I know to describe it. And some people absolutely love feathering their own nest, preening, and showing off to others. After all, as scientists would tell us, it's in our genes. In the animal world, it is often the male individual who has all the colors and does the showing off.
The business world has often been likened to the animal kingdom. Think of the expression, "It's a dog-eat-dog world." Or how about the phrase, "making a killing on the stock market." Then there is "Birds of a feather flock together."
I think we know these birds. We have seen them before. And for awhile they may appear to be succeeding. But from what I know of history there always comes a reckoning, a time of adjustment, of judgment.
In this case, those being judged are in the true sense all of us. But those truly guilty are the press and media which have allowed these wealthy plutocrats to get away with murder, as it were. Yes, I am blaming the press for their cynicism in treating this sort of thing as "just politics." It is not just politics, in the normal sense of the word. This is subversion of the two party system at the least, and subversion of democracy, at most.
It is often said of Americans that they usually come through late, but they do eventually come through for you. So, this is where we are now. In spite of the never-ending cynicism of the press, there is outrage over what is happening. People are taking notice and they do care.
The problem is in knowing what to do. Over the coming days I will be working on line and off line to share some of what I understand about the causes of such selfishness as we are seeing demonstrated by the Brothers Koch.
But mark my words: this type of political strategy has a certain shelf life and no more. Let's be about the business, America, of putting our own kitchen in order. Let's not go through what Greece has gone through. There has been suffering enough both here and abroad.
The Oligarchy Spreads Its Wings
Note: It is my belief that if statutes are examined there will be found laws dealing with the Koch situation. One problem is that a fascist and politicized Supreme Court majority has been tampering with the laws in this area. Such tampering also has a shelf life. Thus, take heart.
It is true, as the Washington Post writer says on line, that mainstream journalists are reporting on the new Koch brothers effort to buy the election of 2016 as if it is just another corrupt political deal. That view is true as far as it goes. Yet, some kind of line seems to have been crossed in the drive to amass nearly $900 million to influence the election next year. More details are at the excellent article below. (Just use caution when reading the cynical twist to the story.) What we have is a brazen and fairly open attempt to make sure the profit motive remains the motive for American business, even if it means people get filthy rich at the expense of all the rest of us. The ugliness of this huge.
Any person or persons who would engage in this kind of activity are engaging in a form of emotional self-love. That is the best way I know to describe it. And some people absolutely love feathering their own nest, preening, and showing off to others. After all, as scientists would tell us, it's in our genes. In the animal world, it is often the male individual who has all the colors and does the showing off.
The business world has often been likened to the animal kingdom. Think of the expression, "It's a dog-eat-dog world." Or how about the phrase, "making a killing on the stock market." Then there is "Birds of a feather flock together."
I think we know these birds. We have seen them before. And for awhile they may appear to be succeeding. But from what I know of history there always comes a reckoning, a time of adjustment, of judgment.
In this case, those being judged are in the true sense all of us. But those truly guilty are the press and media which have allowed these wealthy plutocrats to get away with murder, as it were. Yes, I am blaming the press for their cynicism in treating this sort of thing as "just politics." It is not just politics, in the normal sense of the word. This is subversion of the two party system at the least, and subversion of democracy, at most.
It is often said of Americans that they usually come through late, but they do eventually come through for you. So, this is where we are now. In spite of the never-ending cynicism of the press, there is outrage over what is happening. People are taking notice and they do care.
The problem is in knowing what to do. Over the coming days I will be working on line and off line to share some of what I understand about the causes of such selfishness as we are seeing demonstrated by the Brothers Koch.
But mark my words: this type of political strategy has a certain shelf life and no more. Let's be about the business, America, of putting our own kitchen in order. Let's not go through what Greece has gone through. There has been suffering enough both here and abroad.
The Oligarchy Spreads Its Wings
Note: It is my belief that if statutes are examined there will be found laws dealing with the Koch situation. One problem is that a fascist and politicized Supreme Court majority has been tampering with the laws in this area. Such tampering also has a shelf life. Thus, take heart.
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| Rothbard, Koch*
*Rothbard was a Libertarian thinker. Charles Koch is a plutocrat.
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