La démocratie du dollar - Regarder le documentaire complet (disponible du 27 oct au 2 déc. 2020) Bien qu’une large majorité de citoyens américains de tous bords se déclare favorable à une régulation plus stricte du financement des campagnes électorales, leur Cour suprême s’est appliquée depuis une décennie à supprimer les garde-fous en vigueur. Des scrutins locaux à la présidentielle, les dollars coulent à flots exponentiels à chaque élection, avec des conséquences délétères sur l’action publique. Par l’arrêt Citizens United de 2010, la Cour a ainsi déplafonné les contributions financières des entreprises, au nom de la sacro-sainte liberté d’expression.
Plus insidieux, à travers ce que les experts appellent la "dark money" (argent occulte), de riches donateurs utilisent des organismes à but non lucratif pour déverser discrètement des millions dans les campagnes, les associations n’étant pas soumises à l’obligation de révéler l’identité de leurs bienfaiteurs. Boycotting the Koch brothers? Better get a new brand of toilet paper. The Kochs are cooking up a new dirty-energy political scheme.
The Koch brothers have seen Tom Steyer’s $100 million bet and they’re raising it by almost $200 million more. Steyer, billionaire hedge-fund manager turned climate activist, set a goal earlier this year of spending $100 million in the 2014 midterm elections to support candidates who care about climate change. So far fundraising for his super PAC has been weak, but the Kochs aren’t taking any chances. The Daily Beast reports that “the billionaire Koch brothers and scores of wealthy allies have set an initial 2014 fundraising target of $290 million which should boost GOP candidates and support dozens of conservative groups – including a new energy initiative with what looks like a deregulatory, pro-consumer spin.” Here’s more: A few Koch network-backed nonprofit groups including [Americans for Prosperity] have long fought against climate change regulations, a carbon tax, and subsidies for renewable energy.
Here’s how the Koch brothers retaliate against journalists they don’t like. 6 Reasons Charles Koch Is Full of Crap. This past week, Charles Koch, one half of the infamous Koch brothers, penned an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal. Unsurprisingly, Koch believes (or at least wants us to believe) that his selfish, capitalist ways represent the true American spirit and that he should be championed as a protector of liberties.
Go ahead and read his essay, and then when you’re done pounding your head against the wall, let’s take a look at some of the quotes that make the rest of us so angry: 1. Koch resents being labeled “un-American,” saying that his personal principles are the most American of all. “I have devoted most of my life to understanding the principles that enable people to improve their lives.” You see, the reason that Koch is so successful is because he understands what it means to be an American better than the rest of us. More accurately, he has exploited the American system’s weakness to hoard billions of dollar. 2.
As PolitiFact points out, this claim is decidedly false. 3. 4. Oh, boo hoo. Half of voters have no idea who the Koch brothers are — so here’s a quick and dirty primer. A recent George Washington University battleground poll of 1,000 registered “likely” voters found just over half (52 percent) had never heard of sleazy oil tycoons Charles and David Koch (pronounced “Coke,” guys!). The good news is 1-in-4 voters knew enough to have an “unfavorable” view of the billionaire bros. And Democrats in particular are wise to the Kochs’ dirty energy-loving 1 percentism, according to Politico: Among self-identified liberal Democrats, only 43 percent had never heard of the Kochs — 9 points lower than the general public. And 45 percent had a negative opinion of the two brothers — 20 points higher than the general public.
Forty-three percent still sounds pretty high at Grist HQ, where we have a framed photo of the Kochs on our Wall of Shame next to Cruella de Vil and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. The basics: Charles, 78, lives near Koch HQ in Wichita, Kan.; David, 74, lives in New York. And not only do they love fossil fuels, they steal them. It’s Election Day, and the Koch brothers have more votes than you do. When you fantasize about what you would do if you inherited a vast fortune, what do you think of? Vacation homes? Private jets? How about influencing electoral outcomes in towns of 20,000 that you will never set foot in? Well, if you find that last one odd, clearly you aren’t a Koch brother. David and Charles Koch have turned their attention to obscure local races, The New York Times reports. Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the intensely conservative advocacy group backed by the polluting pair of billionaires, is throwing money around in minor elections such as Coralville, Iowa’s mayoral and city council contests today.
Thus far, AFP’s local advocacy is focused on limiting government spending and taxes generally. If AFP and other Koch-backed organizations continue to intervene in small, local campaigns, it could hold back environmental protection. The environmental stakes in local elections can be enormous, with implications for climate change. And they will have to be. Notorious Koch Brothers Win 2013 Rubber Dodo Award. For Immediate Release, October 31, 2013 Contact: Kierán Suckling, (520) 275-5960 Notorious Koch Brothers Win 2013 Rubber Dodo Award TUCSON, Ariz.— The Koch Brothers, an ultra-secret and super-rich duo that shamelessly funnels money to the climate-denier movement and campaigns to ram through the Keystone XL pipeline, are the lucky recipients of the Center for Biological Diversity’s 2013 Rubber Dodo Award, given annually to those who have done the most to drive endangered species extinct.
Previous winners include climate denier James Inhofe (2012), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (2011), former BP CEO Tony Hayward (2010), massive land speculator Michael Winer (2009), Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (2008) and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne (2007). Charles G. and David H. The Keystone XL pipeline project alone will facilitate the burning of so much fossil fuel that a leading climate researcher has said it equates to a “game over” for avoiding climate catastrophe. Les frères Koch, les milliardaires derrière le "shutdown" LE MONDE | • Mis à jour le | Philippe Bernard "Ne laissez pas le gouvernement jouer au docteur !
" Ce message dénonçant la loi Obama sur l’assurance santé, concluait une vidéo choc qui a fait le buzz sur Internet en septembre. Un Oncle Sam menaçant, figurant l’intrusion de l’Etat, y surgissait entre les jambes d’une femme en plein examen gynécologique. Au même moment, un tweet alarmant – "Obamacare est une catastrophe" – se répandait sur les réseaux sociaux, tandis que des élus en difficulté dans leur circonscription recevaient des avertissements liés à leurs positions sur l'assurance santé.
Il s’agissait de porter un coup fatal à la loi "Obamacare" honnie, en amenant les élus républicains à profiter d’une concomitance exceptionnelle entre le début de l’année budgétaire, l’entrée en vigueur de la loi sur l’assurance-santé, le 1er octobre, et la date butoir pour relever le plafond de la dette, le 17 octobre. Billionaire Koch Brother Says Eliminating The Minimum Wage Will Help The Poor. By Rebecca Leber "Billionaire Koch Brother Says Eliminating The Minimum Wage Will Help The Poor" A conservative mogul worth $43 billion says he knows the secret to helping poor people.
According to Charles Koch, the U.S. needs to get rid of the minimum wage, which he counts as a major obstacle to economic growth. On Wednesday, the Charles Koch Foundation launched a $200,000 media campaign in Wichita, Kansas, with a hint of expanding it elsewhere. It is the Kochs’ biggest media buy since they promised to do more to “persuade politicians” after suffering losses in the 2012 election. In an interview with the Wichita Eagle published Tuesday, Koch said that the minimum wage is one policy he is working against: We want to do a better job of raising up the disadvantaged and the poorest in this country, rather than saying ‘Oh, we’re just fine now.’
In the U.S., economic inequality has grown rapidly, and the lagging minimum wage is in large part to blame. Koch brothers hire lobbyists to fight carbon tax, save poor and old people. The Brothers Koch quietly become largest tar-sands lease holders in Alberta (UPDATED) UPDATE: It looks like Steve Mufson and Juliet Eilperin, the authors of the Washington Post article upon which this post was based, are backing down on their claims — sort of. The Koch brothers have leases on a confirmed 1.1 million acres of Alberta tar sands, and the article’s authors cite unnamed “industry sources we consider highly authoritative” who estimate that amount of land to be closer to two million acres.
Mufson and Eilperin claim that if the latter figure is accurate, the Koch brothers are indeed the largest lease-holders in the region. However, Jonathan Adler, a columnist for the Washington Post, indicates that it’s possible that Canadian Natural Resources holds leases on 2.5 million acres of tar-sands land, which would exceed even the Kochs’ theoretical holdings. You can read Mufson and Eilperin’s fairly half-hearted mea culpa here, and Adler’s response to the original article here.
Charles and David Koch sure are a busy coupla pranksters! Dirty Kochs will dish out millions for polluting this Texas town. The U.S. Department of Justice just slapped another polluter around. Yesterday, Justice officials ordered the Koch brothers-owned Flint Hills Resources company to pay $350,000 in Clean Air Act fines for spewing thousands of tons of hazardous air pollutants from one of its chemical plants in Port Arthur, Texas.
The company must also spend upwards of $30 million on equipment upgrades to reduce its emissions for particulate matter, nitrogen oxide, and carbon monoxide — agents of asthma, lung disease, and death, respectively. This is no small matter for the Gulf Coast city, about 90 minutes east of Houston. This is the dirtiest of the dirtiest areas in America. It’s for these reasons that Port Arthur has long been considered a priority environmental justice area for the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA and Department of Justice, in their press releases, hail this as a major victory for protecting an “overburdened community.” It’s about time they wrap that up. L’Amérique qui flippe ou l’Amérique qui floppe ? (9. L’intérêt particulier contre l’intérêt général.
C’est à cela que ressemble la politique aux États-Unis. Tous les quatre ans, les candidats se fabriquent à coup de millions de dollars, à coup de spots anti ou pro tel candidat. Et contrairement à l’idée reçue, ce ne sont pas les lobbyistes qui courent vers Washington, mais bien les élus locaux qui ont besoin d’argent. Un système terrible où un congressiste moyen doit générer 18 000 dollars par jour. Et s’il n’atteint pas cette somme, cette dernière double le lendemain. Et ainsi de suite. Le monde à l’envers. . « De l’enfer du jeu au paradis Mormon, Celui qui paie l’orchestre choisit la musique. » Reportage à Salt Lake City de Giv Anquetil et Daniel Mermet.
Programmation musicale : Elson Smith : "Flip flop" Johnny Cash : "Personal Jesus" Kochs Team Up With Scott Brown, Mitt Romney To Destroy Democracy. Republican want to gain control of the Senate as much as they want the White House. And nowhere is this more apparent than Massachusetts where, despite earlier pledges by Sen. Scott Brown (R) to run a clean race, a whole lot of dark and dirty money has been flowing to his campaign, courtesy of the Koch brothers.
America 360 is a new super PAC funded almost entirely by a donation from the Koch energy company Oxbow Carbon, LLC. is throwing it’s weight behind Brown because, for the Koch brothers, he’s the obviously more business-friendly choice. Elizabeth Warren is target 1 America 360 made its first move in favor of Brown last week, when the group spent around $200,000 on mailers accusing Warren of favoring higher taxes, more spending and increasingly burdensome regulations.
Unaccountable election spending is to be expected with the Koch brothers and their Republican minions. Romney urges others to join in Other Republicans are following the Kochs’ lead on electioneering in the workplace. Koch Bros. Feelings Hurt By New Galifianakis Comedy. Zach Galifianakis stars with Will Ferrell in a new political comedy “The Campaign” and has apparently struck a nerve with the Koch brothers. In the movie, Ferrell plays an incumbent Congressman who is running in what is supposed to be an uncontested race. But then the wealthy “Motch” brothers, played by Dan Aykroyd and John Lithgow finance a lovable buffoon of candidate played by Galifianakis to run against Ferrell and, if the writers and actors do their job, hilarity ensues. While doing press for the film the Galifianakis confirmed the “Motch” brothers in the film are stand-ins for the Koch brothers, and recently said about this about the billionaire conservative political financiers, “I disagree with everything they do.
They are creepy and there is no way around that. It’s not freedom what they are doing.” Apparently the Koch brothers are not laughing. They responded with the following statement. Last we checked, the movie is a comedy. So let’s keep it up. Related Stories: Newsroom summary on the Koch brothers and AFT. Koch Funded Pro-Walker Ads Prove the Need For Truth in Advertising Laws. Koch Bros. Sue For Control Of Cato Institute. How do the mega-rich begin to implode? Usually through a shareholder lawsuit. Charles and David Koch, billionaire activists launched a legal battle over control of the Cato Institute, one of the nation’s best-know libertarian think tanks. The Cato Institute was founded in 1974 as the Charles Koch Foundation and until last year had four shareholders: Charles Koch; David Koch; Edward H. Crane III, Cato’s president; and William A. Niskanen, who died in October. The Koch brothers believe the shareholder agreement is clear that there should only be three shareholders now, while Crane thinks Niskanen’s 25-percent control should go to his widow, Kathryn Washburn.
Why does any of this matter? But with only three shareholders, there’s nothing stopping the Koch Brothers from effectively squeezing Crane out of all decisions and taking full control over Cato. The question this lawsuit raises is what else is motivating the Koch’s to make this power play now? Related Stories: Koch Bros. Get Into Local News Business. The revolution won’t be televised and, if the Koch brothers have their way, it won’t even make it into print. According to a new report by Media Matters For America, the Koch brothers have entered the local news market via the purchase and control of state news Web sites. They are doing this through a front called the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, a multimillion-dollar organization whose Websites and affiliates provide free statehouse reporting to local newspapers and other media across the country. The organization is funded by major conservative donors with deep ties to groups affiliated with the Koch brothers and brags about its ability to fill the void created by state newsroom layoffs.
Of course, their presence alone raises a number of warnings for any citizen concerned with accurate and reliable reporting free from political slant. Russell says of IdahoReporter.com: “It was basically a lobbying organization that linked to a news arm. Related Stories: Ohio governor paid by Koch Brothers to commence Fracking. Adam Curtis Blog: THE CURSE OF TINA. Koch industries. Policy Analyst and Research Fellow, Economic Freedom Project Job at Charles Koch Institute. 11 4 11 dc protesters hit by car cops let driver go call DCPD. The Enemies Within: The Most Dangerous Conservatives And Their Organizations. Outside Groups Eclipsing G.O.P. as Hub of Campaigns. Koch industries. The Koch Brothers - People & Power. Scott Walker names key figures to his transition team. Toxic Waste Courtesy of Koch Brothers. Koch Industries stands to profit off Keystone XL.
How The Kochs Are Fracking America. Waxman Wants Koch Interest in Keystone Pipeline Investigated. Koch, Exxon Mobil Among Corporations Helping Write State Laws. How the Koch brothers screwed over the climate even more than you know. Koch brothers and beyond: The anti-union agenda of right-wing billionaires. Friendly Smoker™: "RT @AnonCorpWatch: The #Ko. Robert Greenwald: heres vid of my convo w @T... Thom Hartmann & Robert Greenwald - Killer Koch Cancer Connection. Cancer Risks For Koch Profits - Koch Brothers Exposed. The Koch Brothers Explain the Recession. When you talk too much for Twitter. Bloomberg Markets: Koch Industries Sold Petrochemical Equipment To Iran And Bribed Countries For Contracts. Koch Brothers Flout Law Getting Richer With Secret Iran Sales.
Charles Koch to Friedrich Hayek: Use Social Security! Robert Greenwald: To David Koch: Will You Be My Guest in Arkansas? Koch Industries had inside man at the EPA. Thom Hartmann & Tom Linzey - Fighting back against Citizens United one community at a time. Exclusive Audio: Inside the Koch Brothers' Secret Seminar. The Billionaire Koch Brothers’ War Against Obama. NJDC Demands Perry, Others Return "Iran-Tainted" Koch Donations. Slide Show: Got Koch? Seven Products Fueling the Brothers' Right-Wing Agenda. Brendan DeMelle | Koch Brothers Exposed: Cancer Risk In Crossett Arkansas Blamed On Georgia Pacific. German State Minister: We Can Decarbonize With Renewables Because “We Don’t Have the … Koch Brothers”
Call for an Investigation of the Koch Brothers. Exclusive: The Koch Brothers' Million-Dollar Donor Club. Koch Brothers Flout Law Getting Richer With Secret Iran Sales. The Koch Method. Weird Letters Show Kochs Briefly Drank Libtard Juice In Seventies. Fallout From Chris Christie-Koch Brothers Exposé. This Week’s Top MuckReads: Trouble With Koch Subsidiaries and Drug-Smuggling Guards. Bloomberg News Investigation: Koch Industries Bribed Foreign Officials, Sold Petrochemical Equipment To Iran. The Koch Brothers: Very Rich Job Killers. The Koch Brothers' End Game in Wisconsin. David Koch dodges questions over shady deals with Iran. Koch-Funded Congressional Civil Justice Caucus Academy Gives Congress Big Freebies. Don't let the Koch brothers censor public television! Koch brothers spooked by forthcoming story - War Room. What Are the Latest Revelations About Koch Industries? Business Mag Expose Says Koch Brothers Were Supplying Iran In Possible Violation of U.S. Trade Embargo.
Robert Greenwald: terrible #koch hypocrisy-... Nuclear Missiles, Cluster Bombs, Koch Brother-Like Legal Activism and Climate Solutions!? Greenwashing Lockheed Martin. Kochs backing out of blue-state Senate races.