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Koch Derangement Syndrome Watch: San Francisco Chronicle Facilitates Hysteria For Oil Severance Tax Supporters
Greenpeace is flying a blimp over Rancho Mirage, California to protest the Koch Brothers
I mean, where do they get this stuff that David and Charles Koch are involved in an any type of ballot measure regarding a California oil severance tax? After all, this is a major California newspaper and where’s the beef?
To Peter Mathews, the political timing seems perfect. A gallon of gas costs more than $4, the five largest oil companies have made $30 billion in profits this year, and California’s higher education system is losing at least $1.4 billion to help balance the state’s gargantuan budget deficit.
The political science professor at Cypress College, a community college in Orange County, drove to UC Berkeley on Friday to begin gathering support for a ballot measure to tax oil companies on the petroleum they extract in California and send the money – about $2 billion a year – to public schools.
But should his measure qualify for the November ballot, Mathews and liberal groups worry that a pair of deep-pocketed brothers could emerge to fight the initiative: Charles and David Koch (pronounced “coke”) of Kansas, who have used the billions they’ve made in the oil industry to try to reshape national politics in their conservative, free-market image.
“They’d probably weigh in because (the tax) would represent another burden on business,” said Peter Foy, a Republican Ventura County supervisor and chair of the California chapter of Americans for Prosperity, which David Koch co-founded.
Sorry, but neither Supervisor Foy nor does the San Francisco Chronicle know what Koch Industries or David or Charles Koch will do. They really don’t. Moreover, Supervisor Foy’s organization is NOT funded by Koch Industries. Supervisor Foy is NOT a spokesman for Koch Industries or either of the Koch brothers.
Why?
Well, the Kochs have NO oil refining operations in California and their companies are NOT involved in oil extraction (spelled oil drilling in California or anywhere else for that matter). They are involved with oil refining (after the oil comes out of the ground) and NOT in California. Can THIS be any more clear?
The last time the oil severance tax was on the California ballot, I believe was in 2006, Proposition 87. It was an expensive, initiative ballot proposition which I voted against. How much do you think the Koch’s contributed to its defeat?
NOTHING. What makes anyone think they would contribute to a campaign for a new oil severance tax measure? One, in which they have NO interest. Does this make any sense?
The Chronicle points out that California is the ONLY oil producing state that does not have this oil severance tax in place already. California lags behind the other states, so why would the Koch’s involve themselves because of a fear that this oil tax may spread to other states?
No, this whole exercise is an attempt by the LEFT to DEMONIZE the Koch Brothers so they can raise money from their Moonbat/Far Left donors. If I were them and the San Francisco Chronicle, I would be looking at Chevron who gave $30 Million and Aera Energy $27 Million to help defeat Proposition 87 in 2006. But, then again, those companies actually employ voters in this state and perhaps they are just too hard to make into a BOOGEY MAN.
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Outrage Alert: George Soros Sponsoring Two Events to Remake the Financial Order and Media
The MSM or Lamestream Media were all over Charles and David Koch for their political conference in Rancho Mirage, California but where is the reporting for George Soros, darling and funding sponsor for the Far LEFT two conferences this weekend?Apparently, megalomaniacs need schedulers.
Just ask George Soros. The left-wing billionaire is helping fund two major conferences that start on the same day, in two different locations just a three hours apart by car. Two liberal events packed into one long weekend. God created the world in six days. Apparently, Soros, who sees himself as “some kind of god,”needs just a long weekend to start remaking today’s world in his image.
The emphasis of both conferences is a familiar one to American voters – change. Soros wants to begin changing the global economy in one event. In the other, his flunkies want to “Change the world. Change the media.”
Now that is change you can believe in. Sadly, those who actually report the news must believe in it because they sure as heck aren’t reporting on Soros or either event. And that’s even though staffers or even executives from Reuters, the Financial Times, NPR, PBS, The Washington Post and other major media outlets are speaking at one event or the other.
But, George Soros is on the LEFT and not the RIGHT – so I guess, it is not reportable – even though the media organizations are featured speakers.
How hypocritical is this?
Read more – especially about remaking the media or should I say have the government pay for it. Recognize the cast of characters from the California Koch protests?
Just down the road in Boston, a Soros-funded media conference is trying to manipulate that emerging order as well. Close to 350 left-wingers from a variety of organizations are gathering there for the National Conference for Media Reform.
That “change the world” conference includes two commissioners from the FCC, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Bernie Sanders, four Democratic representatives, the head of Columbia University, and assorted left-wing journalist types, from Salon’s Glenn Greenwald to disgraced former MSNBC host David Shuster, who now works for a Soros-funded investigative operation.
The rest of the list reads like a “Who’s Who” of left-wing organizations and talking heads, including the president of PBS, a senior vice president with American Public Media, an Al Jazeera English executive, the president of the Newspaper Guild – CWA and Washington Post columnist Rob Pegoraro. Many others have Soros connections, such as:
Common Cause, which has been going after conservative Supreme Court justices who have some connection to the Koch brothers. Common Cause seems immune to similar investigations of their own gravy train.
Columbia Journalism Review’s Dean Starkman. He is chief of the review’s “The Audit” section and a 2006 Katrina Media Fellow with the Open Society Institute, the primary Soros charitable foundation.
Free Press, which is holding the conference. Free Press has received more than $1 million from Soros since 2003 and has 18 presenters pushing for things like “strong public media” or an extremely expensive national broadband plan they quaintly describe as “universal access to communications.”
Think Progress’s Koch-hating Lee Fang. Think Progress is a project of Democrat John Podesta’s Center for American Progress, which was founded with Soros money. Fang is on the panel for: “Real Issues vs. Astroturf: Confronting the Koch Brothers,” and makes the laughable claim “this is not about liberals versus conservatives” when the entire goal of the left is to shut down the Kochs to defund the right.
Everywhere you they go in Boston, they’ll be making more left turns than NASCAR. It’s an event filled with lefties dissatisfied that the news media aren’t even more liberal, and their goal will be to make that happen. Whether it’s “Beyond Pronouns: Creating Real Stories About Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People” or pushing for illegal immigrant rights, the conference is a predictable liberal take on pretty much everything.
But the over-arching theme is getting government to fix the media. Columbia University President Lee Bollinger, whose school also includes the well-known and partly Soros-funded Columbia School of Journalism, is one of several speakers advocating for increased government funding for media. He called for federal funding of the media in a 2010 Wall Street Journal piece with the terrifying headline: “Journalism Needs Government Help.” Bollinger pushed for the creation of a public media that combines NPR, PBS and Voice of America. He also wants to “end to the regulation of ‘indecent’ language and images in broadcast programming” and return to the Fairness Doctrine.
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Hypocrisy Alert: Democrats Now Following Republicans into Undisclosed Donor Field
The Los Angeles Times has the story about how independent political organizations which can accept unlimited cash and not disclose its donors are being formed by the Democrats for the next election cycle. And, remember how the LEFT criticized the Koch Brothers out in Palm Springs?
Democrats putting together new independent political organizations for the 2012 campaign are embracing a model that will allow them to conceal their donors — the very tactic for which they criticized Republicans in 2010.
Majority PAC, a new group aimed at electing Democrats to the Senate, and American Bridge 21st Century, which will serve as a research hub, are being organized as so-called super political action committees that can raise unlimited amounts of money from contributors whose donations are reported to the Federal Election Commission. But both are also affiliated with nonprofit 501(c)(4) social welfare groups that can raise money from undisclosed donors and give money directly to super PACs.
The same dual structure is being considered by Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney, two former White House aides who are likely to launch their own independent expenditure effort in support of President Obama’s reelection, according to people familiar with the plans.
What is good for the goose is also good for the gander, I suppose. But, why not cut the pretense and allow anyone to give unlimited amounts of political contributions as along as they are timely disclosed on the internet?
Then, all of the machinations can go by the wayside.
Otherwise, it is just hypocrisy.
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Union Leader Says a Boycott of Koch Industries Georgia Pacific is a Bad Idea
Greenpeace is flying a blimp over Rancho Mirage, California to protest the Koch Brothers
Well, DUH.A number of organizations are advocating a boycott of the products that come from companies owned by the Koch family. This is problematic for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it could potentially hurt the wrong people.
The Koch brothers own Georgia Pacific. It is an American consumer goods company that makes everyday products like facial tissue, napkins, paper towels, paper cups and the like. Their plants are great examples of American advanced manufacturing. Incidentally,
GP makes most of its products here in America. The company’s workforce is highly unionized. In fact, 80 percent of its mills are under contract with one or more labor union. It is not inaccurate to say that these are among the best-paid manufacturing jobs in America.
This presents a dilemma and a paradox. While the Koch brothers are credited with advocating an agenda and groups that are clearly hostile to labor and labor’s agenda, the brothers’ company in practice and in general has positive and productive collective bargaining relationships with its unions.
While some companies are running from investment in American jobs, The Koch brothers’ Georgia Pacific just reached agreements with its primary union in the paper industry to invest more than a half a billion dollars in capital to essentially create two state-of-the-art machines that conserve fiber and energy at two separate union mills.
While certainly there are disagreements from time to time on what the right pension program is, or right wage increases and incentives, or the right formula for health care cost sharing, ultimately we end up with negotiated solutions.
So the problem for the advocates of a boycott against Koch is that it can only marginally hurt Koch, and the workers who are the epitome of what advanced manufacturing jobs in the United States ought to look like, would be the first casualties of a boycott. Of course, this will eventually drive a wedge between groups that are otherwise in political alignment.
If consumers pick alternate products (because people will still use toilet paper), in many cases, the substitute will be from a company with a track record that is much less friendly to the values of the workers who would, as a result of the boycott, become the collateral damage. The Koch brothers’ lifestyle will not dramatically change; there are no shareholders that will become concerned; the company is privately owned. The stock won’t plummet either — there is none.
The Koch Brothers believe in capitalism and free markets. This also includes collective bargaining and organized labor.
I don’t see why Charles and David Koch are demonized by the LEFT – unless you don’t believe in capitalism. They are businessmen, run very good business enterprises and have ideas in which they will put their money where their mouths are. Oh yeah, and a great deal of charity donations, including cancer research and the fine arts.
Kind of the American way, no?
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Hypocrite Democrat Sen. Harry Reid Forgets Koch Industries Gave Dem Senatorial Committee 30K While Dissing Them in Fundraising Letter
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. gestures during a news
conference on Capitol Hill in Washington Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010OOPS. Cowboy poet enthusiast and Senate Majority Leader sends out this letter to the Democratic faithful today:Dear xxxx,
We should be trying to put Americans back to work, not trying to put public radio out of business.
Attacking labor unions…waging war on women’s rights…defunding NPR…repealing health care reform. The anti-worker, anti-woman, anti-Obama Republican agenda just proves that their priorities are seriously out of whack. How is any of this supposed to create jobs?
Senate Democrats are fighting back each and every day. But with only a slim four-seat majority, we have no margin for error. If Republicans can knock just a few bricks free from our firewall, they’ll force through their extreme agenda faster than you can say “Koch brothers.” With the GOP on the attack and with 23 Democratic-held seats to defend, we have no time to spare. We must act now to keep our majority standing strong. I need your help!
The DSCC must raise $150,371 by our March 31 FEC deadline to keep the Republicans at bay. Our March Match means you’ll be matched dollar for dollar – your $300 contribution will only cost you $150. Please click here right now to contribute! I’m not satisfied with playing defense. Democrats are ready to move this country forward by investing in our future – rebuilding our infrastructure, improving our schools, and focusing on innovations that will create not just jobs, but entire industries.
And a year after President Obama signed health care reform, we’re unwilling to let Republicans put health insurance companies back between you and your doctor.
We’re ready to go on offense, waging a tough grassroots campaign to preserve our majority, standing strong with Democratic incumbents and recruiting top-flight challengers to take on vulnerable Republicans.
We have to put our money where our mouth is – and that means we need your support at this critical moment. Ninety percent of the DSCC’s donations come from individuals giving less than $200. And during our March Match, your $300 gift will only cost you $150 – every dollar will be matched!
The DSCC needs to hear from you immediately in order to meet its $150,371 goal by March 31 – so please click here and make a contribution right now.
Senate Democrats are standing up strong against the GOP’s backward priorities. But we can’t stand alone, not with Republicans and their special interest allies pouring more resources into breaking down our firewall every day.
And with just 8 days to go until the March 31 deadline, a $150,371 goal to meet, and a dangerous Republican agenda to defeat, we need you now more than ever.
Thank you,
Harry Reid
Paid for by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, dscc.org <http://dscc.org> , and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.Well, nice move, Dingy Harry to diss a donor who gave your Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee $30,000 during the last campaign cycle.
So, Harry is the DSCC going to send the money back?
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Charles Koch: Why Koch Industries is Speaking Out
Charles Koch of Koch Industries
A piece in tomorrow’s Wall Street Journal lays it out.Years of tremendous overspending by federal, state and local governments have brought us face-to-face with an economic crisis. Federal spending will total at least $3.8 trillion this year—double what it was 10 years ago. And unlike in 2001, when there was a small federal surplus, this year’s projected budget deficit is more than $1.6 trillion.
Several trillions more in debt have been accumulated by state and local governments. States are looking at a combined total of more than $130 billion in budget shortfalls this year. Next year, they will be in even worse shape as most so-called stimulus payments end.
For many years, I, my family and our company have contributed to a variety of intellectual and political causes working to solve these problems. Because of our activism, we’ve been vilified by various groups. Despite this criticism, we’re determined to keep contributing and standing up for those politicians, like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who are taking these challenges seriously.
Both Democrats and Republicans have done a poor job of managing our finances. They’ve raised debt ceilings, floated bond issues, and delayed tough decisions.
In spite of looming bankruptcy, President Obama and many in Congress have tiptoed around the issue of overspending by suggesting relatively minor cuts in mostly discretionary items. There have been few serious proposals for necessary cuts in military and entitlement programs, even though these account for about three-fourths of all federal spending.
Yes, some House leaders have suggested cutting spending to 2008 levels. But getting back to a balanced budget would mean a return to at least 2003 spending levels—and would still leave us with the problem of paying off our enormous debts.
Federal data indicate how urgently we need reform: The unfunded liabilities of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid already exceed $106 trillion. That’s well over $300,000 for every man, woman and child in America (and exceeds the combined value of every U.S. bank account, stock certificate, building and piece of personal or public property).
The Congressional Budget Office has warned that the interest on our federal debt is “poised to skyrocket.” Even Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is sounding alarms. Yet the White House insists that substantial spending cuts would hurt the economy and increase unemployment.
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Americans for Prosperity Calls on Opponents to Condemn Squelching of Free Speech
Americans for Prosperity websiteThe Far Left group “Anonymous” took down their website yesterday via a Denial of Service attack (DNS).The online activist group “anonymous,” which has used coordinated denial of service attacks — a crude but effective Internet weapon — to temporary disable sites belonging to foes ranging from Scientology to WikiLeaks foes — has turned its firepower on the Koch-backed conservative group Americans for Prosperity, making the group’s site intermittently unavailable tonight.
Why?
Here is the press release.It has come to our attention that the brothers, David and Charles Koch–the billionaire owners of Koch Industries–have long attempted to usurp American Democracy. Their actions to undermine the legitimate political process in Wisconsin are the final straw. Starting today we fight back.
Koch Industries, and oligarchs like them, have most recently started to manipulate the political agenda in Wisconsin. Governor Walker’s union-busting budget plan contains a clause that went nearly un-noticed. This clause would allow the sale of publicly owned utility plants in Wisconsin to private parties (specifically, Koch Industries) at any price, no matter how low, without a public bidding process. The Koch’s have helped to fuel the unrest in Wisconsin and the drive behind the bill to eliminate the collective bargaining power of unions in a bid to gain a monopoly over the state’s power supplies.
The Koch brothers have made a science of fabricating ‘grassroots’ organizations and advertising campaigns to support them in an attempt to sway voters based on their falsehoods. Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth and Citizens United are just a few of these organizations. In a world where corporate money has become the lifeblood of political influence, the labor unions are one of the few ways citizens have to fight against corporate greed. Anonymous cannot ignore the plight of the citizen-workers of Wisconsin, or the opportunity to fight for the people in America’s broken political system. For these reasons, we feel that the Koch brothers threaten the United States democratic system and, by extension, all freedom-loving individuals everywhere. As such, we have no choice but to spread the word of the Koch brothers’ political manipulation, their single-minded intent and the insidious truth of their actions in Wisconsin, for all to witness.
Anonymous hears the voice of the downtrodden American people, whose rights and liberties are being systematically removed one by one, even when their own government refuses to listen or worse – is complicit in these attacks. We are actively seeking vulnerabilities, but in the mean time we are calling for all supporters of true Democracy, and Freedom of The People, to boycott all Koch Industries’ paper products. We welcome unions across the globe to join us in this boycott to show that you will not allow big business to dictate your freedom.
In response, Americans for Prosperity’s President Tim Phillips has issued the following:
Americans for Prosperity has established itself as a leading voice in one of the great political debates underway in this country over government spending and how best to restore the fiscal solvency of governments at both the state and federal level. Yesterday, a group claimed credit for an attempt to silence our voice and to stifle that debate through an illegal attack on our website. While the political debate over government spending can be heated, we hope that even our opponents will join us in condemning this illegal attack on our free speech rights as unacceptable and irredeemable. Our country cannot meet the great challenges before us if we cannot have a free and open discussion about the threats that we face.
Americans for Prosperity will not be intimidated and will not be deterred from our effort to support responsible economic policies, including the efforts of Governor Walker and other democratically elected leaders in that state to balance the budget through common-sense reforms.
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Video: Look What the Big Bad Capitalist Koch Brothers Did to My Community
Well, I am being a little disingenuous in the headline of the post. I live in Thousand Oaks, California and what the Koch Brothers did through their company Koch Membrane Systems is in Santa Paula, California which is about a 30 minutes drive from here.
What did the Kochs (You know those dirty capitalists who support all of those right-wing (pro-business) think tanks/conferences and rail against the LEFT in this country) do?
In Santa Paula the Kochs helped build a state of the art water recycling plant to help the environment – as well as the folks that live there.
The Santa Paula water recycling facility (WRF) is a membrane bioreactor (MBR)-based, 3.4MGD (expandable to 4.2MGD) water recycling facility located in the City of Santa Paula, California. The new facility is the first of its kind built under California’s Government Code Section 5956, which promotes public-private partnerships in public infrastructure projects.
Construction was completed in December 2009 and the facility became fully operational in May 2010, seven months ahead of the Regional Board compliance deadline.
And, why the replacement facility?Before commissioning the new facility, the City of Santa Paula was served by a wastewater treatment plant built in 1939. It had reached the end of its service life and required replacement.
The original plant was also unable to comply with the waste discharge requirements of the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.
The non-compliance discharges were being transferred into the Santa Clara River, as a result of which the city faced fines of over $8m from the State Regional Water Quality Control Board.
In May 2007, a consent judgement given to the state allowed that it could apply the fines toward construction of a new wastewater treatment facility, if completed by December 2010. Following the judgement, the city decided to replace its old plant with a new wastewater recycling facility.
Frankly, I don’t know what to say – either the Koch Brothers have gone “GREEN” or maybe, just maybe, the media portrayals of these BUSINESSMEN have been a little skewed.
I know what the residents of Santa Paula think…..
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Common Cause Apologizes After The Uncloaking the Kochs Street Protest Crowd Call for the Lynching of Justice Clarence Thomas
“Uncloaking the Kochs” rally sponsored by Common Cause, AFFCE, The Ruckus Society, 350, Greenpeace, Code Pink, the Progessive Democrats of America, and others. Staged outside venue of Koch Brothers conference in Palm Springs.Well, Common Cause who along with other Far Left organizations got caught with their UNHINGED conduct and now they have apologized.
Common Cause’s 40 year history of holding power accountable has been marked by a commitment to decency and civility – in public and private. So we are of course outraged to find that a few of those attending the events around a gathering Common Cause helped to organize Sunday near Palm Springs voiced hateful, narrow-minded sentiments to an interviewer in the crowd.
We condemn bigotry and hate speech in every form, even when it comes from those who fancy themselves as our friends.
Anyone who has attended a public event has encountered people whose ideas or acts misrepresented, even embarrassed, the gathering. Every sporting event has its share of “fans” whose boorish behavior on the sidelines makes a mockery of good sportsmanship; every political gathering has a crude sign-painter or epithet-spewing heckler.
We organized the “Uncloak the Kochs” panel discussion and took part in the rally afterwards to call public attention to the political power of Koch Industries and other corporations, their focus on expanding that power, and the dangers it presents to our democracy.
We’re committed to staging other forums and public events in the coming months to continue that effort. We urge all Americans of good will to join us.
###Common Cause is a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1970 by John Gardner as a vehicle for citizens to make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest.
Uh Huh!
Sorry Common Cause, you knew what you were getting when you had the Far Left and Big Labor bus those folks in for your ASTROTURF – Moonbats who are far outside mainstream America.
Let’s just call a Moonbat a Moonbat shouldn’t we?
And, how about a personal apology to U.S Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas?
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Video: The Uncloaking the Kochs Street Protest Crowd Call for the Lynching of Justice Clarence Thomas
The Uncloaking the Koch Street Protest: The Kochs Vs. Soros
Updated: The Uncloaking the Kochs Street Protest is On in Rancho Mirage; Arrests Made; 25 Arrested
Updated: The Uncloaking the Kochs Street Protest is On in Rancho Mirage; Arrests Made
Far-Left Hot Air Flying Above the Koch ConferenceWho is Sponsoring the “Uncloaking the Kochs” Protest?
The LEFT ala Saul Alinsky Protest Koch Brothers Conference
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Video: The Uncloaking the Kochs Street Protest Crowd Call for the Lynching of Justice Clarence Thomas
“Uncloaking the Kochs” rally sponsored by Common Cause, AFFCE, The Ruckus Society, 350, Greenpeace, Code Pink, the Progessive Democrats of America, and others. Staged outside venue of Koch Brothers conference in Palm Springs.You remember the protest and all of the nonsense that preceded it.
Now, here is video from the UNHINGED crowd, most of them bussed in by Common Cause with the help of Big Labor.
We were then ushered outside to the parking lot across from the hotel in which the Koch brothers were holding a meeting, whereupon we were encouraged to yell at the building, decrying not only the Kochs, but Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia for their Citizens United ruling. Oh, and Fox News while we were at it.
We were joined by at least half a dozen busloads of public sector union members and common demonstrators from AFFCE, The Ruckus Society, 350, Greenpeace, Code Pink, and the Progressive Democrats of America, among others, without whose valuable contributions to the yelling, the rally would’ve been just a lousy bust. Video camera in hand, I purposely engaged them to get beyond their programmed talking points, only to find some rather colorful agenda items – particularly for Justice Thomas.
Well, what do you expect from the Far Left?
Moonbattery, of course.
But, the calls to have Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas hanged, stringed up, tortured and sent back to the fields are a little much, you think?. The other Justices were afforded SUCH civility too, but you will have to watch the video for the fun. No wonder the Far Left, wealthy sponsors of SUCH civil discourse want to remain anonymous. But, I will mention them anyway: George Soros (from whom Common Cause has received $2 million over the past eight years) Peter Lewis, John Doerr, Julian Robertson, Nicolas Berggruen, and many others.
Previous:
The Uncloaking the Koch Street Protest: The Kochs Vs. Soros
Updated: The Uncloaking the Kochs Street Protest is On in Rancho Mirage; Arrests Made; 25 Arrested
Updated: The Uncloaking the Kochs Street Protest is On in Rancho Mirage; Arrests Made
Far-Left Hot Air Flying Above the Koch ConferenceWho is Sponsoring the “Uncloaking the Kochs” Protest?
The LEFT ala Saul Alinsky Protest Koch Brothers Conference