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Subscribe to RSSPolitico reports that liberals plan to protest the billionaire Koch brothers -- who have funded Tea Party groups like Americans for Prosperity -- at their annual business meeting. "This weekend, for the eighth straight year, the billionaire Koch brothers will convene a meeting of roughly 200 wealthy businessmen, Republican politicians and conservative activists for a semi-annual conference to raise millions of dollars for the institutions that form the intellectual foundation – and, increasingly, the leading political edge – of the conservative movement."
"In the past, the meetings have drawn an A-list of participants – politicians like Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, leading free-market thinkers including American Enterprise Institute president Arthur Brooks, talkers Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and even Supreme Court justices - to mingle with the wealthy donors who comprise the bulk of the invitees. The meetings adjourned after soliciting pledges of support from the donors – sometimes totaling as much as $50 million – to non-profit groups favored by the Kochs."
Now: "Common Cause, the liberal watchdog group, is planning a protest called 'Uncloaking the Kochs' and what it calls 'the billionaires caucus' on Sunday a few miles down the road from the resort in Rancho Mirage, Calif., where this weekend’s conference will be held, and a handful of reporters have made plans to try to cover the Koch’s closed-door gathering."
Common Cause and other liberals will hold a conference call at noon ET to provide details about their rally against the Koch brothers.
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Why protest these guys? It only makes you look small and petty. I'd say- use all that energy and time to educate your fellow citizens about how our leadership is being bought and paid for by special interests.
(and people worry about 'socialists' taking over 'their' country!)
I total agree with that! Why bother. Those guys will just use the media to make those protesters look like kooks. I say invest the money more wisely instead of wasting it on go nowhere protests.
(these guys do have control of "our" country)
Someone needs to shine a light on the men behind the curtain.
What? Why do it? Well, for the same thing that you would protest anything else: to shine a light. Grab a headline. Get a couple million people to see it on their evening news.
90% of Americans have no idea who the Kochs are or what they are doing to our beloved country and our cherished institutions.
If I can get that help to 80% I'll be very happy
The Republicans have a cash cow in the Koch brothers and the Democrats have one in Soros. I don't think either of them should be allowed to sway votes but there is evidently no law that prevents it..
It may not be illegal for Supreme Court Justices to attend fundraising political events, but it certainly is unseemingly.
Maggie: You can't compare George Soros to the Koch brothers. George Soros has never made any secret of his involvement in politics or his support of democratic causes (for the people). The Koch brothers have kept it a secret and are just now being exposed when they been at it for as long as their company has existed (for the corporations and wealthy).
Sorry but in my eyes no one has a right to manipulate votes no matter if in secret or out on front of God and everyone.
There is no comparison.
Soros is trying to promote liberal causes, that help people, out in the open.
The Kochs are trying to promote pollution and kill renewable energy, while hiding behind serious-sounding think-tanks (Cato is just one of many) and bigot loudmouths (Beck and Limbaugh).
But Soros is an easy target because he's Jewish, an immigrant, and made money with complex financial transactions that most can't understand and therefore can be easily demagogued.
I wish I was able to attend this protest. It will hopefully get some mainstream coverage and bring more attention to the the Koch brothers. They are extreme liberatarians and also the creators and financers of the tea party "movement" to ensure politial gains that benefit them and the rest of the wealthiest Americans. The Koch brothers and their weathy friends are laughing all the way to the bank knowing that working Americans are aiding and abetting their selfish interests. See for yourself:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer
http://nymag.com/news/features/67285/
http://www.observer.com/2010/slideshow/131739/communist-shipbuilding
http://www.alternet.org/story/146504/
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/opinion/29rich.html?_r=2&src=me&ref=general
The annual meeting:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/us/politics/20koch.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/10/20/beck-koch-chamber-meeting/
Invitation letter, agenda and attendee list from secret Koch meeting last year:
http://images2.americanprogressaction.org/ThinkProgress/secretkochmeeting.pdf
Justices Scalia and Thomas attended secret meeting last year:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/20/scalia-thomas-koch-industries_n_769843.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-ross/big-brothers-are-watching_b_770909.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stanley-kutler/the-tea-party-duped-serva_b_773091.html
January strategy meeting:
http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/koch-industries-gathers-wealthy-donors-2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/us/politics/20koch.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
You might also be interested to know that Koch Industries, a conglomerate of partnerships with 70,000 empoyees, is one of millions of companies with multi-million and billion dollar revenues have been registered as small businesses for tax purposes. Others are some of the biggest companies in the world and the richest people in this country and include Enterprise Products Partners, L.P., a pipeline company with 2009 revenues of $25 billion; Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., a Wall Street firm with $445 million in revenue in 2009; Price Waterhouse Coopers, an accounting firm with $26 billion in revenue in 2009; The Hillman Company, an investment founded by billionaire philanthropist/industrialist Henry Hillman; Venn Strategies, Inc. a multi- million dollar company; Ferrellgas, a propane and propane accessories business with $2 billion in revenues in 2009 and 1 million customers; CoorsTek, a ceramics manufacturer founded by Adolph Coors, with 2009 revenue of $549 million; Dead River Co. with $500 million in revenue and 1,200 employees; McIlhenney Co., the Tabasco maker with $250 million in revenue in 2007.
Rather than paying corporate taxes, these firms and thousands of others operate as S Corporations, sole proprietorships or partnerships, including limited liability companies that put LLC instead of Inc. at the end of their names. All are considered pass-through structures, in which company profits are passed directly to individual owners, who then pay taxes. Traditional corporations pay taxes on profits and pass along dividends to individuals, who pay taxes on the dividends. The rules for classification as a small business is not the income that’s small, it’s not the number of employees that’s small, it’s just the total number of owners that’s small. In the case of S corporations, the total number of owners can be 100.
I would also love to see a boycott of Koch Industry products. After all, the revenues from the sale of these products are being used to destroy the middle class.
Angel Soft toilet paper
Brawny paper towels
Dixie plates, bowls, napkins and cups
Mardi Gras napkins and towels
Quilted Northern toilet paper
Soft 'n Gentle toilet paper
Sparkle napkins
Vanity fair napkins
Zee napkins
Georgia-Pacific paper products and envelopes
All Georgia-Pacific lumber and building products
For more Koch products: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/8/24/895947/-Boycott-Koch-Products
How easy it must be for politicians to cater to big business -- discretionary funds to spend to buy votes.
Are we EVER going to CLEAN UP THE FRAUD IN OUR GOVERNMENT ? We might actually try ENFORCEMENT.
" Those who have the GOLD -- RULE ". So no WONDER the rich get richer, and the poor get destitute.
LeeRoySpirit
how do you think you can clean up anything when we just keep puting one @!$%# in every 2 yrs to investagate one side who takes 2yrs to write a book that no one can decode whitch by then its to late to do anything then we trade that @!$%# for one from the other side & they take 2yrs to write their book whitch of course no one can decode & you no its to late to do anything .so you no 1 more @!$%# 2yrs & well ya see where this is going don`t ya!
S-Corporations were first limited to 15 owners -- they keep changing the rules to suit their own purposes.
Anybody know where the S came from ?? SERVICE. i.e. NON-INDUSTRY ACTIVITIES. NON-UTILITIES. ETC.
IRREGARDLESS OF ALL THIS, the S-Corp. was a lawfully designed tax avoidance vehicle from the get-go.
Some seem to have much better luck avoiding taxes than others. GO FIGGER ... !!
-- LeeRoySpirit
i think that if everybody in this country would get together & stop buying their to f---ing expensive products to begin with for one month & take all their money out of their banks & such for one month to let all the greedy bastards who think they can own,repress,steal from,take your home,poison us & our oceans,our lands, our wildlife, (& most importent of all us humans ) to make or take as much money from us as they can,& we don`t know how many billions it takes to have enough. but what they seem to forget is that they can`t take big bonuses or crooked stock options or use our hard earned money to make themselfs rich & leave us the f---ing crumbs if they dont have it to begin with i`ll bet they won`t use 1 red cent of their own money then we`ll all see who realy runs this f---ing country so quit whining about it grow some balls people & lets show the bastards who owns & holds the real money in america WE THE PEOPLE DO
This is a wonderful change to shine a light on these guys. The more Americans understand how they are waging battle on the middle class and any further requirement to keep our rivers, seas and air clean, the better.
I hope anyone that can come out to the desert to protest does so this weekend.