Koch Brothers Exposed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g78ZKT-uMs

Secret meetings......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTUjYyae2zw&feature=fvwrel

More Koch.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOCHAv25uTw&feature=related

playing to the radical right.....

Dear Ed Keep up the great work on your show. As you said last night, this election is pivotal. Sounds like theatrics, but it is not. Thew Bush years more then ever gave the rich in this country so much power, then they are unwiling to give it up. Hence the lies, the racism, or any other tool they can use to defeat Obama. Their worse traits besides super pac money, is the constant fasntasy they to sell people of their competence to run this counntry is a sad lie. The only to solve our country's problems is more tax breaks for the rich, deregulate finances again and cut programs to help the poor and middle class. Eight years of any Republican in the Presidency has ended in a recession or depression for the last hundred years. What a success rate. The last Republican to balance the budget did it in 1957. Hopefully with Mitt's great assets, this won't happen But he and Rasputin Rove do have alot of money. So we will see. Itis so important to end tax loopholes and the Bush tax cuts to start balancing the budget. Equally important is to change the Supreme Court balance to Progressive. THe Republicans in the states have passed alot garbage that needs to be thrown out as unconstitutional. Mandatory Ultrasounds being first on the list.

So keep up the struggle and honest words, they are sorely needed.

Rick G

Sacramento, Ca.

All of this talk about Obama. The eye is definitely not on the ball. There need to be an extensive investigation of the Koch Brothers and Grover Norquist. All of these dealings has to have some type of association with some type of overseas groups that are against the United States of America. All of this concentration on the African American President. He has to have some type of association that is not American but all of this money the Koch Brothers and Grover Norquist is donating; could there evidence the money can be linked to some type of overseas group that support terrorism?

Koch brothers invite Millionaries to Beaver Creek Colorado.....bird watchers see some private jets......so he takes down their numbers and does a little research ......... "Common Blog, by Derek Cressman: " Who was at the Koch Corporate Caucus in Vail, Colorado????????

Billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch held their twice a year meeting of corporate titans, political operatives, and public officials in Beaver Creek Colorado (near Vail) The event started Sunday and wrapped up today. Six months ago, Common Cause helped draw attention to these secretive meetings by staging a rally in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and we made sure to bring the attention and protests to Vail.

Its normal for people who want to discuss political strategy to do so in private, after all why tell your adversaries what you are planning? But the Kochs go to great lengths to prevent people from knowing even of the existence of these meetings. Maybe that’s because if people knew that the Kochs and their fellow CEOs were bankrolling pundits we see on TV (like from the CATO Institute, Heritage Foundation, or American Enterprise Institute), the organizations claiming to speak for the Tea Party (like Americans for Prosperity) and many candidates and elected officials (like WI Governor Scott Walker) they would assess their statements and actions differently.

We know from press accounts that Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell was there, as was Florida Governor Rick Scott and Texas Governor (and possible presidential candidate) Rick Perry. Regardless of what they discussed, these elected officials served as a recruitment draw, to assist the Kochs in bringing together more billionaires to raise political money. Their last gathering in Palm Springs brought in $49 million toward a goal of $88 million dollars. While it would be illegal for Rick Perry to solicit corporate funds to run for governor of Texas (remember what happened to Tom DeLay?) or for him to coordinate activities with a corporate independent expenditure campaign regarding a presidential effort, his ability to hobnob with the consultants who could orchestrate such a campaign and the fat cats who could fund it while not yet a declared candidate presents a bit of an end run around what little campaign finance laws we have left in place. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli also attended

What we don’t know is which corporate CEOs were in attendance. Maybe they don’t want their shareholders and customers knowing how they are spending their money without their consent. But, we do have some clues.

I happened to be bird watching outside the Eagle/Vail airport on Saturday afternoon and noticed an unusual amount of private jet activity. Here’s a list of the tail registration numbers on the planes I saw land and information on who owns them as provided by the FAA:

N707LX Target Corporation (Cuyahoga, Ohio)

N889TC Bank of America (Long Beach, Calif.)

N148MC Mountaire Corp (Arkansas)

N744XP Air Eagle LLC (Detroit, Mich.)

N224JD Conway Aviation (Austin, Texas)

N589QS NetJets (Oklahoma City, Okla.)

N444FX Bombardier Aerospace (Dallas, Texas)

N552SK Red River Mt. LLC (Phoenix, Ariz.)

N877SX MKP21 LLC (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

N703SM Butlers Island LLC (Fairfield, Conn.)

N2656A Ernest Koebberling (Lenoir, N.C.)

N265H Sammy Sterling Holdings (Miami, Fla.)

N432CS Citation Shares (Fairfield, Conn.)

N616CC Capster Radio/Clear Channel (San Antonio, Texas)

N300KH Seven KH Aviation LLC (Beloit, Wisc.)

N988T Eagle I LLC (Kalispell, Mont.)

N166ST Gables Corp (West Linn, Ore.)

N423BB Double B JETS (Lovely, Ken.)

N106SL AGC Aviation LLC

N245K Koch Leasing Co LLC (Wichita, Kans.)

N50AW Thoroughbred Aviation (Neward, Del.)

N4TILX Flight Options LLC (Richmond Heights, Ohio)

N617QS NetJets (Oklahoma City, Okla.)

N115L Jim Odom (Lufkin, Texas)

Most of these jets are chartered by different corporations or individuals, or owned on a time share basis so there is no definitive way to be sure who was on them on June 25, 2011. Even the ones owned by corporations

Target and Bank of America may have been leased out to others and not necessarily used by their CEOs for this event.

But, this provides a starting place for bloggers and reporters who want to dig a little deeper at who might have been plotting political campaigns with the Kochs in Beaver Creek. A list of those who attended the June 2010 Koch meeting in Aspen is posted here at ThinkProgress

We also know that more than 50 people attended a rally to call attention to the Kochs meeting at a public park just below the gated community that housed the Ritz-Carlton resort where the Kochs met. These folks, organized by Common Cause, Progress Colorado, the state AFL-CIO, Colorado Conservation Voters, Democracy for America, MoveOn.org and others held their meeting in public — with Koch operatives filming the entire show and even a guest with an American Enterprise Institute T-shirt. I guess if you’ve got nothing to hide, then what’s the harm?

Common Blog:

"Kochs Put the Sqeeze on Cato Institue"

by, Nikki Willoughby - 3/9/12

Charles and David Koch, whose money helped bankroll the Tea Party and who’ve put tens of millions of dollars into Republican campaigns across the country, have launched an aggressive campaign to take control of the nonprofit Cato Institute. The pair appear to be attempting to secure effective ownership of the well-respected, libertarian think tank in order to advance their political agenda.

Ownership? Nonprofit? Not words that go together. Unless, of course, you’re a Koch.

Background
Charles Koch co-founded The Cato Institute (originally called The Charles Koch Foundation) more than 30 years ago with current Cato president Ed Crane. The men used a used a unique provision of Kansas law to structure the organization with shareholders: four people each own 25 percent of Cato, and there’s now a dispute over whether they can buy and sell those stakes for cash.

The four shareholders don’t receive dividends like typical, for-profit shareholders but they get something worth much more: power. Because Charles and David Koch are two of the four shareholders, they can choose half of Cato’s Board of Directors; that’s different from the typical nonprofit, in which new directors are elected by the membership or current board members.

Current Situation
When former Cato chairman William Niskanen died in October, his widow Kathryn Washburn inherited his stake in Cato. The Koch brothers contend that shares cannot be transferred to her without first being offered for purchase by the Cato board and the other shareholders. The Koch brothers want to expand their control of Cato. They currently own 25 percent each, or a total of half of Cato’s stock, and they’re suing the other two shareholders (plus the organization itself) to expand their slices of the pie.

Cato’s scholars are highly-regarded as independent thinkers, so it’s no surprise that the Institute’s current leadership opposes the Koch’s takeover attempt:

“This is an effort by the Kochs to turn the Cato Institute into some sort of auxiliary for the GOP,” Edward H. Crane, who is president of Cato, told the Washington Post this week. “What (Charles Koch) is doing now is detrimental to Cato, it’s detrimental to Koch Industries, it’s detrimental to the libertarian movement.” The article goes on to state that the Cato Institute’s leaders say that the dispute is “threatening the institute’s identity and independence” because of a “long-simmering feud over efforts by Mr. Koch and his brother David Koch to install their own people on the institute’s 16-member board and to establish a more direct pipeline between Cato and the family’s Republican political outlets.”

Our Action
Common Cause and Cato occasionally disagree on public policy issues, but we totally agree that Cato ought to remain independent. If Cato can be bought and sold like a business, it ought not to enjoy the tax exemption that goes with its current status as a nonprofit. We’ve sent a letter to the IRS asking them to investigate whether the actions of the Kochs to take control of and manipulate the Cato Institute for political purposes expose a flaw in the Cato Institute’s structure that jeopardizes its tax exempt status

Worth Noting
The Koch brothers, like all Americans, have every right to express their political ideas and support or oppose any candidates they choose. But they have no right to expect taxpayers to subsidize their partisanship by making it tax exempt.

Charles Koch has said his aim is to “seek to elect board members and officers who will ensure that Cato becomes increasingly effective in advancing liberty while remaining dedicated to its core principles,” but the Koch lawsuit was filed in opposition to a March 1 meeting to elect those board members.

Why Koch Matters.

Common blog.....guest bloggers -By Robert Greenwald, Jesse Lava, Brave New Foundation

Charles and David Koch became national news about two years ago when a Jane Mayer exposé in the New Yorker revealed the billionaire brothers were funding “stealth attacks on the federal government,” especially the Obama administration. Since then, the evidence of the Kochs’ nefariously outsized influence on American politics has only grown: The echo chamber they fund spreads misinformation about Social Security, undermines labor rights, works to re-segregate public schools, and pushes voter ID initiatives that would deny voting rights to millions. The Kochs themselves undermine academic integrity by buying the right to appoint professors at universities. And residents of Crossett, Arkansas, are giving powerful testimony to links between a Koch chemical plant and the disproportionate number of cancer deaths in that community. Our new film, Koch Brothers Exposed, gives the dirty details on all of these stories.

But why, in the end, does it matter? Let’s say everything that we progressives say about these guys is true. Is there anything that can or should be done about two men participating in the political process?

When it comes to the kind of influence the Koch brothers wield, the answer is yes. Democracy, fundamentally, is about ensuring everyone has influence over the way their society functions. Power cannot be concentrated in a few hands; it’s supposed to be spread across everyone.

Nikki Willoughby - Common Blog

Public Campaign’s blog describes the scene:

On Thursday, April 14, 2011, the House Government Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is holding a hearing regarding state budget deficits featuring Wisconsin’s controversial Governor, Scott Walker. Gov. Walker was infamously “pranked” by a caller earlier this year who Walker thought to be David Koch.

But Gov. Walker won’t be the only one in the committee hearing with a Koch connection. In fact, 14 members of the committee have received campaign contributions from Koch Industries’ PAC. In addition, three other people testifying in front of the committee have benefited from Koch funding or have attended private retreats with the Kochs.

The Koch Industries PAC contributed $111,500 to members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in recent years.

Who else will be there? Some folks with a different perspective? Nope:

Committee hearing witnesses include proponents of anti-worker policies and privatization who also happen to be beneficiaries of financing by Charles and David Koch.

Not done yet..........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV6R1TkcSts&feature=endscreen&NR=1

Koch Bros, ALEC, Norquist, Thomas and Scalia its been a power grab for years. I forgot Rove.

is lawerence odonell only self proclaimed socialist on msnbc s payroll ? or are there several ? just asking . also are there any communist on msnbc s payroll too ?

I might think Ed Schultz lost all respect and credability because he never brings on anyone that has a different opinion. The Koch Bros are allowed to have any meeting they want. They are private citizens. Also I have never heard out of his mouth the words George Soros who obvisouly is bank rolling the left. As for republicans being racists and liars look in the mirror before you are critical of others. Just think of saying I respectfully disagree.

According to the Koch Family Foundations and Philanthropy website, "the foundations and the individual giving of Koch family members" have financially supported organizations "fostering entrepreneurship, education, human services, at-risk youth, arts and culture, and medical research." ^[5]

^{Ed Shultz should research and see what good these people do before throwing stones. The war on the rich, republicans and the Tea Party needs to stop. What don't you have a positive show without one negative story for a change. Our president can't lead and govern very well but I still like him and hope we all get get out of this mess with positive solutions. Ed say what you think we should be doing and run for office to make a change.}

Defend Koch& all you want. Their deeds speak louder than yours, and theirs is indefensible. Admiration for plutocrats is a desire for dictators. They are bent on running this country. If, they are allowed to continue with their nefarious actions, you will have no say in how this country is run. Hope you can be happy with your decision.

I'll bet Ed either did not know this, or refused to mention it :

In 2007, he contributed $100 million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to help fund the construction of a new 350,000-square-foot (33,000 m²) research and technology facility to serve as the home of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.^[20]

• Koch contributed $20 million to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. The building he financed was named the David H. Koch Cancer Research Building.^[21]
• Koch contributed $30 million to the Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center in New York^[22]
• Koch contributed $25 million to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to establish the David Koch Center for Applied Research in Genitourinary Cancers^[23]
• Koch contributed $15 million to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center^[24]
• Koch contributed $5 million to the House Ear Institute, in Los Angeles, to create a center for hearing restoration^[18]
• Koch contributed $25 million to the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City^[25]

Let's see, Koch supports Gay marriage, and he was against the IRaq war. Why all the venomn from the left ?

He believes in free markets, ooops, now I get it. He is on record as saying Obama is a socialist who's policies are anti business. What is wrong with those comments ? Except for myself and the occasional conservative who ventures on this blog, why does anyone here or Ed resent being called a socialist ?