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Exclusive Audio: Inside the Koch Brothers' Secret Seminar

A close-up view of the oil billionaires' dark-money fundraiser and 2012 strategy session.


During his welcoming remarks, Charles Koch warned his guests that the 2012 elections are nothing short of a battle "for the life or death of this country." He then acknowledged the individuals and families who had given more than $1 million to the brothers' efforts—though he misspoke, saying "more than a billion," earning a huge laugh from the crowd. "Well, I was thinking of Obama and his billion-dollar campaign," Koch said, to more laughter and cheers. "So I thought, 'We gotta do better than that.'" (Forbes pegs the brothers' personal net worth at around $22 billion apiece.)

 

 (The complete audio and transcript of his remarks are available at The BRAD BLOG.)

 

Charles and David Koch are co-owners of Koch Industries, an energy and chemical conglomerate inherited from their father that is currently America's second-largest privately held company. To date, the brothers have spent more than $100 million supporting hard-right political campaigns and institutions. They are key funders of the movement to discredit climate science and sow doubt on the scientific consensus that human activities contribute to global warming.

 

The brothers have held their biannual seminars since at least 2003, endeavoring to keep almost everything about them a secret—not just the content but also the identities of attendees and speakers, and even the locations and dates. They've succeeded until recently. Last October, a leaked invite for the Kochs' January 2011 seminar was obtained and published by Lee Fang of ThinkProgress.org. In response, groups including Common Cause and Greenpeace organized a massive protest outside the gates of the resort near Palm Springs where the gathering was held.

 

[Hmmm…a secret conference. Lot’s of movers and shakers – important people. Sounds like the Koch brothers’ US version of the secret Bilderberg conferences.]


Several GOP governors made it to the Vail seminar in June, among them Florida's Rick Scott, Virginia's Robert McDonnell, and White House hopeful Rick Perry of Texas. News of the event slipped out after McDonnell put the trip on his weekend schedule; neither Perry nor Scott initially disclosed the trip to their constituents. A Perry spokesman acknowledged his attendance only after the Austin American-Statesman tracked the tail number of a plane belonging to one of the governor's top donors from Texas to Colorado. He described the summit as a "private gathering of business leaders."

Rest of Part 1 the article:

http://motherjones.com/politic...others-seminar-tapes

 

Part 2:

http://motherjones.com/politic...och-brothers-seminar


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Now propie, for real class warfare, nothing beats you progressives calling for the murder of tea partiers.  Although its funny that your double plus good duck speaker, the Annointed Obama, has wornout a teleprompter.

 

At FDR's first inaugeration, the army had machine gun nests covering the Mall.  At the 2013 inaugeration, I wonder what will be needed to dissuade the outraged lefties, when Obama steps down.

Originally Posted by interventor1212:

At FDR's first inaugeration, the army had machine gun nests covering the Mall. 

 

 

The Business Plot – The Corporate Conspiracy to Overthrow FDR and Create a Fascist Dictatorship in the USA [Video]

 

In 1933, group of wealthy businessmen that allegedly included the heads of Chase Bank, GM, Goodyear, Standard Oil, the DuPont family and Senator Prescott Bush tried to recruit Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler to lead a military coup against President FDR and install a fascist dictatorship in the United States.


And yes, we’re talking about the same Prescott Bush who fathered one US President and grandfathered another one.

 

Smedley Butler was both a patriot and a vocal FDR supporter. Apparently none of these criminal masterminds noticed that their prospective point man had actively stumped for FDR in 1932. 

 

Smedley spilled the beans to a congressional committee in 1934. Everyone he accused of being a conspirator vehemently denied it, and none of them were brought up on criminal charges. Still, the House McCormack-****stein Committee did at least acknowledge the existence of the conspiracy, which ended up never getting past the initial planning stages.

 

Though many of the people who had allegedly backed the Business Plot also maintained financial ties with **** Germany up through America’s entry into World War II.  In 1934, the Business Plot was publicly revealed by retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler testifying to the McCormack-****stein Congressional Committee. In his testimony, Butler claimed that a group of men had approached him as part of a plot to overthrow Roosevelt in a military coup.

 

One of the alleged plotters, Gerald MacGuire, vehemently denied any such plot. In their final report, the Congressional committee supported Butler’s allegations of the existence of the plot, but no prosecutions or further investigations followed, and the matter was mostly forgotten.

 

On July 17, 1932, thousands of World War I veterans converged on Washington, D.C., set up tent camps, and demanded immediate payment of bonuses due them according to the Adjusted Service Certificate Law of 1924. This “Bonus Army” was led by Walter W. Waters, a former Army sergeant.

The Army was encouraged by an appearance from retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler, who had considerable influence over the veterans, being one of the most popular military figures of the time. A few days after Butler’s arrival, President Herbert Hoover ordered the marchers removed, and their camps were destroyed by US Army cavalry troops under the command of General Douglas MacArthur.

 

Butler, although a self-described Republican, responded by supporting Roosevelt in that year’s election.

http://arcanumdeepsecrets.word...ip-in-the-usa-video/

To believe that the "The Business Plot" occurred one would have to believe that the rich industrialists and bankers were completely unaware of General Smedley Butler's anti-capitalist, anti-American-imperialism speeches of the early 1930s'. Also those rich dumbazzes would also be totally unaware that Butler supported FDR in 1932. 

 

Also why would a fascist force remove a fellow fascist? The New Deal was pattered after Mussolini's Italian corporatist experiment. Check the 1919 Fascist Manifesto and compare it to New Deal legislation like the National Industrial Recovery Act. For a fast read:

http://www.suite101.com/conten...d-on-fascism-a157889


Fascism? No. Socialism? Maybe probably slightly tending toward that direction.

 

All the measures instituted during the New Deal were definitely necessary, considering what a wreck the unrestrained private sector had made of the economy. It's no different than putting up stop signs at an intersection where numerous wrecks have occurred. 

 

Were there mistakes in his approach? Yes, that is to be expected from fallible human beings. But, in a testament to his perseverance, he backed up and tried it again.

 

The Second New Deal


Departing from the failed economic planning between the federal government and the private sector in the First New Deal, (NRA, AAA, TVA, and Economic Planning in the Great Depression), Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and other historians have claimed that the New Deal moved to a distinct second phase. There was the call to restore a competitive economy with social responsibilities by Judge Louis Brandeis and his followers, coupled with the influence of the economic school of John Maynard Keynes- that government deficit spending could prime the pump.

 

Emergency Relief Appropriation Act

Believing that the private sector could not provide jobs to every able-bodied individual for the indeterminate future, Franklin Roosevelt and the designers of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act thought that government should step in and supply more employment. Roosevelt wanted the projects in this act to be permanently useful, labor intensive, pay a "security wage" that was larger than the dole but less than private jobs, and not compete with the private sector.

 

Social Security

Long-term security would be addressed by the Social Security Act, passed in August of 1935. The idea of old-age insurance was nothing new, dating back to the Progressive Era. The Social Security Act established a system of old-age insurance funded by a tax on workers' wages and a tax on employers. The act also taxed employers for unemployment benefits, and it contributed to states' funds in aiding dependent mothers and children, and the disabled. 

 

Wagner National Labor Relations Act

Long-term security was also extended to labor through the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. Despite its weaknesses, the Wagner Act had a great impact. It was a factor in what Kennedy described as the "historic organizing drive that rearranged the balance of power between American capital and labor." Union membership grew from 3 million in 1933, to 8 million by 1940, about 23% of the non-agricultural workforce. Wages increased for the worker in organized industries.


Although the Second New Deal had other legislation- the Banking Act, Public Utilities Holding Companies Act, Wealth Tax Act- the Emergency Relief Appropriation, Social Security, and Wagner Acts had the biggest influence. Providing a measure of economic security to sufferers of the Great Depression, the Second New Deal also set the groundwork for the economic safety net for the following decades.

http://william-l-wunder.suite1...cond-new-deal-a94544





Interesting, Propie posts an article admitting the failure of the first New Deal (no news there).  Then, a second New Deal that included such as social security -- the beginning of the welfare state.  Social security, if modified to meet new demographic realities -- longer life span, coupled with aging population can be saved. 

 

However, much of the welfare state in Europe is failing.  Denmark cut their unemployment insurance from four to two years (Denmark's a right to work nation).  The Scandanavian states welfare is fueled by the North Sea oil production (Denmark and Norway) or oil refinery monopoly (Sweden).  Its a failed model which is bringing Europe to the brink of disaster.  Interesting to see if Greece, after abandoning the Euro will adopt the drachma, or the goat as their basic unit of exchange.  My bet's on the goat. 

Fascism? No. Socialism? Maybe probably slightly tending toward that direction.

 Fascism?  Yes! Check the model for the New Deal:

 

Translated text of the "Fascist Manifesto"

Italians! Here is the program of a genuinely Italian movement. It is revolutionary because it is anti-dogmatic, strongly innovative and against prejudice.

For the political problem: We demand:

a) Universal suffrage polled on a regional basis, with proportional representation and voting and electoral office eligibility for women.

b) A minimum age for the voting electorate of 18 years; that for the office holders at 25 years.

c) The abolition of the Senate.

d) The convocation of a National Assembly for a three-years duration, for which its primary responsibility will be to form a constitution of the State.

e) The formation of a National Council of experts for labor, for industy, for transportation, for the public health, for communications, etc. Selections to be made from the collective professionals or of tradesmen with legislative powers, and elected directly to a General Commission with ministerial powers.

For the social problems: We demand:

a) The quick enactment of a law of the State that sanctions an eight-hour workday for all workers.

b) A minimum wage.

c) The participation of workers' representatives in the functions of industry commissions.

d) To show the same confidence in the labor unions (that prove to be technically and morally worthy) as is given to industry executives or public servants.

e) The rapid and complete systemization of the railways and of all the transport industries.

f) A necessary modification of the insurance laws to invalidate the minimum retirement age; we propose to lower it from 65 to 55 years of age.

For the military problem: We demand:

a) The institution of a national militia with a short period of service for training and exclusively defensive responsibilities.

b) The nationalization of all the arms and explosives factories.

c) A national policy intended to peacefully further the Italian national culture in the world.

For the financial problem: We demand:

a) A strong progressive tax on capital that will truly expropriate a portion of all wealth.

b) The seizure of all the possessions of the religious congregations and the abolition of all the bishoprics, which constitute an enormous liability on the Nation and on the privileges of the poor.

c) The revision of all military contracts and the seizure of 85 percent of the profits therein.

http://www.conservapedia.com/Fascist_Manifesto,_1919

If one can read, one will find more than a few similarities of Fascism to the New Deal, or for that matter, the modern United States gub'mint. With the creation of Mussolini's and FDR's Third Way, there was also the creation of favored crony capitalists such as Jeffrey Immelt , Warren Buffet, or George Soros who receive generous tax code benefits to pay for the need for the righteous left to demonize rich fat-cats and pay for election campaigns.

 

To be fair,  the New Deal could have borrowed some of its policies from some earlier  notable progressives. Otto von Bismarck and the Prussian Kaisers!

Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was the first statesman in the world to start a state sponsored pension system. In 1889 he created a revolutionary system of providing pension for people who reached the age of 70, by taxing the younger people who are still in the work force. It may come as a surprise that the pension plan is such a recent invention, but then again, one should also note that the earliest examples of a ponzi scheme in literature only predate Bismarck’s reforms by 30-40 years.

The two are one and the same. A mandatory pension plan, once created, requires everyone to pay into it for the benefit of the so-called oldest investors. In order for the pension plan to work, the more people there are entering a pension plan at the age of 70, the more people there must be to pay for that persons pension. A ponzi scheme works the exact same way. Once it is created, the very first people to pay into it then begin to receive dividends on their investments. But as more people are attracted to it, the more people expect to receive their entitlements.

http://caduceusx.com/sulgnavon/?p=10

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