Among the billions of stars in ours and surrounding galaxies, very few have the potential for intelligent life. When you think big picture, I mean really big picture on that kind of scale, we have to be so grateful that we have a planet that can support us. What lives here on earth is far more precious than we realize day to day, yet it's in human nature to take it for granted sometimes.
But what puts it all in peril is inhuman nature, the lust of greed so vast and resources so entrenched that a few individuals have the power to threaten our future for their own gain. And the Koch brothers, Charles and David, are at the top of that sociopathic pyramid.
The Koch brothers are not job creators, they are PLANET KILLERS. They are the essence of what the destruction of humanity will look like. They each have tens of billions in personal assets, yet they want to tip the scales further in their favor through lobbying in DC, in state legislation through ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council), and monopoly capitalism. They manipulate public opinion through support of right-wing think tanks and superPACs, issuing talking points to media talking heads, and through commandeering the tea party.
They are Republo-fascists, looking to reshape America to a land where giant corporations hold all the power, and the middle class withers into subservience and despair. And their newest weapons in the propaganda wars are to buy the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the rest of the holdings of the Tribune Company. In total there will be 15 newspapers and 24 terrestrial TV stations in play.
You can read up on some of the details at:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
So back to the big, big picture. Just what can the Koch brothers do to imperil our lives, our species, our planet?
For starters, the Koch brothers are one of the largest cogs in a political machine that promotes the Republo-fascist agenda through disinformation, legislative control, religious inflexibility, and corporate power. Insanely deep pockets and a well-orchestrated long-term plan are what the Koch brothers bring to the mix, and that's why they are so pivotal in where this political machine turns.
The propaganda this machine pumps out refuting global climate change is forcing us past the point of no return by delaying an all-encompassing American response to the threat. On the political front, this machine stands for bulldozing individual rights for the benefit of corporate rights by limiting oversight and individual claims for damages, as well as silencing whistleblowers.
But what perhaps is scariest is how successful those at the controls of this machine are at presenting a patriotic facade to push Americans towards voting against their best interests. Buzz words crafted by Karl Rove and Frank Luntz have blinded these conservatives from the truth, tying this lemming-like behavior to personal pride. And even more devious is the messaging that tilts Christianity towards their goals and away from Live and Let Live.
Why is it that evangelical Christians in the public eye rally for the unborn but turn their backs on the newborn? This is because of the logic disconnect that the Koch brothers and their ilk have fostered in their underground effort to turn conservatism into CORPservatism. Wouldn't people that care so much for a fetus extend at least a portion of that devotion into the actual infant? Wouldn't making sure this new child has decent healthcare, good schools, and a solvent family be the best way to give it a fighting chance? If a life is precious, shouldn't it be treated as such outside the womb?
There are plenty of examples of how the CORPservative agenda has reshaped the conservative mindset. A classic example is how the Affordable Care Act, labelled derogatorily as Obamacare, has been framed as taking away the right to choose one's own doctors and healthcare providers. Not only are these factors wrong, the right wing has made this the only talking point and tied it into patriotism. So all the benefits, such as no more denials of healthcare for those with pre-existing conditions, never rise to the surface of the conservative mind.
That mind has also been trained to ignore hypocrisy, and even recent history. There are dozens of cases where the talking points applied to George W. Bush are turned on their heads for President Obama, or visa versa. The most obvious is over the debt crisis. The debt ballooned under Bush through two wars paid for off the books, the refusal to allow Medicare to bargain with drug companies, and huge tax breaks for the wealthy. The uninformed conservatives now cry out for debt reduction as if this was a problem that just popped up after Obama took office.
Thankfully, the CORPservatives in power who refuse to raise taxes on the rich are clearly working against public opinion, and that may be their downfall eventually. But avoiding new sources of revenue gives these CORPservatives a chance to inflict austerity on individuals, cities, and states. The true goal of this brand of austerity is to break unions, cripple cities that largely vote Democratic, and allow the Wal-Marts of the world to wipe out main street. And austerity will of course be used as a tool to make Americans hate their government more, which morphs into the rallying cry to allow deregulation.
That is the cycle that the Koch brothers hope to produce. And what are the long-term effects of this doctrine? After the oceans rise five or six feet, people around the coasts will be forced inland. Transportation arteries will be severed. Droughts will cripple the food supply. Under GOP control, states will languish, police will be ineffective, and anarchy will start to infest cities and the mindset of distraught Americans. The economy will tank as never before, and the iPod era in America will be over. We'll have other things to think about than Kardashians. Expect famine, except for the 1%, to be rampant. Only then will we see if there are any regrets from the Koch brothers and other corporate titans. They won't have anyone to buy any of their products.
What's weird about the GOP/corporate propaganda machine is that it only is set to work in black and white, the far right absolutes, rather than employing the efficiency found in the shades of gray. Part of this is the necessity of the CORPservative mindset which sees any form of cooperation or negotiation as weakness.
We must hope that a tipping point will be reached across America. It could come from people realizing the differentiation -- and the motivation -- between conservatism and CORPservatism. It could come from the pile of GOP lies finally getting too tall and toppling over. And it could come from people just looking at the difference between how bad things are under Republican power compared to how much easier their lives can be when schools, police, fire, and state governments are properly funded which is the Democratic path.
Lastly, let's look at that mindset that the Koch brothers and the rest of those in the sociopathic pyramid adhere to. It's Ayn Rand gone wild. It's take as much as you can while you can, then ditch the carcass. And that has been the goal of the Republican Party and all their corporate bedfellows. When the top 1% of Americans own more than 35% of all wealth, the tactics that began with Reagan have brought about income disparity that would make a Rockefeller blush. The bottom 40% collectively hold just .2% of America's wealth.
Reaganomics fueled this huge gap by lowering the top tax rate from 74% to 28%. The Bush tax cuts dropped this top tier from 39.6% to 36%, and capital gains to 15%. Look at the damage that caused to our debt and income disparity, and think how much worse things could be with Ryan Budget 3. Clearly, Ryan is the riding front and center in the 1% Privilege Posse.
According to him, and of course the Koch brothers, tax breaks for the rich will be the answer to our prayers. Maybe theirs, but definitely not ours. This latest attempt at strafing the middle class for the benefit of the rich again eposes the mantra of the CORPservatives dominating the GOP. Why can't Americans of any stripes see this for what it is? Again, the answer points towards the Koch brothers.
At the root of it all, is the goal that must be a toast shared in boardrooms, GOP caucuses in DC, and Bohemian Grove: Move all the money to us!