The Koch Brothers have a plan for Recruiting Students for the Tea Party
By louisehartmann
Students at public universities are screwed. Earlier this week it was revealed that American oligarch Charles Koch – one of the billionaire Koch brothers – has a deal with Florida State University where he can handpick right-wing professors for the universities Economics Department in exchange for a heft cash donation to the school. Investigative reporter Lee Fang is now reporting that this story only scratches the surface of what the Kochs are up to as far as polluting universities with their far-right ideology.
At George Mason University – Clemson – West Virginia – Brown – Troy – and Utah State – the Kochs have thrown million’s of dollars into the curriculums to ensure professors are hired who will promote deregulation and friendly oil policies – basically policies that help the Koch’s profits. At some schools – students are even forced to read books that the Kochs have written. I guess this is the new strategy of these oligarchs – why spent millions kicking off the Tea Party movement.
Why try to get older people on board when you can buy professors to convince kids right out of college to put on the tri-corner hat.
Comments
#2
I have never enjoyed grade school and high school. I have enjoyed both undergraduate and graduate work in college. College opened the mind to ideas. Courses in anthropology, philosophy, and the humanities were not part of my major disciplines; they were electives and they gave me new and valuable ideas They also expanded my thought processes. I did not have college professors who were bought out by the Koch brothers. The Koch brothers and their money are enhancing the dummying down of America. Americans will come out of college as dummies. Their minds will be contaminated with garbage and nonsense.
#3
The Anti-Christ is programming Americans to be robots and goosestepping our population into a natural hell.
Do you recall the spewing from conservative crazies that college professors are liberal? The college professors that I had gave me the freedom to think and expand my mind and thought processes. Today, the conservative crazy college professors want to program robots in their thought processes.
#4
There are lots of unsavoury groups stalking our campuses from religious fundamentalism, hate groups to astro turf movements.The Kochs and the Waltons are a real example of why some folks have too much money.The former have too many homes and waste too much money on propaganda whilst the latter wasted $188 million on an 8 lane undergrond bunker.Me-I can't even afford enough to buy all of my own food anymore-they should just give us all cyanide capsules so we can end our useless, miserable unproductive lives.
#5
Politically run education gets you these kinds of results and it is only going to get worse.
#6
Do I think they should be able to do this? Of course NOT. I am appalled about what's happening in this country. I have no respect for these people and am sick and tired of millionaires, billionaires and huge corporations taking over this country. It's being destroyed. I only wish I knew what to do about it. I'm hoping Dr. Batra is correct that there will be a "new golden age". Probably not in my lifetime -- I am 67.
#7
I'm shocked that these Universities would take the money under such an agreement. It's wrong, wrong and double wrong. Ridiculous especially when it's a PUBLIC University. If the Koch Brothers want to control someone's mind, let 'em open their own schools and see how many shallow-minded student they attract.
#8
It's not just the Kochs. John Allison, retired BB&T bank executive, is giving $2 million grants to any school that will make students read "Atlas Shrugged." He was on CNBC today, but unfortunately it was Joe Kernan handling the segment, and it didn't occur to him to ask Allison if selfishness is a virtue, the masses are parasitical or if altruism is some kind of vice, but it was pretty plain the guy doesn't appreciate the concept of social responsibility.
#9
I have been proctoring high school AP exams for the past couple of weeks and happened to thumb through one of the standard US History AP practice guides. The glossary of terms included "Conservative": one who believes in low taxes, small government and more responsibility. "Liberal": One who believes in high taxes, small military, and government intervention.
#10
So absolutely true! It makes me think of the 50s when we saw video of classrooms in Communist Russia where the children were being indoctrinated right from the beginning. What a great way to produce followers. But what will happen when this country needs leaders? There won't be a soul who can think for him/herself. What a sad day. Unfortunately, it seems that we are halfway there already. But that's what the far right wants. Do as they say and do not think!
#11
".....think of the 50s when we saw video of classrooms in Communist Russia where the children were being indoctrinated right from the beginning."
"I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the United States of America. And to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation, UNDER GOD????, etc. etc." Indoctrination alright...right here at home! That UNDER GOD comes during the right wing virulent anti communist era of McCarthyism. The ruling class had us all under their thumbs then as well as they do today....or perhaps, even worse. Oh, and that GOD was a capitalist one, of course.
#12
We are infested with Koch-roaches...where's the RAID when you need it?
#13
We are heading to the cliffs like lemmings, it may be too late.
#14
I have long been concerned with the influence of large donors on University education. My experience handling travel and meetings has made me aware of some of the ways it works even to influencing how research is conducted and the results. But whenever I bring it up, people just don't get it. We are always into the quick fix without regard to the long term consequences. When you look at what is happening today, you can see the results. Aside from the obvious consequences of corporationsinfluencing what is taguht...and not taught we should be concerned about what our young people are learning about intellectual integrity.
#15
When it comes to addressing the value of individuals like Stephen Hemsley ( United Health Care ) and the Koch Brothers , their ability to hide their celebrity from the public presents a problem that Corporate media fails to responsibly address .
We don't know who they are until someone like Thom steps in to fill us in and after that it's up to us to do what we can to elevate their celebrity to a level more appropriate to the power they have to manipulate society.
#16
@Palindrometary, #13, I like your short but poignant comment.
The Republican Party’s DNA matches perfectly with Germany’s Nazi Party’s DNA. The Nazis infiltrated the universities with crazy college professors. The Anti-Christ is modeling herself after Nazi Germany. Now, our local police are being militarized to kill Americans who speak out in a non-violent way. We are the new Nazis. America is definitely The Anti-Christ that is seeking to ruin human souls all over our planet. The Anti-Christ has made a great start in ruining American souls first and now seeks other souls on our planet. The Anti-Christ embraces money, nuclear weaponry, and false prophets. American brains function closely like Numb Nuts. When a person has a Numb Nut brain, there is no way a person can assess and think clearly on important issues. Stupid does as stupid is. Satan’s disciples are more commonly known as KKKhristians.
#17
Here are five reasons why our taxes will rise for the working class and not for American corporations and the American rich.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/5-Reasons-Taxes-Are-Going-to-usnews-4284136243.html?x=0&.v=1
#18
The Kock Brothers - Their Daddy Built Oil Refineries for Stalin!
Now there's Pair! As stated above, these 2 are VERMIN and we need the RAID!
And the UOF need to have their collective heads examined! Take donation from Donors who then are the ones to select and approve the Professors??? Are they NUTS!
#19
I got one of the Kock brothers' books, and because I'm a basically fair guy, I gave it a thorough checkout. The results? Well, it's not the worst toilet paper that I have used in my entire life. I mean, there was that time when I was 800 miles up the Amazon river and I had to paddle my canoe over to shore to answer the call of nature, and I had been out there so long that I didn't have any supplies left, so I was "going native" when it came to that sort of activity. Anyway, I picked this big leaf that looked like it would work ok, but boy-howdy, I am here to tell you that you have not experienced pain until you have had 50 billion fire ants crawling around and chewing up that particular region of your physiology! I got religion real quick, I can tell you that. And that's not all, because... .
Wait a minute- were you talking about READING the Koch brothers' books? Yeah, right, like anyone would do that.
#20
public schools should not be allowed to propagandize education. teaching people how to continually pollute and destroy our planet for profit should be considered a crime since it adversely affects everyone living everywhere(i.e.; poison water, acid rain, poor air quality, global warming, etc...). it is a crime against humanity. greed is certainly the biggest problem with our world today. these people, the koch brothers, et al, are like one whom has a big hole in his head and never seems to be able to fill it to his satisfaction; no amount is ever enough. i'm surprized they haven't paid off our 'trusted leaders' to put this in all public school curriculum-yet.
#21
Huge corporate subsidies are actually corporate welfare. These subsidies are necessary because American transnational corporations are in poverty.
#22
Catholics speaking out against John Boner's anti-life agenda are Sacramental Moments in action.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_05/boehner_slammed_by_catholics_f029522.php
#23
We need to trust in God.
#24
You MUST see this video!
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/13/useful-dog-tricks.aspx
#25
Mitch Daniels for Indiana Governor http://www.bakerdaniels.com/aboutus/aboutus.aspx
22 Lots of Fairfield Ter. Sec. A in Fort Wayne owned in full by Clarence and Minnie Kryder were deeded to Alexander N. Pursley, Trustee in 1942. Pursley was Indiana Governor M. Clifford Townsend's personal and closest adviser. There is a break in the chain of title of these Fairfield Lots and the mortgage securities were never acccounted for.
Frank Kryder's lawyer and Minnie Kryder's estate lawyer, Thomas M. Moorhead, retired from Baker & Daniels, 2400 Fort Wayne Bank Building and is now deceased. It must make it safer for Mitch, although Walter Paul Helmke is still alive and is officially documented as knowing many details of the TRUE Frank Kryder story, though he lies about it. The last address of The Kryder Company, Inc. c/o Thomas Moorhead was 807 Fort Wayne Bank Building. The last designated meeting of the Kryder Company shareholders, Thomas Moorhead, Vice-president, Frank Kryder, dead President, was 7/1/1968 the day that KOCH FUELS consolidated.
In 1970 when Walter Paul Helmke was State Senator and William N. Salin (Secretary of State-Salin Bank) were in the State House, countless corporation files of the Indiana Secretary of State became lost, including the Kryders' Suburban Building Company of Fort Wayne Indiana, Inc., Rm 225 215 East Berry Street, the former Lincoln National Life Building, now the offfices of estate specialists Barrett & McNagny.
Evan Bayh of Baker and Daniels, as Indiana Secretary of State in 1987 allowed the entity "Far West Mortgage Company of Colorado, Inc." to be entered as a foreign corporation domiciled in Colorado to do business in Indiana. The entity however IS NOT incorporated in Colorado where no Certificate of Incorporation is on file. Therefore, the required Certificate of Incorporation stamped by the Colorado Secretary is not contained in the Indiana Secretary records for foreign corporations. The corporate entity, in other words, exists nowhere, though there are numerous "Far West" entities in California and the west which have been developing real estate since the Kryder real estate securities disappeared.
In 1989 Fort Wayne Baker & Daniels lawyer Richard Blaich convinced an elderly childless couple to leave their property under his management in a charitable trust. After the trustors were deceased, Blaich moved to One Summit Square and proceeded to dissolve it in Indiana and incorporate it in Nevada. With trust funds and through CENTEX the trustee enjoyed a luxury second home and many benefits to outfit his junkets. Finally, but only through pressure from the public, the Indiana Securities Commission joined Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita in a suit to have the trust re-domiciled in Indiana.
Although most of the mess was cleared up quickly, Blaich, in typical North American style, was found dead of suicide in his Fort Wayne garage.
The trouble with Todd Rokita is that he went on to allow Casino Aztar in Evansville to also file and use the fictitious name City of Evansville.
This replication of names is beyond confusing and against Indiana corporation law. It is the job of the Secretary of State to keep the files straight. Especially when municipalities are having problems with GHOST POSTING.
xxxxx
as legally appointed Personal Representative for the Estate of Frank H. Kryder
opened April 2, 1995 in the Superior Court of Allen County, Indiana
#26
This sounds a lot like how Milton Friedman and his Chicago School boys spread their free market ideology across Latin America in the 70's and 80's and later Iraq. It appears that they are bringing a similar strategy home to roost.
Attached is a link which is marginally related to this topic:
#27
Perhaps we should change the name Universities to Conservative Incubators
#28
Koch-roach Universities.
#29
The Koch brother's far-right madness is akin to economic bubonic plague.The recruitment of students to be the modern day version of Justinian's flea is real terror to those of us still able to connect the dots that lead to OLIGARCHICAL HELL - an economic system of Feudal like - third world proportions.
Unchecked by good representative govt., their sociopathic behavior will be the death of a Democracy already on life support. These old wheezers need to be stopped and not allowed to infect our society, let alone, higher education with the imbecility of their wreckless selfishness and greed.
2950-10k- My dictionary definition of "wreckless" a car out of control that never crashes! I'm schooled in product design and never could spell, oh well! Commenting late at night I get tired and reckless but like most of you guys still have to pry myself out of bed , first thing in the morning, and go to work, sorry!
#30
The universities should be presenting all sides of Our Issues, (with equal enthusiasim and skill). If they don't they don't deserve to be called universities. Propaganda schools would be a better term.
No. What people like the Koch's are doing is nothing but wrong.
#31
This piece incorporates hostile and misleading statements intended to PIT one group against another. Oil companies are personified as capitalistic monsters, without any concern for consumers. Many consumers are desperate, already stretched beyond their financial breaking point. This article will anger and enrage those consumers, while also providing a target for their hate: “…that American oligarch Charles Koch – one of the billionaire Koch brothers…”. An article concerned with improving conditions would have incorporated some salient facts to substantiate these alarming allegations, for example: How much money was paid? Who are the bribed administrators? What was the difference in the curriculum before and after the bribes, if any? What system was utilized to orchestrate the fraud and deliver bribes? These facts are not omitted by accident. They are omitted to enrage the left against the right. The author paints Charles Koch as an evil, billionaire oil monger, eagerly paying bribes to perpetuate a corrupt system. However, billionaires on the left are constantly being accused of the same sort of corruption, like allegations that George Sorros bribes union bosses and democrat politicians. The intent is the same; to manipulate, causing fear and anger directed at the perceived evildoers on the left or on the right. If these were the actions of children, they would be admonished to "grow up".
As long as the right and the left frighten and enrage each other, there will be no chance of any real, bipartisan progress. Currently, only billionaires at the top the food chain are benefiting and, I submit, the Kochs and Sorros' of the world like it that way,
#32
Really! Mr. Todd you need to stop sniffing Koch! Read this! The Koch brothers are vermin Facists!
http://truthout.org/koch-brothers-fueling-far-right-academic-centers-across-us/1305206069
#33
Whether to waste time addressing someone who felt it necessary to couch his or her comment with such an infantile precursor, gave reason for pause. However, it seems as though you suggested the article in good faith, so, here we go. A college, university, or anyone else, for that matter, who obtains money with unacceptable “strings” attached, bears the lion’s share of responsibility for their actions – not the one making the gift. Only very naïve individuals would believe that enormous financial contributions do not routinely incorporate unpalatable quid pro quos. The recipient, however, is always the controlling party; the one with the authority to accept, or reject, conditions triggered by their action of accepting a donation. For example, if Adolph Hitler proffered a large financial contribution to a university contingent upon the recipient promising to teach that the Holocaust never occurred, would your only criticism be of Hitler? Of course not; you would also look askance at the entity enriching itself by taking the money (and thereby agreeing to the condition). No one is forcing the universities to take the money. It seems that the real underlying problem has to do with the nature of capitalism, far more than the restrictions and conditions imposed by a benefactor. If conditions imposed by Koch require the recipient to acquiesce to anything illegal, it would be void as a violation of public policy. It seems that a challenge against the recipient, in court, seeking to void the gift as “against public policy”, would be far more effective than a weak, emotional attack, on billionaire Kochs.
#34
The Twain Report
All The News That Mark Twain Says He Would Report If He Were Alive Today
NEW YORK (Twain Report) IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn attempted to rape a chambermaid in a New York hotel on Monday. And unlike the last time he did that to a woman in a New York hotel, this woman pressed charges. Strauss-Kahn, a Frenchman, protested his innocence. The French Consul in New York and the French ambassador casually puffed on cigarettes and said, "So he raped a woman. He's a Frenchman, she enjoyed it. You must release him from jail immediately, so he can be President of France."
Police detained Strauss-Kahn while they had a dentist match the deep toothmarks on his, ah, member, to dental X-rays of the chambermaid whom he forced to perform oral sex on him. Finding a match, the police congratulated him because the chambermaid is quite attractive, commisserated with him over his nearly-chewed-off member and had medics put a bandaid on it, and then arrested him.
The IMF (International Monetary Fund) is basically the same as the world bank, in that it gives or lends billions of dollars every year to various dictators with the understanding that the dictators will steal approximately half of the money and give the rest to Bechtel, Halliburton, and the other international corporations that control the IMF, in the form of contracts for un-necessary construction projects that displace and destroy the cultures of vast numbers of indigenous people and then bankrupt the countries, which subsequently become wholely-owned serf kingdoms run by the corporations. But this new development has put a monkey wrench in the IMF's plans, as dictator after dictator has released public statements which read, "We simply cannot believe that the head of the organization that put us in power so we could rob, defraud, persecute, falsely imprison, torture, and murder with great abandon among our own people, would rape a woman. This is an outrage! Sir, henceforth you may keep your filthy bribes."
Then, of course, they said, "Hey, we were only joking. Where's the guy with our monthly bribes?"
In court, Strauss-Kahn said, "I was not attempting to flee the country when you arrested me on an airplane that was about to take off for France. The less cultured among you may not be aware that I earned my fame as a gourmand long before I became the head of the IMF, and I heard that they have cream cheese on bagels on that particular flight, which of course I could not resist, so I boarded the plane simply to obtain a bagel, at which time I was arrested by your police. I would have returned to the hotel to rape that maid again- I mean to pick up my cell phone, suitcase, and other belongings."
Bill Clinton immediately came to the defense of Strauss-Kahn, who is a close personal friend, saying, "Mr. Stauss-Kahn did not have sexual relations with that woman," and, "It depends on your definition of the phrase, "Matching toothmarks."
The chambermaid, who was interviewed outside a New York bank, said, "I have been traumatized beyond belief by that monster. Now if you will excuse me, I have to deposit the bribe I received from the man who is next in line to be head of the IMF."
Strauss-Kahn, who gained renoun when he was the French Minister of Finance by selling off French utilities and properties to corporations whose officers were personal friends of his, said, "This baseless accusation of rape is nothing less than an outrageous attempt to put me- a Frenchman- in jail where I will be forcibly prevented from drinking wine. Wine-lovers all over the world, this is your wake-up call and your call to arms! Allow them to imprison me and the next thing you know you too will be prevented from drinking wine, and I will be unable to assist you!"
When they heard Strauss-Kahn's statement, men all over France left their jobs and homes, saying, "Come on mes ami, it is our duty to treat this situation with the same patriotic fervor that we bravely exhibited during the second world war. We are off to the Maginot Line to drink wine, eat cheese, and grope women!"
In court, the prosecution said that Strauss-Kahn has been accused of raping at least one other woman. Strauss-Kahn's attorney replied, "Yes, certainly, but the only crime that was committed was when she pretended that she did not enjoy it."
News of Strauss-Kahn's arrest threw the French Socialist Party into disarray, as other Socialist leaders attempted to also get arrested for rape, saying, "Of course he is a real man, but we are real men, too!"
#35
MONSIEUR ABBOT, your essay is absolutely brilliant. Thank you for a little levity and a much-needed guffaw. If I wasn't laughing so hard at the IMF's pervert-in-chief, I'd probably be crying. Although Dom Strauss-Kahn wants to be France's next el presidente', he seems to possess all the necessary qualities to become the next Dear Leader of the United States, as well. Assuming, of course, he can produce a birth certificate establishing him as a natural born citizen.
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