Open thread for night owls: David Koch dead at 79—Gone but not forgiven
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Eoin Higgins at Common Dreams writes—After Life of Incalculable Harm, Billionaire Climate Denialist and Right-Wing Villain David Koch Dead at 79: [...] Koch was a controversial figure. His vast fortune—made in large part through fossil fuel extraction aOpen thread for night owls: David Koch dead at 79—Gone but not forgiven
Eoin Higgins at Common Dreams writes—After Life of Incalculable Harm, Billionaire Climate Denialist and Right-Wing Villain David Koch Dead at 79: [...] Koch was a controversial figure. His vast fortune—made in large part through fossil fuel extraction and manufacturing, though the company has interests in nearly everything—made him and his brother Charles two of the richest people in the world. The brothers spent at least $100 million since the 1970s promoting right-wing causes, and David ran for vice president as a member of the Libertarian Party in 1980. One of the causes Koch dumped his fortune into promoting was climate crisis denialism. By making vast sums of money from destroying the planet and then fighting against efforts to stem the flow of the crisis, tweeted Native American activist Tara Houska, Koch was a double damage denialist. «Let's not forget the massive network of oil pipelines, refineries, and fossil fuel expansion projects that David Koch was directly responsible for,» said Houska. «He funded climate deniers while he contributed to climate change, in the range of a 300 million ton carbon footprint annually.» xLetâÂÂs not forget the massive network of oil pipelines, refineries, and fossil fuel expansion projects that David Koch was directly responsible for. He funded climate deniers while he contributed to climate change, in the range of a 300M ton carbon footprint annually. https://t.co/IIfezXvMsY— tara houska (@zhaabowekwe) August 23, 2019 On Twitter, HuffPost environmental reporter Alexander Kaufman noted the irony of Koch dying as the effects of the climate crisis the billionaire activist had a large hand in perpetuating are being increasingly felt around the globe. [...] TOP COMMENTS • HIGH IMPACT STORIES QUOTATION “In most circles, the idea of economic planning has been in disrepute most of the time and, particularly in America, has almost carried connotations of intellectual and moral perversion and even political subversion.” ~~Gunnar Myrdal, Beyond the Welfare State (1960) TWEET OF THE DAY xWith the death of David Koch, Republicans are facing the terrifying prospect of having to win elections by winning elections.— Victor Laszlo (@Impolitics) August 23, 2019 BLAST FROM THE PAST At Daily Kos on this date in 2004—Dole a hypocrite: Josh Marshall applies the smackdown to Bob Dole, so I don't have to: Today Bob Dole suggested that one or more of John Kerry's Purple Hearts may have been fraudulent in some way because they were for «superficial wounds.» Dole knows better. In a 1988 campaign-trail autobiography, here's how Dole described the incident that earned him his first Purple Heart: «As we approached the enemy, there was a brief exchange of gunfire. I took a grenade in hand, pulled the pin, and tossed it in the direction of the farmhouse. It wasn't a very good pitch (remember, I was used to catching passes, not throwing them). In the darkness, the grenade must have struck a tree and bounced off. It exploded nearby, sending a sliver of metal into my leg—the sort of injury the Army patched up with Mercurochrome and a Purple Heart.» On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: No one could have predicted a Florida school guard gun training fraud. Jared & Ivanka privately appalled at their own greed, friends say. Surprise! House Dem foot dragging may mean we never see Trump’s taxes. The strange case of The Epoch Times. x Embedded Content RadioPublic|LibSyn|YouTube|Patreon|Square Cash (Share code: Send $5, get $5!) LINK TO DAILY KOS STORE Read more