Image adapted from the International Forum on Globalization’s Kochtopus: Mapping the Influence of Koch Cash. |
Last month, Rolling Stone released a
very thorough and detailed expose of Koch Industries, revealing the dirty truth behind
the brothers vast fortune. As the second largest private
company in the world according to Forbes magazine, Koch Industries has fueled
the vast money machine which currently threatens our democracy.
They pollute without worry, knowing that any fine or penalty
will never be larger than the money they’ve made by poisoning the environment.
How do they know that? Because they bribe
politicians to make sure of that.
Apparently the Koch brothers do
actually have feelings, as they were hurt by the Rolling Stone’s less than
genteel coverage. The Koch Industries response attempted to attack not the
article, but the reporter himself, Tim Dickenson, and proclaimed the entire
article as a “hit piece” with the implication that he was out to attack the white knights of the Koch brothers.
Even more amusing was the veiled
accusation that the piece was supplied documents by David Brock, an implication
which was not anywhere in the article itself. Anything from reframing a
question about the legal trouble that Koch Industries has had over pollution
violations, to blanket ignoring of questions over the companies previous
flirtation with quantitative trading, the entire response reads like a clear
attempt to ignore a reporter’s questions. And then they were incensed that
“their side” was not covered in the Rolling Stone article? The lady doth
protest too much, methinks.
By purposefully ignoring the
reporters questions, Koch Industries left it up to their detractors to create
the framework of the article. Koch’s veil of secrecy has created an environment
where they cannot control the narrative, and they have to turn to veiled threats against media personalities which dare report on them.
And they wonder why they’re looked
at as oligarchs?
By refusing to answer Mr.
Dickenson’s questions, they rejected any influence over the article’s content.
Now they are upset that they had no say over the article’s content. They have
nobody to blame but themselves. They have a horrid record, and have presented
themselves as nothing but petty kings seeking a remedy for their past
transgressions by burying them, and preventing future ones by buying it.
Nathaniel Downes is the a native of New Hampshire, now living in
Seattle Washington developing the next-generation superpowered MMORPG, City
of Titans. Feel
free to follow Nathaniel Downes on Facebook or Google Plus.He has just released his first book, available in Hardcover, Paperback, and Kindle.