By Diane Straub
The Koch Brothers have been working very hard on seeing to it that The Keystone XL Pipeline goes from NO to GO ASAP.
What is the connection between the Koch's and Keystone? What do they stand to gain? By some accounts $100 Billion dollars which would more than double their present net worth.
"The report found that the Kochs and Koch Industries hold up to 2 million acres of land in Alberta, Canada, which is the proposed starting point of the Keystone XL pipeline.
And many Koch Industries subsidiaries stand to make millions from the pipeline's construction, including Koch Exploration Canada, which would profit from oil exploration on its land, and Koch Supply and Trading, which would benefit from the trading of oil derivatives." (International Forum on Globalization Report)
So that's the why of Koch money being plastered all over Washington DC. They are already the Golden Grass of their "Grassroots" movement, The Tea Party. This "aw shucks" band of patriots and "strict Constitutionalists" are largely funded by Koch money through FreedomPartners, a Koch-affiliated organization, which has funneled $230 million to conservative groups such as the Tea Party.
Hence, when the Kochtopus pulls a string, the faithful "patriots" dance on cue. They, in turn, pressure their Tea Party and Conservative Congresspersons to vote the Koch talking points, reinforced by their very own "news" network. Follow the money trail and you will find the Armani suited leprechauns hoarding and building up their personal pot of gold.
I can hear it now. "Emotional drivel" "libtard logic" "socialist doctrine" "class warfare"...The sheep circle the shepherds to give them cover. It's hard to make such a case when the facts look like this:
"The Koch Brothers are the fossil fuel industry’s largest donors to congressmen and women who sit on the committee that oversees the Keystone XL pipeline.
In 2010 alone, the Kochs and their employees gave over $300,000 to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
At the same time, the Kochs have given more than $60 million to climate denial groups over the past 15 years." (Alternet.org)
To add to this picture, the Koch's Republican friends in Congress used the Keystone issue as leverage in the recent government shutdown. Approve the project, and they would end the shutdown and raise the debt ceiling. Pay the ransom or the hostage gets it. But, the hostages are 314 million Americans. No tactic is too extreme for these modern day Borgias, who may not use medieval methods to hurt people, but employ a reign of terror of an economic kind. People are incidental in this scheme..again, follow the money trail. But, it is $100 Billion dollars..
The Keystone Pipeline is being billed as a "job creation" and "energy" project that will benefit Americans. There is no way to predict the jobs effect but many sources purport that it will fall far short of their predictions. Also, the pipeline is being built to transport the oil to refineries in the US. This will then chiefly be exported to other countries, it will not take one penny off your pain at the pump. (Tarandsandaction.org) Every American has to decide if $100 Billion dollars in Koch pockets is worth this:
"Koch Industries is already one of the top ten polluters in the United States, pumping millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year, driving global warming and climate change.
And if the Keystone XL pipeline is finished, it will make things even worse.
Synthetic crude oil from tar sands generates three times the pollution of regular crude oil production, and is extremely poisonous. If there were ever a leak from the pipeline, the environmental and human damages would be horrific." (Alternet.org)
http://www.alternet.org/economy/kochs-brazen-buyout-our-democracy-right-there-worst-oligarchs-american-history?paging=off¤t_page=1#bookmark
http://tarsandsaction.org/spread-the-word/key-facts-keystone-xl/
