2,000 Protesters March On Koch Industries’ D.C. Office

[TomCADem]

Source: Think Progress

Though they don’t want you to know about it, the billionaire Koch brothers are bankrolling a massive campaign to roll back progressive achievements, and today, labor, civil rights, and climate activists turned out at dozens of rallies across the country to demonstrate against the Koch’s secretive influence in American politics and to stand up for labor and civil rights.

In Washington, D.C. today an estimated 2,000 protesters marched on Koch Industries’ Washington D.C. offices and attempted to give Charles and David Koch an invitation to come out and speak with the protesters. Not surprisingly, the building’s doors were locked and no one was allowed inside. However, a representative from the real estate company which managed the building told an handful of organizers who attempted to deliver the invitation, “I’d be here with you guys if I wasn’t working right now.” Noting that he works for the building, not Koch, he said, “I don’t want to be here.”

The events were scheduled for today because it marks the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, TN. King traveled to Memphis to support a strike by the city’s sanitation workers, and was an ardent supporter of workers’ rights. Dr. Earl D. Trent Jr., the senior pastor at the Florida Avenue Baptist Church in Washington, told ThinkProgress that if King “were alive today, he would be right here at the forefront, no doubt.” “And that’s why we have to carry this out.”

* * *

Last Thursday, tea party activists rallied on Capitol Hill to pressure Republican lawmakers to cut government spending. Crowd estimates ranged from “dozens” to “fewer than 200,” yet the event attracted dozens of reporters and significant media interest, producing hundreds of stories in local and national press. At today’s rally, which was ten times bigger than the tea party one, ThinkProgress spotted three reporters — none from mainstream publications.



Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/2011/04/04/2000-protesters-march-on-koch-industries-d-c-office/

---

Corporate media is the force multiplier. It can take one gullible Tea Partier and given him or her more publicity than one hundred union members and liberal activists.

[rocktivity]

1. Just Googled "protest koch brothers"

Did the left blow its cover on the war on the Kochs?
‎Washington Post (blog) - Jennifer Rubin - Mar 28, 2011
the war on the Koch brothers is backfiring. The last few days suggest it is. ... Participating in the protest and surrounding events were a handful of other ...
The Koch Brothers and the Paranoid Style in Liberal Politics‎ - Big Government
Billionaire self-pity and the Koch brothers‎ - Salon
In Praise of the Kochs‎ - Slate Magazine (blog)
all 20 news articles »

Note the date...


:eyes:
rocktivity

[tsuki]

4. I looked at the address of the articles on "protest the Koch Brothers".

Not one network or cable news organization. Most were blogs, and one LA Times article.

Rupert Roo's TV News
Free Speech with a corporate Muse.

[kag]

7. Which is why...

I get all of my real news from DU.

[valerief]

14. + a gazillion!

[think]

48. I get most of my news here

and appreciate the the quality of the discussion here immensely...

[freshwest]

50. Welcome to DU!

[rpannier]

2. When they're ready to burn the HQ down let me know

I'll bring the wood and lighters

[russspeakeasy]

18. Using coal would be a nice touch.

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[KansDem]

28. "Char-koch briquettes"

...would be a nice touch! :D

[JackInGreen]

30. I've often wondered

there's justifiable homicide for people, why not for corperations?

[freshwest]

49. It's called revoking their charters to operate and we used to do it, until they became monopolies.

Now the government is afraid to shut down these 'too big to fails' for fear of the effect of thousands of other things. It is a valid concern because their actions affect millions.

We are doing almost nothing to enforce the New Deal laws against monopolies, which would have broke these crooks backs years ago and given more opportunities to others and less corruption in politics. We need to get back to doing it or we'll never rein this in.

But doesn't it feel good to see their game exposed. It may take the blinders off the people and install a spine in some representatives.

[JackInGreen]

61. I think that sounds

more like apprehension, conviction, and sentencing, which would be fantastic if we could get our hands on them, I'm referring to something more a matter of 'he was in my house and had a gun pointed at me, your honor'.

[ProudDad]

3. Move Your Money

http://moveyourmoneyproject.org/

[CBHagman]

6. Thanks for the link, ProudDad!

Especially since the big fish have been eating the little fish even more than usual.

[pscot]

21. Empower yourself

Move your money to a credit union.

[Mitchs Mule]

5. Be Empowered !!!

" .... we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, as 'right-to-work.' It provides no 'rights' and no 'works.' Its purpose is to DESTROY THE LABOR UNIONS and the FREEDOM OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING...

WE DEMAND THIS FRAUD BE STOPPED !!! ”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

[PatSeg]

10. "Right-to-work"

Translation: Right to underpay, overwork, and terminate at any time for any reason.

[theHandpuppet]

26. Exactly!

Couldn't have said it any better.

[PatSeg]

34. Thanks

It is right up there with "Clear Skies Act" and "Healthy Forests Initiative". If they weren't so scary, they'd be hysterically funny.

[plumbob]

41. Also called "right to work cheaply"

by my old granddad, who was an organizer for the IWW.

[socialist_n_TN]

46. I'll add my welcome too. And props to old grandad..........

The Wobblies are one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE labor unions. Unabashedly militant! We need a hell of a lot more of that nowdays.

[plumbob]

58. Thanks! Great to be here!

:hi:

[freshwest]

51. Wow, welcome to DU. Glad to 'meet' you.

:fistbump:

[plumbob]

59. Glad to meet you and thanks for the warm welcome!

:hi:

[eowyn_of_rohan]

27. +1

and Welcome!

[KurtNYC]

8. great stuff

Not sure how to read the bolded section about how Tea Party events get MSM coverage. It seems to deny that the Tea Party and the MSM are 2 halves of a whole. The MSM is not "attracted" to TP events -- it's job is to amplify them.

A protest of the Kochs is automatically blacklisted by the MSM. Therefore the goal of a protest should not be to attract MSM coverage because that won't happen.

[xchrom]

9. recommend

[Corruption Winz]

11. In republicans minds, MLK is a socialist pig. n/t

[freshwest]

52. The quality of their minds compared to his is like something you scrape off your shoe.

Welcome to DU.

[titaniumsalute]

12. That means 10,000 need to show up to protest Kochs

That's the point. The media WILL pay attention if they have something to pay attention to.

[bongbong]

20. 10,000?

There would be no coverage with 10,000. You'd need many millions and millions - and then the framing would be "millions of lazy bums out on streets looking for handouts"

[freshwest]

53. They managed to ignore that many during the Bush years. They're paid to see nothing, so you can't.

It will require more local victories.

[No Elephants]

13. YES!

[L. Coyote]

15. Money is power, and the powerful know that too well, so they hoard it.

Corporate media is just one expression of the power of money.

Those who have little power/money can still have an impact by using their money/power discriminately. Wal-Mart bankrolls the far right with their Obama tax cuts, but they depend on spending. Boycotting Wal-Mart is the ultimate democratic use of one's money/power. So it is with every dollar spent, discrimination in who receives one's money when possible is power, and the sum of the people with little power/money each is immense. Wal-Mart will crumble if only the right-wing radical christians shop there.

[Doc Martin]

16. Stop Buying Dixie Cups and Vanity Fair napkins

And other products of Georgia Pacific...

[defendandprotect]

33. CHARMIN is one of their best sellers --

[Doremus]

47. I don't see Charmin on the list.

I see Quilted Northern but not Charmin. Do you have a different list you can provide? Thanks.

[defendandprotect]

54. Thought I saw it on the original list -- I'll try to check ...

reason, I'm mention it is because it's what we use --

and think we need some recommendations for substitute/alternate products

to replace these --

though think all of these companies are monopolies now -- with shrinking products!!!

:evilgrin:

[defendandprotect]

57. APOLOGIES ... Charmin isn't one of their products as far as I can see...

But I have made some changes I like --

no more disposable cups -- went to juice glasses --

and found a way to eliminate plastic bags in bathroom garbage --

If you regularly get a large newspaper -- just separate a double sheet --

and then put one sheet in one way, and the other sheet in the other way and it

works great!

Keeps can clean -- and easy to empty. No cost.

Haven't figured out yet how to get rid of the large plastic bags in kitchen garbage???

Any ideas?

:) :hi:

[CBHagman]

38. Here's a product list.

http://www.boycottkochbrothers.com/#


Koch Products & Companies Include:
- Angel Soft
- Angel Soft Ultra
- Brawny paper towels
- Dixie cups (& napkins & plates)
- Insulair cups
- Perfect Touch cups, paper products
- Quilted Northern
- Sparkle paper towels
- Stainmaster
- Vanity Fair napkins & paper towels
- Mardis Gras napkins
- Zee Napkins
- Georgia Pacific products

Home/Office papers:
- Advantage
- Image Plus
- Spectrum

Other:
- Stainmaster
- Lycra
- Teflon


Building supplies:
- Georgia Pacific

[Uncle Joe]

17. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, TomCADem.

[caseymoz]

19. Why would there be more than a handful fo tea partiers.

We know Tea Party events are 95 percent astroturf, that Glen Beck basically kicked it off, that Fox promotes it and that the Koch Brothers bankroll it. I thought it was interesting how the Tea Party more or less went into hiding after the first weekend or the Madison WI protests. I believe they were so badly outnumbered that calling for further protests would have blown supporter's illusion that it was a majority movement.

[defendandprotect]

35. Everything on the right was bought and paid for ... from Christian Coalition ...

which was given start-up funding by the GOP in 1980's to Dobson's group which was

financed by Richard Scaife -- and Bauer's group by other right wing wealthy.


NRA was radicalized by the GOP -- and used to TARGET not only liberal and moderate

Democrats, but liberal and moderate Repugs, as well!! That's how they have allegedly

moved the nation to the right -- except when you take a closer look it's a HOLLYWOOD

SOUND STAGE -- and we need to break thru it!!


Pro-Life murderers ... !! Who financed that -- they were going to Methadone clinics

and paying people to protest outside of abortion clinics. Who's responsible for the

bombings and funding them except the right wing militias -- white-supremacist groups.

This has long been known/investigated by women's organizations, but Supreme Court

refused to apply RICO to these organized attacks on reproductive freedom --

and murder of Doctors!


GOPs/Christian Coalition

GOPs/NRA

GOPs/Pro-life murderers

GOPs/T-Baggers financed by Koch and run out of a PR firm --

and Koch Bros./DLC which the Democratic Party harbored for two decades -- !!

[Peacetrain]

22. I know they are.. and trying to get that through to people is like skating on molasses

They just do not hear you.. and the media is part of the problem.

[The Wizard]

23. The media will pay attention

when the Kochs are hauled onto the public square and tacked to crosses. Hey, Easter is right around the corner.

[plumbob]

42. Yes, there were two thieves there.

Let's hear it for authentic re-enactments!

[MadAsHellInAmerica]

24. Fantastic!

A great poke in the eye!

[RedCloud]

29. Our planet gets worse with Koch after Koch after Koch.

[defendandprotect]

39. Bravo -- k/r --

:applause:

[DainBramaged]

31. “dozens” to “fewer than 200,” yet the event attracted dozens of reporters and significant media

interest.


Fucking media should be on trial for collusion or treason or just plain criminal conspiracy.

[defendandprotect]

32. Democxratic Party harbored the KOCH FUNDED DLC .....keep that in mind!!

The Rightwing Koch Bros. Funded the DLC --

http://www.democrats.com/node/7789

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x498414

If you knew about this, why didn't you tell us?

If you didn't know, pass it along --

:)

[TomCADem]

60. The DLC No Longer Exists - The Protestors Were Not Protesting Democrats

The DLC has become the boogie man of corporate sock puppets to generate attacks on Democrats from the "left." If this story actually involved the DLC, I can understand the reference.

[tcaudilllg]

36. At last, they have experienced fear.

They won't be the same after this. Good show, people, and kudos to whomever organized it.

[lovuian]

37. AWESOME

:kick:

[Fire1]

40. Two of the most disgusting people in this country. UGH!!! n/t

[louslobbs]

43. Let them keep up their traitorous destruction of America and it will be 2million next time

Mainstream news orgs. are bought and paid for by the Republicon/Wrongwing pigs that don't want real information shared with We the People, just their propaganda and fake, trumped up videos to push their views on this country. No sale here repigs. I read, research and look for the truth as you try to manipulate and divide this nation. The Union Busting try, energized a movement that you are now fearing.........and you should. I just want to thank you again for overreaching. Without your continuously extreme views and rhetoric, this may never have occurred. The gullible are becoming fewer and fewer as the newly awakened are looking more and more for the truth. So, keep up the good work. Who da Thunk the thugs would have done so much for a worthy cause, helping the Democrats to take back the country for "real" Americans.

Lou

[Bill USA]

44. recommended!

[beac]

45. K&R! n/t

[onehandle]

55. Where do they live? March there. nt

[liberal life]

56. love this

:applause:


http://fucorporatemedia.com/