The Great Orange Smoke Screen The front pages of any major news outlet, online or otherwise, are full of news of Donald Trump and the corrupt, inept-yet-frighteningly-effective cabal of criminals that make up his administration and circle of advisors. Nearly 40 people tied to him, his administration, his inauguration, and his campaign have been indicted and more are sure to […]

Long-term readers of this site probably know about the State Policy Network (SPN). This is the Koch brothers-funded network of state-based “think tanks” used to spread anti-worker, pro-corporate propaganda with the goal of changing policy and laws in states to favor businesses and to harm the positions of workers. Working with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Americans for Prosperity, […]

Last week, the Koch brothers-funded group American for Prosperity held a “Day at the Capitol” event in Lansing, Michigan where they spelled out their corporatist agenda for Michigan (you can see the agenda HERE.) Numerous Republican legislators were on the agenda: House Speaker Tom Leonard Speaker Pro Tempore Lee Chatfield House Majority Floor Leader Dan Lauwers State Representative Lana Theis […]

While stumping in Nevada last week Rand Paul once again indicated that if he becomes President he will sell off some of the national parks and public lands that are currently owned by all Americans. He tied this notion of private ownership to the nation’s development in the 1800’s when the government sale of lands in the West raised money […]

Over the past several years, I have written about how corporate front groups, largely funded by corporatists like the Koch brothers and their network of fake grassroots (“astroturf”) groups, manipulate the media to serve their corporate bottom lines. They use this network to amplify their corporate messages, disguised as “reporting” or “news”, jacking up their search engine hits, and ensuring […]

Montanans are a special breed of Americans. They are fiercely independent and, in general, quite conservative. However, one thing that most folks from Montana have no patience for is when outsiders come into their state, run down their elected officials, and try to tell them how to vote. That’s exactly what the Koch brothers corporatist front group Americans for Prosperity […]

In a recent article in The Detroit News, tea partier Todd Courser compared himself to the legendary gladiators: “We were not created by the genteel side of Republican politics,” said Courser, a 42-year-old Lapeer attorney. “We were created from the rough and tumble work of gladiators.” It’s a beautifully ironic statement given who the gladiators really were: A gladiator was […]

The Koch brothers are in the news a lot these days. Yeah, they are written about IN news stories, of course. But that’s not what I’m talking about. The Koch brothers are in the news by actually creating the news in a way that promotes their own corporatist ideology that anything that is good for private corporations is good. Period. […]

The uber-wealthy Koch brothers are no fans of organized labor. Nothing stands in the way of their massive accumulation of wealth quite like workers who want a fair wage, good benefits, and a safe work environment. By funding myriad different groups, they work diligently to stamp out workers’ rights wherever and however they can. One of the groups they fund […]

In Livingston County, one of the most conservative places in mid-Michigan, the Koch brothers’ front group Americans for Prosperity backed GOP House candidate Wendy Day, putting up billboards to support her bid for the nomination in the 47th House District Day is notorious for her time on a local school board (while she home-schooled her own kids) and for blogging […]

There’s no question that Terri Lynn Land is getting a big, wet money kiss from David and Charles Koch, the infamous “Koch brothers”. Through their corporatist front groups Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, the two billionaires have spent nearly $5 million attacking Land’s Democratic opponent Gary Peters. Some have suggested it’s payback for Peters having the […]