The Koch Brothers: They're Not Just Polluting Politics

A Hackwhackers hat tip to Charles P. Pierce for bringing to our attention this Rolling Stone article by Tim Dickinson on the far-right polluters of American democracy, Charles and David Koch.  Not surprisingly, the Koch brothers' disdain for the American public washes over into its far-flung business dealings. Here's just a taste of what Dickinson uncovers in his eminently readable piece:

The volume of Koch Industries' toxic output is staggering. According to the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Political Economy Research Institute, only three companies rank among the top 30 polluters of America's air, water and climate: ExxonMobil, American Electric Power and Koch Industries. Thanks in part to its 2005 purchase of paper-mill giant Georgia-Pacific, Koch Industries dumps more pollutants into the nation's waterways than General Electric and International Paper combined. The company ranks 13th in the nation for toxic air pollution. Koch's climate pollution, meanwhile, outpaces oil giants including Valero, Chevron and Shell. Across its businesses, Koch generates 24 million metric tons of greenhouse gases a year.

Aiming to make American democracy a wholly-owned subsidiary of Koch Industries (much as they have done in the State of Wisconsin with their office boy, Gov. Scott Walker), the Kochs have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid Party in direct candidate support as well as voter suppression activities.  If you want to get a full sense of the evil these two Birchite sociopaths are visiting on this country (and you should), read the full article.

(Image: Visual approximation of Charles and David Koch.)