Letter: Koch threat

To the editor:

Dolph Simons claims Democrats are unfairly attacking the “reclusive” billionaire Koch brothers. Like Mr. Simons, Tim Phillips, the president of Americans for Prosperity, says “95 percent of Americans have never heard of” the Kochs, so Democrats are wasting their time.

David and Charles Koch hide behind their Americans for Prosperity curtain. These pseudo-wizards of fat profits are not content with buying Kansas politicians anymore. The public needs to know that these shadowy manipulators have already spent more than $30 million on mudslinging false ads all across the country aimed at winning back control of the Senate by any means necessary.

The Kochs, with a combined worth of over $100 billion, closed a chemical factory they own on Cape Fear River in North Carolina. They are among the worst polluters in that state. Flint Hills Resources is closing its refinery in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Republican governor is suing Koch Industries for failing to clean up that severely polluted site.    

Some conservatives want to believe God has shined his blessing on these Kansas brothers. They equate knowing how to squeeze profit with “wisdom” that will transform America into the Wonderful Land of Oz, a fantasy filled with real dangers.

Pay no attention to the poisons they dump into our rivers or the people whose jobs they cut to maximize profits or to the politicians they buy to insure that environmental regulations are stripped and workers rights are gutted. Unfortunately, thanks to Supreme Court conservatives, this Koch threat is set to explode.