Comments on: Dark Money by Jane Mayer

By: Jerry Sonenblick

Jerry Sonenblick — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 23:00:03 +0000

Inspired by Jane Mayer’s Dark Money, I have written a political literary fiction novel, which maintains the essence of Mayer’s message, goes forth with possible repercussions to society in a plot of political intrigue.. Might you be interested in a book review? The book is presently unpublished in manuscript form.

By: #Occupy #Politics Visibly with #Indivisible – Greg Laden's Blog

#Occupy #Politics Visibly with #Indivisible – Greg Laden's Blog — Fri, 07 Apr 2017 13:38:29 +0000

[…] Jane Mayer’s Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right is a very well researched and engagingly written expose of how that baked-in money works, and thus, how our government actually works. It is also a must read. (My review is here.) […]

By: Who Won The Iowa Caucus 2016? (Final) – Greg Laden's Blog

Who Won The Iowa Caucus 2016? (Final) – Greg Laden's Blog — Tue, 02 Feb 2016 18:43:00 +0000

[…] See: Dark Money by Jane Mayer […]

By: Lessons from the Iowa Caucus – Greg Laden's Blog

Lessons from the Iowa Caucus – Greg Laden's Blog — Tue, 02 Feb 2016 18:42:32 +0000

[…] See: Dark Money by Jane Mayer […]

By: JDK

JDK — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 18:35:03 +0000

It never fails to amaze me how people can be tricked/manipulated into voting for policies that don’t make any sense for them. There are many places in the world that have a variety of policy alternatives that could be applied domestically or at least considered and contrasted. So the electorate needs to be informed and engaged meaningfully.
There are millions more votes than just the mega-billionaires and they don’t stand a chance if the populace ever wakes up. I fear it will take things getting a lot worse before it gets better.

By: cosmicomics

cosmicomics — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 13:18:56 +0000

Jane Mayer’s account of the lengths to which the Kochs go to intimidate their critics, and more:

http://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/episode-14-the-koch-brothers-the-ninth-planet-and-an-undefeated-female-boxer/?popout=true
(starts around 1:50)

By: cosmicomics

cosmicomics — Sat, 23 Jan 2016 13:46:34 +0000

This is Mayer’s most recent Koch article:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/01/25/new-koch

A previous article on the brothers’ background, beliefs, and network:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/08/30/covert-operations

A related article on the Republican takeover of state governments, exemplified by Art Pope’s role in North Carolina.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/10/10/state-for-sale

By: cosmicomics

cosmicomics — Sat, 23 Jan 2016 13:45:09 +0000

Oops:
“It was to a great extent lead by…”
…led by…

By: cosmicomics

cosmicomics — Sat, 23 Jan 2016 13:10:16 +0000

SN raises an interesting point, but his/her time frame is a bit off. The American Revolution was a radical leftist act of insubordination and insurrection. It was to a great extent lead by propertied gentlemen (some of whom were slave owners), the equivalent of today’s billionaires. As this is the case, there is only one responsible course of action. The United States must return to conservative principles, apologize for its insurrection, renounce its independence, and place itself at the mercy of the British Crown.

Thanks to SN for reminding us about America’s deplorable origins.

By: Obstreperous Applesauce

Obstreperous Applesauce — Sat, 23 Jan 2016 13:08:08 +0000

Only the […blah, context free, blah, whiney, blah, bitter sarcasm, blah, blah, poor comprehension, blah…] are allowed to try to change conversations and argue for people to vote differently.

From the NPR interview:

MAYER: You know, I think that the huge donor issue is a bipartisan, or if you want to say it, nonpartisan issue. I think most Americans really don’t like the idea that 400 of the richest people in the country are going to pick the next leaders no matter what their point of view is. The story now is the money on the far right. That’s where most of it is collected, and it’s in the hands of the Koch network because they’ve built something that, as they tell their own donors, is unique. It’s not just campaign money. It’s a full-service operation. It’s a pipeline that runs from universities and colleges, where they recruit kids. They’ve got programs now in somewhere between 200 and 300 universities and colleges. It goes from there to state think tanks in every state in America. It’s Koch Industries itself, which is a tremendous company with $115 billion of revenues which lobbies members of Congress to push its point of view. And then it’s all these dark money organizations. So they all kind of working in concert and create a phenomenal machine.
http://www.npr.org/2016/01/19/463551038/dark-money-delves-into-how-koch-brothers-donations-push-their-political-agenda