"If not us, who? If not now, when?"

In the October 19, 2010, edition of the New York Times, there was an interesting and disturbing article tucked away at the back of the A section. The article details how a group of the "ultrawealthy" hold political planning meetings two times a year. Organized by Koch Industries, these retreats provide a forum for determining the Republican agenda for the coming campaign years, as well as key issues they'd like to influence.

Here's an excerpt from the article entitled "Secretive Republican Donors Are Planning Ahead":

"The invitation, sent to potential new participants, offers a rare peek at the Koch network of the ultrawealthy and the politically well-connected, its far-reaching agenda to enlist ordinary Americans to its cause, and its desire for the utmost secrecy.

With a personalized letter signed by Charles Koch, the invitation to the four-day Rancho Mirage meeting opens with a grand call to action: "If not us, who? If not now, when?”

The Koch network meets twice a year to plan and expand its efforts — as the letter says, “to review strategies for combating the multitude of public policies that threaten to destroy America as we know it."

Those efforts, the letter makes clear, include countering “climate change alarmism and the move to socialized health care,” as well as “the regulatory assault on energy,” and making donations to higher education and philanthropic organizations to advance the Koch agenda."

Koch Industries owns foresting and paper companies, including Georgia-Pacific (makers of Quilted Northern and Brawny) as well as Koch Carbon (minerals and petroleum), Koch Fertilizer, Invista (makers of Lycra and Stainmaster carpet), Matador Ranching, and Flint Hill Resources (petroleum). Check out Kochind.com, their corporate website, for a list of their products and full descriptions of their various industries.