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Small Montana Town Curdles With Hate, Threats, Toxic Behavior
(The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Bloomberg.)
By Dave Shiflett
Kalispell, a town of 16,000, is a magnet for celebrities, the roaming rich and environmental activists dedicated to restraining forest use. Many locals are none too pleased, having lost their jobs and retirements as the timber industry took its hits.
The chief villain in this program (part of PBS's ``POV'' series) is John Stokes, a former real estate broker who ran unsuccessfully for the Montana senate. He now owns KGEZ radio and is on the air three hours a day lashing ``left-wing lunatics'' and ``environmentalist Nazis'' along with communists and other ``kumbaya'' types. Stokes is as subtle as a forest fire.
`Green Slime'
Early on we see him at a rally during which a green swastika is put to the torch. He insists the Third Reich was ``born out of the environmental movement'' and argues that enviros are ``green slime'' whose ``days are numbered.'' He has broadcast the home addresses of environmentalists, ominous at any time, but especially so because of the discovery, a few years ago, that a group called Project 7 had drawn up a hit list of local officials.
A memorable bumper sticker perhaps best sums up the Stokes camp's feelings: ``Honk if you've bitch-slapped an environmentalist today.''
Mysterious Death
On the other side of the divide we find the likes of Keith Hammer, an environmental activist, who insists the local forests are ``totally overrun by corporate America.'' Mayor Pam Kennedy tells an ``anti-hate'' rally that citizens are being harassed, intimidated, even beaten and killed.
The body count, truth be told, is a bit low. One woman from the progressive side did die in a creek, though there was no evidence of murder.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p
(The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Bloomberg.)
By Dave Shiflett
Kalispell, a town of 16,000, is a magnet for celebrities, the roaming rich and environmental activists dedicated to restraining forest use. Many locals are none too pleased, having lost their jobs and retirements as the timber industry took its hits.
The chief villain in this program (part of PBS's ``POV'' series) is John Stokes, a former real estate broker who ran unsuccessfully for the Montana senate. He now owns KGEZ radio and is on the air three hours a day lashing ``left-wing lunatics'' and ``environmentalist Nazis'' along with communists and other ``kumbaya'' types. Stokes is as subtle as a forest fire.
`Green Slime'
Early on we see him at a rally during which a green swastika is put to the torch. He insists the Third Reich was ``born out of the environmental movement'' and argues that enviros are ``green slime'' whose ``days are numbered.'' He has broadcast the home addresses of environmentalists, ominous at any time, but especially so because of the discovery, a few years ago, that a group called Project 7 had drawn up a hit list of local officials.
A memorable bumper sticker perhaps best sums up the Stokes camp's feelings: ``Honk if you've bitch-slapped an environmentalist today.''
Mysterious Death
On the other side of the divide we find the likes of Keith Hammer, an environmental activist, who insists the local forests are ``totally overrun by corporate America.'' Mayor Pam Kennedy tells an ``anti-hate'' rally that citizens are being harassed, intimidated, even beaten and killed.
The body count, truth be told, is a bit low. One woman from the progressive side did die in a creek, though there was no evidence of murder.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p
Fortunately, The President will cut through all the roadless areas making the areas more accessible to verify the body count.