Tagged: Informed Whitefish

Posted: February 27, 2012 at 7:43 am

Today’s Must Read Political Blog Post

Today’s must read political blog post is up at The Flathead Memo. James Conner reports that the man running to replace Derek Skees for Whitefish’s only Legislative seat “may prove to be equally colorful.” You’ll want to read it now.

There are a couple of additional items you’ll want to know about Dr. Rollan Roberts II. Much of the credit for uncovering this information goes to Ed McGrew of Informed Whitefish, who is a first-rate opposition researcher.

First, Roberts is big into multi-level marketing. A few of his multi-level marketing companies have already been uncovered, including one that involves algae. Yet another appears to be going for a Pampered Chef-like approach to arms trading. Still another sells the “opportunity” to market an immune potion for the rock bottom price of only $129.00 per pint ($1,031.00 per gallon.)

Roberts claims:

No other natural product comes anywhere close to supporting optimal health than AID. Given the premium, science-backed and clinically-proven ingredients used, AID is priced as low as possible to make it affordable for everyone.

Anyway, it must surely work like magic. However, on another page of the same sight, Roberts says:

Because of the power and nature of AID, neither we, nor any of our Partners, are able to make or imply any claims that it cures, treats, or prevents any illness or disease.

Roberts career as a motivational speaker appears to consist mainly of babblative exhortations to those in the levels under him in his marketing pyramids. Roberts claims to be such an expert in this field that he served on the board of the Multi-Level Marketing International Association. A list of past and present members of the association board does not include his name, however.

Roberts’ speeches make him sound like Derek Skees on steroids. Here’s an excerpt from a speech Dr. Rollan Roberts II gave on “freedom.” The entire original Youtube video can be seen here.

Mr. Conner’s post reveals how Roberts profits from the medical debt of others. But since the posting, the website for his medical debt collection company has been taken down.

This isn’t surprising. Recall that after it was revealed by a letter to the editor in the Billings Gazette that State Senator Jason Priest was in the business of auctioning off medical debt to the highest bidder, Priest took his site down too. Though of course it’s hard to scrub everything from the internet. Evidence of Roberts’ and Priest’s companies is still out there. Like Priest, Roberts is also fighting against health care reforms which would help people reduce medical debt.

Perhaps oddest of all is Roberts association with a company that he doesn’t list on his campaign website. Capitol Defense International, LLC does appear in his Office of Political Practices filing, however. The company seems to be in the business of giving those with big money access to private paramilitary and special forces squads, and survivalist training:

This is not a security detail, these teams are fully capable of carrying out clandestine operations worldwide.

An asterisk warns customers that none of the services are yet licensed.

Finally, as Mr. Conner points out, the “Dr.” Rollan Roberts II doesn’t actually identify the institution that granted him the “doctorate degree is in International Business and Entrepreneurship.” His spelling certainly isn’t indicative of a PhD scholar. [screenshot]

His doctorate degree is in International Business and Entrepreneurship.During this time,he began investing in real esate[sic] achieving great success in a short period of time. He soon began building businessesand[sic] before long, became the CEO of a biotech company and leading public and private companies $100 milion[sic] and $2 billion to strong and profitable growth.Dr. Roberts is currently the founder and CEO of Whitefish, Montana-based 24ravens (www.24ravens.com). He serves or has served on the Board of Directors of the Multi Level Marketing International Assocition[sic]. He is the author of “international best-selling books” on entrepreneurshp[sic] and ledership[sic] titled Born to be Rich, Born to Dream and, Riot: An Assault on Modern Leadership which have sold over 500,000 copies. He is an FAA-cerified[sic] pilot with “a love and passion” for swimming…

Stay tuned to the Montana Cowgirl Blog for more information about Dr. Rollan Roberts II and other GOP candidates. This stuff is only the beginning.

Posted: December 19, 2011 at 7:27 pm

Who Cares What the Voters Want

At first glance, it would seem that the wealthy Whitefish landowner who spent big bucks trying to put a slate of developer and industry toadies on the Whitefish City Council suffered a big defeat when citizens voted down the entire special interest bunch.

However, wealthy landowner Rick Blake didn’t come out of the affair too badly at all. That’s because the County Commission turned around and appointed him to the Whitefish City-County Planning Board directly.

When you think of all the rulings Rick Blake will be in a position to make for his wealthy development industry friends, the $25,000 of his own money he spent on personal attacks aimed at progressive candidates in the Whitefish City Council election doesn’t seem like such a poor use of funds after all. (He can just wait a week to upgrade the AV system in his yacht in Belize, so it’s really no big deal.)

The appointment was reported by the Informed Whitefish Facebook page, and now appears on the County Commission web page.

The Whitefish City Council elections were a high profile fight between Republicans backed by Blake and big developers on one side and the rest of us on the other. When all of the candidates Blake supported lost, voters seemed to be speaking out strongly against the ideas espoused by Blake and the developers. But we’re not talking about people with a record of listening to voters. Remember, these were the guys who sent out an official county governance survey only to those who owned property–whether they lived in the Whitefish area or not. The more property you owned, the more votes in the survey you got.

And so it goes with Republicans in the Flathead, who don’t even try to hide their actions.

Posted: November 1, 2011 at 7:41 am

Flathead County Republicans: Renters Aren’t Real Citizens

In the United States of America today, it would be illegal to allow only wealthy property owners to vote. So the Republican Flathead County Commissioners have done the next best thing.

They sent out a survey to the ‘doughnut’ residents (people who live in a ring around the outer edge of the city of Whitefish) asking who they prefer to manage planning and zoning, the county or city of Whitefish. Instead of mailing surveys to the registered voters in the area in question, they sent the surveys only to corporations and property owners.

The the lack of transparency seems to be an issue here is well, though the county claims that, “the survey is not a voting ballot measure,” [GOP County Commissioner Jim] Dupont said in the Flathead Beacon. Commissioners also apparently believe it “doesn’t require a public notice process” either.

It’s just a “tool in the toolbox” in the effort to bring clarification to an issue in need of it.

Over at the Informed Whitefish forum, word is that some sixty surveys went to a single Whitefish address (one for each parcel of land the individual owns in the area) while others expressed outrage that many of the surveys were mailed to out-of-area addresses – including Texas, California, Canada, Switzerland and England.

In fact, some say most of the surveys that the County mailed went to owners who do not live in Whitefish: Forty percent of the survey votes were actually mailed out of Montana. Flathead County surveys our Canadian neighbors to the north 300 times. Texas gets 70 votes, Missoula 60, and California got nearly 160 surveys.

Here’s Commissioner Jim Dupont explaining the merits of the GOP-ers’ plan:

“Then we’ll have exactly what the people in the doughnut think because I don’t know – I hear so much one way or the other,” Dupont said. “I don’t know why anyone would want to complain about it. It’s a simple answer.”

Perhaps next the Commissioners can throw out any surveys from women and people of color. Whitefish is 45 percent renters, Flathead County is 27 percent and Montana is 31 percent.

Posted: August 27, 2011 at 6:05 pm

Better Informed

A Whitefish man is making news in the Flathead this week for standing up to tell it like it is, using social media to expose the underside of local and legislative politics. Whitefish businessman Ed McGrew, founder of Informed Whitefish, is featured in on KPAX this week for his work to provide a forum for sharing information and community discussion–and for taking on TEA Party state legislator Derek Skees. The page, as KPAX reports, is designed:

“to give people factual information and let them make up their own minds. When there are political issues, people take notice,” said McGrew.

UPDATE: Watch the video here.

The Flathead area has other such leaders, such as Steve Braun, who started a political action committee to expose right-wing activity in the Flathead; James Conner, the political analyst who writes The Flathead Memo; and Mike Jopek, a former state legislator turned columnist.

This is exactly the kind of action and leadership Montana needs more of in other communities, and the Democratic Party should be cultivating people like this. We need more people who understand that there are better ways to get information out than sending out a press release–people taking it upon themselves to better their communities by informing citizens about important policy and electoral decisions, and encouraging participation in those decisions.

Posted: August 1, 2011 at 8:33 pm

TEA Party Anti-Jobs Mentality On Display

Interesting doings over at the Whitefish Facebook community Informed Whitefish, where TEA Party Republican Derek Skees (R-~~Whitefish~~ Kalispell) has blanketed the site over the past few days with his unique TEA Party views.

Unfortunately it seems instead of getting in line with the views of his constituents, Skees’ idea is get online and berate the citizens. It’s his way or no way. But a House Representative is supposed to…well…represent the district, and the Whitefish district is a liberal one. Mostly Skees has figured out that even moderate Republicans’s are upset with his extreme ideology. There are rumors that Skees may not run for HD 4 again now that Tom Muri is in the race. Though Skees isn’t saying he’ll abandon the seat, rather, when the topic came up in the forum:

Then Skees expresses support for a project that his own bill would have eliminated:

If Rep. Skees bill to to kill green energy jobs had passed, Zink Air would never have been able to strike a deal with wind farms.

Whitefish citizens like windmills and hydro power as indicated by the city having its own hydro plant. And Rep. Skees wanted to repeal energy efficiency standards….come on, this self proclaimed TEA fanatic is out of touch with the main street values of anywhere, not to mention Whitefish.

There are many more Skees rants on the page, which is definitely worth a read. Skees makes up and misuses words (he couldn’t have really meant that he opposes “obvious biases towards one’s own potions” could he?):

There’s even ranting about civil war era weap0ns and what are presumably obscure war philosophy books. Some of this stuff he’s since edited, hence the screen shots.

And don’t forget your standard TEA party insults toward constituents: