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The Uncle Sam billboard is a billboard alongside Interstate 5 near Chehalis, Washington, in the United States. ==Description and history== The two-sided billboard, which depicts Uncle Sam, is located beside Interstate 5 (I-5), near Exit 72 in Chehalis. For more than 30 years, Alfred Hamilton used the sign to promote his "archconservative views in big block letters". I-5 motorists have been called a "captive audience", as congestion often causes traffic jams between Portland, Oregon and Seattle, both generally considered liberal. In 2003, an average of 50,000 motorists drove the stretch daily, including northbound and southbound.〔 Hamilton began posting messages after I-5 was constructed across his turkey farm in the early 1960s. The first message he and his wife, Ruth, posted was based on their anger towards the government for funding welfare programs. Hamilton further resented the government for interfering with his ability to lease billboard space following Lady Bird Johnson's Highway Beautification Act.〔 ''The New York Times'' described Hamilton as a "cranky crusader" who "loved a fight" and a "stubborn man, a turkey farmer with a big belly full of opinions".〔 According to the paper, "Mr. Hamilton minced no words in attacking virtually everything and everyone that irritated him: gun control, the government and gays, Russians and radicals, Kissinger and Kerry."〔 One of his friends recalled Hamilton's belief that "all Democrats were 'damn fools'", saying: "In many instances – and we were pretty close – I warned people not to get into discussions of religion and politics with him. He was so set in his ways that it was unusual."〔 The billboard was moved and reconstructed occasionally due to conflicts with the state and federal government.〔 In 1995, ''The Seattle Times'' reported that Hamilton had sold his of land between Centralia and Chehalis, and that the sign and other buildings on the land would be removed. The land had been in the Hamilton family since 1945. He and his wife moved to Alaska but continued to own nearby land. In the year leading up to the sale, billboard messages were changed once a month; before then, they were changed weekly.〔 Hamilton has said: "I'm not trying to convert anyone to my way of thinking. But I want to make people think."〔 He died in November 2004 at the age of 84. His survivors, who claimed that they did not necessarily share all of his opinions, were unsure if they would continue to use the billboard for political purposes. Hamilton's son said, "I know the billboard had a lot of repercussions politically, from the state and the feds on down, because he voiced his opinions and sometimes he stepped on toes."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Uncle Sam billboard」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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