Was anybody else there? I was ...
Holy crap!
The blowhard lawyer who was the second speaker really went out of his way to 'elevate' what (IMHO) could have been a rational discussion into AEP/PSO's tree-trimming practices.
He never used the word, but he compared Asplundh (AEP's contracted tree-trimmers) to Nazi Germany. He made reference to the afflicted neighborhoods as "occupied Poland" and the tree-trimming crews as, essentially, the folks who did the occupying. Grab your history books and look it up.
I understand being passionate about your trees, and I've seen the hack jobs being done in the interest of ensuring reliable electricity.
But comparing Asplundh's crews to the Waffen SS? C'mon. Besides, given the ethnic makeup of most of the crews I've seen, the Spanish Inquisition is a much more effective metaphor.