Michael Savage Weiner was so rude NPR host hung up on him.

[yurbud]

I caught part of an NPR interview with Michael Savage about this business of Britain banning him. The host tried to take calls, but when a caller tried to question Savage, Savage called the guy a mental patient and started to berate the host for wasting his time.

So the host hung up on him, and without missing a beat, went on to the next caller.

That seems like the right way to deal with righties: give them a chance to speak their piece, but when the fail to engage in civil discourse, politely show them the door.

[Lasher]

1. Yep, cut off their mic.

Moderators often remind me of referees at professional wrestling matches.

[Chemisse]

2. Good for NPR

Yeah I heard that too. Savage started ranting about how he had better things to do than listen to what the caller was asking about. The moderator said, "So go do them then," and hung up.

[dipsydoodle]

3. Now threatening to sue UK for defamation

Shock jock Michael Savage said he will sue for defamation after his name appeared on the Home Office's list of 16 "least wanted".

Savage, who hosts far-right talk show The Savage Nation, called Ms Smith a "lunatic" and said he was outraged that he had been named alongside hate preachers and a member of Hamas.

Ms Smith said she decided to make public the names of 16 people banned since October so others could better understand what sort of behaviour Britain was not prepared to tolerate.

She said Savage was "someone who has fallen into the category of fomenting hatred, of such extreme views and expressing them in such a way that it is actually likely to cause inter-community tension or even violence if that person were allowed into the country".

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090506/tuk-us-shock-jock-threatens-to-sue-smith-dba1618.html

[SeattleGirl]

4. What IS this world coming to, when a good, hard working man can't

foment hatred, bigotry, and anything else he deems acceptable????

I mean, my gawd!

What's left?

Acceptance?

Tolerance?

Love?

Holy jeezily crow, but what IS this world coming to?









(A much better place, I hope.....)

Bite my white ass, Michael. Now, if we could just ban you from THIS country, that would be great!

[dipsydoodle]

5. I'm just amused at the thought

of exactly how he intends to sue our government.

[Berry Cool]

8. I don't want to ban him here.

I just want to drown out his ridiculousness and hate with better speech.

[Hannah Bell]

6. like they don't have his ilk in the uk. muslim bashing is high sport there.

[dipsydoodle]

7. We've got laws here in the UK to help prevent that

which generally are successful in their purpose.

Do you have first hand knowledge that "muslim bashing is high sport there" or is it something you've read ?

[Hannah Bell]

10. we have laws against it here, too. doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

nope, no first hand evidence seeing a muslim bashed in the uk.

yes, i've read it, esp after the 2005 bombing & conflating it with anti-pakistani sentiments.

[Occulus]

24. Cite that shit, Hannah

"we have laws against it here, too."

Chapter and verse, please.

[Hannah Bell]

29. hate crime laws. not sure what your point is, or why you want chapter & verse.

[Clintonista2]

30. Probably because chances are you have no idea what you're talking about

And would be unable to back up your claim with proof (chapter & verse)

[Hannah Bell]

32. hate crime laws. it's not that esoteric that chapter & verse is required.

but whatever:

"Hate crime laws in the United States (also known as bias crimes)...typical protected characteristics are race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability.

The current statutes permit federal prosecution of hate crimes committed on the basis of a person's race, color, religion, or nation origin when engaging in a federally protected activity, 18 U.S.C. § 245...

45 states and the District of Columbia have statutes criminalizing various types of bias-motivated violence or intimidation... Each of these statutes covers bias on the basis of race, religion, and ethnicity"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_crime_laws_in_the_United_States

& it seems at least a few folks in the uk think muslim-bashing exists there:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1031769/Is-post-war-Britain-anti-Muslim.html

so pls take your free-floating hostility elsewhere.

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. You can sue a country?

Learn something new every day. :)

[csziggy]

9. Link to the show - you can listen to it!

Jeffrey's question starts about 6:45. Savage is off the show by about 7:15.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103819122

[ljm2002]

15. Thanks for the link!

That was fun.

I liked what the last caller said, pointing out that Savage goes on and on about his right to free speech, and yet he was unwilling to listen to someone else exercise free speech.

It was a bit annoying that most of the show was a discussion of free speech, which seems a moot point in this situation since the U.K. is not bound by our Constitution and its First Amendment.

[csziggy]

20. That little old lady was spot on, wasn't she?

Here is the UN report on freedom of speech in the UK:

Freedom of Speech in the United Kingdom

http://www.article19.org/pdfs/publications/uk-unhrc-submission.pdf

ARTICLE 19 urges UN Committee to address free speech concerns in the United Kingdom

Today, the UN Human Rights Committee begins its audit of the United Kingdom’s compliance with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). ARTICLE 19 has submitted a Report calling on the Committee to question the British Government on a range of issues, including its plans to reduce use of the Freedom of Information Act, the ban on unauthorised demonstrations near Parliament Square and the high cost of defending libel suits in the UK.

While the ARTICLE 19 Report finds that respect for freedom of expression in Britain is generally good, it points to an erosion of the right to protest as well as a failure to address a number of long-standing issues. The United Kingdom is yet to act on problems identified by the UN several years ago in the UK’s Freedom of Information Act and Official Secrets Act. Instead, steps are being considered to curtail access to information.

The report warns that the vaguely defined offence of ‘encouragement of terrorism’ enacted after the 2005 terrorist attacks discourages the peaceful expression of extreme views, making it more difficult to confront and moderate them. The terrorist threat has provoked excessive responses, such as a six year prison sentence for protestors who chanted fundamentalist slogans and a ban on demonstrations outside Parliament without prior leave from the police.

Another problem identified by ARTICLE 19 is the high cost of defending, or even settling, libel suits in the UK. Contingent fee arrangements have made it easy to sue the media, aggravating existing procedural disadvantages which the defendant faces, and discouraging critical reporting.

MORE: http://www.humanrightsblog.org/reports/archives/005363.html

[DrDan]

11. well done

now he will be suing NPR. His ban was absolutely the right thing to do. Good to see a country stand up for it values.

[GeorgeGist]

12. Savage Weiner ...

is a fair description. All cock, no balls.

[tanyev]

13. Not the best way to make your defense, Michael, but that's your prerogative.

[struggle4progress]

14. On the NPR program, the host indicates Savage hung up

[yurbud]

17. crap. I thought they grew some balls.

[struggle4progress]

26. I dunno. It looks to me like Savage chickened out when he wasn't allowed to shout people down

[yurbud]

31. that's more accurate than my subject line--he's used to people piling on with him

Kind of like a lynch mob. When the loudest guy says, ''Git a rope,'' he'll lose his nerve if no one gives him one.

[Raskolnik]

28. I don't see how Neal Conan could have handled that any more gracefully

or demonstrated what a buffoon Savage/Weiner really is any more clearly.

[Orsino]

16. I guess that frees up more of his precious time. n/t

[konnichi wa]

18. Actually, Savage hung up on NPR. Oops someone already pointed it out, sorry

Not to defend Savage, he's a despicable shitbag but just setting the record straight.:-)
edit to fix subj line
\

[Greyskye]

33. Savage hung up when the host declined to silence the caller

And the host didn't seem broken up by it at all. :evilgrin:

[Blue_Tires]

21. ugh...what is Savage even DOING on NPR?

[yurbud]

22. banned in Britain, so it's a speech issue. By the end of interview, anyone would agree Brits right

[FailureToCommunicate]

25. Unfortunately getting free exposure for HIS radio show. They LOVE the ratings jump

any time they're dissed by the likes of Obama or other reasonable people. Talk about fanning flames!
Hate mongers have the right of free speech in the U.S., but we all have the right to turn the radio dial...
And despite the free speech right, I can't believe the secret Service has not spoken to him for encouraging talk on his show about "taking out" our new - ah -black- president as he did recently.
(Of course maybe the SS have...)

[gratuitous]

23. This is why these guys don't often venture out of their studios

In their own studio, they're lord and master of their domain. Every sound person, every technician, every producer, everyone involved is there solely at the Great Man's pleasure. Calls never go on too long, nobody ever makes a point that makes the Great Man look like a vain, foolish, ignorant waste of time and space. No, it's all under total control. The Great Man sets up arguments with inanimate objects - Photographs, bits of video or audio, newspaper columns and stories - and demonstrates his proficiency at mocking and ridiculing something that can't speak for itself.

I'm a little surprised that Mr. Savage slipped out of his cocoon to treat live with the hoi polloi. He probably won't make that mistake again for a while.

[yurbud]

35. PBS did a bio on Rush that showed the first TV show he did without a dittohead audience

he was slaughtered by a regular audience from off the street. They ripped him a new asshole. After that, they were hand-picked dittoheads, but they all looked creepily similar and fawning toward Rush.

[Uzybone]

27. Why is he even on NPR?

do they also interview Klansmen?

[Cha]

34. Good for the NPR host!

Can you imagine the weiner fuming at the dead phone?