Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The Savage Land is Savage to Everyone

Judge: posting shock jock clip to the web is "fair use" - Jacqui Chen @ Ars Technica

After radio host Michael Savage took a beating on his comments about autistic children it looks like he's taken another blow, this time in court, over the use of clips of his show. The Council on American-Islamic Relations used a four-minute clip of Savage's show which features him ranting about Muslims in America. They used the clip as part of a rebuttal to Savage's claims that Muslims in America are on welfare, that the Council is tied to terrorist activity and that the U.S. should deport all Muslims. That Savage has lost ad revenue due to his rants, either on the autistic or Muslims and the CAIR in particular, is only fitting. Savage has long been a voice of unreason and disinformation, constantly waging FUD campaigns on those he doesn't like. I can only hope that due to his radical stance on most issues he eventually becomes unprofitable to his corporation. Attitudes are changing in the U.S. and it seems a lot of people have no use for empty, fear-mongering rhetoric like Savage's. I count this as a positive sign for the health of the public discourse in America. Here's to hoping.