-By Ann “Babe” Huggett
Just imagine one morning you rise up bright and early, go get your usual cup o’ joe from the kitchen then plunk yourself down in front of your computer to pull up the Drudge Report only to find out that you’ve made headline news by being banned from a country that you never even intended to visit. Snap, crackle and ka-pow is not the best way to start the day but that is exactly how conservative and controversial national talk show host, Michael Savage, started his day earlier this week.
Savage, star of the talk radio show, The Savage Nation, and whose real name is Michael Weiner, read with growing outrage that he had been arbitrarily placed on a banned-from- UK traveling list by Labor’s Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, for no other discernible reason than she thought he 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”.
Smith went on to say, “We’ve got standards in this country, of the sorts of values that we expect from those who have the privilege of coming here. I think it’s right that we uphold those standards, that’s the basis on which we make decisions about unacceptable behavior. That’s the basis on which Michael Savage is on the list.”
Now why would a UK government official, who more than likely has never even heard so much as a ten minute sound clip from a show that is not broadcast in the UK, place a vaguely buffoonish but completely patriotic and loyal American in a “least wanted” list comprised of Hamas terrorists, Nazi skinheads and jihadist murders?
Smith’s justification sounds more Pecksniffian than anything else. What she has done is criminalize conservative political dissent and put it on the same footing as actual violence. A caller to The Savage Nation theorized that the Brown government in the UK was helping the Obama administration demonize political dissenters by proxy. This would mean that Jacqui Smith, in some sort of internationalist socialist solidarity move, was playing hardball with one of socialism’s favorite weapons, denying the right to travel. Earlier this year, Dutch parliamentarian, Geert Wilders was turned back as an unwelcome visitor at Heathrow Airport by UK immigration through the orders of Jacqui Smith, even though he was invited to speak before Parliament. Wilders ‘crime’? He exposed the ultimate aim of Islamic immigration into his country and ultimately ALL Western nations through his documentary movie, Fitna.
Here in the US, Savage is routinely attacked by cultural jihadist Muslims, illegal immigration and gay rights groups because he considers “borders, language and culture” of paramount importance to America as a nation. Savage constantly frustrates their hate campaigns because he stands up to their lies and smears and doesn’t back down. What he does is sue and has successfully tangled with the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in court. Michael Savage just may be a real life John Galt because he refuses to be made guilty.
Savage, who described Smith on air as a ‘witch’ and a ‘lunatic’ said, “It’s interesting to me that here I am a talk show host, who does not advocate violence, who advocates patriotic traditional values – borders, language, culture – who is now on a list banned in England.”
Savage added, “What does that say about the government of England? It says more about them than it says about me.”
One thing that Savage will not do is take this laying down. He knows that he has been seriously libeled and that the UK has very strict libel laws. Savage also knows that Jacqui Smith will not be in office forever. Labour’s grip on power in the UK is just about over; Brits are heartily sick of socialism and watching their beloved nation being so willfully and wantonly destroyed through Labour misrule.
Savage intends on very expensive forms of revenge. Not only has he made plans for court action but he is also calling on his ten million plus listeners for a tourist travel embargo of the UK this summer. That means no tourist dollars.
Savage said, “For this lunatic Jacqui Smith to link me up with skinheads who are killing people in Russia, to put me in (the same) league with mass murderers who kill Jews on buses is defamation. I thought this was a joke or a mistake… How could they put Michael Savage in the same league with mass murderers when I have never avowed violence? As a result of this I am going to sue (Ms Smith).”
Media lawyers think that Savage is going to win his suit and win big. According to media lawyer, Mark Stephens, Savage was wrongfully demonized for his views and that lawyers are, “…queuing around the block to take this case on a no-win, no-fee basis. She should be trying to make peace quickly because otherwise she will end up paying something like £200,000 ($300,000) in damages and £500,000 ($750,000) of legal costs. One thing is for sure, the British public won’t want to pick up that bill for Jacqui Smith.”
Actually, the biggest winners of this whole sorry mess will be the British people themselves. Brits are rallying around Michael Savage and are as outraged as he is. Most have never heard of Michael Savage until now but he is fast becoming a cause celebre in the UK. This means that they will be exposed to American conservative talk radio through streaming media, which is already something of a cult phenomenon among British conservatives since they have nothing like it in the UK thanks to the socialist dominated BBC’s stranglehold on on-air communications. Hopefully Smith’s reign of terror may soon be over and Brits may soon be able to speak and think freely once again.
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Ann “Babe” Huggett is a San Francisco Bay Area freelance writer and the Associate Editor and Publisher of TheRealityCheck.org. She is the co-owner and moderator of Free Britannia.org, a conservative British-American site dedicated to events affecting the Anglosphere. Ann is currently appearing as an on air radio talent as “Babe” Huggett, with co-host Warner Todd Huston, on Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Conservatism on Blog Talk Radio every Thursday at 8 pm Pacific / 10 pm Central / 11 pm Eastern.
You can reach Ann “Babe” Huggett at aerostarfb2001@yahoo.com.
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