Why did I create this site?

[Revised 9/30/2002]

Well, perhaps the better question is: why do I put so much work into this site, for so little tangible benefit? Well, I'm currently unemployed, and it makes a nice break from the monotony of searching for jobs and spitting out resumes and cover letters, all to no avail it appears - giant black hole, no response. Aside from that, I get a fair amount of ego gratification from the two or three feature articles that have been published in the local media about the site. And, of course, there is the ever constant pleasure of driving Savage's conservative wing-nut fans bonkers - the Hate Mail section has some real zingers in it. I had some hopes that I'd be able to generate enough money from it for the site to at least pay for itself, but as of this date, several months into it, there have been no takers - not one single item of merchandise sold, etc. A friend donated a few bucks a couple of months ago via Amazon.Com, but that's it. A nice side benefit was that the media coverage in the local press came as I decided to run for Santa Cruz City Council, so perhaps my name recognition is now higher than it would otherwise be. Oh well... at least I'm legally insulated from any lawsuits by the Savagemeister.

Second, and equally important, because the rantings of Michael Savage (aka Michael Weiner) need an answer - I'm tired of hearing him trash everything I hold dear, of hearing him spew vicious bile about "liberals", ACLU members, "pagans", feminists, gay and lesbian activists, etc. etc.

Michael sees sexual freedom as "degeneracy", as long as he's talking about queer folk, or women, god forbid he talk about irresponsible sexual behavior by straight males... instead, we get nonsense about the country being ruled by a "she-ocracy" that has "both feminized and homosexualized America to the point where the nation has become passive, receptive and masochistic."

He longs for a return to the days of Sen. McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee, blacklists and blackmail. This man does NOT represent the opinions of anything other than a small group of Americans (admittedly, a very vocal and scary minority) and yet, he has the fastest growing nationally syndicated radio show in the United States, and he's kicking Rush Limbaugh's ass in market after market.

It is time for those of us who believe in the values of tolerance, freedom, liberty, social justice, and ecological wisdom (among others) to stand up and make our voices heard - remember, as Michael continually reminds us, when the people in Germany stayed silent as the voices of hate raised the volume, the result was Hitler and death and suffering tens of millions of innocent victims on all sides.

Thomas Leavitt