Activist Launches Anti-"Savage Nation" Web Site and Organizes Grassroots Advertiser Boycott and Education Campaign

PRESS RELEASE, June 22nd, 2002

SANTA CRUZ, CA - The first time Thomas Leavitt heard Michael Savage on the radio, he couldn't believe his ears - "nuke Iraq", "the greatest danger to the American public today is the ACLU", "red-diaper doper babies", "Pink Swastikas" (gay rights activists). This guy made Dr. Laura and Rush look like wimpy moderates. But there was an unholy fascination to it for this left-liberal Green Party activist; like watching a horror movie, the prospect of some new lunacy, in contrast the utter barrenness of the rest of the FM/AM dial, kept him listening. Along with, perversely, a flow of information about "liberal" accomplishments that the mainstream media never covered. As a bisexual and a Gnostic Christian, this was nothing new; he was used to obtaining news about himself and his community from the rantings of those who oppressed him.

Day after day the hatred and lunatic right wing rants flowed through the car as he sat stuck in traffic. Then Savage mentioned that he had a web site and started bragging about the fact that "The Savage Nation" is the top rated drive-time talk show in the Bay Area, and the fastest growing nationally syndicated radio talk show. Now in over 350 markets, it has grown to be the FOURTH HIGHEST rated show in the United Stats. That impressed him. Scared the bleep out of him, in fact. Michael Savage had silently become one of the single most influential voices on the airwaves -- able to reach millions with a single hate filled rant. And nobody was paying him any attention... detailed Internet research revealed that the mainstream media have almost completely ignored him, despite a documented record of the most vile and hateful statements imaginable: "Hispanics breed like rabbits", high school students serving homeless people in the San Francisco Tenderloin were there because of "excitement" at the possibility of being raped, "gay pride marchers are the brownshirts of the modern age", the list goes on and gets added to every day.

Why the silence? Nothing existed on the web to counter this man other than one irregularly maintained and not terribly well designed web site at michaelsavagesucks.com. The one organized effort to boycott Savage Nation advertisers was confined to a single station in Oregon, and didn't appear to be having much of an effect. Something needed to be done!

Thus, SavageStupidity.Com and the Petition to Boycott "The Savage Nation" were born.

The full text of the petition is available on-line via our web site , at "http://www.savagestupidity.com/petition/" . In summary, it calls for a boycott of Savage Nation advertisers, and demands that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) restore the "Fairness Doctrine" (abandoned during the Reagan administration) which required broadcast stations leasing the public airwaves to allow a certain amount of time for opposing views on political issues. "My extensive experience with Internet based communities and organizing made me aware that at tremendous number of resources are out there, many of which have the potential to reach large numbers of people at very little cost. I chose PetitionOnline to manage our campaign for its simplicity and ease of use, and the potential to generate large amounts of word of mouth if properly promoted. Petitions run through them regularly generate signature totals in the hundreds of thousands - I'm fully confident that we'll reach totals of that level after the campaign swings into full gear," said petition author Thomas Leavitt.

SavageStupidity.Com, available at http://www.savagestupidity.com, is already receiving hundreds of visits a week despite receiving almost no publicity to date, and positive (and negative) feedback galore. It contains a massive database of links, news articles on Savage and his antics, counter-commentary, and boycott organizing information, as well as promotional merchandise designed to subsidize the site's operation. The "HateMail" page graphically displays the dangerous and irrationally incoherent thought processes of the typical Savage Nation supporter. Designed by his wife and fellow community activist, Gunilla Leavitt, who has over 200 web sites to her credit, SavageStupidity.Com is the response of a passionate, committed, and professional activist who has a serious desire to make an impact.

As mentioned on the web site, Thomas Leavitt is an activist with a long history of work on social justice issues on and off-line, dating back to his high school years when he helped organize an effort to provide showers, washers and lockers for homeless people (SHWASHLOCK) with other participants in the City of Santa Monica's on-line community, PEN (including several homeless people), and extending to today, where he serves as the Chair of the City of Santa Cruz's Living Wage Advisory Committee, is active in the Green Party and a variety of grassroots advocacy organization across a broad spectrum of interests (housing, homelessness, education, free speech).

He is also an entrepreneur and technical specialist who started his first Internet company (Web Communications, LLC) back in May of 1994 - when Netscape was still Mosaic Communications and the Internet bubble wasn't even on the horizon. This perspective gives his activism a unique twist.

Thomas Leavitt says, "I don't expect to make a lot of money off SavageStupidity.Com, but it would be nice if they it did generate enough business to give me the freedom to pursue this full time. Too often, progressive activists think about the money last, last and last, and let themselves be hamstrung by a lack of resources. If the community likes what I've done, I sincerely hope they'll respond appropriately."

And, just to confirm that his work is having an impact and getting under Savage's skin, he was recently quoted as saying over the air, "if they [the activists organizing against him] should succeed in driving me away from radio" that he would "release their names and addresses", and not be responsible for the consequences: "if you harm me, I pray that no harm comes to you, but I can't guarantee that it won't."

Thomas' casual but firm response to this threat is: "Michael's sure got a thin skin for someone who professes to be such a hardass. If I were the type to be frightened by the rantings of a petty demagogue like Savage, I wouldn't have created this site in the first place." But he warns that if anything does happen, he'll hold Michael and his corporate parent, Disney/ABC, directly responsible. "The vile cowardice of this threat shows how utterly morally bankrupt Savage is. It only motivates me more."

About SavageStupidity.Com

SavageStupidity.Com, available on the web at http://www.savagestupidity.com/, is the leading Internet resource for those opposed to the campaign of hate and violence being perpetrated by Michael Savage and "The Savage Nation". Founded in May of 2002 by an experienced community activist, the site is already receiving attention from people across the nation. The site's editors can be reached via email at info@savagestupidity.com.

About the Petition To Boycott "The Savage Nation"

The petition to Boycott "The Savage Nation" is designed to hold those companies whose advertising dollars make Michael Savage's hate filled rantings possible accountable for the social damage they cause, and promote a return to the balanced public discourse prevalent when the FCC's "Fairness Doctrine" was enforced. Available via our web site at "http://www.savagestupidity.com/petition/" , it is designed to be a quick and easy way for the average Internet citizen to make his or her views known on this issue. All readers are encouraged to visit the site, sign the petition, and then let their friends and family know about it.