michael weiner at Brave New Films

An Open Letter to Dr. Laura

2008-06-19T09:54:08Z

The following was spotted in a discussion thread on Media Matters for America vis-a-vis comments made by Michael "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder" Savage (nee Weiner) claiming that "children's minds are being raped by the Homosexual Mafia."

The which takes the form of a supposed e-mail to Dr. Laura Schlesinger, herself rather notorious for holding homophobic views in the name of "mental hygiene;" I have taken the liberty of tidying up the original for the sake of clarity and neatness:

Dear Dr. Laura:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding G-d's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to follow them.
a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
c) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
d) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?
e) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?
f) Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of G-d if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?
g) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. How should they die?
h) I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
i) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev.24:10-16). Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev.20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.
Thank you again for reminding us that G-d's word is eternal and unchanging.

Which just goes to show that overzealous interpretation of Divine Will can only go so far.

Grand Rapids organizing to take on Savage

2008-01-30T03:51:48Z

Inspired by the NO SAVAGE campaign, Grand Rapids is now working to get Michael Savage off their local station WOOD.

The Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy (GRIID) is encouraging people to contact advertisers that are targeted by the No Savage Campaign.

GRIID is also asking people to contact WOOD radio to demand that they no longer run the Michael Savage Show, since it promotes racism and violence through hate speech. Send a pre-written letter to station manager Tim Feagan demanding that the station stop airing Savage.

GEICO keeps changing their story about SAVAGE

2008-01-26T17:01:14Z

Another update on your NO SAVAGE efforts with his advertisers.

Kevin relayed this message earlier today from GEICO:

GEICO terminated all of its advertising on the show several years ago. Our media buying agency has been instructed that no GEICO advertisements may appear on this program.

Then just a few hours later, Travis wrote in with this:

I just called GEICO at 6:00 CST, today Jan 24th and they (the customer service representative) claim that the advertising is being put on for free and that they are currently suing Savage for putting their ads on the air.

He said that Savage must be "trying to legitimize his show by using the respectable GEICO name."

So what's the story, GEICO? Why the inconsistent excuses?

Call GEICO's president at 800-824-7795 and find out.

GEICO, Stamps.com, and Wyeth are still advertising on Savage

2008-02-16T09:51:20Z

Listen now:

Here is an audio clip from Savage's radio show out of KERN AM 1410 in Kern County, CA on January 17th.

One commercial segment with Stamps.com, GEICO and Wyeth (Chapstick) all advertising.

If you're calling those corporations and they say they aren't advertising, you can play them this audio clip.

UPDATE: GEICO is not telling you the truth if they tell you their ads are not running on Savage. Call the president's office at 800-824-7795

Watch the video

Huge success with NO SAVAGE!

2008-07-22T12:33:33Z

You did it! What an amazing outpouring of intelligent, thoughtful letters, emails and calls to the Savage advertisers.

Already, four major companies have pulled out, and QUICKLY. So savor your good work, and know that in fact your actions do make a difference. You didn't just yell at your radio or TV. YOU DID SOMETHING, and it made a difference.

But here's something we didn't expect. The USO is standing behind Michael Savage! They refuse to pull their ads from his program.

We’re shocked and disheartened by this. We would have expected them to be the first to distance themselves from someone who is deliberately fanning the flames of hatred between Muslims and non-Muslims, putting the troops in even greater jeopardy. How does this help the cause of America's servicemembers?

Please call John Hanson, spokesman for the USO, and let him know this is just not acceptable. (703) 908-6400

And, if you're a digger, digg this story.

Intuit says NO SAVAGE!

2008-07-10T00:40:11Z

The phone calls and emails are working. Intuit’s advertising company has assured us that the “spots have been pulled.”

Thanks to everyone who cares enough to stand up against hate speech. And thanks to the folks at Intuit who understand how important it is not to use their customers dollars to legitimize Michael Savage.

Gold Bond (and Icy Hot, and Garlique) say NO SAVAGE!

2008-09-17T00:12:23Z

Chattem, the parent company of Gold Bond, Icy Hot, and Garlique, called and emailed us saying they "have requested that the local stations not air our advertising during his show."

Talking to the Chattem representative gave me hope! there are people working in the advertising industry who understand how their actions can make huge difference when they do the right thing.

I have to go to a meeting....

ITT Tech says NO SAVAGE!

2008-04-07T10:03:39Z

Leda, BNF's head of production, just got off the phone with Mike Collins, from ITT Tech's agency responsible for purchasing their radio spots. They have explicitly instructed stations to not run their ads on Michael Savage's program!

Here's their letter.. and thank you ITT Tech!

Hi Leda - As we discussed earlier, Target + Response places per-inquiry Radio advertising for ITT Technical Institute. "Per-inquiry" means we pay stations for the number of sales leads they generate rather than the number of spots they run. We do not buy airtime in or sponsor specific programs. Our agreement with stations is that they can run spots wherever they have unsold inventory. At the same time, they have strict instructions not to run spots in controversial programming, such as the Michael Savage Show.

It was brought to our attention this week that ITT Tech spots had been heard in the Michael Savage Show. As a result, we have contacted all stations participating in the ITT Tech program and strongly reiterated that they are NOT to run ITT Tech spots in the Michael Savage Show.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. With this understanding, we hope that you will remove ITT Technical Institute from the list of Michael Savage advertisers posted on your website.

Thank you.

Union Bank of California says NO SAVAGE!

2008-09-22T23:05:12Z

Bridget D. Coonce, from Union Bank of California's Corporate Marketing and Advertising department just forwarded us this letter instructing their customer support reps in how to respond to all of your emails:

Due to the recent inquiries made through our Contact Us URL about our advertising support of the Michael Savage show, I wanted to provide you with a script for answering these inquiries. We do not intentionally advertise on or around the Michael Savage radio talk show and were surprised to find our name referenced on the “nosavage.org” website stating that we do. Although our ad was mistakenly run twice last week during his show on KFMB, our media agency has confirmed with KFMB that it will never run during his show again.

Thank you!

Michael Savage hates Muslims

2008-07-26T19:32:26Z

At Brave New Films, we have generally stayed away from engaging with the extreme right-wing fringe. However, the recent Michael Savage attacks against Muslims are so hateful and vicious, we believe it is important to respond. Not only does he engage in the worst kind of racist name-calling and stereotyping, he then compounds it by filing a frivolous lawsuit against CAIR because they dared to fight back. Really.

The video is very upsetting, and we believe after seeing it you will want to act.