Michael Savage....Banned In The UK

Allow me to say up front, I do not like Michael Savage's shtick or his show in the least. I could go into detail about why but let's just leave it at it not being my thing. That said, the idea that he's being barred from entering the UK would be laughable if it weren't so ludicrous. As a former Anglophile* I'm saddened beyond belief that it has come to this.

Britain published Tuesday a list of 16 people barred from entering the country for allegedly fostering extremism or hatred, including Muslim extremists and a U.S. radio host.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the list is designed to emphasize the kinds of behavior the U.K. won't tolerate. In recent years, Britain has been accused by other governments of harboring Muslim extremists. Amid an elevated threat from both home-grown and foreign terrorists, the country tried to tighten up on who it lets in to preach to British congregations.

The list includes several Muslim preachers and writers accused of glorifying terrorist violence. Four U.S. citizens are named, including Fred Waldron Phelps Sr., a Baptist pastor whom the U.K. accuses of promoting homophobia, and radio host Michael Savage, who has called the Muslim holy book, the Quran, a "book of hate."

This is just idiocy on stilts. Is Michael Savage really one of the 16 most dangerous people in the world who may at some point want to travel to the UK? Of course this shouldn't come as a surprise after Geert Wilders was prohibited from entering the UK.

Naturally this will all work out for Savage in that being one of the 16 worst people in the world according to the UK government has to be good for ratings. Still the idea that the UK government went looking for people to put on their list (he wasn’t trying to get into the country) and a talk show host in the US is what they came up reeks of some sort of ‘PC balancing’… “look we banned a few nasty white Americans so don’t be mad when we keep out the odd Hamas killer or neo-Nazi”.

It's The World Turned Upside Down when the UK bans people for unpopular beliefs and not actions but puts terrorist sympathizers on the public dole.

*I no longer consider myself an Anglophile because I don’t think the modern day UK represents the values that made it a great civilization. Today’s UK is not the same one that gave the world parliamentary democracy, erased the slave trade from the seas, and saved Europe from authoritarian hell on more than one occasion (they defeated Napoleon and helped beat back the Germans twice and the Soviets one) to name just a few admirable moments in Britain’s long history.

And let’s not forget Monty Python. Of course if that group were trying to make it today they would probably be arrested on hate crimes charges.

No, that once great culture simply does not survive today.

More: Check out this roundup of greatest hits from Jacqui Smith, the cabinet member responsible for this Dirty Dozen Plus 1/3 List.

Note: Yes, this is kind of old. I wrote the post yesterday but the site was acting up and it got stuck in draft for awhile. Since today is a sloooow newsday, I thought I'd throw it up for discussion.

posted by DrewM. at 10:56 AM

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