AlterNet Takes on Shock Jock Michael Savage and Gets Threatened With a Lawsuit

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(Savage’s stand for the right to free speech, however, rings somewhat hollow, considering that the talk-show host has advocated jailing war protesters.)

Then there was Savage’s ill-fated (or not, considering the level of publicity it garnered) campaign against the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). In 2007, Savage accused CAIR of violating copyright laws by posting a 4-minute audio clip from Savage’s show. Savage also absurdly alleged that CAIR violated racketeering laws, “claiming that CAIR was a part of a criminal conspiracy silence critics of Islam," according to city media law. Not suprisingly, a federal district court in California dismissed the ridiculous lawsuit.

Apparently, these days, it is not enough for crazy right-wingers to intimidate through the airwaves. They also do so by threatening absurd lawsuits.

As for Rockstar: At this point, the company has become affiliated with Savage just by virtue of having engaged in similar intimidation tactics. Consumers deserve to know about the political affiliations of the products they buy. Or in this case, the horrifying hate speech associated with something as seemingly benign as an energy drink.

But in its campaign to muzzle critics, Rockstar has overplayed its hand; now, tens of thousands of new people will learn about its link to vicious hate-mongerer Michael Savage.