Au Revoir Free Speech

When I took French in high school, we were required to pick French names for ourselves as part of the school's immersion curriculum. I picked "Brigitte" as my first name. Eighteen years later, I've never been more proud.

Brigitte Bardot is a French actress, former fashion model, singer and an animal welfare/rights activist. During the 1990s she also became outspoken in her criticism of immigration, Islam in France and homosexuality. Bardot has now received her fifth criminal conviction for her determination to express her concerns on such matters.

On Tuesday Bardot was found guilty of "provoking discrimination and racial hatred" against Muslims. A Paris court also handed down a $23,325 fine against Bardot and ordered her to pay an additional $1,555 in damages to MRAP-a French anti-racism group.

Bardot's latest conviction stems from expressing her concerns in a letter to then Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy in December 2006. In the letter she stated that France was "tired of being led by the nose by this population that is destroying our country by imposing its acts." Bardot was simply referring to the desire of Muslims to slaughter sheep at the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha.

High five to you Madame Bardot. Although some lawmakers appear bound and determined to limit free speech in America as well, at the moment I still have a pen. This "Brigitte" will pick up the slack, because many are tired of being led by the nose-in more ways than one.
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ref: http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2283651,00.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigitte_Bardot, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Brigitte_Bardot.jpg,http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,362282,00.html