Save us - from interfering celebrities!

Briditte Bardot is all over the news (though hardly front page) because of her visit to Canada and her stance against the seal hunt. You have to admit, she is persistant. After 30 years of failure, you'd think she'd figure it out by now. Why a 71 yr old former actress in France thinks she should have anything to say about how Canada - or any other country - runs is beyond me. Then there's this little tidbit I found in the Edmonton Journal.

Many of her lifelong fans in France turned away from her in 2003 with the publication of her book Un Cri dans Le Silence. It attacked Islam, homosexuals, the unemplyed and illegal immigrants, and called for a return of the guillotine. She ended up in court and was fined $7000 for inciting racial hatred.

Yeah, we'll just change our policies on how we run our country based on the ideals of someone like this. We'll get right on that.

Oh, and for anyone who wants to know what's really going on with the seal hunt in Canada, as upposed to the myths and lies perpetuated by the likes of Ms. Bardot and the b.s. put out by groups like the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, you might want to check out this link. http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/seal-phoque/myth_e.htm

And if you've got images of cute cuddly baby harp seals stuck in your mind, check out this one
http://www.katu.com/stories/76832.html It may help remind people that seals are very big, very dangerous, very successful predators. Of course if you Google the words "seal hunt," these aren't the sites you're likely to find.

Of course, Ms. Bardot is hardly the only celebrity that tries to impose their own pet projects onto countries, seemingly expecting that their very celebrity is enough to cause national leaders to cow-tow to them (and seemingly just as surprised when they don't). With our last PM hamming it up for the cameras with U2's Bono not to long ago, we've found ourselves the brunt of his lectures on his pet projects, too. A message to Bono. Former PM Martin was most likely using you to boost his own career. That, and we don't need you to tell our government what it should do with *our* tax dollars. Our former gov. has wasted quite enough of it already. Give our new gov. a chance to clean and repair out own backyard. Then maybe we can start looking at helping other countries.

It's never difficult to find stories about celebrities who try to use their fame to influence others. Of course, like any other voting citizen, celebrities have every right to do what they can for what they believe in. Examples of celebrities that walked the talk include the late Ronald Reagan and governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura. Love them or hate them, these are celebrities who used their fame to make a difference. Considerably different from the puffed up egos that don't even bother to take the time to learn all the facts, mug for the cameras while spouting platitudes, then seem to be offended because us ordinary folks don't drop down, fawning all over them, and doing what they tell us just because they're famous.

Being a celebrity, in and of itself, isn't enough. Give us some meat on those bones, and maybe we'll find you worth listening to.