NYC mayor weighs in on provocative subway ad

NEW YORK (AP) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says Americans tolerate things they might find despicable because of the First Amendment's protection of free expression.

He was responding to a court decision that orders the MTA to display a provocative ad that equates Muslim radicals with savages.

He spoke Friday on his weekly WOR Radio show.

Pamela Geller, a conservative blogger, is behind the ad that will run in 10 subway stations next week.

She once headed a campaign against an Islamic center near the World Trade Center site. Bloomberg defended it.

The mayor said he didn't think Americans should preach to anyone else. But he found it "disgraceful" that a controversial video about Muslims could spark the kind of violence that has resulted in the death of the American ambassador to Libya.