Glad he's back; I find myself agreeing with 95% of the content in his diatribes. So far, I only disagree with Pat on Iraq, where I'm very much with the Hitchens 'Neocon', George Bush, Paul Wolforwitz view. Pat's also rather amusing, and entertaining, and that helps!

But of course, whether I disagree or agree with Pat on any particular issue, is not really the point is it....No, the point is freedom of speech, this includes freedom to offend and insult. Pat doesn't incite and that enough.

Folks that don't get this are in essence anti democratic, anti liberal (liberal in the classical sense, not the US 'Lefty' sense) and I posit that the biggest political divide these days is not between Left & Right, it's between advocates of plural democracy and authoritarians and their apologists.