Waterstones are accusing Jones of staging a “provocation” to create a “furore” around his book’s publication. What he actually did was email Christian Voice a crap poem containing the line “I fucked Jesus”. I don’t know, this puts a different complexion on it for me.

Free speech certainly isn’t what it used to be. Everything is now framed in a tyranny of politese, wherein no one can say anything even remotely unpleasant about people and ideas even when those people and ideas are repugnant.

Some gay activists would have us curtailing free speech merely to silence idiots like Fred Phelps who, counter to asccepted belief, has a ‘congregation’ of all of 90 pathetic individuals.

Burn, Boycott, Ban!

Stop press: NSS honorary associate Lorraine Barrett, who is a member of the Welsh Assembly, has invited Patrick Jones to read his poetry in the Senedd.

So the Stephen Green publicity machine continues to wreak its auto-foot-shooting mayhem.

I’ll guarantee you will.

Please cite. I’ve cited your transgressions at every turn.

and tried to change the subject to “race hate legislation”,

Sorry, “changed the subject”? You mean I was developing an argument, surely? I’m quite certain I didn’t say that we should stop talking about this Green episode and focus our attention on race hate legislation, which “changed the subject” would demand I had said.

I think you’re reaching.

to child porn,

Paul introduced child porn to the discussion, not I.

Oops, sorry. I mean of course that Paul changed the subject to child porn, not I. Naughty Paul.

now to Salman Rushdie,

Your mantra is that words alone cannot restrict free speech. My point is that what certain people say in certain circumstnaces at certain junctures has consequences. Indeed, the words are specifically designed to have consequences. In the Rushdie case, those consequences are severe. The fact that he could write another Satanic Verses if he wanted to is all that seems to matter to you (to wit, his free speech is not curtailed). To me – and I’m glad to say to most – what matters is that he would have to do so whislt in hiding for fear of his life. On this, you have nothing to say.

all without landing a blow. You are floundering, man.

Keep saying it and you might start believing it.

CV’s demonstrations are not a serious threat to free speech, their total membership could fit in a couple of phone boxes

What’s this? The ‘worse things happen at sea’ defence?

What are a threat to free speech are the laws they try to invoke to shut down artistic expression, laws which you support.

You keep saying things like this and I keep asking. Which laws are CV invoking that you claim I support? I’d like to know where I stand.

And the panic about child porn, which you seem happy to encourage

WTF? Are the pubs still open where you are?

If you want to be taken seriously as an advocate for free speech

Hmmm, I don’t think you’ve worked me out yet. As regular readers of this blog will know, I’m not a free speech libertarian and have had disagreements with co-authors about the exent to which the free speech defence can and should be applied. I applauded Ellis’ sacking from Leeds, for example. You’d do well to do a little less presuming.

Of course, nowadays in British schools, the police are called in to investigate whether some five year old has called another five year old a racial epithet.

Yes, this is happening everyday in towns and villages up and down the country.

I’ve changed my mind. You’re not Mackie at all. You’re Littlejohn.