It is really uncomfortable to defend free speech, because you often have stand beside those who say things you find personally noxious. And there's always the temptation to label speech you personally find offensive as hate speech so that you can get it outlawed (of course, if I think it's hateful, everyone else must also, right?). But sometimes it's just exhilarating to tee off on somebody with an idiotic argument. The Arch-Bishop of Canterbury is upset that Great Britain is scrapping its old blasphemy laws, reports the Telegraph : New legislation may be needed to protect religious believers from "thoughtless and cruel" attacks if Britain's ancient blasphemy laws are scrapped, the Archbishop of Canterbury said yesterday. Dr Rowan Williams conceded that the blasphemy offences were flawed and no longer served any purpose, but he questioned whether recently introduced laws banning incitement to religious hatred were an adequate substitute. The Archbishop said ...