(quote) "....how stupid and sad it seems that it is okay for *friends* to heap such ridicule. This has been going on for a long time, here, at the Mudcat." Well my sincere apologies for unintentionally contributing to an apparently *already existing* situation that has this subject as a "favorite punching bag". This is a surprise to me.

However I do take exception to someone here immediately resorting to concious nastiness as in this opening : ( quote ) "I remember a few months ago when some *idiot* decided to pose that same question..... ...."Maybe it's even the same idiot, who knows?"

This doesn't sound like much of a pre-existent "agreeing to disagree" policy to me. I was quite content to just let the thread dissolve away as I read to see whom would share in the humor. Apparently , by your commentary , there already is some "unresolved" sensitivity regarding the treatment of this subject. Again, my apologies. I could not know and , considering the subject's sensitivity , I won't make the easy wisecrack of why. However if anything is censorable it is *usually* the resorting to insult and name calling right out of the gate to make one's counter-point. This gets my Irish up and , again , my apologies for giving in to the passions of a moment's provocation. I'll govern my future threads more cautiously though there is this odd queasiness over redress from a messageboard that allowed well over 100 posts on the enlightened subject of , how shall I put this delicately, "breaking wind".

But far be it for me to cry foul. I'm just a guest here.