And on it goes.

As I said before, the free speech distraction is the last (and very often first) refuge of the non-thinking rogue. People in a public role seem to believe that all sorts of remarks are fine (as long as an imaginary friend is invoked) and that consequence-free public statements can be made if everyone magically knows that you are - just for that moment - engaged in an very private articulation of your views. Out loud. In public.

And then they can respond with shock at those terrible liberals looking to take their rights to say anything that's in their heads away. So to be clear: nobody is questioning Iris Robinson's general rights to free speech. They are questioning her utterences in the context of her role as a public representative. If Robinson finds it difficult to do her job without proclaiming her revulsion at the behaviour of people for whom she works, why doesn't she make her own life easier, ditch her public responsibilities and resign?

Also, this sort of behaviour is of course neither unique to the DUP nor to Northern Ireland. Just as a point of interest however, are those of us who live here going to have to get used to a yearly jamboree as the people our taxes pay for take an opportunity to peer into bedrooms and tut-tut lingeringly at all the carry-on?