I usually don't respond to ad hominem, especially when it's not at all witty, telling, or even logical. I post now to this one only because you're the list moderator.
This list has a lot of potential. There are many intelligent and knowledgeable individuals posting here on a variety of interesting topics. But here you are as the list moderator, functioning as an echo chamber for the dimmer bulbs among the list's ad hominemists. You are replicating and encouraging precisely the type of behavior that you should be moderating, if you want this list to thrive as an intellectual forum.
I understand that you may be embarrassed that I called you out about your diddling the numbers on your "opportunistic hatchet job" on the freedom index, but we can put that behind us. I'm calling on you to return to the land of reason, logic, and evidence.
There is a real issue here, over which reasonable people can disagree. But first we need some reasonable people.
Thomas