David Irving sentenced to three years in prison for denying the Holocaust. I don't see how putting him in prison will do anything but turn him into a martyr, and cause more people to seek out his hateful writing. But while the civil libertarian in me may be disappointed in the sentence, Irving's willingness to try to stifle free speech himself, through his libel lawsuit (which he lost, despite Britain's harsh libel laws), allows me to take a little satisfaction that the bastard got his.

I also was amused that he caved like a little bitch, claiming that he now believes millions of jews were murdered. "History is a constantly growing tree," he said in court. "The more you know, the more documents become available, the more you learn. And I have learned a lot since 1989." Gee, that's swell. If only, somehow, there had been some shread of evidence, available in 1989, to suggest that it was possible that the Holocaust happened, Irving could have went on to have a steller career as a historian, denying the Crusades or something. He goes on to offer up what could be his epitath, or at least that of his career: "I don't know the figures. I'm not an expert on the Holocaust."