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passive_fist comments on The Galileo affair: who was on the side of rationality? - Less Wrong
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If that's your point then I agree. It just seemed to me as if you were suggesting that a scientific attitude should be non-provocative, which I disagree with. Being provocative is sometimes necessary to get people's attention.
In this case I agree with you.
However, I would like to add that when we judge people's decisions we should judge based on the era in which they were made. In an era where pretty much anywhere in the world corporal and even capital punishment was the norm even for minor crimes (like theft), and if you insulted a nobleman you had a good chance of being challenged to a duel and killed, insulting the head of state only got him house arrest. A (comparatively) pretty mild punishment in my opinion. Of course, such a punishment would be unjustified in today's world where we value the freedom of speech a lot. However, publicly calling a head of state an idiot would probably have some repercussions even today, even if just a fine, or a lawsuit to post a correction or apology in the next edition.
Sorry, I just love playing advocatus diaboli :)