It could be clever gamesmanship by patty, too.
I won't lift the ban on SS, but I'd be far more likely to lift a ban on patty, and there'd be far more pressure from DC for me to do so. So if patty can do the switcheroo, eventually whenever it is I break and miss patty enough to let him back on, both patty and SS will be active posters again, mission accomplished.
I could have some fun with this.
