I've never been a fan of Mel Gibson. Yes, I enjoyed a couple of the Leathal Weapon movies - especially the iteration with Patsy Kensit. But even as an adolescent I was never fooled into believing Gibson was cool. Naive as I was I somehow knew where to draw the line.
Christopher Hitchens is another story. I loved to read his articles in The Nation. The way he could fillet a political opponent with printed words was amazing. His literary venom can still be amazing, but these day I seldom find it as enjoyable. After 9/11, the speed with which he turned from Leftist ally to Bush supporting Neo-con and all around administration apologist is matched only by how quickly a Tour de France cyclist tests positive for performance enhancement.
However, if you can't count on Hitchens for much these days, you can still count on enjoying yourself if he is attacking someone you loathe. For instance his newest piece in Slate wherein he points his poisoned pen at Mel Gibson, his family, his family's apologists, and his family's publicists.
Want a taste? How's this on the evaluation of Gibson's true orientation towards Semitic peoples: "One does not abruptly decide, between the first and second vodka, or the ticks of the indicator of velocity, that the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion are valid after all." How do you like them apples, Mel?
