This post was supposed to be about the Hitchens/Sharpton debate since it had produced at least one headline of note before the passing of Reverend Falwell, but Hitchens' Hitler-like eulogy for the late pastor simply cannot pass unnoticed here based on all the times I've used him in support of removing Saddam.
Speaking of which, let's hope the neocons who've so comfortably used his Slate columns for years to support the Iraq war (me included) didn't find themselves in the nearest emergency room (waiting in line behind illegals with runny noses) after hearing his recent comments.
Although I stand accused this turnaround didn't come completely without warning. Funny, the biggest shock wave might come from the lefties who foolishly branded him a neocon only for his war stance. Some might now be in therapy, or is that an oxymoron?
Regarding Falwell I'm not convinced he's right nor wrong since the Reverend was never one of my favorites. Matter of fact there are a lot of televangelists who fit that bill, however, Hitchens pissed me off when he threw Billy Graham in the same pot. Graham has more sincerity in his little finger than Hitchens entire body or most other living men. On that count it's funny--he has a new book trashing religion yet he's hated by the folks on his own side (left) and is in the process of alienating his adopted fans on the right. That's a heckuva marketing strategy.. "let's tick off everybody!".
Then there's Reverend Al.
Few men are sharp enough to match wits with the Hitch and despite his name, Reverend Sharpton cannot be counted among the few. He allowed Hitchens to trash the Bible and most everything in it while scoring some points by saying flawed religion doesn't disprove the existence of God. He's correct, but of course nobody can disprove God anyway. Besides, why become a Reverend and preach the Bible if you can't defend it? What, is he some kind of closet Deist?
He even lost the brief exchange about Saddam's WMDs, to which Hitchens called him a sap.
At the end Hirsi Ali, a member of the audience, stood up and aksed the Reverend a time-worn question, boiled down to "who begat God"? He could have said "nobody", since it's impossible for we humans to understand infinity while living our temporal lives. It's an indisputable reply. But he mumbled something, made another crack about Iraq and it was over, Al the Charlatan revealed. Hey, perhaps Hitchens might end up doing some good in his quest to kill God, even if he doesn't believe in the concept.
