The Dish

He enlists in the Marines. The family tradition continues …

According to Nikki Finke, Malibu’s sheriff has confirmed that "the contents seem to be similar" between the posted police reports of Mel Gibson’s DUI incident and the real thing. Anyone who saw "The Passion of the Christ" with open eyes cannot be surprised. The theocons, who touted the anti-Semitic sado-masochistic movie, have been extremely quick to insist no connection. Natch.

Here’s a round-up of responses from around the world to Peter Galbraith’s recent proposal.

The CDC just issued a report on the scare of last year when a New York man was believed to have contracted a new and virulent strain of HIV. He’s doing fine. So are the two men with a similar strain.

Playing the anti-gay card against a promising Democratic candidate in Ohio … because he and his wife have no children. What do you expect from the party of Rove?

Here’s a page from what looks like a police report about Mel Gibson’s alleged rants about "the Jews" after an arrest for drunk-driving, cited by the New York Daily News (click on  the image below for a larger version) and originally reported by the celebrity news site, TMZ.com. This has not been independently confirmed:

Either this is an extremely elaborate hoax or it’s the end of Gibson’s career. It contains every anti-Semitic trope imaginable – from the darling of the Christianist right. These details, I repeat, haven’t been independently confirmed and are from this website. Still, it’s weird that the sheriff hasn’t issued a mug-shot. TMZ alleges a police cover-up to remove the incendiary comments from the official record. Money quote from the Daily News:

Once inside the car, a source directly connected with the case says Gibson began banging himself against the seat. The report says Gibson told the deputy, "You mother f****r. I’m going to f*** you." The report also says "Gibson almost continually [sic] threatened me saying he ‘owns Malibu’ and will spend all of his money to ‘get even’ with me."

The report says Gibson then launched into a barrage of anti-Semitic statements: "F*****g Jews… The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." Gibson then asked the deputy, "Are you a Jew?"

The deputy became alarmed as Gibson’s tirade escalated, and called ahead for a sergeant to meet them when they arrived at the station. When they arrived, a sergeant began videotaping Gibson, who noticed the camera and then said, "What the f*** do you think you’re doing?"

A law enforcement source says Gibson then noticed another female sergeant and yelled, "What do you think you’re looking at, sugar tits?"

We’re told Gibson took two blood alcohol tests, which were videotaped, and continued saying how "f****d" he was and how he was going to "f***" Deputy Mee.

Sugar tits?

(Image: from Gibson’s forthcoming movie, Apocalypto.)

It’s a classic tactic for ideological nutcases and, of course, the French. Genocidal religious fanatic Ahmadinejad takes a whack. Stuff like this must surely help the younger Persians to take him unseriously.

"Can we agree that all terrorists have some degree of mental illness?"

Er, no. I’d say the vast majority are completely sane and deploying violence against innocents to make a point, seize political power, gain territory or, increasingly these days, to praise Allah. All perfectly sane. That’s the bottom line for understanding their evil. I take Hewitt’s main point about our wanting to ascribe other motives, and second his refusal to do so. But I think it’s important to remember that ethnic or, more often now, religious hatred is perfectly sane, if evil. The mass murder of Jews was carried about by completely coherent people on the whole. That also applies to an enraged Muslim gunman in Seattle. More biographical data here. A little eccentric, maybe. But sane.

Their own video was great. But when the local Fox News team tried to recreate the story, things went a little awry …

I sent the late terrorist’s mom a worried email. She was kind enough to reply.