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An occasionally humorous (but sometimes annoying) rendition of history by one of Britain's leading comics Wow. I just got back from Las Vegas and I had a chance to see Eddie Izzard. For people who aren’t familiar with him, he is an English comedian and quick-witted polyglot…as well as a heterosexual transvestite. He is also a proud British Labourite and atheist. (Izzard cross-dressing during a previous tour) I went to see him because of his amusing renditions of history, especially ancient history. He opened his act by describing the regicide of Charles I of England, followed by an interesting recounting of King John and the signing of the Magna Carta. Izzard later gave a light account of Caesar’s victory over Vercingetorix and his Celtic allies at Alesia. (His portrayal of Marc Antony as a robo-chicken was more bizarre than funny, however.) He emphasized the later genocide and enslavement of at least a million Celts. He quickly segued into a funny and campy version of Caesar’s murder. As a leftist, he made several references to “right-wing extremists.” This included the usual litany of suspects: Nazis, fascists, racists, etc. Strangely, this group of extremists also included anyone who didn’t want higher taxes, Austrian economists, and the Tea Party. Izzard also made some hardly topical references to Reagan, Thatcher, Nixon, and Bush the younger. As someone who isn’t religious or Catholic, even I felt that the (presumably former Anglican) atheist may have gone too far when he equated modern Christianity (especially Catholicism) with the worst of religious extremism. He listed some of the abuses of the Catholic Church, including the Spanish Inquisition from four hundred years ago, for example, as evidence. He reminded everyone that the previous Pope had even been a member of the Hitler Youth. Being politically correct, however, Izzard failed to mention by name the one extremist fringe of a religion that today most threatens Western freedoms. For some there is one extremist group that they dare not speak its name. Eddie Izzard can be quick-witted and entertaining. I found his preachiness somewhat off-putting, however. The audience was very appreciative of his act, however. He has a very loyal following in Las Vegas and he shares his time with the audience after the show. Hopefully, many in the audience will be motivated by Izzard to google Caesar and Alesia, discovering the joys of Ancient Roman history. Then, maybe they will dig deeper and find that history is far more nuanced than Izzard imagines. guy also known as gaius