The Samgrass Chronicles: Last month, I attended a local media function and met an English writer who was acquainted with Christopher Hitchens. He told me that Hitchens would bring a bottle of "Evian water" to his public speaking engagements, the "water" actually being an Evian bottle filled with straight vodka, and that as the debate would progress, it would be easy to spot him becoming more and more intoxicated. Here, Hitchens' "fake but accurate" defense of the Niger Forgeries this morning seems to be influenced by a generous helping of Smirnoff, washed down with a couple o' shots of Jagermeister.