Jack's gonna go down inside

Is there anything more annoying than an actor? Of course, one with a social conciense. In the darkest hours after hurricane Katrina fun was available to those watching Sean Penn's earnest mercy dash to help those affected. Not quite so earnest that he didn't take a film crew to capture his largesse obviously.

If you're gonna make a political point then at least take the piss. A lesson George Clooney didn't ignore when taking a swipe at disgraced US lobbyist Jack Abramoff during his Golden Globes speech. Clooney said on Monday: "Who would name their kid 'Jack' with 'off' at the end? No wonder the guy's screwed up."

Entertainment trade paper Variety said it received an open letter from Frank Abramoff, Jack's father saying Clooney's words were "deeply hurtful".

Frank doesn't confirm whether those words were more or less hurtful than the time Jack defrauded an estimated $66 million out of Native American tribes, clients he described as "monkeys," "troglodytes," and "idiots" But parents can be very forgiving can't they?

According to Variety, Frank Abramoff wrote to Clooney: "Your glib and ridiculous attack on my son, Jack, coupled with your obscene query as to the choice his mother and I made in naming him brought shame and dishonour on you and your profession. "What drove you to this lapse in lucidity, I can never know, but you need to know that your words were deeply hurtful to many innocent and decent people."

George may bring shame to his profession, but then again Jack's CV contains coups like his work to secure a visa for the great Zairian kleptocrat Mobutu Sese Seko. Perhaps he's prouder of his leadership of a 1980s think tank financed, unbeknownst to him apparently, by the intelligence arm of South Africa's apartheid regime? Actually speaking of innocent and decent people he may be most pleased with his work to secure federal immigration and labor law waivers for the Saipan garment industry in 1997.

Frank went on to say in the letter that the lobbyist's daughter, who was watching the show, was in "a fit of tears". Good.

Time was that when your venal greedy bastard got caught out, he at least had a little fucking dignity, no dammit, brazen arrogance. Is there anything worse than these fuckers getting caught and then whining about it? Grow a fucking backbone you piece of shit, you'll need it when you get to Lompoc Penitentiary, a lot of those well-built chicano motherfuckers have got family who work in the garment industry, plenty of displaced Chippewa indians inside too. Maybe a brother from Inglewood will disagree with your arpartheid-funded film work.

Pretty soon a few comments from a matinee idol are going to be the least of your concerns Jack.