Yeah. At worst the Darwin fish is petulant, and snide. Not to mention inneffective, since most Christians aren't deeply troubled by evolution.

It wasn't an operation for his hearing loss, it was something else before that -- gastric, no doubt!!

He hasn't excused himself thus far. He issued a very frank statement of what the problem was and what he was doing about it. He explicitly did not excuse himself for the addiction, said that it was wrong and that he alone was responsible for it. He further discouraged any talk of him being a role model in the "drug survivor" sense, as many celebrities are treated when their addictions hit the news. His attitude seems to be "this is a stupid f'd up state I've gotten myself into, and now I've got to get myself out. Don't feel sorry for me".

He's handling it with way more dignity than most.