KEN LAY'S DEATH CIRCUS

So Ken Lay died early this morning. I must admit that when I heard it on the radio as I was getting ready for work, it was so exciting, in a "big news" kind of way, that I ran out of the bathroom and told Becky. But that's about it. I don't really have anything else to say about Lay's death other than that, even though I'm sure he was a nice guy, and he will be greatly missed by his loved ones, Lay symbolized, as the greedy, law-breaking, arrogant, peasant-squashing, corrupt scumbag that he was, virtually everything that's wrong with this country. I, for one, won't miss him at all. Good riddance: America, and consequently the world, is a better place without him--ultimately, being a "nice guy" doesn't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world of ours, especially when a "nice guy" uses his wealth and power to fuck over thousands of people, and thinks that there's nothing wrong with it.

Fuck you, Ken Lay.

Anyway, what is interesting about his death is the weird death circus that's been happening all day.

From Yahoo courtesy of AlterNet:

Ken Lay's death prompts confusion on Wikipedia

At 10:06 a.m., Wikipedia's entry for Lay said he died "of an apparent suicide."

At 10:08, it said he died at his Aspen, Colorado home "of an apparent [[heart attack] or suicide.]."

Within the same minute, it said the cause of death was "yet to be determined."

At 10:09 a.m., it said "no further details have been officially released" about the death.

Two minutes later, it said: "The guilt of ruining so many lives finally [sic] led him to his suicide."

At 10.12 a.m., this was replaced by: "According to Lay's pastor the cause was a 'massive coronary' heart attack."

By 10:39 a.m., Lay's entry said: "Speculation as to the cause of the heart attack lead many people to believe it was due to the amount of stress put on him by the Enron trial." This statement was later dropped.

By early Wednesday afternoon, the entry said Lay was pronounced dead at Aspen Valley Hospital, citing the Pitkin, Colorado sheriff's department. It said he apparently died of a massive heart attack, citing KHOU-TV in Houston.

Click here for the rest.

Apparently, lots of people were speculating that it was a suicide, but, no, it was just a heart attack. However, I can't personally escape the notion that it was brought on by stress from his trial and conviction. Sure, his arteries were clogged and all, but stress is also often a factor in heart attacks. Anyway, even though I link to it like every other day, I'm not particularly disturbed by Wikipedia's confusion. Generally, despite the online encyclopedia's much criticized collective nature as far as writing and editing is concerned, at least one notable study has shown that it is actually on par in terms of accuracy with the Encyclopedia Britannica. The shifting descriptions of Lay's death are only the result of Wikipedia being so instantaneous--paper encyclopedias would have months before publishing to get it right; and, in a week or two, Wikipedia will no doubt get it right as well. That's the internet for you.

But online Wikipedia writers weren't the only ones in confusion.

From Think Progress, again courtesy of AlterNet:

Snow On Lay’s Death: ‘I Don’t Know, What Do You
Think Would Be The Appropriate Thing To Say?’

At today’s press briefing, Press Secretary Tony Snow was asked about the death of Ken Lay, the convicted former Enron CEO whom President Bush nicknamed “Kenny Boy.”

First, Snow dodged the question, asking the reporter: “I don’t know, what do you think would be the appropriate thing to say?” Later, he played down the relationship between the two, refusing to let Bush be described as a “friend” of Lay’s. “[T]he President has described Ken Lay as an acquaintance, and many of the President’s acquaintances have passed on during his time in office,” he said.

Click here to watch some video of our new TV-friendly White House press secretary project a suave and in-control image while he spouts bullshit to the American people.

Snow's only been on the job for a few weeks, and already he's lying like a pro. Lay and Bush were most definitely friends. They were so close that Bush gave him one of those stupid nicknames years ago, "Kenny Boy." Furthermore, Lay and Bush went way back. They met first in the late 80s. Lay was funneling Bush campaign money all through the 90s when he was governor of Texas. "Kenny Boy" was also one of Bush's biggest campaign donors in 2000; he even allowed Tom DeLay to use the Enron corporate jet to fly Republican Congressional staffers to Florida to stage the "bourgeois riot" that effectively stopped the recount in Gore-heavy Dade County. That is, Bush probably wouldn't occupy the White House right now if not for Lay: the President owed the corrupt businessman a great deal, and he's well aware of that.

But no, Enron was "a business scandal, not a political scandal." Yeah right. Today, Bush lost an old pal, which, no doubt, makes him just a little bit less nervous about being dragged into the Enron story.

Fuck you, Bush.

You know, there is one thing about Lay's death that I found vaguely interesting.

From the Houston Chronicle:

Preliminary report says Lay died of natural causes

Both men were expected to receive lengthy prison sentences. However, Lay's death likely means his conviction will be vacated and it will be as if he were never charged, legal observers said.

Lay had not been sentenced and the appeal process had barely started. That means a final judgment has not been issued and the conviction will be set aside, said Richard Barnett, a San Diego attorney who specializes in forfeitures.

What is not clear, however, is whether the government's efforts to seize money and assets from Lay can continue.

Click here for the rest.

You know, this part hits my moral center in the much the same way that the news about the CIA's de-prioritizing bin Laden's capture did. That is, what about justice? Why should Lay's conviction be set aside simply because he died? My point here is that justice isn't simply about making things fair and comforting the afflicted. It's also about society making declarations about right and wrong. Convicting Lay was an unambiguous statement by our culture that it is wrong for people with power to fuck over everybody else, that the rich cannot do whatever they want. Setting aside Lay's conviction needlessly creates ambiguity about might making right, and, needless to say, we need more, not less, societal assertions about power and morality, especially these days.

And why the hell would anybody think that Lay's assets cannot be seized? He fucking stole that money; it was never his, and it doesn't belong to his wife and family. Besides, I'm sure that Mrs. Lay will get along just fine on her Social Security checks and food stamps.

Eat the rich, baby.

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