Speaking Ill of the Dead (Sometimes, It's a Duty)

John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
Go ahead, speak ill of him.

John Wayne Gacy, Jr. Yes, I've spoken ill of him, and of Adolf Hitler, Al Capone. The fact that those scumbags are dead has not deterred me, nor many of you. They were horrible people, and the fact that they are dead does not change that fact. To not speak of their misdeeds is to put your head in the sand, to deny history, reality and to deny us an opportunity to learn...and express honest feelings. 

Is any sane person saying nice things in memory of "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski? Reports say he committed suicide in his prison cell on Saturday, June 10, 2023. Kaczynski "carried out a 17-year bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others." 

Good riddance, I say, and I'm not alone. 

The old saying "don't speak ill of the dead" assumes that every dead person deserves respect. But plenty of people do say nasty things about dead people. Some deserve it, some don't. I suppose it could be a matter of personal perception, one that will find disagreement among us. But there are some who absolutely deserve to be spoken ill of after they've died.

Updated: Fake Osama Bin Laden Death Photos Surfacing

UPDATED: OBAMA WILL NOT RELEASE BIN LADEN DEATH PHOTOS. There are fake photos out there, as expected. Here are two of those fakes making the rounds on the Internet this week. There are more, and will be more still. Let's stick with these two for now.

May 4, 2011 - Was Osama bin Laden shot in the left eye? Was part of his front skull blown away by a bullet? We've gotten conflicting stories from the Obama Administration, which only serves to fuel rumors and encourage photo fakery. 

There has been no official release of any Osama bin Laden death photos as of today at 11:30 a.m. CDT. U.S. officials say the still-secret photographic evidence "shows a precision kill shot above his left eye, which blew away part of bin Laden’s skull. He was also shot in the chest," reports The Independent.

But the White House said the photograph of a dead Osama bin Laden is "gruesome" and that "it could be inflammatory" if released. (Obama, as noted above, has said the death photos will not be released.)

The first bin Laden death photo (top) is a fake. Hollywood Gossip posted it yesterday (May 3). They noted that "someone who really needs to get out more took a photo of some other mangled corpse and superimposed bin Laden's face onto it. Sick."

The second photo is another fake, but it's more realistic for a couple of reasons. First, the green overtone makes it look like the night vision photos that we've all become so used to seeing.

That night vision effect lends an air of authority to the image. Second, the man who seems to be handling the body looks very military, from his clothing to the tough look of his profile. It was posted at LiveLeak.com late on the evening of May 3. The only commentary there was, "Liveleak cannot confirm the authenticity of this Osama bin Laden dead picture." However, LiveLeak later "determined" that the photo is a fraud, and offered the third photo (left) as, well, proof.  

The fakery is addressed well by John Le Fevre in a post on his blog today. He writes, "As some web commentators stated, one would expect better quality photos coming from the killing of Osama bin Laden."

Le Fevre does a nice analysis of the green photo, too, and gives his readers a warning. "Early on the morning of Tuesday, May 4, 2011 the US CIA issued a warning to people not to open eMails purporting to contain attached photos of Osama bin Laden dead as such eMails contain a computer virus."

Ted Kennedy Now Old Dead White Man

Rich old white man U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) died on Tuesday, August 25, 2009. He was 77. Ted Kennedy was a drunkard and a raging misogynist and comes from a long line of other misogynists. Kennedy died of complications related to brain cancer. To the end, he never sought a public option for his own health care. Instead, he sought out the best in private medical care and was not consulted by a government end-of-life panel. The health care reform that he championed, however, would impose the public "option" on most - if not, ultimately, all - Americans. Sen. Kennedy was a hypocrite in other ways as well. Although he claimed to be for clean energy, Kennedy and his rich white neighbors fought against the nation's first off-shore windmill project because it would spoil the view from his estate. Greenpeace launched a campaign against Kennedy over the windmill project (see their video). Ted Kennedy killed a woman on July 18, 1969 when he drove off a bridge after leaving a party. Kennedy swam away, leaving 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne to drown inside the car. She was a campaign worker with brother Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign. Kennedy did not call authorities until ten hours after the incident. (More...) Kennedy's father, Joseph Kennedy, Sr., made a fortune smuggling contraban into the United States and, later, expressed his admiration of Adolf Hitler. Joseph Kennedy hated Jews. Related: [Did] Ted Kennedy deserve his extended cancer care? Hypocrite Ted Kennedy want[ed] his successor appointed by the Governor, not elected Ted Kennedy Want[ed] Massachusetts to change law again Ted Kennedy's Last Will and Testament Ted Kennedy: Forty Years after Chappaquiddick Joe Kennedy Pimps for Hugo Chavez Ted Kennedy Jokes Ted Kennedy's Yacht Oil Spill Exposed (video)

Ricardo Montalban Dead

This is serious: Fantasy Island star Ricardo Montalban died today at 6:30 a.m. Radaronline.com has learned. He passed away at his home, lovingly referred to as "Casa Montalban" by his family, in Los Angeles. MORE from Radar... ALSO: Ricardo Montalban's Biography Subscribe to Chicago News Bench

Bobby Fischer Dead

Brilliant chess master, world-class eccentric Bobby Fischer dies CNN - Chess master Bobby Fischer, one of the greatest chess players in history, has died, a spokesman for the World Chess Federation confirmed to CNN Friday. More news about dead people...

JOHN STROGER DEAD

Former Cook County president John Stroger dies at 78 More, much more...

Yeltsin: Dead Indefinitely

Former Russian leader or something like that. He died today, and not even the best Russian science can bring him back. In spite of his best efforts, Russia remains a basket case among nations. For more about Boris Yeltsin, click here.