Speaking ill of the dead

There's this taboo against speaking ill of the dead, especially the recently dead. And especially the popular recently dead.

I once did a Keenspot newsbox that involved Llewellyn from "Ozy and Millie" holding up two fingers behind Richard Nixon's head, and got an angry letter about how you should never speak ill of the dead. (I replied "you're right. I shall never again speak ill of any dead person. Boy that Stalin was efficient.")

And Ted Rall, of course, got savaged by the Hannitys of the world after Reagan died and Ted suggested that the Gipper was probably toasting in Hell.

And all the obits of Gerald Ford are going to play up the good stuff. Because funeral bios always do.

But, I'm going to join a handful of other funeral party poopers and point out that Ford specifically greenlighted the Indonesian genocide and occupation in East Timor. He specifically greenlighted President Suharto's invasion of his country's relatively peaceful neighbor, which posed no threat to it:



As a lifelong presidential history junkie, it pains me to say it, but there isn't a US President without blood on his hands. Not a one.