A good man and a dear friend’s name has been cleared. Ken Lay, founder of Enron, was posthumously cleared of all charges yesterday after a Houston judge declared him innocent by way of deadness, or something. Lay could not be reached for comment, as he was playing backgammon with Jesus. MORE »

“Ken Lay was too weird to live, too rare to die…” (AP)

Tony Snow on the passing of “Kenny Boy” Lay:

Q: What has been the President’s reaction to the death of Ken Lay?

SNOW: I really have not talked to him about it. I will give you my own personal reaction, which is that when somebody dies, you leave behind those that grieve, and I think that they deserve our compassion. But — I don’t know, what do you think would be the appropriate thing to say?

Q: I do not know. I don’t know him. The President was his friend, not me.

SNOW: No, the President has described Ken Lay as an acquaintance, and many of the President’s acquaintances have passed on during his time in office. Again, I think that it is sort of an interesting question but not answerable by me.

Thinkprogress has the video.

Yes, an acquaintance.

Bush, clearly shaken by his non-friend’s passing, cheerfully and goofily bought a reporter a cup of coffee at a Dunkin Donuts today. With his very own money! Your surreal press op theater transcript, after the jump.

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Jeez, we know the guy wasn’t well-liked, but even for us this is pretty intense schadenfreude. MORE »

Before the body is even cold, the internet will feast on the corpse for life-giving lol’s. MORE »

Enron founder Kenneth Lay died this morning in Aspen, Colorado, awaiting sentencing for fraud and conspiracy. Lay, 64, was admitted to the hospital last night after suffering a massive coronary. MORE »

Hot time, summer in the city, editorial cartoonists continuing to churn out cheap barbs at easy targets. And our very own cartoon expert the Comics Curmudgeon is here to cool and refresh you with unparalleled insight into those funny drawings in the back of the A section.

Our magical journey through Today’s Cartoons begins after the jump. Join us for white collar crime in all its guises, talking animals with bizarre agendas, and violence against public figures.

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