If you look at his history you will see that Farhad goes through phases where he generates articles that apparently are designed to provoke Salon readers. He's a gifted writer but for some reason indulges in serial baiting. This time he has also turned up the baiting intensity, and this torrent of messages is the result.

One can only speculate about why Farhad might be doing this (maybe Salon gives writers some reward for generating large numbers of reader messages?) but viewed with the perspective of history his provocation appears very calculated. His articles used to bother me until I realized this.

Mark, there is lots of good information here, but the article wants more analysis -- with more journalistic thoroughness and a little more healthy skepticism about the official story. As to the argument about the dire effects of stress, of course it makes sense, but e.g.:

The first reaction of Robert Bradley, who had frequent contact with Lay as a public policy analyst at Enron before it collapsed, was that it was "ironic" in terms of the timing and that he was shocked his former boss died because "he watched his diet closely and exercised."

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=111654

As your article suggests briefly in the last two paragraphs, Lay had an enormous amount to gain from dying and "cheating the Big House". Even if he did die, this is more than half of the story. I come to Salon for the intelligent analysis, and if I were King/President, I'd ask you to expand the analysis in your article.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_4835707,00.html

Rove: Colorado a swing state...

By Michael Malik And Stuart Steers, Rocky Mountain News

July 11, 2006

Karl Rove came to town Monday to appear at a fundraiser for the state Republican Party, and President Bush's top political adviser made it clear that Colorado has become a crucial swing state in national politics.

"It's a swing state, no ifs, ands or buts about it," Rove said in a meeting with the Rocky Mountain News editorial board. "It's a competitive state. You can't take it for granted." .............

http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20060716/COLUMN/60714009

dotComments: Of Rove, Lay and pricey digs

July 16, 2006

Karl Rove’s appearance at the Aspen Ideas Festival sparked comments from online readers of The Aspen Times last week, while the topic of Kenneth Lay continued to provoke vitriol from others. ..............

The death of Kenneth Lay in Aspen earlier this month continued to provoke reader comments, including suggestions about what to do with his estate. ..............

Just speculating, but imagine that there were a terrorist attack soon -- as Hillary Clinton was just calculating two days ago there might be:

"There are circumstances beyond our control, and I think I am better able to handle things I have no control over," she said. "It's a horrible prospect to ask yourself 'What if? What if?' But if certain things happen between now and the election, particularly with respect to terrorism, that will automatically give the Republicans an advantage again, no matter how badly they have mishandled it, no matter how much more dangerous they have made the world," she said.

http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8R7O3580.html

Furthermore, imagine there were an attack and it turned out that Iran were somehow implicated, even indirectly. Then the whole situation would look different. We'd have our smoking casus belli, and the high troop level thanks to the Surge could look serendipitous.

So our democratic senators who are avoiding action might know something. (Hypothetically speaking of course.) Put yourself in their position; if you knew there were probably going to be an attack, and soon, then what would you do? Things would look different then.

Eery comments here: "I don't think this is funny so it doesn't deserve to exist."

? Some of us think it is funny and like it. Cheer up.

... reliable sources informed ABC news today. The FBI, after being notified about this, has reportedly initiated a probe into possible profit motives, including whether Novak could have benefited from subsequent Iraq war news coverage. Friends close to the long-time political commentator have said privately that he was pressured into retiring immediately by officials in the bentonite industry, who demanded that he falsely leak the brain tumor story in order to cover his false leaking of the bentonite story. However prominent neuropathologists consulted by ABC news dispute this account, pointing out that outward manifestations have been consistent with his having had a brain tumor for years.