I’m really sorry, but I don’t have a damn thing to say about Jack Kevorkian. Not even snark.
I also can’t say much about James Arness. I want to say I’m a little too young for “Gunsmoke”, but it ran until 1975, when I would have been 10. I can’t understand why I don’t have any memories of it. It may have been something my family didn’t watch, but if so, I don’t recall why.
Elmer “Geronimo” Pratt has also died, and that’s kind of an interesting story. Pratt was a Black Panther leader who was convicted of murder in 1972. His conviction was overturned in 1997; the judge ruled that the prosecutors at Pratt’s murder trial had hidden evidence that could have pointed to Pratt’s innocence. (“Pratt maintained that the FBI knew he was innocent because the agency had him under surveillance in Oakland when the slaying was committed in Santa Monica.”) Pratt later settled a lawsuit over his conviction for $4.5 million.
Finally, by way of Popehat: Joel Rosenberg, author and firearms rights advocate, died yesterday. Condolences to his family.