Deathers

Who knew there were so many nouns ending in ~th that could be spun into conspiracy theories.

We have the truthers in their various forms, who believe the truth about 9/11 is not what we've been told. Then there are the infamous birthers, who believe that Donald Trump is not bald. And I like to use the neologism southers to describe those who feel that South Korea was behind the torpedoing and sinking of the Ch'ŏnan last year.

Add to this the deathers, those who feel that Osama bin Laden did not really die as we've been told. The various theories go that Osama bin Laden has been dead for nine years (which really doesn't make sense, since OBL's death could have been trotted out as an October surprise in 2004, when Senator John Kerry was giving incumbent President George W. Bush a run for his money), or that he is not dead now (he's being waterboarded for useful information as we speak), or that we didn't really capture him at all.

[UPDATE: CNN has begun using the term "deathers," nearly a day after yours truly.]

No doubt Oily Taint will start demanding, "Where's the Death Certificate?" And to be fair to Oily, it does seem a bit weird that the guy we spent ten years trying to find — at least three or four of them in earnest — would be dumped off to see to become so much shark chow.

It only adds fuel to the fire when Obama won't release the snuff film:

The president’s decision to keep the images secret — despite his administration’s stated preference for transparency — led to warnings from some in Congress that the move would fuel doubts in some parts of the world about whether bin Laden is dead.

There is some precedent for government release of graphic images in the war on terror: The Bush administration released photos of dead insurgent leaders in Iraq, including two of Saddam Hussein’s sons. However, Obama said releasing photos of bin Laden’s body would defy American values.

“That’s not who we are,” the president said, according to quotes from the interview that White House press secretary Jay Carney relayed at the daily news briefing Wednesday. “We don’t trot out this stuff as trophies.”

“We don’t need to spike the football, and I think that, given the graphic nature of these photos, it would create some national security risk,” Obama said.

But they will release photos of the carnage back at the ranch in Abbottabad, so that's something.