Thank you, Examiner, for ruining my day

Some depressing news from within and without U.S. borders today:

1) How awful is this? - I don't know what it is, but there's something so stomach-churning about killing creatures that are as big as whales.* And the process and spectacle of killing them, with the spears and the hooks and the splashing and the blood, just strikes me as so barbaric that I have trouble understanding how anyone can do it without wanting to commit suicide afterward.

2) This also kind of sucks. - Seems that Kenneth Lay can go to the grave an innocent man. He was convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges, but since he died while his case was on appeal, a federal judge ruled that the conviction had to be "vacated." On one hand, I understand the reasoning behind the ruling. The guy didn’t get a full shot at making his case. But really, is there anyone on Earth who thinks he isn't guilty?

* The exact opposite can be said about tiny living things like mosquitoes and bacteria, which I have no trouble killing. But that's a philosophical discussion for another time.