And so it begins. No sooner had Matt Drudge posted a giant headline declaring “Scalia Found Dead With ‘Pillow Over Head'” than right wing blogs were rushing to stretch that nugget to fit what they were all already thinking. The Drudge item links to a San Antonio express-News article that reveals some of the details surrounding the discovery of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia‘s body, dead of an apparent heart attack:

“We discovered the judge in bed, a pillow over his head. His bed clothes were unwrinkled,” said ( Cibolo Creek Ranch owner) Poindexter. “He was lying very restfully. It looked like he had not quite awakened from a nap,” he said. Scalia,79, did not have a pulse and his body was cold, and after consulting with a doctor at a hospital in Alpine, Poindexter concluded resuscitation would have been futile, He then contacted federal authorities, at first encountering a series of answering services because he was calling on a weekend.

While Drudge had the propriety to leave President Obama’s name out of his headline, conservative sites like Gateway Pundit rushed to establish the link that everybody knows must be there:

BREAKING=> Justice Scalia Found Dead WITH PILLOW OVER HIS HEAD at Ranch Owned by Obama Award Winner …Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara, a Democrat, acknowledged that she pronounced Scalia dead by phone, without seeing his body.

That incredible reach turns downright scummy when you consider which “Obama Award” Poindexter won. Contrary to apparent conservative belief, there actually is no “Obama Awards” show, where the New Black Panthers win “Best Ensemble” and the Best Picture award always goes to “The Whitey Tape.”

No, John Poindexter was presented a very different sort of award on October 20, 2009 at The White House:

The fog of war makes a full accounting impossible. But this much we know. Among the many casualties that day, some 20 members of Alpha Troop were wounded. And at least two made the ultimate sacrifice — their names now among the many etched in that black granite wall not far from here. But because of that service, that sacrifice, Alpha Troop completed its mission. It rescued Charlie Company. It saved those 100 American soldiers, some of who join us today. And those soldiers went on to have families — children and grandchildren who also owe their lives to Alpha Troop. Now, some may wonder: After all these years, why honor this heroism now? The answer is simple. Because we must. Because we have a sacred obligation. As a nation, we have an obligation to this troop. Their actions that day went largely unnoticed — for decades — until their old captain, John Poindexter, realized that their service had been overlooked. He felt that he had a right to wrong. And so he spent years tracking down his troopers and gathering their stories, filing reports, fighting for the Silver Stars and Bronze Stars they deserved and bringing us to this day. Thank you, John.

President Obama was presenting the Presidential Unit Citation to Alpha Troop, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry for heroism during the Vietnam War, an award that dates back to its establishment by executive order in 1942. That makes it an “Obama Award” only if Obama has a really tricked-out DeLorean.

Justice Scalia’s death has only ever been attributed to natural causes, and Poindexter’s account doesn’t change that. It Doesn’t even say the pillow was covering Scalia’s face, although having had a heart attack, I can understand why a person might do that to mitigate the pain.

The sad part is that there’s zero chance people like GP‘s Jim Hoft actually think that President Obama or anyone else had anything to do with Scalia’s death, but they’re happy to smear him and a Vietnam war hero in order to get some cheap, unhinged traffic. Shame on them.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.