Sobering, disquieting and disturbing. I truly appreciate your work on this matter, Glenn, you are tremendous.

Amazing how the detailed character smears of the dead man appeared everywhere, all at once, in far-flung media outlets. His body was barely cold yet suddenly everywhere there were incredibly detailed, unflattering reports of his past going back years.

No one can tell me that this was not a concerted and synchronized effort. The many friends and co-workers who have vouched for the guy's innocence have been drowned out in lurid accounts that make him seem like Hannibal Lecter. Unbelievable vitriol towards him, wild stories of a murderous maniac. See: NY Post yesterday.

The key to telling a convincing lie is to choose one story and stick with it. The sheer amount of fanciful accounts of his past malevolence that are suddenly everywhere make him seemed like a veritable satanic monster amok for years. Is this at all believeable?

No wonder the problem of "unnamed sources" even for the most mundane of commentary continues.

"Unnamed sources" are the "insider trading" of journalism-as-means-to-a-very-well-paid-and-prestigious-career as opposed to that issues-center-historical-record-policy-wonk stuff.

One hand washes the other, indeed. Junior G-Men

...then the case is closed.

Just ask Kit Bond.

Big deal that there are a few dozen still unanswered questions involving the Anthrax Case. This is an election year!

There are haircuts that need investigating and Constitutional amendments in need of elimination.

Now go back to your cheetos and let the big boys -- the FBI, Secret Service and the Washington Post -- put a big bow on this case once and for all.

The "classic" tactics of the FBI in this case are not exactly original or unique to the FBI. We are first introduced to the concept of the perpetrator going progressively insane from his own guilt in the Edgar Allen Poe classic The Tell-Tale Heart In the Poe Classic of course, it's the perpetrator's own heart that is the perceived evidence. I will refer to these tactics as Tell Tale Heart Tactics ( TTHT).

The framers of the Constitution were also well aware of the method of TTHT. This is evidenced of course by the inclusion of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the United States of clauses both insuring the right of the accused to face their accuser directly if not in person by way of signed warrant indicating the exact nature of the evidence presented.

Obviously, Ivins never enjoyed this Constitutionally guaranteed right during his life.

Likewise the 5th amendment protects accused from self incrimination. Once again, Ivins did not survive to make use of the 5th amendment.

But what motive could the FBI have for forcing this case closed?

The first vicitm, Robert Stevens, died October 5, 2001. The primary motive the FBI appears to be promoting for Ivins is that he wanted his vaccine tested. Many advancing this theory suggest that Ivins didn't really mean to harm anyone. That line of thinking makes it impossible to understand why Ivins would then mail the Daschle and Leahy letters on October 9, four days after Stevens died. In fact, MSNBC reported on October 8 that a co-worker of Stevens' was infected (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3067576/). There is no way that an anthrax worker at Ft. Detrick could have been unaware of that death and the other infection. However, someone hell-bent on getting the Patriot Act passed through instilling absolute panic (regardless of the body count) would have sent those two letters.

DNA taken from the bodies of people killed in the 2001 anthrax attacks helped lead investigators to Bruce Ivins, who oversaw the highly specific type of germ in an Army lab, a government scientist said Sunday.

Using new genome technology to identify the type of Ames strain anthrax used in the attacks, the FBI began to focus on Ivins (snip)

Ivins "was the primary suspect for some time," said the scientist, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to reporters.

snip

"They were cultures he was personally responsible for."

snip

The FBI recruited top genome researchers from across the country and gave them "no rules, so we could do the best and most compelling approaches," said the scientist. At least $10 million was spent on the case, in what the scientist called "clearly the most expensive case FBI's ever undertaken. And the most scientifically compelling case."

The new genome technology used to track down Ivins was either not available or too expensive to use often until about three years ago.

magic 8 ball ... decoder rings ... "cultures he was personally responsible for" ... let's have someone on the record please ... and then the rebuttal witnesses.

Federal agents may take a traveler's laptop or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed.

Let's see, how much more will it take for people to realize that we are living in a fascist state. We've essentially allowed the following:

A lie riddled, fact omitted 9/11 report

The Patriot Act

Numerous Dictatorial Executive Orders

Public bailout of Wall Street cronies

Consolidation of Media within a handful of Corporations

FISA and the EVISCERATION OF OUR 4th amendment

The government now has carte blanche access to EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR LIFE. When will you STAND UP FOR FREEDOM?

Good points. That is why I believe we need more facts before we do more than speculate. Speaking of speculation vs. journalism, of all the many unanswered questions that could be investigated, this AP story only substantiates the idea that Ivins was the culprit. Come on AP, read what Glenn has posted on this issue and all the comments here and on FDL and do some real journalism. Your nation needs you.

Is another Bruce Ivins lurking in a biolab? (see sig)

By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer 53 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - There could be another Bruce Ivins lurking somewhere in a biodefense laboratory.

These research facilities have expanded so quickly since the anthrax attacks in 2001 that the government cannot keep close tabs on the sites or their thousands of scientists. Security procedures are designed more to prevent accidents than to deal with security-cleared scientists who control their own lab.

Billions of biodefense dollars from the Bush administration swelled to nearly 1,400 the number of labs handling potential biological weapons including anthrax.

Background checks for people handing such germs and toxins are unlikely to ferret out workers with homicidal tendencies or extreme political views. There is little to stop a scientist, especially a principal investigator in charge of his own lab, from smuggling out an anthrax spore, for example, on a cotton swab used to clean his ear.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080803/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/anthrax_security_nightmare