What kind of country makes bioweapons? A very interesting question. I would answer a country that is stupid enough to think that (1) it can use these weapons to completely disable its enemy and prevent the enemy from responding in kind, and (2) it will be able to control the dispersal of the bioweapon to prevent it from affecting its own population. As you can see, two perfectly logical starting points.

Steven King's The Stand keeps popping into my mind as I continue to follow this investigation. Once it becomes clear that the Superflu cannot be contained and that the U.S. population will be wiped out, the U.S. Government orders its operatives in the Soviet Union to release the weapon there as well, thereby ensuring the destruction of 99% of the world's population. Although (or maybe because) he was writing in the 1970s, I think he could have been describing the current administration.

My next thought is a bit far afield from the Ivins investigation, but a feel compelled to share it. I have recently been thinking more and more about Armaggedon, specifically the book of Revelation. One summer a few years back, I read the entire Left Behind series. The preamble to the Rapture is a war between Israel, Russia and Iran. Russia and Iran are completely destroyed through the intervention of God, while Isreal is preserved. This scenario is taken from Biblical prophecy gleened from the book of Revelations and others mainly Old Testament books. Fortunately, there are currently no conditions in the world that could possibly bring about such a war. Whew!

One of the problems of Biblical literalism is this penchant for attempting to forecast the Rapture so that all of the chosen ones may have an idea when they will be taken bodily into heaven. In attempting to devine the "when" of the Rapture, however, fundamentalists may be tempted to help things along. After all, they will not be here when the proverbial sh-t hits the fan. I fear that certain elements of the hawkish spectrum of the U.S. Government are combining with certain elements of the Christian fundamentalist religion that has been allowed great access into the government over the past eight years to bring about conditions for Armageddon.

This can also explain the invasion of Iraq. In the Left Behind books (and related literature) the headquarters of the Anti-Christ is New Babylon, which is built upon the ruins of Baghdad. The fall of Saddam Hussein and the conquest of Iraq by the U.S. makes this event more likely. And as Glenn and other commentators have pointed out, the anthrax attacks in September and October 2001, which were initiall linked to Saddam Hussein, made the invasion of Iraq more likely.

As I said, this last thought is far afield from the FBI's investigation. However, I do think that I may have answered bamage's question.

Interesting indeed. The trends are positive, but the 46% "traditionalist" is still a problem. And more than 1/2 surveyed still watching local TV news? I'd like to see those cross-tabs, I bet 80% are seniors.

It's multi-page report, they have breakdowns for age, party, gender--don't stop with the first page. There are quick links at right for various parts of the report. I believe this is their '08 edition of a series of in-depth media surveys they do every two years.

Two things of note--the viewership is becoming quite segmented (bad for democracy, one would think) and media crediblity continues to circle the drain. Which, I guess, speaks generally pretty well of the public, because the media as a whole have done little to actually merit much in the way of cred...

I meant the venues that Glenn was referring to specifically, though they may in fact be the same ones. Thanks, anyway.

I meant the venues that Glenn was referring to specifically, though they may in fact be the same ones. Thanks, anyway.

The post of mine I linked to contains links to those other places where that point was raised -- including by Marcy Wheeler, Larisa Alexandrova, and a commenter here linking to a Democracy Underground post.

The news media has nothing new to report. Why keep rehashing old stories. Unless there is something new to report, it is no longer news worthy.

Why isn't the news media talking about how government lets instable people like Dr.Ivins work in their labs?

Did they explore the possibility Dr Ivins drove to the mail box after 5 PM meeting on the 17th? However this kind of crime is usually committed by disturbed individuals to get attention. The criminal may be out there and may strike again some day.

I honestly don't know why the FBI doesn't just lay out its entire case. Skip the "leaks," the unnamed officials, the sources close to the investigation, and simply slap it out there. It would seem to me that this death by a thousand paper cuts is resulting in the exsanguination of the FBI and media's credibility, not the substantiation of Ivins' guilt.

So, put it out there you bozos. Either you've got somethin', or you got nothin'. To my thinking, there are only two reasons the FBI won't simply fan out their cards. Either their case has holes big enough to drive a Greyhound bus through, or their evidence opens a whole 'nother can of worms they would fight to keep concealed.

I suppose there is a third alternative. Choice C; all of the above. I don't feel like a conspiracist for being suspicious as to why the FBI has taken such thin gruel before the public, in such a thinly veiled way (Disclaimer: no voles were killed in the creation of that sentence).

I hope various experts and their advocates in the blogosphere keep the pressure on. It is past time for the public to be given what details exist for this terrorist attack carried out on US soil from an, ostensibly, US government agency.

...without even bothering to mention the most important fact: that it was a brand new theory that contradicted the one she mindlessly passed on from the FBI the week before.

She's used to politicians and the 'magnetic tape' properties of lies. Once a lie you told begins to fall apart, you simply tell a different lie, which erases and re-records over the old lie. And then everything makes sense again.