Morning, all. Turns out that my family won't be visiting us this Thanksgiving after all. Health problems and the discomfort of a 4 hour drive/ride conspire to prevent it. Ah well. Perhaps we will go down to them! Assuming, of course, that my mother is willing to house Patty & I and our two dogs for 3-4 days...

"The Demon in the Freezer" is worse than scary, it is horrifying, and it is NOT FICTION. They detail some extremely scary facts about the Anthrax attacks last year, and what the investigation revealed. None of this ever hit the press, and for good reason, it would have caused quite a panic.

Turns out that the anthrax used was a very strong strain, nearly pure, and had been treated with other agents including nano-silica to cause it to act as a gas, becoming airborne very easily, and traveling a long way on air currents. This was weapons-grade stuff, and was likely produced in a state-sponsored lab, not a kitchen somewhere. It may have been packaged into the envelopes in a home environment, but even that is unknown, as there was no DNA evidence on the envelopes, stamps, or tape - no dust, hairs, etc at all, meaning that the envelopes were put together in a clean room or dust-hood.