Anthrax (cont.)

David Neiwert:

One thing we do know: Once it became apparent that the phony theory that the anthrax contained bentonite -- which was how the attacks were originally connected to Iraq -- would not hold water, it was also clear that this was a case of pure domestic terrorism, and very likely right-wing terrorism at that. And it was at this point that all interest in solving the case, both on an official level and within the media, evaporated.

I'm not sure I'd go quite as far as Neiwert here. There was, apparently, an ongoing, FBI-led investigation of the matter, which resulted in the events of last week. So there was some official level interest in the case, however questionable its effectiveness or purpose.

But as far as the upper reaches of political officialdom are concerned, all interest certainly evaporated. And obviously all interest evaporated among the media elite as well. And to be truthful, the anthrax-blackout on the part of the administration and media helped suppress interest in the story among liberal bloggers, too.

But the obvious stinkiness of this story should encourage a more widespread diligence, from professional and non-professional investigative sources now. Or not. I've no doubt the professional media would just assume this story go away. And we obviously can't let that happen.