Media Decontaminated of Ricin

If you read my previous post about the discovery of ricin in a capitol mail room, you'll know that I had a strange feeling about the whole incident. Well recent news has done nothing to relieve that odd feeling.

The major news outlets have been all but silent on the story; the odd circumstances under which the powder was found, the strangely subdued reactions by BushCo and most of all the oddly ineffective manner in which the toxin was delivered: to the only medical doctor in Congress.

In an article in The Hill ("The newspaper for and about the US Congress), the Capitol Police spokeswoman said the following:

Mail delivery to the Capitol complex is still suspended indefinitely, Capitol Police spokeswoman Contricia Sellers-Ford said yesterday.

But more interesting than that, Capitol Police haven't even decided what they are going to do to start investigating this.

Although police have confiscated all unopened mail from congressional offices, Sellers-Ford said the department still hasn't "pinpointed” its testing procedures or decided if mail will be returned.

The police notice said that mail removed during cleanup was “wrapped in protective packaging, catalogued and sealed inside protective containers and will be cleaned,” adding that “every effort is being made to safely return mail.”

Sellers-Ford said “nothing has tested positive.”

That odd feeling in the back of my mind is not going away.