11 gay bars get letters threatening ricin attacks

[FreeState]

Source: Seattle Times

Eleven gay bars in Seattle were sent letters Tuesday threatening ricin attacks — in what some are describing as a hate crime.

The anonymous letters say, "I have in my possession approximately 67 grams of ricin with which I will indiscriminately target at least five of your clients. ... I expect them to die painfully while in hospital."

A 12th letter was sent to the alternative weekly The Stranger, according to its Web site. That letter says the paper should be "prepared to announce the deaths of approximately 55 individuals."

The letter lists the bars as: The Elite, Neighbours, The Wildrose Bar, The Cuff, Purr, The Seattle Eagle, R Place, Re-bar, C.C.Attle's, Madison Pub and The Crescent. The letter implies the attacks will take place one Saturday this month.

In a statement, the Seattle Police Department said it takes the threat seriously. It has seized the letters and is processing them and is coordinating efforts with the FBI and other federal agencies.

Read more: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008597989_ricinthreat07m.html

---

Discusting...

[Arctic Dave]

1. Sounds like someone has anger problems.

Lock them up for a long, long time.

[Wizard777]

16. Actually it sounds like someone is from England. We say, in THE hospital. "In hospital" is England.

We refer to hospitals as a thing. The ball. The car. The hospital. In England they properly refer to hospitals as a place. He's in Liverpool. He's in hospital.

[freeplessinseattle]

17. then of course they don't have anger issues n/t

[Wabbajack_]

21. I thikn our way is more proper

:p

[Romis]

22. Canadians also

Canadians drop the word "the" also.

[Wizard777]

44. If it's a natural speech patern. They're looking for someone that is English, Canadian, or Aussie

You could even go as far as English Colonies like India. The ones that don't sound like Apu have proper British accents.

[yardwork]

52. In any case, the person could still be living in the U.S.

[badgerpup]

92. Could still be an American...

For some reason (probably too much exposure to British literature) I say "in hospital" as well...
and I'm a Yank, born and bred. :shrug:

[uppityperson]

112. Could simply be a typo also.

Dropping one word isn't enough to say where they are from.

[AntiFascist]

115. What about South Africa?

Some of the rogue intelligence producers of anthrax and other WMD reside there.

[crim son]

79. I'm Canadian and we never dropped the "the".

Just saying.

[marshall]

107. Does this mean we'll have calls to build a fence on our northern border?

At least it will take some of the heat off Mexico.

[TrogL]

114. I've never heard that here

[Ms. Toad]

30. Not so much anymore.

In the last few years I have frequently heard people in the US use phrases like, "In hospital." It hurts my ears - but it is nice to know the derivation.

[Soylent Brice]

32. nice catch

an important observation that i'm sure local law enforcement will no doubt overlook.

[yy4me]

41. Noticed the same thing for the same reason. I have heard

"in hospital" only in Europe.

[WriteDown]

57. Good catch!!!! nt

[jfkraus]

58. Do they say "in restaurant" too?

Or "in police station" or "in hotel", just sayin'

[RaleighNCDUer]

76. Actually, I think the derivation is not due to it being a 'place' so much

as an action. The grammatical comparison might better be 'at dinner' or 'at work'. 'In hospital' indicates that the person is in a place for the specific purpose of utilizing those services. If a person goes to the hospital to visit a sick friend, only the friend is 'in hospital' even though they are only three feet apart.

[Wizard777]

84. Nope! He went to hospital to visit a friend. He went to Liverpool to visit a friend.

I have friends that are English and friends in England. We irk each other with that. They insist it's a place and not a thing. Hi, I arrived safely in The Maryland. Did you get to my house in car from airport? I can go inside a hospital and I can go inside a car. So why is the car a thing and Hospital a place? Why isn't car a place too? Like I said we can drive each other nuts with it.

[jfkraus]

86. Why is hospital different from hotel?

[Bluebear]

90. Because it is. They treat "hospital" as a verb here, as in "in treatment", not the place.

[Wizard777]

120. That too. But you guys never refer to it as a thing.

That would be in hospital. If your there getting treatment. I gave the wrong example above. That would be, he's gone to hospital to visit a friend. He's gone to Liverpool to visit a friend.

[moggie]

108. But you know what?

If I drive to hospital to visit a friend, I park at the hospital. Speaking of driving, I can travel in a car, but only on a bus, train or plane. You can be in hospital, but only in the hospice.

Liverpool and Maryland are proper nouns, so you wouldn't expect to use an article with them. But you never go to Bronx, do you?

[surrealAmerican]

119. Bronx is a special case, it's a left-over from when the area ...

... was the possession of one family. "Were going to the Joneses.";"We're going to the Bronx'."

[Wizard777]

121. I try not to. Even worse is tube. No it's a tunnle. No, tunnling is how you make a tube.

:banghead:

[louis-t]

101. Canada uses this term, too.

[LisaM]

106. Or the person could be from Canada - they use the term the same way there as well.

And Canada's a tad closer to Seattle than England.

It's just a regional difference - I don't see why you need to be so snarky. Do you say "at library?" "At store"? For that matter, if someone's riding in a car, we say, "he's riding in the car", not, "he's riding in car". I have never heard an English person say someone was riding in car.

[du_grad]

126. Not necessarily England....

Seattle is pretty close to Canada. I think they use this terminology there also. It would make more sense.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[yy4me]

42. I'm sure you meant to be funny or something, but your comment

is beyond acceptability

[ooglymoogly]

72. you have nail on head syndrome.

carry on.

[Towlie]

24. "in what some are describing as a hate crime." SOME?

How then does the reporter describe it, if not a hate crime?

[Wizard777]

35. I guess the others are more properly refering to it as a terrorist threat.

Hate crime just seems too mild for this. It's an understatement.

[ooglymoogly]

74. It is both.

[The Doctor.]

102. "Agressive networking"?

:shrug:

[pnwmom]

91. Hate problems, which is even worse. n/t

[BobTheSubgenius]

2. ".....in what SOME are calling a hate crime."

WTF??? What are the rest calling it?

[Bluebear]

3. The rest will say "we don't NEED hate crime laws!!!!11"

[OneBlueSky]

5. the others just called it Ed . . . n/t

[reggie the dog]

11. something we need to tolerate

See we have to tolerate homophobes or we are intolerant now..........thanks to tolerating homophobes attacks like this should become more common, sort of like tolerating the random beatings of Jews was in Hitler's Germany.

[Brazenly Liberal]

23. My reaction exactly nt.

[TheEuclideanOne]

26. Republicans call it just another day at the office

[radfringe]

4. Ricin as opposed to anthrax is interesting

in the past, envelopes with Baby powder, baking soda or flour posing as anthrax has been the "threat du jour"

Threats of Ricin is out of character for the typical cellar dweller. This implies that the "perp" is someone who reads more than the headlines and is more involved in following or participating in hate group / RW-foaming-mouth activities.

Perhaps authorities should be looking for a "smart" attic habitant

[yardwork]

53. The careful grammar in the threat also indicates an educated person.

[radfringe]

85. either that or

the person figured out how to use the spell/grammer check in WORD... :rofl:

[sofa king]

109. That was the first thing I noticed, too.

It sounds like a college boy.

[ooglymoogly]

83. The castor plant is a plant that grows as a weed everywere in the southwestern US

regions. It is abundant and even school children know of its dangers...the castor bean of certain of these plants is the source of ricin

[jmowreader]

6. Possibly a Canadian?

The "in hospital" part is the key: an American would have said "in the hospital." The Mounties may be able to help out on this one.

I'd take this one seriously. Most people who were going to send a hoax terra message would have said "anthrax."

[Hekate]

7. That phrase jumped out at me too. Hope the perps are caught quickly. nt

[radfringe]

9. hoax terra message would have said "anthrax."

That's what I'm thinking.

Ricin is out of the norm for run-of-the-mill "moran", plus the note is well written, none of the usual mispellings

also note the bars are all in Seattle area - implies the perp lives in and is familar with the area.

Cops should be looking for someone with intelligence, Candian or UK born and lives in the Seattle area. If the paper reported the entire note - there is no religious related text, so I'd rule out a fundy-faction connection.

[moggie]

13. Or British

The geography makes it more likely to be a Canadian, but we Brits also say "in hospital". And ricin has received a certain amount of publicity here.

Ricin is a more credible choice for a hoaxer. Creating anthrax powder requires a well-equipped lab, but ricin can be made at home.

[yardwork]

55. It sounds like ricin is also a more credible choice for a genuine terrorist.

[moggie]

65. Yes, both

But someone who announces ahead of time their intention of poisoning you is more likely to be a fake, I think.

[yardwork]

67. That's why I think it might be somebody with a business-related grudge.

I hope that the police ask the managers and owners of all the bars if they have been approached by a vendor or other business in recent weeks. Did somebody offer them a contract for some kind of goods and services that was turned down?

It sounds like a coercive threat to me - somebody is trying to scare all the bars into doing something. Without the usual angry references to gay sex or religious overtones, the letter sounds like psycho who is mad about something.

[RaleighNCDUer]

97. A 'protection' scam, you think? nt

[yardwork]

127. After seeing the pdf of the original document, I see that there is a homophobic comment in it.

The writer says something about gay people suffering in their lives, can't remember the exact words. So now I'm back to wondering if it's somebody who hates gay people specifically after all.

Or it could be a protection scam by somebody posing as somebody who hates gay people. Don't know.

[jmowreader]

98. Or it's a terrorist threat intended to shut down all the gay bars

Are these the eleven biggest gay bars in Seattle? Looks like the implication is, if I go out to have a good time I might end up on a slab.

[yardwork]

128. I think that's the message the writer is trying to send, yes. But why?

Is it an act of hatred and terrorism directed at gay people, or is it an act of terrorism directed at a set of businesses?

[ooglymoogly]

78. or some disgruntled nut case, right wing pug intelligence operative

which just about covers them all, who got his tap dancing foot stomped in the next stall near one of these bars; Which to the self loathing pugs, subconsciously, think of as "the closet".

[nytemare]

20. Brits say that as well

If Canadian, most likely Newfoundland.

[sarcasmo]

8. Wouldn't you have to be gay to know all eleven gay bars?

I found out we had a new gay bar a year after it existed, just a straight persons point of view.

[freeplessinseattle]

19. not really. not so underground anymore and the internets help

Seattle also has a "Pick Pages" published yearly of gay friendly businesses, it's widely available in various places frequented by gays and straights.

'course it could very well be a conflicted person who is gay but in denial. we know how that often goes, but this is pretty extreme.

[sarcasmo]

122. That's cool, I live in Xtian West Michigan it's a different world here.

[Brazenly Liberal]

25. Not at all

I used to know of dozens of gay bars on the North Side of Chicago.

[TechBear_Seattle]

39. Nope, just pick up the Seattle Gay News n/t

[yardwork]

129. How are you doing up there? Are people worried - or are they just carrying on as usual?

[TechBear_Seattle]

132. I'm not a bar person, so I can't say

From what I'm hearing from friends who are, people are being more observant and a bit more cautious, but otherwise there's been no change.

[tomreedtoon]

10. Sounds like a loyal Soldier of Christ to me.

It's the new version of the James Bond villain. The Ian Fleming original threatened to kill a lot of people in exchange for money (as parodied by Dr. Evil). The new version can't and won't be bought off; they are willing to kill the people they see as enemies, and damn the consequences.

In fact, this person is probably an amateur. A real Soldier of Christ would have sent the biowar product first off, and let all those hated worshipers of the Antichrist die. THEN the person would announce he did it and why. Therefore, I suggest this person is a poseur. The threat of violence means nothing compared to the actual application of violence.

[radfringe]

12. don't think this is a fundy-faction member

if the paper is showing the entire text of the note - there is no religious references that you would expect from a fundy-faction member.

if it is a fundy, there would bible verses or other biblical references

[Jester Messiah]

15. Yes, seems more like an educated sociopath.

Well-read or foreign born, as others have noted from the "in hospital" turn of phrase. Familiar with the gay scene, too. It follows (to my mind) that this person met with some sort of rejection, got their feelings hurt, or is raging against some inner inclination to homosexuality that they can't reconcile. They're taking this anger and projecting it on to the gay scene, and attacking it via this threat. I do hope that that's all it is... an empty threat.

[Baby Snooks]

36. Or an educated "bubba"

I guess Texas isn't the only state with "bubbas" and most of them, including the one in the White House, are sociopathic. The problem is our society has become sociopathic.

[yardwork]

61. I'm wondering if it is some kind of business-related grudge.

I would expect a raging person to express more anger in the note itself. This sounds more like a sociopath who is angry to have lost a business contract or something. Maybe the police should check out vendors to bars.

[Chulanowa]

125. I can see a religious subtext

http://www.queerty.com/seattle-gay-bars-targeted-by-anonymous-ricin-poisoning-threat-20090106/

"Just as they didn't care that they were living" and "I have always had time on my side" both strike me as statments from someone who believes they speak for god.

[Doc Martin]

46. Christ has no soldiers

Maybe a soldier of institutional churches but I ask that you please leave Jesus out of this. The churches don't need any help in confusing people about the person and teachings of Christ.

[Chan790]

49. I think he's referring to the loonies who self-ID as such...

it's not uncommon among the Joel's Army types to refer to themselves as "a soldier for Christ", so do a lot of the more-militant rapture-readies.

That said, I agree with your point...one should never confuse the extremists with the teachings they're ignoring. Even if I disbelieve the teachings of organized religion, I agree that nothing actually in Christ's teachings advocates the violence some of his purported followers believe in.

[Jester Messiah]

88. Alas, Jesus has been drafted, as he so often is.

Perhaps that wouldn't happen so often if the Christian holy book didn't direct its followers toward hatred for gays.

[cliffordu]

93. Sounds as good as any other explanation here......

[PuraVidaDreamin]

14. I'm thinking we should be 'tolerant'

:eyes:

[TechBear_Seattle]

40. How about we find this person and make him part of the Inauguration?

There is still time for the Obama camp to "reach out" to him and his demographic, I think.

[YOY]

27. How does this not fit the bill for "terrorism"?

Oh wait. It's only "terrorism" when the right wing decides that it is.

[iamjoy]

29. Terrorism Is Right

Screw it being a hate crime - it's fricking terrorism. Of course, there's much overlap in terrorism and hate crime, at least in recent times.

The social conservatives don't think of it as terrorism when abortion clinics and gay bars are attacked. And they don't think gays deserve protection from hate crimes.

I wonder how many social conservatives privately think the threat is is a good thing. I'm not saying they'd actually want an attack to happen (although some would see it as God's will) but they would hope the threat would "make those people reconsider." It's pretty stupid to think that some one can change who they are on that basis, but then we are talking about right wing social conservative extremists.

[Chovexani]

87. Hate crimes ARE terrorism

They are not strictly crimes against one person, they are meant to intimidate an entire community.

Not sure why people are insistent on making a distinction here.

[RaleighNCDUer]

99. Well, the distinction, of course, is that there are no terrorists in America.

Only them furrin places got terrists.

WE got hate crimes.

[iamjoy]

110. Minor Differences

And I don't think the distinction is always clear, or that there is broad consensus.

But, let's not quibble. Let's just hope who ever sent these letters is charged under what ever is most likely to send them to jail for a long, long time.

peace.

[HillWilliam]

34. If it were directed at any other group

it would absolutely be considered terrorism and it would be all over the news all the time for weeks. But since it's only us, undoubtedly the cops will ho-hum, the papers will devote two column-inches on page 38B, and it might make the 5am news. Once.

If it were a group of fundy-churches, DHS would be all over it like stink on shit and every network would wear the story out every 15 minutes for days.

We'll see just how "seriously" law enforcement really take it. If DHS get involved and make arrests, then I'll believe there's action and we have something like equal protection. I ain't placing any bets.

Unless we make a stink on our own, I doubt much of anyone else will. That's how it has always been.

[Baby Snooks]

43. You have to be a protected class...

You have to be a member of a "protected class" to be protected under our laws. Not because the Constitution says so but because our government says so. And not really because our government says so but because "The Church" says so.

The reality is that gays and lesbians and bisexuals and transgenders, aka the LGBT community, are not protected under our laws. When you get right down to it, quite a few who are protected really aren't.

Hate crimes against the LGBT community and against individuals in the LGBT community are reported. Hate crimes against them are rarely prosecuted. Welcome to America.

[rasputin1952]

28. Here is a link that shows one of the actual copies of the letter:

http://www.queerty.com/seattle-gay-bars-targeted-by-anonymous-ricin-poisoning-threat-20090106/


Damn near looks like a siuation reminiscent of a Jack The Ripper type of thing.

To write something like this, this individual has some serious problems, socio/psychopath...it's cold and devoid of emotion...other than the sadistic pleasure of pain and suffering.

[sui generis]

31. let's just hope the police find him before we do. /nt

[Callalily]

33. This truly makes me sick.

Clearly a very calculating task, well thought out.

I pray that the SPD finds this person(s) soon.

[KamaAina]

116. Or the FBI

The mention of ricin raises this above the level of your basic garden-variety threat to be dealt with by local cops. :scared:

[TechBear_Seattle]

37. Will this be treated as a terrorist threat?

Somehow, I doubt it very much. The targets are gay; therefore, the perpetrator is merely a "disturbed individual" and not a terrorist.

[redqueen]

54. It doesn't matter what the individual is... making a terrorist threat is the issue.

If teens can be indicted for making terrorist threats at school then this individual should most definitely be charged with making multiple terrorist threats.

[TechBear_Seattle]

56. You will excuse me for not holding my breath

"Can" and "will" are two very different creatures, especially when it comes to protecting us "social deviants" and "chronic whiners."

[redqueen]

68. I doubt breath-holding would help but as for whining...

if that's what people call making a stink about the need for this person to be charged with the crime he committed, and the need for outlets like this to not spin the story the way they have, then count me in on the whining.

[TechBear_Seattle]

82. Thanks

:toast:

[Suji to Seoul]

38. Thank you, Prop. 8 fearmongerers. Look what your unrelenting hate of others brings

I don't believe in Hell, but there has to be a place for assholes like you Prop. 8 toads to go when your hate filled shit existence ends.

As Malloy would say, have I mentioned how much I hate these people yet today?

[Dukkha]

63. copies of those letters should be sent to the WH

on inauguration day right during the invocation. Let them know what certain preacher is fanning these flames of hate.

[xchrom]

45. shame -- SHAME on us gay people.

it's our fault because we haven't reached out and talked to theses poor oppressed straights.

:eyes:

[TechBear_Seattle]

47. I am waiting for the claim that the letter-writer was a gay man

Either he is pissed off because he hit on a guy at a gay bar and was rebuffed, because he came to realize just how "sick" he really was and figured he could take down the "degrading" culture, or else he is just another "disgruntled marriage advocate" creating a make-believe threat to drum up sympathy and try to overthrow the "will of the people."

The worst thing is that I expect such claims will first show on DU by allegedly progressive Democrats and not on the Freeper boards.

[xchrom]

48. they'll make the claim all right -- probably not in this thread. nt

[moggie]

60. Right there in the Seattle Times article

Stranger editorial director Dan Savage said he didn't take the threat too seriously: "I get a death threat a day with Savage Love," he said, referring to a sex column he writes.

Savage said the letters didn't contain any religious references, making him wonder whether the author was an embittered gay person.

[TechBear_Seattle]

62. Wow, and it comes from one of our own

You know that O`Lielly will be all over this now: "Even gay hate-monger Dan Savage admits the possibility...."

Sad, very sad.

[yardwork]

64. It's already appeared in this thread.

[Gwendolyn]

71. Actually the editorial person interviewed in the news piece did bring it up as a possibility.

"Savage said the letters didn't contain any religious references, making him wonder whether the author was an embittered gay person. He said that if the threat were designed to ruin business for gay bars, it may backfire. Staffers from The Stranger made a point of visiting gay bars Tuesday night to show their support, he said, and others may be inspired to do the same."

[iamjoy]

111. A Possibility

I mean, it could have but if it was a gay person it is one who is depressed and in denial and acting out. Perhaps as a repressed person he/she can't stand the idea of gay people who are confident, "out" and having a good time.

In that case, we really need to look at a society in the twenty-first century which still puts this kind of pressure on people that they feel the need to deny themselves to the point that they break. Rather than lumping the perpetrator in with the right wing religious extremists, we ought to see the perp as a sad victim of same. (that doesn't mean he/she avoids prosecution)

Of course, when the right wing says the perp is gay, they will use that as an excuse to not look at our society. That's the danger of such an accusation. I think we need to look at ourselves as a society regardless, but again that doesn't mean who ever did this should escape prosecution.

So, I guess what I'm saying is it's possible the perp is gay, but should we treat the crime any differently regardless?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

59. yes, it is all our fault. we should have been nicer. like every other oppression we had this coming.

poor poor straight people. we should be nicer. shame on us

[xchrom]

69. i agree -- we should find this poor left out soul --

and take him to brunch -- along with rev warren.

and make our sincere apologies for being us.

[JayMusgrove]

96. Love your sarcasm! n/t

[jfkraus]

50. He also references "67 grams" using the metric system.

Not ounces, like here in the US.

[yardwork]

66. Yes.

[redqueen]

51. "Hate crime"? That's terrorism. (nt)

:grr:

[Taverner]

105. Yes. Terrorism plain and simple

If instead of gay bars, it was Churches, this would be considered terrorism

[nolabear]

70. MY Neighborhood!

I happen to live in the area being targeted. As I type it's not even a story (so far at least) on the morning news; it's all about rain. This area is a mixture, a large gay population, lots of young urban folks and a lot of middle aged liberal types like me. I don't want to do the "some of my best friends" thing, but some of my best friends...

The writer seems pretty florid to me. The language usage in someone who has psychotic features can have the effect of being a "character" so analysis of "in hospital" or the metric system isn't necessarily accurate. I hope to God it's not true.

I don't know a lot about Ricin but isn't it an airborne delivery?

[yardwork]

130. Inhaled, injected, or ingested, according to wiki.

Very small amounts are fatal. Wiki cites CDC - "The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) gives a possible minimum figure of 500 micrograms (about the size of a grain of salt) for the lethal dose of ricin in humans if exposure is from injection or inhalation." I didn't fact check it.

You're a psychotherapist? I'm interested in your analysis. If I understand you correctly, you're saying that the writer might have psychotic characteristics causing them to adapt this style, meaning it's not necessarily their natural speech pattern? By florid, do you mean very dramatic? Could this suggest that they are just threatening, don't mean it? It sounds like there's no way to be sure - they might actually do it?

Great.

[Balderdash]

73. I guess we're not reaching out enough or being quiet

enough...

[ooglymoogly]

75. Thank you Warren and all you other Nazi bastard tel-evil-ngelists of hate

living and dead for keeping the cauldron of hate and war boiling.

[Bluenorthwest]

77. Hate speech leads to violent actions

I wish that one lesson could be learned.

[Name removed]

80. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

81. if you were really a thinking man, you wouldnt call it a lifestyle or a choice

asshole

[Chovexani]

89. This wouldn't happen

If we would just do what the heteros tell us. :sarcasm:

[Strathos]

94. How about placing the blame where it belongs--homophobia

Instead of debating grammatical differences of different countries, why aren't we a little more outraged? This is in direct response to the homophobia of the United States and other countries too.

As long as we're distracted from the issue and don't give it the respect it deserves it will continue.


Stop homophobia and you stop these kinds of threats. Hate crimes have a purpose and this is definitely a hate crime.

[robish518]

95. Seems Fishy

I think this person was definitely from outside the country. I didn't know that about "the hospital" and how brits drop that "the". Also note the amount of ricin is in grams (unit of measurement). Definitely not from the US.

Are the letters traceable (were they mailed with postage), or were they delivered. If delivered, couldn't a list be narrowed down to individuals with x country passports living within some proximity of these bars? Maybe its a start, or maybe its all a hoax?

[SnowGoose]

100. This doesn't add up.

You deliver letters like this to inspire fear.

If you want to kill people for real, you don't typically announce where and when it will happen. To do so makes it more likely that you will be unsuccessful, and that you will be caught. And "each location will have at least five targets" ? How do you plan on doing that with remote delivery? That implies that delivery of the poison would be in person, in which case you would *really* not want to announce when and where.

While my first thought was Dawn and Cindi from Shebar (read: business-related motivation), two statements make this seem emotionally motivated to me. First, the comment that the people at these establishments "didn't care that they were living". And the letter to the paper that said "I could take this moment to launch into a diatribe about my indignation towards the gay community". Further, if you wanted to damage someone's business, you'd just say that the poisoning was going to happen sometime. You wouldn't establish safe versus unsafe times to patronize the establishment.

My worthless armchair forensic psych analysis:

The individual's goal is to instill fear to punish or manipulate someone who goes to these bars (hence the threat on Saturdays), and the motivation is emotional - a long-nursed grudge "time has always been on my side". My money's on a jilted ex-wife, but what do I know?

Hopefully the letter writer is caught and treated for this festering mental lesion, whatever its origin.

[stop the bleeding]

103. I hate Haters. nt

[Taverner]

104. Wasn't there that "lone nut" who died making Ricin in Vegas?

Sure he was a "lone nut"?

[uppityperson]

113. I read this this morning and am tired of arguing with the assholes on the respond thing there.

I am glad that there are other people taking time to respond @ Stltimes and calling the assholes on their assholery. MODS, I am NOT calling a DUer an asshole, but the morans who are being assholes at the SeattleTimes respond area at that story.

[KansDem]

117. Now, let's not be intolerant of this letter writer.

...do I really need to use the "sarcasm" smilie?

[TheWatcher]

131. The very fact we have to tolerate his continued existence in the gene pool

For even one more second should be viewed as beyond the call of reasonable charitableness.

If he should carry through with this, he should hope and Pray to whatever False God he believes in that the Police find him first.

I'm done being "tolerant" with these kind of people.

However, I believe this could be more of a fear mongering tactic on his part than something he could actually execute.

A REAL killer of this type acts first, and THEN taunts.

[anonymous171]

118. Isn't there a cure for Ricin poisoning now?

[donco6]

133. No.

It causes massive necrosis.

[ZombieHorde]

123. "in what some are describing as a hate crime"

Sounds like terrorism to me.

[MadMaddie]

124. This can be considered a hate crime

but I would catagorize it as a Terroristic Threat and all of those laws should apply when the dumbass is caught.