Sen. Frist aides respond to Ricin threat

[Judi Lynn]

Tuesday, February 3, 2004 · Last updated 2:57 p.m. PT

Sen. Frist aides respond to Ricin threat

By NANCY ZUCKERBROD
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

WASHINGTON -- When an aide to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist found suspicious powder in the lawmaker's office, the staff knew just what to do. They had prepared for this moment for years.

A former surgeon from Nashville, Tenn., Frist literally wrote the book on bioterrorism and advised his staff and other offices on how to guard against it.

That includes special handling of government mail, which is irradiated before delivery - a practice put in place after anthrax-laden letters were sent in 2001 to the Capitol Hill offices of then-Senate Majority Leader Democrat Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

That event sparked widespread interest in Congress, and nationally, about the need to protect against bioterrorism.
(snip/...)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1153&slug=Ricin%20Frist

Albert Schweitzer

[Bluzmann57]

1. Well lets hope that whomever is responsible

is caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This crap must stop, whether one likes Frist or not. Its wrong and I hope they find out who's behind this.

[Robb]

2. "Deftly, the aides sprung into action..."

"...As an intern reached for the suspicious envelope, Frist yelled 'Noooooo!!' and lept across the office, knocking it from her hand.

"'No, Sally,' said Frist, waving a finger. 'Let me handle it. It was addressed to me, and I'm not afraid of any gay terrorists.'"

:eyes:

[Desperadoe]

3. An interesting statement....

"A former surgeon from Nashville, Tenn., Frist literally wrote the book on bioterrorism"....................

Things that make you go hmmmmm.

[Sufi Marmot]

4. Well, he wrote A book on bioterrorism...

When Every Moment Counts...I haven't read it so I can't say whether it's THE book...Interesting variety of comments in the reader feedback section...

-SM

[Cooley Hurd]

6. Here's an interesting reader's review...

When Every Moment Counts

<snip>
False security, December 21, 2002

Reviewer: gwenbeach from Oxnard, CA United States

I have worked in the field of Bioterrorism for 2 years now. I personally feel that books like this pose a certain danger. There is no quick fix for most types of bioterror, in the same way that duck and cover is no kind of real response to a nuclear blast. There is no real "family guide". The best protection is: 1. Establishing a good relationship with your family physician and 2. Preparing the standard disaster kit your family should own for the much more likely disasters- earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, etc.
In a bioterror incident, it is your public health and medical systems that will protect you. Period. Make sure they are funded properly in your region.
</snip>

[acmavm]

5. So has it been established that this powder substance was ricin?

This morning the jury was still out on that verdict. First test positive, second negative, two more positives, and another test to go from an independent agency of some kind.

By the way, how convenient. Frist's office is where all the hacking into the dems computer's started, isn't it?

[wroberts189]

7. This whole thing sounds staged.

snip..
"Frist set up new mail procedures for his staff shortly afterward and began urging colleagues to seriously consider the threat of bioterrorism."

<What a dumb person this was who would do this... didn't he know about the above procedures? Did he not at least case the Frist's website?...>

snip..
Frist spent days counseling lawmakers and terrified Hill staffers about the dangers of anthrax. His Web site became the go-to place for detailed information about bioterrorism, including how to handle suspicious mail. At the height of the scare, the Web site received 40,000 hits a day, compared with a few hundred before.


<Coincidences??...>

snip..
He admitted to feeling frustrated that he had "not been able to capture the attention of either my colleagues or the American people.""

snip..

The book, "When Every Moment Counts: What You Need to Know About Bioterrorism from the Senate's Only Doctor," was published about two years ago.

---------------------

This guy gives me the creeps.