And so it begins

We had hoped to keep up a reasonable blogging schedule over Christmas, but to be honest, there's just not that much to blog about the next couple of days. Our attention was only caught by the apparent case of Mad Cow Disease in the Pacific Northwest, and especially the weird disclaimer that was included in the Agriculture Secretary's news conference:

I have been in contact with [Homeland Security] Secretary Ridge and I would emphasize that based on the information available this incident is not terrorist related nor is it related in any way to our nation's heightened alert status. I cannot stress this point strongly enough.

No, Osama has not gone further than the world's best scientists and conclusively constructed a link between the rogue bovine protein and the corresponding disease in humans. In this case, it's lax regulation and short-sighted cattle industry resistance to reforms that will do us in, not the terrorists. But hopefully it won't come to that.

We hope to be back blogging early next week. Enjoy the holidays.