I blogged about the Norman, Oklahoma bomber a few days ago. The story only seems to get thicker. I am not drawing any conclusions, but I am paying attention. There may be something here.

First, let me establish one point which I'm basing my continued interest in this on. If this was in fact an act of terrorism that just didn't work out as planned, the best course of action would be to downplay it. If it was made a big deal of by the authorities and the media, it might as well have been a successful terrorist attack. As it stands right now, this is being downplayed. If that's because there is nothing there, then I'm just wasting words. If not, then I'm glad I'm taking note of this all. Either way, going on a journey of thought is never that bad of an idea, and useful in either case. Its not that hindsight is 20/20 and nothing else is, its that hindsight is always sharper. Always.. [rattle adjusts his glasses]

I'll skip over the preamble of facts pointing to this situation being a individual suicide, because I don't see many of them. I'll note them as I go along.. Everything seems to point to a larger scheme. If you take the Occam's Razor approach, its a stretch to come up with anything other than someone committing suicide in a manor that harkened to some kind of suicide bomber romance, or a botched terrorist attack. But I do feel it important to acknowledge the fact that this may be nothing. Don't go crazy screaming "cover-up" yet..

When it comes to breaking down the situation, this post on Tapscott's Copy Desk does a good job, so I'll start there and use that as a structural base. Here is a summary of his main points, click thru for the full context:

First, The Daily Oklahoman is reporting authorities found a large cache of bomb-making materials in Hinrichs' apartment.
Second, the proximity to the stadium suggests Hinrichs' target was the crowd, perhaps as people were leaving the game.
Third, why was Boren sufficiently familiar with Hinrichs to so quickly issue an opinion about his motive in the bombing?
Fourth, in one of the photos appearing in the media, Hinrichs appears to have a fresh beard, which is characteristic of new Muslim male converts.

Each has supporting points in the original post. Let me add my own special sauce...

His first point can go either way... If he was just some guy committing suicide in a manor inspired by some suicide bomber romance, this would play right into it. Sure his apartment would have a stock of bomb making materials on hand. I can envision him sit... [ Read More (1.1k in body) ]