Okay, now this is disturbing. Supposedly the threats from al-Qaeda lately are a bunch more specific than usual (thus the increase in the threat level to orange, though quoth Georgie: "go about your business." Thanks a hell.)

Apparently they're threatening rural areas as well as cities, which is a change in tactics. Oddly enough, they're specifically referring to Tappahannock, Virginia, a tiny (2,000 people), picturesque town with zero military operations and not too much infrastructure. (There is an airport, but it's pretty small as well...the kind of place where Mohammed Atta might draw some attention from the good ol' boys hanging out in the pilot shack.)

What makes this disturbing is that this isn't very far at all from the rivah, my parents' cottage on the Rappahannock River. Where my parents and family are celebrating Christmas right now, as a matter of fact.