I've been tucked away writing stuff for the meatspace paper, and so I have not been on the internet very much, which means I missed this story from yesterday:

The FBI suspected William T. Vollmann of being first the Unabomber and then the anthrax mailer, the award-winning writer revealed in a grimly funny Harper's article [subscription required]. Vollmann's heavily redacted FBI file, which he obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, reveals that he became "Unabomber Suspect Number S-2047" based on a tip from an anonymous citizen, whom Vollmann dubs "Ratfink." "UNABOMBER, not unlike VOLLMANN has pride of authorship and insists his book be published without editing," part of the file states.

I can't believe the FBI spent time and money investigating this lead. Have you seen the size of Vollmann's books? Do you know the frequency with which he puts those books out? The man clearly doesn't have the time to carry out one or two organized terrorism campaigns. It's scary that an anonymous tipster can inspire a couple of serious investigations like this. One quick read of the Unabomer's manifesto would convince you that he's not Vollmann; it doesn't read anything like his work. So much for pride of authorship.