While the Blame America First crowd erroneously predicted Cheney would pull another 9/11 on the fifth anniversary of the attacks, we figured it would be a lot easier to do a nostalgic anthrax freakout before the midterms. (Guess what also happened five years ago this month?)

Really, what does it take? Some envelopes, stamps, a few addresses you get off some websites, and some of that scary anthrax from the anthrax factory up the road at Maryland's Fort Detrick-- or just use lousy cocaine or dishwashing detergent or whatever.

It has begun. Come get your Cipro after the jump.

At the Hart Senate building right now, the feds are investigating a "suspicious substance" found in Sen. John Cornyn's office. But he's a Republican, so it's probably just cocaine.

Capitol Police are telling everyone to avoid Hart rooms 517 and 612 "until further notice." Go ahead and start that terroristic three-day weekend right now!

It was Tom Daschle's office that got hit particularly hard by the Capitol anthrax mailings, and Daschle was right down the hall from Cornyn's offices. Coincidence?

Meanwhile, there's the curious tale of MSNBC Bush basher Keith Olbermann's own anthrax scare. Basically, he got an anthrax-style terror envelope, but it was soap powder. Naturally, the New York Post found this to be hee-larious. Because what's funnier than this whole War On Everything bullshit, right? Hah-ha!

And then there's the bizarre timing of yesterday's news about a "new anthrax vaccine." What the hell, people?

Suspicious envelope sent to Cornyn's office [Dallas Morning News]

New Anthrax Vaccine Shows Promise [Sci-Tech Today]

Keith Olbermann's colleagues mock anthrax scare [AlterNet]

After 5 years, mystery of anthrax attacks widens [Knight Ridder]

-- KEN LAYNE