RICIN-GATE

Today marks two weeks since Dick Cheney's drunken attempt to assassinate Harry Whittington.

To be fair, not all members of the press reported the ACCIDENT as a botched assassination. Some depicted it as more of a duel, drawing parallels between Vice President Cheney and Aaron Burr.

Two weeks of Cheney gun jokes and accompanying basic lib stupidity --

It seems like longer, doesn't it?

There's another story out of Texas that I think is far more disturbing.

RICIN was found in a University of Texas dorm!

AUSTIN -- A substance found by a University of Texas student at a dorm has tested positive for ricin, a potentially deadly poison, officials said.

Two students were receiving medical attention for potential exposure, although neither has exhibited symptoms, said Dr. Theresa Spalding of UT Student Health Services.

The chunky powder was found by one of them at the Moore-Hill dormitory Thursday afternoon and reported to university police. Preliminary tests came back positive for ricin Friday.

School officials said they haven't determined where the ricin came from, UT police spokeswoman Rhonda Weldon said.

The powder fell on the student's hands from a roll of quarters she unwrapped to use for laundry. The student's roommate is the other person who was receiving treatment; the quarters had been in their dorm room for several months, Spalding said.

The dorm was sanitized and inspected, and students were cleared to return early Saturday, the university said.

Health officials met with students and staff who were potentially exposed, but so far, none have shown any symptoms, the university said in a statement. Symptoms can include anything from difficulty breathing, fever, cough, nausea and sweating to severe vomiting and dehydration.

"We were very concerned as soon as we heard about the positive testing late this evening," Spalding said Friday.

I would say that "very concerned" is a rather mild response.

If the substance turns out to really be ricin, the matter raises lots of legitimate questions:

Is this an act of terrorism?

How does ricin get into a roll of quarters?

Most importantly, which news outlet first broke this potentially explosive story?

Was the White House press corps assembled to hear the details or was a local paper or TV station the first to spread the word?

How many hours passed before the press was notified of the incident?

Did a student or parent contact the press?

Did the story come from university or law enforcement officials?

Was there a coverup?

Were the Department of Homeland Security and the shrouded in secrecy Bush Administration hoping to keep the story from coming out at least for a few days, so it wouldn't be fodder for the Sunday morning talk shows?

Will David Gregory call Scott McClellan a jerk?

So many questions...

What's the real story here?

Is it about a student's exposure to ricin?

Is it about Maureen Dowd?