"He just believed in our right to bear arms. He believe that hard economic times were going to put forth gun bans and that sort of thing. He basically believed in what our forefathers had put before us, and was being distorted by the Zionist-controlled government, and he didn’t believe in that."

"He just basically told me he didn’t like the Zionist control over our government, he didn’t like that there was about to be military policing, he didn’t believe in the fact that there was about to be a gun ban. He didn’t like anything that was going on in the political forefront, and he was basically very politically active, and he didn’t agree with what was going on right now in the United States of America."

Dude just stood there and told reporters -- twice, and matter-of-factly both times -- that his friend who just killed three cops was motivated "by the Zionist-controlled government," and was upset, "that there was about to be military policing," and by "the fact that there was about to be a gun ban."

Zionist-controlled government. Was about to be military policing. The fact that there was about to be a gun ban.

Not a single one of these reporters says, "Hey, wait a minute. What?!?"

Guy says, "Zionist-controlled government," and the reporter's follow-up? "Did he have a lot of guns?"

Second reporter was even worse! He believed there was a Zionist-controlled government. That there would be military policing. That there would be a gun ban.

Follow-up: So there was never anything that made you think there could be a situation like this?

Are you kidding me? Everything that guy just told you should have been an indicator that there could be a situation like this!

These reporters -- like the wingnuts unsure whether they're better off treading cautiously or furiously trying to turn a 180 by insisting that they're outraged that there would be outrage (because all non-wingnut outrage is by nature "political," whereas theirs is "patriotic") -- want desperately for this story to be about guns and/or wound-up loners.

Wingnuts want it to be about guns because they feel like they can win the gun argument. Make the argument about how abso-effing-lutely irresponsible and crazy it is to be running a 24 hour cable news network filled with frothy-mouthed rantings from eliminationists, black helicopter freaks, world currency nutbars and various other paranoid pants-sh*tters selling Jonestown-style compound-squatting not just as political theory, but as news, and the ship of what's unfortunately emerged as modern conservatism is sunk.

Reporters want the story to be about guns, too, because the reality that modern conservatism has so completely surrendered to nervous-ticked, sweaty-palmed McVeigh-ism that it would actually coddle and nurture it with its own "news" network is simply too crushing a concept to contemplate.

People in our industry are doing this! Under the guise of "news!" Where have our heads been? Did I really apply for a job with them once?

It's a little shy of two years now since reporters at the press conference at the last event held under the Yearly Kos banner in Chicago expressed amazement at having been shown the FOX Nutwork record of "mistakes" in reporting basic facts that were embarrassing to Republicans. And it seems clear that even now, traditional media reporters are unable to come to terms with the fact that there are people masquerading as "their kind," yet who not only can't and won't work in the same fact-based reality as they do, but actively beam out a steady stream of incendiary, counter-factual rhetoric that you'd have to be willfully blinding yourself not to connect to shooters who end up parroting, well, pretty much exactly what they're broadcasting on FOX.

Wake the hell up, people. There's a 24-hour eliminationist "news" nutwork broadcasting poison to already-fevered minds. Call it what it is. Be aware of what they're doing. And reporters, be clear on what they're up to, and whose profession they're using as cover.

And really, when a cop killer's best friend tells you casually that he was consumed with Zionist control of the government and imminent martial law and gun confiscations... that's actually the story!

When a shooter's best friend tells you he killed cops because his mind was being controlled by aliens from planet Xoltron, you have a sad and inexplicable illness on your hands, and "just the facts" reporting is all you can responsibly do.

When a shooter's best friend tells you he killed cops because he believed fake stories you can hear reported as "news" on a well-known (and even "respected!") 24-hour cable television network, you've got a very serious story on your hands that it's actually irresponsible not to look deeper.

This stuff isn't just appearing from out of nowhere. It's being beamed out under the protections you've worked hard to protect for your profession.

To the extent that you refuse to call FOX out for their nonsense, you become partly culpable for its continuance.

Take the reins and lead.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/4/6/717061/-Story-punches-reporters-in-face;-goes-unnoticed