Media Reporting and the Fort Hood Massacre

There's a fundamental incongruity -- if not traitorous dishonesty -- to media reporting on the Nidal Hasan Fort Hood massacre. CBS is reporting, "Officials: Fort Hood Shooter Acted Alone." But hey, why the rush to judgment, as everyone on the left has been saying regarding the question of terrorism? Sure, while so far there's no evidence that Hasan had outside direction or help, the investigation's still young -- and considering how much revelatory information has come out since last Thursday, we may indeed learn of a dramatically more complicated, and connected, terrorist plot.

Contrast the CBS report to ABC's, "Senior Official: More Hasan Ties to People Under Investigation by FBI: Alleged Shooter Had "Unexplained Connections" to Others Besides Jihadist Cleric Awlaki" (via Memeorandum):

A senior government official tells ABC News that investigators have found that alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan had "more unexplained connections to people being tracked by the FBI" than just radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki. The official declined to name the individuals but Congressional sources said their names and countries of origin were likely to emerge soon.

Questions already surround Major Hasan's contact with Awlaki, a radical cleric based in Yemen whom authorities consider a recruiter for al Qaeda. U.S. officials now confirm Hasan sent as many as 20 e-mails to Awlaki. Authorities intercepted the e-mails but later deemed them innocent or protected by the first amendment ....

In Texas, an hour before a memorial service for the Fort Hood victims, four FBI agents showed up at the Killeen mosque where Hasan prayed and searched a trash bin outside. The mosque president was clearly upset when he had to return from traveling to the service to sign a document handed to him by agents, apparently authorizing the search.

The FBI would not comment on what the agents were looking for at the mosque a full five days after the shooting, but motivation remains the focus.

"Obviously, the key is did he act alone," former senior FBI official Brad Garrett told ABC News. "And secondarily is, what evidence might potentially be in the dumpsters or at the mosque."

Plus, this short Fox video above, "Sympathetic Media," is a classic. Note how it begins with Chris Matthews' now immortal comment, "'That's not a crime to call up al Qaeda, is it?'"