Early reports had Gabby Giffords dead. Mark Kelly learned of her “passing” while listening to the radio. The media was in a hurry to report, and report they did – but most of it was wrong.
Before the ink was dry on the gunman’s fingerprint sheet, the elected Sheriff of Pima County, Clarence Dupink, passionately proclaimed that “political vitriol” was “absolutely to blame” for the shooting. By early afternoon, Jared Loughner had been identified as the shooter – and identified as white and male. These two latter facts apparently were enough to get the yellow journalism machine in full throttle as Loughner was instantly labeled a neo-Nazi and white supremacist. Then Loughner was a Tea Party guy, an ultra “right” guy, a veteran. None of it was true.
The “person of interest” the media was hunting was a cab driver, and Giffords wasn’t dead – Facts…
