Contagious ... Media?

I'm always suspicious of headlines. Always.

When the news was trumpeting the idiocy and selfishness of the guy with tuberculosis, I was immediately on guard and wondering about the rest of the story. Well, it turns out that this guy is no ignorant dolt, but rather an personal injury attorney. And now this:

In an interview with ABC News, Speaker asked for forgiveness for exposing airline passengers, but says he has a tape recording of a meeting with health officials where they allegedly told him it was all right for him to travel.

Hmmm. Ok. So if they told him he could travel, that kinda let's him off the hook for that decision. Apparently health officials then contacted him in Europe and told him to stay there. He didn't want to get stuck in Europe (he will have to be hospitalized for months), so he then came home. While not the smartest move in the world, it's certainly understandable to not want to be stuck that far from home. And does anyone really doubt that the current administration wouldn't have labeled him a terrorist or something, refusing him entry? In fact, he was flagged to not return, but the system failed to stop him. Digby made the point that his behavior shows American exceptionalism in avoiding health care in Europe. I'm not sure I agree with that, wondering if he just didn't want to get stuck. Why didn't CDC officials, having allowed him to travel, pay for an air ambulance to fly him home and to Denver for treatment? Afterall, they told him he could go.

Once it again, it's looking like the media/headline story was wrong. This guy was portrayed in a quite unflattering light initially. And, also once again, showing that you simply cannot believe much of what goes out over the airwaves. The need to journalistic speed and sensation has ruined their credibility.