The new hooplah.

In the post-2004-election era there have been several media memes that have captured the imagination of folks hither and there...

- Sandy Berger... If I'd have done what he'd done, I'd still be serving time.

- Terri Schiavo... Done to death. Literally.

- Pope Benedict XVI... Not Catholic, myself. I've no intelligent comment to offer.

That brings us to news of a possible government cover-up of middle eastern connections to the Oklahoma City bombing ten years ago. Now, I'm as big a fan of conspiracy theories as anyone, but I remain unconvinced. I will of, course, continue to investigate but I'm more interested in the anacdotal stories emerging out of this controversy. Here's mine: (from my comment at The Word Unheard who tipped me to an excellent starting point)

Hmmm...

I have no doubt that the details surrounding the Oklahoma City bombing 10 years ago are more complicated and involved than what was reported on tv. (Just like 20 years ago my father predicted the space shuttle Columbia Challenger disaster would be blamed on the failure of a single, simple part. Rubber O-rings. Dad was right.)

I believe there's a certain value in reducing the complexity of such stories down to a managable level. Your average American consumer of news doesn't need most of the details. But my chief complaint about the reporting of Tim McVeigh (and I realize I'm shifting the focus of your post from government treatment to media treatment) is that the day of McVeigh's execution in 2000 was the day of my final speaking test at arabic language school. Part of that test is knowledge of current events, both U.S. and international. Constant coverage of the execution here in America blocked out all international news for the entire day and as a result I recieved a lower score on my DLPT (Defense Language Proficiency Test.)

It's a petty complaint, I know. But it's another example of how pat reporting can harm an average Marine. I look forward to exploring the deeper story behind Oklahoma City, 1995.

And I'm not alone in my nostalgic thoughts. Lileks writes today (scroll to the bottom):

The day the Murrah building was bombed was a few days after I got Jasper; I remember it clearly, because he got sick right after we brought him home, and I spent the day of the bombing watching TV with a listless little puppy in my arms. Ten years later he’s at home dozing while I’m at the bookstore with Gnat. She’s finding a My Little Pony book to read, something about wishes coming true, and I’m looking for “The Third Terrorist,” a book about Iraqi connections to the 9/11 bombing. I’ve heard the author speak on many radio shows, and she’s quite compelling; she speaks in TV news show cadences, but at least they’re long-form investigative report cadences.

I, too, have heard this author speak on many talk radio programs, and admit I'm intrigued. But I suspect my interest has been piqued more by "Where were you on that day?" discussions more than anything else.