We need to start blowing the whistle on news organizations that use sloppy reporting to scare the crap out of us. Perhaps it's not as juicy as focusing on Arianna and Clooney, but let's give it a shot. The latest offender is ABC's Adrienne Mand Lewin, who this week brought us "How Will Bird Flu Change Your Life?" In it, she writes:

"What's known is human-to-human transmission of bird flu is inevitable as H5N1, a type of bird-flu virus, mutates. 'It's going to happen," said Dr. Joseph Agris, a Houston physician. 'It's no question. It's just a question of when.'"

I had recently done some minimal research into the H5N1 virus for a HuffPo blog I wrote on the fear-mongering surrounding avian flu, and found that human-to-human transmission is not at all guaranteed. That mutation has not happened, and it is impossible to predict if it will. But acknowledging that inconvenient fact would deprive Ms. Lewin of the chance to launch into her italicized list of Things You Need To Stockpile-- not to mention her gripping "best case scenario" and "worst case scenario" fantasies.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the journalist responsible for "Vet Fakes Dog's Death" and "Breast-Feeding Moms Take Action" would be a lightweight, but a quick check into her one medical source, "Dr. Joseph Agris, a Houston physician" proved downright creepy. Far from being a microbiologist or contagious disease specialist, the guy is a plastic surgeon.

Intrigued, I looked further and discovered that Dr. Agris' claim to fame is that he volunteered to attach "bionic hands" onto seven Iraqi merchants who allegedly had theirs severed on orders from Saddam, for dealing in foreign currency. Now this is about to get a little complicated but, unlike ABC News' target audience, you can follow it.

A Houston oil man, Roger Brown, wanted to help the anti-Saddam propaganda effort, and solicited Houston tv newsman, Marvin Zindler, to help with the making of a pro-invasion documentary, centered around the idea that Saddam cuts off people's hands. Zindler is 82 and brags that he's had more plastic surgery than Michael Jackson. His surgeon? Dr. Agris-- the source of ABC's new bird-flu-is-definitely-going-to-get-you article.

With the help of Houston-based Continental Airlines, the bionic hand guys were flown to a Houston hospital where Dr. Agris allegedly gave them all a hand, and the whole touching event was posted on Military.com, as proof that the Iraqis wanted the U.S. to invade, complete with a photo of one of the Iraqis in a hospital gown and cowboy hat. Tellingly, the documentary ends with one of the Iraqi bionic hand guys declaring: "The Coalition doesn't need to find Weapons of Mass Destruction to justify the war. Saddam killed our children without Weapons of Mass Destruction, They are embedded in his brain."

So what does all this have to do with the media charade that passes for journalism these days? Well, besides the obvious fact that more reporters should be covering Houston, which is starting to feel like the epicenter of evil (ABC could lease Enron's old offices), this tale also makes clear that it is incumbent upon those of us who read and watch the news to look deeper, not to accept these glib scare pieces at face value. And, by the way, what the hell is the link between bird flu propaganda and a Houston plastic surgeon with an Iraq agenda?

Perhaps other lazy journalists should try looking up Dr. Agris, the go-to guy for sketchy medical quotes. But as for ABC's Adrienne Mand Lewin, and those like her, maybe they should quit with the pointless duct-tape-and-powdered-milk fiction, and realize they might have been sitting on top of more interesting stories all along.

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