Wondering what the big story in the blogosphere will be this week will be? Wonder no more…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and injured a man during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas, his spokeswoman said Sunday.
Harry Whittington, 78, was “alert and doing fine” after Cheney sprayed Whittington with shotgun pellets on Saturday at the Armstrong Ranch in south Texas, said property owner Katharine Armstrong.
Armstrong said Cheney turned to shoot a bird and accidentally hit Whittington. She said Whittington was taken to Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital by ambulance.
Cheney’s spokeswoman, Lea Anne McBride, said the vice president was with Whittington, a lawyer from Austin, Texas, and his wife at the hospital on Sunday afternoon.Cartoon protests? That is so last week… This week it’s “peppering“
This story should make for some positively insane postings at Democratic Underground…
Update: Among the DU quips about Cheney hunting more often with Bush, I did find this semi-ironic tidbit. Cheney’s “victim,” Harry Whittington, is the presiding commissioner of the Texas Funeral Service Commission…
Chris:
From the article:
No, the article does not make it clear at all whether or not the rest of the party was aware of his retrieving a bird, how much time elapsed between Whittington’s bird retrieval and the accident, whether or not there was announcement, or if he crossed into another’s firing zone at all (besides Armstrong who you already made clear you do not trust).
Also, “swung around and fired.” How are you defining this?
Typically in bird hunting, or clay shooting, swinging your body around is little more than pivoting your torso from right-to-left or left-to-right in an arc; this arc is not large, and would likely never exceed 180º. The feet should not move. Only the upper body should be moving at all in the described fashion.
This of course depends on what the firing zones are for the party. The point is if you are facing north when a bird breaks in front of you you will never swing your sight down to the southwest to follow it. You would have to be extremely flexible, or move your feet, to do so.
From the CNN article:
Without knowing the time that had passed or the distance both groups had travelled, again, we cannot assign blame. For what it is worth though, they both are probably at fault; that is neither took the utmost care in their responsibility to the rest of the party.
Walking into another’s firing zone without clear announcement constitutes extremely reckless, the same way walking in front of a cannon with its fuse lit or playing football in a minefield would be extremely reckless. It’s just asking for bad things to happen.
If you have never done so I highly suggest you go to a skeet range. The shooters there will more than likely be helpful and friendly. Might be a sport that agrees with you (the clay shooting part, not necessarily the bird shooting). This would also provide better perspective on situations such as this.
Chris
The last time I was in a city that had a campaign rally there were several that was taking to the hospital with heat exhaustion and injuries sustain at fight that broke out among supporters. Protest rallies are infamous for their violence and most of the time, it is not even a accident that it occurs. I suspect if one could get the EMS records for campaign rallies, one would find many such casualties.
I am not apologizing for anything because there is not to apologize about. Accidents happen everyday that are far more serous. Life happens. Only yours and the media hatred for this administration is the cause for such outrage. The Kennedy ordeal is far worst but he is a demo so it’s all right. Now if Cheney kill the guy then try to cover it up, I would be on your side.
Let’s have a chuckle before the battle resumes:
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“Cheney’s got a gun… everybody is on the run”
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If you’re not cool enough to know what song that’s from:
http://www.sing365.com/music/Lyric.nsf/Janie's-Got-A-Gun-lyrics-Aerosmith/27066822903032074825686B0022282B
No offense to poor Cheney, who by now has realized what his legacy is going to be, but… LOL!!
On the bright side, Gerald Ford, aka “The World’s Most Deadly Golfer,” and Jimmy Carter, aka “The Bunny Basher,” are heaving sighs of relief that THEIR unfortunate incidents will no longer seem so bad.
(Click here if you dare)
Nice sidestepping of the issues. This little tempest -in-a-teapot has nothing to do with the actual accident. The press is whining because they didn’t find out until almost 24 hours later. The word secrecy is being bandied about like there was some conspiracy to cover up a crime. There is nothing about this story that goes to Bush administration policy or whether they are secretive. If it had been Chris Rock or Dan Marino who had accidentally injured a friend, I very seriously doubt that the press would be rending their garments and sprinkling dust over their heads because they were informed less than a day later.
If you can not see that my post was designed to satirize the current press frenzy, then you willing choose to remain ignorant that most of the MSM are in the grips of a serious case of frothing-at-the-mouth BDS.
So, please respond only if you plan to explain to me why it is so important that we be informed of this accident sooner than we were.
Also Chris, I would also liked to be informed why Cheney is to be held to a higher standard than, say, Teddy Kennedy. How long did it take Teddy to personally inform the police of his driving accident, much less the press?
When does moonbat season open?
Of course 12 ga. is more suitable than 28…
safer to hunt with cheney then to ride with ted keneddy
Congratulations! According to Blogger Search you are the second (in time) to post about the poor old vice pres.
I did yesterday (of course).
Not that he’s that bad, he is a TEXAN, you know. My mistake, I always do that, he’s from WYOMING. Right after the election, with Ms. Meir’s help.
..
“So, please respond only if you plan to explain to me why it is so important that we be informed of this accident sooner than we were.”
The Vice President of the United States shot a guy in the face. He’s not a private citizen like Dan Marino or Chris Rock (what an idiotic comparison!) The police showed up to question him and were turned away. If you can’t understand why the VP shooting someone is something the public has a right to know, then I honestly don’t know what else to say. The White House even had the woman who owned the ranch not only announce it through a cellphone message to a local reporter, they referred follow-up questions to her, as well. Do you really mean to say that you think this is the proper way to handle the situation? The VP works for us. You can be damned sure that if Dan Marino shot somebody, CBS would insist on knowing all of the details immediately.
You compare the incident to stepping on your wife’s toes, and when I call you on it, you say I’m sidestepping the issue. You guys keep minimizing what happened, then have the nerve to say that I’m sidestepping?
“Also Chris, I would also liked to be informed why Cheney is to be held to a higher standard than, say, Teddy Kennedy. How long did it take Teddy to personally inform the police of his driving accident, much less the press?”
Right, when is somebody going to criticize Kennedy for Chappaquiddick?
So, again, I ask do we need to know about every “accident” he has within 5 minutes of it occurring since he is not a “private citizen”? Does his every breath have some major policy implication that we need to know about immediately?
I agree that when the man is on the job, meaning he’s at the White House or on some official business, he is not a private citizen. When the man goes to a friend’s ranch and engages in a little recreational activity, he most certainly is a private citizen.
Are you referring to this AP story? Your mischaracterization of the situation continues unabated. A single deputy shows up at the ranch after arrangements have already been made for the Sheriff to inview Cheney in the morning and you call it turning away police? Did the deputy have a warrent or cause to arrest Cheney? Did Cheney refuse to co-operate with the Sheriff’s investigation? Is he being charged with a crime?
Now, Chris, either you are dishonestly trying to spin this to make it something sinister or you believe in black helicopters watching your every move. Which is it, dishonesty or paranoia?
I’ll agree that he probably received a little special treatment by being able to wait until the next morning to answer the Sheriff’s questions, but would you expect anything less for any sitting VP? I certainly wouldn’t.
I never said that we didn’t need to know about the incident. I question why it’s suddenly a crime to wait until the next morning to inform the press. It’s not like Cheney had the man’s house searched before they let the press know about it.
Sure they would insist, but the questions they asked and the story they wrote wouldn’t be about their 18 hours of ignorance.
Your reading comprehension is very poor. Please reread my last post and then look up satirize in the dictionary. And yes, you are sidestepping. You still did not give me a cogent argument was to why the press should be righteously upset over not being informed for a mere 18 hours. If we found out about this 18 days later or if there was some indication that there was an attempt to hide something, then I would be on your side. As it is, the press is trying to manufacture a scandal.