Sunday Feb 12, 2006 5:24 pm

Guns don’t kill people, but Cheney (almost) does ...

If you haven't heard by now, VP Cheney nearly killed his friend and fellow quail hunter, 78-year-old attorney Harry Whittington, on Saturday. No word on how many quail were injured or killed in this particularly bloody administrative hunting expedition, but Whittington is apparently in stable condition after being helicoptered to a hospital from the South Texas ranch where the shotgun-pellet-spraying incident took place.

18 comments ·

GOP sources: “Cheney will retire within a year.”
http://www.insightmag.com/Media/MediaManager/cheney3.htm

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Posted by Tim Christopher on 2006-03-01 11:29:48

Is it fair that Cheney is not being held accountable for this “accident”? This was a case of negligence. If it had been anyone else, what would the reprocutions have been? I have bird hunted and know others who do and have never heard of anyone shooting a fellow hunter. This wasn’t an accident, it was irresponsibile at the least and Cheney needs to, at least, go back to Hunter’s Safety Class!

Posted by otter on 2006-02-23 08:52:03

“Mr. Cheney told me if Mr. Whittington was on the same ground level, the injuries might have been lower on Mr. Whittington’s body.” - Kenedy County Sheriff’s Department investigator

So, the story might just as easily have been: Dick goes to cowboy land, slams back a couple, and then peppers his hunting partner’s [groin] with bird shot.

Sadly, shooting his partner in the face was less politically damaging.

Posted by Tim Christopher on 2006-02-21 11:38:48

Shouldn’t someone sue the gun manufacturer? They must ultimately be responsible.

Posted by luckyrc43 on 2006-02-17 16:48:32

Well, the obvious inference is the direct correlation between his inability to handle weapons safely and his inability to likewise administer the government, an analogy which seems to be self-evident (despite the abject absence of an appropriate level of literate skill). Of course, the most significant observation of the event was ignored by the press.

Did he get the quail?

Posted by Major Major on 2006-02-17 16:16:57

“I thought that if someone were to take a shot at you? that you would think that was funny. Isn?t that what you wrote?”

I guess this just shows that your reading skills are on par with your writing skills,

10 more seconds of my life wasted. . . :)

Posted by justMe on 2006-02-16 09:32:54

Fire at will!
Heavy case. To splashing the emotions is better in games for playing, or to find to itself the woman instead of to shoot at the peoples…

p.s. It was necessary to hunt in Canada ;) coz there they in 20 times have less weapon and villains :)

Russian Post, with best wishes?
http://www.xnetdot.com

Posted by Fire on 2006-02-15 21:52:37

“Gotta love a site like this where the staff ‘writers’ are all about personal attacks.”

I thought that if someone were to take a shot at you… that you would think that was funny. Isn’t that what you wrote?

Posted by Tim Christopher on 2006-02-15 16:32:24

“Stupid is as stupid does? had Cheney aimed lower, he might have earned a Darwin Award nomination for helping remove thoughtless rightwing nuts like you from the gene pool.”

Gotta love a site like this where the staff “writers” are all about personal attacks. I wonder, is this how thoughtful people (leftwing/rightwing or otherwise) write or think?

Posted by justMe on 2006-02-15 15:06:14

“funny is calling for an impeachment, due to his inability to handle weapons safely!”

Stupid is as stupid does… had Cheney aimed lower, he might have earned a Darwin Award nomination for helping remove thoughtless rightwing nuts like you from the gene pool.

Posted by Tim Christopher on 2006-02-15 12:50:58

“Can you imagine the firestorm of right-wing rage and ridicule that would happen if Bill Clinton or John Kerry accidentally shot a hunting partner and were equally secretive about it?”

About the same. Hell, it is sorta funny, in a weird sort of way. Even more funny is calling for an impeachment, due to his inability to handle weapons safely!

Posted by justMe on 2006-02-15 12:15:10

Molly Ivins has a piece up on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/32240/) where she says that Harry Whittington is a decent guy for a Texas Republican (admittedly, she says, the standards for that are “about the height of a matchbook”).

She says that when he was on the state prison board and some freshman legislator bursting with tough-on-crime hysteria would propose a new mandatory-minimum bill, more experienced hands would send him over to Whittington, who’d ask them if they knew how much it would cost and that prisons are greenhouses for growing bigger criminals. (And the New York Daily News reported today that he stopped the practice of using prisoners for bloodhound practice.)

Can you imagine the firestorm of right-wing rage and ridicule that would happen if Bill Clinton or John Kerry accidentally shot a hunting partner and were equally secretive about it?

Posted by Steve W. in New York on 2006-02-15 10:58:55

Hear, hear!

BTW, Whittington has suffered a heart attack—the bird shot migrated to his heart. Back in ICU. Apparently, Cheney is standing by, ready to “help,” whatever that might mean.

If I were Whittington, I’d ask him to help by staying as far away from me as possible.

Posted by Silja Talvi on 2006-02-14 15:58:04

But seriously, folks…. All the joking of this incident is great fun because of the particular ironies involved, but rather than let it go down as merely one of life?s most embarrassing moments for Cheney, it should rightfully start a movement calling for his immediate resignation.

The Vice President has demonstrated that he lacks good judgment and situation awareness. He demonstrates a flagrant disregard for the safety and welfare of others. A disregard for ethics and the law. He demonstrates a propensity to conceal and cover up - as characteristic of the entire Bush administration.

The man has a certain blood lust as demonstrated by his choice of so-called ?hunts? that amount to nothing more than shooting fish in a barrel, as it were. This is not someone who?s leadership can be trusted in a nuclear or other crisis situation. This is a dangerous man, incapable of protecting peoples lives.

And particularly in light of his apparent treasonous offense in the V. Plame affair, Dick Cheney should resign as a first step in the impeachment of President Bush for HIS numerous violations of the public trust.

Let then, the Republican Senator from the State of Alaska finish out their term. Let him finish building their ?Bridge to Nowhere?, until the next election when, hopefully, sanity and competent leadership can be restored.

Posted by Tim Christopher on 2006-02-14 13:34:49

This is like a Carl Hiaasen episode. Sometimes you just have to sit back, make some popcorn, and enjoy the irony.

Posted by rocco on 2006-02-13 21:54:07

Was he aiming at Danforth? Cause if he was, i think it would be a righteous shoot. . .

Posted by DannyBoy on 2006-02-13 15:39:53

their top priority has always been god, guns and gays. they dont know how to handle any of these issues. and all come with deadly outcomes good job NRA. god help america.

Posted by mary justice on 2006-02-12 20:06:29

And it took how long for the story to break? Nearly twenty four hours?

Posted by Tim Christopher on 2006-02-12 19:44:36

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