More trouble for Cheney?- Page 5

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 12:14am

Cheney was breaking the law. See below:

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 12:17am

According to tomorrow's Dallas Morning News, the pellets can NOT be removed.

EVER.

---

snippet:

Millionaire lawyer Harry Whittington's condition continued to improve Monday after Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot him during a quail hunt, but doctors said he would probably live out his days with pellets inside him.

[Hospital Emergency Chief] Blanchard said that in cases like Whittington's, where the number of pellets lodged in the skin were "more than I can count on the fingers of my hand, but less than 100," it was better to leave them there than to try to extract them. "In all likelihood, he will continue the rest of his long life and his longevity with those pellets remaining in place," Blanchard said.
Lawyer accidentally shot by Cheney improving

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 12:35am

Adultery Alert!

From talkleft.com:

===

Cheney's Hunting Party Companions

A reader writes in:

Do you find it odd that 2 men are out hunting with 2 WOMEN that are not their wives? Maybe this is the reason for the WH cover up?

The four in the hunting party were: Cheney, Whittington, the divorced Katharine Armstrong and as Raw Story wrote earlier, Pamela Willeford, the U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland.

Before you say it's sleazy to ask this, think about what the press would be reporting if it were John Kerry instead of Dick Cheney.

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 12:46am

can someone less lazy than I look up what law was broken.

[Plum]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 1:49am

He didn't have a "northern birds stamp" or something like that. Some kind of extra hunting license. (He had a normal one.)

But seriously, that's all trivial compared to this, if it's true:

Now it's being said that Valerie Plame wasn't involved in any old anti-proliferation, but Iranian anti-proliferation. So Cheney may have had 2 reasons to bring her down- one being her husband's stance on WMDs in Iraq, but perhaps the more important one being that if the CIA succeeded in anti-proliferation efforts in Iran, there would be less of a reason for the U.S. to go to war with that country, and that's a cause close to what passes for Cheney's neocon heart.
Informed Comment

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 3:14am

I'd like to know why the DC-based NBC channel refers to this story as, maybe, the 20th item in their lineup and then "rush" (no pun intended) through it as if it's not important. For example, tonight Maureen Gensler said, "Vice President Dick Cheney broke the law this weekend when ...." She then said maybe 2 more sentences, showed some fragmented pieces of the David Gregory confrontation of Scott McClellan (none of the actual "confrontation" mind you), and segued into "A young hunter was actually shot and killed when a rifle accidentally went off...blah, blah, blah." Then they show footage of an armory and bang (no pun intended here either), we're no longer on the Dick Cheney story.

What I am about to say may sound petty and vindictive, but I don't mean it that way: This needs to be exploited to the hilt. Democratic strategists have to start asking themselves, "What would Karl Rove do?"

This is the kind of thing that the Republicans are skilled at: Take something that has nothing to do with the job the man is "doing" in his elected position and turn it into "This man is not fit to serve this country. He broke the law. He lied. He shot a man. He used poor judgment. How can we trust him to make important decisions about running the country when he can't even tell the difference between one of his closest friends dressed in bright orange hunting gear and a teeny, little bird????" You know...all the things they nailed Clinton for (except his "sin" was "sex" not "violence.")

[DG]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 3:22am

Penny - despite my immediate personal reaction of, "OMG, it was a freakin accident!", I actually think you're probably on the right track.

God, I hate politics. Exhibit 3482 as to why I left DC.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 3:31am

DG, I am so with you. I hate politics, too, which is why it's so weird that I'm living here! It's the phoniest profession of all time. At least in the theatre, people are supposed to be phonies. As Martin Balsam says about Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's: "She's a phony, but she's a REAL phony."

[DG]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 3:35am

Completely off track, but that just made me flash on Robert Preston (God love him) in VICTOR/VICTORIA - "They'll know HE'S a phony!"

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 3:57am

Robert Preston...there's an actor I have never heard ANYONE say they didn't love! I was so sad when he died. Just like Cary Grant. Everyone--men and women alike--loved that man. I was devastated when he died (well not "devastated" exactly...

I remember I was a legislative analyst at the time (many, many lives ago) so I had to read all these newspapers when I first got to the office. Well, everyone is chatting about the new bill introduced requiring seat belts on school buses, and I'm going around saying, "I can't believe it. Cary Grant died! Cary Grant died!" People were sooo not caring about this issue that I decided to call one of my best friends and commiserate with her. I got her on the phone and said, "Deb, Cary Grant died." And she said, "Yeah, okay." And I repeated it, as if she just didn't hear me, "Cary Grant died. I'm so sad." Her response was, "Well, it's not like he was a member of your effing family!" So much for compassion and support.

And when Audrey Hepburn died, a friend called ME at my office to let me know (he always believed he WAS Audrey Hepburn. (I think he still does...transmigration of souls and all that.) At this point in my career, I was working at a public radio station (where you figure people are a little more "sensitive" and "artistic" than in governmental relations.) Well, my boss walked into my office just as I hung up the phone, sitting motionless and stunned. "What's the matter?" asked he. "Audrey Hepburn just died." "Oh, that's too bad," he quipped, "I hardly knew her. What time is our meeting this afternoon?" (Needless to say, I did not stay at that job much longer. Losing Audrey Hepburn was like the Catholics losing the Pope. Some people just don't get it.)

Wow, we have really veered off topic...it must be something about this Cheney story. WE'RE not even giving it the attention it should be getting!!!!

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 8:10am

Well, the White House Press Corps aren't letting it slip by. Check out the grilling that Scott McClelland received yesterday. It's a fascinating read, and it raises even more questions than I already had.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/02/20060213-4.html

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 8:14am

The White House Press Corps is not going to let anything go by again unil Bush/Cheney are out of office. They've been lied to 1000 times too many.

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 8:22am

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 8:32am

That's BRILLIANT!

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 8:41am

VP Cheney, You're Lucky Those Reporters Aren't Hunters
By Paul Begala

As a guy whose been hunting in South Texas for 30 years, and who's been hunting three times in the past six weeks, I cringe at the Washington Post's use of the benign verb "sprayed" in the lede of the Cheney hunting accident story.

When you hit a man with a 28 gauge (likely 7 and a half shot) and land him in intensive care, you have not "sprayed" him. You've shot him.

I realize reporters were reliant wholly on Katharine Armstrong, Mr. Cheney's host, who laid the whole thing at Whittington's feet, but let me offer a few observations.

On the notion that a 28 gauge "shoots fewer pellets and has a smaller shot pattern than a 12 gauge," as the Washington Post reports: That's true. But no one hunts quail with a 12 gauge. A 12 gauge is used for high-flying, large birds like geese, ducks and pheasants. If you brought a 12 gauge to a quail hunt you'd be laughed off the ranch...and if you hit a bird there'd be nothing left but feathers and feet.

Second, was Mr. Whittington 30 yards away - as the Post reports - or 30 feet, as the Times reports? The difference is important.

Third: It is not best practice - in fact it's unsafe - to send 3 guns into the field and to chase 2 coveys at once. I would never - ever - go chasing a second covey while someone else was occupied with a first covey. My experience is that safe quail hunters generally hunt no more than 2 guns in the field at a time, and chase one covey at a time. To do otherwise is reckless

Ms. Armstrong says Whittington should have announced himself upon
approaching Cheney. That is right. At the same time, Cheney, as a shooter, has an obligation to be aware at all times of the whereabouts of the dogs (who don't announce themselves) his fellow hunters, the guides, dog handlers, etc. I've been on hunting parties of ten men, and it's the obligation of the shooters to know where each of them is, and to be sure they are safe. Cheney knew Whittington was chasing a bird. If he could not see Whittington, if he was not 100 percent sure of his whereabouts, he should not have taken a shot. No bird is worth it.

In sum, even from Ms. Armstrong's whitewashed account, it sounds to me like Cheney was not being safe.

To quote Mary Matalin to vouch for Cheney's safety, as the Post does, is absurd. I love Mary - she's married to my best friend. But she was 1500 miles away, drinking a fine Rhone, no doubt. And I daresay she's never been hunting in her life. And yet the Post quotes her reassuring us that Cheney "was not careless or incautious.". Baloney. That's like quoting me on Mrs. Bush's inaugural ball gown. I didn't attend the event, and I don't know
squat about the subject.

While hunting accidents do happen, this one may have been avoidable - if Mr. Cheney and his companions had been less trigger-happy and more prudent.

But I guess we already knew that.
Link

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:23am

to respond to ywiw, that was a sarcastic post from one member of the vrwb (vast right wing blog-o-cracy) alleging that it would be appearing in one way shape or form at daily kos or democratic underground.

to calvin, i know our posts are almost identical in content, form, style and political viewpoint, but paljoey raised the suggestion that my stablemates on the right side of the aisle will be responding to this controversy with cries of, "but, but, kopechne."

i can only hope that this will revive interest in the classic:
dick is a killer

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:43am

Flitty,

I am printing out your lovely graphic and gluing into my husband's Valentine Card---along with Wexy's V-Day poem! I can't miss this year. (And, apparently, neither can Dick Cheney!)

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 11:00am

Papa - I heard it three times before I got on the Board - so while I thought it was sarcastic, I don't put anything past this administration.

It is funny that the ranch owner stated that the guy was "peppered" with pellets - "peppered, what is he, a freaking steak?" as per Jon Stewart?

Just sing along to the Aerosmith tune . . . .

ba ba ba . . . Cheney's got a gun . . . Cheney's got a gun . . . hunting won't be as fun . . . 'cause Cheney's got a gun. Run away, run away from the spray - yeah yeah yeah ye-ah. Run away, run way from spray . .

Cheney's got a gun . . . click click, Cheney's got a gun . . .


Well, you get the idea. Off to get ready for work.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 11:14am

c'mon, peppered is a term used commonly when referring to shooting, especially with a shotgun. it only sounds funny to those unfamiliar with guns. ok, just to the board...and most daily show fans...eh, fuhgeddaboudit.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 11:24am

I loves me some Jon Stewart:

"Stewart was on fire tonight:

"Whittington was mistaken for a bird."

"Harry Whittington, seasoned to an inch of his life."

"Don't let your kids go hunting with the Vice President. I don't care what kind of lucrative contracts they're trying to land or-energy regulations they're trying to get lifted. He'll shoot them in the face."

Rob Courdry joined in.

Courdry: "Jon, tonight the Vice President is standing by his decision to shoot Harry Whittington. Now according to the best intelligence available, there were quail hidden in the brush. Everyone believed at the time-there-were-quail in the brush. And while the quail turned out to be the 78 year old man. Even knowing that today, Mr. Cheney insists-he still would have shot Mr. Whittington in the face.


dead-eye dick

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 12:10pm

From thinkprogress.com--turns out the Secret Service TURNED THE SHERIFF away.

Why?

PalJoey bets it's because Cheney's blood alcohol level was still a little too high. Experienced hunters say the ONLY time this kind of accident happens is when the shooter is drinking.

---

When Did The Sheriff Interview Cheney?

The NYT says Saturday night:

Sheriff Salinas said he sent his chief deputy, Gilbert Sanmiguel, to the Armstrong Ranch that night. He said Mr. Sanmiguel interviewed Mr. Cheney and reported that the shooting was an accident.

That would be significant because it would suggests Cheney cooperated with the investigation, which is ongoing.

But the AP reports that Cheney didn’t agree to be interviewed until Monday morning:

At least one deputy showed up at the ranch’s front gate Saturday evening and asked to speak to Cheney but was turned away by the Secret Service, [Secret Service spokesman Eric] Zahren said. There was some miscommunication that arrangements already had been made to interview Cheney the next morning, he said.

Who has the story right? How did these two papers get conflicting information?

Updated On: 2/14/06 at 12:10 PM

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 12:12pm

Papa...I refer you back to my post, the one roughly five above yours...

"As a guy whose been hunting in South Texas for 30 years, and who's been hunting three times in the past six weeks, I cringe at the Washington Post's use of the benign verb "sprayed" in the lede of the Cheney hunting accident story.

When you hit a man with a 28 gauge (likely 7 and a half shot) and land him in intensive care, you have not "sprayed" him. You've shot him."

Updated On: 2/14/06 at 12:12 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 12:41pm

Now the White House is trying to turn it into a joke.

But nothing can stop the steady erosion in public confidence.

As the bumper sticker says, "IS IT 2008 YET?"
White House Finds Humor in Hunting Mishap

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 12:45pm

sprayed is not the same as peppered. peppered is a term that is used to describe everything from being stung on the backside with a load of rocksalt (which really f***ing hurts)to volleys of cannonfire falling upon ships or land based targets (which is in fact deadly).

i do read your posts, flitty, even those written by begala.

Updated On: 2/14/06 at 12:45 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 1:34pm

From Jane at firedoglake, the vice president's message to American children:

"Go ahead and shoot your friends. Then blame them for getting in the way of the shot, and have a female friend deal with the press for you so you can hide behind her skirts and never have to accept any responsibility. Ever."
Dick Cheney Lack of Accountability Watch, Day 4