Oooops
From
here.
Cheney Accidentally Shoots Fellow Hunter
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a companion during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas, spraying the fellow hunter in the face and chest with shotgun pellets.Harry Whittington, a millionaire attorney from Austin, was "alert and doing fine" in a Corpus Christi hospital Sunday after he was shot by Cheney on a ranch in south Texas, said Katharine Armstrong, the property's owner.
He was described as in stable condition by Yvonne Wheeler, spokeswoman for the Christus Spohn Health System in Corpus Christi.
Well, that's one way for the GOP to take care of it's problem with lobbyists.
The big question is whether or not Cheney will rush through tort reform before the guy wakes up and sues him.
I think it's terrible that someone got shot, but I just couldn't help laughing when I heard that it was big Dick that did the shooting.
I think it's terrible that someone got shot, but I just couldn't help laughing when I heard that it was big Dick that did the shooting.
I guess we know the real reason for all of those deferments during Vietnam, the guy can't shoot straight. They were probably happy to let him stay home.
I think the guy was either a lobbyist or a contributor whose "support" fell juuuuuuuuuuuuust a little short this year.
In the face.
Ouch. "Peppered pretty good" I heard it described.
Beestie, you crack me up.
Imagine the media if it had been Kerry. He was ridiculed for even going hunting!
Imagine the media if it had been Kerry. He was ridiculed for even going hunting!
No, he was ridiculed for dressing up in a brand new camo outfit for an obvious photo-op to try to give the fraudulant impression that he goes hunting a lot and is gun-friendly.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3762770.stm
Cheney, OTOH, frequently goes hunting, and Whittington "...shot a bird and went to look for it in the tall grass, as his hunting companions walked to another spot where they found a second covey of quail. Mr. Whittington 'came up from behind the vice president and the other hunter and didn't signal them or indicate to them or announce himself,' Mrs. Armstrong told the A.P." -- NYT
Not good hunting safety...but he *was* actually *hunting*...not primping for cameras.
Kerry's dressup was almost as humorous as Dubya's flight suit and "Mission Accomplished" drag show.
I wonder if Justice Scalia will be as eager to rejoin Cheney on his hunting trips? Imagine the confirmation fight over the his replacement if Cheney had shot him.
As for this -
Cheney, OTOH, frequently goes hunting, and Whittington "...shot a bird and went to look for it in the tall grass, as his hunting companions walked to another spot where they found a second covey of quail. Mr. Whittington 'came up from behind the vice president and the other hunter and didn't signal them or indicate to them or announce himself,' Mrs. Armstrong told the A.P." -- NYT
it brings up the uncomforatable choice of startling someone with a loaded gun or not letting them know where you are. So when Cheney wheeled and shot, did he do it with his eyes closed?
No, he was ridiculed for dressing up in a brand new camo outfit for an obvious photo-op to try to give the fraudulant impression that he goes hunting a lot and is gun-friendly.
Perfect example. Now imagine that multiplied by shooting someone in the face.
...it brings up the uncomforatable choice of startling someone with a loaded gun or not letting them know where you are. So when Cheney wheeled and shot, did he do it with his eyes closed?
If you don't know how to let someone with a loaded gun know where you are without startling them, don't go hunting. I'd guess Whittington was trying not to spook the game, but ended up concealing his presence only from the rest of the party. Quite possible that the reason that the covey flushed was that Whittington walked right into them.
I wasn't there, but It sounds like Cheny "wheeled and fired" while tracking an airborne target. At that time he presumably wasn't scanning the brush for hunters stealthing around in the aformentioned tall grass, and apparently caught Whittington with the edge of his shotgun pattern.
So when Cheney wheeled and shot, did he do it with his eyes closed?
I wonder if he said "Go fuck yourself!"?
You have to wonder if the old Judge isnt far better off having just been "Sprinkled" by Dick... I have a sneaking suspicion had HE been the one doing the Whoopsie Sprinkling, he would be lying in a morgue looking like dead perforated tea bag. I think Dicks circle of hunting buddies just shrank.. I say he restricts his hunting to Crawford Texas from now on. :lol:
Kerry's dressup was almost as humorous as Dubya's flight suit and "Mission Accomplished" drag show.
If you fly in the cockpit of an S-3, you wear a Nomex flightsuit (and the other gear); it's required.
Damn, if I could catch a ride in an S-3, I would. Closest I've ever gotten is when my then brother-in-law (at the time a SAC navigator) bribed an Air Force instructor pilot with a bottle of cheer to give me (and my ex-, both of us pilots) an hour's time in a KC-135 simulator.
A 78 year old guy got shot! Quick, let's mine the comic potential in it so we can prod the administration. It's not like it's something really serious, like the funeral of a civil rights leader, or something.
Not good hunting safety...but he *was* actually *hunting*...not primping for cameras.
Well, I'll give you the cameras thing, but it's debatable that
what he was doing could be called "hunting".
Well, I'll give you the cameras thing, but it's debatable that what he was doing could be called "hunting".
Gee, why not just ask PETA what they think? (And while we're at it let's slam streams that are cruelly and brutally stocked with trout, too.)
I do hope you noticed that the press release you cite doesn't actually refer to "what Cheney was doing when the accident happened", but rather to something back in 2003?
I didn't say anything about morals. I eat meat. I just wouldn't say that meat packers are hunting cows or that skeet shooters are hunting skeet. And the differentiation between canned hunts and actual hunting is made by hunters (who look down on canned hunts in paticular) more than activists (who dislike hunting in general).
But I will offer a mea culpa on the date. I pulled the trigger too fast on my post, shall we say.
I wonder if he said "Go fuck yourself!"?
Or if his plan was merely to "shock and awe" Whittington, with a pre-emptive strike?
Spexxvet, made me laugh out loud.
(PS-I always want to make your name SEXpet. Isn't that weird?)
hahaha Spex. That was a funny one!
I didn't say anything about morals. I eat meat. I just wouldn't say that meat packers are hunting cows or that skeet shooters are hunting skeet. And the differentiation between canned hunts and actual hunting is made by hunters (who look down on canned hunts in paticular) more than activists (who dislike hunting in general).
But I will offer a mea culpa on the date. I pulled the trigger too fast on my post, shall we say.
ha ha, yes, but
when you posted, did you do it with your eyes closed?
I checked the link, despite the date on that story I'd be shocked if this wasn't a stocked hunt. Or mike hunt maybe. sorry.
Dang! Is the movie as funny as the quotes lead one to believe?
Moreso.
You MUST see this movie.
Actually, how the heck have you missed seeing it? For the last couple of years it has been run for 24 contiguous hours on either TNT or TBS on Christmas Eve.
The beauty of the 24 hour marathon is that no matter when you flip it on, it's always a good part.
Cool, thanks!
On a different note, browsing the Google News (NOW! Out of Beta!) one of the funnier headlines was "Open Season On Cheney". I didn't read that article, but the next two were interesting.
How Did Dick Cheney Break the No.1 Rule of Hunting? which contained this excerpt:
An eyewitness account reported by the Associated Press suggests that Cheney may have, in the heat of the moment, violated the No. 1 rule of hunting by failing to keep track of his hunting buddies at all times.
...
Accidents can happen, of course, in a single careless moment. Quail, when you find them and they flush, don’t exactly follow gun-safety rules. They fly up suddenly and may go in any direction. And the first thing that happens to the hunter is the adrenaline rush. That’s why quail hunters wear orange, as Cheney's group reportedly were. And that’s why experts counsel the hunter not to sweep the shotgun around and fire if they don’t know what’s in the line of fire. Knowing what's behind the target is also a rule with which, one can bet, Cheney’s Secret Service detail would have wanted Whittington himself to be intimate.
And then this one,
Cheney and shooting victim were hunting illegally, officials say with this quote:
The other hunters present on Saturday included ranch manager Anne Armstrong; Whittington's wife, Merce; Ambassador Willeford; and her husband, George "Boots" Willeford. Anne Armstrong's two daughters, Katharine Armstrong and Serita Hixon, were there. So was Hixon's husband, Bob.
Whittington shot two birds, which he left to retrieve and put into a truck, Katharine Armstrong said.
As Whittington re-approached the group, he was walking through a low point in the land where they couldn't see him, Ms. Armstrong said.
"The cardinal rule is you stay on line," Katharine Armstrong said.
I am not a hunter. I appeal to the hunters in the audience to educate me. I'm not looking for an indictment of Cheney, he's already done enough for me to make my own decisions. And I understand the responsibility for safety afield is a shared responsibility, not all one and none for the other. But I am looking for some clues here as to how this happened and how / who should have acted differently to avoid it.
I have another thought...
What would be the story if everything else was the same, but Whittington shot Cheney? It could have happened... Would there have been a 24 hour delay in the reportage? Would the reaction to the shooter have been the same? It's an interesting thought exercise.
Oh, and if there are only three to a hunting party, where the hell was the Secret Service?
When I first saw the news about this I couldn't help but think "what the hell?".
I shoot in matches, and hunt as well - I always identify my target before pulling the trigger. I'm sure he used to do the same, but it's looking like he's an elderly man that needs to get his drivers license taken away.
Scary.
Why do you feel Cheney should have immediately notified the press?
I don't believe he had any obligation to tell the press at all. I think it's a sad commentary of the state of the press when they expect to be handed stories without any investigating.
I also think that Clinton, when asked about the Ho, should have said it's none of your business. :p
If you are hunting with a companion and that person goes off somewhere, you automatically exercise extra caution when your hunting pal is not within your field of vision. The other thing is that when hunting ANYTHING, you have to look at it and aim to hit it. Now sometimes a hunter makes a lucky shot by aiming at a sound or a sudden movement off in the distance and gets to kill or wound someone. In Colorado we generally attribute such behaviors to Texans. Oh, wait! Never mind... :eyebrow:
Bruce, anytime a person gets shot with a gun in TX it is to be reported to the police. This did not happen. The reporters usually call the local papers to get all that info (police blotter sections I suppose) but it was not reported when they called. So maybe it really wasn't their business but if this had not been an accident (say he snapped and shot a teen) don't you think that's news worthy? Shouldn't it have been reported to the police?
Why wait 18 hours before notifying the press? Could it be that Cheney had to wait for the alcohol to leave his system in case his blood was tested? Did they have to make up a story, because the headline "Cheney shoots republican for not donating enough" looks really bad? Did the accident happen as Cheney leaned on his gun to get up off his knees, from in front of Whittington? :yum: Did Whittington reportedly say "that was the best head I ever got - right up until he shot me in the face"? :eek:
Bruce, anytime a person gets shot with a gun in TX it is to be reported to the police. This did not happen. The reporters usually call the local papers to get all that info (police blotter sections I suppose) but it was not reported when they called. So maybe it really wasn't their business but if this had not been an accident (say he snapped and shot a teen) don't you think that's news worthy? Shouldn't it have been reported to the police?
Does the Secret Service qualify as police?
"News worthy" doesn't make it a requirement or obligation. As a matter of fact, news worthy is a pretty nebulous term these days. :lol:
Does the Secret Service qualify as police?
No, but I'm sure it would have been OK fo the secret service to report it to police instead of Cheney himself.
Actually, how the heck have you missed seeing it? For the last couple of years it has been run for 24 contiguous hours on either TNT or TBS on Christmas Eve.
Believe it or not, there are households that don't turn on a TV during Christmas.
However, we do have the DVD.
No, but I'm sure it would have been OK fo the secret service to report it to police instead of Cheney himself.
The hospital is required to report ... they should also be questioned. How did they get the guy to the hospital, though? Toss him in the back of a limo, or call an ambulance? If an ambulance was involved, the police were notified.
According to an article in Rolling Stone:
there are some advantages to hunting with a Veep with a bum ticker. "Fortunately, the vice president has got a lot of medical people around him and so they were right there," said a spokeswoman. "The vice president has got an ambulance on call, so the ambulance came."
Gotta wonder if the ambulance was on call because of Cheney's heart problems, or because the old fart shouldn't be out hunting.
snip...
I also think that Clinton, when asked about the Ho, should have said it's none of your business. :p
IMO, he should have said in his best Austin Powers voice and his trademark leer/smile:
"I shagged her rotten baby. Yeah!"
:love:
The White House says it was Whittington's fault.
Q I know you had a chance to speak to, I assume, the President and the Vice President today. Did the Vice President follow all of the appropriate safety procedures that are familiar to hunters in this case?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think if you've got specifics about that, probably direct them to the Vice President's Office. I don't know all the specifics about it, but I think Mrs. Armstrong spoke publicly about how this incident occurred. And if I recall, she pointed out that the protocol was not followed by Mr. Whittington, when it came to notifying the others that he was there. And so, you know, unfortunately these types of hunting accidents happen from time to time. And all of us were most concerned about Mr. Whittington. And as I said, the Vice President was glad to see he was doing fine yesterday and that he's in good spirits. He is someone that many of us here know and have great respect for, and we look forward to him getting out of the hospital soon.
RE: BigV's post. I see it's time to play Blame the Victim. Nice.
You would think they would have learned from Brownie that you shouldn't blame someone on your team until you are sure of their loyalty.
He shot a lawyer, give him a medal. ;)
Some say he's setting back the gun owners movement with his irresponsibility.
Who shot who or why did it happened is totally irrelevant. Cheney shot his friend who later suffered a mild heart attack because a pellet got into the heart. Again, irrelevant here.
The problem is that Cheney could not even come clean - be up front and honest. That still would not be a problem if this White House had not been caught lying so many times previously. So many disasters that the White House mishandled. So many times that a White House response is stonewall silence or outright deception.
A simple response would have been 'total apologies to a shot lawyer and a whole hearted admission that I made a mistake'. That is what an honest man would do. And that is the only reason for this controversy.
We are really asking whether Cheney is an honest man - or one whose modem-operandi is to lie or deceive whenever possible. What could have been nothing more than a simple hunting accident has proven to be just as deceitful as Kennedy at Chappaquiddick. But then we are talking about politicians whose purpose in life is to lie – because that is what we want them to do. We want them to be politically correct – only appear to be honest. The controversy is that Cheney does not even appear to be honest – and is so arrogent as to not care what we think. A 'screw America again' attitude because 'I am Dick Cheney and don't care what Americans think'. That attitude is why he deserves to replace Mohammed.
Where are bad Danish comics when we need them.
CHENEY SHOOTS ... by all the top cartoonists!
http://cagle.msnbc.com/news/CheneyShoots/1.asp ...
I also think that Clinton, when asked about the Ho, should have said it's none of your business. :p
Maybe he wouldn't have offended the re
pubicans as much if he had used a shotgun instead of a cigar. :love:
One of the Starr Report footnotes referenced "anal - oral" contact. Never said who's anal to who's oral. Being democraps, probably both. :yum:
I heard somewhere that the guy was first taken to a medical center in a small town- not any closer to the accident site, rather than Corpus. Why was that?
And there is the speculation about drinking a beer or beers or whatever.
But really, who cares? Why would info control, info manipulation, secrecy, responsibility dodging, spinnnnnnnnn be any news?
meanwhile War management, Crisis management, Cronyism, Corruption, Crime...lots of White House issues to sink your teeth into.
Next time, take their guns and make them use hunting knives.
I heard somewhere that the guy was first taken to a medical center in a small town- not any closer to the accident site, rather than Corpus. Why was that?
And there is the speculation about drinking a beer or beers or whatever.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Hunting Accident and Incident Report Form, has under
both Shooter and Victim, the question “Game Law Violated?” checked “yes”. Under that it cites “P&W Code 4J.652” as near as I can make out. Might be 43.652, it’s hard to read. :(
btw, it was a Perazzi 28 gauge shotgun.
The game law violated is probably the $7 stamp they were missing on their hunting licenses.
That is what an honest man would do.
That is what an honest man would do.
That is what an honest man would do.
say no more.
btw, it was a Perazzi 28 gauge shotgun
My hypo–thetical/critical question to the shooter is:
How 'bout an AMERICAN gun you fucking patriot?
I just adore the fact that the shooting took place on the ranch belonging to a former Halliburten Exec. Talk about keeping it "all in the family!"
The Italians make shot guns? Oh, yeah, guess they would with the mafia and all.
Whatever happened to going out on public land with your blue tick coon hound and a Remington, a valid hunting licence, and a hunter's safety course under your belt?
I guess only rednecks do that. Toby Keith, anyone? :rar:
I just adore the fact that the shooting took place on the ranch belonging to a former Halliburten Exec. Talk about keeping it "all in the family!"
Where did you get that from? Katharine Armstrong is a lobbyist, her Dad a(the ultimate) rancher and Mom, United States ambassador to Britain. :)
Where did you get that from? Katharine Armstrong is a lobbyist, her Dad a(the ultimate) rancher and Mom, United States ambassador to Britain. :)
Guess what Mommy dearest did before she became ambassador? It was on one of the links to the story. I'll see if I can track it down for you.
OK, it was from Happy Monkey's link
He may not be doing too well
Katharine Armstrong's mother, Anne Armstrong, served on the board of directors of Halliburton, the oil field service company Cheney ran before becoming vice president. She also served as U.S. ambassador to Britain in the Ford administration.
Whatever happened to going out on public land with your blue tick coon hound and a Remington, a valid hunting licence, and a hunter's safety course under your belt?
What you describe has never been common place. Most hunting occurs on private property. Coons like corn and thankfully the State is not growing much corn yet.
Yeah, Texas has a lot of private hunting property, I guess. Blue ticks can be used for other things besides coons, tho. I know of some one who uses them to hunt cougars, for example.
Anyhow, my point was more about how Cheney got to skate on this one.
What do you think would have happened to Joe Sixpack if he didn't have the valid stamp on his licence and shot his buddy after having a brew or two?