Cheney Shooting ...... Does it pass the smell test?

[Botany]

These are worn while hunting. When you are shooting birds you have to
follow them with your shotgun even when they just jump up.

So a bird flushed behind the Veep and he turned 180 degrees to shot
the bird and hit somebody who should have been wearing a bright orange
safety vest? And then they waited 24 hours to break the story? 24 hours
that would have let any alcohol in his system go away?

[babylonsister]

1. I just wonder if a man with as many health problems as

Deadeye Dick would be drinking at all.:shrug:

[dchill]

3. And I wonder...

if a man with as many health problems as Dick has should be firing a gun. Or occupying the "number two" spot in the country. Nope, can't come up with any kind of logic for either one.

[LeftNYC]

2. Where was this guy shot? What part of his body? nt

[dchill]

5. Head and neck,,,

from what I understand. Ouch. He's "stable." Too bad Dick's not.

[babylonsister]

6. Head, neck, and chest. nt

[Viva_La_Revolution]

7. face, neck, shoulder and chest

got him good, about 50 pellets.

[Botany]

9. this help?

He said Whittington had been hit by pellets in the face, neck and upper torso.

[NWHarkness]

10. Face, neck and chest

Realistically, I doubt the incident itself was anything but an unfortunate accident, What I believe we ought to focus on is the fact that, as usual, they tried to cover up an embarrassing incident. If it happened on Saturday, why did they keep it quiet for over 24 hours, and would we know it had happened at all if the local paper hadn't gotten word of it?

[onehandle]

4. I believe it. Republicans in office only pretend to be outdoorsmen.

Just like they pretend to respect God and religious groups.

They flail around once in a while in the woods to uphold their "rep".

[fryguy]

8. just goes to show

if people have lost the ability to distinguish:

this


from this



they shouldn't be allowed to be out hunting.....

[Skarbrowe]

11. No. But other than hoping the guy is OK, it is kinda funny. haha funny nt

[mwb970]

21. He'd better be OK.

As exciting as a "Dick Is A Killer" meme would be, we will get a lot more mileage out of this if the guy is OK (not to mention that it is better in general for people to be OK after being shot). Watch Jay Leno tonight! Do you think he would make jokes if the victim died?

Me, I can't wait to see KO's take on this. Is it 8:00 yet??

[bluedog]

12. Whittington was commissioner /funeral home scandel/texas

In another bit of intrigue, The New York Times reported late Sunday that Whittington was commissioner of the state's Funeral Service Commission. In 1999, George W. Bush, then governor of Texas, named Whittington to head the Commission, which licenses and regulates funeral directors and embalmers in the state. "When he was named," The Times revealed, "a former executive director of the commission, Eliza May, was suing the state, saying that she had been fired because she investigated a funeral home chain that was owned by a friend of Mr. Bush.

"The suit was settled in 2001, but the details were not disclosed."

[RaleighNCDUer]

15. Was he connected with the Texas company that had the contract

to deal with the Katrina dead?

Does he, literally, know where the bodies are buried? And how many there are?

[Imagine My Surprise]

22. That would be SCI -- Service Corporation Int'l -- the Great Satan of...

the funeral home industry. Brilliantly satirized on Six Feet Under. (they buy mom and pop shops, keep the same NAME, and provide assembly-line quality. Literally. Here in Louisville in just one chain of 12 alone, they use just ONE facility to actually embalm. Not that the public knows this.

[carolinalady]

13. Guaranteed-there was no blood alcohol level taken. The wait

was (I think) because the guy was a lot more critical than the story leads one to believe. First of all he was stabilized in a smaller hospital then transferred to a trauma unit. Today the administrator listed his condition as stable but refused to qualify the level of severity as critical, serious or good which are the standard descriptions. They wanted to make sure the guy was pretty well out of the woods before they released the story to minimalize the sensation of it.

[Botany]

14. The man is in an ICU for crying out load.

the news keeps saying he is doing good.



smell test?

[alcibiades_mystery]

16. I suspect

absolutely NOTHING would pass your "smell test."

[Coyote_Bandit]

17. For what it's worth

1. It's possible that everyone there - including both Cheney and his victim - were drunk. Certainly it would appear that both used poor judgment.

2. Me thinks that Cheney's health is not nearly as bad as represented. It is a handy excuse. Cheney has been in office nearly 6 years during which time he has done a fair amount of traveling, done his share of campaigning and fundraising, and worked under stress to perpetrate some notable frauds. I'm not suggesting that he is perfectly healthy - just that his heart disease is being managed quite well. Folks that I have known who had long-term severe heart disease were incapable of Cheney's level of activity. Indeed, most of them were emaciated and had grey skin undertones reflecting poor oxygen uptake.

3. Where exactly was the Secret Service? Seems to me that they weren't exactly on top of their ball game during this little outing. There were other hunters presumably with guns who were present. One reportedly wanders away from the group to retrieve his trophy. At the very least the SS should have noted his position. He was, after all, an armed man. One would think the the SS would make the VP aware that the victim had left the group to retrieve his trophy.

[Botany]

19. Great Point

Where was the S.S.? Somebody could walk up behind old Dead Eye Dick w/ a Gun?

another smell test problem.

Great point

[warrens]

36. SS was probably watching approaches to the ranch

They had vetted the people inside as trustworthy nazis. Their attention was probably on rabble-rousing librul commies tryin' to protest.

[valerief]

18. 24 hours to burn all copies of those incriminating photos, too

[myrna minx]

20. I wonder if it was another one of the Safari Club "hunts"...

http://www.hsus.org/legislation_laws/wayne_pacelle_the_animal_advocate/cheneys_canned_kill_and_other_hunting_excesses_of_the_bush_administration.html
Cheney's Canned Kill, and Other Hunting Excesses of the Bush Administration

By Wayne Pacelle

Vice President Dick Cheney went pheasant shooting in Pennsylvania in December 2003, but unlike most of his fellow hunters across America, he didn't have to spend hours or even days tramping the fields and hedgerows in hopes of bagging a brace of birds for the dinner table.

Upon his arrival at the exclusive Rolling Rock Club in Ligonier Township, gamekeepers released 500 pen-raised pheasants from nets for the benefit of him and his party. In a blaze of gunfire, the group—which included legendary Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach and U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), along with major fundraisers for Republican candidates—killed at least 417 of the birds. According to one gamekeeper who spoke to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Cheney was credited with shooting more than 70 of the pen-reared fowl.

snip

The HSUS worked hard to expose Cheney's shooting spree, and we were fortunate in persuading The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Dallas Morning News, and other media outlets to cover the events of that day and our subsequent criticism.

Our criticism is simple to understand: Farm-raised pheasants are about as wary as urban pigeons and shooting them is nothing more than live target practice, especially when they are released from a hill in front of 10 gunners hidden below in blinds—as Cheney and his party were. Such hunting makes a mockery of basic principles of fair play and humane treatment, and the vice president should not associate himself with such conduct.

snip
The administration's most outrageous proposal is its plan to allow trophy hunters to shoot endangered species in other countries and import the trophies and hides into the United States. The administration first floated the proposal a few months ago, with formal proposals subsequently published in the Federal Register, and President Bush is expected to make a final decision soon on the plan, which originated with his U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

For 30 years, the Endangered Species Act has provided critical protections for species near extinction in the United States. The act also protects species in foreign nations, by barring pet traders, circuses, trophy hunters, and others from importing live or dead endangered species. While we can't prevent the shooting or capture of endangered species overseas, we can prevent imports—thus eliminating the incentive for American hunters and others to shoot or trap the animals in the first place.

[noonwitch]

23. I've got to wonder if alcohol was involved

Not necessarily on Cheney's part, maybe on the part of the guy who got shot? Then again, Cheney's got a worse DUI record than W.

[kskiska]

24. Unreported: Third hunter involved

From Raw Story:

THE THIRD HUNTER IS REVEALED... by Ron Brynaert over at RAW STORY. It seems the U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland, Pamela Willeford, another Bush Family crony, was also along for the festivities. The revelation by the Cox News Service, has yet to be picked up by any publication. As reported by RAW...

Pamela Willeford, a former Texas education official, accompanied Cheney and Whittington as they hunted quail at the Armstrong ranch in Texas on Saturday.
...
According to Open Secrets, "Willeford and her immediate family contributed a total of $23,200 to Republicans during the 2000, 2002 and 2004 election cycles, including $7,000 to the Bush campaigns and an additional $500 to the Bush-Cheney recount fund established after the 2000 election."

[Fleshdancer]

25. I want to know who all was there

I'll buy the excuse that Cheney was just being a careless idiot but what bothers me is that the names of the whole hunting party aren't being released. Why would this be a big secret? Either he doesn't want to reveal who he spends his time with or he doesn't want anything other than his official statement about what happened getting out.

Either way, something isn't quite right here.

[Carni]

26. I think fat ass Dick fell down and discharged his firearm accidentally

Pegging his 78 year old cohort with his blast.

If Cheney uses a cane most of the time... then I have a hard time believing the man can wield a gun, or traverse fields with any kind of skill or accuracy.

He's infirm, fat and probably doesn't move too quick--I think this is a case of he fell down and shot the other man in the process, but that certainly wouldn't sound very manly for the press would it?

Did you note today how he slithered past the cameras with his coat collar pulled up high hiding his face?

I highly doubt that was to cover remorse (more like the bruises he sustained when he fell down and literally went boom!)

I think that evil fat F just plain slipped and fell.

JMO--

[Devil Dog Dem]

27. Yes. It happens (not that I'm excusing it).

I've almost been shot at close range few times hunting upland game. I've been hit with birdshot from a distance when hunters were shooting too low and the got hit from the shot on the downward trajectory.


Again, it happens.

[Marr]

28. It sounds perfectly believable to me.

It's the sort of stupid mistake I'd expect a bunch of wannabees to make while they're out pretending to be hunters on a game ranch.

I hunt, and I've nearly been shot on several occasions, with shotguns and (more often) hunting rifles. Every time, the person on the end was some moron paying too much attention to his drink, or his buddies, and too little attention to his environment. While I've never been to a game ranch, I can only assume that they've got an even higher rate of moronic wannabees than usual.

[BringEmOn]

29. The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight

[Wheezy]

33. rofl! That's funny. n/t

[RebelOne]

30. They were possibly not wearing hunter orange vests, as they

were hunting on private property.

This is from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Web site: "No hunter orange is required while hunting on private property, but it is recommended. Public hunting lands require 400 square inches of daylight florescent orange with 144 square inches appearing on both chest and back, and daylight florescent orange headwear must be worn (see Public Hunting Lands). "

[Raster]

31. perhaps bushco* is attempting to reign in their spending, and have

darth crashcart do some of his own wet work...

[Uncle Joe]

39. You avatar is most appropriate for the occasion. n/t

[Raster]

42. thank you. went hunting at the pheasant slaughter with darth crashcart

...he is one lousy-ass shot!

[StefanX]

32. The guy who Cheney shot was involved in "Funeralgate"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x403342

[earth mom]

34. No-it doesn't pass the smell test.

A couple of things stand out to me:

1. Cheney shot 70 birds, which makes him a good shot, even if the birds were "tame"-whatever that means....

2. Whittington was involved in an eminent domain battle in Austin, Texas. Which might make rethugs like Cheney quite a bit testy....

3. I don't trust these guys 'cause they lie all the time...

[librechik]

35. it isn't the crime, it's the cover up. n/t

[Bridget Burke]

37. I'm incapable of doing a "Smell Test"

Since the 2000 elections, nothing has smelled right.

Sort of like picking out the odor of one dead possum under the house when you're south of the paper mill in Pasadena, east of the Port City Stockyards & west of all the petrochemical plants along the Ship Channel. In August.

[in_cog_ni_to]

38. NO. They're covering something else up. Cheney had a heart attack?

He fell, gun went off and shot the dude? SOMETHING ELSE happened! Otherwise, why were they trying to hide it? The lady who owns tha ranch is in on the cover-up too. She called the press ONLY AFTER the OK from the WH. They had finally gotten a story together fro the press. This STINKS to high heaven. COVER_UP for something else. JMCPO.

[earthside]

40. Where was Mrs. Cheney?

Let's not be naive.

That's why this doesn't pass the smell test.

He might have been drinking, too.

[cascadiance]

41. Some guy on the radio pointed out he was using a 28 guage gun...

... or at least that was what was reported. Someone calling into Stacey Taylor's show here in San Diego noted that as a hunter, it's very unlikely folks are using 28 guage guns these days, and that he more likely would have been using a 12 guage or 20 guage shotgun, which is what a huge majority of hunters use these days. Then again, perhaps them using 28 guages was a rule that Secret Service put in place to avoid precisely the potential seriousness of any potential accidents should one happen like this.

I still wonder about the whole way they had conducted this affair. What would have happened if it were the other guy that did the same thing to Cheney. Perhaps he might have even killed Cheney (though some here might have cheered that!). Would Secret Service allow that sort of potential event to happen? I don't think they would be, if they wanted to keep their jobs... Something smells to me!

[Festivito]

43. Something stinks. Maybe the time spent on this topic.

If drunk, he was on private ground with friends who'd know he was drunk leaving themselves complicit.
Yes, he could be charged and frog marched and paraded and degraded, but only if you can PROVE it in capital letters.
His buddies won't turn on him, too much money at stake.

I suggest keeping abreast of this and inserting a random scandal along with it at the water cooler.

Like why is the guy who got GWB out of an ugly perjury situation just before the 2000 elections still cavorting with Bush admin people?