To Mr. Stein,

It ain't the news "they" are making of it. It has been way over-done, way over insinuated, and vilified.

To Ms. Carey,

I too am qualified. My wife and I both carry concealed (legally so), and we have a pistol range in our backyard. Shooting sports are an any-day (not every day, though generally once or twice a week) occurrence for us.

You obviously did not pick up on the emphasis of my response to Cary's article. First it is not the story that the media is making of it, i.e. that Chaney is a bloodthirsty killer "the shooter", the "trigger man", etc. Second, that Cary attempted to make humor writing about a topic that he is obviously ignorant about, and third that there seems to be a lot of people reading this magazine that think it is a laughable event. I also question your sources: "two things are clear . . .he was visible, and he got a facefull." Neither of those two statements is necessarily true.

As a shooter you should recognize the obvious tone of all this. This event, and the publicity that it generates will be one more argument used to ban all offensive and defensive weaponry.

Poco

P.S. I am not a republican. I am not a democrat. I am a conservative. Not a lying, cheating, thieving "conservative", a real conservative.

Lynx,

You are just another person trying to make more of this than there is:

"If there's a hunting accident, it gets reported on the news."

Local news, maybe, but not national, ad nauseam.

"Of course, there's other news in this case: Cheney didn't report it right away and stonewalled the police until the following morning."

You are wrong.

From the York Dispatch:

"Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said that about an hour after Cheney shot Whittington, the head of the Secret Service's local office called the Kenedy County sheriff to report the accident. "They made arrangements at the sheriff's request to have deputies come out and interview the vice president the following morning at 8 a.m. and that indeed did happen," Zahren said."

Also

"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, Zahren said. There was some miscommunication that arrangements already had been made to interview Cheney the next morning, he said."

As for you ridiculing my byline in such a caustic and crueliscious way, I'm hurt, really, really hurt.

Poco

P.S. I am not a republican. I am not a democrat. I am a conservative. Not a lying, cheating, thieving "conservative", a real conservative.

I am also exceptionally glad to say that I am not a liberal.

Lynx,

Quote: "All your PS says is that you aren't a litany of vague things but are another vague thing. And not only that, but a specific vague thing of which only you know the definition."

What's vague about republican and democrat? I mean, they're established political parties, for cryin' out loud. As for "real conservative", us real conservatives know what that means. It's a code word. As for liberals, not even they know what that means, but I know I'm not one. As for you, yer just a... just a... why, yer just a big jerk!

Poco

P.S. I am not a republican. I am not a democrat. I am a conservative. Not a lying, cheating, thieving "conservative", a real conservative.

I am also exceptionally glad to say that I am not a liberal.

I'm even gladder to say that I am not as dumb as Lynx.

But sometimes it takes a monster to kill a monster. Just ask Mothra. Conversely, you could read a very intersting book about dealing with the criminally insane, called Killing Pablo. Right now, our enemy is Pablo.

Poco

So? What a joke.

Jeez, at the end of the day, were all just animals. Go forth and mate! This is the 21st century you pitiful pseudo spiritual beings. Stop whining about "love", and "commitment" and all the junk that is empirically impossible to verify. If you can't verify it, it isn't real! What is most important is that you get what you want. The best way to get what you want is to make a lot of money. Then you can just buy friends, lovers, etc. If you would invest as much time making money as you do investing in so called relationships, you could easily buy what you want and avoid the whole "compromise" thing. It's a lot less messy, and since "love" is just a chemical reaction, there has to be an easier way to get it.

Get busy!

Poco

Why is something that is nothing so hard to get rid of, and why are so few desperately trying to do so?

Answer the first question first.

Poco

To not lump all of those who have come to the conclusion that a particular source of knowledge is as reliable if not more so than any other, into the camp of idiots and automatons.

It is estimated that 90% of the world's population believe in a personal entity outside the realm of full understanding. Does that mean that 10% of the world's population are superior to the rest? There are many things outside the realm of full understanding, whose existence remains undisputed, even by the 10.

There is one undisputable fact: man's pride knows no boundary, followed closely by his arrogance.

Poco