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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
It also ain't news when people read picture books to elementary school classes, clear brush on "their" ranches, choke on a pretzel, tell a colleague "fuck yourself," fall off their mountain bikes, go on vacation, scream wildly in celebration of a victory, make out with their wives, receive oral sex from people who are not their wives, misspell the names of vegetables, recede into dementia, go jogging, send their daughters to college, or give speeches.
Oddly, these things somehow become news when they are performed by people in high-ranking governmental positions...
Imagining the incident, all I can picture is Elmer Fudd with a sneer.
Other facts:
*Weapon of Mass Destruction discovered... in White House.
*Guns don't shoot people. Vice Presidents do.
*Whittington might have avoided injury had the Pentagon issued him proper body armor.
*Maybe it really is a good thing Cheney never went to Vietnam.
*"Back and to the left... back and to the left..."
Now you know it's just a matter of time before El Presidente confers a Congressional Medal of Freedom on Cheney for being a hero. Heck, you just never know when a quail might turn out to be a threat to our way of life. Hmm, I wonder if the situation was reversed and Whittington had shot Cheney?
Friendly fire accidents are up 90% in the recent months. With the insurgency on the decline, it seems some of our soldiers are turning to each other--or rather against each other--to combat the boredom, stress, and fatigue of military life. The road to Austin is long and hard. The tough conditions in Texas make progress slow, but our troops are slowly making their way there. A few casualties on our side is a small price to pay for the peace of mind that will come once we disarm the WMDs that we are sure to find once we conquer the capital and end this disastrous regime. We will not fail to bring Democracy to Texas and other states in Middle America!!! Our future depends upon stability in this region and the steady supply of oil that powers our SUV tanks. We have high hopes and nothing will stand in our way, not even ourselves!!!
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.
I can't believe the person who said this wasn't news--what planet are you living on?
A gun is a deadly weapon, and its misuse by someone who even I assumed would know better (& I'm a liberal democrat) shows some serious lack of judgement. Moreover, Cheney's actions since the actions show severe defects in character.
I come from a family a deer hunters. Pulling the trigger while aiming at a human is always the hunters' fault. Yes, even though accidents tragically do sometimes happen. Yes, even though the victim in this case didn't actually die.
If Cheney was really a sport hunter and a person of any integrity he would own up (in person!) to his tragic mistake, misjudgement, and turn in his hunting license.
Yet, incredibly, Cheney "the nobel hunter" has allowed his mouthpieces to blame the victim for this accident and to pooh-pooh its seriousness (even though the poor guy was put in the ICU and his face will probably be permanently scarred).
The NRA should decry Cheney's minimization of his role in this accident as cowardly and shameful.
Cheney deserves to be raked over the coals. His behavior in this case tells volumes about his personal integrity and willingness to take responsibility for his mistakes.
Isn't news? It is news even when it isn't famous people. If there's a hunting accident, it gets reported on the news. When the VP shoots someone in a hunting accident, it is bigger news and not just because he's famous. He's an advocate of gun rights and has mocked others publicly for allegedly not knowing what they were doing. Cheney just showed he doesn't know what he's doing and didn't even have the permits to hunt! (Hunt being a relative term as he was on a "hunting farm".)
Of course, there's other news in this case: Cheney didn't report it right away and stonewalled the police until the following morning. Interfering with a police investigation? That's news. Even if it was just to give him time to sober up.
P.S., your P.S.? Now That's comedy.
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.
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The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
219 Democrats and one Republican join in favor of the legislation, which passed by a narrow margin
Salon headlines in your mailbox
