Well, now that we've all had a day or two to chew on the news about Vice President Cheney, we know the following (culled from various news sources):
- The incident was definitely an accident.
- There was no alcohol involved.
- There were no other illegal substances involved.
- The hunter who was shot did not announce himself.
- Cheney was hunting with a license but without a $7 addendum stamp.
- Cheney has since paid for that stamp through the mail.
- Some experts have agreed that it was Cheney's responsibility to clear the area before shooting.
One would think that, given the circumstances, this would be a story that would blow over fairly rapidly, but, mysteriously, it has not. Ire has continued to mount, especially surrounding the White House's notification of the press. The Washington Post quotes one reporter as saying during a press conference,
"Let's just be clear here," Gregory said. "The vice president of the United States accidentally shoots a man, and he feels that it's appropriate for a ranch owner who witnessed this to tell the local Corpus Christi newspaper and not the White House press corps at large or notify the public in a national way?"When an accident such as this one, with no fatalaties and no extremely unusual circumstances, occurs, the local news media is typically notified, as they were, and people go on about their business. I don't see that the Vice President's accident is of national concern. Obviously, due to his position in the country's political heirarchy, the story would eventually reach the public, but a one-day delay to get the facts straight, etc... doesn't seem deceptive at all. If he had been drunk, it would be a different story all together. But he was not. This really isn't national news, folks. And it's definitely not urgent national news.
There are some people that are looking for every excuse to claim cover up, lies, and a conspiracy.
To the author and to the contrary -
We do not know Cheney was not drunk or under any influences for that matter, as he would not speak with local authorities until the next day.
In addition, it is not the responsibility of the hunter who was shot to have told the shooter (Cheney) that he was in his sights.
(a rather disturbing White House stance through other spokesmen on behalf of Cheney)
Further, we do know that yet again, percieved excecutive privilege is inflated to an alarming degree, in this case common practices of local law juristiction, and the right of the American public to learn that the VP shot a guy in a timely manner were avoided by Cheney..
That is the lingering concern..
Mo
Mo
I am just sorry it was a hunting friend and not Justice Scalia, who Cheney took hunting at the time his energy case was being reviewed by the Supreme CourT, hmmmmmm.
You obviously believe the crooks in office are honest/HONORABLE men AND THEY call themselves Christians. I wonder what CHRIST would say about their choices to murder the innocent in a senseless war they lied about to get involved i. Have you noticed that almost 3,000 American boys have been killed, not to mention those maimed for life. The number is about the same as the 9/11 deaths, not to mention the INNOCENT Iraqis , but of course who cares about them.
A murderer is a murderer, not much difference in Bush and Saddam in my opinion. All those people are still dead, killed by orders from Saddam/Bush. BUSH will someday have to face his maker, if there is a heaven, he won't get there. If not, well then, he'll just rot like all those he's had killed in the name of..........democracy, lol.
My opinions of the current administration really aren't relevant to this post. My only contention here is that the news-worthiness of this story is being blown far out of proportion.
so, let me see if I understand, your point is this "story" is overblown?
by that I take it you would also mean the "story" of weapons of mass destruction?
or the leak of the CIA agent by Cheney's assistant ?
or the access to the White House inner circle by Abramhoff, etal ?
or the "leak" of the authorization to allow the NSA to do domestic spying in violation of the current statues ? or the gitmo prisons? or the patriot act? need we go on?
my friend, it's not THAT the wind is blowing , it's WHAT the wind is blowing (apologies to R.White) ...
Blown out of proportion? Can you imagine if it had been Bill Clinton or Al Gore instead of Dick Cheney?
It has been almost 40 years since Ted Kennedy's Chappaquiddick incident, and yet the Right wing is still harping on that.
Was Cheney drunk when he shot Whittingham? Did he need time to sober up? If he was drunk that would indicate the covering up of a crime ("High crimes and misdemeanors...) We've proven we can impeach a president over lying about oral sex, wouldn't this be a tad more serious?
Was Cheney covering up a special relationship with Pamela Willeford, the ambassador to Switzerland? There is now a RUMOR out that this might be the case -- but I stress that is just a rumor.
The fact is, news on anyone in the administration is important news, regardless on how insignificant you might think it is. As American citizens, we are their employers and we have the right to be informed ASAP on their actions.
You might feel comfortable not wanting to know if there was a possibility of wrong-doing by our elected officials, but since the Republicans set such a high bar during the Clinton years, the precedence has been set.
Umm... no actually I was just referring to the hunting accident. Did you read the original post?
jarespond - thank you for responding.
Yes I read the original post. I'm also sorry that my point was not more clear -
That point is - it's WHAT we (that would be you and I and not the media) are NOT being told that is important.
Why is the VP's accident news worthy one may ask ? why is it not ? It's "news worthy" because the person (our VP, second in command) made a choice to deliberately delay informing law enforcement, not just the media. For the record, please ask anyone you know in law enforcement and they will tell you that when a person waits as long as Cheney and company did in this accident, that person is hiding the true facts, ie, they were probably under the influence and/or acting illegally and finally, "practicing" their version of the facts.
I'm wondering, have you asked why did it take so long for law enforcement to be informed? We're not talking about the media, but the authorities. FYI it's not technically "just a hunting accident" it's a gunshot incident and there are statues requiring notification of law enforcement. Hospitals and emergency care workers know that law anytime they treat a gunshot victim. Did the medical personnel inform the authorities were they also compelled (by whom, we might ask, the Secret Service?) to remain quiet? Have you asked yourself why it was the ranch owner who finally informed the local news media ?
Sure it all sounds like a big deal - but then, this administration and this VP in particular have a track record of being less than forthcoming with facts, in fact, stonewally is the modus operandi.
This sort of "minor incident" just serves to underscore their total contempt for the law. And those are facts we can verify.
THe Vice PResident WAS Drunk!!!
THis fact will be slowly realized.
Bet your life on it!
If you decide to be the VP then you have to accept the fact that you action will be made public and small accidents (though I consider this a major accident) will be shown in the media. It's just part of being such a prominent figure in society. When you're in a position like that you need to be extra careful when doing things like hunting because one wrong move and your face is on every newspaper and TV channel. That's just the way it works.
Much ado about nothing
Reuters. "Cheney takes blame for shooting." 2/15/06. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060215/pl_nm/cheney_accident_dc_16;_ylt=AnE7nngmXDCDneVmtcGUy9uGOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA2ZGZwam4yBHNlYwNmYw--
Christus Spohn Hospital administrator Peter Banko said Whittington was mystified by all the attention over the incident and dismissed it as "much ado about nothing."
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Katharine Armstrong, whose family owns the Texas ranch where it occurred and who disclosed the shooting to a Texas newspaper, faulted Whittington for not announcing his presence before getting sprayed with birdshot.
This piece of the article says it all.
That is probably the most assinine thing I've heard so far. Blame the victim (unless the perpetrator was a Democrat)
Even Cheney accepts the fact that it was his fault.
The first rule of gun safety is to know who is in the line of fire before pulling the trigger. Cheney (or any other shooter) should be aware of any and everything in his surroundings.
Of course Whittington is going to have a public statement saying he was "surprised" by all of the attention. As a registered lobbyist, he is going to play whatever game he can to remain in favor with the people in power, regardless of the fact that he almost lost his life. Heck, he now has enough currency in the Cheney bank to get anything he wants now.
Cheney accepts it was his fault because it is the politically correct thing to do. The same goes if you are walking down the hall and you turn a corner and run into someone who is in a hurry to get to class. Of course they apologize to you, becasue it is the politically correct thing to do and it could be viewed as their fault because they were the one running. But at the same time, you came around the corner sharply, running or not they probably would have bumped into you. Relate this to the Cheney shooting. Cheney should have been more careful, but Whittington should have anounced himself. Both parties are at fault.