| Author | Message | ||
     kendalbill Citizen Username: Kendalbill Post Number: 71 Registered: 6-2002 |
Heres a question I'd like answered directly: was anyone drinking on the quail hunt with the Vice president? If you do a google search, you will find information quickly put out there that drinking and hunting is not illegal in Texas. Aside from confirming everything I already thought about the lone star state, I have to wonder whether it is ever a good idea to have the second most important man in the US (world?), who already has a bum ticker, in a field with guns and booze. I'm no fan of Cheney, but this would be a lot less fun to talk about if the shot were fired in the other direction. Maybe there was no booze. But I don't know if the question was ever asked, and waiting a day to release the information leaves you open to that type of question. | ||
| I "Straw"buried Paul Supporter Username: Strawberry Post Number: 6782 Registered: 10-2001  |
boring.. | ||
| Guy Supporter Username: Vandalay Post Number: 1526 Registered: 8-2004  |
Yeah Bill , they were drinking Wild Turkey. | ||
| Scrotis Lo Knows Citizen Username: Scrotisloknows Post Number: 720 Registered: 10-2005 |
Oh Jesus- How long are people going to go on and on about this? Yeah it is somewhat humorous and unfortunate but this matter is between Dick and his victim. Lets wait to get the latter's word on the matter. And the fact that some of the American people are demanding why this news wasn't made public sooner really kills me. Why the public needs to know every little detail that goes on in govt. officials lives I will never understand, especially those issues that doesn't effect them in no way shape or form. Move on folks.... | ||
| Hoops Citizen Username: Hoops Post Number: 802 Registered: 10-2004  |
SLK - get off your high horse. The issue of delaying is one more example of irresponsibility coming from the administration. They waited before notifying in order to control the spin. The matter is unfortunate and embarrassing for Cheney. It is tragic for Mr. Whittington who may never recover totally from this. The fact that this is totally unusual and bizarre will keep it in the news for some time. Lets see, its Tuesday, the news really didnt get to people until yesterday and now you want us all to 'move on'? Please, its fresh news right now. We will move on when the jokes get stale. | ||
| Scully Citizen Username: Scully Post Number: 153 Registered: 8-2005 |
'And the fact that some of the American people are demanding why this news wasn't made public sooner really kills me...' Maybe because if alchohol were involved some extra time to metabolize would come in handy... Basically the country is so polerized that this incident hardly matters. Everybody will stick to their own guns, left or right... | ||
| Bob K Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 10671 Registered: 5-2001 |
It is news, after all it is only the second time in American history where a VP shot someone.  Delaying the news only leads to conspiracy theroies, which is why the Administration always releases the news of the Presidents bike accidents right away. There is also some indication that Bush was kept out of the loop in the beginning and only learned the full story when Karl Rove called Ms. Armstrong. | ||
| tjohn Supporter Username: Tjohn Post Number: 4039 Registered: 12-2001  |
Maybe Cheney is starting to do his own wet work now that Libby is under indictment. | ||
| Phenixrising Citizen Username: Phenixrising Post Number: 1415 Registered: 9-2004 |
My favorite from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," Comedy Central: • "Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot a man during a quail hunt ... making 78-year-old Harry Whittington the first person shot by a sitting veep since Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton, of course, (was) shot in a duel with Aaron Burr over issues of honor, integrity and political maneuvering. Whittington? Mistaken for a bird." • "Now, this story certainly has its humorous aspects. ... But it also raises a serious issue, one which I feel very strongly about. ... moms, dads, if you're watching right now, I can't emphasize this enough: Do not let your kids go on hunting trips with the vice president. I don't care what kind of lucrative contracts they're trying to land, or energy regulations they're trying to get lifted — it's just not worth it."  If you listened to the news conference with Scott McClellan and the press… even funnier! | ||
| kendalbill Citizen Username: Kendalbill Post Number: 72 Registered: 6-2002 |
Heres why its important, Scrotius: If the VP, the second most important man in the US (world?) wants to sky dive, run the bulls, start extreme fighting, have unprotected sex-- all of those activities are less dangerous than hunting drunk.And this is a guy with a ticker thats about to pop! Call me old fashioned, but I think the safety of the VP is somewhat important. I'm all for free time being their own. But how is it that the Bush supporters here seem to take this lightly? Don't get me wrong, the way it worked out is pretty funny. But when I stopped laughing, I did have some questions. I think it is curious, thats all. Cheney has some history of problems with drinking-- it would not be off base to ask, would it? And what is the role of the secret service here? Should they protect the VP from himself? Maybe there was no drinking. Just ask. | ||
| themp Supporter Username: Themp Post Number: 2534 Registered: 12-2001  |
If he got hit by 200 pellets out of a 28 gauge shotgun, it was way less than thirty yards. Why did they think they could get away with that whopper? I think it's clear that he was drunk or something. The "misunderstanding" that kept the local cops out of the compound is a little hard to buy. Wouldn't the Secret Service or guards or whatever have come in and said "the local cops were just here, but we sent them away." To which Cheney replied "Oh, they want to see me tonight? Well I already scheduled something for tomorrow with the chief -- rather than calling them back, let's just ignore them." That doesn't add up. I bet there was some frantic coordinating during those 18 hours. | ||
| Duncan Supporter Username: Duncanrogers Post Number: 5717 Registered: 12-2001  |
I seem to recall a great hue and cry when Clinton took a spill at Greg Norman's house. So SLK, it is perfectly reasonable for partisanship to enter into this as well. Please, the holier than thou just doesnt suit you at all. | ||
| themp Supporter Username: Themp Post Number: 2535 Registered: 12-2001 |
This is like any other WH operation: lies, obfuscation, self-righteousness, blame-shifting, alcohol abuse, contempt for local authority, failure to secure legal permission (bird stamp), carelessness, inaccuracy, and blood. | ||
| Scrotis Lo Knows Citizen Username: Scrotisloknows Post Number: 723 Registered: 10-2005 |
Who is being holier than thou and if I appear to be then I am sorry. Once the jokes become stale this will all become a whole lot of nothing, as usual. -SLK | ||
| themp Supporter Username: Themp Post Number: 2541 Registered: 12-2001 |
It will always be a fascinating historical curiosity. It will always be a stain on Cheney's manliness and competence. Ever seen "The Shooting Party"? When James Mason tells the twit who shot the bird handler that had failed to "shoot like a gentleman" the guy is destroyed. He knows there is no coming back from such a gross failure of masculinity. John Wayne would have kicked Cheney's a--. That's my point - these guys aren't like the old conservatives. They're just creeps. | ||
| themp Supporter Username: Themp Post Number: 2543 Registered: 12-2001 |
Jon Stewart: "I'm joined now by our own vice-presidential firearms mishap analyst, Rob Corddry. Rob, obviously a very unfortunate situation. How is the vice president handling it? Rob Corddry: "Jon, tonight the vice president is standing by his decision to shoot Harry Wittington. According to the best intelligence available, there were quail hidden in the brush. Everyone believed at the time there were quail in the brush. "And while the quail turned out to be a 78-year-old man, even knowing that today, Mr. Cheney insists he still would have shot Mr. Whittington in the face. He believes the world is a better place for his spreading buckshot throughout the entire region of Mr. Whittington's face." Jon Stewart: "But why, Rob? If he had known Mr. Whittington was not a bird, why would he still have shot him?" Rob Corddry: "Jon, in a post-9-11 world, the American people expect their leaders to be decisive. To not have shot his friend in the face would have sent a message to the quail that America is weak." Jon Stewart: "That's horrible." Rob Corddry: "Look, the mere fact that we're even talking about how the vice president drives up with his rich friends in cars to shoot farm-raised wingless quail-tards is letting the quail know 'how' we're hunting them. I'm sure right now those birds are laughing at us in that little 'covey' of theirs. Jon Stewart: "I'm not sure birds can laugh, Rob." Rob Corddry: "Well, whatever it is they do ... coo .. they're cooing at us right now, Jon, because here we are talking openly about our plans to hunt them. Jig is up. Quails one, America zero. Jon Stewart: "Okay, well, on a purely human level, is the vice president at least sorry?" Rob Corddry: "Jon, what difference does it make? The bullets are already in this man's face. Let's move forward across party lines as a people ... to get him some sort of mask." | ||
| kendalbill Citizen Username: Kendalbill Post Number: 75 Registered: 6-2002 |
Thats great. | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 1741 Registered: 8-2003  |
From CNN.com BREAKING NEWS Man shot and wounded by Vice President Cheney suffers "minor heart attack" after birdshot becomes lodged in his heart, hospital spokesman says. | ||
| Tom Reingold Supporter Username: Noglider Post Number: 12520 Registered: 1-2003  |
No, this story doesn't really matter, but it does show how fearful the administration is, because they withheld a story that doesn't even matter. | ||
| Phenixrising Citizen Username: Phenixrising Post Number: 1416 Registered: 9-2004 |
Hunter Shot by Cheney Has Heart Attack AP - 16 minutes ago CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The 78-year-old lawyer who was shot by Vice President Dick Cheney in a hunting accident has some birdshot lodged in his heart and he had a "minor heart attack," a hospital official said Tuesday. Peter Banko, the hospital administrator at Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial, said Harry Whittington had the heart attack early Tuesday while being evaluated. He said there was an irregularity in the heartbeat caused by a birdshot pellet, and doctors performed a cardiac catheterization. Whittington expressed a desire to leave the hospital, but Banko said he would probably stay for another week. "However some of the bird shot appears to have moved and lodged into part of his heart in what we would say is a minor heart attack," Banko said. Whittington, who had been moved from intensive care into a "step-down unit" Monday, was moved back to the intensive care unit for further treatment. Doctors had decided to leave several birdshot pellets lodged in his skin rather than try to remove them. White House physicians who attended to Whittington at the scene after Cheney accidentally shot him were involved in the treatment, the hospital officials said. | ||
| LibraryLady(ncjanow) Supporter Username: Librarylady Post Number: 3008 Registered: 5-2001  |
BREAKING NEWS The man shot and wounded by Vice President Dick Cheney has suffered a "minor heart attack" after a piece of birdshot migrated and became lodged in his heart, a hospital spokesman said today. "Some of the bird shot appears to have moved and lodged into part of his heart ... in what we would say is a minor heart attack," said Peter Banko, administrator at Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial. | ||
| ril Citizen Username: Ril Post Number: 475 Registered: 6-2001 |
http://www.comedycentral.com/sitewide/media_player/play.jhtml?itemId=59065 | ||
| notehead Supporter Username: Notehead Post Number: 3034 Registered: 5-2001  |
From "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," CBS... "He is a lawyer and he got shot in the face. But he's a lawyer, he can use his other face. He'll be all right." "You can understand why this lawyer fellow let his guard down, because if you're out hunting with a politician, you think, 'If I'm going to get it, it's going to be in the back.' " "The big scandal apparently is that they didn't release the news for 18 hours. I don't think that's a scandal at all. I'm quite pleased about that. Finally there's a secret the vice president's office can keep." "Apparently the reason they didn't release the information right away is they said we had to get the facts right. That's never stopped them in the past." | ||
| Phenixrising Citizen Username: Phenixrising Post Number: 1417 Registered: 9-2004 |
 Records show Cheney never took hunter's safety classes By JENNIFER McKEE - IR State Bureau - 02/14/2006 HELENA - Vice President Dick Cheney, who shot his companion in a Texas hunting accident over the weekend, has not taken state-offered hunter's safety education courses in either his home state of Wyoming or Texas, records show. Eric Keszler, a spokesman for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, said Monday the state has no record of Cheney ever taking a hunter's education course. Tom Harvey, of Texas Parks and Wildlife, said there is no record of the vice president taking a course there, either. Both states require hunters to take safety education courses, but only for people born after a certain date. Cheney, at 65, is too old to be required to take the courses in either Wyoming or Texas. Wyoming requires hunter's education courses for all hunters born after Jan. 1, 1966, while Texas requires the courses of all hunters born after Sept. 2, 1971. Cheney was born in 1941. According to information released Monday by Texas game authorities, the vice president did have a valid hunting license, but he didn't have a required upland game bird stamp a Texas requirement that went into effect at the beginning of hunting season there last fall. Texas game authorities issued the vice president a warning citation, which they typified as "routine." Cheney on Saturday shot 78-year-old Harry Whittington, an Austin lawyer, in the face, neck and torso with bird shot while hunting quail at a south Texas ranch, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Accident investigation documents released Monday. Whittington was retrieving a bird behind the rest of the hunters. Cheney accidentally shot him as Whittington rejoined the group and Cheney was focused on another covey of quail. Cheney was firing a 28 gauge Perazzi shotgun. He shot Whittington at about 30 yards, the investigation concluded. It's possible the vice president took a National Rifle Association hunter's safety course in Wyoming as a young man. "Our state department has only been teaching (the course) since the early 1970s," Keszler said. Before that, Keszler said, the NRA taught hunter's education in Wyoming. The state does not maintain records of hunters who took NRA classes. A representative of the vice president did not respond to reporter's questions about whether the vice president took an NRA hunter safety course. | ||
| themp Supporter Username: Themp Post Number: 2546 Registered: 12-2001 |
If he dies, does Cheney have to eat him? | ||
| tulip Citizen Username: Braveheart Post Number: 3205 Registered: 3-2004 |
It's not funny. It could end up as manslaughter, heaven forbid. | ||
| bettyd Citizen Username: Badjtdso Post Number: 85 Registered: 12-2005 |
This is old news already per some above and the Bush Administration. Move on they say. Just like their talking point when questions about going into Iraq are raised: "It's in the past, let's move forward" as though it is no longer of any import. As though we're discussing the Spanish American war. Well, Americans are still dying in Iraq and will continue to die there for the forseeable future. They were put there by Bush and Cheney. Keep raising the issue about their incompetence and why we went; keep asking, at every press conference, whether Cheney was under the influence of alcohol at the time he shot this man in the heart and face. Keep asking questions about Iraq, Katrina, the national debt, the trade deficit, a possibly drunk VP shooting a man in the heart and face. Keep them on the defensive, keep piling on; this event is just one more media event to keep piling on the gang that couldn't shoot straight, which is no longer a figure of speech when applied to these clowns. It's just playing politics, something the Republicans are expert at, and somehing the dems better become expert at. Cheney, even more so than Bush, is a walking, breathing mistake-the worst this country has to offer in a public servant. | ||
| Guy Supporter Username: Vandalay Post Number: 1529 Registered: 8-2004 |
betty you are right. Keep the pressure on. Force Cheney to resign. Whoever gets picked as VP , their odds of becoming president goes up and Hillary's (or whoever) goes down. Just think, if Clinton had resigned , Gore would have won Florida and became president. | ||
| kendalbill Citizen Username: Kendalbill Post Number: 76 Registered: 6-2002 |
Hey, broken record Bill here.... I don't think anyone should resign, it is just a big big mistake. And as for other comments on other boards, as incompetent as these guys are, you can't just mess up and go home. Thats not the way it works. And mistakes happen. I'm sure that on whatever personal level the Veep operates on, he feels terrible. But, again, the way this was handled was pure incompetence. OK, enough empathy. I still don't get how this stuff happens. Shouldn't there be a general sense that singularly important people shouldn't be doing singularly dangerous things? It easily could have gone the other way and Cheney could be having complications. This just isn't smart. Who is at fault? The Secret Service? Cheney? Whoever. | ||
| themp Supporter Username: Themp Post Number: 2549 Registered: 12-2001 |
When is someone gonna do the forensics on this 30 yard shot? | ||
| notehead Supporter Username: Notehead Post Number: 3037 Registered: 5-2001 |
I think Bill's point is a good one. Why the hell is anybody firing weapons around the vice president (including himself)? Isn't that kind of ridiculously imprudent? | ||
| notehead Supporter Username: Notehead Post Number: 3038 Registered: 5-2001 |
I think Bill's point is a good one. Why the hell is anybody firing weapons around the vice president (including himself)? Isn't that kind of ridiculously imprudent? | ||
| cmontyburns Citizen Username: Cmontyburns Post Number: 1749 Registered: 12-2003  |
"How long are people going to go on and on about this? Yeah it is somewhat humorous and unfortunate but this matter is between Dick and his victim." You're right. Just because the vice president of the United States shot someone in the face who later had a heart attack, that doesn't make it news. BORING. Can we please get back to the important work of trying to keep the gays from marrying now? | ||
| Scott McLellan Citizen Username: Crabbyappleton Post Number: 475 Registered: 1-2004 |
move along folks, move along. Nothing to see here. | ||
| tjohn Supporter Username: Tjohn Post Number: 4043 Registered: 12-2001 |
Phoenixrising, A real Wyoming man wouldn't need to take some gun safety course. He would have learned it from his father. | ||
| Joe Citizen Username: Gonets Post Number: 1159 Registered: 2-2004 |
tjohh, Are you sure that you want to be calling Dick Cheney's manhood into question? The guy's got a hair-trigger figuratively and literally. | ||
| Southerner Citizen Username: Southerner Post Number: 675 Registered: 2-2004 |
You all know I'm a conservative and I have no problem with this issue being played up. It is pretty darn funny (except for the guy who got hit). This kind of stuff happens when you have a bunch of old guys out shooting at fast, little birds. I've been on these type of hunts and it almost happens every hunt. Once the adrenaline gets pumping it's hard to turn it off. To my liberal friends I say continue. As a caveat, from a political view, this won't hurt or hinder the Repubs this November, but it does take a week out of the news cycle. And since we have the majority all we have to do is hold serve. | ||
| tjohn Supporter Username: Tjohn Post Number: 4044 Registered: 12-2001 |
Southerner, You have to be concerned about any hunter who gets an adrenaline rush shooting at quail. That's for 12-year olds on their first hunt. Now, if a lion charges you out of the brush, that would call for an adrenaline rush, but a quail??? | ||
| Southerner Citizen Username: Southerner Post Number: 677 Registered: 2-2004 |
Absolutely agreed. I have only done it a few times when invited on a plantation. I've done it mainly for the contacts (big money boys) to be made and I enjoy being outside and watching the dogs. But atleast with quail hunting you are moving versus deer hunting where all you do is sit all morning. I'd much rather go for a nice run than sit in a deer stand. | ||
| Threeringale Citizen Username: Threeringale Post Number: 35 Registered: 1-2006 |
Whe Adlai Stevenson was a child, he accidentally shot and killed a girl named Ruth Merwin. I don't know if it ever came up in his campaigns. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adlai_Stevenson Cheers |
