Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Dick Cheney Murderer?

The joke making the rounds is that the VP of the U.S. shot a lawyer. Get it? It's based on that quote from the Merchant of Venice by Shakespere, "kill all the lawyers".

Unfortunately for Dick Cheney this may turn out to be just the case. As his 'hunting accident' , which is another way of saying his 'ineptness' may result in the death of his hunting companion
who is a lawyer and fundraiser for the Republicans in Texas.

Texan shot by Cheney on hunt has heart attack

"Some of the birdshot appeared to have moved and lodged into a part of his heart and caused the atrial (fibrillation) and what we would say is a minor heart attack," hospital administrator Peter Banko said in a press conference.

Banko said Whittington, who before Tuesday had been described as suffering only superficial wounds and well on his way to recovery, would have to stay in the hospital another a week to make sure the remaining pellets do not cause more damage.

Dr. David Blanchard, the hospital's emergency room chief, said on Tuesday, "We knew he had some birdshot very near to the heart from the get-go."

Cheney's Late Disclosure of Hunting Incident Fuels Criticism

The announcement appeared to catch the White House officials and Cheney's staff by surprise. The vice president abruptly left a lunch with Senate Republicans after an aide slipped Cheney a note a half-hour before the doctor's 1 p.m. news conference.

For the second consecutive day, White House spokesman Scott McClellan faced a barrage of questions about why the Feb. 11 incident wasn't revealed until the next day, and then by the ranch owner calling the local newspaper. In past accidents involving President George W. Bush, such as when the president had a bicycle crash in Scotland last year, the White House press office issued a statement soon afterward.


Texas has the death penalty. Will the VP ever be charged for negligance, aggravated assault, or in the worst case if Wittington dies, manslaughter?

Doubtful this is Texas. And Cheney is a white guy. A powerful white guy. So the rules don't apply to him. Just like he didn't need to get a hunting license.

Already the second most powerful man in the United States, though some say the most powerful, has his ineptness being covered up. But with Whittington getting worse, suddenly the motives for the cover up get sinister.

And what went from oh its just an accident he will be out of hospital soon, now turns out to be a big lie too. The doctors knew Whittington had over 200 pieces of birdshot in his body, including near his heart, from "the get-go".

For Texas authorities the case is closed for now. The Kenedy County Sheriffs Department concluded ``this was nothing more than a hunting accident.'' The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department gave Cheney and Whittington warnings because they didn't have a $7 stamp for game birds on their hunting licenses, a new requirement.According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, a significant portion of the 30 hunting accidents in the state last year occurred as a hunter was turning to fire at game. ``It's a classic example of what causes a hunting accident in Texas,'' said Tom Harvey, a department spokesman.

Yep stupid inept white guys with guns

Shooting required speedy disclosure

By every standard and by all accounts, the failure to promptly disclose the accident was wrong. Of course, the first priority when a person is shot and wounded is to make sure the victim receives the necessary medical care. That apparently was done at the scene by medical attendants accompanying Cheney. And the Secret Service reportedly notified the local sheriff's office of the incident on Saturday. The vice-president's staff also regarded the matter as serious enough to alert President George Bush on Saturday and to give the White House updates on the condition of Whittington.What makes little sense, however, was the White House's decision to defer disclosure of the shooting incident to the vice-president's office, and that office's decision to further defer to the owners of the ranch. Cheney did not check his official title at the Armstrongs' front gate. That was no private citizen who pulled the trigger, sending someone to the hospital. That act, though accidental, was committed by the country's second-highest public official. Neither Cheney nor the White House gets to pick and choose when to disclose a shooting. Saturday's incident required immediate public disclosure — a fact so elementary that the failure to act properly is truly disturbing in its implications.


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