Cheney Accidentally Shoots Fellow Hunter

[CyberGuy]

I am sure Cheney is very embarrassed about this affair. I do not think it was done on purpose. Hunting accidents do happen. It is what happens when you mix guns and people in close proximity. Sooner or later someone will get hurt.

[Ron Lambert]

Vice President Cheney's hunting accident has certainly given David Letterman and Jay Leno material to keep them going for weeks.

Letterman: "We've found a weapon of mass destruction--it's Dick Cheney!"

Leno: "Since shooting a lawyer, the vice president's approval rating is up in the 90's."

The humor, of course, will turn much darker if the victim dies. That did not seem likely at first, but now that we learn there was a pellet that reached his heart and caused a mild heart attack, so that he had to be rushed back into Intensive Care, the effect is sobering.

[Clio]

According to a number of ballistics experts across the US, and from statistics on penetration and shot pattern, in order for a pellet to have penetrated to a depth to reach Whittington's heart, he had to have been shot at nearly point blank range.

The tests for penetration are done with a 12 gauge shot gun, and a heavier pellet. Cheney was hunting with a dainty (by comparison) 28 gauge shotgun and a correspondingly lighter load.

To get to the depth in his chest where it got to his heart, it would have had to go through an orange hunting vest, a shirt, and human skin. All of which are thicker than quail skin.

This whole story stinks even more as more information and validation and research and actual investigation takes place.

It's amazing to me that the spin the VP's office is putting on this is that it is the victim's fault for failing to "announce" himself. Hunting experts are saying it's irrelevant whether the victim announced himself or not. The number one rule in hunting is to know what your target is, and what's beyond it before you pull the trigger. You can't bring a bullet back once it's fired. The same is true of birdshot.

ANYONE ELSE would be talking to the DA and needing an attorney right about now. Vehicle accidents often result in manslaughter or attempted manslaughter charges. A gun is an even more deadly weapon.

[Dr. Shane]

The pellet is said to have entered a vain or artery and travel to his heart.

[Neil D]

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Shane said:

The pellet is said to have entered a vain or artery and travel to his heart.

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There's a slight problem with that bit of info....

An artery is a vessel that travels away from the heart. With the exception of one instance, it always carries oxygenated blood to the tissue. Therefore, the BB would lodge in tissues not associated with the heart. Only in the pulmonary artery is the blood NOT oxygenated. And yet, it carries blood to the lungs. And a BB would get lodged into the lungs and cause a Pulmonary Emboli and all tissue below the point of where it got lodged would starve for lack of oxygen. That's the arterys....

Now the veins.....

All vessels going from the tissues to the heart are called veins. And with one exception, they carry unoxygenated blood back to the heart. The exception is the pulmonary vein, that carries oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart. Any damage to this vein is cause for concern, as it will bleed out quite quickly if a hole is made into that vein...

I will await further details as to how the BB became lodge in the heart and is causing arrhymias...

[Clio]

Neil, there are more holes than that in the artery and vein theory. This whole thing stinks.

[Neil D]

I understand that Clio, but you gotta go one step at a time....

[Clio]

Well, the spin is in... *shakes head*

A simple hunting accident would have been a welcome relief from some of the shenanigans this particular administration has pulled.

[Dr. Shane]

That is just what I heard reported either by CNN or FOXNews (I don't remember which radio station I was listening to). I am not a big believer in conspiracies.

[Parade Orange]

[Neil D]

[:"blue"] Check out the time line on the shooting.... [/]

Timeline Following Cheney's Hunting Mishap

By The Associated Press , 02.14.2006, 06:06 PM

A timeline of events following Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident, all times EST:

SATURDAY, FEB. 11

4 p.m.: Cheney begins an afternoon quail hunt with four other hunters on the private Armstrong Ranch in south Texas. They had been hunting earlier in the day, but took a break for lunch.

6:30 p.m.: Cheney accidentally shoots fellow hunter Harry Whittington while aiming for a bird. Secret Service agents and medical personnel with Cheney tend to wounds on Whittington's face, neck and chest.[:"blue"]Feb 11, 2006 Sunset was at 6:18 PM at Corpus Christi, Texas. Curiosity question: Just how dark does it have to be for a couple of guys with glasses to quit shooting? [/]

7:20 p.m.: An ambulance takes Whittington to a Christus Spohn Hospital Kleburg.[:"blue"] This is a small hospital. [/]

7:30 p.m.: White House chief of staff Andy Card tells President Bush there was an accident, but Card is unaware Cheney was involved.

7:50 p.m.: The head of the Secret Service office in McAllen, Texas, calls the Kenedy County sheriff to report the accident. The sheriff asks to speak to Cheney, and they schedule an interview for 9 a.m.[:"blue"] I wonder if Average Joe American can get the same treatment as Cheney and not be held in a jail overnight? [/] Sunday. At the White House, presidential aide Karl Rove tells Bush that Cheney was the shooter, after talking to ranch owner Katharine Armstrong.

Saturday evening: Cheney and the rest of the hunting party sit down for dinner at the ranch. At some point, sheriff's deputies who heard reports of the ambulance responding to an accident at the ranch stop at the front gate to see if anyone needs help, but are told no one needs assistance. The Secret Service earlier had said the deputies were seeking to interview Cheney, but on Tuesday they said that was not the case. Armstrong says no one at the dinner discussed announcing the accident to the public because they were all focused on Whittington's well being.

9:15 p.m.: Whittington is flown to Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial and is treated in the intensive care unit.[:"blue"] This is a much larger hospital with better facilities[/]

SUNDAY, FEB. 12

6 a.m.: White House press secretary Scott McClellan is awakened by a phone call from the White House situation room, informing him Cheney was the shooter. McClellan contacts the vice president's office and urges that the information be made public quickly.

9 a.m.: Kenedy County sheriff's deputies interview Cheney. Armstrong begins calling a reporter at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times and leaving messages. Armstrong says she told Cheney she wanted to tell the local paper what happened, and he agreed.

12 noon: The reporter returns Armstrong's call.

2:48 p.m.: The Corpus Christi Caller-Times posts a short report about the accident on its Web site after confirming the account with the vice president's office.

3:34 p.m.: The Associated Press, following up on the local story, moves a news alert about the shooting.

Early Sunday evening: Cheney visits Whittington in the hospital before flying back to Washington.

MONDAY, FEB. 13

1:15 p.m.: Cheney takes part in an Oval Office meeting with Bush and the United Nations secretary-general, but leaves before reporters are brought in.

3 p.m.: Whittington is moved from intensive care to a "step-down" unit.

5 p.m.: The chief deputy sheriff for Kenedy County says the shooting is being handled as a hunting accident.

6:20 p.m.: The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department issues its hunting accident report, which says the main contributing factor was a "hunter's judgment factor" when Cheney sprayed his fellow hunter while aiming at flying birds. The report says both Cheney and Whittington were violating state game law because they did not have required $7 upland game bird stamps. Both are issued warning citations.[:"blue"]Now I KNOW that I wouldnt be issued a warning. [/]

7:20 p.m.: The vice president's office issues a statement saying it was not aware that Cheney needed the $7 stamp and that he has sent a check for that amount to the state.[:"blue"] Dontcha think that the landowner would know that and issue one of those for the VP? [/]

TUESDAY, FEB. 14

7:30 a.m.: Hospital officials estimate this is when Whittington suffered a "silent heart attack" without realizing it. It was caused by a shotgun pellet that moved in or near his heart. Cheney is told shortly afterward that doctors have decided to perform a cardiac catheterization.

10 a.m.: Doctors perform the procedure. Whittington is back in the intensive care unit and told he will probably need to stay at the hospital another week for observation.

12:30 p.m.: Cheney's chief of staff passes him a note that Whittington's doctors will be holding a news conference in 30 minutes.

1 p.m.: Hospital officials announce the heart problem. Cheney watches on television.

1:30 p.m.: Cheney calls Whittington to wish him well and offer assistance.

[bevin]

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The report says both Cheney and Whittington were violating state game law because they did not have required $7 upland game bird stamps. Both are issued warning citations.Now I KNOW that I wouldnt be issued a warning.

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The requirement had only been in place for 5 months, and issuing warnings seems to be the policy at the moment - there is no indication Cheney was in the wrong here

/Bevin

[Dr. Shane]

The ranch they were hunting at is about 50 miles north of where I live. Sunset here is about 6:30pm and it stay light for about 15 - 20 minutes after that.

Sorry, no conspiracy, just an accident.

[Dr. Shane]

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7:20 p.m.: An ambulance takes Whittington to a Christus Spohn Hospital Kleburg. [:"blue"] This is a small hospital. [/]

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The company that laid me off last year built this hospital.

[Neil D]

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Sorry, no conspiracy, just an accident.

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No, never said that there was a conspiracy....

I do think that there was some very poor poor judgement and some cronyism that allowed Cheney to get away with some laws that you and I would not.....

Conspiracy....no...Favoritism...Oooooh Yeah!

[Dr. Shane]

Cronyism is part of politics. Both parties are guilty of it. If we want to stop it let's pass some laws. As long as it's legal, it will continue. Where I live Democrats control 98% of the government and cronyism is rampant. I don't like it either but there is nothing being done to stop it.

The whole reason Chenney was hunting with this guy in the first place was because of cronyism. Not everyone gets to go on a hunting trip with the vice-president.

[Ron Lambert]

Shane said:

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Not everyone gets to go on a hunting trip with the vice-president.

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I think I would have to decline an invitation to go hunting with Vice-President Dick Cheney.

[Neil D]

[:"blue"] Hey, guys...have you seen this? Reports are not matching up.... Sounds a bit suspecious to me....nah, it was JUST an accident.... !!!![/]

Media failed to report contradiction in Cheney's and Armstrong's alcohol claims

Summary: Reporting on Vice President Dick Cheney's admission that he had consumed "a beer at lunch" prior to accidentally shooting a hunting companion, numerous media outlets failed to report that Cheney's admission contradicted earlier statements by Katharine and Anne Armstrong, co-owners of the ranch where the accident occurred, who had said that Dr. Pepper was served with lunch and "heavily implied," according to The New York Times, that "no alcohol was served at all."

In reporting on Vice President Dick Cheney's February 15 admission that he had consumed "a beer at lunch" prior to accidentally shooting Texas lawyer Harry Whittington during a February 11 hunting trip, numerous media outlets failed to report that Cheney's admission contradicted earlier statements by Katharine and Anne Armstrong, co-owners of the ranch where the accident occurred, who had said that Dr. Pepper was served with lunch and "heavily implied," according to The New York Times, that "no alcohol was served at all." The Washington Post went so far as to report that Cheney's account "largely squared" with Katharine Armstrong's.

Katharine Armstrong was the first person to alert the press that the incident had occurred and, according to a February 13 article in The Washington Post, Cheney's office directed reporters to Armstrong for an eyewitness account of the incident. Moreover, Cheney acknowledged in his February 15 interview with Fox News host Brit Hume that he agreed with Armstrong that she should be the one to inform the press because "the accuracy was enormously important."

Cheney, during his interview with Hume, claimed that he drank "a beer at lunch," hours before the accident happened. But, as The New York Times reported on February 16, Cheney's admission was inconsistent with earlier statements made by other members of the hunting party who denied that alcohol was involved at all. From the February 16 New York Times:

Until Mr. Cheney acknowledged having had a beer at lunch, members of the hunting party had been adamant that no alcohol was involved. Katharine Armstrong, whose family owns the ranch, had said in interviews that Dr Pepper was served at lunch and that no one was drinking. In interviews with The Times and other papers, Ms. Armstrong heavily implied that no alcohol was served at all.

[Neil D]

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Not everyone gets to go on a hunting trip with the vice-president.

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Yeah, and not everyone gets to get shot 15 minutes after the sun goes down with a man who sees thru eyeglasses. While there may still be light, it aint as light as sunset nor even daylight.

Oh, and regarding this "hunt", maybe you best read how Cheney hunts from this article....

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Vice President Dick Cheney went pheasant shooting in Pennsylvania in December 2003, but unlike most of his fellow hunters across America, he didn't have to spend hours or even days tramping the fields and hedgerows in hopes of bagging a brace of birds for the dinner table.

Upon his arrival at the exclusive Rolling Rock Club in Ligonier Township, gamekeepers released 500 pen-raised pheasants from nets for the benefit of him and his party. In a blaze of gunfire, the group—which included legendary Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach and U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), along with major fundraisers for Republican candidates—killed at least 417 of the birds. According to one gamekeeper who spoke to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Cheney was credited with shooting more than 70 of the pen-reared fowl.

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"Cheney's canned hunt"-the rest of the story

Yeah, Cheney knows how to hunt....gucci style...

[Bravus]

OK, quail aren't exactly an endagered species, but the rest of this old Megadeth song is pretty relevant:

Endangered species, caged in fright,

Shot in cold blood, no chance to fight.

The stage is set, now pay the price.

An ego boost, don’t think twice.

Technology, the battle’s unfair,

You pull the hammer without a care.

Squeeze the trigger that makes you man,

Pseudo-safari, the hunt is canned...

The hunt is canned.

/chorus/

All are gone, all but one.

No contest, nowhere to run.

No more left, only one.

This is it, this is the countdown to extinction.

Tell the truth, you wouldn’t dare.

The skin and trophy, oh so rare.

Silence speaks louder than words.

Ignore the guilt, and take your turn.

Liars anagram is ’lairs,’

Man you were never even there.

Killed a few feet from the cages,

Point blank, you’re so courageous...

So courageous.

[Dr. Shane]

Only vegetarians have the right to criticise hunting.

[Dr. Shane]

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not everyone gets to get shot 15 minutes after the sun goes down

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Armstrong Ranch is closer to the Rio Grande Valley than Corpus Christi. He went to Corpus because the hospital is better there. The sun was setting at the time of the accident - it wasn't down.

Still an accident regardless and the victem was just as guilty of hunting at dusk as the vice-president was.

[Neil D]

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Still an accident regardless and the victem was just as guilty of hunting at dusk as the vice-president was.

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So, the victim should get just as much blame for pulling the trigger????? I don't think so....

My relatives told me that when they took the gun courses, YOU are responsible for where that bullet/shot goes because YOU pulled the trigger....

Go figure....

[Neil D]

[:"blue"] With the advennt of this issue being a "dead horse" and the political news outlets mirroring this pronouncemnt of a 'newsworthy' item, I thought I would show one last time why this adminstration is just plain dysfuncional. And apparently, I am not alone in my thinking among the press corps......[/]

How Not to Keep Your Head Down

By Howard Kurtz

Washington Post Staff Writer

Monday, February 20, 2006;

Nothing makes journalists madder than the feeling that they're not getting the full story -- and the Bush administration has been giving them plenty of practice.

On one controversy after another, the White House has been the gang that couldn't shoot straight, buying itself additional rounds of bad publicity by suppressing or delaying embarrassing information.

Spokesman Scott McClellan was hammered as he struggled to explain how Vice President Cheney could shoot a fellow hunter with no one bothering to announce the mishap for a full day. The White House's refusal to release photos of President Bush with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff set off a scavenger hunt until Time published one of the pictures. And the withholding of internal e-mails involving Hurricane Katrina yielded a front-page New York Times story that the administration had been notified that a New Orleans levee had broken a day earlier than publicly acknowledged.

"The sooner you put a spotlight on bad information, the sooner it gets cleaned up," says Torie Clarke, a former spokeswoman for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. "Every minute, or in this case hours, you spend defending why you didn't get out word about the hunting accident are minutes and hours wasted. . . . This is not my cousin in southwestern Pennsylvania having a hunting accident. It's the vice president of the United States."

Ari Fleischer, Bush's former press secretary, says Cheney had "a responsibility to the public and a duty to disclose" the accident on the night it happened. "This is the definition of news." Fleischer says that White House correspondents "are justified in being upset," but have gone "bonkers" in pummeling McClellan.

The White House says it is a mistake to lump together different controversies. "We don't try to keep things from the press for the purpose of annoying the press," says communications director Nicolle Wallace. "I'm not unaware that sometimes that is the outcome of our deliberations."

Of the hunting mishap, Wallace says: "It was a personally painful experience, as the vice president has said, where he fired his gun and hurt his friend." The Katrina correspondence was withheld because "the president's priority is to preserve his ability to get candid advice." As for the Abramoff photos, Wallace says Bush's desire was "not to throw flames on a politically charged story" that remains under investigation.

But the administration frequently seems to lean against disclosure. "The culture of White Houses, Republican and Democratic, is to hold back bad news on the expectation it won't get out," says Lanny Davis, who often argued as a Clinton White House lawyer to release embarrassing material so he could then declare a scandal old news. Davis says he lost an internal battle to release photos of President Clinton and several fundraisers under investigation, but that the pictures leaked anyway.

Predictably, some liberal critics say White House reporters should have shown the aggressiveness they have displayed on Cheney's hunting mishap on far more important stories, such as the Iraq war, while some conservatives say that journalists are blowing a routine accident way out of proportion.

Cheney's decision to allow an owner of the Texas ranch where he accidentally shot Harry Whittington to give the news to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times further inflamed the White House press corps. McClellan hinted that he would have handled the episode differently but left the matter to Cheney's office. On Tuesday, McClellan briefed reporters without disclosing that Whittington had suffered a minor heart attack.

In a further effort at message control, the vice president granted an interview last week only to Fox News anchor Brit Hume. Cheney, of course, could have reached a far bigger audience on one of the broadcast networks. Clarke believes he should appear on more television shows, or hold a news conference, because "not everybody is going to see that interview." But Cheney and his strategists seized on what they viewed as a non-hostile forum, figuring every other news outlet would have no choice but to carry excerpts.

Washington Post article, opinion page

[Dr. Shane]

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Washington Post article, opinion page

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Need I say more?