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Good catch, damon!
Thanks for proofreading for me. 
Typo corrected. But I'm still going to give you the dreaded Emoticon Hammer for calling Cheney a killer. 
And you get after me for distortions, exaggerations and the like?
Professor, let's get to the real issue for you. If he weren't Dick Cheney, there wouldn't be suspicion. By the way: If the sheriff (not the police - they're out in the country) hadn't been notified, then why was the sheriff declaring it an accident? And to judge by the news media,.the issue is that they weren't given top priority.
posted by
WriterofLight
on February 14, 2006 at 7:01 PM
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Sarooster
Yes, I believe it was an accident. But if you're in a "car" accident and don't report it for 18 hours, what is the assumption? That you were drunk!!! Yes, it's speculation. But it's because the VP is acting suspicious. If he had reported the shooting in a timely manner, there would be no suspicion. He's the VP of the US; do you mean to tell me he was incommunicado?
PS: How about the loyalty of Cheney flying back to Washington while his friend, who he shot, is still in ICU?
posted by
Professor_Peabody
on February 14, 2006 at 12:18 PM
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Someone Like...
...Cheney cannot be a killer in public office for ever before something of the killer will come out in his private life. It's inevitable.
By the way, who is
Mark Jo Kopechne?
D
posted by
DamonLeigh
on February 14, 2006 at 8:01 AM
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Keep it up writer!
The whole deal is just trying to make the President and Vice President look bad. Professor speculates so much in his comments that it's really not worth commenting on for you. This was an accident and they should never happen, but sometimes they do.
posted by
sarooster
on February 14, 2006 at 3:07 AM
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Rules of engagement
Before you shoot a firearm, you MUST, and I repeat MUST know where everyone is
or you don't bloody shoot!!! That's why so many friendly-fire deaths (including Pat Tillman's) occur.
If Cheney had been through so much as basic training, he would know this. But again, you miss the whole frickin' point: it's not who shot who or who's at fault, it's
why did the 2nd highest ranking elected official delay talking to the police? Was he drunk? Fabricating a story? Calling his lawyer? That's the point, not how big the pellets were or whose to blame.
posted by
Professor_Peabody
on February 13, 2006 at 9:01 PM
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Let me put it this way, Scoop and Professor . . .
If I'm in a hunting party in heavy brush, and for whatever reason I get separated from the rest of the party, am I then absolved of all responsibility for my own safety? Or, as I maintain, do I not have a responsibility to let the rest of the party know where I am so that they, as Scoop so wisely put it, will truly "know their target and what is beyond it?"
posted by
WriterofLight
on February 13, 2006 at 7:24 PM
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Thanks, FW!
"If you regularly view the press corps briefings, you know today was an average slice of reality with the corps trying to get answers out of Scott McClellan. It’s never easy."
I'm sure it isn't, but do you think it's any easier to give answers in an atmosphere of hostility and constant interruption? I hate being interrupted, so I know I could never handle that kind of environment. Communication works both ways, my friend.
"Your depiction that they were “salivating” over the bad news might be slanted by your political stance."
N-a-a-a-h-h-h-h. . ..
"What I saw was a White House press corps very annoyed they had to find their Vice President had shot someone when a small paper in Texas brought the story public."
Oh, they were annoyed, all right! But do you really think they would have handled it any differently had they had dibs on the story? See my remarks about the press making itself the story.
posted by
WriterofLight
on February 13, 2006 at 6:58 PM
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And the Writer jumps into the fray!
Sean, thanks! I don't know about Santorum, but a get-Cheney movement will backfire hard on the Democrats.
Mountainclimber, go study your civics. Presidents already serve four-year terms. Senators serve six years already. Representatives - the other house of Congress - do serve two-year terms. Read up on it at http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#A1Sec2.
Scoop and Professor: Everybody has to be careful. None of us know the exact details, and what I offered is conjecture from years in quail habitat myself. Where I come from in California, quail favor brush, and a man moving in the brush unbeknownst to his partners can expose himself to accidental fire. If the terrain is uneven, the danger factor is increased if someone suddenly pops out of a ravine or skylines himself on the crest of a hill. If the victim were to appear from cover at the instant the trigger was pulled, nothing could have been done to stop it. Indeed , if the terrain was brushy enough, the man might not have even been in sight. Indeed, the story has it that the man was moving in high brush behind the party without letting the rest of the party know where he was.
As far as having the stamp or not, where is your support for that?
By the way, here's another angle. Could it just be possible that the victim's family wanted a delay in putting the story out? You know as well as I do that the man and his family are going to be besieged by the press as if by rabid wolves.
Another angle. I'd say both men should attend hunting safety classes as a good example to the rest of us.
posted by
WriterofLight
on February 13, 2006 at 6:53 PM
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writeoflight - I take exception to some of the points in your post.
If you regularly view the press corps briefings, you know today was an average slice of reality with the corps trying to get answers out of Scott McClellan. It’s never easy. I watch almost every day. Your depiction that they were “salivating” over the bad news might be slanted by your political stance. What I saw was a White House press corps very annoyed they had to find their Vice President had shot someone when a small paper in Texas brought the story public.
"Connie", the person who asked about the VP resigning is a "whack-job" and anyone who is a regular viewer knows this, and pays no attention to her questions or comments. She was alone in that silliness.
The press corps was a bit surprised that information of this caliber was released to the press by a ranch owner in Texas, nearly a day after the event. The reason they reacted so strongly is because this is non-standard handling of any serious event involving one of the top two executives in our government.
I shot competitively for years. I know shotguns, I know safety. The error always falls to the shooter. Period.
posted by
blogflogger
on February 13, 2006 at 6:45 PM
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Writer
I don't know anything about hunting, but you did a good job at describing the press conference.
posted by
Offy
on February 13, 2006 at 6:20 PM
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Above the Law
While I think this has been blown waaaaaaay out of proportion (any comparison to Kennedy is asinine) 3 things about this incident bother me
1)VP Cheney was not available to speak to law enforcement until the morning of the next day. Was this to give him time to "get his story straight" or sober up? I don't know. And now, we never will. Ordinary citizens, those who are NOT above the law, speak to the cops as soon as possible (while events are still fresh in their minds).
2)Cheney was illegally hunting. He didn't have the stamp for bird season. He offered to "mail the $7 check" but that's hardly the point. You buy your hunting license before you go hunting. These rules don't give anybody the "inherent power" to buy their hunting license after the fact.
3)How dare you blame the victim for "getting in his line of fire"!!! Anyone who has ever fired a weapon, even on the shooting range knows it's the SHOOTERS responsibility to make sure his line of fire is clear.
PS: As Sean already knows, Santorum won't be around in 2008. He is 11-13% behind his Democratic challenger in Pennsylvania. He won't even retain his Senate seat.
posted by
Professor_Peabody
on February 13, 2006 at 6:10 PM
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writeoflight the big thing is this, Ted Kennedy was not involved
and I believe that Dick Cheney is an NRA member who knows this from the NRA;
Know your target and what is beyond.
Be absolutely sure you have identified your target beyond any doubt. Equally important, be aware of the area beyond your target. This means observing your prospective area of fire before you shoot. Never fire in a direction in which there are people or any other potential for mishap. Think first. Shoot second.
posted by
scoop
on February 13, 2006 at 6:08 PM
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Excellent post, Writer --
I'm cracking up laughing at your rendition of the briefing. And in agreement with your conclusions. Excellent and sane comments!!!
posted by
JanesOpinion
on February 13, 2006 at 6:01 PM
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It is such as shame that we can't operate in this country
without every move deciding the next election. Our founders did not make many mistakes, but one they did make was by having an election every two years. This is not good for the country. Presidents should be elected for every 4-6 years, and Senators and Congress every 4-6 years -- We do not need elections every two years.
posted by
MountainClimber57
on February 13, 2006 at 6:00 PM
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Writer, excellent points. I wrote a blog about the Dems being careful
about what they wish for. I didn't want Bill impeached in '98 for this reason alone. Al Gore would've become prez and he would've been more electable in '00. The same will be if Cheney resigned. Allen or Santorum would be VP and the clear nominee for '08. And they would win because you'ed have opened the electoral map [with Santorum from PA] in the GOP favor. The Dems couldn't win with Pennsylvania, how could they possibly win without it? It would be a mathematical impossibility.
With Allen he would gain the one missing element he has as a nominee, foreign policy experience. He'd win the nomination and Presidency handily.
The media [read Democrats] should watch out what it wishes for.
Good post.
Sean Gray
posted by
itisdone
on February 13, 2006 at 5:57 PM
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