For the V-P. While he produced outrageously funny headlines, he had shot a friend. That sympathy evaporated when I saw this:
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan tried to absolve Cheney of blame for shooting wealthy Austin lawyer Harry Whittington, saying that hunting “protocol was not followed by Mr. Whittington when it came to notifying others that he was there. And so, you know, unfortunately, these types of hunting accidents happen from time to time.”
I’m not a hunter, and long time readers know I don’t like guns. I don’t like them in a different way than most people who say they hate guns. I don’t mind if people own them, use them for recreation or self-defense. I’m not wild about concealed carry, but it honestly hasn’t made much of a difference in Missouri.
I don’t like them because when handling them you have to be hyperaware of your surroundings, your actions, and the firearm. It’s too much work to concentrate upon those three things and enjoy myself. I shoot everyone once in a while, but it’s only if I happen to be around when someone else happens to be planning on shooting. I’m absentminded so having a gun around the house, especially with kids, would be a horrible idea in my case.
The reason I’m like that is that before I ever layed hands on a firearm it was drilled into me that if you pull the trigger, you damn well know at what you are shooting and know that there is a backstop or no way another person could be in the way of the shot. Period.
People screw up though–and we are all human so every so often someone gets shot by accident. It happens and it’s sad, but we always know the guy who pulled the trigger is responsible.
Trying to pass it off as Whittington not following prototocol is the mark of a jackass. It doesn’t matter if Whittington did something stupid, Cheney shot him (and not sprayed–shot). This is especially true because Cheney did know Whittington was retrieving a bird and he had to be somewhere out there.
Add this to the surreal idea that they were all driving around the ranch cherry picking quail off within viewing distance of the car.
Cheney can redeem himself by going before the press (meaning the media that does not include people who have claimed Hillary had Vince Foster killed) and acknowledging his responsibility and his mistake. I’m sure he feels horrible about his mistake, but he is the Vice-President of the United States.
I crack myself up.
Muzzle Awareness Muzzle Awareness Muzzle Awareness. That is all I can say. I’ve knocked a Private on his ass once or twice for crossing me with a loaded rifle. Though I guess these are the lessons learned while serving in the military instead of taking a 4-F.
Dale Bowman, the outdoor reporter for the Sun Times today faults both Cheney and Whittington – but mostly Cheney.
I think that’s fair. Fun and hilarity aside (the guy DID live – good thing they weren’t hunting geese, or the former Texas funeral commissioner would be en route to his own), of COURSE it was an accident.
But it was a careless one. Upland game hunting can be dangerous (though I suspect it is usually some poor pointer that gets sprayed).
So many safety protocols missed.
But it is too much fun not to criticize because; A) Cheney is a terrible human being, the soul-less, mean-spirited crank to Bush’s slap-ya-on-the-back frat man; and B) what the hell are they doing jumping out of a car to shoot birds? Seriously, that kind of hunting does nothing to endear folks to the sport…
==what the hell are they doing jumping out of a car to shoot birds? Seriously, that kind of hunting does nothing to endear folks to the sport…
It just creates this horrible image of some frat boy clowns out shooting up the woods. Just older and meaner in this case.
Worse, most hunters are pretty damn environmentally conscious and this creates a caricature of people indiscriminately blasting away.
Bowman gets it right I think–Whittington wasn’t being terribly safe, but to blame him when Cheney was the one pulling the trigger is obnoxious beyond belief.
We can all learn a lesson from this:
Friends don’t let friends hunt drunk.
Well…guess this dude isn’t out of the woods just yet:
Harry Whittington, the man US Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot while hunting, suffered a minor heart attack after pieces of birdshot lodged in his heart, doctors said.
Doctors said there were no immediate fears for the life of the 78-year-old lawyer, who was accidentally shot by Cheney on Saturday during a hunting party.