Dick Cheney Shoots a Man.

[Sock Full of Boiled Dimes]

OH MY GOD! :rofl:

This is the second US Vice President to shoot a person.

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060212/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cheney_hunting_accident

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a companion during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas, spraying the fellow hunter in the face and chest with shotgun pellets.

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Harry Whittington, a millionaire attorney from Austin, was "alert and doing fine" in a Corpus Christi hospital Sunday after he was shot by Cheney on a ranch in south Texas, said Katharine Armstrong, the property's owner.

He was described as in stable condition by Yvonne Wheeler, spokeswoman for the Christus Spohn Health System in Corpus Christi.

Armstrong in an interview with The Associated Press said Whittington, 78, was mostly injured on his right side, with the pellets hitting his cheek, neck and chest during the incident which occurred late afternoon on Saturday

She said emergency personnel traveling with Cheney tended to Whittington until the ambulance arrived.

Cheney's spokeswoman, Lea Anne McBride, said the vice president was with Whittington and his wife at the hospital on Sunday.

The shooting was first reported by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. The vice president's office did not disclose the accident until nearly 24 hours after it happened.

Armstrong said she was watching from a car while Cheney, Whittington and another hunter got out of the vehicle to shoot at a covey of quail.

Whittington shot a bird and went to look for it in the tall grass, while Cheney and the third hunter walked to another spot and discovered a second covey.

Whittington "came up from behind the vice president and the other hunter and didn't signal them or indicate to them or announce himself," Armstrong said.

"The vice president didn't see him," she continued. "The covey flushed and the vice president picked out a bird and was following it and shot. And by god, Harry was in the line of fire and got peppered pretty good."

Whittington has been a private practice attorney in Austin since 1950 and has long been active in Texas Republican politics. He's been appointed to several state boards, including when then-Gov. George W. Bush named him to the Texas Funeral Service Commission.

Whittington owns property in Travis County worth at least $11 million, the Austin American-Statesman reported last year, not counting a downtown block at the center of a long-running dispute with the city over a condemnation issue.

Armstrong, owner of the Armstrong Ranch where the accident occurred, said Whittington was bleeding and Cheney was very apologetic.

"It broke the skin," she said of the shotgun pellets. "It knocked him silly. But he was fine. He was talking. His eyes were open. It didn't get in his eyes or anything like that."

"Fortunately, the vice president has got a lot of medical people around him and so they were right there and probably more cautious than we would have been," she said. "The vice president has got an ambulance on call, so the ambulance came."

Cheney is an avid hunter who makes annual hunting trips to South Dakota to hunt pheasants. He also travels frequently to Arkansas to hunt ducks.

Armstrong said Cheney is a longtime friend who comes to the ranch to hunt about once a year and is "a very safe sportsman." She said Whittington is a regular, too, but she thought it was the first time the two men hunted together.

"This is something that happens from time to time. You now, I've been peppered pretty well myself," said Armstrong.

[Angelyne]

It's a sad day when Americans don't even know how to spell the name of their Vice President.

[Sock Full of Boiled Dimes]

It's a sad day when Americans don't even know how to spell the name of their Vice President.

Typo fixed.

[c-rex]

Yup, people getting shot in hunting accidents is fucking HI-larious.

*rummages around for his AUG*

I wonder if the joke will be funny the second time it is heard?

[Idlethought]

Dick Cheney eats souls

[MNJetter]

And by god, Harry was in the line of fire and got peppered pretty good.

:rofl:

well, there's my rofl line of the day.

[Myrsilus]

Hey... I live in Corpus Christi.

[East Indonesian Walrus]

:duh:

Shoot the terrorists! Not your friends!

[scan2001]

Let the jokes run wild. I can't wait to watch the Daily show about this.

[Kusoyaro]

Wait, wtf, the guy was 78?! I would have let him die. How is it a 78 year old can survive that? I know that most 78 year olds can't survive a fight with a jar of jam. I bet you these rich folk take imoortality pills or some shit. Then they go in for full-body rejuvinations and take on an alias or pretend they are their own children or some shit.
Lex Luthor'd

[Gestalt]

Friendly fire!

Plus the guy was 78, so he potentially could have died just from the shock of the incident even if the gun itself wasn't that powerful.. THAT would've been interesting: Have any vice presidents in US history ever shot and killed someone before??

[Sock Full of Boiled Dimes]

Friendly fire!

Plus the guy was 78, so he potentially could have died just from the shock of the incident even if the gun itself wasn't that powerful.. that would've been interesting: Have any vice presidents in US history ever shot and killed someone before??

YES! Aaron Burr! He killed former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and then there was a whole case of treason over him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Burr

I'll just get to the killing part:
On July 11, 1804, the enemies met outside of Weehawken, New Jersey. When the duel began, Hamilton and Burr fired within seconds of one another. Hamilton's shot went astray, intentionally according to a letter he prepared before his death but Burr shot and fatally wounded Hamilton. The bullet entered Hamilton's abdomen above his right hip, piercing Hamilton's liver and spine, and he died the following day. Burr later learned that Hamilton intended to avert his fire during the duel. His response: "Contemptible, if true." Burr was later charged with murder in New York and New Jersey, but was never tried in either jurisdiction. He escaped to South Carolina, where his daughter lived with her family, but soon returned to Washington, D.C. to complete his term of service as Vice President. He presided over the Samuel Chase impeachment trial with the "impartiality of an angel and the rigor of a devil." Burr's heartfelt farewell speech in March 1805 moved some of his harshest critics in the Senate to tears.

[kyaa the catlord]

"And then this HUGE quail leapt at us!" reports Bobby Joe McGraw, "so I reckon the veep muttered "its coming right for us" and did what any other red blooded 'merican man woulda done, he shot first asked questions later. It was a goddam good thing too, dem quail are mean ass little buggers."

[Jon885]

Oh I heard about this. I hope the 78 year old doesn't have any permanent injuries.

[erbiumfiber]

The Bush Presidency: The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight

New nickname for the VP: Dick "Dead-Eye" Cheney

(courtesy of cartoonist Tom Tomorrow)

[Kusoyaro]

i bet you in was on purpose.

[Angelyne]

Too bad that the guy who got shot is a hardcore Republican. Otherwise, there would be a chance of him suing the hell out of Cheney, and causing a nasty legal battle.

Although...I wonder if this is a case of mandatory prosecution? Is the state obligated to press charges against Cheney, or is it completely up to the victim? Anyone out there know?

[chgu]

i bet you in was on purpose.
I almost don't doubt it. I'm just wondering if this guy has crossed Cheney lately.
On another note, this link has some humorous AND informative stuff in it.
http://www.themoderatevoice.com/posts/1139790467.shtml

[Praetorian]

Why, oh why, can't this headline read:

"Fellow hunter misses bird, shoots Dick Cheney"

[Kass]

Nice to see everyone take such pleasure in someone's misfortune. Do you cheer when people get hurt in car accidents too?

Hunting accidents are very common. The numbers cited for non-fatal accidents are under-reported. I know people who have caugh birdshot and not reported it. It's part of being a "good old boy."

And no, hunting accidents are generally not prosecuted. The ones that are weren't accidents.

[Sock Full of Boiled Dimes]

Okay, it's not very funny. It wouldn't be if the guy died.

And people who said it was "on purpose" are just being stupid.

When it comes to Quail hunting people tend to get excited when the Quail start to fly around everywhere and there are a lot of hunting accidents because of it. This was an accident and I'm sure Cheney is feeling crappy about it.

[Kass]

Well, according to all witness accounts, this guy walked into a line of hunters firing at a covy of quail. He didn't announce he was coming up to the line and walked into a fire zone. You never walk up to a line of hunters without announcing your presence. Especially not hunters already shooting.

[chgu]

Well, from the stats they were referencing on a few webpages, Texas has fewer than 39 hunting accidents a year, one of the major rules of hunting is to ALWAYS know what's in your line of fire, and Cheney is usually an extremely safe guy when it comes to hunting. Annnnd, at that, the White House didn't seem to plan on telling anything.

Now,I don't really have any big fuss about them not making a press release, but there is at least some foundation for suspicion. Hunting accidents do happen, but getting "peppered" normally doesn't send one to the ICU.

Either way, besides the bad publicity he'll get from it, this has nothing to do with politics. He just reaffirmed the fear people have of him.

[Kass]

According to the ranch owner who was also on the hunt, Whittington was up, walking around, talking and pretty okay after the incident. I'd bet the ICU is a precaution because of the vice president.

Stats show fewer than 39 reported hunting accidents. A lot of the good old boys don't report their accidents, especially not with bird shot.

A bird shot load for the type of shot gun has far fewer grains per shell, a much shorter distance and a narrower field of fire. It's hard to cause a serious injury to anything larger than a bird with a bird shot load.

this isn't to excuse Cheney from any responsibility, but he did have a clear field of fire when the quail were flushed and everyone started firing. Whittington entered a "live fire" zone without warning anyone he was approaching. For all intents and purposes, he stepped in front of a moving vehicle and got hit.

[General_Failure]

"Friendly fire ISN'T"


hahahahahahabwahahahahahaha! He needs to play more duckhunt XD


"Games don't kill people... Deadeye Dick does!"

[MrQ]

According to the ranch owner who was also on the hunt, Whittington was up, walking around, talking and pretty okay after the incident. I'd bet the ICU is a precaution because of the vice president.

Stats show fewer than 39 reported hunting accidents. A lot of the good old boys don't report their accidents, especially not with bird shot.

A bird shot load for the type of shot gun has far fewer grains per shell, a much shorter distance and a narrower field of fire. It's hard to cause a serious injury to anything larger than a bird with a bird shot load.

this isn't to excuse Cheney from any responsibility, but he did have a clear field of fire when the quail were flushed and everyone started firing. Whittington entered a "live fire" zone without warning anyone he was approaching. For all intents and purposes, he stepped in front of a moving vehicle and got hit.

I sense wisdom from your posts.

[sedatedmonkey]

Wait, wtf, the guy was 78?! I would have let him die. How is it a 78 year old can survive that? I know that most 78 year olds can't survive a fight with a jar of jam. I bet you these rich folk take imoortality pills or some shit. Then they go in for full-body rejuvinations and take on an alias or pretend they are their own children or some shit.
Lex Luthor'd

He's a lawyer. Not just Gaijin powers, but Gaijin+ powers.

[Kash]

Cheney's got a gun....

[/steven tyler voice]

[Angelyne]

Cheney's Got a Gun YTMND (Possibly NSFW) (http://dickhunt.ytmnd.com/)

Best headline I've seen so far: "Dick Shoots His Load"

:rofl:

[kyaa the catlord]

Cheney should get a medal for shooting a lawyer.

[Decade]

God I got so pissed watching that press conference yesterday. The press was asking for Cheney's RESIGNATION due to the accident.


Seriously, SHUT THE FUCK UP. This isnt the first time a hunting accidents happened, this isnt the last and it's not as if it was intentional. I swear to God, democrats and the Media will look for any source to attack the government today.

What's worse is they were asking "Dont you think this is an example of guns being dangerous for civilians to have?"

Seriously, if you dont believe in the 2nd ammendement, Fuck you.

Here's my take on the matter: If you dont feel you can be responsible enough to have and hold a gun: DONT. I don't have a gun, nor will I, simply for the reason that I know I'm to much of a irresponsible dumbass to have one. If I can admit that, then it's obvious I SHOULDN'T have one.

Now if an individual feels they CAN responisbly possess a gun in their home, they should be allowed to. With all the registration, gun safety promotion, and easy trackability done by police, it's not as much a problem as people believe.

The Drew Carrey Show tackled issues like this before. I remember one episode his Girlfriend got pissed that he lied and donated money to the NRA. Pissed why though? The NRA not only defends the 2nd ammendment but they spend a lot of their money every year to teach and promote gun safety in homes.

Bah, I'm gonna stop here before I rant off on a tangent, but the whole media circus is just really pissing me off.

[Praetorian]

Seriously, if you dont believe in the 2nd ammendement, Fuck you.



That's a rather harsh thing to say to someone who doesn't believe in the second amendment.

I could go on a rant here, but I'll leave it at this. You should respect other people's beliefs and opinions. That is the first step towards world peace, I believe. Tolerance. There is too little of it today, nor has there ever been enough of it.

[Decade]

Know what? You're right, I'm just a little heated after watching a replay of that press conference.

You're right, it's to harsh a way to put it, I appologize for that.

However, I still believe that those who dont think people should be able to have guns at home shouldn't try to enforce their beliefs on to others. Did I just do that? Yea, I gotta word it better next time.

However, this is different: It's a constitution given right of our country to be able to bear arms and defend yourself if needed. Not only that, but I'm just so annoyed by those who dont believe people are responsible enough to bear arms. If people actually researched this out, I bet there are more documented gun owners in the states than gun-related crimes. Sure that shows a lot of guns out in the states, but that shows that there are people who are actually smart about owning a gun and dont just go out to kill people right away.

However, I do understand that the US has the most gun-related deaths in the world. This being said, it sounds rather illogical to still argue for the right to bear arms. Actually, it's not. Gun safety is the issue, not (legal) gun possession.

[Praetorian]

That is true - it is too late to ban people's rights to bear arms now. If you do so, I believe only criminals will be the ones wielding guns while normal citizens would have to give them up.

However, I still believe in peoples rights to hold and voice their opinion in a calm and intelligent way.

But let us not derail this topic into a firearm debate.

[chgu]

Wha? Asking for resignation over a HUNTING ACCIDENT? Man, these politicians have their priorities wrong. I can think of two or three BETTER reasons to ask for his resignation, especially after the testimony Libby gave.

[crow-kun]

I thought this was very funny. The Daily Show just made it even funnier.

[CrazyAce86]

The thing that cracked me up about this the most was my roommate when she found out.

"I'm a Republican, and I like Bush and Cheney, but that's just stupid."


And she is an avid Bush fan-- it's creepy, really. The hypocrisy annoys me-- she has gay friends and wants them to be happy, yet supports a man that refuses to acknowledge their rights.

Uh-huh.

Even so, her reaction to this cracked me up. She rolled her eyes and smacked her forehead, too, as emphasis.

[Idlethought]

ROFLMAO!!! Has anyone seen the Daily show's reporting on this last night? OMG!!

[Sushi K]

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/02/13.html#a7149
That site has the daily show for this up for download, it is about the funniest thing I have ever seen. They make the same joke for 10 min, bit it's still great.

And did anyone else when they very first hear that Cheney shot shomeone think "was it Bush?"

[Lassic]

The White House said it's the other guy's fault.

......

NO SHIT, SHERLOCK!
They're not gonna say, "Oh, Dick was just being a Dick".

Come on -.-

[KKF]

Something is not right about this. And contray to what Kass said bird shot is very dangerous. The reason the guy is in ICU is because one of the pellets traveled to his heart and is stuck in there. He had a heartattack.

Cheney waited 14 hours before talking to police. He didn't call the white house right away and other things that are starting to pop up. Something is wrong beneath it all, we will see what it is later on if I'm correct. To give on some insight on the way this should of been handled just read what Bush did when he shot a protected deer. http://www.slate.com/id/2136128/

[Star Market]

Yes...the first thing a politician should do whenever an accident occurs is not to render medical assistance...but to call the press :bored: .

His first priority was first-aid. Cheney, with all the kinds of health problems he has, keeps a medical team with him at all times; so as soon as Whittington was shot his medical team was on the spot to render aid. His second priority was getting the guy to the hospital; Whittington was in an ambulance headed to a hospital within a half-hour. His third priority was notifying Whittington's family; Whittington's wife knew before the guy even left to go the hospital, and the rest of the family knew by the end of evening. His fourth priority was calling the police, which the Secret Service did after Whittington had left for the hospital.

Now, at this point, it is a non-fatal hunting accident in TEXAS (of all places). Kennedy County Sheriffs are just as enthused about investigating a hunting accident with bird shot as they are a fender bender at an intersection. They arrange an interview with Cheney to take place the next morning. Meanwhile, a separate group of sheriffs who had heard about an accident drive up to the ranch to offer assistance two hours after Secret Service had already called the police; but since arrangements had already been made for an investigation, they were turned away. I think this is the part of the story where everyone's screaming "CONSPIRACY!!!"

Karl Rove knew about the accident 2 hours after it had happened and reportedly informed Bush. Unfortunately, no one clued in Scott McClellan, the White House press chief (nothing to do with Cheney...Rove and Andy Card dropped the ball on that one). Cheney waited for details on Whittington's condition before going to the press since they logically would want to know how the guy was doing. Now, who do you choose to have break the story? McClellan, the White House Press Corps chief who is sitting rosy and cozy in Washington, but has no idea what is going on? Or an eye-witness who saw the whole thing? Katherine Armstrong, who was an eye-witness to the acccident, broke the story in The Corpus Christi Caller Times, a local paper within 12 hours. It took off around the nation from there.

Cheney didn't want to come out until he knew about Whittington's condition for sure (if you read his interview with Brit Hume, he says that about 10 times), but the fact of the matter is that he got the story out to the press 12 hours later. And it wasn't just "Cheney shoots a man." The story had an account of the whole accident with confirmed details on Whittington's condition - Cheney was worried about coming out with "Oh, he's fine" right after the accident (which Whittington appeared to be after he began walking around and talking) only for the guy to die the next morning. Far better in my opinion than just a knee-jerk, "Cheney shoots a man...more details later."

The reason the guy is in ICU is because one of the pellets traveled to his heart and is stuck in there. He had a heartattack.

Whittington had a mild heart attack...so mild (symptomless) that no one even knew he was having one (not even him) until a doctor looked at his EKG. According to Peter Banko, a spokesman for the hospital where Whittington is staying, the guy is actually up and moving around and working from his hospital bed (a lawyer through and through).

If people actually researched this...

They (by "they" I mean economists specializing in law and economics) have. They found that in U.S. states with concealed handgun laws, the rates of violent crime were far lower than in states where concealed handguns were banned. The differences were statistically significant. It makes sense. If you ban guns, you only take away guns from people who obey the law. If I'm a crook, and I know you're not carrying heat because you're a law abiding citizen, I'm going to rob you. But if guns are legal, and I'm in an area (TEXAS) where I know people pack heat...I'd think twice about robbing someone.

Wasn't Switzerland where everyone is trained on the use of semi-automatic weapons (through the whole mandatory military service) and allowed to carry one...? If I remember, the rate of violent crime there is...well...none. Except for that one female minister who got stabbed outside a deparment store...that made big news because it was the most violent thing to have happened in that country in years.

In a separate vein, another aspect of the 2nd Amendment people seem to forget is that it provides a deterrence against the government for imposing itself unduly on the people. If for whatever reason, some crazy becomes president or someone takes control over the military and decides to make himself or herself a dictator, if the citizens are armed said wanna-be dictator can't just march through and take control of the country. The first thing totalitarian regimes ban before they become completely totalitarian is weapons.

[Sushi K]

I bet Bush will just absolve him of anything (thats a power grnted by the constitution to the president).
And realy, would you want him in jail leaving Bush to run things alone?

[The_Penguin]

This is more retarted than when Monica blew Bill. The man caused an accident due to his stupidity and the newspapers and democrats are jizzing themselves all over this. I remember the morons that the republicans made out of themselves when they started to bash Bill about him screwing that intern :rolleyes: .

/libertarian

[BigJDiesel20]

Oh my God I just found this. You guys have to see this it's like the funniest thing in the world. Watch till the end when they reenact how the 78 year old man got shoot in the face.

http://gorillamask.net/dscheney.shtml

3 reason why the Dick Cheney shooting is funny:

1. To the Generally public Dick Chaney seems like a Cold Blooded Emotionless black hole in which no positive feelings can escape

2. He has no heart (Literally) which make this the joke that he's heartless ironic.

3. He fought to keep torture and option also adds to his heartlessness.

See when people heart that Dick Cheney shoots a man in the face they actually hear a Cold Blooded Emotionless Heartless man (figuratively) actually ended up shooting a man in the face which creates and ironic situation.

I hope the old man is ok though

This is more retarted than when Monica blew Bill. The man caused an accident due to his stupidity and the newspapers and democrats are jizzing themselves all over this. I remember the morons that the republicans made out of themselves when they started to bash Bill about him screwing that intern :rolleyes: .

/libertarian

Actually in shootings such as these people most likely have had a couple of drinks. With that knowledge combined with the fact that there was a big gap of time that the vice president didn't reveled the news to the white house press core earlier it’s easy to assume that there was something that he didn't want to get out. Just stop and thing for a second how in the hell do you shoot and old man in the face (who was standing behind you in bright orange suits) while aiming at quail with clipped wings. There are only to ways this could have happed either the old man walked in front of Dick while he was shoot thing or dick was impaired in some way and turned around while shooting at the bird and accidentally shoot his friend in the face. There are other ways this could have happed but those to are the most likely to have happed.

[The_Penguin]

Actually in shootings such as these people most likely have had a couple of drinks. With that knowledge combined with the fact that there was a big gap of time that the vice president didn't reveled the news to the white house press core earlier it’s easy to assume that there was something that he didn't want to get out. Just stop and thing for a second how in the hell do you shoot and old man in the face (who was standing behind you in bright orange suits) while aiming at quail with clipped wings. There are only to ways this could have happed either the old man walked in front of Dick while he was shoot thing or dick was impaired in some way and turned around while shooting at the bird and accidentally shoot his friend in the face. There are other ways this could have happed but those to are the most likely to have happed.
How does that disprove what I've just said?

The man made a mistake (likely a stupid one) and that's a reason to get all worked up?

Also how long was the gap in time between the accident and when the whitehouse was informed? 24 hours? 36 hours? It happened during some time and that warrants an all out investigation of some sort? It would be the equivalent of getting into an automotive accident, coming out alive out of it and having your parents find out in 24 hours about it and then being more concerned about the fact that it took a whole day for the news to get to them, rather than you being in the hospital. If this delay happened during something that involved national security, then I'd understand if the media reacted so strongly to the news of this happening.

Like I said... this is even more idiotic than when Bill screwed Monica. I remember Cheney saying something (I think it was him, I could be wrong) about him having informed a local newspaper as opposed the New York Times and that got the paper all riled up to print this story to no end, imo, that was a factor (not sure how big) in building the hype around this accident.

Unless some newspaper comes up with some evidence (actually credible stuff, not just some crap they pull out of their ass) that Cheney tried to kill the man onpurpose, this is a no-story. If anything, it says that the media doesn't have enough credible news (in their opinion) to cover out there and they're resulting to hyping this up in order to have somethig to do in the coming days.

[The_Penguin]

Here's an article about it in BBC.
-snip-

Speaking publicly for the first time since he was shot on 11 February, Mr Whittington said "Accidents do and will happen, and that's what happened."

-snip-

He had faced growing pressure from politicians and the media to make a statement about the incident and explain why he had not reported it to the public straight away.

But on Thursday President Bush said he was satisfied with Mr Cheney's explanation of events.

"I thought the vice-president handled the issue just fine", he said.

-snip-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4725770.stm

The man himself says that this was an accident. Cheney probably didn't want to come forward with this at the get go for one reason or the other (maybe he wanted to tell the man's family before they found out on the news, who knows) and the media/his opponents are frothing at the mouth trying to get at him.

Honestly, if this is the best that mainstream media can report, then it is sad.