NEWS: Dick Cheney Accidentally Shoots Hunting Partner

Originally posted by The Vagabond
Now go sit in the corner and think about what you've done.

Thinking of a new tourist ad campaign then...



Texas where politicians come to hunt humans.



Boom, ooops didn't mean to blow your leg off kerry.










[edit on 14-2-2006 by Regenmacher]

Originally posted by loam
Does anyone know if the VP can be civilly sued for this circumstance?

You can be civilly sued for anything. It just depends on the judge and/or jury if the charge sticks. In this case, if the family were to sue, I'm pretty sure the charges would stick, considering that if someone slips on my sidewalk because there is a crack in it, I would be successfully sued.

If that happens, we'll have the same debate we did with Clinton way back when, except this wouldn't be a criminal charge, but rather a civil one.

If I could quote from a reader of Michelle Malkin:

I agree with your call for a moratorium on the jokes. Harry is one of the finest men I have ever known. You or almost anyone would be proud to know him. A World of Harry Whittingtons would be a fine place indeed. He and his wife, Mercedes, as well as the remainder of his family, deserve our thoughts and prayers, as does the Vice-President.

Source

I agree with your sentiments, junglejake.

And my prayer goes, 'Dear Lord, I pray the VP doesn't go hunting again. Amen.'











[edit on 2/14/2006 by bodebliss]

Originally posted by junglejake
You can be civilly sued for anything. It just depends on the judge and/or jury if the charge sticks. In this case, if the family were to sue, I'm pretty sure the charges would stick, considering that if someone slips on my sidewalk because there is a crack in it, I would be successfully sued.

Are you sure there isn't some sort of executive priviledge? Otherwise, Presidents (and their VPs) would be sued every day...all day long...

Originally posted by junglejake
If I could quote from a reader of Michelle Malkin:

I agree with your call for a moratorium on the jokes. Harry is one of the finest men I have ever known. You or almost anyone would be proud to know him. A World of Harry Whittingtons would be a fine place indeed. He and his wife, Mercedes, as well as the remainder of his family, deserve our thoughts and prayers, as does the Vice-President.

Source

While I'm not impressed with your source....I can't disagree with the sentiment part...In all seriousness, no one should wish this guy's physical demise.

Are you kidding? This millionaire Republican booster would never sue his Repub. V.P. First, he doesn't need the coin. Second, Dickhead is his pal. Third, the press would have a field day. There will be no lawsuit. That is unless he dies in which case the family/estate may bring a wrongful death action against Cheney.

The best thing about this incident is watching the White House duck and cover for no reason. That's the nature of this admin. Hide the ball and run from all. The real scandal is that they didn't get out in front of the story but waited for some third rate local rag to publish it. These folks are the conspiracy theorists. They think everyone's out to get them. Cheney's ridiculous no fly zones around his various digs tell the tale. Then again, there's no doubt they have made enemies outside of the corporate board rooms of their liegelords.

All for a defenseless little birdy which I'll lay odds he wouldn't even consume.
Prick!

Originally posted by loam
Are you sure there isn't some sort of executive priviledge? Otherwise, Presidents (and their VPs) would be sued every day...all day long...

I'm not sure, but I don't think so when it's a private matter. Cheney wasn't hunting on behalf of the American government or the Bush Administration, but rather engaged in a private activity.

When acting on behalf of the government, people can sue the government for whatever they want...However, the penalty for losing the case is paying the court costs, so frivolous lawsuits aren't a good idea, and most lawyers wouldn't take the case.

Originally posted by seattlelaw
That is unless he dies in which case the family/estate may bring a wrongful death action against Cheney.

Bingo... Can that be done?

The word on the journalistic street is that Cheney was drunk/under the influence.

The Secret Service took over investigation of the incident, bypassing the local cops and have been stonewalling all press requests about it since. Local sheriffs are refusing to answer questions about the incident too.

*sigh*

So Cheney and some other old rich white men went out hunting
birds in the Texas brush with some bird-shot. One of the
old guys ... 78 years old ... walked into the shooting zone
without alerting the others that he was entering the area.
He got a bunch of bird-shot in the face.

Probably happens a lot out there.

A Texas paper heard about it (Corpus Christi) and printed
the story. All the major news media outlets got their
feathers ruffled because they think they are somehow
entitled to first notification of anything ... even birdshot
... and so they are making a big stink.

Fact is Cheney paid for, and got, his liscense in order. He
paid for and got his stamps on it. The hunting liscense
folks gave him two of one stamp and none of another.
He needed both. So Cheney then had to write another
check, this one for $7, to re-pay for the stamp that they
should have given him that he already paid for.

Really ... this is a nothing. No coverups. No big news.
No slipping the system. Just a rich old white guy got
a bunch of birdshot in his face because he didn't follow
proper bird hunting procedures.

Now one of the pellets has moved and his heart isn't
beating correctly ... but it's to be expected .. he's 78 or
so and he can't heal from birdshot as well as a 20 year old.

Frankly, the press looks stupid in all this (as usual). They
are all in a lather because they got their egos stepped on
when the paper from Corpus Christi got the non-story
before they did.

[edit on 2/14/2006 by FlyersFan]

Frankly, the press looks stupid in all this (as usual). They
are all in a lather because they got their egos stepped on
when the paper from Corpus Christi got the non-story
before they did.

Woa! Did I just see you kiss a portrait of Cheney?

If they had nothing to hide, they should have been more open and seeing how they weren't, it tells me they are hiding something.

'If they had nothing to hide....'

It's a constant statement by conservatives, but I guess they do have something to hide.











[edit on 2/14/2006 by bodebliss]

It's a little more than that.

And now today the Press Secretary failed to disclose information about the incident and waited until the Press briefing was over. Ol' Scotty didnt bother to let the national media know about the condition of a man that the Vice President of the United States SHOT in the head. He knew he was underoing emergency surgery after a heart attack, he was asked about the condition, but he didn't disclose anything.

Even though this looks like an accident he still shot another person in the head. Damage enough to cause life threatening injuries. It merits a full investigation.

There has been a failure to adequately disclose information. If the ranch owner had not went to a local newspaper and assumed that they knew about it do you think it would have gotten out at all?

Why did the Secret Service take over investigation of the matter and shut out the local police. Why did they not allow Cheney to be questioned by local police for 18 hours?

When someone turns up in a hospital with gunshot wounds the hospital generally calls the cops. They wouldn't accept "dude, it was an accident, I was polishing it and it went off in his face" from anyone on face value so why should they accept it from a Vice President?

Another thing, if he was using birdshot and was 30+ yards away from Cheney then why was the shot able to hit so deep that it was carried into the bloodstream? Sounds like he was a hell of a lot closer than 30 yeards.

Inconsistencies, inconsistencies. If they keep shutting the press out then this story is going to consume all of the news cycles until the end of the week.

I don't really like or trust Cheney at all. I think he is up to no good in office and uses George as his front man to provide cover for some pretty nefarious stuff going on. Nevertheless, the Bush administration knows that Cheney is a very unpopular guy in the US. After all the accusations coming at the Bush administration, I cannot imagine that they were too excited to let the press have this incident to play with. The delay in reporting is natural. Everyone knows the press is going to have a field day with this. Sooo...the natural human reaction is to run right out and tell them?......no. It does not conclusively mean there is something to hide to me (at least, not about this specific incident). When an administration is taking enough heat already, you just don't run out and throw this one to the dogs.

Originally posted by Nerdling
The word on the journalistic street is that Cheney was drunk/under the influence.

Can you point to any sources yet?

It just doesn't end for this guy. The victim of the shooting has had a heart attack brought on by a pellet lodged in his heart
link

Originally posted by FlyersFan
. One of the
old guys ... 78 years old ... walked into the shooting zone
without alerting the others that he was entering the area.
He got a bunch of bird-shot in the face.

Can tell you don't have an NRA card or ever took a hunter's safety class.

Shooting: The NRA says responsibility lies with Cheney

4th commandment of firearm safety:
Be sure of your target and what's beyond.

Trying to justify negligence by blaming the victim?
That's a well know modus operandi of the criminal class.



[edit on 14-2-2006 by Regenmacher]

Originally posted by FlyersFan
*sigh*

So Cheney and some other old rich white men went out hunting
birds in the Texas brush with some bird-shot.

"...and some other old rich white MEN"? What other men besides Cheney and Whittington, FlyersFan?

From all accounts that I've read, there were five people involved. One article puts the ranch owner, Katherine, in the car with her sister (who was not named).

The other hunter was none other than the Ambassador to Switzerland, Pamela Willeford--another old Bush crony.

Anyone else witness to the events that you know of?

I'm counting three women, the shooter and the victim with two of them inside the car--out of earshot.

What better place than the wide open spaces for the kind of conversation you wouldn't want eavesdropped on? Especially with the overseas surveillance going on? Cheney should know.

Ok, I grant you, many southern women are hunters. But doesn't she have a job to do in Switzerland?


Btw, only Katherine is listed on the police report as a witness.

psyopswatcher:

I found this article interesting...

In Texas, hunting is a tool for business bonding

I also think this one is interesting... on the topic of how the incident was reported...

Slow Leak: How Cheney Stalled News Reports of Hunting Accident

"Sooo...the natural human reaction is to run right out and tell them?......no"

What does natural human reaction have to do with the govt's obligation to inform the public about issues of national interest? Vince Foster committed suicide in his office and the Repub's were all over that like white on rice for years demanding investigations - and that was self-inflicted.

Failing to release the event and failing to provide Cheney to the authorities in a timely fashion for their investigation is obstruction. The Secret Service has no jurisdiction in Texas. They haven't the authority to either investigate the matter. or withhold information. It is a cover-up by by the definition of the term. This in itself makes this a HUGE story.

What was Dickhead trying to hide? He was either hammered, pissed at this guy, or both. The fact is he unloaded on the dude into his face and chest. He couldn't have hit him more squarely if he had tried - so maybe he did try? I'm no hunter but some hunter out there needs to inform the rest of whether you shoot birds on the ground? My limited understanding holds that you shoot the birds after they're aloft? But maybe this bird farm clips their wings so they're an easier target?

Yes, if he dies the estate would have a wrongful death action against the veep. And I hope they bring it.

Yes, Cheney can be sued, and would probably lose if that happened.

Even though the mens rea requirements of the applicable criminal laws do not make negligence a culpable state of mind, a lawsuit against Cheney, in the best case scenario for him, would be a negligence claim, and in the worst case scenario, would be a strict liability claim.

So negligence would be a factor in a civil suit, and in certain high risk activities, strict liability applies. Under Strict Liabilty, the application of which to this case I am not certain about, not even negligence is required; you acted, harm resulted, you're liable, regardless of whether or not you were negligent.

Of course, considering that despite RegenMacher's joke, this guy was not the opposition, but was in fact a campaign contributor to Bush/Cheney, I doubt he'll sue. More likely he'll ask some trifiling favor in the future, like a no-bid contract to arrange a third party sale of sand to the Iraqis.

Either he was drunk as a skunk or his disregard and arrogance for his position in this country has gotten the best of him.

Since when doesnt the VP immediately tell his boss, President Bush, that there's been an accident??? Isnt that how it should work???
I dont want to hear that he was so busy tending to his friend that he didnt have the time.

This is all arrogance. Its the same ongoing problem we've had with this bunch since they took office.

This only re-emphasizes the fact that Bush reports to Cheney and Cheney doesnt report to anyone.