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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 02/13/2006 : 03:50:44 [Permalink]
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Intersting, Filthy.
I liked this part: quote:
Ranch owner Katharine Armstrong told the Associated Press that after Whittington separated from the others to gather his kills, he "came up from behind the vice president and the other hunter and didn't signal them or indicate to them or announce himself."
Well, naturally, now I understand. Cheney must'a been trying trick shots over his shoulder! Damned stupid that Whittington "came up behind" a guy when he's doing that. To be safe, one always approaches from straight ahead, where the game is.
I'm really starting to think Cheney was drunk, and they're covering up for him.
Then there was this quote from the source you gave:
quote:
Pamela Willeford, a former Texas education official, accompanied Cheney and Whittington as they hunted quail at the Armstrong ranch in Texas on Saturday.
And Pamela Wilford is yet another big Texas Republican contributor:
The Pamster
"Willeford and her immediate family contributed a total of $23,200 to Republicans during the 2000, 2002 and 2004 election cycles, including $7,000 to the Bush campaigns and an additional $500 to the Bush-Cheney recount fund established after the 2000 election."
(http://www.opensecrets.org/bush/ambassadors/willeford.asp)
Her hubby is a doctor in Austin, but hasn't yet been mentioned as having been at the Ranch with Cheney. Ver-ry interesting. Are we finding hints as to why there was that odd, overnight delay in announcing the accident? Time to sober up, and/or switch lodgings?
Juicy.
This is an interesting article on the incident at Brad Blog:
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002409.htm
And it now appears Whittington was not released today, as I'd heard or read in the news somewhere, but is still in the ICU!
From Brad Blog:
"At 7:00pm [ET] tonight CNN's anchor was interviewing a doctor from the hospital the shooting victim was in. The anchor asked him how the patient was doing and the doctor stated that he was in the Trauma ICU but stable. The anchor was then so dumb as to ask if the patient would be able to go home tonight. The doctor repeated that he was in ICU. This guys wounds did more than break the skin."
Image from Brad Blog:
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 02/13/2006 04:13:39 |
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Starman
SFN Regular
Sweden
1613 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2006 : 04:47:21 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Snake
Seems like this web site has become one sided and not an open minded place to discuss issues. Like the two political partys that now have a reputation of extreme opposites because of certain members, so everyone wants to take sides.
As the republican party of today is anti-science, anti-skepticism and anti-free thought this is hardly surprising. As the GOP in almost total power it is difficult for morons and criminals that belong to other parties to get any attention.quote:
Everyone here wants to make fun of Cheney, why because he's a Republican?
No because he is an evil bastard.
Btw, Its not what he does with a shotgun that is the big problem. It is a bit difficult to do much damage to the world and its inhabitants with a single shotgun. quote:
That Republican party, the party that 'freed the slaves'...
Those guys have left the party ... |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2006 : 06:55:20 [Permalink]
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I've read that another speculative excuse is that the sun was in Cheney's eyes and he didn't see Whittington. This is the lamest one yet, as it begs the question of: If he could see a little, bity bobwhite, why could he not also see a full-grown, Republican septegenerian in his line of fire?
I'm about half agreein' with 'mooner, here: alcohol may well have been a factor. I really can't think of much else that might encourage such deadly carelessness. quote:
And it now appears Whittington was not released today, as I'd heard or read in the news somewhere, but is still in the ICU!
Whittington remains in ICU? This could get even uglier. Was he possibly hit in the eye?
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2006 : 07:11:48 [Permalink]
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Things I expect "The Onion" to do with this story.
"While hunting Democrats...."
"Cheney tried his new Social Security reform out on a test audience today...."
"The administration blamed the shooting victim today, saying that he did not announce his approach to the Vice President. Although hunters who go after quail do tend to try to keep track of their hunting party."
"Just to keep consistency, the Bush White House labled Dick Cheney a WMD, today."
"It was horrible, Cheney said, He was coming at me, I got a flashback of a Democratic lobbyist approaching and I just flipped out."
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Cthulhu/Asmodeus when you're tired of voting for the lesser of two evils
Brother Cutlass of Reasoned Discussion |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2006 : 11:38:49 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Valiant Dancer
Things I expect "The Onion" to do with this story.
"While hunting Democrats...."
"Cheney tried his new Social Security reform out on a test audience today...."
"The administration blamed the shooting victim today, saying that he did not announce his approach to the Vice President. Although hunters who go after quail do tend to try to keep track of their hunting party."
"Just to keep consistency, the Bush White House labled Dick Cheney a WMD, today."
"It was horrible, Cheney said, He was coming at me, I got a flashback of a Democratic lobbyist approaching and I just flipped out."
"Cheney's war on lawyers continues. He just shot one..."
That's the real title to an article in a Canadian rag I read eariler this morning. The black guffaws begin! 
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2006 : 11:55:07 [Permalink]
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Good one, V_D! There are going to be millions of Cheney hunting jokes.
Filthy asked: quote:
Whittington remains in ICU? This could get even uglier. Was he possibly hit in the eye?
Ranch owner Katharine Armstrong had said something like, "He wasn't hit in the eye or anything," But, without explicitly saying as much, Armstrong's version almost made it sound like the old guy was in a private room, sitting up un his bed and joking with vistors, a much different mental picture of the patient than of him still being in the ICU. And nobody's quoted Whittington, which mades me wonder that he can't speak for some reason.
From CNN's story (Banko is the hospital's spokesman):
quote:
Peter Banko told CNN that Harry Wittington, 78, took "quite a bit of spray" in the face, neck and upper torso but is recovering nicely after he was wounded Saturday afternoon on a vice presidential friend's south Texas ranch.
"He rested well last evening and is in stable condition in our trauma ICU," Banko said. "We'll know a little bit better later this morning, but he should be released within the next day or two. He's doing well."
Remember, the accident was on the afternoon of February 11th. What medical conditions require Whittington to STILL be held in the ICU? Was there serious vascular damage? How many units of blood was he given? Had he been put on a respirator? At any point, did the staff have to restart his heart? Is he disfigured, and going to have to undergo reconstructive surgery? No answers. Far as I can tell, reporters aren't even asking, just swallowing whatever pablum they're dished out.
I'm still thinking that everyone involved has delayed information, greatly minimized the injury, and had gone out of their way to blame the victim for Cheney's boneheaded accident. I smell a coverup here. I wonder what the big secret is? Something's just not kosher.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2006 : 12:04:22 [Permalink]
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I heard that news reporter ask if the guy'd be getting out of the hospital and I also thought what an idiot reporter. And HM's comment that the guy was out of the hospital surprised me. But he is still in the hospital today, and there was no mention, out of ICU. My guess is the White House played down this guy's injuries so much the reporter had already assumed it was going to be nothing and she wasn't quick enough on her feet to adjust to the hospital spokeperson's comments. Did you hear somewhere it was a minor injury also HM?
"In the ICU" was not likely to have been just because he was rich and/or the fact the VP did the shooting. My guess is there's a pellet in his brain (may or may not be real bad but could warrant intracranial pressure monitoring in an ICU), or there was major bleeding not mentioned, or a pellet near some other vital structure, or he punctured a lung. Take your pick but clearly this wasn't just a few pellets breaking the skin.
I have no doubt alcohol was involved just based on odds. Alcohol and guns are a frequent cause of hunting accidents, just as alcohol and boating accidents. It isn't just drunk driving that involves alcohol's fatally hazards. "Accidents" are not usually really accidents and I've seen enough of them to know that.
Fox news claimed, "Cheney spent the day at the hospital." The hospital spokesperson said Cheney was there about 15 minutes. These reporters just make stuff up. They fill in the blanks with whatever they think happened or just rattle off the first thing out of their mouths. |
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2006 : 12:08:02 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by HalfMooner
Here's one: http://www.bushwatch.com/gravedigger.htm
It looks like in 1999, Whittington was brought in as a cleanup man after George W. Bush, then Texas Governor, got caught in a corruption case involving the firing of a funeral-home industry regulator who'd had the temerity to do her job. The case was known as "Funeralgate" at the time.
...
Fascinating and very informative detective work, HM. You really should be writing a blog. |
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2006 : 12:09:44 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Starman
"Hunting"? Thats a far stretch. quote:
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported today that 500 farm-raised pheasants were released yesterday morning at the Rolling Rock Club in Ligonier Township for the benefit of Cheney's 10-person hunting party. The group killed at least 417 of the birds, illustrating the unsporting nature of canned hunts. The party also shot an unknown number of captive mallards in the afternoon.
That's so disgusting. Boy I hope this gets some coverage. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2006 : 12:21:47 [Permalink]
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B, thanks for a medical person's prespective. Yes, I'd definitely heard somewhere yesterday that Whittington had left the hospital, but such errors are bound to be found in cases like this. I was later shocked to find instead, he was still in the ICU.
Weasel wording like "he caught some spray," "he's doing fine," and "he was peppered," have been used to deliberately minimize whatever is the true extent of the injuries. (Also, note the regular use of the passive sense, a sure sign of liars in the vicinity.)
Here's some humorous comments on the incident from Jim and Sarah Brady (http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=60875):
quote:
James and Sarah Brady Comment on the Vice President's Hunting Mishap
2/12/2006 5:40:00 PM
To: National Desk
Contact: Peter Hamm of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, 202-289-5792
WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 /U.S. Newswire/ -- James and Sarah Brady made comments today related to Vice President Cheney's reportedly accidental shooting yesterday in Texas.
"Now I understand why Dick Cheney keeps asking me to go hunting with him," said Jim Brady. "I had a friend once who accidentally shot pellets into his dog - and I thought he was an idiot."
"I've thought Cheney was scary for a long time," Sarah Brady said. "Now I know I was right to be nervous."
http://www.usnewswire.com/
-0-
/© 2006 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2006 : 12:24:05 [Permalink]
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Be bespoke: quote:
Fascinating and very informative detective work, HM. You really should be writing a blog.
Thank you very much! : ) Google is a dangerous weapon.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2006 : 15:30:23 [Permalink]
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Then there's the Halliburton connection between the ranch's actual owner, Anne Armstrong, and Dick Cheney (per CNN.com):
quote:
[Katherine] Armstrong is the daughter of ranch owner Anne Armstrong, who served as U.S. ambassador to Britain in the Ford administration. She has also served on the board of directors of Halliburton, the oilfield services company Cheney ran before becoming vice president. Cheney was hired as the company's chief operating officer in 1995.
I remember reading somewhere that Cheney was hired as Halliburton's CEO during Armstrong's tenure on its Board of Directors. And we all know of the no-bid contracts that Hallibuton and its subsidiaries received from the US government in Iraq.
Money is thicker than blood, much thicker.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2006 : 17:08:02 [Permalink]
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Snake, if the republican party of today were anything like the party of Lincoln.... I know that I would be calling myself republican.
As it has already been said, the republican party is little more than the mouthpiece for big oil corporate interests masked by their overt christian-right-wing-whacko stands on social issues.
You have to admit that it is a great strategy, hide your main agenda behind the frothing public stupidity of a set of people that your opposition has little choice but to expend resources and energy on to counter, all the while your main agenda gets accomplished without significant resistance, and half the voting public cheers you on as you enact policy that is directly counter to their own best interest... just as long as you praise jesus and hate fags as much as they do.
Anyway....
quote:
News (CNN) seems to blame the victim, for not announcing his approach to Cheney.
As any experienced hunter will tell you.... you do not approach a hunting party from any direction except the rear. And even then, you need to make your presence known. Whittington bears the majority of responsibility for this one, not Darth Cheney.
I fail to understand why there is such a flap over this. Shit happens, and if you don't follow common sense when hunting it is likely to happen to you.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2006 : 18:22:57 [Permalink]
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Dude stated: quote:
As any experienced hunter will tell you.... you do not approach a hunting party from any direction except the rear. And even then, you need to make your presence known. Whittington bears the majority of responsibility for this one, not Darth Cheney.
Actually, I can agree that Whittington may be partially, but not wholly responsible, if he didn't vocalize his approach. In most accidents, more than one safety step has been neglected.
But you did understand, Dude, that Whittington is being blamed precisely because he did approach from the rear, right?
At the every least, Cheney should have avoided shooting in a direction he did not know was clear of man and dog.
I'd like to do a little logical reconstruction of events.
The word of Katherine Armstrong was, Cheney was "following" a quail as he swung the muzzle about. It's also been said that Whittington approached Cheney from "behind," and with the sun at both their backs. We can assume Cheney swung roughly about 180 degrees before firing, presenting him with an entirely different view. Late in the afternoon, "about 5:30 p.m," must have been near sunset near Corpus Cristi in southern Texas on Feb. 11. (Maybe someone could work this out for us?)
Cheney, it seems to me, likely was wearing hearing protection, as shown in a photo from his canned pheasant "hunt" in 2002:
So Whittington silently (hard to believe this of an attorney!) walks up, presumably carrying his shotgun cradled in one elbow, and the two quail he'd been gathering in his other hand. Whitington's walking eastward, toward Cheney. Cheney spots a quail to the east of himself, and intently follows it with his shotgun, safety off, finger on the trigger. Cheney swings around towards the west, the setting sun, and Whittington, and squeezes at least one round off. Whittington "took," in the words of the ER doctor, "quite a bit of spray in the face, neck and upper torso."
The shooting was reported to have been at 5:30 PM. The Christus Spohn Hospital in Corpus Cristi is about a two-hour drive from the Armstrong ranch. Whittington was not admitted to the hospital until 8:15 PM. But none of the 2-3/4 hour delay in getting Whittington there was due to the long drive, because the hospital sent a helicopter directly to the ranch. So Whittington was apparently kept from doctors for a considerable time, for unknown reasons, before the chopper was called. Even after admission to the hospital's ER, no word as given to the press that the Vice President had shot a man, until nearly a day had passed.
I still think there's much more here than meets the eye.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 02/13/2006 : 19:01:38 [Permalink]
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Pamela Willeford,
aka Pretty Pam
This from Brad Blog, about the Pamster:
quote:
THE THIRD HUNTER IS REVEALED... by Ron Brynaert over at RAW STORY. It seems the U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland, Pamela Willeford, another Bush Family crony, was also along for the festivities. The revelation by the Cox News Service, has yet to be picked up by any publication. As reported by RAW...
Pamela Willeford, a former Texas education official, accompanied Cheney and Whittington as they hunted quail at the Armstrong ranch in Texas on Saturday.
...
According to Open Secrets, "Willeford and her immediate family contributed a total of $23,200 to Republicans during the 2000, 2002 and 2004 election cycles, including $7,000 to the Bush campaigns and an additional $500 to the Bush-Cheney recount fund established after the 2000 election."
(My emphasis.) Note Willeford is one of Texans who paid money specifically to the people ("recount fund") who successfully stole the Presidential election in 2002, by blocking the recount in Florida.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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