You could kill me now and I wouldn't blame you if you do, but you ought to thank me before you die for the gravel in your gut and the spit in your eye, cause I'm the sonofabitch that named you Sue

Tim Cavanaugh | February 13, 2006

Intrade.com is getting no takers for either its Cheney to resign by June 30 or its Cheney to resign by December 31 futures. The ask price for the June 30 future is up slightly, on no volume.

Meanwhile, Doug Ireland comes up with a battery of fishy points to suggest Cheney was hunting after hours and without a license, and that even if he wasn't doing that, Cheney's a low-down, dirty, road-huntin' dawg.

White House reporter Somebody in an online chat tries to stump Scott McClellan Washington Post White House reporter Peter Baker with an Aaron Burr trivia question. McClellan Baker gets it right, and that'll teach me to read articles more carefully.

The Corpus Christi Caller-Times has details of the accident (pinning the blame on victim Harry Whittington). Registration required.

Whittington's an eminent domain hero.

Foreign press has more fun with the story than U.S. press.

Al Franken makes a pretty funny joke about the shooting. A shill named Noel Sheppard not only doesn't get the joke, but doesn't even recognize a line from Johnny Cash's second or third most famous song—and that's truly un-American.

Meanwhile, commentators who had hissy fits * when the MSM spent less than three hours erroneously reporting that a group of West Virginia miners had been found alive are apparently untroubled by the 18 hours it took the Administration (or more accurately, the Caller-Times) to get this story out. Reason commenter Vanya already sees how the story's going to shape up:

1. Administration official does something stupid and incompetent, but, in the big picture, minor and not likely to upset Administration supporters.

2. Rather than admit any mistake, Administration jumps into CYA mode as soon as story leaks.

3. Liberal press and bloggers, seeing Administration in CYA mode, go into attack mode and blow up minor affair into "big deal."

4. Conversative press and bloggers accuse liberal press and bloggers of overreacting and acting like irresponsible "Bush haters"

5. General public loses interest, liberal press/blogger reputation for hysteria further cemented in mainstream mind.

* Update: John "Balloon Juice" Cole writes in to say that a) he didn't have a hissy fit, b) he does think the Cheney reporting delay is a big deal, and c:

Additionally, I think there is a great difference between running with unconfirmed reports of the rescue of miners underground in which details are murky at best, and failing to report an accidental shooting involving the second most powerful man in the world, particularly when the details were clear.

Comments

Captain Holly|2.13.06 @ 1:49PM|#

Just a minor point: Most states exempt private hunting preserves from regulation; people can go hunt whenever they want to simply by paying a fee to the landowner. No bag limits, no seasons, no weapons restrictions. The landowner owns the animals, so the state has no jurisdiction.

The only valid question is whether or not it is ethical to allow such hunting.

Jadagul|2.13.06 @ 1:50PM|#

...the MSM spent less than three hours erroneously reporting that a group of West Virginia minors had been found alive...

Maybe we really do need stronger regulations on playground equipment and toys with small parts, if finding a group of kids alive is a major story.

Jadagul|2.13.06 @ 1:51PM|#

Damnit, no fair fixing the typo right when I finish making a bad joke about it!

R C Dean|2.13.06 @ 1:54PM|#

The only valid question is whether or not it is ethical to allow such hunting.

Depends on how the hunts are conducted. Shooting big game in a small pen - unethical. Shooting game birds previously released onto a 20,000 acre ranch - ethical.

Props to Vanya BTW, although predicting the course of this "scandal" is a little like shooting fish in a barrel.

|2.13.06 @ 2:05PM|#

But is shooting fish in a barrel...

A) fun

B) unethical

or C) harder than you think coz fish are such slippery, slimy critters?

Jeff P.|2.13.06 @ 2:05PM|#

The real question is: How much would you pay to shoot a laywer in the face?

|2.13.06 @ 2:11PM|#

I think it was WaPo reporter Peter Baker who got the Burr question right, not McClellan. At least in the link Tim provided.

Tim types, what, 80 WPM?

|2.13.06 @ 2:13PM|#

Geez, Jeff, maybe you discovered the real coverup here.

Imagine a hunting ranch in Texas where plutocrats pay to hunt lawyers. :)

|2.13.06 @ 2:13PM|#

The real question is: How much would you pay to shoot a laywer in the face?

Considering that he'd sue you if he survives, and his estate would sue if he doesn't survive, I'd have to decline. Of course, maybe I could sue the manufacturer of the shotgun. And the people who own the land where the shooting takes place. And Starbucks because the slogan on the coffee cup put me in a bad mood and made me more likely to do something that might get me sued.

|2.13.06 @ 2:21PM|#

And it's taken the Violence Policy Center absolutely zero time to ejaculate out a press release that attempts to tie this shooting in to the lapse of the ban on so-called "assault weapons."

Tim Cavanaugh|2.13.06 @ 2:29PM|#

Thanks, johnl. 'Tis fixt.

|2.13.06 @ 2:30PM|#

Oh, and as long as we're on the topic of neglegence and firearms, allow me to get on my soap box and preach Jeff Cooper's 4 Rules of Gun Safety

RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED

RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY

RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET

RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET

|2.13.06 @ 2:32PM|#

*negligence.

Rats.

|2.13.06 @ 2:33PM|#

Throeau, don't forget about the makers of corn syrup. They should be liable in this, too.

|2.13.06 @ 3:18PM|#

The real question is: How much would you pay to shoot a laywer in the face?

WTF?

Captain Holly|2.13.06 @ 3:24PM|#

And it's taken the Violence Policy Center absolutely zero time to ejaculate out a press release that attempts to tie this shooting in to the lapse of the ban on so-called "assault weapons."

Never underestimate the ability of the Gun Control lobby to distort an issue....

|2.13.06 @ 3:27PM|#

My dad just got back from one of these South Texas ranch quail hunts and if what he says is true, then I'm not surprised that somebody got hurt, Cheney doing the shooting or no. Most of the people in his group were novice hunters who couldn't even recognize a dog pointing at game. They mostly walked along the road and talked to each other, waiting for a guide to flush up something that these people would pop a couple of shots off at and invariably miss. Also, their gun safety fundamentals were so poor that he got the hell away from them as soon as possible - to the point of walking down in a ditch if they were on the road above him. In the three days he was there, my dad shot his limit in the first hour every day, mostly because he was down in the ditch where the game was, rather than standing up on the road like a damn tool. He said he had a lot more fun when we walked some farmer's corn field - at least we didn't have to worry about shooting each other, since we knew to keep the damn gun pointed at the sky and the safety on until you had sighted. This dude is lucky that Cheney was using a 28 gauge popgun instead of a 12 gauge.

They did have excellent scotch at the lodge, however, and the staff knew how to properly cook quail, which can be real tricky.

|2.13.06 @ 3:40PM|#

Just a minor point: Most states exempt private hunting preserves from regulation; people can go hunt whenever they want to simply by paying a fee to the landowner. No bag limits, no seasons, no weapons restrictions. The landowner owns the animals, so the state has no jurisdiction.

Since Texas land is 98% privately owned, it's hard to believe the state would forego the revenue from hunting on all of that land (not that 2% of Texas isn't a lot of land). I've never hunted here in Texas, so I may be wrong...

R C Dean|2.13.06 @ 3:43PM|#

Mediageek - those rules are gospel for rifles and handguns, but they make wingshooting (at least for quail)impossible.

Which is why quail hunters manage safety by establishing a shooting line and safe zones

|2.13.06 @ 3:47PM|#

It takes a fairly hot shot to nail quail with a sporty liitle 28 guage- at least we have been spared the national disgrace of 12 -gauge chenopdicide

The news delay arose from post- 2000 Election Republicans gunshyness about inaccurate body counts- we wouldn't want it said the Veep bagged 110 birds and a lawyer when it was only 109, or the other way around.

It's Rumsfeld turn to save the day and reverse the spin by having his Princeton brethern line up enough tigers to take the Supreme Court out for a day's shikar. Worthington too, by way of apology.

|2.13.06 @ 4:08PM|#

Anybody read 'The Most Dangerous Game'? I smell a coverup!

Captain Holly|2.13.06 @ 4:10PM|#

Since Texas land is 98% privately owned, it's hard to believe the state would forego the revenue from hunting on all of that land (not that 2% of Texas isn't a lot of land). I've never hunted here in Texas, so I may be wrong...

There's a distinction between these hunting preserves and just regular private land. The landowner usually raises the birds and releases them before the hunt; hence they're considered "private property" instead of wild game.

They do it with larger animals, too: There's a ranch in central Utah where you can hunt buffalo and the rancher will butcher it for you when you're done. He actually makes more money on it than if he sold the animal on the market.

Obviously, different states have different regulations. But for the most part, this is not uncommon throughout the US.

Captain Holly|2.13.06 @ 4:13PM|#

Clarification of the previous post: The buffalo herd is owned by the rancher. If the animals were from a "wild" herd, the state would have jurisdiction.

|2.13.06 @ 4:14PM|#

What kind of dumbass gets himself shot by the VP?
But really, Cheney is either the world's worst shot, or just really, really careless. The dude was wearing an optic orange vest at 30 yards!

|2.13.06 @ 4:25PM|#

What really happened:

C: "It's lawyer season!"

W: "Vithzze prethzzzident thzzeathzzon!"

C: "Lawyer season!"

W: "Vithzze prethzzzident thzzeathzzon!"

C: "Lawyer season!"

W: "Vithzze prethzzzident thzzeathzzon!"

C: "Vice president season!"

W: "Lawyer thzzeathzzon and I say fire!"

BLAM!

|2.13.06 @ 4:32PM|#

One of the funniest bumper stickers I've seen down here in Fla is "Why do they call it 'tourist season' if we're not allowed to shoot them?".

Absolutely nothing to do with the topic except making light of gunshot wounds and mayhem in general.

|2.13.06 @ 4:34PM|#

I love my people. Pull!

P.S. Hope Whittington is okay. Thank God it was bird shot.

|2.13.06 @ 4:38PM|#

Stevo - ha! I love that bugs/daffy cartoon!

The Wine Commonsewer|2.13.06 @ 5:00PM|#

Pro, that is the funniest line Mel Brooks ever uttered.

Low & Stevo, I love that Bugs/Daffy routine too.

Somebody sent me a really funny diss of the veep and I put it up at TWC. The interesting thing about it is that although it is amusing it is wildly inaccurate and therefore the diss is slightly to moderately skewed. At first you chuckle and then you say huh? well, that doesn't quite make sense

If you go over there just click on TWC below which will take you to the main page. Then scroll down a bit just past the picture of my mother's SNOW BOUND car in Maryland. BTW, 78 degrees here today and breezy. A day that makes one reconsider leaving this grand state of Californicate.

|2.13.06 @ 5:15PM|#

BTW, 78 degrees here today and breezy.

Holy shit, it was 35 F (1.5 C) by the thermometer by my front door (32 by the one in my car) when I left for work this AM. I swear any more of this and I'm moving to Florida. Oh crap, I already am in Florida.

|2.13.06 @ 7:00PM|#

1. Administration official does something stupid and incompetent, but, in the big picture, minor and not likely to upset Administration supporters.

2. Rather than admit any mistake, Administration jumps into CYA mode as soon as story leaks.

3. Liberal press and bloggers, seeing Administration in CYA mode, go into attack mode and blow up minor affair into "big deal."

4. Conversative press and bloggers accuse liberal press and bloggers of overreacting and acting like irresponsible "Bush haters"

5. General public loses interest, liberal press/blogger reputation for hysteria further cemented in mainstream mind.


First time I've ever heard John Cole (Dumbest Cover up ever) called a liberal. You are a strange republican Tim, but you are a republican. Do you get your talking points directly from RNC, or do they just beam into your head coinky dinky like?

|2.13.06 @ 8:09PM|#

The real question is: How much would you pay to shoot a laywer in the face?

$250 an hour.

|2.13.06 @ 8:25PM|#

I care not.
Much ado about a hunting accident.
Get back to me on Thursday if this is still news.
Many thanks.

|2.13.06 @ 8:26PM|#

I care not.
Much ado about a hunting accident.
Get back to me on Thursday if this is still news.
Many thanks.

|2.13.06 @ 8:29PM|#

Crappy server notwithstanding, I still care not.

|2.13.06 @ 9:24PM|#

failing to report an accidental shooting involving the second most powerful man in the world

Are you saying that George Bush was involved?

:)

|2.13.06 @ 11:17PM|#

The VP is most certainly not the second most powerful man in the world. He's not even the second most powerful man in the executive branch, for google's sake.

|2.13.06 @ 11:30PM|#

Considering that he'd sue you if he survives, and his estate would sue if he doesn't survive, I'd have to decline. .

Just wear a Batman suit for Christ' sake, don't you got no imagination?

|2.14.06 @ 12:04AM|#

Like somebody pointed out in another thread, if you donate enough money to the GOP you too can get shot at by Cheney.

If you donate enough to the Dems you can stand there and watch helplessly while a Democrat shoots himself in the foot.

If you donate enough to the Greens they'll shoot you, but they'll insist that the ammo be made from recycled materials.

If you donate enough money to the LP, they'll have their pot dealer fire a few shots at your house while he's out making deliveries.

If you donate to the Communist Party they'll put you on a waiting list and shoot you once they resolve the shortage of ammo.

If you donate to the Buchanan incarnation of the Reform Party they'll shoot at you while you try to climb over a fence.

If you donate to the Perot incarnation of the Reform Party they point the gun at you, then put it away, then point it again, then put it away, then they finally shoot you and miss.

|2.14.06 @ 12:13AM|#

"Never underestimate the ability of the Gun Control lobby to distort an issue...."

Yeah, but between Sarah Brady's almost-a-straw purchase of a sniper rifle for her son, and Tom Diaz's admission that he's a gun owner, to say nothing of the fact that the entire anti-gun lobby is populated by people who can only be described as facticidal maniacs, it's pretty obvious that the entire anti-gun movement has zero credibility.

|2.14.06 @ 12:18AM|#

Idle wonderment on my part:

I wonder if this Whittington guy has anything to do with the NRA Whittington Center near Raton, New Mexico?

It's an area of several thousand acres that was donated to the NRA where they hold guided hunts and large-scale competitions and classes of all kinds. Must be seen to be believed. As a raving gun-nut, I have to say, it's darn near heaven.

|2.14.06 @ 12:35AM|#

Meanwhile, commentators who had hissy fits * when the MSM spent less than three hours erroneously reporting that a group of West Virginia miners had been found alive are apparently untroubled by the 18 hours it took the Administration (or more accurately, the Caller-Times) to get this story out

Ok, I give up -- what's the connection? In the former case you have bloggers criticizing the media for publishing inaccurate information in the rush for ratings. In the latter you have a politician not rushing to publicize bad information about himself. Why is it inconsistent to criticize the former and ignore the latter? It isn't politicians' job to publicize their own bad press, but it IS the media's job to be accurate and responsible.

|2.14.06 @ 12:40AM|#

"My dad just got back from one of these South Texas ranch quail hunts and if what he says is true, then I'm not surprised that somebody got hurt, Cheney doing the shooting or no. Most of the people in his group were novice hunters who couldn't even recognize a dog pointing at game. They mostly walked along the road and talked to each other, waiting for a guide to flush up something that these people would pop a couple of shots off at and invariably miss..."

I have to admit, this is a pet peeve of mine that seriously chaps my ass. There is no shortage of politicians who blather on endlessly about "protecting your right to hunt."

Very broadly speaking (there are, of course, exceptions) hunters tend to be in it to bag an animal first, and as a result only have just barely enough skill to actually bag the animal.

As an openly avowed member of the EBR* club I'll just point out that I'm not aware of any fatalitiese at any sanctioned NRA Service Rifle/National Match Rifle** competitions, nor am I aware of any deaths or injuries at any 3-gun, IPSC, or IDPA style competitions***. I'm not aware of any sort of injuries at CMP rifle or pistol matches, International Sport Pistol or NRA Bullseye matches, and on and on and on.

But no, every politician behind a podium prattles on about preserving hunting, and, quite frankly, it annoys me to no end.


*Evil Black Rifle

**Both dominated by the now ubiquitous AR15 platform, with the big and scary M-1A platform coming in a distant second, and the M1 Garand being shot by the nostalgia crowd. All three of these designs being derived from currently or once-issued military rifles.

***3 Gun being a competition shot with a pistol, shotgun, and rifle. Generally involves engaging multiple targets at a distance from point-blank to 400+ yards. Movement required. IDPA and IPSC are similar, but shot with pistols, for the most part. This is a form of competition dominated by, again, the ubiquitous AR15 platform, as well as self-loading shotguns and pistols that the screeching anti-gun idiots call "high capacity" whatever that means.

|2.14.06 @ 12:44AM|#

"Mediageek - those rules are gospel for rifles and handguns, but they make wingshooting (at least for quail)impossible."

"Which is why quail hunters manage safety by establishing a shooting line and safe zones"

I've not been quail hunting, but this seems like a po-tay-to, po-tah-to kind of thing. If establishing a shooting line and safe zone keeps you from covering your buddy with a shotgun, the method may be different, but the result is still the same.

|2.14.06 @ 8:22AM|#

Stevo:

I was so ready to make that BB/Daffy crack, but you beat me to it!! AAAAARGH!! Well played.

I got a good laugh this morning reading that Cheney took so long to report out because he was "concerned" about the schmuck he peppered. Yep. He was outside the operating room the whole time, wringing his hands, yelling "God, take me, God! TAKE ME!!!"

Captain Holly|2.14.06 @ 11:03AM|#

Stevo: Thanks for the classic WB comedy.

Mediageek: I used to shoot a Garand in NRA matches. Before I had to sell it off to help pay bills.

Finally, it appears that Cheney needed a hunting license after all. Either he was hunting a "wild" flock or Texas doesn't allow private ownership of quail.