The Irony, The Symbolism, Is Quite Frankly ASTONISHING!!

[Beetwasher]

Seriously, rarely (if ever!) has there been such an incident or event that totally encapsulates so richly and so completely the current state of affairs of this country, or that completely and totally in one fell swoop symbolizes this maladministration. This "Deadeye Dick" affair is really an amazingly poignant, symbolic incident.

To say that we should not pay attention to it, or that we should lay off of it, is to miss a glaring symbolic opportunity. This incident is an amazing gift. It's about as subtle as, well, a shotgun blast to the face, but it ties in to everything these criminals are about. Shooting first and asking questions later (or not). The gang that couldn't shoot straight. Being amazingly incompetent and irresposnible and not taking responsibility for ANYTHING. Cover ups and lying and guns and blaming the victim and double standards for Repubs etc. The list goes on and it works on so many levels it's quite frankly an astonishing convergence.

I mean, this thing really happened. It's mind blowing. I'm an atheist, but something like this makes one wonder if there is a god with a really terrific and twisted sense of humor.

[CottonBear]

1. Mirror headline: BUSH'S NO 2 SHOOTS OAP...Cheney guns down lawyer...

13 February 2006
BUSH'S NO 2 SHOOTS OAP
Cheney guns down lawyer in quail hunt blunder on ranch
Ryan Parry Us Correspondent
AMERICA'S Vice-President Dick Cheney shot and injured a pensioner during a hunting trip.

The second most powerful man in the US accidentally blasted lawyer Harry Whittington with a shotgun during a quail shoot.

snip

The vice-president has been in scrapes before. He was twice arrested and convicted for drink-driving in an eight-month period in the early 1960s. The two convictions in his home state of Wyoming, when Cheney was in his early 20s, led to fines and drive bans.

He was criticised for spending the first week after the Hurricane Katrina disaster fly-fishing in Wyoming then going to Maryland to buy a mansion.

He is the former chief executive officer of the Texas-based oil services conglomerate Halliburton. Democrats have suggested that while serving in the Bush administration he helped win lucrative contracts for his former firm, which he denies.

more...
[e-mail]
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16697780%26method=full%26siteid=94762%26headline=bush%2ds%2dno%2d2%2dshoots%2doap%2d-name_page.html

The mirror doesn't pull any punches. They trotted out the DUI charges!

[Beetwasher]

2. Yeah, They Take the Opportunity To Run Down All Of His Scandals

Actually, that's what US press SHOULD be doing. A scandal recap.

[BlackVelvet04]

6. And this....

"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. The vice-president has got an ambulance on call, so that came."

Rather tells us what kind of physical condition cheney is in, doesn't it?

[Catrina]

7. US News, of course has a different 'take' on the shooting! I just heard

on radio news that 'Mr. Whittington walked into Mr. Cheney's line of fire'. Those are the exact words. How do they know this? Has there been an investigation yet?

The OP is so right, btw. The symbolism of this accident is stunning. Shoot first, lie about it, cover it up, and blame the victim and pay no attention to the horrible consequences of these actions. 'We don't do body counts' and all victims are merely 'collateral damage' with no humanity at all.

It also totally symbolizes the kind of cowardly chickenhawks who make up this entire administration. While more than willing to blast away at birds or anything else to small or too tame to pose any threat to them, they fully support war no matter where it is, but as in Cheney's case, refuse to fight in them themselves. Cowards trying to 'look tough' by holding a gun in their hands, hoping it will erase their cowardly personas as they use other people's loved ones to fight their battles.

Cheney is a dangerous man, this accident emphasizes that. He is irresponsible in everything he does. He's a threat to the safety and well-being of other human beings and he should step down immediately.

Imo, he WAS drinking, under intense pressure now as his former partners in crime, are all rushing to save themselves, and Libby pointing a finger at him as the possible leaker in the Plame affair. I think he thought they had garnered so much power, no one could them. That some of the 'little people', like Comey, Patrick Fitzgerald and others, may bring him down, is beyond his comprehension.

[Beetwasher]

9. You Know What? There's No Reason, None At All, To Give Dick The Benefit of

the doubt here and call it an accident. It should be an alleged accident.

Seriously, I have no idea whether this was an accident or not and I don't give Cheney the benefit. As you say, he's a dangerous man and shooting this guy ON PURPOSE is not outside the realm of possibilities. I'm not saying I definitely believe he DID intentionally shoot this guy, but I seriously don't know.

[txindy]

3. Karma really does have a wicked sense of humor.

So to speak. :evilgrin:

[malaise]

5. Yes it does

They've been shooting up the law since 2000. Dems could not have conjured up anything this good. Leave it to the Rethugs, they'll eventually shoot themselves in the face and not report it to boot.

[ClayZ]

17. Karma Control

We were at the Talketna Blue Grass Festival in Alaska a few years back...

The "Frozen Few" Anchorage chapter of Hells Angels were the security guards.

The t-shirts they wore said "KARMA CONTROL" in big white letters. It was WONDERFUL!




http://davesworld81.com/affa.htm

http://www.davesworld81.com/NewPage1.htm

hmmmmmm! Think I will go shopping for a HARLEY for my husband for Valentines Day!

[txindy]

21. LOL!

:toast:

[Burried News]

4. PULL Cheney

8. And there will be pictures of Mr. Whittington

with his face all pock-marked. They won't be able to hide it.

[Ksec]

10. Good points all. The symbolism is mind blowing

recommended

[Beetwasher]

13. Reality is Fucking Loopy!

I couldn't write this script, it would get laughed at as too ridiculous.

[CottonBear]

11. Best explanantions yet from hunter and ER doctor at Firedoglake blog:

...snip...

And finally, this from reader Uranius Pelican, which is dead on (no pun intended).
At 30 yards, an open choke pattern would spread to have enough distance between pellets (at least 10 inches or a foot with a 28 guage) that it could not do the kind of damage that this guy apparently suffered.

Also 7 or 8 shot is tiny and therefore has less mass and carries less energy at the same veleocity. That means it won't penetrate very far especially at 30 yards after it has been slowed greatly by the air resistance.

Most importantly, bird hunting accidents are almost always caused by one thing. People walking around with their gun off safety - ready to shoot in case a bird flushes. Shotguns are designed so that the safety is accessible to your thumb while your trigger finger is poised on the trigger.

Before I ever enter a field with someone I've never hunted with I stop and say OK, here's the deal, "I will not hunt with anyone here who does not agree to keep their gun on safe at all times until the moment just before they pull the trigger. If you don't want to do that tell me now and I'll go hunt somewhere else."

The story they are telling doesn't make sense to me. My guess is that Cheney's open choke 28 guage gun was being carried off safety and that he dropped it or stumbled and it went off accidentally hitting his partner at about 15 yards range or less. Of course, the story that the victim approached from behind unnannounced and therefore was at fault sounds good to someone who has never hunted quail - but it's a crock.

And finally, only a drunk, an asshole or a drunk asshole would ever shoot their partner or their dog.
And then there is this bit from one of the medical folks in the audience, reader LittleBit:
Speaking as a 20-year veteran of The-Big-ICU-In-Knife-And-Gun-Club-Territory, there is no way in hell that the victim is relatively uninjured.

Shotgun injuries are some of the worst cases I have taken care of, due to the spread-shot nature of the wounds. If the victim got "peppered" in the neck, there are waaaayyyy too many important structures in that small space (oh, like maybe one of the internal or external carotid arteries) for this to be a "no big deal" situation. If any of the pellets nicks a blood vessel, it may travel as far as it can go--I took care of a kid shot in the chest and some pellets eneded up in his ankle, blocking the bloodflow, leading to an amputation. In this situation, add to that the victim's age and potential underlying medical problems--this is huge.

more...
http://firedoglake.blogspot.com/2006_02_12_firedoglake_archive.html#113984118736473358

[Beetwasher]

12. Thanks for the Link!

Good stuff! :thumbsup:

[Wheezy]

14. great info! n/t

[enough]

23. This rings true. Thanks.

[DoYouEverWonder]

28. We know Whittington is more then willing to cover up for his friends

if he survives. He covered up Funeralgate for Bush. I'm sure he'll go along with whatever the 'official' story is for his buddy Dick.

BTW: Supposedly, this is the first time they hunted together, supposedly.

[Beetwasher]

15. Ok, How Long Before Deadeye Dick DEMANDS AN APOLOGY FROM WHITTINGTON???

:shrug:

[Klukie]

16. The shot heard around the world!

[ClayZ]

18. of Bullies and Birds

(Karma's Eye is on the Sparrow)

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1215-07.htm

Published on Monday, December 15, 2003 by the New York Times
After Cheney's Private Hunt, Others Take Their Shots
by Elisabeth Bumiller

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney's Christmas card arrived in the capital's mailboxes last week with this suddenly apt quotation from Benjamin Franklin: "And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?"

Franklin made the remark at the 1787 Constitutional Convention to argue that because something as small as a sparrow's death comes to God's attention, clearly God has a voice in the affairs of men. Therefore, Franklin argued, a prayer should open the daily sessions held to write the founding document of the United States. (Franklin lost the argument, but his passage won a place in history.)

All of which brings us to Mr. Cheney's bird-hunting trip at the exclusive Rolling Rock Club in the hills of southwestern Pennsylvania last Monday, when he and nine others in his party shot some 400 out of 500 pen-raised pheasants released for the morning hunt. No one might have noticed the episode if The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had not reported it, including the detail that the vice president had shot more than 70 of the ring-necked pheasants himself.

As a result, a lot of other people noticed the fallen birds: hunters who pursue birds in the wild, the Democratic presidential candidates and the Humane Society of the United States, which likened the shootings to the first day of the Iraq war.

<snip>

[Beetwasher]

19. Cheney Really Is A Sick, Twisted Motherfucker

This is an ALLEGED accident as far as I'm concerned.

[Jemmons]

20. I know I know! I should be happy with Fitzgaralds proceedings, which will

probably get the VP thrown out of office. But after all the lies, murders and the torture that just dosnt do it for me on an emotional level. BUT THIS! :P This just makes my day like nothing else! There is just no excuse - how could you be so dumb?

No clever analysis, no parody and no satire could ever frame him as accurately as this. And: "YOU DID IT TO YOURSELF DUMBASS!"

[Chico Man]

22. Who's holding the smoking gun now?

[Generic Other]

24. It's a Greek concept: Hubris leads to disaster everytime

Cheney and Bush are actors in Greek tragedies. The flaws in their characters are what will lead to their downfalls.

[peekaloo]

25. If it helps drive home the point that those currently in power feel

themselves above the law and fully reveals their perverse desire for secrecy, I say RAMEN to the posters, and the news media, for following through on this story.

[RazzleDazzle]

26. Shooting a LAWYER in the face (respect for law and lawyers);

shooting someone eligible for social security and medicare and so forth in the face...


Some of what you cite isn't symbolic at all, but their regular MOD in handling crises and such. But you're right, it's a pretty dramatic and "in your face" encapsulation of what these people are all about.

The guy's in intensive care, btw. Does everyone know that?

[Beetwasher]

30. Yup, THE VP SHOT A FUCKING GUY IN THE FACE W/ A SHOTGUN

It wasn't just a grazing shot either. It was full on in the face, neck and chest and yes, the guy was very seriously injured, regardless of what the press is saying.

People who are saying "Stop it" need to say that to themselves a few times and look at it objectively. "The VP shot a guy in the face w/ a shotgun". That's fucking crazy, man. Nutso. Bizarre.

[EVDebs]

27. I hear his new nickname is "Dead Eye Dick" n/t

[happydreams]

29. A more important question looms! Please answer this:

When is CHICKEnHAWK SEASON opening? And if not why not?

[mom cat]

31. I think that we should continue to use this event for all the reasons you

mention. Cheney has now shot at two countries and is aiming at a third, without looking where he is shooting and trying to minimize the consequences of his actions. This is characterlogical of Cheney and the neo-cons and we need to use every opportunity to pepper him with it.

[Beetwasher]

32. It's JUICY. It's FULL of Apt Cynical Symbolism. Everything These Criminals

do is as subtle as this one incident, IOW, as subtle as a shotgun blast to the face. They are one, huge, irresponsible shotgun blast to the face of the planet.

[HooptieWagon]

33. It IS the perfect metaphor..

FIRE! Ready, Aim.

[Beetwasher]

34. Exactly!

n/t

[Ladyhawk]

35. LOL! You got it.

Shoot first and ignore the questions later...oh, and cover up the answers while you're at it.

[Beetwasher]

36. .

.

[lonestarnot]

37. excellent observation, but saw it coming 6 years ago. He'd shoot all of

us in the face if he had enough ammo.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

38. See this post:

This whole event is a metaphore(sic)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2105871&mesg_id=2105883

[Beetwasher]

39. Yup, Bushco IS One Giant Shotgun Blast to the Face of the World

It works on so many levels.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

40. It's gaining steam...

We Are All Harry Whittington

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marty-kaplan/we-are-all-harry-whitting_b_15649.html