response 64 of 218:

Feb 15 18:30 UTC 2006

I'll give you enlightening in the next few new items I post, professor.

response 66 of 218:

Feb 15 18:40 UTC 2006

One question raised by Whittington's condition is just how far from
Whittington was the vice president when he pulled the trigger on his 28-gauge
Perazzi Brescia Italian shotgun. The original report on the incident from the
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says Cheney was 30 yards away from
Whittington. But the news that one shotgun pellet is now apparently lodged
in the muscle of Whittington's heart will likely lead to a reexamination of
the force with which Whittington was hit, and therefore, of the distance
between the two men when the shooting occurred.

*tipping my drink to drinky guy Cheney*

response 68 of 218:

Feb 15 19:01 UTC 2006

Jep, for what it's worth the drinking angle was not started on Grex. I've come
across it a couple of other times. Apparently, others are capable of deducing
the possibility from the facts known so far.

response 70 of 218:

Feb 15 20:40 UTC 2006

Don't say "supposedly"--jep won't like that any better than
"apparently".  MSNBC did in fact post said report.  Here's the lowdown:  
http://blogs.philly.com/blinq/2006/02/was_there_beer_.html

Also, interestingly enough, despite their willingness to divulge many
details regarding the condition and treatment of Cheney's latest victim,
there are two things that the hospital officials have (repeatedly)
refused to comment on (note:  not, "we don't know", but rather "we can't
comment on that"):  the number and composition of the pellets in
Whittington's body, and whether or not he had alchohol in his system
when he was brought in.

And, jep, the shooting itself isn't necessarily a big deal (accidents
happen), but the VP's continuing efforts to withold information make it
look like there's more to the story, and that's making it all a bigger
story.  Further, in the absence of real information, rumor and innuendo
will fill the gap (PR101).  If Cheney had talked to the police
immediately, followed that up with a news release to the media, and
followed that with a short/informal press conference ("this is what
happened, it was a stupid accident, my apologies and prayers to my
friend", etc), this whole story would already be fading away.

response 72 of 218:

Feb 15 20:47 UTC 2006

According to the sheriff's report which I referred to in an article 
yesterday, police visited Cheney the evening of the incident.  But 
numerous reports *have* stated police didn't talk to Cheney until the 
next day, so at least that part of the story wasn't made up here.

re resp:68: I'm sticking with what I said.  Now you say you saw 
something about Cheney's drinking being somehow related, somewhere 
else.  Where?  Maybe someone on M-Net?  (After they saw it here, 
perhaps?)

There seems to be no evaluation of the facts going on at all here.  
People here hate the Administration and/or Republicans in general, the 
vice president shot someone in a hunting accident, there's very free 
mixing in of "wouldn't it be cool if *THIS* had happened too?" and the 
story grows and grows, feeding on itself and wishes that it was bigger.

re resp:70: An absence of information is no excuse for making up rumors.

response 74 of 218:

Feb 15 20:54 UTC 2006

re #72
"wouldn't it be cool if *THIS* had happened too?"
Where there's a vacuum: It will be filled

Cheney hasn't had a press conference in 3 1/2 years.  You expect people to
just ignore that he's VP or to not make speculations when he isn't forthcoming
about his dealings both professional and personal?  The guy was hunting
without a license and shot somebody.  You think people should just mind their
own business and forget that he shot somebody?  Are you serious?

response 76 of 218:

Feb 15 22:30 UTC 2006

People gossip and speculate when there are gaps in stories.  Me? Yea, I tend
to think the old geezer was boozing it up when he went hunting cuz that's what
people in Texas do for recreation: Drink and kill

response 78 of 218:

Feb 16 00:33 UTC 2006

Has anyone calculated how close someone would need to be to receive 200
pellets from the gun?   Can you shoot 200 of them 30 yards in a straight line?

response 80 of 218:

Feb 16 00:42 UTC 2006

re #79 oh sure, Cheney only had ONE beer.  Anyone really believe that?

response 82 of 218:

Feb 16 01:10 UTC 2006

re #81 according to news reports, instead of going to the hospital, 
Cheney went home and poured himself a good stiff cocktail.

response 84 of 218:

Feb 16 01:43 UTC 2006

my memories from my hunting days are that birdshot is usually #6 shot, a
little smaller than a standard bb and at 30 yards it is close to being
spent, might go a little damage possibly penetrate under the skin but
into the chest, through shirts and orange hunting jacket? I don't think
so. 50 yards would be just like a sprinkle of small hail stones. The
pattern would depend on the choke on the gun.

response 86 of 218:

Feb 16 06:19 UTC 2006

there are 225 pellets in an oz. of #6 shot in a standard 1 oz load for small
game birds.  The pellets are much smaller than a BB, almost half the size.

pattern sepends a lot on barrel length, choke, and the type of shotgun shell
used.

The point is, Cheney was involved in a hunting accident.  He fired his shotgun
adn injured his friend.

Had he been drinking?  I don't know and even if he had not been, came out and
said he had not been, there would still be people saying he must have been.

Going to the hospital would NOT have been an option in the eyes of the secret
service.  Not in the ambulance, not in his own car.  to have done so would
have endangered the life of his friend because 500 reporteres woul ahve shown
up and tried to find out what had happened, distracting the doctors and
hospital operations.