Cheney accidently shoots fellow hunter

venus · Post by **venus** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 3:55 pm

:sneaky: bet the real prey sighed a big one in relief than fel about laughing...:wah:

StupidCowboyTricks · Post by **StupidCowboyTricks** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 3:56 pm

Far Rider wrote: ahahahhaa snooze I kept reading looking for the dan quayle joke, but nothin!:wah:

LOL, I was checking all the news thingys on google......

I'm sorry but I think it's funny.......it does sound like a SNL skit....... :wah:

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 3:56 pm

I can think of a few British politicians i would have liked to have seen on that shoot! :wah:

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 4:15 pm

I hope the guys ok, too, Far, but I also vote that you and LC and me all go to Washington and give our dopey VP a few lessons in gun safety!!

Adam Zapple · Post by **Adam Zapple** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 4:25 pm

Well, he looked eerily like a quail.

But seriously, if I'm approaching two guys with guns while hunting, I'm sure gonna let them know I'm coming.

nvalleyvee · Post by **nvalleyvee** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 4:33 pm

Adam Zapple wrote: Well, he looked eerily like a quail.

But seriously, if I'm approaching two guys with guns while hunting, I'm sure gonna let them know I'm coming.

NOW that was FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 4:37 pm

Far Rider wrote: ahahaha BR Im fearful of what Id do with a weapon in my hands around politicians!:wah:
You make an excellent point, Far. :yh_rotfl

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 4:38 pm

SnoozeControl wrote: I thought it was sort of irritating that the guy that got shot is getting the blame.

Whittington "came up from behind the vice president and the other hunter and didn't signal them or indicate to them or announce himself," Armstrong said.
Another good point. Always know EXACTLY what and/or WHO you have your weapon pointed at, and never point your weapon at anything you don't intend to kill. Period.

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 7:42 pm

VP Cheney needs some new glasses and some shooting lessons from LC..:wah: :wah:

LilacDragon · Post by **LilacDragon** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 7:49 pm

Well, if you are going to get shot while out hunting - you really couldn't pick someone better to be with! He travels with medical personnel and has an ambulance on call.

TruthSeekerToo · Post by **TruthSeekerToo** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:39 pm

Many in the mainstream media are questioning Vice President Cheney's use of a firearm and his alleged failure to report the accident to proper authorities, inferring impropriety.

I'm reminded of other past events involving political figures, where people died.

Chappaquiddick - http://www.ytedk.com

Fort Marcy Park - http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/RANCH ... oster.html

http://www.newsmax.com/articles/?a=1999/2/3/171438

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:57 pm

The guys he shot just suffered a mild heart attack and think Cheney was arrested for hunting without a license. THe heart attack part was on www.ajc.com and the other peice of news is heresay until I find the story.

What a day for the victim, huh?

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 3:13 pm

Cheney was not arrested, he received a citation. here is story on heart situation.Cheney Victim

Has Heart Attack

cars · Post by **cars** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 5:41 pm

Guns should only be used under the supervision of "adults!" :wah:

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 5:42 pm

i'd rather go hunting with dick cheney than driving with teddy kennedy. :rolleyes:

LilacDragon · Post by **LilacDragon** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 5:44 pm

lady cop wrote: i'd rather go hunting with cheney than driving with teddy kennedy. :rolleyes:

Sorry, can't think of a single politician I would like to do either with!

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:47 pm

Whitting has suffered a heart attack.. !! :-3

[QUOTE]Man Shot by Cheney Back in Intensive Care

Whittington Suffers 'Silent Heart Attack' From Pellet

By LYNN BREZOSKY and NEDRA PICKLER, AP

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Feb. 14) - The 78-year-old lawyer wounded by Vice President Dick Cheney in a hunting accident suffered a mild heart attack Tuesday after a shotgun pellet in his chest traveled to his heart, hospital officials said.

Harry Whittington was immediately moved back to an intensive care unit and will be watched for a week to make sure more of the metal pellets do not move to other vital organs. He was reported in stable condition.

Whittington suffered a "silent heart attack" - obstructed blood flow, but without the classic heart-attack symptoms of pain and pressure, according to doctors at Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial.

The doctors said they decided to treat the situation conservatively and leave the pellet alone rather than operate to remove it. They said they are highly optimistic Whittington will recover and live a healthy life with the pellet left in place.

Asked whether the pellet could move farther into his heart and become fatal, hospital officials said that was a hypothetical question they could not answer.

Hospital officials said they were not concerned about the six to 200 other pieces of birdshot that might still be lodged in Whittington's body. Cheney was using 71/2 shot from a 28-gauge shotgun. Shotgun pellets are typically made of steel or lead; the pellets in 71/2 shot are just under a tenth of an inch in diameter.

"[It's] a silent heart attack, an asymptomatic heart attack. He's not had a heart attack in the traditional sense."

-David Blanchard, chief of emergency care at Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial

Cheney watched the news conference where doctors described Whittington's complications. Then the vice president called him, wished him well and asked if there was anything that he needed.

"The vice president said that he stood ready to assisp. Mr. Whittington's spirits were good, but obviously his situation deserves the careful monitoring that his doctors are providing," the vice president's office said in a statement.

Cheney , an experienced hunter, has not spoken publicly about the accident, which took place Saturday night while the vice president was aiming for a quail. Critics of the Bush administration called for more answers from the Cheney himself.

Whittington has said through hospital officials that he does not want to commenv on the shooting. A young man at Whittington's Austin home who identified himself as his grandson said Tuesday he did not have time to talk to a reporter and closed the door.

The furor over the accident and the White House delay in making it public are "part of the secretive nature of this administration," said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. "I think it's time the American people heard from the"vice president."

Before hospital officials announced details of Whittington's condition, the hunting accident had produced a raft of Cheney jokes on late-night television.

"I think Cheney is starting to lose it," Jay Leno said. "After he shot the guy he screamed, `Anyone else want to call domestic wiretapping illegal?!"'

On Tuesday morning, the White House spokesman briefly joined in the merriment, joking that the orange school colors of the visiting University of Texas championship football team should not be confused for hunters' safety gear.[/QUOTE]

ChiptBeef · Post by **ChiptBeef** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 9:16 pm

Harry Reid needs to see if he can get a formal, truthful statement from Ted Kennedy about the bridge on Martha's Vineyard back in 1969. America has been waiting over 35 years for that truth. First things first.

StupidCowboyTricks · Post by **StupidCowboyTricks** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 9:53 pm

CheneyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s response a concern to GOP

Newsweek - 52 minutes ago

By Jim VandeHei and Peter Baker. Vice President Cheney's slow and unapologetic public response to the accidental shooting of a 78-year-old Texas lawyer is turning the quail-hunting mishap into a political liability ... :sneaky:

cars · Post by **cars** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 3:49 am

lady cop wrote: i'd rather go hunting with dick cheney than driving with teddy kennedy. :rolleyes:

Both are dangerous to your health, & can even kill ya!! :wah:

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 8:55 am

SnoozeControl wrote: Sure, what's a few hundred pieces of metal?:rolleyes:
Think he'll set off any metal detectors?

I'm sorry, but this story is, to me, more comical than anything. The jokes that will come from this will be passed along for years..... :yh_rotfl

StupidCowboyTricks · Post by **StupidCowboyTricks** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:25 am

This just reported live:

http://dickhunt.ytmnd.com/

StupidCowboyTricks · Post by **StupidCowboyTricks** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:38 am

Test your skill

http://dickcheneyquailhunt.cf.huffingtonpost.com/

StupidCowboyTricks · Post by **StupidCowboyTricks** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 11:00 am

Cheney's Response A Concern In GOP

Public Statement On Shooting Urged

By Jim VandeHei and Peter Baker

Washington Post Staff Writers

Wednesday, February 15, 2006; Page A01

Vice President Cheney's slow and unapologetic public response to the accidental shooting of a 78-year-old Texas lawyer is turning the quail-hunting mishap into a political liability for the Bush administration and is prompting senior White House officials to press Cheney to publicly address the issue as early as today, several prominent Republicans said yesterday.

The Republicans said Cheney should have immediately disclosed the shooting Saturday night to avoid even the suggestion of a coverup and should have offered a public apology for his role in accidentally shooting Harry Whittington, a GOP lawyer from Austin. Whittington was hospitalized Saturday night in Corpus Christi, Tex., and was moved back into the intensive-care unit after suffering an abnormal heart rhythm yesterday morning.

"I cannot believe he does not look back and say this should have been handled differently," said Vin Weber, a former Republican congressman from Minnesota who is close to the White House. Weber said Cheney "made it a much bigger issue than it needed to be."

Marlin Fitzwater, a former Republican White House spokesman, told Editor & Publisher magazine that Cheney "ignored his responsibility to the American people."

The episode is turning into a defining moment for Cheney, a vice president who has operated with enormous clout to shape White House policy while avoiding public scrutiny over the past five years.

President Bush has allowed Cheney to become perhaps the most powerful vice president in history and has provided him with unparalleled autonomy. Early in Bush's first term, Cheney developed the administration's energy policy, largely behind closed doors, and then heavily influenced Iraq policy after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

No evidence has emerged to suggest that the shooting was anything more than a hunting accident, but the spectacle of the vice president wounding a prominent Republican at an exclusive Texas ranch has become the punch line for politicians and comedians alike, and has penetrated the popular culture through late-night television. Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said he referred to Cheney as the "shooter in chief" in a meeting with members of Congress yesterday morning. It has also raised anew criticism of Cheney's operating style.

Cheney has avoided public comment on the shooting other than to release two short statements. One stated that he would be issued a warning for not paying a $7 hunting fee in Texas; the other, released by his office yesterday, detailed when he learned of Whittington's worsening condition and said his "thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Whittington and his family."

Whittington suffered an irregular heartbeat yesterday after a shotgun pellet in his chest traveled to his heart, according to hospital officials in Corpus Christi.

Some current and former White House officials said Cheney's refusal to address the issue or accept any blame has the potential to become a political problem for Bush because it reinforces the image of a secretive and above-the-law White House. Top White House aides are pressuring Cheney to discuss the incident as early as today, according to people familiar with the matter.

Cheney, a former House member, White House chief of staff and corporate executive, is dismissive of the national media and unfazed by criticism and unflattering publicity. Bush picked Cheney as vice president in large part because of his lack of political ambitions and his ability to keep confidences.

"If I read Dick Cheney right, he's got to be just devastated" by the shooting incident, said Robert H. Michel, a former House Republican leader from Illinois and a longtime friend. But Michel said he is mystified that the vice president has not come out in public to express his feelings.

"I guess he's so measured with what he does say personally, but boy, I'd think on something of this nature, you'd let your feelings [be] known," Michel said.

In general, Michel said, Cheney has "enclosed" his personal feelings so tightly to avoid showing them in public. "I guess that discipline upon himself is probably the thing that holds him back." Cheney, he added, is virtually immune to public criticism and image problems: "I don't think he really cares."

Former senator Alan K. Simpson, a fellow Wyoming Republican who hunts with Cheney, said the vice president decided when he was defense secretary during the Persian Gulf War that journalists ask "stupid questions" and distort things, and so he probably sees no need to publicly explain himself.

"Whatever he does, Dick will do it his own way, because whatever he does, it will be the subject of ridicule," Simpson said.

That disregard for public approval, though, can become a problem for the White House, according to veteran presidential aides from both parties. "When the vice president is immune to politics and tone-deaf to politics, as Vice President Cheney has shown himself to be at various stages along the way, then his perspective on this kind of situation isn't as sharp," said Ronald A. Klain, chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore.

Despite a string of political embarrassments linked to Cheney, including not finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the indictment of the vice president's chief of staff in the CIA leak case and now the shooting, he remains a powerful force inside the White House.

A testament to his power is the deference Bush showed Cheney in the handling of last weekend's shooting episode. White House aides said Bush has not pressured Cheney to disclose more details about the shooting or to apologize.

One person close to both men said that Bush is the only person in the White House who could persuade Cheney to change strategy and that even high-level White House aides are reluctant to take on the vice president's office. That left White House press secretary Scott McClellan to be battered by reporters on national television.

"This is one of the challenges of having a high-profile, very powerful vice president inside the White House," said Klain, who added: "The disadvantage is when something negative happens involving the vice president, it is much harder for the White House staff to step in and exert control."

Typically, the relationships between vice presidents and White House staffs are fraught with politics and personal ambitions because nearly every modern vice president has used the position as a launching pad for his own campaign for the top job. With Cheney, Republicans have often boasted that no such dynamic would get in the way because he does not covet the presidency. Cheney has said he will never run for president.

Nonetheless, the relationship has become increasingly complicated. With no political future of his own at stake, Cheney seems indifferent to public perceptions of him. He prefers not to talk with reporters, favoring red-meat speeches before friendly audiences such as last week's Conservative Political Action Committee gathering or call-in chats to conservative radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity.

His approval rating dropped to an all-time low of 36 percent in November, according to a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll, before rebounding to 41 percent last month. Although White House officials disagree, some outside Republicans wonder whether he has lost influence because his aggressive promotion of the Iraq war led to the CIA leak case and the indictment of his chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who resigned after being charged.

Mary Matalin, a Cheney adviser who has helped him deal with the shooting fallout, rejected suggestions that the White House's handling of the incident might result in political damage. "We have a history replete with evidence to the contrary," she said. "Every time we've had predictions of monumental liability, it never occurred."

ChiptBeef · Post by **ChiptBeef** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:24 pm

Remember during the Clinton years (and after) when liberals argued an officials personal life shouldn't be scrutinized by the American people, much less be grounds for impeachment?

Dick Cheney was on private property, on personal time, with personal friends when a personal accident occured. I guess things are different if there is anything other than a "D" behind your name.

Still waiting on the truth from Ted Kennedy about 1969. Maggie Williams, Hillary Clinton's Chief of Staff, took evidence from Vince Foster's office and that truth wasn't known for weeks after the fact. Does anyone know what Maggie is doing now? I bet it involved a promotion.

Post by **spot** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 1:52 pm

ChiptBeef wrote: Dick Cheney was on private property, on personal time, with personal friends when a personal accident occured. I guess things are different if there is anything other than a "D" behind your name.I don't think anyone's suggested that the VP shouldn't have shot the guy. They were, as you say, consenting adults in private. The fuss is over his reticence to discuss it with the media, and his lack of the mandatory expression of regret before the cameras. If the media doesn't get fed, it generates its own nourishment.

StupidCowboyTricks · Post by **StupidCowboyTricks** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 2:18 pm

1 duck and cover

2.With a bullet

http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_ ... ndex.jhtml

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 2:22 pm

'One of the Worst Days of My Life'

Dick Cheney accepts full responsibility for shooting fellow hunter, defends decision on disclosing details

Watch the full interview on 'Special Report with Brit Hume' at 6 p.m. EST

Jives · Post by **Jives** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 2:30 pm

Thanks, LC. Good post.

The poor dude had a heart attack this morning, I hear.

As both LC and I can tell you, coming from a background of gun ownership and use, accidents like this should never happen if you are paying attention and treating a gun with the respect it deserves.

ChiptBeef · Post by **ChiptBeef** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 6:07 pm

Jives wrote: accidents like this should never happen if you are paying attention and treating a gun with the respect it deserves.
Key phrase; "should." But the fact is, firearm accidents happen often, even with those trained in the profession of arms (military and police).

ChiptBeef · Post by **ChiptBeef** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 6:17 pm

spot wrote: The fuss is over his reticence to discuss it with the media, and his lack of the mandatory expression of regret before the cameras. If the media doesn't get fed, it generates its own nourishment.
Let's get real. There's no veil of secrecy. All the facts have been disclosed within days of the accident, including an interview with the Vice President. We're still waiting on the truth about the bridge on Martha's Vineyard back in 1969. It took newspapers weeks, months, and years to uncover the truth in the Vince Foster case, many times only in the face of legal action or under oath.

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a388cc409546e.htm

http://www.forerunner.com/ccbc/X0018_Wh ... ained.html

CountryDweller · Post by **CountryDweller** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 6:54 pm

ChiptBeef wrote: Key phrase; "should." But the fact is, firearm accidents happen often, even with those trained in the profession of arms (military and police).
I agree with this 100%. Accidents do happen.

StupidCowboyTricks · Post by **StupidCowboyTricks** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 7:41 pm

Daou Report

by Peter Daou

A Challenge to Rightwing Bloggers Who Blame the Media for the Cheney Mess: Prove it. One of the great absurdities of our time is the persistent notion that the traditional media skews left. Reporters buy into it, Democratic strategists and leaders buy into it, and rank and file rightwingers live by it. As I've written previously, the right controls all branches of government, talk radio is dominated by rightwing voices, there's a cable channel devoted to the rightwing perspective (and two others racing to do the same), there's a herd of rightwing pundits spewing anti-left venom across editorial pages, radio, television, the internet, etc., Bush's press conferences are cloying jokefests, and "neutral" journalists echo deep-seated pro-GOP myths.

Despite the glaringly obvious fact that major media narratives favor the right, we get bloggers like this, this, and this attacking the "MSM" for hyping the Cheney hunting scandal. Rather than waste cyber-ink explaining why it's a big deal that the Vice President of the United States shot a man in the face and heart and went to bed without letting the American people know about it, let me share a question I asked of a blogger at Real Clear Politics who questioned my premise about the pro-Bush press:

I know the assertion that [supposedly neutral or liberal] reporters favor rightwing narratives blows your mind; after all, the liberal media fiction is hard-wired into the right's political nervous system. But why should I believe your foregone conclusion that these people are left-leaning? Just because you say it with such conviction? Give me concrete examples of bias, not of negative coverage. (How can there not be negative coverage of the mess in Iraq? Or Katrina? Or the Plame outing? Or the NSA fiasco? Or do you want our media to simply fawn over the government? Is anything less than total pro-Bush propaganda considered media bias?)

This ties in - albeit tangentially - to a recent post by Glenn Greenwald about the Bush-cultism masquerading as conservatism on rightwing blogs. Glenn unmasks the ideological lie at the core of rightwing blogging. Similarly, digging beneath the surface of the anti-media stance of these bloggers reveals a philosophically bankrupt and logically fallacious position. If the definition of media bias is anything critical of the administration, then these bloggers must be advocating for a servile, state-run press. Which, ironically, seems to be where we're heading.

Of course, reporters take some comfort in being attacked from both sides, believing that it somehow justifies their actions and nullifies the complaints.

So here's my challenge to rightwing bloggers who assail the media for liberal bias (and to journalists who think it's all a he-said-she-said pissing match): Back up your claims. With concrete examples of bias. And without the tautological crutch that any story critical of the administration is proof of liberal bias.

I'll back up mine:

++ ISSUE: Cheney shooting incident --- NARRATIVE: Bush and Cheney are infallible --- EXAMPLE: ABC News covered the Cheney hunting incident by downplaying the significance of the weapon itself. ABC reported that "the vice president accidentally shot prominent Texas lawyer Harry Whittington with a pellet gun while hunting for quail." Cheney used a shotgun, not a pellet gun. ABC later altered the story to read, "a shotgun loaded with birdshot." (Which is why we maintain screenshots of all print stories we reference.) This exemplifies a common tendency of the media, namely, to play defense for Bush and his team, downplaying negative news or polls.

Reuters framed the hearing exactly the way the administration likes: by making the Dems look weak and ineffectual. The headline says it all: "Democrats frustrated by Gonzales on eavesdropping." A more accurate headline would have been, "Gonzalez Refuses to Answer Questions on Warrantless Spying." (Thanks to reader Dr. Funkenstein for the tip)

++ ISSUE: Majority Leader Boehner --- NARRATIVE: Never allow a criticism of Republicans to go unchallenged --- EXAMPLE: CNN's Jack Cafferty asked viewers if they saw any problem with Majority Leader Boehner renting an apartment from a lobbyist whose clients have business before Boehner. He got over 700 responses, nearly all of which questioned the arrangement. Wolf Blitzer stuck up for Boehner, telling Cafferty, "But you did hear Ed Henry say it is a basement apartment, which is not necessarily all that desirable, and he's paying the fair market value."

++ ISSUE: 2006 elections --- NARRATIVE: Dems have no message --- EXAMPLE: The New York Times ran yet another article (courtesy of Dem-basher Adam Nagourney) that paints congressional Democrats as "heading into this year's elections in a position weaker than they had hoped for." It was, as Josh Marshall put it, "a pretty lazy piece of journalism." What's more, the piece neglected to mention that when asked, Americans say they prefer Dem candidates and the Dem agenda in 2006 by wide margins over the GOP. Kid Oakland elaborates: "I'm sick of articles like this from Adam Nagourney and, to be frank, I'm sick of the New York Times political coverage in general.... Basically, after years of reading this stuff, and hearing similar sentiments echoed on NPR, I think blog critics of mainstream media political coverage are right. There's a persistent media bias that has the genetic code of GOP spin and there's no point in giving it energy or credence. The press is no friend of the Democratic Party and has not been for years."

++ ISSUE: Boehner replaces DeLay --- NARRATIVE: Republicans are tough --- EXAMPLE: A Reuters article on John Boehner titled "New House Republican leader is canny, tough" says the following: "Boehner has shown he can be tough. Last year he approved one of the more controversial provisions of a spending-cut bill: $12.7 billion savings in student-loan programs, raising costs to borrowers, despite student protests." Undermining students is now a measure of toughness?

++ ISSUE: Iraq/Cindy Sheehan --- NARRATIVE: War protesters are unpatriotic --- EXAMPLE: The Associated Press, noting Cindy Sheehan's arrest before the State of the Union, reports, "Sheehan's T-shirt made reference to the number of soldiers killed in Iraq: '2245 Dead. How many more?' ... Young's shirt had just the opposite message: 'Support the Troops -- Defending Our Freedom.'" Several bloggers took the AP to task for this blatant propaganda, including Glenn Greenwald, Jane Hamsher, and Carpetbagger. Greenwald writes, "As we all know (because George Bush said so, followed by his followers, followed by the media), opposition to the war in Iraq is the "opposite message" of supporting the troops and defending our freedoms. That's a totally appropriate premise on which to base a news article. A mini blogosphere firestorm erupted over this, and I have no doubt that the e-mail inbox of the AP reporter (Laurie Kellman) was stuffed with objections. As Jane Hamsher reports, that sentence was thereafter altered to a more neutral formulation."

++ ISSUE: The federal budget --- NARRATIVE: Bush is fiscally responsible, the deficit is someone else's fault --- EXAMPLE: This New York Times report on budget cuts to Medicaid, welfare, child support and student lending, offers a decidedly pro-Bush spin: "The vote helped President Bush deliver on his promise to rein in federal spending." In reality, Bush has boosted federal spending more than any president since LBJ.

++ ISSUE: Free Speech --- NARRATIVE: War protesters are law-breaking extremists --- EXAMPLE: After Cindy Sheehan's arrest, major media outlets got several elements of the story completely wrong, including the notion that Sheehan unfurled an anti-war banner (reported falsely on CNN) and that Sheehan's T-shirt was illegal. Somehow, one knowledgeable blogger managed to do what the major outlets couldn't, namely, get the facts straight.

++ ISSUE: SOTU/Energy policy --- NARRATIVE: Bush has a credible policy agenda --- EXAMPLE: On ABC's Good Morning America, Charles Gibson embraced the administration's spin and said, "f there was anything new in the [State of the Union], it was his call for an end to America's addiction with foreign oil, a calling for a reduction on America's dependence on Middle Eastern oil of 75 percent in 20 years." The truth is, there's nothing new in Bush's proposal except slightly different rhetoric.

++ ISSUE: SOTU --- NARRATIVE: Dems are whiners --- EXAMPLE: CNN's Jeff Greenfield chided Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) on the air for issuing a rebuttal to Bush's SOTU before it was delivered, telling viewers, "There wasn't a chance in the world that this congressperson had seen the speech." He failed to note that the White House made excerpts of the speech available well before it was delivered, which is why Wexler's statement was fully justified.

++ ISSUE: State of the Union --- NARRATIVE: Bush firm despite "challenges"/Dems are whiners --- EXAMPLE: The Associated Press hands us a quintessential example of pro-Bush and anti-Dem narratives. The headline reads, "Bush Confident Despite Mounting Challenges," and the lead paragraph captures the White House talking points practically to the letter: "President Bush, opening the fall campaign season, is painting Democrats as defeatist for criticizing his march to war in Iraq and protectionist for questioning new trade deals and tax-cut extensions. Grumbling Democrats looking for advantage in Bush's weak poll numbers and burgeoning scandals in GOP congressional ranks refused to cede center stage as the president laid out his 2006 priorities Tuesday night in his fifth State of the Union address." [Update: The AP has already changed the headline and portions of the text. We have a screenshot of the original on file.]

++ ISSUE: State of the Union--- NARRATIVE: Bush strong, Dems weak, irrational --- EXAMPLE: Immediately following Bush's State of the Union speech, MSNBC's Chris Matthews and his guests delivered the usual Bush-propping and Democrat-bashing themes. Matthews said Bush was "at the top of his game," and that he delivered "a very powerful speech." He added that Democrats are "afraid to take on the president." Matthews' guest, Newsweek's John Meacham, described Bush as "unusually compassionate," and "just as fluid on domestic and foreign issues." Meacham criticized the left for an "irrational hatred of Bush." Matthews also repeated Bush talking points on the warrantless domestic spying scandal.

++ ISSUE: SOTU/Energy policy --- NARRATIVE: Bush has a credible policy agenda --- EXAMPLE: Several major dailies feature headlines that mischaracterize Bush's discussion of energy policy in the SOTU. The New York Times headline said, "Bush, Resetting Agenda, Says U.S. Must Cut Reliance on Oil." The Los Angeles Times headline said, "Bush Calls for Cuts in Oil Reliance." Neither acknowledges just how narrow the Bush plan really is.

++ ISSUE: State of the Union --- NARRATIVE: Bush is firm --- EXAMPLE: MSNBC started their 11am (eastern) hour with "Bush standing firm," one of the most ubiquitous pro-Bush narratives of the past half-decade. To understand why this is favorable to Bush, imagine what his poll numbers would look like if the word 'stubborn' had replaced 'firm' in all those reports.

++ ISSUE: State of the Union --- NARRATIVE: Of course we're balanced, who you gonna believe, us or your lying eyes? --- EXAMPLE: CNN's coverage of the SOTU featured one voice from the left (Paul Begala) and three from the right (Bill Bennett, Victoria Clarke, and J.C. Watts). The network later added Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, but the right still outnumbered the left when offering commentary on the president.

++ ISSUE: State of the Union --- NARRATIVE: Democrats weak on national security, have no message --- EXAMPLE: CNN's coverage of the SOTU also featured Paula Zahn reading from the GOP script, claiming that "a lot of people out there" are saying that "if you vote for a Democrat, that basically you want to be bombed." Zahn also purported to identify a "perception" that Democrats are "reactive, not proactive, that they have no agenda of their own, and ... that basically the only thing they're good at is blasting the president."

++ ISSUE:Warrantless spying --- NARRATIVE: Terrorism helps Bush --- EXAMPLE: Rather than deal with the warrantless domestic spying scandal with the gravity it deserves, MSNBC's Chris Matthews tells his viewers that Bush is "turning the NSA surveillance question into a winner politically."++ ISSUE: Bush approval ratings --- NARRATIVE: Americans trust Bush --- EXAMPLE: Rather than acknowledging the fact that Bush's approval rating is at its lowest level ever in the LA Times poll, the LA Times runs the headline, "Bush's Ratings Sink, but Trust Remains." Similarly, though the latest Washington Post poll shows Dems enjoying big leads over Bush on the direction of the country, the WaPo goes with this headline: "Bush's Midterm Challenge: Rebuilding Public Support May Bolster GOP Candidates."

++ ISSUE: Tim Russert/ MTP --- NARRATIVE: Democrats guilty by association --- EXAMPLE: Last week, Meet the Press's Tim Russert inexplicably asked Sen. Barack Obama (D) to respond to controversial remarks made by Harry Belafonte. Yesterday, just two days after Ann Coulter made headlines by calling for the assassination of Justice John Paul Stevens, Russert neglected to raise the issue in his interview with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R).

++ ISSUE: Abramoff scandal --- NARRATIVE: Everybody does it/Democrats are just as bad as Republicans --- EXAMPLE: A number of journalists, ranging from The Washington Post's ombudsman to NBC's Katie Couric, have declared that disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff gave money to both parties. Paul Krugman notes today that there's nothing bipartisan about the Abramoff scandal, which is all about the use and abuse of Republican connections. "[T]he reluctance of some journalists to report facts that, in this case, happen to have an anti-Republican agenda is a serious matter. It's not a stretch to say that these journalists are acting as enablers for the rampant corruption that has emerged in Washington over the last decade."

Not to mention this, this, this, and of course this.

ChiptBeef · Post by **ChiptBeef** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 11:59 pm

CountryDweller wrote: I agree with this 100%. Accidents do happen.
Thanks for the agreement. Clearly, this accident was properly reported when it happened, since the accident victim got immediate medical attention and a witness made an immediate report to local authorities. The mainstream media is just upset because they didn't get "the scoop."

Post #41 contains many words, but is missing a source link. That post came from http://daoureport.salon.com. Peter Daou worked "for the Kerry-Edwards campaign" in 2004. http://www.salon.com/press/fact/index.html

Who else posts for Salon.com? Joe Conason, author of Big Lies: The Right-wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth.

Is there a liberal media bias? Is a frogs backside watertight?

TruthSeekerToo · Post by **TruthSeekerToo** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 8:51 am

There's plenty of material and studies that prove a liberal media bias.

http://www.mediaresearch.org/

http://www.thatliberalmedia.com/

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/P ... 3lkblo.asp

StupidCowboyTricks · Post by **StupidCowboyTricks** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 11:47 am

:-2

StupidCowboyTricks · Post by **StupidCowboyTricks** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 3:48 pm

SnoozeControl wrote: :-6

LMAO!:wah:

Lil~Basco · Post by **Lil~Basco** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 5:08 pm

I wonder if Cheney will have his hunting license revoked for this accidental shooting?

BTS · Post by **BTS** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 6:57 pm

SnoozeControl wrote: Besides, he's a Dick.
And u r a ?

StupidCowboyTricks · Post by **StupidCowboyTricks** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 7:09 pm

Check out this (28 gauge) 30 inch target at 30 yards w/IC choke #9 shot (thats about 57% of the shot, 200 or so pellets)............

It would seem that Cheney scored a "DIRECT HIT" on the old guy.........

I dont have the stats on the velocity at 30 yards but the initial fps is around 1200 or so (BB Gun speed).:-3