If in Doubt, Never Take a Shot

Here's the photo all over the news today, after the Vice President shot Mr. Whittington, the funeral business lobbyist and fellow hunter, by accident. But it's certainly a curious story.The news was learned 18 hours after the shooting when the owner of the ranch, a Mrs. Armstrong,called her friendly local reporter. 18 hours ! What is wrong with this guy ?Many on the web wonder if this incident would have been reported at all. Mr. Cheney likes to keep a secret, except when he thinks he can get some political mileage out of one like the outing of Valerie Plame. Fortunately, Dick Cheney didn't shoot the flintlock pictured above or Mr. Whittington would assuredly be dead.

Daily Kos has described this hunt in the sordid terms it deserves. Apparently, the pheasants Cheney and 10 others hunted were raised in cages: then 500 were released on the morning of the hunt.Kos says that Cheney shot 70 birds himself. That sounds like a lot of shooting going on, but no real hunting. Correction: this refers to a hunt last year, not this weeks' quail hunt.