Bush Cassidy and the Haliburton Kid
(13.02.2006)

Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot his shooting companion, Harry Whittington, 78, whilst on a hunting trip in Texas. The victim was listed in stable condition after being brought in to Christus Spohn Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas saturday night.

Most reports are questioning whether this incident would have been reported to the public, if it hadn't been for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, who first published this story.

A reporter working for the Caller-Times was contacted by the owner of the ranch Cheney was using and gave details of the incident.

Whilst trying to shoot a bird, Cheney swung around and fired, hitting Harry Whittington in the right side of his face, his shoulder, his chest and along the rib cage area with pellets.

Katharine Armstrong, whose family owns the ranch, was a member of the hunting party and witnessed the accident. She said Cheney, an experienced hunter, did not realize Whittington had rejoined the group without announcing himself, which is proper protocol among hunters. She described Cheney as "an excellent, conscientious shot." . Unfortunately, it seems his reactions were too slow to have avoided pulling the trigger when he saw Whittington in his sights and maybe he should consider another sport, or shoot on his own.

Dick Cheney, who turned 65 a couple of weeks ago, is certainly not the oldest shooter that goes hunting and there are many very capable hunters much older. However, a safe shooter is perhaps more important than an accurate one, and if you really must shoot birds that go behind you, you should be certain that your group is not in that position, or only aim at birds higher in the air.

To try and blame his shooting companion for not telling him where he was is a poor excuse and an attempt to pass the buck (as usual). Most hunters usually aim at targets that are more directly ahead of them, as shooting parties can be quite large and to fire at any target to your side (and behind you) is very risky indeed.

Cheney should lose his gun licence for dangerous shooting, but we doubt if this will happen. The best we can hope for is that no one else will want to go hunting with him again, as he is clearly not a safe shooter to be with.

Perhaps Cheney can find something better to do with his time in the future? Surely Cheney and Bush are involved in enough killing already, isn't more than 2,000 dead US troops sufficient to satisfy their sadistic fascination with death?

Do you have a comment to make on this article or other topics? Visit our Forum and post your opinion now.

News Feed