Reply #3: UPDATED with berni_mccoy's TX penal code find - it was a felony

[Nothing Without Hope]

A cartoon to start this off:

DU threads on Cheney shooting - threads on videos are at the end:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2103377
thread title (2-12-06 LBN): Cheney Accidentally Shoots Fellow Hunter
Comment/excerpt: “Harry Whittington, 78, was "alert and doing fine" after Cheney sprayed Whittington with shotgun pellets on Saturday at the Armstrong Ranch in south Texas, said property owner Katharine Armstrong. Armstrong said Cheney turned to shoot a bird and accidentally hit Whittington. She said Whittington was taken to Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital by ambulance.”

Cheney’s “hunting” is bizarre anyway:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x395842
thread title (2-0-06 GD): There's something wrong w/ Cheney -- killed 70 TAME birds in one trip
Comment/excerpt: The poster notes “In one incident that received some press coverage, Cheney and his pals had 500 farm raised pheasants -- that is, birds that had lost their fear of people -- released before them. The party killed 417 birds in one day, with Cheney bagging 70 of the tamed animals himself. This is not hunting. This is slaughter. This represents the same mental illness that caused W to kill small animals as a child. Isn't wanton killing of small animals by children a sign of mental illness and a marker for violent criminal behavior in the adult?”

Tom Lehrer wrote a song about it years ago – many stanzas, all apropos:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x397685
thread title (2-12-06 GD): Dedicated to dead eye Dick: Tom Lehrer's "Hunting Song"
Comment/excerpt: “I always will remember,
'Twas a year ago November,
I went out to hunt some deer
On a morning bright and clear.
I went and shot the maximum the game laws would allow:
Two game wardens, seven hunters, and a cow.”

Humane Society President’s statement:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2104268
thread title (2-12-06 LBN): Humane Society statement on Cheney's accident

Interesting points on corporate media Fuddgate spin in this thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x400204
thread title (2-13-06 GD): A few things I've noticed about the shooting accident
Comment/excerpt: “First was the expected minimization of the incident and the downplaying of the wounds of a man who's still in intensive care. Most of these comments are from the ranch owner Katharine Armstrong, daughter of a former Halliburton director and professional Republican Pioneer bootlicker. … The true scope of Wittinton's injury is indicated in this Dallas Morning News article:
‘A friend who has talked to family members said that Mr. Whittington was hit by about 50 birdshot pellets. He underwent surgery Sunday morning to remove some of the pellets, and doctors have told his family that the shot apparently did not damage any major organs.’”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2106728
thread title (2-13-06 GD): Cheney's companion at fault in shooting, White House says
Comment/excerpt: “White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan tried to absolve Cheney of blame for shooting wealthy Austin lawyer Harry Whittington, saying that hunting ‘protocol was not followed by Mr. Whittington when it came to notifying others that he was there. And so, you know, unfortunately, these types of hunting accidents happen from time to time.’ “

This one has helpful facts on gun safety and how Cheney ignored them:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x399869
thread title (2-13-06 GD): THINK FIRST, SHOOT SECOND. That guy took a full blast to the face. Period

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x399673
thread title (2-12-06 GD): Texas shooting: was Cheney drunk?
Comment/excerpt: Makes the point that there is NO EXCUSE for what happened: “Confirming one's target (which includes making certain no one is inadvertently down range) is one of the foremost rules of shooting and hunting: the very reason that in most states, accidentally shooting another human is not only felony criminal negligence (at the very least), but grounds for automatic lifetime revocation of hunting privileges.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x410749
thread title (2-13-06 GD): This gets better - Cheney doesnt even HAVE the proper hunting license!
Comment/excerpt: From CNN: “While the state Parks and Wildlife Department issued Cheney a warning for not possessing a required stamp on his hunting license, the sheriff's department said there was ‘no alcohol or misconduct involved in the incident.’ “

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x407114
thread title (2-13-06 GD): Smoking Gun has First Cheney Accident Report
Comment/excerpt: So the cover was light and Whittington was wearing “blaze orange” cap and vest – no wonder Cheney mistook him for a quail. Also says no alcohol was involved – but how could they know? Cheney was cited for not having the proper hunting stamp.

Caught off-camera: NBC WH correspondent furious about hushup of shooting:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x403709
thread title (2-13-06 GD): WOW! David Gregory v. McClellan go at it off camera. . .Tribune reports!
Comment/excerpt: “Why was the White House relying on a Texas rancher to get the word of Cheney's hunting accident out over the weekend, asked Gregory, accusing McClellan of ‘ducking and weaving.’ … ‘You don't have to yell,’ McClellan said. ‘I will yell,'' said Gregory, pointing a finger at McCellan at his dais. "If you want to use that podium to try to take shots at me personally, which I don’t appreciate, then I will raise my voice, because that’s wrong.’ “

All the victim’s fault, eh?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x408714
thread title (2-13-06 GD): "HUNTER SENTENCED TO ROAD WORK FOR ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING"
Comment/excerpt: Oregon instead of Texas, but still shows how false the spin has been. “01/16/2004 -Associated Press - A hunter who critically wounded another hunter in November after mistaking him for a deer was sentenced to 20 days on the sheriff's road crew.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x403640
thread title (2-13-06 GD): The guy Cheney shot was involved in Funeralgate (gravedumping by Bush pal)
Comment/excerpt: “In 1999, Bush named Austin lawyer Harry Whittington (shot this weekend by Dick Cheney) to be the new director of Texas State Funeral Commission after a major shakeup in which the former director, Eliza May, was fired while investigating accusations of grave-dumping by SCI, the largest funeral-home operator in the world, headed by Robert Waltrip, a longtime Bush friend and major campaign contributor.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x409282
thread title (2-13-06 GD): Character Issues & Collateral Damage
Comment/excerpt: Thoughtful H2O Man post on Whittington’s shooting by Cheney. Part of it: “Dick and friends tried to make it sound like it was the victim's fault. They said he didn't let the VP know he was coming up behind him. Please. The guy had an orange jacket. Then the story became that the sun was in Dick's eyes. You don't shoot anything (or anyone) you can't identify. But Cheney will blame his friend for his error. His friend becomes collateral damage, less important than poor Dick's reputation. These are serious character issues.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x411602
thread title (2-14-06 GD): For the record "Peppering"
Comment/excerpt: “Hunters call being "peppered" what happens when a guy a hundred yards away from you shoots at a bird flying up high and the shot after reaching its apogee, falls back to earth, under the power of gravity. The shot has no power behind it, and while it stings a little, it is harmless. It is like a baseball coming back to hit you in the head in the outfield, a far cry from a pitcher getting smacked by a line drive. Cheney fucking shot the guy at 30 paces, well within the killing range of a shotgun. This aint gettin "peppered" folks, it's called getting ‘BLOWN AWAY!’ “

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x410189
thread title (2-13-06 GD): How it happened?
Comment/excerpt: An amazing mathematical. analysis of guns, ammunition, logistics that concludes the WH version of events is distorted/untrue. Excerpt: “Short version: No matter how you slice it, Dick almost blew this guy’s head off. N.B. I wouldn’t be surprised if, since the target is quite old (esp. to be running around hunting), he has other health problems which might be exacerbated by this, leading to his demise. Dick may join Aaron Burr in the Killer-VP category, yet. Long version: I conclude the target was within 10 or 15 yards, at most, of Dick and possibly as close as 5 yards. My reasons for saying this are algebraic….”

thread title (2-14-06 GD): CNN BREAKING: Whittington back in ICU
Comment/excerpt: Only the announcement in the OP, but much more added as it was reported in the replies. Apparently the birdshot went much deeper than the WH claimed, and some made its way to his HEART. Makes it clearer why he was evacuated to ICU from a helicopter. Also a strange comment about the WH-associated doctor(s) confer with the hospital – is this for PR? Hard to imagine a medical reason for it. They claim that they can’t do surgery to remove the pellet(s) because “they don’t know where it is.” That sounds unlikely.
Links to this story update in replies in this thread:
Yahoo News: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060214/ap_on_re_us/cheney_whittington
CNN online: http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/14/cheney/index.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2108432
thread title (2-14-06 LBN): BREAKING: Whittington suffers heart attack!
Comment/excerpt: “BREAKING NEWS Man shot and wounded by Vice President Cheney suffers ‘minor heart attack’ after birdshot becomes lodged in his heart, hospital spokesman says.” Links given in replies:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/14/cheney/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11340558

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x414197
thread title (2-14-06 GD): The Reason For the Cheney Coverup: He's Guilty of a FELONY under TX Law!
Comment/excerpt: berni_mccoy cites the Texas penal code.

VIDEO clips related to Cheney shooting incident (from liveoaktx at Can-o-Fun):

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x408662
thread title (2-13-06 GD): VIDEO-Cheney Shooting with White House clips as handled by KO
Comment/excerpt: KO on Fuddgate, especially the delay in the reporting of it. McClellan ducking the questions of frustrated, angry WH reporters who want to know why the reporting was delayed 22 hours and came through a private citizen (the ranch owner). Someone also made the point that the Corpus Christi paper that broke the story is an AP paper and wanted to know why AP didn't pick it up for national dissemination

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x410214
thread title (2-13-06 GD): VIDEO- The Daily Show-Cheney ....; SHOT
Comment/excerpt: Possibly the funniest Jon Stewart show EVER. And absolutely devastating to the WH.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x410931
thread title (2-14-06 GD): VIDEO- Letterman Jokes about Cheney
Comment/excerpt: A two-parter Can-o-Fun set. Not as killingly funny or bitingly incisive as the Jon Stewart piece, but a LOT of time was spent on it and the WH was not given much respect.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x411333
thread title (2-14-06 GD): VIDEO- Craig Ferguson on Cheney-COMEDY
Comment/excerpt: Very funny, has some real zingers. One of them: “Finally there’s a secret that Dick Cheney’s office can keep..”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x411916
thread title (2-14-06 GD): Thread COMPILATION on Cheney shooting/Fuddgate - including VIDEOS: