Diversion from the Plame case. Without a doubt. Or from something else that's about to jump up.

Definately. Good call, Steve. Weapons of mass distraction.

Lugbolt and Vaughn, thanks...I think that there are probably only three of us who agree....best, steve clemons

I agree. This story is distracting from the real issues. It is being used by the media as the latest "girl missing in Aruba". The VP may be an asshole, may be a reckless hunter – whatever – but it was still an accident.

If it wasn't an accident, then we may as well get started on theories as to why the VP wanted to kill Whittington. Otherwise, it was an accident, it's been reported, end-of-story.

Maybe next time Cheney says somebody is "fair game" people will pay more attention.

Thank you, Steve. The V.P. et al. have been shooting holes in the Constitution, which certainly deserves more news than him, albeit negligently(?) shooting holes in a hunting pal. Query: Is 78-year old Whittington going to file a Medicare claim regarding his injury?

I do think that the participation in a canned hunt where 500 captivity-raised pheasants were the "game" being hunted gives insight into Cheney. He doesn't really hunt, he only puts on a show of it. Having tame birds flushed up into one's line of fire doesn't make them a hunter, it just shows them to be a wimp. I can't imagine that the average person in Wyoming would think much of this kind of "hunting."

While everyone else is diverted and distracted by the shiny duck hunting story, I got a kick out of this comic/tragic Monty Python image evoked by David Corn in his post today regarding No Retreat, No Surrender, No Recognition of Reality and the Iraq War.

Short excerpt:
"That seems to be the principle among Iraq war-backers--in and out of the Bush administration--who refuse to acknowledge what most Americans appear to believe these days: that Bush purposefully guided the nation to war with misrepresenting and exaggerating the intelligence regarding Saddam Hussein's WMD programs and ties to al Qaeda. It's sort of like the Black Knight of Monty Python and the Holy Grail who won't concede that his limbs have been cut off and insists he still can whip his opponent."

This story and your President claiming uh that an attack on a building - its huge and somewhere in LA - was prevented, might have something to do with the article in Foreign Affairs by Mr. Pillar.

Mr. Pillar isn't a nobody. His analysis has come at a critical time for a White House to which everything has been political rather than a mix of both politics and good governance.

The White House has lost leverage over domestic poltics in the US, but does the White House still have enough power to launch an attack on Iran? Not because it's wise, just to muddle from crisis to crisis.

I just think it takes something this sensational to get people's attention these days. Or jumping on Oprah's couch.

Cheney is a crook no matter how you post it...

'tis too bad...

This just seems like one more ass-hat misadventure that got covered up. Rove is managing the fall out within 90 minutes, but police, showing up to investigate, are turned away until 8:00 AM the next morning...

Was Cheney drinking?

We are all left in the lurch. They got away with another one. Or they want us to talk about it, anyway...

But c'mon. I mean, he either is or isn't above the law. Anyone else would've had to talk to the cops immediately... been breathalyzed, etc...

OK. You can say we all need to be grown-ups about this - the powerful aren't treated the same as the rest of us are. Digby's got your answer to that. Remember Vince Foster?

Good call Steve

This story is on the same level as the Wayne Gretzky one; old, tired and beat to death

In other words, a distraction from reality

"For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill" - Sun Tzu

99.9% of Americans don't have the foggiest idea who Paul Pillar is or what he's written.

Apparently it's not uncommon to have hunting accidents where the shooter and victim are in the same hunting party. Here is the info for just one state, Wisconsin, for 2005. Look how many of the accidents involve people hunting together. Pretty amazing.

http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/es/enforcement/safety/huntstats.htm

Distraction...yeah.
Big deal...no (except for the close-to-cover-up).

But so was Monica...and let's face it...this is the kind of stuff that the non-political crowd digs.

We live in a time when multiple violations of the constitution, countless lies (especially by Dick), and the needless deaths of thousands result in absolutely nothing...whereas something stupid like this just might end up bringing down a VP.

Yeah. Don't forget Monica.

Unless the VP had been drinking. Like the story of Bush choking on his pretzel to hide his heart ailment.

My personal theory is that Cheney suffered a post-traumatic stress disorder flashback from the guy who had to go to Vietnam in his place.

It's actually kind of funny (unless you were the victim of course). The idea of the VP shooting a buddy in a hunting accident. Monica was funny, come on, messing around with a cheap hussy in the Oval Office right under your low-sense-of-humor wife's nose?

Steve, ---- Iran is next on the adminstrations hit-list. This shooting incident is a diversion from all the plans to attack Iran. The administration 'orchestrated' the untenable situation in Iran resulting in the UN inspectors leaving Iran. eeeeerrrrrr does this sound familiar?

It is also a diversion from the real story about the incompetence of wiretapping. Several weeks ago, the Baltimore Sun ran a big story about a multi Billion dollar project at the NSA that hasn't produced anything other than tons of papers and reports.

I don't know that Iran is on any hit list but I'm not sure that we can afford to allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. How do we stop it?

Doesn't this bring focus and attention to Cheney? Isn't this an opportunity to AMPLIFY the other issues?

What Dems never get is that politics is not facts, but emotion. A story like this fastens in the public mind better than a thousand investigations and sunk documents. The trick is to tie this in with some kind of rationalization for why it matters, in the way the media rationalized running with what Gore was wearing because it said something about his judgement.

Maybe Defib shot Whittington deliberately because he knew it would cause a needed distraction from his other problems. Hey, it could happen.

I'm not sure if people are going to be distracted anymore. The VPOTUS has to answer for what happened to Valerie Plame, but there's something else.

If Cheney showed an incredible lack of judgment not just in the shooting but also failing to spend a measly seven bucks on a tag (something he could easily afford to do on a salary of $198,000 + as well as his deferred compensation from Halliburton, another $170,000 +, not to mention stock options) ... where else has he shown total unclarity?

If ever there was a time for the Democrats to start pouncing day after day until November, it is now.

"hunting accidents are nothing to get excited about, plame was a desk jockey.. what, Iran?"
We get your message, Avaroo.
I hope you're getting paid decently to get the message out.

"What Dems never get is that politics is not facts, but emotion."

probably very true

"A story like this fastens in the public mind better than a thousand investigations and sunk documents. The trick is to tie this in with some kind of rationalization for why it matters"

To do this, dems would have to make the case that this was somehow something more than an accident. And I don't know that thatcan be done.

"in the way the media rationalized running with what Gore was wearing because it said something about his judgement."

that was quite silly.

Avaroo,
There are a thousand narrative besides the Vince Foster route. How about the unwillingness to take responsibility for their mistakes? The ineptness? It's about thinking he's above the law, his crassness in blaming the victim, not to mention - it's the coverup!

It doesn't have to be murder. Dukakis's goofy grin on a tankride sealed his fate. Bush's fascination with a grocery store scanner sealed his.

These days, it's all who invented the Internet, Botox and Love Canal - and accidentally shooting a guy?

The Vince Foster route?

No administration ever takes responsibility for any mistakes. Or ineptness. Seriously, can you think of ANY administration that ever has? That's just the nature of politics.

I cannot see any way that this particular incident proves that Cheney thinks he has a pass to shoot people on hunting trips.

Yeah, Dukakis was done after the tank ride. With Bush I think it was the checking his watch during a debate, rather than the grocery store.

I'm with Steve, I think this particular hunting incident is a non-issue. Cheney isn't going to run for anything.

Avaroo,
You are distorting what I am saying. Dukakis didn't murder people on the tank, but the way he rode the tank said something to people that a thousand policy paper abstracts and debates about the legality of wiretaps never will. Dukakis's smile said, "I'm completely out of my comfort zone." Bush running things through a scanner crystallized in people's minds what policy wonks wanted to say: He's out of touch.

You know what people talk about around water coolers? Shooting somebody. "Did you hear? The Vice President shot someone." All the cover up just adds to the allure. In able hands, shooting someone is a tank ride, a grocery photo-op and Love Canal, combined.

Blaming the victim for getting shot says more about Cheney than hiding documents ever could. We need to stop thinking like academics and start thinking like poets.

If this is a purposeful distraction, as opposed to making "public relations lemonade" out of an accidental distraction, that's pretty deep in conspiracy-theory land. I don't say it's impossible, but I would like to say that if this is the case the Bush/Cheney crime family must be in pretty dire straits. To arrange a purposeful hunting accident -- with the victim Bush's enforcer on the Texas Funeral Commission? How could they be sure our triger-happy boozehound VP could shoot well enough to keep it short of a fatality?

If it is a case of making public relations lemonade out of an accidental distraction -- on the weekend Big Dick is credibly accused of a near-treasonous impeachable offense -- well doesn't that sound like a task just made for the attentions of Karl Rove's PR juggernaut?

It all reinforces Memekiller's point that we need to start thinking, and speaking, like poets. Hopefully this incident is already deep in the collective subconscious.

Would you feel the same way if this turns out to be the real scenario?

Cheney hears something behind him and assumes it's a quail. He turns around, without looking, and shoots Whittington in the face from 30 ft, not 30 yds. Due to the potential seriousness of the injury, the White House is informed of the shooting but not who the shooter was until it looks like the victim will survive. (I won't even speculate on whether our US ambassador to Switzerland or Ms. Armstrong would have been asked to take the blame had Mr. Whittington died.)

As more and more experienced hunters are weighing in on the Armstrong account, it is starting to appear that the few facts we were given are unlikely to be true.
- The 30 yds doesn't hold up when the shot pattern was concentrated from the lower jaw to the upper chest, when the 10 embedded pellets are so deep that they won't be removed, and when poor 78 yr old Mr. Whittington was literally knocked down by the blast. Also, the latest account of Mr. Whittington's health from the hospital includes the statement that he will remain in the hospital for at LEAST several more days.
-The following a bird that rose up in front of him also doesn't make sense to hunters who know quail behavior and hunting. Cheney turned around and shot what was in back of him. You can't keep a rapidly travelling bird in your gun site while turning 180 degrees.

Whatever the details, it was clearly an accident. But there are accidents and then there are really stupid, ultra-irresponsible accidents. There are people who are sorry, admit their mistakes and strive for better in the future. And, then there are people who blame the victim, distort the facts, convince underlings and others to lie and cover for them, and never become better people. Rather, the more they get away with, and are not to account for, the more they believe they can get away with anything.

Perhaps worry about these "vital matters" was what caused the accident; anyone so preoccupied should not be using a gun at all.

I don't know that Iran is on any hit list but I'm not sure that we can afford to allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. How do we stop it?
---- Avaroo

Of course u don't know that Iran is on the hit list!!! The administration statements that are hitting the media are "overshadowed" by a plethora of other stories/disclosures. Doesn't Rummy's statements about "how threateneing" Iran is sound very familiar? Doesn't it sound like the administration song on Iraq--- putting "FEAR" in the hearts of American. Their rhetoric itself is setting up the US as "the" only one who must take up this challenge.

U ask, how do we stop it? For starters, LEARN from the mistake of invading Iraq. The kind of fear-tactics used by the administration (see, it's even gotten u scared in the phrasing of your question)can ONLY lead to use of military force. Recall, dubbya proclaimed himself as "the WAR president"??? yeah.... he doesn't bring that up anymore because he's acting like it. To be a WAR president, that means he is defined by WAR. His purpose in life and reason to get up in the morning is to wage WAR.

It does not appear this administration has any other tool in their tool-box other than WAR. It is their first and only tool of choice. They act and talk as if they are ignorant of
1. treating people with respect and dignity;
2. how to truely listen and understand when others talk;
3. how to search for win-win solutions.

Another serious proble with all this is that the White House press corps asked harder questions, more follow-ups, and pressed harder on this accident than they ever do on the really important issues.

It is a non-story, UNLESS the VP was as loaded as his shotgun.
One must ask, why the long delay.

Just wondering--would Cheney's blood alcohol level show up 24 hours later?? I think not--and suspect it could be the real reason for the delayed announcement. Lots of drinking on those "gentleman hunts".
Yes, I agree that this is a convenient distraction from far more grave issues, but it fits so well into the patterns of cover-up when convenient, disregard for rules and regs--and opinions-- they don't like, and shooting whether the target is appropriate or not.
I am retired from a position where I spent years observing this administration's actions in the field of education. Behavior patterns remain constant, no matter the circumstance.

Too bad. I like it.

I would like to hear the White House tape in which Cheney telling this acquaintance that national security will require him to bend over and take a few bird shot in the behind.

I completely disagree, at least for now. There is a major question hanging out there that needs to be answered. Was Cheney drinking? Was his judgement impaired? Is no one suspcious that there is a hunting accident where a hunter accidentally shoots someone and there is no bloodtest to determine if the person had ingested any drugs or alcohol? Was there a test administered or was a sufficient amount of time allowed to elapse so that Cheny's blood alcohol level could return to normal? This is no minor thing. If Cheney had been drinking it would not only be a felony it would without a doubt mean his immediate resignation. These questions have to be asked. There are reasons why there was such a delay before informing the press. How long was the delay before Cheney was interviewed by the Sheriff? If Cheney was in fact given a blood test we need to know the results. If he wasnt we need to know why he wasnt.And if Texas law doesnt require such a test (which in and of itself would be amazing) the question of whether Cheney had been drinking should still be pursued.

Welllll, I'd agree with you, but:

There are only a few reasons this story didn't come out on time, none of them good. The question in my mind is was Cheney drinking at the time? (Cheney has been picked up twice for DUI.) That would make this a criminal matter.

>That's tax evasion isn't it?

Just remember, Al Capone never went to jail for bludgeoning a guy with a baseball bat or ordering any hits. No, it was tax evasion that put him behind bars.

First, the Cheney shooting is vivid, memorable, and -- assuming no lasting damage to Mr. Whittington -- funny as hell. Of course it was an accident. But the incident can be used to hammer home several important themes about Cheney and the admin that are out there already:

- They think they're above the law. If you shot a hunting buddy, would the police wait on your convenience to interview you? I think not.

- They never take responsibility for their actions. From the get-go, Mrs. Armstrong, Mary Matalin, and others were blaming Whittington for getting himself shot. They also minimized his injuries, but he's spending a third day in ICU.

- They act as if they have something to hide. Because they do. The inexcusable delay in notifying the press, the highly suspicious delay before Cheney was to be interviewed (inexplicably agreed to by the police, at least some of them; one deputy doing his job didn't get the memo, showed up and was turned away).

It's pretty clear how those same three themes come into play on Cheney's real crimes of leaking classified information for political gain (above the law), letting underlings like Libby take the blame (not taking responsibility), and organizing the get-Wilson attack to cover up the lies that led to the war (something to hide).

There are dozens of other examples with Cheney; these just sprang to mind. If Dems can't use this, I give up. I just give up.

Given the gift of this incident and the way the White House has handled it, Steve's response is the exact opposite of what's needed -- focusing on some bitty little $7 fee instead of the big criminal themes, paranoid "they planned it as a distraction" instead of the human, immediately grasped reality of it being a screw-up compounded by arrogance, lies, and cover-up.

I can't imagine a response more likely to elicit sympathy for Cheney.

Whereas accepting the reality of it being an accident, and focusing on the parallels between the way the WH dealt with it and the way they've dealt with other, more serious disasters, puts the focus where it belongs and generates appropriate scorn for the cowardly criminals now in power.

I think the macho, 'we'll protect you', image of the admin/republican party is vulnerable now with the people for whom this image is appealing. First, the NRA, hunters, law enforcement and military personnel, and others who handle guns regularly know how cowardly and ridiculous it is to blame the victim, especially if the victim is some courtly 78 yr old. (Wouldn't you be extra careful hunting with someone who is almost 80?).

In addition, the Elmer Fudd comparisons, the stories about him 'car hunting', visiting exclusive places that are stocked before his arrival, and using a hugely expensive Italian shotgun help form a portrait of Cheney that is not going to be favorable to the meat and potatos red state voters.

Like it or not, it tends to be "distraction" stories like this from which many voters form opinions. The way things are presently, if handled properly, this story could be manna from heaven for dem political operatives. However, I can understand why a serious policy person like Steve would not care to spend time on it.

Im glad to see that Lawrence O'Donnell and the LA Times have picked up on the possibility that Cheney was drunk, though I think its more than possible, its probable. First Cheney has been picked up twice in life before for DUI.Second, its the ONLY logical explanation for the withholding of the information for 18 hrs and the fact that Cheney wasnt interviewed by the Sherrif till the next day. My earlier post, written before the LA Times article, looks like it was right on the money. And now that the victim has suffered a minor heart attack, if he dies, that will be the end of Cheney. While this isnt as profound as Cheney's authorizing the disclosure of classfied documents, this may be more than a third rate shooting and an unexplained 18 1/2 hour gap.

I agree that the acutal incident (or accident) is not that huge of a deal. However, it is the events in the aftermath that are troubling. First, sitting on the story for nearly 24 hours. You know damn well they were trying to figure out in that time if they could pull off a complete coverup. Second is the pointing the finger at anybody but themselves as to where the fault supposedly lies. From the begininng, they have been trying to blame a 78-year-old man, not the VP. As one of those rarities (a liberal who owns guns and hunt) I can tell you the fault lies with Cheney. In those nearly 24 hours, they obviously cooked up this story that Whittington was to blame. So, my point is that the hunting accident is about covering up and never taking the blame or responsibility when something goes wrong, a childish behavior pattern if ever there was one.

so now it is told that Vice President Cheney's victim has had a heart attack due to the shot lodged in his heart. But hell what does that matter, cause afterall that fellow was fully at fault for his plight (according to the White House, their operatives and of course Mary Matlin, the voice of knowledge).... so will this be the beginning of this story or the end. Bet that fellow is not so very happy with Dick right now..... course it's cool, it is merely a minor heart attack....sic....

George Washington Hayduke.....

Another group, and one that votes, that might be especially offended by the handling of this accident by the admin and the republican spokespeople, is the elderly. A 78 yr old, even in the best of health, is fragile. The message promoted by the republicans that being blasted in the face with bird shot strong enough to knock you off your feet is no big deal is bound to be found cold, uninformed, and actually scary.

How do you like it now TWN?

Steve,

Your judgment on many things is calm, sound and correct, and yours is a truly valuable voice.

In this case, however, you are utterly, ludicrously, moronically, cretinously WRONG WRONG WRONG. You are thinking like a policy analyst, not like a political strategist. And it is political strategy that we need now, if we are to bring down this beast and allow sound policy a chance to have a place in this country's deliberations.

This is Cheney's Lewinsky. Why -- long before impeachment -- did the Lewinsky scandal grab everyone's attention? Because there was an obscure legal argument about perjury? No -- because there were BLOWJOBS involved. That was the hook that made everyone want to read about it every day. Once they took that hook, they were eager to learn everything there was to know about it.

How many people have the interest and knowledge to grapple with "Cheney's role in instructing Scooter Libby to leak classify information [and] the role the Vice President has played in manipulating the national security bureacracy to support his war"? Damn few. How many can easily wrap their minds around Dick Cheney shotgunning some guy in the face? EVERYONE.

This incident is a microcosm of -- and, for still-credulous heartlanders, a smooth path to the recognition of -- Cheney's failings: incompetence, recklessness, blaming others, denial of facts, denial of responsibility, inability to apologize, stonewalling, holding himself above the rules little people have to live by.

He shot -- and, as of this writing, maybe killed -- a guy. There is no executive privilege here. There is no question of national security. No one will cut him any slack as he hedges and deceives. It is our job, and your job, to keep him and his weaknesses under a spotlight and a magnifying glass until his credibility is burnt to a charred and smoking husk.

Here are some questions I believe the VP's office will have to answer in the near future:

Who told the press that Whittington was 30 yards away, and why didn't the VP or his office correct the record and tell the truth until forensics proved otherwise? [Note: this is just a strong hunch, not yet an established fact.]

Had VP Cheney consumed any alcohol in the 12 hours prior to the incident? If so, what, when, and how much?

Did the shooting take place before or after sunset?

Did the VP have discussions with the other witnesses about what account of the incident would be given, or what details would not be given?

Does the VP request that the witnesses make themselves available to answer reporters' questions?

What did the VP's party discuss over the dinner they ate while Whittington was in the ICU and the world did not yet know what had happened?

Did they inform any members of Mr. Whittington's family that he had been shot? If so, did they inform them who shot him? If not, why not? And if the family was informed that Cheney was the shooter when they were told of the incident, why wasn't the White House?

Why has the Vice President not come forward to take responsibility and answer questions at a press conference?

Does the Vice President consider this to be an ongoing investigation which he is unable to comment on?

www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/opinion/13866143.htm

The above link is a perfect example of how many red staters are interpreting the behavior of the vice-president. The manna is starting to fall. It is the "smooth path to recognition" described by
NH Dem above. It is a small, yet wondrously luminous pearl. It is an initial wedge. It is the only chink thus far that Rove can't iron out.

Steve,

You once wrote that Sen. Bingaman is one of the smartest guys you know. If this doesn't get him and all the other Democrats off their asses to keep their obligations to those of us that elected them -- in turn with the obligation to keep the executive branch in check, then the Congress -- both parties -- is complicit in the sad state of affairs this country is in today.

A $7 stamp is immaterial -- it's the bigger picture that is the issue.

Do you like it yet?

In the discipline of safety, there is no such thing as an accident. There is a sequential chain of causes. Anybody carrying a loaded gun has ONE primary responsibility: DON'T SHOOT ANYTHING YOU DON'T INTEND TO! It's the "first do no harm" principle.

No matter what the circumstances, the gunner has FULL responsibility for every shot fired, and this is not ameliorated by darkness, distance, distraction, whatever. There is simply NO EXCUSE.

Every serious gun-sportsman knows this innately and by training. This incident will be very damaging to the VP among this demographic because once they see him dissembling in a matter they understand they will be much more skeptical in other matters.

He will remain silent and be thought a fool rather than... you know.

draft Hackett, as that will work.
or, the people of Ohio will get what they deserve for not getting rid of the crap

I swung on a dove once when I was fourteen, and narrowly missed blowing my brother's head off with a .410. I had been through the NRA safety course, and my dad was an avid hunter and also a firearms dealer. His response was to lock my guns up for a year,(yet I still was required to attend hunts, as an un-armed non-participant) and to have me take the NRA course once again. His penchant for safety sunk in, and I have had no further close calls in the forty years since. Two rules I ALWAYS employ when I hunt. No booze on hunts. PERIOD. And if a companion hunter displays anything less than my level of concern for safety, I will not hunt again with that individual. The fact is, Cheney would never have been able to shoot ME on a quail hunt, because the fact that there was drinking prior to the hunt would have negated my willingness to go afield with him. I would have passed. Its just basic common sense. But really, its a non issue as far as politics and our current nation's affairs go. The majority of modern hunters are absolute assholes, and anyone that attends these canned hunts with pen raised game doesn't garner alot of my respect anyway.

In light of the latest batch of photos being exposed from Abu Ghraib, it is kinda ironic that we are so concerned about an accident involving a man that advocates the PURPOSEFUL MURDERS and TORTURE of prisoners in our custody. Whittington is lucky he's lying in an American hospital as a result of Cheney's actions, rather than bent over naked in the hallway of one of Cheney's gulags, having a light stick shoved up his ass by some leering pervert doing the VP's bidding.

This is a big story. There are lots of indications that there was drinking prior to the hunt. A sheriff was turned away by the secret service the day of the hunt - Cheney did not speak to the sheriffs until the next day. Can anyone say Chappaquaildick? This is as big a story as the one 40 years ago.

I totally agree this story is a big distraction from all Cheney's OTHER crimes, which are far more major than a hunting accident. It's the lead story on CNN! That's outrageous.
The media screws up again. They can't prioritize if their lives depend on it. This is NOT a big story. This is a blip but more importantly, it's a distraction.

"You are distorting what I am saying. Dukakis didn't murder people on the tank"

I didn't say he did. I said his viability as a candidate was over from the moment that tank photo hit.

"Bush running things through a scanner crystallized in people's minds what policy wonks wanted to say: He's out of touch."

running things through scanner?

"You know what people talk about around water coolers? Shooting somebody. "Did you hear? The Vice President shot someone."

Actually, I think the vast majority of people think this was an accident.

"All the cover up just adds to the allure."

The idea that there somehow HAS BEEN a cover-up seems to have allure for you but I think you're in the minority.

"In able hands, shooting someone is a tank ride, a grocery photo-op and Love Canal, combined."

Cheney isn't going to be running for anything. For this to be a tank ride, Love Canal or grocery photo op, he'd have to be running for something. And he won't.

"Blaming the victim for getting shot says more about Cheney than hiding documents ever could."

The vast majority of the public doesn't see anyone blaming the victim. Sorry, I know you' like for it to be that way, but thereality is that it isn't seen that way.

"We need to stop thinking like academics and start thinking like poets."

Actually we need to be coming up with a platform that will win an election.

"Doesn't Rummy's statements about "how threateneing" Iran is sound very familiar?"

Has anyone anywhere said that Iran ISN'T threatening?

"Doesn't it sound like the administration song on Iraq--- putting "FEAR" in the hearts of American."

I'm pretty sure that openly stated Iranian desires to wipe another country off the map have something to do with it. Or do you think that Europe is just scare mongering too?

"Their rhetoric itself is setting up the US as "the" only one who must take up this challenge."

Unfortunately, the US is probably the only one who can take up the Iranian challenge. While I wish that others could share in our mutual defense, it's up to the US to do the heavy lifting. But if you're suggesting that other countries like Canada and Germany and India do their share, then I agree with you 100%

Is this seriously your prescription for how to deal with Iran?

"It does not appear this administration has any other tool in their tool-box other than WAR. It is their first and only tool of choice. They act and talk as if they are ignorant of
1. treating people with respect and dignity;
2. how to truely listen and understand when others talk;
3. how to search for win-win solutions."

Do you believe that Amadinejad should be treated with respect and dignity? What is it that you don't understand about what Amadinejad has said? Is a win-win solution possible with one party calling for the destruction of a democracy?

Texas authorities say that alcohol wasn't a factor. How would they know? They weren't allowed to interview anyone till the next day.

Governor of California, Schwarteneggar rides motorcycle without a license and LAPD cops don't cite him because they didn't catch him in the act, but only became aware of it after he had a minor accident. Never mind that the CHiP's were in his company at the time. What the hey is going on here? Next time we peons get in hot water, we'll tell the investigating officers to drop by in a day or so for a statement. Yeh, sure!!! See what they do to us.

This is from an article by an expert hunter from today's (Feb 18) NY Times regarding the Cheney shooting:

"The first report came from Katharine Armstrong, one of the ranch's owners, who said she watched the episode from a vehicle parked nearby. She said Whittington had left the shooting line to find a bird he had just brought down, and he failed to alert his partners on his return.

I have hunted upland birds for almost four decades, often as one in a group — not for quail, but for grouse, woodcock and pheasants. The protocol is the same: When a bird is shot, the party does not hunt onward until someone — a human or a dog — recovers the bird, and all members are present and accounted for.

Cheney and his gunning partner Pamela Pitzer Willeford should have remained stationary while Whittington searched for his quail, rather than forging ahead and trying to bag other birds.

Armstrong suggested that Whittington was at fault for not calling out to his friends and letting them know he was back. Clearly he should have done that. But it remains the responsibility of every shooter to know the whereabouts of all members of the group. If you do not know where your companions are, you do not shoot. It's as simple as that.

Cheney broke another important safety rule on the Armstrong Ranch. He failed to make sure that no one was behind his intended target. We have been told that the sun was in his eyes, and that Whittington was standing in a gully or perhaps a dried-up pond. Neither is an excuse for being careless."

The fact that the first comments coming out of the Cheney camp were that the shooting was the victims fault are so absurd they point to a coverup and when something is covered up its usually to cover up something bigger. Are main stream journalists going to treat this like a "third rate shooting" and an "18 1/2 hour gap" or are they going to start digging?