Disgusting Human Beings
Anyone -- journalist, politician or pundit -- who is putting out this "blame the victim" propaganda about the poor old guy Dick Cheney shot in the face is simply a repulsive and shameless waste of space. Case in point, Anne Kornblut and Ralph Blumenthal of the NYT:
Ms. Armstrong and Ms. Willeford said the accident was largely the fault of Mr. Whittington, who had reappeared alongside two of his hunting companions without giving proper warning. Mr. Cheney, who was carrying a 28-gauge shotgun, had already begun to fire and sprayed Mr. Whittington.And what was Dick Cheney doing yesterday instead of apologizing to the victim he cared so very much about he couldn't speak with the sherrif for 15 hours after the incident? Why killing any congressional investigation into the illegal NSA wiretaps, of course. (And for the record, let me express my profound disinterest in ever hearing about "good Republicans like Olympia Snowe who have seen the light" ever again.)
"He got peppered pretty good," Ms. Armstrong said. "He fell with his head toward me." She said she ran over to Mr. Whittington, who had fallen, but stayed out of the way while Secret Service agents tended to him.
"There was some bleeding, but it wasn't horrible," she said. "He was more bruised."
Ms. Willeford, whose husband was also at the ranch, said in an interview after visiting the victim at the hospital that Mr. Whittington accepted responsibility for the accident. "He understands that he could have handled it better," Ms. Willeford said. "Harry should have let us know he was back there."
Since the NYT actually has a public editor with an IQ above that of a passenger pidgeon it might actually do some good to let Byron Calame know that blaming an old man who may very well be dying -- as Alan Simpson, Norm Coleman and even Paul Begala continued to do today on CNN long after they'd heard news of Whittington's heart attack -- is really, really base.
(graphic by the talented and prolific Dark Black who has been photoshopping tirelessly throughout this whole thing)
Update: Jeannie Z reviews the 2004 Texas Hunting Accidents Analysis, and says: "Interestingly, they don't say that prevention is the responsibility of the person being shot."
posted by Jane Hamsher @ 2/14/2006 08:02:00 PM
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