What a Dick!

Guns don't kill people; vice presidents (almost) do.

Guess who's having the Worst Week Ever. We would have to say that local attorney Harry Whittington is definitely in the running. After losing some property in the fire of a week ago that ravaged the KOOP building, Whittington was shot over the weekend. In the face. With a shotgun. By Richard Cheney. Yes, that Richard Cheney.

The VP was on a quail hunting trip with Whittington, a Bush campaign contributor, when he thought he spotted a low-flying quail, aimed and shot. Unfortunately for Whittington, standing a mere 30 yards away, Cheney did not see him, and peppered the 78-year-old attorney with birdshot to the neck and face. Ouch!

Whittington is recovering and is in stable condition. The owner of the ranch, Katharine Armstrong, said Cheney was a conscientious hunter and that these things can be expected from time to time in the quail hunting game. "I would shoot with Dick Cheney everywhere, anywhere, and not think twice about it," she said. But, she said, "The nature of quail shooting ensures that this will happen. It goes with the turf."

Huh?! We'll stick to ping pong.

We are not doctors, but is it smart to let a man with a thirst for blood and a (double entendre warning) suspect heart wander South Texas with a shotgun? Fortunately for all involved, the 24-hour on-call ambulance that constantly follows closely behind Cheney and his bad ticker was on site to scoot Whittington to the hospital. (We kinda made that part up.)

We are glad for Whittington and his family that he is seemingly headed for a full recovery. But we wonder, if Whittington died, would Cheney get in just a little bit of trouble for killing a man he accidentally shot in the face. Bill Clinton shot an intern in the face once and look what happened to him.