Ballistics Video Suggests Cheney Is Lying?

In The Dick Cheney Shooting Cover-Up Deepens, Taylor Marsh first linked and then, due to high demand, actually had to host a lengthy video from INFOWARS.COM in which an individual actually conducts several test firings of a 28 gauge shotgun to prove that Dick Cheney shot in the direction of Harry Whittington from a distance significantly less than the consistently reported 30 yards.

As Alex Jones says and illustrates in the video, most of the bbs go around the victim at 90 yards(sic). In our own Dick Cheney field test, we discerned the same pattern, ... Jones' video is very instructive, because it shows what we uncovered through research and talking to gun experts ourselves. The bottom line is that Dick Cheney was closer than 30 yards, something we've stipulated from the start. There are many people who believe this, with more and more people coming out to voice their skepticism.

As a Bush/Cheney supporter, I confess the video concerned me as its multiple test firings appear very convincing and I did not want to think that the Vice President would cover up pertinent information which might make him appear more careless, or even wreck less in his actions during the recent highly-reported quail hunting fiasco. That, because he actually fired in the direction of Whittington while perhaps only 10 yards, or thirty feet away.

I decided to conduct a serious investigation of my own before simply blogging that, indeed, as a Cheney loyalist, I had some concerns. Fortunately, I do not have to make that post for good reason.

To begin with, One thing to remember –The only thing that is consistent about shotguns is that very few things are consistent. Identical guns with the same degree of choke and using the same shell may not pattern the same. The same load between various brands of shells can pattern differently. Patterns will change when changing from hard to soft shot. Patterns can change when anything in the shell changes such as different wads, powders or primers. What I am trying to get across is that when you change anything such as brands, shot size, or components you will need to check the pattern as it could have changed, sometimes by an extreme amount.

But I did not want to stop with that simple dismissal of the video on general principle, so resistant is the strain of anti-Cheney-ism currently rampaging through the Left. The Left's argument is that ballistics prove the reported approximately 200 pellets couldn't have hit Whittington at 30 yards, nor would such a distance create the somewhat tight shot pattern which resulted. Now for some document-able facts.

Twenty-eight gauge shotgun shell accuracy, or load patterning is determined by counting the number of pellets which strike a target within a 30 inch diameter circle at forty yards.

Shotgun and shot-shell manufacturers test their products by shooting a pattern at 40 yards and then drawing a 30-inch circle around the highest concentration of holes in the paper (the .410 is tested at 25 yards). They then count the pellet holes in the circle and compare it with the number of pellets in the load to determine a shotgun's choke or a load's performance.

Patterns are normally expressed as a percentage such as 50%, 60%, 70% etc.  This is the commonly accepted method comparing pattern density. In a 50% pattern ½ of all the pellets contained in the shell will strike inside of a circle of 30 inches in diameter. To find the percentage of any given load divide the number of hits inside the circle by the total number of pellets contained in the shell.

The cylinder terminology below refers to a shotgun's choke, or barrel diameter.

True cylinder should produce a minimal 40 per cent pattern at 40 yards, improved cylinder a minimal 50 per cent pattern, similarly half choke 60 per cent and full choke 70 per cent.

While it's probably safe to conclude that a Vice President who is an avid hunter, one who carries a shotgun worth thousands of dollars, would take advantage of the latest technology - steel shot, custom choke setting, etc., designed to maximize his targeting effectiveness, we don't have to go to such lengths to debunk the video. We can do it based upon standard stock ammunition and shotgun characteristics.

Remington also offers exactly one hunting load in 28 gauge. This is a high brass Express Extra Long Range load with 3/4 ounce of #6 or #7 1/2 shot at a MV of 1295 fps. There are 262 #7 1/2 shot in a 3/4 ounce load, but only 169 #6pellets.

It's quite possible Cheney was using steel shot as is common today which would increase the number of shot in the above load to approximately 350, though we likely don't need that edge. Also, 28 gauge guns typically have light recoil, pattern well, and point like a dream.

The percentage of the shot delivered in the 30-inch circle is one important measure of cartridge and choke performance. A 70 per cent figure, or higher, should be demanded from the modern shotgun cartridge for any given choke at its effective optimal kill distance.

Hence number six-shot in 34 grams and modified improved cylinder choking at 35 yards produces a reliable pattern as seen. Quail also therefore require smaller shot (number nine) in a 28-gram load for a denser pattern at 35 metres for a reliable broadside hit, but a going away bird can still fly through the pattern unharmed at this range. Quail are usually shot at 20 yards at which range this pattern will be much tighter from the same barrel and choking.

Consequently, from the links directly above at: Essential shotgun patterning - by Dr Matt Draisma, it is more than safe to conclude that Vice President Cheney could rightfully expect a shot pattern with about 70% of his shot within a 30 inch diameter, which matches up extremely well with Whittington's injury diagram in pdf.

Seventy-percent of the 262 pellets in a typical factory load of 7 1/2 shot would be 183 pellets. The report of approximately 200 pellets having hit Whittington at about 30 yards is wholly consistent with the minimum standards one might expect under the circumstances.

Perhaps for his next ballistics video, the fellow at INFOWARS.COM will consider doing us all a favor ... by shooting himself. Of course, I jest.

Update: I made one correction, changing 30 inch radius to 30 inch diameter circle. That is correct and actually the smaller area of the two. In closing, given Cheney's age, it is quite possible he would hunt with a tight choke to extend his optimal range, especially when hunting a fast-paced bird like quail.

Either way, there's absolutely no reason to conclude reports as regards the distance being 30 yards are inaccurate . It's simply more wishful thinking by the Cheney hunting left. Frankly, given their accuracy, I think I'd prefer to hunt with the VP.

Comments

[Muir]

Oh, enough already. Is was a freakin' hunting accident, just so happened the VP was involved. Quite honesty......who gives a rat's ass. Hunting accidents happen every second......

I think more important issues are at hand than Cheney shooting his hunting buddy, wake the f*ck up!

[jolari]

have to agree with Muir on this one--Not a Cheney supporter, but this has gone on way too long. It's not that there is nothing else to report on for goodness sakes.

[Lone Pony]

The Washington Post quoted an an eyewitness to this accident:

Whittington "came up from behind the vice president and the other hunter and didn't signal them or indicate to them or announce himself,"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/12/AR2006021200524.html

When you're Quail hunting, the birds get up very fast. There's no time to think about where everyone is. You are supposed to stay in a specific agreed upon order. Shoulder facing shoulder of the other hunters. Whittington apparently didn't follow that rule.

So now they're picking on Cheney for not being the first one to alert the news media. Geeze, now this. Oh and Dan...many a true word is spoken in jest.

[Rick]

God, stupiity is an infinate black hole. SO maybe the yardage was over estimated, BFD. What were the tubes in Cheney's gun choked to? What BRAND ammunition was he using? What was the ambient temperature/humidity? Was the wind blowing? One thing is certain to anyone who owns a shotgun that cost more than a hundred bucks. Had the man been shot in the neck from 30 f...ing feet; HE WOULD BE DEAD.
Frankly, I am more concerned with AlGore stumping to have more innocent people killed while visiting our enemies in Saudi Arabia. I'm more concerned with oil company profits.I'm more concerned with passing the fair tax. I want to know why the government of Louisiana and mayor of N.O. are getting away with being irresponsible while FEMA carries the blame. Then there's that bunch of imbeciles we call congress who for 50 YEARS have done NOTHING to help New Orleans who are suddenly concerned with wy a president couldnt perform miracles in 5-6 years to cover their incompetence.
Actually, I'm more interested in Britney's new navel ring than in this accidental shooting crap.

[COLUMBO]

BFD-the guy invited him to do it again

[triticale]

They couldn't find a 28 gauge shotgun; the post doesn't indicate what was used for the video. Details as to loading and pattern are mere nitpicks once this detail is noted.

[Bullgator]

Just the latest in a long string of sad examples of how the left's irrational hatred of Bush-Cheney has reached insane proportions.

Their fixation on "anything to smear Bush or Cheney" is seriously detracting from the effective government of our country, and is seriously detrimental to our national security.

NEWS FLASH for the left: Bush and Cheney are here until 2008. DEAL WITH IT !!! There are far more serious challenges to our Democracy than whether the local Sheriff's wife's hairdresser ever worked for Halliburton.

[splashtc]

Could care less-there is no scandal here. It was an accident! A risk all parties take when going hunting and playing with guns.

[sickofit!]

Ditto everyone above! Dan, I love this blog--but give this a rest! The more we talk about it , the more we are playing into the hands of the left!

[david r]

I'm a native Texas who has hunted on occasion in my youth. These things happen. We should all thank God that Whittington was not more seriously injured. (He was very luck he did not lose an eye.) Down here, when your horse bucks you off, you have to get right back on. (Or, if you wreck your SUV, you get it out of the shop and drive it back to the mall.) I hope Cheney comes back soon for some bird hunting. The hotel business in economically-depressed S. Texas would certainly benefit from all the press visitors.

[Dan]

Ditto everyone above! Dan, I love this blog--but give this a rest! The more we talk about it , the more we are playing into the hands of the left!

I understand the sentiment, but disagree with the reasoning. I didn't initiate the conversation, but responded to a video supporting the conspiracy meme. Not debunking such nonsense leaves no counterweight to it and allows it too spread a bit more in cases where a neutral party sees the video, but sees no response.

Not everything cane be for everyone, so I try to mix it up. ; ) Thanks for reading here.

[dnichols]

This was an accident...anyone who has ever had an accident of any type knows that it usually is a combination of unforseen events that collide unexpectantly, and it is unfortunate when people get hurt. Whittington's generous words yesterday indicate to me that he personally had more to do with this accident than Cheney is willing to say-Cheney is taking full responsibility when Whittington may actually have walked into the line of fire...either way, the liberal press will never leave this alone because they hate Bush/Cheney so much.

[pdq]

Quick question:

If "a going away [quail] can still fly through the pattern _unharmed_ at this range [35 meters]", does it seem reasonable to you that a man hit at roughly 28 meters would have shot pierce vest, clothing, skin and chest wall, requiring emergency transport to a hospital?

Those quail must be damn tough birds.

[mike]

using a choked barrel is actually not a good idea when hunting quail; you don't need to hit the bird with many shot, and you are shooting at short distances. so I doubt your assumptions on pattern. Furthermore, he was using lead shot. So you are doubly wrong. Thirdly, it is really the penetration issue which makes the distance so clearly wrong. The shot went through three layers of clothing and the man's chest wall. this simply could not have happened at 30 yards with this weapon and load. It is impossible.

These questions may not be terribly important. But the story just doesn't hang together if you know anything about quail hunting. And when people without any knowledge or experience try to make it look better than it is, then others wonder not only why the story was told wrong, (as it certainly was) and why you are doing it....

You would do the vice president a service by shutting up rather than clouding the picture further.

[Eric J]

I forwarded this to Mark Frauenfelder, who publicised the Infowars video at BoingBoing.net. We'll see if he updates the post and bumps it up so people can see it.

[Paulo]

Now for me response:

Dan’s work never ceases to amaze me. This is good, solid, and very sound information and therefore, I want to express my gratitude for the objectivity Dan takes in all of his endevours.

Conversely the “rush to judgment” INFOWARS.COM blog is guilty of misinformation that seems to have taken over in our nation’s once responsible press that is now over-the-top, self-serving, and blatantly reckless.

Consequently, I agree with so many others here and elsewhere who say, “Let it go.. .it’s just another attempt to harm or discredit another individual.”

Thanks again Dan for your objectivity and goodness.

Paulo

[Dan]

You would do the vice president a service by blah blah blah.

Learn to read. I didn't say steel shot was used, nor did I use the higher number of pellets had it been. And I didn't use a particular choke setting for the analyisis. I pointed out that a Dr., obviously with much better credntials than some Internet video hack states clearly that "A 70 per cent figure, or higher, should be demanded from the modern shotgun cartridge" and "Quail also therefore require smaller shot (number nine) in a 28-gram load for a denser pattern at 35 metres for a reliable broadside hit."

Learn to read before you come around here attacking me, or suggesting I shut up, Left-tard.

[Rick]

Dan, Actually I believe Mike was attacking me. Maybe both of us. Then he apparently hunts birds with an open cylinder shotgun, basically a blunderbuss. Hard to find an O/U with two open cylinders, kinda stupid too.Three layers of what kind of clothing? And how do we know he was wearing three layers of clothing? Do we see a photo of the wound area or a drawing? Is the drawing done by an eyewitness to the wound or another media genius. I still don't see the big conspiracy to cover this up, who cares?

[Bert]

And I'm SO sure that if the shoe were on the other foot, let's pretend Al Gore accidentally shot someone, that the entire right wing noise machine wouldn't utter so much as a peep, right? No sir, no bloviating from drug addicts like Limpballs or Bukkake Hannity, no they wouldn't say a single thing, would they?

Hypocrites.

[Dan]

And I'm SO sure that if the shoe were on the other foot,

Well, cum to think of it, there was a ballstic video done when Clinton had his shooting accident, now that you mention it. I remembered when you used the word bukkake.

[Rick]

Yes Bert, the people you mentioned would have a lot to say I imagine. That leftist Limbo would be all over it at Hannity the water boy would spontaneously ejaculate. My personal opinion however would not change. It would still be an accident. My opinion would also not change that Teddy the K should STILL be in jail for murder. And Sheets Byrd is no better than Thurmond.

[caseyschenkofsky]

Independent of the media/blog brouhaha (obviously it was an accident, but the way the press and public was dealt with was not), I just find it pretty twisted and 19th century for a "second in command" to want to go hunting after farm bred animals. I understand that the "ritual" sometimes involves releasing captive animals from nets, and then you can "track" and "hunt" while using undoubtedly carefully honed tactical skills. But hey, that's my bias.

I also find it sad that Clinton's past is supposed to somehow connect to this. I read in the Detroit Free Press that 39 hunting accidents were reported in Texas last year. That would certainly make it a rarer event than adultery. And surely someone can see how sad it is that the face of White House is now (according to at least NYC tabloid) Elmer Fudd, and his supposed boss couldn't even get him to talk into a microphone for days on end. How can we expect anything different from Cheney in other matters?

[Rick]

I had no idea it was a canned hunt which I am totally against. I dont care enough to research it though. I am sort of glad that the VP is of decent enough character to worry over the friend he damn near killed, rather than running straight to the nearest MSM idiot. Had to be traumatic, shooting one's best friend. Now there's an issue, being all depressed and hurt, taking a few days to mull it over before taking FULL responsibilty for his actions. Damn an asshole with a conscience. I agree, he should have ust gone back to his drunken party looking for a news crew, even if the girl was clawing at the roof of the car as she slowly drown.

[Rick]

I guess my work is done here. Certain "types" would hate Bush/Cheney if they dropped a gold brick on every Americans door step, twice a week. "Damned Republican bastards, made me walk outside and bend over in public". Done with the accidental shooting conspiracy.

[caseyschenkofsky]

Surely there is a more effective way of defending the White House's refusal to address the situation clearly/differently than invoking something that happened 35 or so years ago? What's up with that?

When Cheney's boss' brother and press dude are cracking hunting jokes nearly concurrently with "minor heart attack" reports hitting the press, well, doesn't that bother you?

This is not about "conscience," just transparency. Fortunately it does not involve a shooting death.

[caseyschenkofsky]

It is not about the shooting, or about liking/disliking Bush/Cheney, it is about the handling of the media (and public) afterwards. The way it was handled, either Cheney thinks we are all idiots, or that nobody would find out beyond the local paper. Which do you prefer... It ain't pretty either way.

[Rick]

Well, now that you mention it. Most Americans are idiots and need to be protected from the truth......and themselves. We think we're so bright every two years rushing to the polls to trade your rich white men for my rich white men. All the while pretending that either party gives a CRAP about any of us. There's not a nickle's worth of diff between them. Geeze, they dont even bother pretending anymore because we're stupid enough to fall for their front men's BS. I can tell you every reason (excuse really) that you use to hate the current adminstration, pretending that they are YOUR own thoughts. I mean they are right there in MSM every freekin' day. Most of us fall for every lie we're told, stupid enough to believe it is the current admin's fault that levies failed in Lousiana. I mean, it must be the truth cuz now even the guvment is saying it's Chertoff's fault.

Which do I prefer? You ask. I prefer we get back to the representative republic we were designed to have. Where YOU Casey, would represent me in the House rather than some greedy, rich, barely literate, lying assed lawyer. I would like to rescend the "right to vote" of a hell of a lot of people and have schools that are worth a crap.

[Rick]

Oh and more thing. I VERY MUCH prefer someone "Lying" about whether they were 30 yards or one yard apart during a hunting accident than lying to me about getting a BJ in the Oval Office. I can at least understand depth perception problems.

[caseyschenkofsky]

Promoting greed and passing the buck are my beefs, and I can see how they might vary in intensity with different administrations, but the beefs would remain the same.

"I would like to... have schools that are worth a crap."
I couldn't agree with you more on that. That's one of the biggest problems. Thanks for your response, I appreciate it.

[caseyschenkofsky]

One involved a witness who went to the press in lieu of the White House and the other a confidant and a "wiretapper'" so I would rather compare the infidelity scandal with the Plame/Libby/Cheney scandal, if anything.

[Heli Pilot]

First off as a native Texan, I think this whole story is all much ado about nothing. But I do have to question the 30 yard story, and here is why:

At 90 feet, the bird shot is going to lose a lot of energy. Of course it still has enough energy to penetrate skin, but does a tiny pellet have enough energy to make it to a man's heart from a side shot? I am skeptical. This was not buck shot, this was bird shot. This stuff loses energy quick.

But what really has me second guessing the range is the bruising on this man's face. The whole side of his face is one massive bruise. This seems to indicate a closer shot than has been reported. I just don't see that type of bruising occuring without having been much closer.

And think about it: A 30 yard spread doesn't seem realistic either. That would mean 3 hunters in a line would be spread out over 90 yards; 4 hunters would be spread out 120 yards. That is malarky. Look at any picture of a line of Quail hunters, and you will see people spread out 5-10 yards at most. Use Google IMages if you must.

[Insufficiently Sensitive]

I'd like to see the Infowars gents test any shotgun at 10 yards and see if they'd claim that anyone could survive a load of birdshot at that range. If 50% is reasonable at 30 yards, then the same 50% would lie inside a 10-inch diameter circle at 30 yards, going a hell of a lot faster. Whittington would have been pulverized from collarbone to forehead, and could not possibly have appeared on TV a week later unbandaged, with a functioning larynx.

[raindrops]

Frankly, I'm sick of hearing about it, but I certainly never expected to hear the truth from Cheney. That man seems incapable of telling the truth. Anyone who would support the miserable way Halliburton treats our troops ought to hang his head in shame. Sure, he's only their former CEO and he never got them any of their no-bid contracts. We can't blame him for those things, but couldn't he call his old buddies and ask them to at least feed and supply our troops adequately while the company is making fantastic profits in Iraq? It's pretty hypocritical to tell the rest of America to support the troops when you know that your old cronies are more interesting in lining their pockets with the gold from government contracts. So really this upset about a hunting accident doesn't impress me - nor does flinging comments around about Ted Kennedy's past - there's plenty of dirt to go around - but screwing with our troops is lower than low.

[Dan]

Heli Pilot - my first reaction was just like yours. It wan't until I read up on contemporary standards for shotgun ballistics that I came to my conclusions. Just as bass fishing has a ton of science behind it, so does hunting. And manufacturers have been constantly working to improve things like shot pattern and effective killing range. If one drops 3 or more grand on a shotgun, it's reasonable to suspect it would be finely tuned and be shooting the most effective ammo. And even without that qualifier, by modern standards, the numbers don't lie IMO.

[Traveling_Woman]

raindrops -- you might want to check with some of the troops actually in Iraq today. Yea, guys were coming home, losing 20 lbs.... but that was over a year ago. Get up to date.... read some the Milbloggers of today.... Lots of our guys are gaming weight, due to "Halibuton" cooking.... You are so --- oh --- 2005 with your comment

[Gene Dickey]

Real tired of the Halliburton crap from people who obviously don't know anything. Sone on 2d deployment; brother-in-law finished 2d deployment. My son is now in a very small FOB which is not supported by Halliburton equipment and supplies. He WOULD LOVE TO HAVE HALLIBURTON back and has specifically made that comment. They made life very much better with food and housing and other creature comforts. BTW, if soldiers lose weight, it is because of the activity and heat, nothing more. I was deployed to Honduras with the SF during peacetime and lost a dozen pounds (and we bought lobsters and other goods on the civilian market and ran our our mess hall).

[raindrops]

Sorry, the family member over there was not thrilled with his 2 meals a day - which was what they received on numerous days from Halliburton because it wasn't convenient to feed them 3 times. But hell he was just risking his life and limb for the country so what did that matter? And it was ok if it happened in a previous year or month as long as it isn't happening right this moment to someone you know personally? BTW he's back over there - serving the country - is it too much to ask that our country serve them with as much dignity as they deserve?

[Dan]

I would suggest you concentrate primarily on posts by myself and big head,

Before I delete your post for language I wanted to take the time to tell you to get lost. The posted information above all comes from legitimate professional sources documented and linked. But we should go read two Internet idiots, one named Big Head? LMAO I looked at your nonsense where you're trying to reinvent industry standards which already exist and have been proven by repeated testing. Oh, but YOU know better? Yeah, right! Thanks, but I'll pass.

[William Coleman]

All right, you censorious fascist pig, you want to delete my post for language so no one will see the link to a thread where people with far more knowledge of shotguns than you or any of your commenters are discussing the issue? Fine.

Yes, your information comes from legitimate professional sources. The only problem is, as I stated in my deleted post, it is obvious to anyone with actual knowledge of shotguns that you yourself know nothing about them, and that you have merely cribbed a bunch of information from various websites and tried to present this information in a way that makes it look like you know what you are talking about.

I said I wasn't going to deconstruct your post, but since you want to be such a juvenile host, I AM going to deconstruct your post so you and your readers can see that you are a complete phoney. No doubt you will delete that post also, even if I use no profanity. Fine. I will just keep reposting it till you ban me.

Then I will change email addresses and keep posting it again. Then you can ban me some more, and I will get still more email addresses.

Do you want to play this silly game, or do you have the intellectual honesty to let someone with actual knowledge of shotguns join in the discussion and critique your original post?

The choice is yours. If you want to be a censorious fascist pig, fine. I will make it quite obvious to all your readers that that is exactly what you are.

William Coleman (ramashiva)

[Dan]

All right, you censorious fascist pig,

LOL I feel like Jane Curtain talking to Dan Akroyd. Can't you read? I deleted your comment for language, not your opinions, OR your link. Feel free to enlighten us noble William ramashiva Coleman, and also troll your board. Just do it without calling people four letter words. You are up to that challenge, if no other, I would hope.

[SICKOFIT]

OMG......enough is enough of this BS. It was an accident, end of story. I am sure there are many other things more useful do be done with your time dan then to continue to beat this DEAD DOG. My opinion, get a hunting dog and let them retrieve your bird...hehehhe BTW in my opinion the president nor the vice president have no obligation to TELL THE WORLD every time they decide to do somthing on personal time for recreation. They can't take a shit without the whole world putting up a STINK!!! lmao

[raindrops]

Whoa!! colemanshiva or whatever - man, this is a blog - people discussing ideas - no more, no less - it's not life or death - but this kind of rant makes people want to back away slowly, thinking yet another blog psycho has entered the sphere

[ivan]

Let's not forget that cheney's gun has TWO barrels, one probably was an open choke and the other probaly a mod choke. That's the way most quail guns are made, but today with choke tubes cheney could have had any choke he wanted in the gun. 2 fulls, or 2 mods or two open or any combination of the above. I know people who have hunted with cheney and they say is one of the bests shots they have ever seen. Ivan

[Dan]

I know people who have hunted with cheney and they say is one of the bests shots they have ever seen. Ivan

I've heard he's a good shot, too - which is why I thought he might use a tighter choke, relying on accuracy and not just spread. I didn't use speculation like that to get the numbers, but once you consider such factors, most break in Cheney's favor - making this while lib line of inquiry ridiculous.

[mynewsbot]

Chaney with a gun .. watch out

[Dan]

What I would really like to see is some of these folks who say the shot wouldnt have penetrated at 30 yards stand up in front of someone with a shotgun while wearing the same clothing and PROVE their theory. I wonder just how comitted to it they really are?? ; )

[Wadena]

If you want realistic info come over to my blog.

The film is B.S. Obviously they used a wide open cylinder bore gun and skeet loads. Hunting loads in the 28 gauge (Winchester Super-X 1 oz.) have adequate penetration with 7 1/2 shot to kill quail or even larger birds at 40 yards with the proper choke. To show loads with almost zero penetration at 30 yards is ludicrous.

Wrong choke, wrong ammo, wrong, wrong, wrong.

Stop in and see me for accurate info.

[beetroot]

See, the problem with ALL of this tea-leaf reading is that we have no independent confirmation of the story peddled by Mr. Cheney and his friends.

The reason we have no independent confirmation is that Mr. Cheney and his friends did not allow law enforcement officials to gather evidence in a timely manner. Had law enforcement officials been permitted to do their job, and interview witnesses promptly after the event, the entire story would have had much more credibility.

As it stands, the long gap between the event and its report, combined with the entirely inadequate investigation by local officials (interviews long after the fact, no breathalyzers, etc), leaves the Cheney party with no defense against accusations that witnesses -- all of whom have a clear material interest in protecting Mr. Cheney in particular and the Republican party in general -- coordinated their stories. Any police investigator will tell you that the sooner law enforcement interviews those involved or witnessing a (possible) crime, the better the chances of getting the real story; the longer those witnesses have to coordinate, the more likely they will be able to cover up any wrongdoing.

So there may or may not have been negligence or recklessness on Mr. Cheney or Mr. Whittington's part; this we do not know. We DO know that specific steps were taken to eliminate public access to the principals (i.e. police not allowed on property, reporters not informed, etc.).

In other words, if there's a dustup, Mr. Cheney has only himself to blame. He created an "appearance of impropriety." Simple steps -- which would have cost him nothing, assuming he did nothing wrong -- would have created the opposite impression: let the cops in to do their jobs, tell the press right away, etc. But he didn't.

And this, of course, fits into the overall narrative of Mr. Cheney quite neatly: secretive, unapologetic, making his own decisions without consulting with anyone, etc. And again, since Mr. Cheney is no doubt aware of this public perception, a wise course would have been to take immediate steps after shooting a man to ensure that the public was able to say, with maximum confidcence, "it was just an accident."

But Mr. Cheney don't seem to think that way. And he's given the public every reason to wonder what really happened. If people don't trust him (and he has a long record of feeding the public misleading statements, if not outright lies, and that's not "irrational Bush hatred," it's a fact), it's his own fault.

[Beetroot]

PS: one guy wrote, "Certain 'types' would hate Bush/Cheney if they dropped a gold brick on every Americans door step, twice a week."

I think that writer is absolutely correct. People's passionate opposition to the President and the Republican machine springs from any number of fairly specific reasons: the war, pandering to homophobes and religous bigots, deficit spending, malicious political attacks (remember McCain's mixed-race children?), general incompetence (see: Iraq, Katrina, Medicaid Part D), policy foolishness (see: Social Security reform), and of course the Big Three Republican public policies: spying, torture, and propaganda.

Of late, Bush hatred has found new and fertile ground as the Theory of the Unitary Executive (translation: f*** Congress, we're at war, we do what we want) makes its rounds.

And the core of passionate Bush haters is surrounded by a broad and growing group that finds Bush untrustworthy and irresponsible on a variety of specific fronts. This group comprises most of the country. According to polls and surveys, he's not a popular President at all.

Now, some of these people might be bought off with gold bricks, but many of them would, in my opinion, continue to hate the President despite the bribe, based on their principled opposition to his specific policy initiatives (war, torture, spying, propaganda, deficit spending), the Republican machine's corruption (see: Abramoff, etc) and cronyism (see: Mike Brown), his administration's general incompetence (see: Katrina, Medicaid, Homeland Security, immigration, budget management), or its concentrated attempt to secure more power and less accountability for the Executive (see: NSA spying, Unitary Executive Theory, etc).

So all this to say that gold bricks would probably not be enough to bribe the President's opponents. Many of them truly do hate him and all his administration stands for.

[Brian]

Somebody did another shotgun experiment which concludes that Cheney is telling the truth:

[url]http://www.myscienceproject.org/shooting.html[/url]

Some cool photos and videos of exploding melons and blasted turkeys and such, which is what it's really all about, no?