Cheney's Motive? Here's One

You may wonder why Deadeye Dick shot a fellow Republican. Oh, sure, it was an "accident." But of all the Republicans that Cheney has gone hunting with (Antonin Scalia among them), isn't it simply fascinating that the one that got a faceful of birdshot was Mr. Harry Whittington? Here's a hint why:

Harry Whittington is, pardon the expression, a rare bird: a liberal Texas Republican. He is not a religious fanatic, nor is he a "string-'em-up" law and order man. On the contrary, he's been campaigning for years to clean up the Texas prison system and prevent the execution of the mentally disabled. He's a reformer all round - an old-fashioned social activist whose distaste for government corruption crosses the usual party lines.

It must have been the government anti-corruption stuff that pushed Cheney over the edge, or maybe it was the opposition to executing the mentally disabled. Of course, after his war crimes trial, that means Chimpie will only get life imprisonment.

Oh well.

Ballistics and the Cheney Lies

I'm still looking for ballistics information specific to 28 gauge shotguns and the loads Cheney was using. I don't buy that 30-yard range bullshit, but that's just because we're dealing with a congenital liar. I'd like some hard data on the penetration capability of birdshot from a 28 gauge at 30 yards.

In the meantime, here's a very interesting webpage for your examination.

Cheney at Folsom Prison

Oh man, is this funny!

By the way, I think that's a Martin D-18 Golden Era sunburst that he's playing.

Privacy Disappears Before Our Very Eyes

You thought there was going to be an investigation into the NSA domestic spying program, didn't you? Oh, all right, let's be fair, the "terrorist surveillance program" that just happens to spy on loyal Americans within the borders of the United States. In fact, even some Republicans were upset that this program existed outside of the FISA law and wanted to get to the bottom of it, denying that the president had some inherent authority to spy on Americans in the name of security.

Yeah, well if you thought that crack-licking Republicans of any stripe were immune to blackmail, coercion, or a faceful of birdshot, think again. The Washington Post tried to bury this on page A03, but it's there, and you had better be scared.

The Senate intelligence committee is scheduled to vote tomorrow on a Democratic-sponsored motion to start an inquiry into the recently revealed program in which the National Security Agency eavesdrops on an undisclosed number of phone calls and e-mails involving U.S. residents without obtaining warrants from a secret court. Two committee Democrats said the panel -- made up of eight Republicans and seven Democrats -- was clearly leaning in favor of the motion last week but now is closely divided and possibly inclined against it.

They attributed the shift to last week's closed briefings given by top administration officials to the full House and Senate intelligence committees, and to private appeals to wavering GOP senators by officials, including Vice President Cheney. "It's been a full-court press," said a top Senate Republican aide who asked to speak only on background -- as did several others for this story -- because of the classified nature of the intelligence committees' work.

One Democratic senator knows what sort of arm twisting is going on.

John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), the Senate intelligence committee's vice chairman, has drafted a motion calling for a wide-ranging inquiry into the surveillance program, according to congressional sources who have seen it. Rockefeller declined to be interviewed yesterday.

Sources close to Rockefeller say he is frustrated by what he sees as heavy-handed White House efforts to dissuade Republicans from supporting his measure. They noted that Cheney conducted a Republicans-only meeting on intelligence matters in the Capitol yesterday.

I'm beginning to see the pattern. Cheney shoots a dude in the face. Cheney convenes a meeting of Republicans only. Cheney holds up a photo of Harry Whittington's hamburger puss.

"You motherfuckers want some of this, huh?" Cheney says.

The senators and representatives look at one another.

"N-n-n-n-n-no, sir!"

"Good little bitches," Cheney says, chuckling. He looks at the picture of Whittington and smiles his twisted smile. "Good little bitches. Now get back to work."

"Yes, sir!" roar DeWine, Snowe, and Hagel. "May we lick your balls, sir?"

"Yes, yes, that would be good. Clean 'em up before I have my interview with Brit Hume this afternoon. He likes my balls clean."

Why You Know No Truth Is Coming from the White House on the Cheney Shooting

Interesting, isn't it, that Rove needed to speak to the one eye witness to Cheney shooting Harry Whittington in the face with a shotgun.

"Chief of Staff Andy Card called the president around 7:30 p.m. to inform him that there was a hunting accident," a statement released today by the White House said. "He did not know the vice president was involved at that time. Subsequent to the call, Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove spoke with Mrs. Armstrong. He then called the president shortly before 8 p.m. to update him and let him know the vice president had accidentally shot Mr. Whittington."

I guess he had to be sure Ms. Armstrong had the right script and was going to stick to it.

"Hey, Katherine, it's Karl."

"Hi Karl. God, it's just awful, awful."

"You got grandchildren, Kathering, right?"

"Huh? Well, yes. Why?"

"Do you know if they're safe right now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Lot of danger out there, lot of random violence, kidnappings, ritual murder..."

"What? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Prositution, forced labor, just endless suffering for those poor kids..."

"Listen, Karl, the Vice President shot Harry in the face!"

"You love your grandkids, don't you Katherine?"

"Well, yes, of course."

"Now what happened on the ranch? In your own words of course. You say there was an accident?"

Or something like that.

I Guess the National Rifle Association Is Right:

Guns don't kill people. People with guns kill people.

Mommy, Is It Treason Yet?

Hot from Raw Story:

The unmasking of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson by White House officials in 2003 caused significant damage to U.S. national security and its ability to counter nuclear proliferation abroad, RAW STORY has learned.

According to current and former intelligence officials, Plame Wilson, who worked on the clandestine side of the CIA in the Directorate of Operations as a non-official cover (NOC) officer, was part of an operation tracking distribution and acquisition of weapons of mass destruction technology to and from Iran.

Now if, as is alleged, Cheney directed Scooter-boy to out Plame as payback to Joe Wilson's truth telling--or for any reason, for that matter--then he should fry. Especially given the brouhaha over Iran now.

Is there anything on earth these motherfuckers can't make worse? Anything?

Also, was Cheney drunk when he shot his buddy? Is that a crime in Texas, or is that a requirement?

Irony Meter Off the Charts Yet Again

Coming just two days after Dick "Straight Shooter" Cheney missed getting his own personal kill, rather than using US military proxies in Iraq, First "Lady" Laura Bush had this pronouncement about rioting Muslims:

"If we resort to violence, it's very, very difficult to have any sort of dialogue," she said.

This from a woman who shares a roof and maybe a bed with a man who has launched the most idiotic war in recent American history for reasons that all turned out to be lies, and then managed to conduct that war in an unimaginably incompetent manner. Oh, yeah, and he thinks torture is as much fun as blowing up frogs with firecrackers.

Would someone send that bitch a fucking dictionary?