The Intelligence Estimate

This story (reprinted in full) is from the BBC. My editorials are in parentheses.

"Cheney shoots man in hunt error

(Hunting ERROR? Not an accident? I guess because he meant to kill SOMETHING it wasn't technically an accident. I guess the error was that the guy lived. If he was a good Democrat he'd roll right over and die in the presence of the Vice President's unbending will, but being a lawyer from Texas he had to go and live. And because he's a Republican he will defend Cheney's right to own a firearm until they pry it from his cold dead hands. Ironic, no?)

The US Vice-President, Dick Cheney, has accidentally shot and injured a man during a quail hunting trip in Texas. The victim, named as Harry Whittington, was on the trip with Mr Cheney at the Armstrong Ranch when the accident happened on Saturday.

(Oh, so NOW it's an accident? Before this is all over the man will have been an Al Queda operative that Cheney dispatched single-handedly and thus another terrorist plot was foiled. And if I may be so bold as to suggest some further spin, perhaps the information that lead to Cheney air conditioning this man's hide was gathered from those "allegedly" illegal wiretaps.)

Ranch owner Katharine Armstrong said Mr Whittington, 78, had been taken to Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital where he was said to be "doing fine".

(Doing fine...for a man who was shot by the Vice President. Whatever you do, don't corner Cheney. He is armed and shows no mercy in the face of attacks from elderly lawyers. Does anyone else remember when politicians were on the RECEIVING end of the gun fire? Apparently the party of Lincoln and Reagan decided that enough's enough and are taking it to the people. I pray for the safety of Seymour Hersh. And if you work for NPR I'd lay low for a few days as well.)

According to a spokeswoman, Mr Cheney spent Sunday afternoon at the hospital. Ms Armstrong said Mr Cheney had turned round to shoot at a bird but sprayed Mr Whittington with shotgun pellets instead. Mr Whittington was hit in the cheek, neck and chest, but is said to be "alert and doing fine" in hospital.

(Alert? Too little too late there isn't it? Could he have been alert when the Veep was aiming a gun at his face? I don't want to blame the victim here, but I'm sure this guy paid a LOT of money to the Republican party to be there. You'd think for that kind of cash he'd remain alert enough to do something as basic as STAY OUT OF A HAIL OF BUCK SHOT!)

A lawyer from Austin, Texas, Mr Whittington was initially treated at the ranch by medical staff who normally travel with the vice-president. The men were part of a quail hunting expedition at the Armstrong Ranch in south Texas. The local sheriff's department is investigating the incident.

(The medical staff that normally travel with Cheney? His common ailments are heart murmurs and chest pain, not buck shot to the head. How useful could they have been? Aren't they just there to feed him painkillers, prop him up at speaking engagements and load the talking points into his cranium? And knowing that a Texas Sheriff's Department is investigating makes me feel so much better about the incident. Yeah, I'm sure that officials in Texas (whose state tree is a bolt action rifle) will get to the bottom of this puzzler. "Well Mrs. Wittington it looks like your husband bears an uncanny resemblance to a quail. If I were you I keep him away from fancy restaurants and the 4-H exotic poultry show.")