The Thinker--or Just Sitting Around?: From moron to ... murderer?

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

From moron to ... murderer?

CNN has a breaking news headline:

Man shot and wounded by Vice President Cheney suffers "minor heart attack" after birdshot becomes lodged in his heart, hospital spokesman says.

8 comments:

schmidlap said...: Wow. I think we're about to get a real lesson in just how much power Dick wields.

If this guy croaks, Dickie should face manslaughter charges, right? Even if it's 100% accidental?

Can one of the lawyers comment?; Tuesday, February 14, 2006 12:46:00 PM
Rousing Rabble said...: I'm NOT a lawyer, but I pulled this off of lectlaw.com:

MANSLAUGHTER, INVOLUNTARY - In order for a person to be found guilty of involuntary manslaughter the government must prove that someone was killed as a result of an act by the person;

Second, in the circumstances existing at the time, the person's act either was by its nature dangerous to human life or was done with reckless disregard for human life; and

Third, the person either knew that such conduct was a threat to the lives of others or knew of circumstances that would reasonably cause the person to foresee that such conduct might be a threat to the lives of others.

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Seems to me that a reasonable person could foresee hunting with a shotgun as an inherently dangerous act. It also stands to reason that aiming a shotgun and shooting at the level where a person could catch shot in the chest, neck and face is - at best negligent.....; Tuesday, February 14, 2006 1:12:00 PM
drmagoo said...: Obviously, I'm not going to wish death upon this man, but anytime a 78 year old man is in the ICU, you have to consider that an option.

I know that Texas has cleared Cheney of wrongdoing, but I don't know if that will change if the victim takes a turn for the worse.; Tuesday, February 14, 2006 1:22:00 PM
schmidlap said...: I'm not wishing for death upon him, not at all. Just wondering what the law states...; Tuesday, February 14, 2006 2:23:00 PM
drmagoo said...: I never thought you were. He's friends with Dick Cheney. That's punishment enough for any man.; Tuesday, February 14, 2006 2:29:00 PM
Anonymous said...: So, the White House is now viewing this shooting incident with humor? Is that because they feel that the rest of the country is viewing this episode with humor? I think the White House had better something straight - it's not that the public is viewing the accidental shooting of an individual, a friend of Cheney in a humorous light. It's that the public is viewing, with bemusement, the manner in which Cheney (and the White House) has handled this incident. It's the same way they have handled every episode and incident occuring during this administration's watch: with secrecy, with deceit and with little disregard for the truth (the real truth, not their version of the truth, or their reality). This administration continues to exemplify the fact that republicans know how to get elected (by demonizing an opponent, by lying and obstructing justice) but they have no idea how to govern. No clue. None. Laugh at Mr. Whittingham's misfortune? No, never, but I'm going to have a good guffaw when Cheney gets his clincher!; Tuesday, February 14, 2006 7:24:00 PM
Anonymous said...: I think it's amazing how quickly the initial reports of the incident went from down-playing the seriousness of the victim's condition to him having a heart attack and being critical.; Wednesday, February 15, 2006 11:45:00 AM
Anonymous said...: ...now he's in Intensive Care for "privacy reasons." I guess none of the regular patient rooms have doors on them....loved McClellan's (sp?)press conferences on the shooting where he was unable to provide any detailed information on said shooting. Also loved the marshmellow soft-focus lense interview Darth did on Fox. He almost came off as warm as a block of ice...a vast improvement. Also noted all of the Fox squad expressing mountains of sympathy for Cheney while hardly uttering a "get well" for the victim. THREE MORE YEARS!!!!!!!!Wah-hoo!!!!; Thursday, February 16, 2006 3:35:00 PM