This isn't a gun issue for me. Hunting accidents happen. What's interesting in this case is the way in which the hunting accident is being dealt w/ by the authorities. The VP wasn't _given_ a pass; he and his personal entourage of winged monkeys _took_ a pass, and were allowed to do so. Not acceptable in a democracy ruled by law, but vy common behavior in a despotic monarchy.
What I find most suggestive is the fact that Texas has not taken Mr. Cheney's hunting license. Some enterprising boyo down thataway could run a check w/ Fish and Wildlife and learn pretty quickly how many hunters have inadvertently shot another hunter and how many of them were allowed to retain hunting privileges. I have not made any study of the matter, but in every instance I can remember, hunters who shoot people lose their hunting rights.
--
This incident, trivial though it is, has demonstrated again the complete supremacy of the executive branch. Its agents are free to do anything they like to whomever they like w/out fear of legal consequences.
That poor imbecile Scalia was gargling on earlier today about how he's an "originalist," which used to infuriate me but now just seems funny. These evil men have established a functional despotism right before our eyes, and pathetic dunces like Scalia think they're "originalists." What Mr. Scalia is is one wrong word away from being kicked to the curb as the irrelevancy he and his pathetic colleagues are; in the unlikely event the craven little toad fails to do exactly what he's told, he'll be "retired," and his vacuous fellow "Justices" w/ him.
And all the while the army of drooling slack-jawed sofa soldiers we refer to as "the American electorate" sits mesmerized by American Idol.
The VP could be _charged_ w/ manslaughter in the event a competent prosecutor or grand jury concluded that he materially contributed to the death of someone else, but obviously any such charge would be instantly quashed by the White House and anyway there's no one in Texas w/ the balls or the juice to make the attempt.
No rational person can possibly still believe that the VP or any member of this lawless administration will ever be _prosecuted_ for anything; on the list of his many, many high crimes and misdemeanors, this incident is a relatively small thing. Compared to the energy swindle, this is a triviality. (It was announced today that they're getting ready to "waive" the royalties energy companies are required by law to pay for the wealth they take from public lands, which is to say that Dick reached into our pocket--again--and picked us clean.)
All of this behavior is quite common in a monarchy, and Americans have made clear that a monarchy is what they prefer. Our great nation settled to the bridle pretty quickly. If Mr. Cheney wants to start shooting his hunting companions on a regular basis, well, we'll get used to that, too, and no doubt charming stories will circulate about the clever things he says as he shoots them. Our own Mad Duke.
No no no, a 28-gauge is an entirely respectable weapon, and intended for use such as this--birds (lawyers) at close range.
Had it been a 12-gauge, we'd never have heard a thing about the whole business... that, or they would've painted the victim as a terrorist. Even as it is, Mr. Cheney is likely to receive the Medal of Freedom for this courageous episode.
Yeah, they were car-hunting, but at a combined age of 197, well, that's hardly a shock.
My qualification on the above was "If the White House can restrain itself from its usual inveterate meddling," which clearly they have not. And I was unaware that the VP just blew off the whole thing, though I can't say I'm shocked.
At any rate, if there remained any doubt that this administration is above the law, this matter should settle it. Kenedy County may bitch a bit, but they'll roll over and do what they're told, like good little Americans.
Donald Rumsfeld is an incompetent corrupt bozo and the worst Defense Secretary since Louis Johnson. It will take years (and who knows how many lives) to fix the things he's broken at the Pentagon. Sending American troops into battle w/ insufficient armor and then repeatedly lying about would be a crime in the eyes of the morons running the GOP if it were the responsibility of a Democrat, but of course Rumsfeld is the King's Man, and the King and his agents are above the law.
He should be damned grateful that the worst he faces is an occasional cartoon. Under a just government he'd be mopping floors at ADMAX Florence and playing checkers w/ Terry Nichols.
Bethie, you are entirely too sane to spend five seconds of yr life worrying about whether or not the existence of Hooters is a sin.
I note yr use of "haught." As a student of the Paris Hilton School of Speech Dynamics, I was under the impression that the correct spelling was "hawt," but I like "haughtness" more than "hawtness," as "haughtness" suggests "haughty."
Thanks for the excellent review. I'd no idea Malick was making another film. BADLANDS is in my all-time Top 20. There aren't a lot of directors I'd like to meet, but Malick is one of them.
Excellent link, Marion. The stats suggest that poison is by far the preferred weapon employed by female serial killers.
I found the revised typology quite interesting. I've never entirely bought the "organized/disorganized" classification that caught fire in the '90s.
My only caveat was the note about Bonnie Parker. I've never seen a first-person account alleging that Parker "enjoyed putting a few extra bullets in the cops." They were both crazy violent, but I think Barrow was the real killer. As I recall, both of the accomplice confessions said that Parker was quick to jump into the gang's numerous gunfights, but I don't remember anything about Parker "enjoying" any of it. (Although one of the confessions--Methvin?--said that Parker once encouraged Barrow to murder a kidnapped police officer, but that Barrow was talked out of it by his brother.) Parker was a waitress who robbed banks; Barrow was a career criminal and by all accounts a superior gunfighter and complete sociopath--John Wesley Hardin minus the charm and the brains.
Vice Presidential gunplay
This isn't a gun issue for me. Hunting accidents happen. What's interesting in this case is the way in which the hunting accident is being dealt w/ by the authorities. The VP wasn't _given_ a pass; he and his personal entourage of winged monkeys _took_ a pass, and were allowed to do so. Not acceptable in a democracy ruled by law, but vy common behavior in a despotic monarchy.
February 14, 2006 at 8:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Vice Presidential gunplay
What I find most suggestive is the fact that Texas has not taken Mr. Cheney's hunting license. Some enterprising boyo down thataway could run a check w/ Fish and Wildlife and learn pretty quickly how many hunters have inadvertently shot another hunter and how many of them were allowed to retain hunting privileges. I have not made any study of the matter, but in every instance I can remember, hunters who shoot people lose their hunting rights.
--
This incident, trivial though it is, has demonstrated again the complete supremacy of the executive branch. Its agents are free to do anything they like to whomever they like w/out fear of legal consequences.
That poor imbecile Scalia was gargling on earlier today about how he's an "originalist," which used to infuriate me but now just seems funny. These evil men have established a functional despotism right before our eyes, and pathetic dunces like Scalia think they're "originalists." What Mr. Scalia is is one wrong word away from being kicked to the curb as the irrelevancy he and his pathetic colleagues are; in the unlikely event the craven little toad fails to do exactly what he's told, he'll be "retired," and his vacuous fellow "Justices" w/ him.
And all the while the army of drooling slack-jawed sofa soldiers we refer to as "the American electorate" sits mesmerized by American Idol.
February 14, 2006 at 8:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Vice Presidential gunplay
The VP could be _charged_ w/ manslaughter in the event a competent prosecutor or grand jury concluded that he materially contributed to the death of someone else, but obviously any such charge would be instantly quashed by the White House and anyway there's no one in Texas w/ the balls or the juice to make the attempt.
No rational person can possibly still believe that the VP or any member of this lawless administration will ever be _prosecuted_ for anything; on the list of his many, many high crimes and misdemeanors, this incident is a relatively small thing. Compared to the energy swindle, this is a triviality. (It was announced today that they're getting ready to "waive" the royalties energy companies are required by law to pay for the wealth they take from public lands, which is to say that Dick reached into our pocket--again--and picked us clean.)
All of this behavior is quite common in a monarchy, and Americans have made clear that a monarchy is what they prefer. Our great nation settled to the bridle pretty quickly. If Mr. Cheney wants to start shooting his hunting companions on a regular basis, well, we'll get used to that, too, and no doubt charming stories will circulate about the clever things he says as he shoots them. Our own Mad Duke.
February 14, 2006 at 4:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Vice Presidential gunplay
No no no, a 28-gauge is an entirely respectable weapon, and intended for use such as this--birds (lawyers) at close range.
Had it been a 12-gauge, we'd never have heard a thing about the whole business... that, or they would've painted the victim as a terrorist. Even as it is, Mr. Cheney is likely to receive the Medal of Freedom for this courageous episode.
February 13, 2006 at 2:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Vice Presidential gunplay
Yeah, they were car-hunting, but at a combined age of 197, well, that's hardly a shock.
My qualification on the above was "If the White House can restrain itself from its usual inveterate meddling," which clearly they have not. And I was unaware that the VP just blew off the whole thing, though I can't say I'm shocked.
At any rate, if there remained any doubt that this administration is above the law, this matter should settle it. Kenedy County may bitch a bit, but they'll roll over and do what they're told, like good little Americans.
February 13, 2006 at 2:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Cartoons that aren't funny
Donald Rumsfeld is an incompetent corrupt bozo and the worst Defense Secretary since Louis Johnson. It will take years (and who knows how many lives) to fix the things he's broken at the Pentagon. Sending American troops into battle w/ insufficient armor and then repeatedly lying about would be a crime in the eyes of the morons running the GOP if it were the responsibility of a Democrat, but of course Rumsfeld is the King's Man, and the King and his agents are above the law.
He should be damned grateful that the worst he faces is an occasional cartoon. Under a just government he'd be mopping floors at ADMAX Florence and playing checkers w/ Terry Nichols.
February 3, 2006 at 11:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Hooters
Bethie, you are entirely too sane to spend five seconds of yr life worrying about whether or not the existence of Hooters is a sin.
I note yr use of "haught." As a student of the Paris Hilton School of Speech Dynamics, I was under the impression that the correct spelling was "hawt," but I like "haughtness" more than "hawtness," as "haughtness" suggests "haughty."
What is a "tankini"?
February 3, 2006 at 10:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Discovery and awe in Terrence Malick's "The New World"
Thanks for the excellent review. I'd no idea Malick was making another film. BADLANDS is in my all-time Top 20. There aren't a lot of directors I'd like to meet, but Malick is one of them.
February 3, 2006 at 10:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Goleta
Excellent link, Marion. The stats suggest that poison is by far the preferred weapon employed by female serial killers.
I found the revised typology quite interesting. I've never entirely bought the "organized/disorganized" classification that caught fire in the '90s.
My only caveat was the note about Bonnie Parker. I've never seen a first-person account alleging that Parker "enjoyed putting a few extra bullets in the cops." They were both crazy violent, but I think Barrow was the real killer. As I recall, both of the accomplice confessions said that Parker was quick to jump into the gang's numerous gunfights, but I don't remember anything about Parker "enjoying" any of it. (Although one of the confessions--Methvin?--said that Parker once encouraged Barrow to murder a kidnapped police officer, but that Barrow was talked out of it by his brother.) Parker was a waitress who robbed banks; Barrow was a career criminal and by all accounts a superior gunfighter and complete sociopath--John Wesley Hardin minus the charm and the brains.
February 3, 2006 at 8:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Goleta
Wassup, Gunny--you getting my email?
January 31, 2006 at 5:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )