Goodbye, Uncle Owen

You may remember Brown as Luke Skywalker's gruff and cynical uncle, Owen Lars, in the original Star Wars. (In the prequel trilogy, the role is played by actor Joel Edgerton.)

I hope this article is wrong.

But I'm not betting on it.

The whitewashing of Dick Cheney's hunting accident continues, with articles suggesting that the Bush Administration can't even talk straight amongst themselves.

Bush was told of the accident by Chief of Staff Andrew Card, but apparently didn't find out Dick was the one who'd pulled the trigger until Karl Rove spoke to the ranch owner.

Cheney didn't even have the right stamp on his hunting license for the type of game he was hunting. But, gosh, he wrote a check and everything's okay. God Bless America!

Whittington has been moved out of intensive care and remains in stable condition, but the dumbest comment has to be from property owner Katharine Armstrong, who said, "He got peppered pretty good ... there was some bleeding, but it wasn't horrible."

Right. He only got shot in the face, neck, and chest. But, ha-ha, it's not like he had his jaw blown off or anything. Gosh, what a relief. Everything's okay. God Bless America.

Even President Bush make a joking remark to Cheney that reporters were expected shortly.

I mean, it's so funny! Dick shot a buddy in the face! What a laugh riot!

Whittington has apparently admitted the accident is all his fault, because he didn't warn the Vice President that he was behind him, and so Cheney can't possibly be at fault for tracking a flight of birds and pulling the trigger, even after turning 180 degrees.

Again, I'm not a hunter, but one might think an accomplished or seasoned hunter would be more mindful of his friends.

I'm not asking for gun laws or criminal charges. I'm just asking Vice President Cheney to be honest about his role in the whole affair and accept some small responsibility.

Whittington didn't pull the trigger, after all. Nor does he look like a bird on the wing.

Some additional comments after reading the transcript of Monday morning's White House press briefing.

First, there's this tap dancing routine going on about Cheney deciding when the information should be released. It took close to 20 hours before Ms. Armstrong spoke to a local reporter; the incongruity is that White House spokesman Scott McClellan tries to sell the fact fumble as secondary to making sure Whittington was getting proper medical care.

It took 20 hours to do this? Local law enforcement wasn't alerted to Cheney's presence? Whittington's injuries were so severe that his condition was questionable through the night? (The latter would contradict the 'oh, it wasn't a serious injury' comedy routine mentioned above.) Bullshit, Scott.

McClellan next tries to convince the press corps that the White House was just trying to get all the facts straight.

What, did Cheney think someone else had shot Whittington? How much time does it take to say, "The Vice President was involved in a minor hunting accident. A member of his party was injured but is in stable condition. The accident occurred when the injured person did not advise the Vice President of his location and moved to an unsafe location." Double bullshit, Scott.

Finally, McClellan emphasizes that Cheney visited Whittington in the hospital. I would sincerely hope that the Vice President, having shot a friend in the face would have the moral fiber to visit that person in the hospital and apologize for his part in the accident. Strangely, the apology part seems to be missing, and Cheney's compassion is what we're supposed to focus on. Triple bullshit, Scott.

Hunting and gun safety experts are also weighing in, supporting my view that Vice President Cheney was negligent in regard to hunting safety.

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