Here's the Rub...

We all know by now that Vice President Dick Cheney was involved in a bird hunting accident recently. Anyone who hunts knows this is a thankfully rare and yet not surprisingly common occurence, at least in the arena of bird hunting.

A quick search in Google will tell you what should be no surprise...they happen. What is interesting in my 5 minutes of work however is that in "Google Search" under the "Web" link, I found 866,000 plus matches to the search string "bird hunting accidents"...and guess what? Under the "News" link I found a whopping 574 matches to the same search string. What does this mean?

It happens a lot, and it almost never makes the news. Why then does the awful experience our Vice President has recently endured been deemed so news worthy? Because it is juicy fodder for any number of groups out there with nothing good to say or better to do than beat the relentless drum of antipathy.

This poor man has shot a friend accidentally while out enjoying the fresh air, comaraderie, and beauty of nature; hell, he was getting good exercise to boot. All anyone cares about is conspiracy theories, Administration secretiveness, and whether the VP came out publicly about it fast enough, or has been sufficiently forthcoming since he has addressed the public on the matter.

A question I would ask is this: "Does anyone care how he feels about what hapened? Does anyone have the slightest bit of respect and decency for the man in the hospital who was on the receiving end of this bird shot? Nope. How many beers? Why did you wait so long? How do you feel about guns NOW? What are you hiding?

I believe the only thing he is hiding is himself from the chum sucking media whores out for their name on a byline...I think he is trying to reckon with himself and his poor friend whom he accidentally shot, and for whom he has deep concern. But that is not news, now is it?

To be equally as nasty for just a moment, I suggest you consider the lack of forthrightness when Bill helped dry off Monica's blue dress; I don't recall him coming forward with it as soon as it happened...hmmm.

Then there's Senator Kennedy ...I don't believe he came out with his little car accident right away either. Then, there's Senator Reid's lack of forthrightness regarding his sroke last summer.

Oh, wait-I believe the Clintons were remiss to address the public after Vincent Foster's untimely suicide, an event the aspiring Presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton has been implicated in helping to cover up...

But I digress. Here's the rub:
Accidents happen. People get hurt in accidents. Friends and family mourn and grieve and suffer the heavy weight of these things with their privacy and dignity intact. If anyone on the left side of the aisle were in a similar situation, it would either have NEVER made the headlines, or would, a day later, be yesterday's news...but if you're the evil Haliburton kingpin...different rules.

While we are at war in the Middle East, and are struggling at home to sustain and grow the economy, and are fighting fervently to ensure our security without sacrificing our personal liberties, we apparently are more concerned about a tragic hunting accident which would have never made the news if it hadn't happened to such an unpopular guy in the media, who happens to work for an even MORE unpopular guy in the media; his boss Mr. President George W. Bush.

My miniscule bandwidth says this: I'm sorry for your pain Mr. Cheney, I'm sorry for your injuries Mr. Whittington and may god speed your recovery. I'm sorry Whittington and Cheney families that I live in a country where those who completely control the national dialog has chosen to scorn you, villify you, and abuse and make light of your tragic experience so they can further their advertising and sales revenues.

Deeply sorry.