Cheney, Guns, Social Security, Vigilance, and Tort Reform
It's been called everything from an accident to something more
conspiratorial.
Both views and/or positions are wrong. The shooting of 78-year-
old Harry Whittington by Dick Cheney on Saturday showed 3 things.
First, it unveiled the fallback plan by the Administration in
the event that Social Security "privatization" fails again.
Take that AARP!
In taking the action, Cheney exhibited the "bottom-line"
approach he touted in 2000 by referring to his background as CEO
of Halliburton (now a subsidiary of U.S. Taxpayer Inc.)
During his tenure, the only spot on his record was leaving it
teetering on the brink of bankruptcy because, as CEO, he bought
Drexel during a hunting trip having done no "due diligence", and
leaving Halliburton absorbing Drexel's asbestos litigation
which, as Dana Milbank of the Post reported in 2002,
"Investors . . . are betting the liability is $8 billion to
$9 billion".
Note* Watch the progress of the long- stalled, now
quickly moving, Asbestos Trust Fund Bill (asbestos "reform"
bill) going through Congress. It will become another subsidiary
of U.S. Taxpayer Inc. (kind of like the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation and some other fancy names for federal entities that
step in when corporation "leaders" raid the... never mind).
Second, he showed why it is always important to stay "vigilant".
After all, apparently, the 78- year- old was sneaking up on him.
He didn't announce himself and was dressed in orange
camouflage.
Taking into account the facts that:
!) Mr. Whittington managed to penetrate the security surrounding
Dick;
2) He had a weapon;
3) He gave no warning;
4) He must have been sufficiently familiar with Western culture
that, just like in cowboy movies (which depict places like
Wyoming but were shot in Italy- "Linguini Westerns" or some such
thing), he apparently knew enough to approach Dick with the sun
at his back; and
5) Our security agencies failed to "connect the dots" again as
Cheney's phalanx of Secret Service agents, the CIA, the FBI, the
DIA, and the Starship Enterprise all failed to note Mr.
Whittington's ominous "lurking". All of which proves the point
that the NSA should've been inside Mr. Whittington's head- just
to be on the safe side.
Lastly, the man is (hopefully- not "was") a millionaire
attorney. This shows how seriously the Administration takes
"tort reform".
While there is a confusion as to the gentleman's field of
specialty in the law, it is unlikely (or not) that he was an
attorney that represented the "average person" (low to
middle-class).
The fact that he is not dead (allegedly) would seem to indicate
that Dick's cat-like reflexes and knowledge of gun safety
allowed him to "pull-up" in time to only hit Mr. Whittington in
the chest, shoulders, and face indicating that he may, or may
not have been a corporate lawyer. However, it should be noted
that Bill Frist was seen behind a tree clapping when Whittington
was hit which might indicate that he practiced "video medical
malpractice" and/or specialized in suing those who engage in
insider- trading.
More likely than not, we'll all be briefed on the matter by
Scott McLellan in a week or so. It would be unfair to ask the
Administration's Press- Secretary to say anything now.
That's because it usually takes Andy Card a week to put events
into DVD form for George Bush to understand.