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Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Power and the law
The vice-president of the United States of America shot a lawyer friend in a hunting accident, and American comedians and cartoonists are having a field day. The victim is in intensive care after one shotgun pellet provoked a heart attack, and the White House spokesman is making jokes in an official press conference about wearing an orange tie to not get shot by the VP. The authorities announce that Cheney didn't have the required $7 stamp to hunt quail, and he sends them a check for $7 (insert further jokes about the cost of a stamp to shoot lawyers).
Now hunting accidents happen, but I fail to see the humor in the situation. The 78-year old man in intensive care with shotgun pellets in his face and body plus a heart attack is not laughing. But what I find the least funny is how there are obviously two laws for the powerful and for the normal people. You bet that if *you* accidentally shot somebody, you would be grilled a lot more by the sheriff. And if you got caught without a valid hunting licence, you'd get fined a lot more than $7.
I am pretty sure that even if the victim dies, and if the root cause was negligence or recklessness by Cheney, he will get away with nothing worse than a Jay Lenno joke and some biting comments in a newspaper editorial. While if the same accident had happened to somebody poor and black, he'd end up in prison. And that is no laughing matter.
- posted by Tobold @ 8:45 AM Permanent Link
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In "our" defense most of the jokes stopped after the victim had a heart attack the next day.
Once the announcement of the heart attack most people realized that it wasnt quite as funny.
If he dies then everyone will switch gears and attack the government for not prosecuting Cheney.
On a side note; what would the effect of weapons/armor that become useless after a certain amount of damage/time have on the economy? Yes you can still repair too delay the decay, but what if you had to gather resources again to make the weapon/armor?
Once the announcement of the heart attack most people realized that it wasnt quite as funny.
If he dies then everyone will switch gears and attack the government for not prosecuting Cheney.
On a side note; what would the effect of weapons/armor that become useless after a certain amount of damage/time have on the economy? Yes you can still repair too delay the decay, but what if you had to gather resources again to make the weapon/armor?
# posted by 
: 15/2/06 13:35
: 15/2/06 13:35
Tobold, it's always been like that in the U.S. The rich, powerful, and famous generally get a free pass or lesser sentence. Incredibly unfair, incredibly wrong, incredibly true.
And the jokes did stop after the heart attack. (Before the heart attack, I can't blame them for making light of the situation. Certainly not a funny incident but Cheney+lawyer+gun? That's too much to expect the comedians and press to ignore.)
And the jokes did stop after the heart attack. (Before the heart attack, I can't blame them for making light of the situation. Certainly not a funny incident but Cheney+lawyer+gun? That's too much to expect the comedians and press to ignore.)
# posted by : 15/2/06 14:19
: 15/2/06 14:19
Now c'mon - that's funny!
Everyone I know, both Liberal and Conservative, got a giggle out of that one. I don't know if you are an American or not but hunting accidents happen occasionally here and people don't go to prison because of them.
Lighten up! We all feel bad for the guy who got shot, but it's nothing to go all Che Guevara about.
Everyone I know, both Liberal and Conservative, got a giggle out of that one. I don't know if you are an American or not but hunting accidents happen occasionally here and people don't go to prison because of them.
Lighten up! We all feel bad for the guy who got shot, but it's nothing to go all Che Guevara about.
# posted by : 15/2/06 14:22
: 15/2/06 14:22
I googled the UBRS key and your Blog was on the first page of results, in fact it was one of the top hits ;)
I never thought Cheney shooting his hunting partner was funny and I would have turned off any talk shows as soon as I'd heard the first joke about the incident. Besides, what self respecting WoW Addict is staring at anything other than their monitor between 11pm and 1am? (I'm at work at the moment which is why I'm not playing right now ;)
As an experienced hunter I know that hunting accidents happen, but only if you're not careful. Climbing over a fence holding a loaded gun is just asking for trouble. That's not being careful, and Cheney obviously wasn't being careful either. If the guy lives, great. If he dies as a result of being shot Cheney should be charged with Manslaughter, just as Joe Citizen would be.
I never thought Cheney shooting his hunting partner was funny and I would have turned off any talk shows as soon as I'd heard the first joke about the incident. Besides, what self respecting WoW Addict is staring at anything other than their monitor between 11pm and 1am? (I'm at work at the moment which is why I'm not playing right now ;)
As an experienced hunter I know that hunting accidents happen, but only if you're not careful. Climbing over a fence holding a loaded gun is just asking for trouble. That's not being careful, and Cheney obviously wasn't being careful either. If the guy lives, great. If he dies as a result of being shot Cheney should be charged with Manslaughter, just as Joe Citizen would be.
"While if the same accident had happened to somebody poor and black, he'd end up in prison."
Why does race always have to come into it? Being white or black has nothing to do with it... its about money and power.
If Condolezza Rice shot someone in the face, do you honestly think the situation would be handled differently?
As a poor white hunter I can personnaly assure you that being white doesn't alow you to hunt without a licence... the gamewarden WILL haul your ass to jail. I know people who went to jail for fishing without the proper stamp.
I just think its needlessly divisive to make this, and every other issue, into a white vs black issue when its clearly an evil A-hole vs the rest of humanity issue.
The leaders in the US don't give a crap about poor people, period. White or black.
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Why does race always have to come into it? Being white or black has nothing to do with it... its about money and power.
If Condolezza Rice shot someone in the face, do you honestly think the situation would be handled differently?
As a poor white hunter I can personnaly assure you that being white doesn't alow you to hunt without a licence... the gamewarden WILL haul your ass to jail. I know people who went to jail for fishing without the proper stamp.
I just think its needlessly divisive to make this, and every other issue, into a white vs black issue when its clearly an evil A-hole vs the rest of humanity issue.
The leaders in the US don't give a crap about poor people, period. White or black.
# posted by : 19/2/06 19:19
: 19/2/06 19:19<< Home
