Harry and others. Could you put OT on this stuff. It allows me to filter
it easier.

Thanks,

-Greg

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
. ..
Cheney in comics' sights after shooting accident
By Melissa Dahl -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Story appeared on Page A1 of The Bee


Once Vice President Dick Cheney's misfire hit the news, bloggers,
humorists and even T-shirt makers wasted no time firing back.

Both liberal and conservative talk show hosts are poking fun at the
shooting by Cheney, who mistakenly fired at 78-year-old friend Harry
Whittington as they hunted for quail in Texas.

Spoof headlines sprang up all over the Internet: "Cheney 0, Quail 1" and
"Cheney seems exonerated of failed assassination attempt."

Online humorist Adam Borowitz titled his satirical piece, "Cheney says
shooting of fellow hunter was based on faulty intelligence."

"Good news, ladies and gentlemen, we have finally located weapons of
mass destruction. ... It's Dick Cheney," David Letterman cracked on CBS'
"Late Show" Monday, adding: "We can't get bin Laden, but we nailed a
78-year-old attorney."

On Comedy Central, Jon Stewart of "The Daily Show" offered a little
historical perspective, noting that Whittington was the first person to
be shot by a vice president since Alexander Hamilton.

"Hamilton, of course, was shot in a duel with Aaron Burr over issues of
honor, integrity and political maneuvering," he said. "Whittington?
Mistaken for a bird."

Stewart and Letterman "live for moments like this," said Jonathan
Taplin, a professor of online media at the University of Southern
California's Annenberg School for Communication. "It's just an
opportunity for humor."

Cheney's "next" accidental victim is being guessed at. Online gambling
site Intertops.com has posted odds on who he might mistakenly shoot
next: 500-1 it's President Bush or his father, former President Bush;
1,000-1 it's John Kerry.

For Cheney's future hunting endeavors, one blogger has illustrated the
difference between a hunter and a quail.

For $14.99, dogs can get in on the political satire. Among other things,
CafePress.com is selling doggie T-shirts with the slogans "Deadeye
Dick's Gun Club" or "Dick Cheney Hunt Club."

The Web site also offers T-shirts, teddy bears, mouse pads and wall
clocks with either slogan emblazoned on it.

Some bloggers have jumped to Cheney's defense. Meg Quinn writes that
other than Whittington's injury, the most unfortunate aspect of the
incident is that people are blowing it out of proportion, since hunting
accidents like this aren't uncommon.

But Mark Williams, a conservative host on KFBK (1530 AM) in Sacramento,
said the situation is just too good not to mock.

"The vice president pumps a shotgun full of birdshot into a lawyer's
face - that's a 'Saturday Night Live' episode," he said.

Williams also suggested others Cheney should take hunting, naming John
McCain and Hillary Clinton as possibilities.

Some bloggers are comparing Cheney to a bumbling Elmer Fudd, and blogger
Jim Dayton envisions a cartoonish scene on twistedjim.com: "I can see it
now, old Elmer Cheney out there tiptoeing through the brush. 'Shh, it's
lawyer season.' "

Tim Wilson headlined his blog on the incident: "Be Vewy, Vewy Quiet: I'm
Hunting Wawyers."

The jokes inundating the Web are part of what blogs are all about, says
Taplin.

"That's why they exist," he said. "I think they exist to take on the
establishment, and these things provide perfect opportunities for them
to both be satiric and make some news as well."

Borowitz, the online humorist, quickly posted a fake news story to his
Web site, the Borowitz Report. The tongue-in-cheek piece claimed a
Cheney aide quipped, "If he was going to shoot any of his cronies right
now it's a shame it wasn't Jack Abramoff."

And over at the White House, joked Borowitz in his fake news story,
"President George W. Bush defended his vice president's shooting of a
fellow hunter, saying that the attack sent 'a strong message to
terrorists everywhere.' "

Comedian Al Franken on liberal Air America, referred to Cheney on Monday
as "God's gift to political satirists."

"Gee, Mr. Vice President," Franken said, "there are better ways to
reform Social Security."

Franken also quipped that when asked why Cheney shot Whittington, the VP
said, "Just to watch him die."

Christine Craft, host of the left-leaning Sacramento Talk City radio
that is broadcast on KSAC (1240 AM), likened the shooting incident to
Monica Lewinsky's stained blue dress.

"You know it's a story that has legs. You know people are going to be
talking about it at the water cooler," she said. "It's like the gods are
watching over radio hosts. ... There is a confluence of events that are
just irresistible."

Craft started her afternoon talk show Monday with the sounds of birds, a
shotgun cartridge being chambered, a gunshot and then a guy screaming.

"I think people were just dying to talk about it because it's so
amusing," she said. "Here's this guy who got five draft deferments, and
if he had just gotten basic training, he wouldn't have had these
problems with weapons later in life."

Even Eric Hogue, host of a conservative talk show on KTKZ (1380 AM),
dedicated a half hour of his show Monday to the shooting. While Hogue
offered up some general ribs, he stressed they were just that.

"When you go hunting and it's quail or rabbit or pheasant, if you hunt
long enough, you're going to get peppered once in a while," he said.
"Even the best hunters have accidents."

Because Whittington is expected to survive, Hogue agrees the incident
can be humorous but nothing more. "I think your average person can laugh
at this and joke about it, but don't find anything serious about this
story. "Those who make more out of it have not paid their brain bill."

Some programs strip the 'OT' out of the header.




On Wed, 15 Feb 2006 14:11:36 -0800, "Dene" wrote:

Harry and others. Could you put OT on this stuff. It allows me to filter
it easier.

Thanks,

-Greg

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Cheney in comics' sights after shooting accident
By Melissa Dahl -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Story appeared on Page A1 of The Bee


Once Vice President Dick Cheney's misfire hit the news, bloggers,
humorists and even T-shirt makers wasted no time firing back.

Both liberal and conservative talk show hosts are poking fun at the
shooting by Cheney, who mistakenly fired at 78-year-old friend Harry
Whittington as they hunted for quail in Texas.

Spoof headlines sprang up all over the Internet: "Cheney 0, Quail 1" and
"Cheney seems exonerated of failed assassination attempt."

Online humorist Adam Borowitz titled his satirical piece, "Cheney says
shooting of fellow hunter was based on faulty intelligence."

"Good news, ladies and gentlemen, we have finally located weapons of
mass destruction. ... It's Dick Cheney," David Letterman cracked on CBS'
"Late Show" Monday, adding: "We can't get bin Laden, but we nailed a
78-year-old attorney."

On Comedy Central, Jon Stewart of "The Daily Show" offered a little
historical perspective, noting that Whittington was the first person to
be shot by a vice president since Alexander Hamilton.

"Hamilton, of course, was shot in a duel with Aaron Burr over issues of
honor, integrity and political maneuvering," he said. "Whittington?
Mistaken for a bird."

Stewart and Letterman "live for moments like this," said Jonathan
Taplin, a professor of online media at the University of Southern
California's Annenberg School for Communication. "It's just an
opportunity for humor."

Cheney's "next" accidental victim is being guessed at. Online gambling
site Intertops.com has posted odds on who he might mistakenly shoot
next: 500-1 it's President Bush or his father, former President Bush;
1,000-1 it's John Kerry.

For Cheney's future hunting endeavors, one blogger has illustrated the
difference between a hunter and a quail.

For $14.99, dogs can get in on the political satire. Among other things,
CafePress.com is selling doggie T-shirts with the slogans "Deadeye
Dick's Gun Club" or "Dick Cheney Hunt Club."

The Web site also offers T-shirts, teddy bears, mouse pads and wall
clocks with either slogan emblazoned on it.

Some bloggers have jumped to Cheney's defense. Meg Quinn writes that
other than Whittington's injury, the most unfortunate aspect of the
incident is that people are blowing it out of proportion, since hunting
accidents like this aren't uncommon.

But Mark Williams, a conservative host on KFBK (1530 AM) in Sacramento,
said the situation is just too good not to mock.

"The vice president pumps a shotgun full of birdshot into a lawyer's
face - that's a 'Saturday Night Live' episode," he said.

Williams also suggested others Cheney should take hunting, naming John
McCain and Hillary Clinton as possibilities.

Some bloggers are comparing Cheney to a bumbling Elmer Fudd, and blogger
Jim Dayton envisions a cartoonish scene on twistedjim.com: "I can see it
now, old Elmer Cheney out there tiptoeing through the brush. 'Shh, it's
lawyer season.' "

Tim Wilson headlined his blog on the incident: "Be Vewy, Vewy Quiet: I'm
Hunting Wawyers."

The jokes inundating the Web are part of what blogs are all about, says
Taplin.

"That's why they exist," he said. "I think they exist to take on the
establishment, and these things provide perfect opportunities for them
to both be satiric and make some news as well."

Borowitz, the online humorist, quickly posted a fake news story to his
Web site, the Borowitz Report. The tongue-in-cheek piece claimed a
Cheney aide quipped, "If he was going to shoot any of his cronies right
now it's a shame it wasn't Jack Abramoff."

And over at the White House, joked Borowitz in his fake news story,
"President George W. Bush defended his vice president's shooting of a
fellow hunter, saying that the attack sent 'a strong message to
terrorists everywhere.' "

Comedian Al Franken on liberal Air America, referred to Cheney on Monday
as "God's gift to political satirists."

"Gee, Mr. Vice President," Franken said, "there are better ways to
reform Social Security."

Franken also quipped that when asked why Cheney shot Whittington, the VP
said, "Just to watch him die."

Christine Craft, host of the left-leaning Sacramento Talk City radio
that is broadcast on KSAC (1240 AM), likened the shooting incident to
Monica Lewinsky's stained blue dress.

"You know it's a story that has legs. You know people are going to be
talking about it at the water cooler," she said. "It's like the gods are
watching over radio hosts. ... There is a confluence of events that are
just irresistible."

Craft started her afternoon talk show Monday with the sounds of birds, a
shotgun cartridge being chambered, a gunshot and then a guy screaming.

"I think people were just dying to talk about it because it's so
amusing," she said. "Here's this guy who got five draft deferments, and
if he had just gotten basic training, he wouldn't have had these
problems with weapons later in life."

Even Eric Hogue, host of a conservative talk show on KTKZ (1380 AM),
dedicated a half hour of his show Monday to the shooting. While Hogue
offered up some general ribs, he stressed they were just that.

"When you go hunting and it's quail or rabbit or pheasant, if you hunt
long enough, you're going to get peppered once in a while," he said.
"Even the best hunters have accidents."

Because Whittington is expected to survive, Hogue agrees the incident
can be humorous but nothing more. "I think your average person can laugh
at this and joke about it, but don't find anything serious about this
story. "Those who make more out of it have not paid their brain bill."


--
'Til next time,

John H

******************************************
***** Have a Spectacular Day! *****
******************************************