February 14, 2006

"...You know, you can't please some people no matter

     what you do. Half the time they say I'm isolated and

     don't listen. Then, when I do listen, they say I need

     a warrant..."

 

                            -President George W. Bush, as reported

                             from a recent Alfalfa Club dinner.

 

 

To All,

    Yet another fine example of how a rapier beats a cudgel in the public arena.

 

In other news:

 

The One That Got Away:

     There is further coverage of that news item being dubbed "Quail-gate" by some wags in the Commentariat.

 

     As is now widely reported, Vice President Dick Cheney was involved in a hunting accident last Saturday while staying at the Armstrong Ranch in South Texas. While shooting at a flushing quail, the Man From Wyoming bagged instead friend and modest donor Harry Whittington ( There is something almost sentient about the quail's ability to fake hunters into shooting each other by flying between group members.).  After receiving some on-the-spot first-aid from the Vice President's medical team, he was eventually transported to a hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas. Latest reports are that Mr. Whittington is in very stable condition and in "...good spirits...".

 

     For the most part, the White House Press Corps has once again put in the kind of performance that we have come to expect from much of the Salaried Fourth Estate.

 

     Luckily there was the exception of the coverage from such "closer to the scene" outlets as the Dallas Morning News to prevent a total media meltdown. But the nation still has been largely treated to the spectacle of a petulant group of jornos kvetching about how it was not kept "better informed" by the White House Press Office, thus allowing them to be "scooped" by lesser-known competitors in the grand game of "gotcha".

 

     This thus begs the question as to what the Press Corps really wants. Do they want everyone to know that they have cast all objectivity aside in their forlorn quest to nail Dick Cheney's hide to the barn door? ( It was an unfortunate accident after all, and it is certain that there are literally millions of American hunters who are more than ready to go into back into the field with the Vice President).

 

     Or do they want the White House to, despite all prior castigation to the contrary, pass on incomplete information in the dead of night to journalism's weekend shift? And will they now be more tolerant and forgiving of those intrepid "bloggers" who often beat the "editorially-heavy" Old Media to the scoop using more "fragmented" fact sets?

 

     It should be clear from this incident that the White House Press Corps, at least, has little respect for the current administration. Whether journalism's "Rat Pack" deserves the respect it is currently demanding from the Administration, not to mention a readership rapidly heading for the exits, is a matter yet to be determined. Stay tuned.

 

  Links:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/outdoors/
stories/021406dntexcheneyhunt.2468cd76.html

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/
stories/021406dntexcheney2.b3af73d.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/
02/13/AR2006021301303_pf.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060212/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cheney_hunting_accident&printer=1;
_ylt=AvOAAczZshsrukZ1wrQOmwIGw_IE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?
vnu_content_id=1001995719

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/nbc/gregory_in_the_gaggle_ill_
calm_down_when_i_feel_like_calming_down_32343.asp

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0213061cheney1.html

 

 

It's Good To Be The KIng:

     It must be good to be the King of Late Night Comedy, what with some of the recent memos coming out from the Boys and Girls of the Firearms Division of the California Department of Justice.

 

     During a skit where Jay Leno mimed the absconding of this year's Sport's Illustrated Swimsuit Edition from Saddam Hussein (It is better seen than explained), Leno had to get past the character of an armed Iraqi guard by showing him certain cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammed and pointing to the character of a Danish cartoonist off camera.

 

    And what was the Iraqi guard character armed with, given Leno's known penchant for accuracy?

 

    An AK-47, complete with an attached 30 round magazine, bayonet lug, and beveled recoil compensator.

 

    As firearms activists are quite aware, possession of such firearms is limited in California to those registered about a decade ago. Transference of possession is strictly regulated, and where a lent "assault weapon" cannot be out of the presence of the licensee.

 

    Now, it is currently unclear how Leno and the NBC studios in Burbank were able to obtain such a "notorious" prop for this skit (Perhaps they borrowed DiFi's?). Movie industry exemptions to firearms bans notwithstanding, one can only hope that all applicable firearms were adhered to. Otherwise, it could almost be considered discriminatory for Hollywood to get away with in public what it so thoroughly campaigns against behind the scenes in the State Capitol. And it would be equally as embarrassing if Bill Lockyer would have to go to the corner of Bob Hope Drive and Alameda Blvd and "do something" about enforcing Section 12276 of the Penal Code. Stay tuned.

 

Once More, With Feeling:

     John Fund wrote yesterday about the upcoming Congressional primary in South Texas.

 

     It seems that Democrat Party Liberals are once again going to try to run Way-Lefty Ciro Rodriguez against Congressman Henry Cuellar, in a rerun of two years ago.

 

     While all the votes for the current cycle are not in yet, it may prove safe to assume that a Candidate Rodriguez backed by Moveon.org types will not be as friendly to the Second Amendment as Congressman Cuellar.

 

     As such, Texans should be cautious with their votes in the upcoming primary. The Reagan-era watchwords "Trust, but verify" will have just as much importance in March as they did when dealing with Leonid Brezhnev. Stay tuned.

 

Link at:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110007960