A closer look at Katherine Armstrong's story

[rocktivity]

link
Armstrong said she was watching from a car while Cheney, Whittington and another hunter got out of the vehicle to shoot at a covey of quail.
Keep in mind that we have only her word for it that Whit was hit from 30 yards away. How would she know that, especially if she was still in the car? How far was the car from the hunting group?

Whittington shot a bird and went to look for it in the tall grass, while Cheney and the third hunter walked to another spot and discovered a second covey. Whittington "came up from behind the vice president and the other hunter and didn't signal them or indicate to them or announce himself," Armstrong said.
And how was Whit SUPPOSED to signal that he'd rejoined the group from 30 yards away--by yelling, or by firing a shot in the air? By the way, that third hunter is a material witness. Have the other members of the hunting party been questioned?

"The vice president didn't see him," she continued. "The covey flushed and the vice president picked out a bird and was following it and shot. And by god, Harry was in the line of fire and got peppered pretty good."
If Whit was BEHIND Cheney, then he would have had to TURN AROUND COMPLETELY in order to have shot Whit right in the chest. So why didn't Cheney notice that there was something orange in front of him?

..."It broke the skin," she said of the shotgun pellets. "It knocked him silly. But he was fine. He was talking. His eyes were open. It didn't get in his eyes or anything like that..."
From thirty yards away? Then why were the pellets able to penetrate Whit's clothing and skin, as well as get within striking distance of his heart? And if he's doing so well, why hasn't be made a statement to the police? At the very least, it would be in his friend Cheney's best interests. Cops go to hospital emergency rooms and questioning people who are minutes from DYING!!!

"Fortunately, the vice president has got a lot of medical people around him and so they were right there and probably more cautious than we would have been," she said. "The vice president has got an ambulance on call, so the ambulance came."
On call? I thought Dick's and Dubya's ambulances went everywhere that they did. I find it very hard to believe that it was left to idle on another part of the ranch! More important, what is the explanation of the gaps between the 5:30PM time of the shooting, the 8:30PM admittance to the hospital, and the TWENTY TWO HOURS LATER public announcement of what had happened?

..."This is something that happens from time to time. You now, I've been peppered pretty well myself," said Armstrong.
From what I've learned on DU, "peppering" is when the shot rains down on you, not when it penetrates you. Did YOUR peppering result in broken skin, a hospital stay, or organ damage, Katharine?

Sorry, hun, but your story has more gaps in it than Jessica Simpson's wardrobe.

:headbang:
rocknation

[AX10]

1. KICK, KICK, KICK!

[hexola]

2. Why no hunting dogs...?

Not an expert here - but dont these guys usually let some well trained dog go after the bird?

An organized hunt that sends a 78 year old man 100 feet to retrive a bird...?

[gordianot]

24. My question also.

Most quail hunters I know are also into the use working bird dogs. They go on point flush the bird and if they are truly an excellent dog can retrieve birds not some poor old 78 year old Republican Lawyer. Cheney was carrying a $17,000 shotgun surely they could afford dogs.

Also Cheney shot grounded birds something a real hunter would never do.

[TahitiNut]

32. Most of the dogs were shot and the rest are still running.

:evilgrin:

[Scout1071]

3. Another question. They originally said they couldn't have

released the info publicly because they were soley concerned on the well-being of Whit. HOWEVER, Dick Cheney and Katherine Armstrong did not go to the hospital in the Life Flight helicopter. So....what the fuck were they doing all night?

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. They went and ate dinner

I read that in an article yesterday. While Whit was being flown to the ER, Cheney and his friends went back to the house and ate fucking dinner.

Can you believe it?

As a co-worker of mine said today, Cheney is just so inherently evil I wouldn't put anything past him.

[SpiralHawk]

38. What vintage wine do you suppose they drank at dinner?

Maybe a 2004 Chianti Classico. They are excellent with fava beans.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

4. How about talking about the "eye witness" piece?

Armstrong said she saw Cheney's security detail running toward the scene. "The first thing that crossed my mind was he had a heart problem," she told The Associated Press.

http://www.comcast.net/news/index.jsp?cat=GENERAL&fn=/2006/02/14/325642.html&cvqh=itn&ts=2006.02.14_08.13

It seemed she saw the whole thing and, yet, she didn't. Hmmmm. MKJ

[hexola]

5. good catch! (nt)

[Castilleja]

6. I just read in our paper that Mr. Whittington suffered a

heart attack as a result of one of the pellets being lodged in his heart. That shocked me, he got more than just "peppered". Seems like it would take alot to get through your chest wall to your heart, but I'm no expert.... :shrug:

[bluethruandthru]

7. Didn't Armstrong say something about beer

being available? Maybe not in this original statement.

[rocktivity]

8. Armstrong did say that there may have been "a beer or two" on the premises

though not all the members of the hunting party were actually hunting--I guess it's okay to be drunk as long as you DON'T have a gun. At least, she was quoted as saying as much on MSNBC.com--except that the reference to beer has since disappeared.

:headbang:
rocknation

[rocktivity]

25. Here's a screenshot of the MSNBC story with the beer reference!!!

:headbang:
rocknation

[txindy]

9. Darth wears ear protectors while shooting, too. No warning could get thru.

Letting him know about coming up behind him was simply not an option. Besides being ludicrous. "I'm right behind ya, Dick! Ooops, sorry about scaring off all the birds like that." :eyes:

[EstimatedProphet]

20. Maybe not

The better ear protection is designed to shield loud noises. You can talk to someone wearing it and they will hear you, and at the same time shoot off a gun right next to them and it will block the sound of the gun.

I'm sure that Cheney would have stuff like that. It's expensive.

[rocktivity]

22. But how do you "announce" that you've "rejoined" your hunting group

when it's ninety feet away?

:crazy:
rocknation

[EstimatedProphet]

23. By saying "Hey it's me"

the sound would get through

[txindy]

26. You might want to let a certain newspaper columnist know about this

Because he's not happy with the explanation from Darth's office. Adding: And he's the outdoors writer for the paper and a veteran hunter.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=417606&mesg_id=417606

[rocktivity]

34. You can't SAY "Hey it's me" to someone who's 30 yards away

unless you YELL--which would scare the quail, which would defeat the purpose of trying to hunt them!

:headbang:
rocknation

[EstimatedProphet]

35. I'm not sure of that

Here's the thing-you want the birds to move, because that's when they will flush, and you get an opportunity to shoot them. Trying to sneak up on them makes no sense to me.

I admit it's been a while since I've hunted quail, but I don't remember trying to sneak up on them.

[Vanje]

10. LIAR!

She changed her story;

Heres today's version of what Ms Armstrog saw:
"Armstrong said she saw Cheney’s security detail running toward the scene. "The first thing that crossed my mind was he had a heart problem," she told The Associated Press". from that MSNBC link.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11349649

[seabeyond]

11. totally off topic. is cheney or taxpayer paying for this medical team

that is with him 24 hours. cause i say f* that shit. i cant get into a doctor paying 1000 a month for insurance. he gets a medical team following him around. and this is fiscal responsiblity?

[madokie]

12. first things first, what is her preception of distance. what denotes

a yard to her.

[SPKrazy]

13. I Thought The Same Thing

No Way she was a "witness" as Snotty Scotty claimed, she thought Cheney was having a heart attack

how the hell can they call her a witness?????????

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

14. A THIRD hunter?

I just noticed that. In previous threads on DU tonight, there was another quote by Armstrong regarding the fact that beer had been brought along as part of a pre-hunt picnic lunch but that the "shooters" didn't partake. I always thought the party had only four people: Armstrong, the Swiss Ambassador, Cheney, and Whittington. Was there anyone else? Or did one or both of the women hunt? In that case, I'm not sure what Armstrong might have meant when she mentioned that the beer at lunch would be for the non-hunters.

[Clara T]

28. Who all was There?

All manner of folk.


Further details are emerging about Cheney's hunting trip. Hunting with Cheney and Whittington at the south Texas ranch of former Republican White House adviser and ambassador to Britain Anne Armstrong, was Pamela Pitzer Willeford, the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Texas GOP activist, and longtime  member of various boards and committees in Texas, including the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, State Preservation Board, Texas Book Fair Committee, and Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries Advisory Committee.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

31. So if Willeford was the supposed "third" hunter

then all the beers in the picnic basket were for the hostess, Armstrong? You've described four people, Armstrong, Willeford, Cheney, and Whittington. Armstrong described the fact there were beers available in the picnic lunch but none of the hunters had them. If the hostess Armstrong was in the car, and if Willeford, Cheney and Whittington were hunting, then the hostess of the event was having all the beers, I guess. Either that, or she lied when she said that the hunters were "dry".

[txindy]

30. Armstrong's sister. She was in the car or truck or whatever they drove in.

Probably a Hummer with a jacuzzi in it. It wouldn't surprise me, after all this.

[SillyGoose]

16. Very good questions, RockNation. One thing that bothers me which you

mentioned is the several hour delay in Whittington arriving at the hospital. I haven't seen an explanation yet about that. Do we know how far away the hospital is from the ranch? I also find it curious that the SS arranged for Cheney to be interviewed by local authorities in the morning rather than that same night.

[rocktivity]

18. The smart money says that they thought they could treat Whit themselves

and (worst case scenario) keep him on the ranch until he recovered. They took him to the hospital when they realized that they couldn't.

:headbang:
rocknation

[MiniMe]

42. Being admitted and arriving at the hospital are 2 separate things

I think it took them several hours to run tests and stabalize him, everything being done was of course rushed through. No waiting for Whitt. Then they decided to admit him, admitting is usually an administrative procedure, not a medical procedure.

That is the only part of this story that doesn't bother me. What we need to find out is when did he arrive at the hospital.

[SillyGoose]

43. Ok, that would explain the 3 hour delay. I was under the mistaken

impression it was 3 hours before he arrived at the hospital. Thanks for pointing that out.

[INdemo]

17. I guess these idiot republicans expect people

to believe anything they say

[spindrifter]

19. What about HIPAA?

Haven't you recently had to sign a bunch of forms at your doctor's and dentist's office regarding your right to privacy regarding your health care? It seems there has been a lot of information circulated about Mr. Whittington's treatment and medical status, and I wonder if he signed consent forms to allow it all to be released.
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/

[BrklynLiberal]

21. KICK KICK KICK!!!!

[Clara T]

27. Who is Anne Armstrong?

FACTSHEET: Anne L. Armstrong
DETAILS
Chairman, Board of Trustees Executive Committee, CSIS
appointed a regent of Texas A&M University System in 1997 by then governor George W. Bush U.S. ambassador to Great Britain (1976-1977) Chaired the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (1981-1990) Former Halliburton Board of Directors member Currently on General Motors Corporate Advisory Council

ORGANIZATIONS
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Source: CSIS website, 3/04

SOURCES
CSIS website, 3/04
http://www.csis.org

http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/personfactsheet.php?id=293

Anne Armstrong is a CFR member

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

29. Slave and toil kick.

:kick:

[Nothing Without Hope]

33. Additional important and blantant contradictions spotted by Media Matters:

http://mediamatters.org/items/200602140016
Tue, Feb 14, 2006 5:55pm EST

Media overlook unanswered questions and inconsistencies in Cheney shooting disclosure

Summary: Media reporting on the delay between when Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot one of his hunting partners and the public disclosure of that information have overlooked unanswered questions and inconsistent accounts of how the incident was revealed to the press.

The two points they concentrate on in this Feb 14 article:

• Media overlooked Armstrong's conflicting accounts of whether she coordinated with Cheney
  
• Media ignored Rove's involvement while reporting that Vice President's Office was solely responsible for delayed disclosure

Check out the THREAD COMPILATION on Fuddgate at the links in my sig line.

[Gelliebeans]

36. I forwarded this to the MSM fwiw. n/t

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

37. Reporters should ask her "did you see this yourself?"

[OneBlueSky]

39. "it knocked him silly" and "he was fine" do not compute when . . .

you're talking about a 78-year-old human . . .

[kayice]

40. That Armstrong woman looks like she been rode hard and

put up wet....:silly:

[Tin Man]

41. All good questions, rocknation - K&R