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SAYING WHAT HAS TO BE SAID...IN TRUE LIBERTARIAN FASHION

What do Aaron Burr and Dick Cheney have in common?

Published Monday, February 13, 2006 by Editor | E-mail this post

This weekend Dick Cheney became only the 2nd Vice President since Aaron Burr to shoot a man. Aaron Burr, however, killed Alexander Hamilton intentionally. To hear the media spin, however, not only was Cheney’s hunting accident intentional but a deliberate cover-up on the part of the White House.

Over the weekend, Cheney and friend Harry Whittington were on a hunting trip in South Texas. During the hunt Whittington found himself in the line of fire as Cheney fired on nearby quail. Whittington was peppered with birdshot in the face in chest. According to doctors, Whittington’s injuries are minor and he is in stable condition. Nonetheless, the fact that the public was not informed of this mishap for 24hrs has given rise to suggestions of a cover-up. As White House spokesman, Scott McClellan pointed out, Cheney was not traveling with the press corps during his trip and informing the press was not his highest priority as they sought treatment for Whittington.

Certainly its not everyday that the Vice President of the United States guns down a man, but is the press fury warranted? It is difficult to palate a suggestion of cover-up when Cheney and company immediately sought medical attention for their wounded friend. Something which could not be easily concealed even if it had been attempted, which it certainly wasn’t. Is the Vice president under some legal or moral obligation to issue a press release after an accident irrelevant to his duties as Vice President?

The press uproar surrounding this unfortunate accident is much ado about nothing, highlighting an ongoing campaign by the left leaning press to taint the administration by any and all possible means. Fortunately for Cheney, Whittington’s injuries were minor, had that not been the case, Cheney would have far more in common with Aaron Burr.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-2039094,00.html

2 Responses to “What do Aaron Burr and Dick Cheney have in common?”

KipEsquire on February 13, 2006

"Aaron Burr, however, killed Alexander Hamilton intentionally."

That's not necessarily true. Dueling pistols were often so faulty, and the "gentlemen" such bad shots, that dueling had a surprisingly low casualty rate, and was often deemed more of a publicity stunt than a bona fide attempt to kill anyone.

Hamilton, for instance, assured his "second" and the doctor he brought along that he had no intention of firing at Burr and in fact shot into the air.

The pistols used, incidentally, were Hamilton's. They were the same guns that were used in AH's son's fatal duel. They had a special "hair trigger" that improved accuracy considerably. Hamilton's trigger was not set; Burr's was, perhaps by accident.
The Phalanx on February 14, 2006

Its not everyday that one encounters an Aaron Burr apologist, but then again most Am,ericans probably wouldn't know Aaron Burr from Adam.

its true that Hamilton's death was intentional in the sense that a duel can lead to the death of a participant and while Hamilton acknowledged in his writings his intent not to strike Burr, the Vice President made no such assertions, in fact he showed disadin toward Hamilton upon learning of the former Treasury Secretary's intentions.