Apology to Whittington

My voice joined the chorus on Sunday making light of Mr. Whittington's injuries. I used the news to make fun of some of the tendencies of the right wing, the left wing, and the media, without paying much attention to the fact that the guy was still in the Intensive Care Unit.

My judgment fell victim to the right wing spin machine and its accomplices in the corporate media. Even though he was hospitalized, we were told just got sprayed, and that he was alert and talking. The corporate media repeated that he got "sprayed" or "peppered", and implied it was his own fault (which those of us who have ever learned anything gun safety knew was a ludicrous lie).

Yesterday, one of the pellets triggered a heart attack. This was no spraying or peppering - this guy had lead penetrate through his clothes and into his chest cavity. Our vice president was saved from a negligent homicide charge only because millionaire republican lawyers get superb health care.

I am sincerely sorry for believing the White House spin machine and the corporate media as they minimized the seriousness of what happened. I promise never to give this administration the benefit of the doubt - whether they're minimizing the financial impact of tax breaks, whether they're minimizing the scope of their super-secret domestic spying program, or whether they're minimizing the importance of outing a CIA agent. The White House has squandered its credibility, and the stenographic journalists have damaged their own.

It turns out that getting shot in the face is not funny - it's life-threatening. That's why the White House delayed releasing the information as long as they could - they needed to get the beer out of Cheney's system and off his breath before he spoke to anyone.