Thursday, February 16, 2006

 

The real meaning of the Cheney incident

Being a shooter myself, I will not defend VP Cheney's "accidental" shooting. In shooting circles there are no "accidents", only "carelessness". One of the basic rules of shooting is to NEVER fire your weapon without having a clear assessment of your target and of the area down-range of your target. Besides, Cheney's escapade is a black-eye to all of us who work to dispel the myths of "the dangers of gun ownership" so prevalent in our nanny society.

BUT, all of the media ire isn't over the fact that Cheney shot a hunting partner--Hell, they LOVE that he shot a hunting partner! This is just the type of ammunition (pardon the pun) that will keep them in joke lines, editorials and "special feature stories" for MONTHS!

No, the media is upset that Cheney didn't call them and give them the story! Face it--the media got caught with their pants down! While the paparazzi were trying to get photos of Brittany's stretch marks, while the Washington press corps were cracking jokes about how Bush pronounces "nuclear", while the talking heads were re-hashing the latest popularity polls, NOBODY was there to "catch" the VP shooting his buddy!

Now the media is reciting the First Amendment like they really believed in it (rather than in just the parts of it that refer to the press) and spouting, "The People have the right to know!" THAT is where the legitimacy of their complaints end!

"The People" do have the right to know! The media should have been there to gather the facts and report them to "The People". Whatever outrage "The People" have toward the VP for the shooting or the events following, I am willing to hear "The People" express! But I would also like to hear the outrage that "The People" have toward the media for getting "scooped" on this story that the media is now trying to make sound like "The Most Important Story In The History Of Mankind". THERE'S the story I'd like to see on the evening news!

The media instead is whining that "the VP didn't call us and tell us what happened"! Well, pardon me, but aren't the "investigative reporters" supposed to be investigating? What has happened to the Edward R. Murrows, the John Cameron Swayzes, the Carl Bernsteins and Bob Woodwords--or even the Geraldo Riveras and Walter Winchells, who used to "dig up the news" and report it to "The People"? Has the media become so lazy, so arrogant, so elitist that they must now be "called" and reported TO???

In today's TV culture newscasters have already assumed the status of "celebrities". Are they now to be considered "authorities" that we are all to bow to? The purpose of "freedom of the press" is for the media to protect us from an abusive government--not to become an oppressive government themselves.

posted by huggy 3:13 PM