Alex Yawor – 2/21/06

This page was last updated on February 22, 2006.

Looking for an excuse; Alex Yawor; Beaver County Times; February 21, 2006.

You won’t be surprised to learn Mr. Yawor’s most recent previous letter attempted to bash President Bush regarding Iraq.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“After reading the last paragraph of Wednesday’s article ‘Shooting,’ I went outside and conducted a little experiment.

“Part of that paragraph said, ‘Another covey was flushed and Cheney swung on a bird and fired, striking Whittington in the face, neck and chest at approximately 30 yards.’”

[RWC] The quoted excerpt is actually from a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department report on the incident.

“I first picked an object, pretending that it was a man, that I thought was about 30 yards away and turned my back to it.

“Then, again pretending that I heard the flapping of wings, I start to turn. Hearing the sound, my head turns in that direction and as my body gets about half way around, I see the object that I pretended was a man.

“So I lower my gun, knowing that if I followed through with my turn and fired, I could accidentally hit the man.”

[RWC] Problem #1: Mr. Yawor wasn’t actually tracking a flying bird, only pretending. As a result, his eyes weren’t really focused on anything. He had nothing to hold his attention.

Problem #2: Mr. Yawor knew in advance his “man” was there. VP Cheney didn’t. Remember, Mr. Whittington had left the group to search for a quail he shot. Cheney didn’t know Whittington had retaken his position.

“So if the story happened as the paper said, why didn’t Cheney see Whittington when he swung around? Also, if you are a bird hunter, you do not just swing around and shoot before you even see the bird or birds. You spot them first, take aim and then fire.”

[RWC] Here are three facts germane to Mr. Yawor’s question.

First, according to VP Cheney’s interview, the hunters – including Mr. Whittington - were in the brush. That makes sense because wild quail use brush for cover. As a result, it’s likely the brush hid at least part of the lower half of Mr. Whittington’s body.

Second, Mr. Whittington was in a small gully. As a result, less of his upper body was visible than normal.

Third, from Cheney’s position relative to Mr. Whittington, the Sun – low in the sky at 5:30 p.m. – was behind Mr. Whittington. As we all know, looking into the Sun impedes your vision.

Regarding “you do not just swing around and shoot …,” Mr. Cheney – and the report quoted above – stated he was tracking a specific bird and fired on it. Where does Mr. Yawor get the idea Cheney never saw the bird at which he shot?

“I will go along with the shooting being an accident, but not the way the paper said. Could it have been Cheney’s fault and the reason it came out the next day was because they had to come up with some kind of excuse so that Cheney would not get into trouble.”

[RWC] “I will go along with the shooting being an accident?” Does Mr. Yawor believe there’s anything to suggest the incident was not an accident?

Regarding his question “Could it have been Cheney’s fault?”, Mr. Yawor apparently hasn’t been paying attention. At least as far back as Wednesday (Feb. 15^th), VP Cheney took full responsibility for the accident. VP Cheney said, “Well, ultimately, I’m the guy who pulled the trigger that fired the round that hit Harry. And you can talk about all of the other conditions that existed at the time, but that’s the bottom line. And there’s no -- it was not Harry’s fault. You can’t blame anybody else. I’m the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend. And I say that is something I’ll never forget.”

Also, the incident was reported to local law enforcement within an hour or so of the accident, not “the next day” as Mr. Yawor alleges. “The next day” applies only to press notification.

“Now, why would I even think that they would do such a thing? These people are Republicans, and, after all, Republicans can do no wrong. If you don’t believe me, just ask Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and our own Fred Honsburger.”

[RWC] Oops, Mr. Yawor let his bias become obvious.

“By the way, if my theory is wrong, will a real bird hunter please correct me?”

[RWC] You don’t need to be a bird hunter to see Mr. Yawor’s experiment and “theory” are bogus.