Aaron Burr Kills Alexander Hamilton; Dick Cheney Shoots Harry Whittington

I love it when American history comes alive. And the shooting of Harry Whittington, an Austin lawyer, by his ‘good friend,’ and Vice-President Dick Cheney recalls to me the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr which forever changed the course, nay, even the very nature of America. Reading The New York Times draws me to the papers of the early 19th century, when apparently, the news was also slow to be made public.

Ah, who really cares. The Vice-president of the United States shot a man last Sunday on a hunting expedition. That is, the Vice-president missed the quail and hit his friend. With a rifle. A weapon. Of mass destruction. Who cares? Better to obsess and spend millions and millions of precious dollars on the relatively harmless sexual peccadilloes of Bill Clinton who once lied about getting a blow job.

That is, while American soldiers fight and die in Iraq, while Americans die from lack of health care, while the American economy deteriorates regularly, while new images of abuse at Abu Ghraib materialize, while Iran and North Korea develop nuclear weapons and we remain without a clue on how to responsibly act, while the United States government plots to overthrow a government elected (Hamas) while democracy is on the march, while the trade deficit grows dangerously large as miners die as a result of neglect and lack of oversight, while the homeless from the tragedy in New Orleans run out of options, while the cost of the Iraq War requires cuts in spending for education and health care, the Vice-president went quail hunting and shot his friend. With a gun. With a weapon of mass destruction.

And where was the President? Riding his bicycle?

May I suggest that our leaders should be working overtime! Even on weekends. After all, there are many households where people hold two down two jobs. At least Cheney and Bush are obliged to one employment. But they ought to consider overtime. Even without pay.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES SHOT HARRY WHITTINGTON, AN AUSTIN LAWYER? How do I even begin to think about that horror?

Oh please, this is just too absurd. Impeach all of these irresponsible, stupid men. Give me my country back.

The sadness is that this is another blip on a radar screen, but everyone is asleep, or waiting distractedly for someone’s privates to become public.