TRICKLE, TRICKLE

Not to jump the gun, so to speak -- but if Cheney Boy's 78-year-old shooting victim were to die from the "minor heart attack" he suffered or from any other injuries he sustained as a result of being accidentally shot, can Cheney Boy be charged with negligent homicide?

If so, will he be?

And if that were possible, would it be too much to ask Cheney Boy's victim to give his life for the good of the Republic? The question is fraught with moral implications but worth asking, methinks.

Postscript: A reader writes: "How many more revelations will it take before people realize this is a crime family? A hunting accident (even if lethal) is nothing compared to the fraudulent push into war. Nothing."

Another writes: "I asked that same question myself. I would think that at the very least a grand jury should be called. Who ruled it accidental?"

Ah. Good point. And here's the funky answer: The local Texas sheriff, Ramon Salinas III of Kenedy County, said an investigation had concluded that the episode was "no more than an accident." As reported by The New York Times, Salinas said he sent his chief deputy, Gilbert Sanmiguel, to the Armstrong Ranch (where the shooting took place) on Saturday night. He said Sanmiguel interviewed Cheney Boy and reported that the shooting was an accident.

By Sunday, however, the sheriff's department had yet to speak to Cheney Boy's victim, Harry Whittington. "But you could say it's closed," Salinas said of the case. Then, on Monday, the sheriff's office issued a press release that said "Mr. Whittington's interview collaborated [sic] Vice President Cheney's statement" and that the department was "fully satisfied that this was no more than a hunting accident."

Yes, you read that right. The interview was a collaboration. Presumably, the sheriff's department meant a corroboration. You don't need to be Sigmund Freud to draw a suspicious collusion -- sorry -- conclusion.