Posted on 02/14/2006 5:33:47 PM PST by Sub-Driver
Democrats blast Cheney secrecy after shooting
13 minutes ago
Democrats in Congress accused Vice President Dick Cheney of a pattern of secrecy, and demanded that he "level" with the public, after keeping mum about accidentally shooting an associate over the weekend.
Cheney has been criticized for waiting a day before disclosing a hunting mishap Saturday in which he shot his 78-year-old hunting companion, Harry Whittington, in the neck, chest, and face.
Asked at a press conference for her reaction about how the White House has handled the incident, US Senator Hillary Clinton called the Bush administration's failure to be more forthcoming "troubling."
"A tendency of this administration -- from the top all the way to the bottom -- is to withhold information ... to refuse to be forthcoming about information that is of significance and relevance to the jobs that all of you do, and the interests of the American people," Clinton said.
"Putting it all together, going back years now, there's a pattern and it's a pattern that should be troubling," she said at a press conference calling for a more robust federal response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
The former first lady continued: "The refusal of this administration to level with the American people on matters large and small is very disturbing, because it goes counter to the way our constitutional democracy ... is supposed to work."
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid at a press conference Tuesday said the secretive tendency goes beyond Cheney, pervading the entire Bush White House.
"I think the reason it took the vice president a day to talk about this is part of the secretive nature of this administration," the top Senate Democrat said. "They keep things pretty close to the chest."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Depends what they were handling.
The delay may have been very wise and worth the minor fuss over the style.
Hillary's husband shot a woman in the face in the Oval Office and lied about it.
"Democrats blast Cheney secrecy after shooting Clinton,Reid, Schumer".
Has Schumer ever acknowledged or apologized for the stealing (not inadverant) of Michael Steeles credit history?
Vince Foster must have realized it at the end of his life.
As long as they weren't handling illegal campaign contributions from the Chinese Communists.
These guys are really screwballs. It beats the heck out of me trying to figure out how anyone can think ex-President Clinton can be anything but a scum sleazeball.
You're assuming they have some type of humility.
Has Mrs. Clinton forgotten the poor guy she had her secret service run over because she was late; and never stopped to see if he was alright?
I believe Vice-President Cheney did a heck of a lot more.
Unbelievable. We're paying these clowns for this?
Exactly.
Whatever the circumstances, it was managed, a plan was devised and information was released.
A plan, leading to the temporary label of laughingstock, imposed by questionable critics, may have been an acceptable risk to its authors.
If Whittington is healthy enough, he should make a statement now that the media are acting like ghouls. No one will care if he says it in two weeks.
But I hope they keep it up to show the country and world what true asses they are......
Effective April 14, 2003, new federal regulations require us to be even more vigilant in safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of our patients’ medical conditions.
Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA, we may release information about the condition of a patient only if the inquiry specifically contains the patient’s name. If the patient has not requested that information be withheld, and the request for information contains the patient’s name, we will generally be able to release the patient’s condition. However, we will do so in general terms that do not communicate specific medical information. Below are the one-word descriptions we will be able to provide:
• Undetermined
• Good
• Fair
• Serious
• Critical
A description of the nature of a patient’s accident or injuries in the past, this is not permissible under HIPAA without written authorization from the patient. Additionally, patients have the option of requesting that we disclose no information about them or even confirm their presence in the hospital.
Cheney press statement-"OOPS".
I have no reason to be informed of the events in the private life of the Vice President if it has no direct bearing on his ability to effectively and honorably conduct the affairs of his elected office.
I hope they keep this up. They just don't know to NOT dig themselves deeper in the hole.
TOTAL BS
BTW is there not a new MEDICAL PRIVACY law?
Something that prevents government workers (like a VP) from disclosing a person's medical information?
Yes they do. When they are not doing anything productive, they cash their paychecks; paid by working Americans.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.