Lawyer shot by Cheney suffers heart attack

No joke, unfortunately:

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The 78-year-old lawyer shot by Vice President Dick Cheney in a hunting accident has some birdshot lodged in his heart and had "a minor heart attack" today, hospital officials said.

The lawyer, Harry Whittington, was immediately moved back to the intensive care unit for further treatment, said Peter Banko, the administrator at Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial in Texas.

Though there's been a lot of humorous banter over this incident, it's also wise to remember there is a very serious angle to all of this. In this morning's Charlotte Observer, hunter Scott Denham had some words for the Vice President:

It is unfortunate that upland bird hunting has gotten this kind of bad press because of irresponsible hunting practices by a prominent member of the upper class. Hunting preserves open spaces for use by all; hunting connects younger generations with the land and with traditions; hunting is about conservation. As a hunter and conservationist, I feel misrepresented by Cheney and his ilk. They portray hunting as a sport for the rich, carried out on vast private lands, where pulling the trigger takes priority over everything else.

Read his whole column - it's a good one. If you don't know that much about hunting, you'll enjoy this piece even more.