Freethought & Rationalism Archive

lpetrich · 05-13-2003, 07:55 PM

In this article, reporter Howard Kurtz speculates that the revelation of Mr. Bennett's gambling may have been contrived by some casinos who are less-than-happy about his group "Empower America" and its anti-gambling stance.

Quote:

The tale of Bill Bennett's multimillion-dollar gambling habit was broken by a magazine writer who hasn't been to Las Vegas since he was 12.

"I'm no great investigative reporter," says the Washington Monthly's Joshua Green, 31. "This has been an open secret among conservatives in Washington for some time." Only in recent weeks, he says, did "guys like me at the bottom of the food chain hear about it."

Hmmm...

The Naked Mage · 05-15-2003, 04:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ipetrich:

His bulk suggests that he is guilty of at least one of gluttony and sloth.

His pose as guardian of morality is pride.

His being very money-hungry is greed. $50,000 a speech? I read somewhere that he turned down a $100,000/yr position because he considered that a "vow of poverty".

So he's guilty of 4 out of 7 so far.

Now, let's see what we get when we add the villain from "Se7en" into the mix...

Oresta · 05-15-2003, 04:38 PM

I can't remember who said this, but I wish I had:

"Personally, I'd rather he spend his time at the slots instead of at a word processor."

Elora · 05-15-2003, 05:34 PM

To Mr. Bennet: Dude, I don't give a damn if your family already has everything they need. I don't give a damn if you gamble. I do give a damn that you have denigrated a lot of what I believe in your history as a public figure, all while assuming a veil of righteousness. You said one thing and did another. Who was it God hates most again?

You owe an apology to everyone who has ever had to listen to you, and especially to those who believed you.

Toto · 05-15-2003, 09:58 PM

Bennet's real vice

Quote:

WHERE WAS THE OUTRAGE: In the comedy context, Bill Bennett is easy. After all, there was good news and bad news in his gambling misadventures. It�s true, he lost about $8 million�but he did get those free drinks and meals. And if you�ve seen Bennett around D.C., you�ll know that he may have broken even.

But in the real world, sound judgment is harder. Last week, Michael Kinsley wrote a tongue-in-cheek piece, taking pleasure in Bennett�s defrocking. �Sinners have long cherished the fantasy that William Bennett, the virtue magnate, might be among our number,� he wrote. �The news over the weekend�has lit a lamp of happiness in even the darkest hearts.� There was just one problem, according to Kinsley. �Let�s also be honest that gambling would not be our first-choice vice if we were designing this fantasy-come-true�But gambling will do,� Kinsley concluded. �It will definitely do.�

It was fun to learn that Bill had a vice. Michael was sad that the vice was so trivial. But guess what? Bennett�s real vice became clear long ago�and Kinsley didn�t want to expose it.

Bill Bennett�s actual vice? Bill Bennett has a problem with the truth, as has been clear for some time. Consider his Wall Street Journal op-ed, way back on October 11, 2000. The headline played rough: �A Lifetime of Lies.� Here was his opening paragraph:

BENNETT: Albert Arnold Gore Jr. is a habitual liar.

That was it! Bennett used the Three Full Names we reserve for serial murderers. And it�s no wonder�the great man was fuming:

BENNETT: The vice president lies reflexively, promiscuously, even pathologically. He lies on matters large and small, significant and trivial, when he �needs� to and when he doesn�t, on matters public and private, about his opponents and his family.

Later in the foot-stamping piece, Bennett appointed himself Chief of All Shrinks:

BENNETT: [W]ith Mr. Gore, one begins to suspect that his lies are symptomatic of something fundamentally disquieting�His lying appears to be incorrigible. And it is a matter of public record.

So let�s see. According to Bennett, Gore was an �habitual,� �promiscuous,� �pathological� liar. The dude had produced a �lifetime of lies.� Surely, Bennett had many lies to cite as he fleshed out his portrait of Gore. Which made it surprising when the man of virtue served this stale cant to his readers:

BENNETT: In November 1999�the vice president claimed to be the author of the Earned Income Tax Credit. In fact, the EITC law was enacted in 1975�two years before Mr. Gore entered Congress.

Snore! There it was, that same old saw which had been debunked so often. A simple review of Gore�s remark (in a November 99 interview with Time) shows that he referred to �the extension of the Earned Income Tax Credit,� not to the EITC itself. One would think�with a �lifetime to lies� from which to choose�the scribe wouldn�t need any gimmicked-up quotes. But Bennett was willing to do and say anything. Here was another example:

BENNETT: He claims that he did not know at the time that a 1996 event at a Buddhist temple in Los Angeles was an (illegal) fund-raiser. He says this despite the fact that�his own e-mail referred to it as a fund-raiser before the visit occurred.

Snore! As had been explained to the Thompson Committee three years earlier, this e-mail was sent in mid-March 1996, weeks before the Buddhist temple was chosen as the site of the proposed L.A. luncheon. Also made clear in those ancient hearings: When the Hsi Lai temple was picked as the site, the plan to charge a fee was dropped. The luncheon at the Buddhist temple was free, as Gore was told in the weeks after that e-mail. But �conservative� spinners had faked this fact all through Campaign 2000, and our greatest Man of Virtue was faking the pleasing fact still.

But then, Bennett clowned his way all through the column. Three years later, Kinsley thinks that we�ve finally spotted his vice. In fact, people like Kinsley hid behind desks while the sliming of Clinton, then Gore, proceeded. We recall when Kinsley was the brightest scribe of his era. But years ago, he simply stopped trying. Now they reprint his work�at the Post!

hezekiah jones · 05-15-2003, 11:06 PM

I remember very clearly reading that WSJ piece in the basement of the Golda Meir Library in Milwaukee. It was appalling. Bennett is the scum of the earth.

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05-15-2003, 04:38 PM	#23
Oresta Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Detroit, MI Posts: 1,107	I can't remember who said this, but I wish I had: "Personally, I'd rather he spend his time at the slots instead of at a word processor."

05-15-2003, 05:34 PM	#24
Elora Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 58	To Mr. Bennet: Dude, I don't give a damn if your family already has everything they need. I don't give a damn if you gamble. I do give a damn that you have denigrated a lot of what I believe in your history as a public figure, all while assuming a veil of righteousness. You said one thing and did another. Who was it God hates most again? You owe an apology to everyone who has ever had to listen to you, and especially to those who believed you.

05-15-2003, 11:06 PM	#26
hezekiah jones Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: WI Posts: 4,357	I remember very clearly reading that WSJ piece in the basement of the Golda Meir Library in Milwaukee. It was appalling. Bennett is the scum of the earth.

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