CHUD.com Community › Forums › POLITICS & RELIGION › Political Discourse › "Book of Virtues" author gambled millions away...
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

"Book of Virtues" author gambled millions away...

post #1 of 88
5/6/03 at 2:38pm
Thread Starter 
From <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/05/05/bennett.gambling/index.html" target="_blank">this</a> article on CNN:

GOP moralist Bennett gives up gambling

'I have gambled large sums of money'

Monday, May 5, 2003 Posted: 11:03 PM EDT (0303 GMT)


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Stung by recent news reports, conservative standard-bearer William Bennett said Monday he has "done too much gambling" over the years and vowed that his "gambling days are over."

Newsweek, The Washington Monthly and The New York Times have reported in recent days that Bennett -- the author of "The Book of Virtues" and other books touting the moral high-ground -- lost millions in Las Vegas and Atlantic City over the last decade.

In his statement Monday, Bennett did not disclose how much he has won or lost gambling.

------------------------

Leave it to a bigwig Republican to tell others how they should live while he gambles away millions...
Reply
post #2 of 88
5/6/03 at 2:40pm
Damn conservative bastard. Is it just me or do they need to stop reffering to it as the GOP?
Reply
post #3 of 88
5/6/03 at 3:01pm
He's just funneling money back into the economy-go bill go. Looks like this should shut him up for a few months like that Scott Ritter guy when he tried to meet a 16 y/o from the net.
Jon Stewert said he lost most of it on slots. If your gonna lose big do it on sports or blackjack. slots are boring.
Reply
post #4 of 88
5/6/03 at 5:15pm
Who knew gambling was so terrible?
Reply
post #5 of 88
5/6/03 at 5:23pm
Thread Starter 
It's not the gambling, it's the hypocrisy of writing "moral outline" books and slamming the left for its supposed lack of morals, all the while losing millions of dollars on an activity that is still illegal in many "moral" American states.
Reply
post #6 of 88
5/6/03 at 6:11pm
the guy may be full of hot air but how is gambling immoral? I believe the lottery is in all 50 states and you can do off track betting in probably all of them too. Christ, Cathloic Churches have Bingo and Casino Nights-both gambling.
And he's losing his money. Unless he stole from his wife or went through a kids college education he did nothing morally oe legally wrong.
Gambling is like many drugs in this country the gov't chooses to make illegal. Smoking ciggy's and beer are ok, pot isn't. Lottery good, betting on the Bear/Packer game bad.
Bill Bennett was stupid and a real bad gambler, not immoral.
edit- plus he can still rail on whomever he wants, he hurt nobody.

Reply
post #7 of 88
5/6/03 at 6:25pm
Quote:
Anyawatcher:
the guy may be full of hot air but how is gambling immoral? I believe the lottery is in all 50 states
You would be wrong.

Close though, there are 40 state lotteries including DC and PR.

Reply
post #8 of 88
5/6/03 at 6:29pm
I never liked him anyway. With Bennett and Lott depowered, the GOP is getting leaner and meaner for the 2004 election, which in my opinion is all for the good.
Reply
post #9 of 88
5/6/03 at 6:31pm
My only problem with this guy is, I heard he lost the large majority of it on slot machines and video poker. That isn't gambling, it's shitting your money away.

When you consider that slot machines (depending on the town) have a 90% and above payback rate, he actually spent nearly ninety million dollars on the machines. Nice.
Reply
post #10 of 88
5/6/03 at 8:11pm
Its his money to spend as he wishes I don't see anything hypocritical here. Burke is correct Bennett is a relic of the Reagan administration and makes the GOP leaner and meaner. Maybe we should start taking more bets on whoelse will be reprimanded by the morality cops. First the coaches from Iowa State and Alabama and now this.
Reply
post #11 of 88
5/7/03 at 4:06pm
Quote:
Daywalker the count of monte fisto:
Maybe we should start taking more bets on whoelse will be reprimanded by the morality cops.
For a man who's done lots of reprimanding as a "Morality cop" himself (some of it repugnant and hateful), Bennett had it coming.
Reply
post #12 of 88
5/7/03 at 4:06pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you, Beaks.
Reply
post #13 of 88
5/7/03 at 4:11pm
Quote:
Clarence Beaks:
Quote:
Daywalker the count of monte fisto:
Maybe we should start taking more bets on whoelse will be reprimanded by the morality cops.
For a man who's done lots of reprimanding as a "Morality cop" himself (some of it repugnant and hateful), Bennett had it coming.
Had what coming? Gambling, while seen as bad in the eyes of some, is not illegal nor is it immoral.

This whole thing is a non-story.

And Bennett didn't write "The Book of Virtues", he put together a tome of stories, fables, and tales which extoll the virtues of family, truth, etc.

Like I said, a non-story at best.
Reply
post #14 of 88
5/7/03 at 4:34pm
Horseshit. The man pulls down a $50,000-per speaker's fee to tell people how to live virtuously. He rails against all kinds of vice, but not gambling, since it's the vice that's nice to Bill (even though it doesn't fare too well in the Bible).

But what has always bugged me about Bennett was his tendency to toe the religious right's line against homosexuality by utilizing their sophistic reasoning constructed to win over the willfully naive. I hate garbage like <a href="http://slate.msn.com/id/2098/" target="_blank">this</a> because when I go home to Ohio, I find myself engaging in arguments with good churchgoing people who buy this shit, and having to go hoarse proving why it's a complete lie.

Bennett has played moralizer in the past; he inveighed against Clinton because of his sexual, Bible-flouting indiscretions. For this, he is now reaping what he hath sown. The rough justice of "Gotcha" politics is done once again, and Bennett is fresh out of chips.

Reply
post #15 of 88
5/7/03 at 6:08pm
Quote:
(even though it doesn't fare too well in the Bible).
BULLSHIT! In the Bible there is no commandment stating "thou shalt not gamble". The biblical references to gambling have to do with a man-made idea that you should not squander what is essentially God's, ie:The concern of the church is based upon the recognition that all we have and are belongs to God.

There's no prohibition or legalistic moralization against gambling in the Holy Bible.

And besides, first successful English colony at Jamestown was funded by a lottery. For a long time in America gambling was utilized as a funding mechanism to support local and state projects such as hospitals, roads, colleges, and churches.
Reply
post #16 of 88
5/7/03 at 6:12pm
I guess since the bible is where we must look for morals, incest is now kosher. I mean there's no specific commandment of "Thou shalt not fuck your hot sister" and those who participated in it in the bible were not nessicarily punished. So, it must be moral.
Reply
post #17 of 88
5/7/03 at 6:14pm
Quote:
The rough justice of "Gotcha" politics is done once again, and Bennett is fresh out of chips.
Yes, "gotcha" politics/journalism are the absolute shittiest-smelling of the entire sewer that is the Government/Media complex.

BUT---
Bennett wasn't currently in the world of politics. This "journalist" just hates Bennett for no other reason than to hate Bennett.
Reply
post #18 of 88
5/7/03 at 6:15pm
Quote:
Guttenberg Fan Club:
I guess since the bible is where we must look for morals, incest is now kosher. I mean there's no specific commandment of "Thou shalt not fuck your hot sister" and those who participated in it in the bible were not nessicarily punished. So, it must be moral.
Completely meaningless.
Reply
post #19 of 88
5/7/03 at 6:21pm
Quote:
Kronos vas in Munich Circus:
Quote:
Guttenberg Fan Club:
I guess since the bible is where we must look for morals, incest is now kosher. I mean there's no specific commandment of "Thou shalt not fuck your hot sister" and those who participated in it in the bible were not nessicarily punished. So, it must be moral.
Completely meaningless.
Except completely meaningful when you try and defend a man's actions by saying there is nothing against it in the bible. There is nothing against a lot of things in the bible that I'm sure this guy found immoral.
Reply
post #20 of 88
5/7/03 at 6:24pm
But, Kronos, if the 8 Million dollar figure is true it sounds like he had an addiction, was giving into his vices, and was acting in a gluttonous fashion.

It also sounds like he made a lot of comments that were the types of which people in Glass houses shouldn't make. It sounds like people like this story because it's ironic. Dont'cha think?
Reply
post #21 of 88
5/7/03 at 6:26pm
I believe that gluttony is condemned in the bible. One of the seven deadly sins, is it not?

Main Entry: glut·tony
Pronunciation: 'gl&t-nE, 'gl&-t&n-E
Function: noun
1 : excess in eating or drinking
2 : greedy or excessive indulgence

Check out the definition (2). Seems like that much gambling would fit the bill.
Reply
post #22 of 88
5/7/03 at 6:27pm
Damn, Andre beat me to it.
Reply
post #23 of 88
5/7/03 at 6:27pm
Quote:
Kronos vas in Munich Circus:
Quote:
The rough justice of "Gotcha" politics is done once again, and Bennett is fresh out of chips.
Yes, "gotcha" politics/journalism are the absolute shittiest-smelling of the entire sewer that is the Government/Media complex.

BUT---
Bennett wasn't currently in the world of politics. This "journalist" just hates Bennett for no other reason than to hate Bennett.
Oh, c'mon. He's as unpolitical as Lucianne Goldberg or Larry Flynt. He's fair game. Besides, there are plenty of good reasons to hate Bennett; the guy's a moral crusader who has no problem spouting bunk science to attack that to which he is morally opposed. Fuck him.

Let's close this out by a quote from Mr. Jesus hisself: "Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." A man who gambles is a man with greed in his heart. It's the thrill of the big payday. That's why I gamble. Then again, I'm a lapsed Presbyterian, so I don't have to worry what my "savior" thinks about my Vegas haul. It's not a sin (Bingo!), but it's tied in with one, and is, therefore, not necessarily condoned.

Reply
post #24 of 88
5/7/03 at 6:27pm
Quote:
Kronos vas in Munich Circus:
And besides, first successful English colony at Jamestown was funded by a lottery. For a long time in America gambling was utilized as a funding mechanism to support local and state projects such as hospitals, roads, colleges, and churches.
Slavery helped fund the early economy of a stuggling nation. Without it, America would without a doubt not be in the position of power it is now.

Does mean it is not immoral?

Reply
post #25 of 88
5/7/03 at 6:31pm
Quote:
kittyinjammies:
Damn, Andre beat me to it.
I think we tied. High Five!
Reply
post #26 of 88
5/7/03 at 6:34pm
Quote:
Clarence Beaks:
A man who gambles is a man with greed in his heart. It's the thrill of the big payday.
Part of being addicted to gambling is being addicted to losing. I'm parphrasing Croupier, but it is something I hold to be true.

Reply
post #27 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:15pm
Haw, haw! That's fancy talk, mister!
Reply
post #28 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:16pm
Gambling isn't immoral.

That 8 million figure is pure speculation and hasn't been confirmed.
Reply
post #29 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:23pm
Thread Starter 
"It's perfectly legal and moral, but I'm never gonna do it again."

Ooooookay...
Reply
post #30 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:27pm
Quote:
Andre Dellamorte:
But, Kronos, if the 8 Million dollar figure is true it sounds like he had an addiction, was giving into his vices, and was acting in a gluttonous fashion.

It also sounds like he made a lot of comments that were the types of which people in Glass houses shouldn't make. It sounds like people like this story because it's ironic. Dont'cha think?
If one is worth say, fifty million then 8mil over ten years isn't a big hit.

And I challenge anyone to find infidelity or any other of the actual values he speaks of -not preaches- in his lectures, in his own life. Betcha he's clean. Family life is good, hasn't bet the milk money, declared all wins and losses on his tax statements, etc.

No, this truly is much ado about nothing.
Reply
post #31 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:29pm
Thread Starter 
For you Christians, a page devoted to examing why gambling is indeed a sin:

<a href="http://www.biblestudylessons.com/cgi-bin/gospel_way/gambling.php" target="_blank">http://www.biblestudylessons.com/cgi-bin/gospel_way/gambling.php</a>
Reply
post #32 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:30pm
But what of non-christians...what of non-christians...
Reply
post #33 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Kronos vas in Munich Circus:
Betcha he's clean. Family life is good, hasn't bet the milk money, declared all wins and losses on his tax statements, etc.

No, this truly is much ado about nothing.
Then why does the man himself say he did it too much, and is never going to gamble again?
Reply
post #34 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:32pm
Oh yeah, the important question: Where did Bennett ever say gambling was bad prior to this "outing" by a "journalist"?
Reply
post #35 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:33pm
Quote:
Jacob Singer:
Quote:
Kronos vas in Munich Circus:
Betcha he's clean. Family life is good, hasn't bet the milk money, declared all wins and losses on his tax statements, etc.

No, this truly is much ado about nothing.
Then why does the man himself say he did it too much, and is never going to gamble again?
Because his wife got on his case after this story came out and he's in spin-control mode.
Reply
post #36 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:33pm
Thread Starter 
THAT'S PART OF THE POINT, Kronos. He never said a bad word about gambling, because he was a gambler, until he got "caught".
Reply
post #37 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:35pm
Thread Starter 
So he's just fessing up to appease his wife and the Democrats he despises? Faaaaaascinating...
Reply
post #38 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:35pm
Quote:
Jacob Singer:
THAT'S PART OF THE POINT, Kronos. He never said a bad word about gambling, because he was a gambler, until he got "caught".
So where's the hypocracy? He wasn't misrepresenting himself in any way, which is the salient idea of hypocracy.
Reply
post #39 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:37pm
Quote:
Jacob Singer:
So he's just fessing up to appease his wife and the Democrats he despises? Faaaaaascinating...
Meaning he's not as good a politician as the left are, which has been true for decades.
Reply
post #40 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:38pm
Thread Starter 
Hypocrisy, by the way.

You don't see it, so I can't show it to you.
Reply
post #41 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:39pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Kronos vas in Munich Circus:
Meaning he's not as good a politician as the left are, which has been true for decades.
Yeah, that's why the left keep winning all the elections. They're such great politicians.
Reply
post #42 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:41pm
My question in this whole thing would be: Why him, why now? It was obvious this journalist had an axe to grind.

Bennett wasn't currently a figure in politics save for the occasional speaking engagement.

This really is about as bad as the Impeachment, which I was essentially against as well.
Reply
post #43 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:42pm
Quote:
Jacob Singer:
Quote:
Kronos vas in Munich Circus:
Meaning he's not as good a politician as the left are, which has been true for decades.
Yeah, that's why the left keep winning all the elections. They're such great politicians.
Yes, they do. Witness California.
Reply
post #44 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:45pm
Thread Starter 
California doesn't count, as it's from Outer Space.

Besides, you don't like tomatoes, so all of your opinions are rendered invalid.
Reply
post #45 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:47pm
Kronos, you're missing the point here like Rob Deer on a split-finger fastball. Bennett engaged in all the necessary CYA by leaving gambling out of his moral crusading, but because he is a moral crusader, such high rolling behavior in a den of sin is unacceptable and implicity hypocritical. He chose the impossible high ground, and fell hard. $8 million might not be a big hit for a guy worth five times that, but it's an obscene amount for a god-fearing man of principle who shouldn't be frittering away his riches while the unfortunate suffer. (Also, for anyone who gambles, losing all of that cash on slots and computer blackjack isn't just excessive; it's fucking stupid.) And if the gambling wasn't indicative of sinful gluttony, why didn't he come out and say, "I am comfortable with my lifestyle, and see no reason to alter it."

Of course, I thought Bennett to be an intolerant prick before all of this, so the gambling thing is small taters to me. Being a hypocrite is a far less pernicious offense.
Reply
post #46 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:47pm
Thread Starter 
One more thing, just for the record. I don't think this is some "big deal", nor do the news services, apparently. I just thought it was interesting and ironic that a former Drug Czar had a hidden addiction all his own...
Reply
post #47 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:49pm
Quote:
...shouldn't be frittering away his riches while the unfortunate suffer.
Ahh...there it is.
Reply
post #48 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:50pm
Quote:
Jacob Singer:
California doesn't count, as it's from Outer Space.

Besides, you don't like tomatoes, so all of your opinions are rendered invalid.
On sandwiches they should be made illegal.
Reply
post #49 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:50pm
Quote:
Kronos vas in Munich Circus:
Quote:
...shouldn't be frittering away his riches while the unfortunate suffer.
Ahh...there it is.
Well, camel through a needle's eye and all.
Reply
post #50 of 88
5/7/03 at 7:51pm
Quote:
Kronos vas in Munich Circus:
Bennett wasn't currently a figure in politics save for the occasional speaking engagement.

This really is about as bad as the Impeachment, which I was essentially against as well.
Bennett's on television all the time inveighing against all sorts of immorality. Plus, he's a regular columnist for the Wall Street Journal, commenting on all matters political. He is/was very much a major political figure.

Glad we can agree on the Impeachment, but you know who wouldn't be in our camp on that one (and who took to the airwaves like the media whore he is to support it)?
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Political Discourse
CHUD.com Community › Forums › POLITICS & RELIGION › Political Discourse › "Book of Virtues" author gambled millions away...