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virtue and vice - Printable Version

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- RochesterFalcon - 05-05-2003 12:56 PM

Bennett-Gambling=

Author, lecturer and Republican Party activist William Bennett high-roller, magazines say

WASHINGTON (AP) _ William Bennett, the former Cabinet secretary and family values campaigner, is a high-rolling gambler who has lost millions over the past decade, according to published reports.

Casino documents show Bennett is a

- OregonGamecock - 05-05-2003 01:18 PM

And the point of this post???

- rickheel - 05-05-2003 03:10 PM

The thing about it is he did gamble a lot of money, but did he lose that much? The secondary question is if he is being hypocritical with this behavior, based on his preaching of morality. If Clinton had done it, the pubs would be blasting him. Now that Bennet is doing it, the Dems are blasting him. It really is not that big a deal either way. Nothing illegal done. Immoral, not really. It is his choice of entertainment. Illegal, not at all.



<!--EDIT|rickheel|May 5 2003, 04:19 PM-->

- just say no roy - 05-05-2003 06:20 PM

I think the point of the post by RF was to show that Bennett( Aurther of the book of virtues,and the Republican spokesman for family values)is a hypocrite.If that was the point of his post then i agree .With the kind of money Bennett was throwing around according to the story it proves to me that he is suffering from a gambling adiction.Personaly i like the guy and i hope he licks the problem but it does put a big stain on his image.

- RochesterFalcon - 05-05-2003 07:11 PM

If he plays slots and video poker most of the time, I highly doubt he's coming anywhere near breaking even. That's awfully hard to do with those games.

And if he's not coming anywhere near even, considering the kind of money he's throwing around. . . the virtue of what he is doing does seem at potentially questionable.

Yeah, Rick, it is his personal business. No one is alleging his kids are starving. If it were you, I certainly wouldn't be commenting about it.

But it isn't you. We are talking about a man who literally wrote the book on virtue. How many millions has he blown on casinos that could have gone to help his kids and his family? It is a question. One account quotes his wife as vowing he'll never be caught at a casino again. Perhaps she didn't realize the extent of what he was up to.

(In fact, I can't believe he has this kind of money in the first place. He's obviously blown more at casinos than I ever earned in my life. It's mind boggling...)

Anyway, it was a startling story that got us talking at the office, so I figured I'd post it. That's all, really.



<!--EDIT|RochesterFalcon|May 5 2003, 07:20 PM-->

- Rebel - 05-05-2003 07:40 PM

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!! LINE UP THE FIRING SQUAD BECAUSE HE DID SOMETHING LEGAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :rolleyes:

I'll jump on you liberal's bandwagon when you talk about that ***** Laura Shlessinwhatever, but this is reaching.......again. Gambling is legal and he never put his family in jeopardy and he was always open about it. His gambling was slot machines.....not high-dollar Craps. That's left for your liberal entertainers.

- OregonGamecock - 05-05-2003 07:48 PM

RochesterFalcon Wrote:One account quotes his wife as vowing he'll never be caught at a casino again.
You make a lot of statements concerning different people yet you do not provide a link............why?????? Give evidence to your statements or quit making them. :bang:

- just say no roy - 05-05-2003 10:12 PM

8 Million dollars in 8 years is just to much money to gamble away.He did admit that he gambled to much and that it sets a bad example for kids thats why he said he was giving it up alltogether.Only a man of character would make a statement like that instead of trying to defend his habit.

- Rebel - 05-05-2003 11:10 PM

just say no roy Wrote:8 Million dollars in 8 years is just to much money to gamble away.He did admit that he gambled to much and that it sets a bad example for kids thats why he said he was giving it up alltogether.Only a man of character would make a statement like that instead of trying to defend his habit.
Everything he did was legal. This is funny seeing as how most lottery ticket buyers(Black people with '77 LTDs missing Hubcaps) are Democrats. Hypocrisy within the Democrat Party? NAWWWWW!!! You're kidding me! :rolleyes:

- RochesterFalcon - 05-06-2003 07:48 AM

That's a pretty good analogy, about people driving LTDs missing hubcaps. Let's persue it.

I guess the bias I bring to this table is that I think gambling is a pretty bad idea for many people -- and, yes, that definitely includes many of the working stiffs I have to wait behind at the convenience store after work.

The money these folks are blowing on instant tickets, the daily numbers games and the like represent a relatively significant portion of their income that could certainly be put to better use, even if their kids are well fed.

And when we look at the kind of money Bennett has been throwing around, it's certainly plausible he's gambling in a comparable manner, proportionate to his income.

Both are engaging in legal activity. But is it moral? That's between Bennett, his wife and his god, I suppose.

Links (hey to Oregon):

<a href='http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-05-04-bennett-usat_x.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-0...nett-usat_x.htm</a>

<a href='http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/81296p-74447c.html' target='_blank'>http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/812...96p-74447c.html</a>

- Motown Bronco - 05-06-2003 08:09 AM

My quick thoughts...

- This is something that hinders deep-right conservatives: preaching about morality, then engaging in an activity that may not fit so nicely into 'family values'. It's best to hold morals within the home and not preach too much about it, or someday you may caught with your pants down (so to speak).

- That said, Bennett is grown man, knows his savings, and it is his choice whether to blow his money at casinos or not. Personally, I think it's a waste, and aside from an sporadic office pool or dropping $10 at the Windsor Canada Casino, I'm not much of a fan of gambling. But if that's how Bennett gets his fun (how is constantly losing money fun?), he's more than welcome to it.

- I agree in that I'm highly suspicious that he's breaking even.

- Although I don't normally play them, I like state lottery tickets because a sizeable portion of the money pot goes to schools. With this "volunteer tax", it keeps the state income tax down.

- just say no roy - 05-06-2003 09:44 PM

The only problem i have with Bennett and his gambling is because of who he is and what he stands for in our society.If he had been beting a few dollars here and there i would say so what but 8 mill in 8 years.He had to know this would become a problem for his image sooner or later and yet he continued.I do hope and think he is and will put this problem behind him.