Booking Bennett

NRO ^ | 5/5/2003 | Jonah Goldberg

[Ken H]

Taking pleasure in the Dixie Chicks album losing sales.

Maybe Bennett will appear nude on his next book cover.

[WarSlut]

He is a fraud because he hires ghostwriters to pen his books and speeches and then passes them off as his own

If you have any sources to back up these allegations of fraud (other than High Times, Cannabis Culture, or Hustler), please share. I'm sure we'd all love to see them.

he is a phony because he postures about vice while blowing millions in of all things slot machines-- he is a phony even to the gambling community.

Right, we got it already. Anyone who plays the slots is disqualified from talking about the drug epidemic, abortion, the value of a quality education, or the need to keep families together.

As long as it makes sense to you, that's all that matters, I suppose.

[JohnGalt]

No need to quote me out of context. He is a phony to the gambling community because he only plays the slots, as opposed, so say, blackjack or craps. 'Phony' is a different charge the liberal humanist charge of 'hypocracy' as a conservative I suspect you know the difference.

Phony, noun

an insincere or pretentious person

something that is not genuine; a fake

Do you think Bill Bennett dropped acid while he was dating Janis Joplin or was he a poser, a phony, hanging out with a rocker chick?

Do you think he was a phony when the Democrat Bill Bennett switched registrations in order to get work with a Republican administration?

Do you think he was a phony as a "Drug Czar" who advocated limiting Second Amendment rights and paved the way for the hated assault weapons ban bill to pass in 1994? Is he a phony friend to liberty?

From my post #27:

He hires ghostwriters to write his books and speeches, but passes it off as his own.

http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/HardRight/HardRight030701pf.htm

He speaks in front of morally unsavory groups.
http://www.consumersunion.org/finance/bennettwc1099.htm

But what's the point really, you dogmatically defend Kaiser Bill Bennett because you think he is one of your own, which is noble. I am suggesting that your effort are better spent elsewhere.

[radioman]

Video Poker plays down around 1-3%...this site reports slots are tilted 3%-25%...Keno comes in at the worst with the house keeping 30%

Yes, but Keno gives players a chance to win a big prize for a small amount of money.

Casino gaming is entertainment. You have a "chance" to walk away a winner, but a very small one. You can't beat the house, so just have fun and if Lady Luck smiles on you, celebrate!

Poker is a another story. There are thousands of pro poker players. That's because you are playing against other players and not the house. To make a living at poker you must be an expert at money management. That is the exact opposite of feeding a machine.

That a man can blow millions feeding a machine leads me to believe that he is not a person I would want to take advice from.

[JohnGalt]

I have nothing against Keno; gambling is an 'aesthetic' or 'entertainment' not a way to make money, and thus I find the social aspect of Keno more rewarding. I just happen to like horse racing and sports wagering which can be enjoyed in a social environment.

My issue was not with his choice of gambling; I was using the odds to create an idea of how much he had put into play based on one report that he had lost up to $8 million.

[radioman]

My issue was not with his choice of gambling; I was using the odds to create an idea of how much he had put into play based on one report that he had lost up to $8 million

I know, it's an astronomical sum! I'd sure like to get the vig on his gaming!!!

I don't care what game he plays. He has the right to spend his money any way he wants. I'm a player like you, but poker is my game.

My issue is that he is the leader of Empower America and they want to outlaw gambling.

I'm an old guy living on a fixed income. I depend on poker to make ends meet. If they outlaw poker I'll probably have to apply for welfare and let you support me! (LOL)

His group preaches against gambling while he feeds the slots. Does his hypocracy extend to his other causes? Is he toking, tooting or slamming while he jails others for doing the same?

[radioman]

What do you think investing in stocks is, especially these days?

LOL!!! You're talking to a guy who lost half his retirement in the stock market...Poker has never treated me that poorly!

[radioman]

We need fighters like Bill B. and Horowitz and I gets me dander up when the purists of any ilk get to wanting to throw valued allies under the bus at the first sign of trouble

What is it about Bill Bennet that makes you consider him a valued ally?

Horowitz I can understand, but he's not demonizing whole segments of society. Bill is.

Have we forgotten what Conservatism is? Bill isn't for less government control over our lives, he wants more. That, to me, makes him a Liberal!

[CobaltBlue]

>>Bill isn't for less government control over our lives, he wants more. That, to me, makes him a Liberal!<<

You left out an important part of the above statement.

Bill isn't for less government control over our lives, he wants more for others, not himself.

[radioman]

LOL...Thanks for the correction!

[davisdoug]

If that is true then this "unnammed source" has most likely broken the law. I find it odd that they seem to have records from multiple casinos. In addition, I think this will have a wider impact on the gambling industry than one may think. High rollers will not want their info made public for any reason and I would not want to piss these folks off too much.

I am surprised at all of the residents of "glass houses" on this forum. Must be nice to judge a man for a legal act. Probably just jealousy that he has the kind of money he has made in his lifetime.

[CobaltBlue]

>>If that is true then this "unnammed source" has most likely broken the law.<<

What law?

I know privacy laws protect medical records and school records and bank records, and attorney-client privilege protects legal documents, but what law prohibits a business from revealing facts about a contractual relationship?

[davisdoug]

I would assume that the financial/personal records held by the casinos to extend the credit lines $200K+ at multiple venues would have to in some way be protected. If this person was in the employ and gave this information without authority or consent of Mr. Bennett then a theft has occurred from the casino itself. I stand by my notion that casinos are not in the habit of releasing gambling records on major palyers.

[CobaltBlue]

Credit reports are protected under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, but the article didn't mention credit reports. The documents which were mentioned all concerned transactions. I agree that revealing a customer's transaction history isn't common practice, but the reporter stated that Bennett had earned some ill-will due to hypocrisy - Empower America opposes casino gambling, while its CEO is a regular casino gambler. Empower America endangered their livelihood.

[CobaltBlue]

>>a theft has occurred from the casino itself<<

What makes you think the casino didn't release the information?

[berserker]

Possibly Bennett's research caused him to fall into this vice?

Or is this story more on the Death of Outrage among Conservatives?

[edsheppa]

I think Bennett could easily turn this to his advantage by "repenting" publicly. Hell, the Oprah crowd would lap it up.

[davisdoug]

I just do not believe they would. I may be wrong. Who knows. I am sending my Harrahs Diamond Players Card back though. I'll miss the continued free suites they offer but I do not care to ever have my gaming records revealed. It is my business (and wifey of course!) how I choose to spend my money. I'd rather lose it gambling than fund some of the dumb a** programs here in California.

[mrustow]

With respect, that seems like a rather defensive response to a straightforward question. "You have no idea how hard it is to write a good book?" What kind of response is that, and what does that have to do with my question? (Matter of fact, I'm a proofreader and have also done a bit of editing, so I have some fairly "close-up" knowledge of the process, although I certainly can't claim to have written a book myself.)

I know quite a lot about the man but would like to know more. You made a very sweeping statement that he does none of his own writing. If this is generally known as fact, I would expect there to be sources to back this up, considering the number of years Mr. Bennett has been in the public eye. After all, we all know who has written Hillary's books. There aren't a whole lot of secrets in the publishing industry.

If you don't know, all you have to say is you don't know.

Before you responded, I tried finding his main ghostwriter's name via a google search, but couldn't. A few years ago, an expose on Bennett in Chronicles magazine named the ghostwriter; while I still have all my copies from 1992-2000 (in milk crates), but I haven't the foggiest what issue it was.

In any event, I recall that the article said that Bennett did thank the guy, but not for authoring the book. It also mentioned that in the case of one work (Virtues II?), Bennett had blown his huge advance before his ghostwriter had even had a chance to get to work. The article said that Bennett was a spendthrift, without saying anything about gambling. (Recently, a friend who knows one of Bennett's patrons also confirmed his profligacy, without citing gambling.)

"If this is generally known as fact, I would expect there to be sources to back this up, considering the number of years Mr. Bennett has been in the public eye."

I'm glad you brought up that issue. I know of public figures who have "written" books with only their own names on them (as opposed to, "with" or "and"), and who have never written anything themselves, whom local reporters, instead of "outing," assist in perpetuating the scam. The figure that immediately comes to mind is a New York socialist whom local reporters have long referred to as a "philosopher-politician," based on books that were written entirely by his staffers. (I know the staffers.)

BTW, I have also spent several years working as an editor, and have several unfinished books to my credit.

[ppaul]

Wednesday, May 07, 2003, 12:04 A.M. Pacific

Letters to the editor

VIRTUE'S CURSE

Former drug czar gets a dose of his own medicine

Editor, The Times:

I was delighted to read that former drug czar, "virtue-crat" and general busybody William Bennett was finally caught being human. Revelations that he has been gambling (and losing) obscene amounts of money over the years confirms the glass house/stones theory ("Ex-Cabinet official bets on far more than virtue," Times, News, May 3).

He has been pointing his finger in the face of America, lecturing and haranguing us for the better part of two decades now, about how he thinks a "virtuous" person behaves.

His grotesque stint as a "drug czar" now seems even more like burlesque. There was Bennett, overfed, addicted to cigarettes, gambling and admitted user of a popular, but physically addictive tranquilizer (alcohol), telling us how dangerous and wicked pot is.

Seeing his face on TV, trying to justify his multimillion-dollar gambling habit as "legal," Bennett now wears the look of so many other "sinners" that Bennett has targeted with his moral bombsight.
Paul Wilson, Seattle

When men grant they err

Bill Bennett is not just a big-time gambling loser; he also lied about his losses, and has engaged in rampant denial of his outrageous behavior. This is not just a story about Bennett, whose hypocritical pontifications have blighted the American landscape for decades, this is a story about every self-righteous public figure who arrogates to himself the position of moral arbiter.

It is a creepy indication of the condition of the American soul and psyche that millions of our fellow citizens listen to the likes of Newt Gingrich, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and dozens of other famous hypocrites and liars.

No wonder the election of George W. Bush, which only happened because of the illegal disenfranchisement of thousands of Florida voters, is widely accepted: The USA has no moral compass, and the greedy are in charge.
Jeremy Smithson, Seattle

Forbearance ceases

Bill Bennett's gambling problem astounds me not so much for the level of hypocrisy involved, but for the simple numbers involved.

If we assume that he spent 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year — gambling over the past eight years, he would have had to have lost $480 per hour to reach the $8 million that he is reported to have gambled away (please pull out your calculator and verify this for yourself).

Is it really possible to pump that much money into slot/video poker machines in an hour? Does he do anything in his free time besides gamble? How much does this guy make per hour? Does he deserve it/need it?

Wake up, folks. Our system is way, way out of whack.
Chris Matthiessen, Bothell