Tuesday, May 13, 2003

 
Bill Bennett and the Seven Deadly Sins

Sure, he moralizes for millions and then blows it gambling. No worries though. Everyone has his or her vice(s). For example, everyone clamps down on this gambling thing as some great icon of hypocrisy. But really gambling is no big deal....uh, that is...unless you ask Bennett's loyal following.

"In the 1990's, leaders of the conservative Christian Coalition joined with other religious leaders to create the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling. Ralph Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition, called gambling 'a cancer on the American body politic' that was 'stealing food from the mouths of children.'"

These friends of Bennett were, of course, reluctant to directly criticize him after the recent revelations.

In fact, gambling is the least of Bennett-the-virtuous' vices. Indeed, he has made a very comfortable living and drawn a loyal, powerful following by preaching the virtues of such fun-loving things as bigotry, hatred, despotism, war-mongering and dogmatic religious fanaticism all while working breathlessly to undermine the Constitution's separation of church and state and holding his tongue on selected issues of greed and corruption. Now gambling doesn't sound like such a big deal after all. Does it?

Thus, this "revelation" of Bennett's hypocrisy is akin to the "revelation" that Trent Lott is a racist. The subtle clues and outright admissions have been dropped along the way. Only now, however, has anyone decided to notice.

To make the situation crystal clear we must look at the real Bill Bennett, the one that has flaunted his hatred and hypocrisy in front of an uncaring public for the last several decades.

First, we start with a highlight in Bill Bennett's life, the day that Clinton was forced to admit his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Indeed, he made a name for himself with non-conservatives as he led the charge against Bill Clinton's philandering. It seemed that the only problem Bennett didn't have with Clinton was that Bennett's own family was getting rich off Clinton's escapades. You see, Bill's brother, Bob, made a killing DEFENDING Clinton. Oh the outrage! Right?

Come on now, let's cut Billy some slack, after all, he is a "good Christian". How do I know? Because he told me so. And just to prove it, let's take a little look at Bennett's favorite measure of morality:

The Seven Deadly Sins

I) Pride - the vice vs. Humility - the virtue against which it sins: Overweening pride, arrogance, haughtiness: This is the nature of a moralizer, a person who's very being exists only to judge others and binge on the self-promotion of perceived moral supremacy. Bennett is Proud.

II) Envy - the vice vs. Love - the virtue against which it sins: Envy is the desire for what others have or the resentment of the good others receive. To me, extreme moralizing (along with any other symptom of fanaticism) seems somewhat obsessive bordering on psychotic. So perhaps Bennett is merely venting his extremism with a touch of immorality to prevent his self-inflated head from exploding. Perhaps Bennett is truly envious of those who embrace their freedom of expression, freedom from dogmatic suppression and freedom to live as they see fit. Perhaps his subconscious mind is attempting to break through his twisted thoughts and press upon him the idea that morality is a relative thing. That his definition might not be someone else's definition. That people inevitably make mistakes and should not be condemned to Hell (certainly not by the likes of him) for such transgressions. In the end, though, envy is a tough thing to document unless admitted. Therefore, instead of document, I'll stand ready to speculate. Prove me wrong. Bennett is Envious.

III) Wrath/Anger - the vice vs. Kindness - the virtue against which it sins: Kindness means taking the tender approach, with patience and compassion. Anger is often our first reaction to the problems of others or impatience with the perceived faults of others. Bennett has documented his wrath in his book, "The Death of Outrage". One needs only listen to Bennett for a moment to sense the rage that uncontrollably boils within. Bennett is wrathful.

In fact, it is clear that Bennett's wrath far exceeds in seriousness and wickedness his faults of self-indulgence and hypocrisy.

As an example of how Bennett has sinned against kindness, we can look back at his days as George Bush Sr.'s 'Drug czar':

"The Bennett office was characterized by widespread use of the bully pulpit to issue harsh moral condemnations of users of illegal drugs, little distinction between marijuana and drugs like heroin and cocaine and an emphasis on punishment over rehabilitation. ...Bennett also made a decision to stop the longtime practice of representing drug use as a health matter, arguing that doing so made drug users too sympathetic."

Not surprisingly, when Bush Jr. appointed John P. Walters, who served with Bennett when he was in the Bush Sr.'s Administration, as the new US Drug Czar, the UN removed the US from the Drug Committee.

Next, Bennett, along with such conservative ideologues as William Kristol, Robert Kagan and Richard Perle, founded the right-wing "Project for the New American Century."

In a document authored several years ago, the Project pondered that what was needed to assure US global power was "some catastrophic and catalyzing event, like a new Pearl Harbor" (Hello 9-11). The document noted that, while the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides immediate justification for intervention, "the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein".

Hmmm. So they wanted "some catastrophic and catalyzing event, like a new Pearl Harbor"? Hey! An idea obviously jam-packed with high-flying morals. Good job Bill.

Bennett also forced his way way into US foreign policy by insisting that the Administration invade Iraq! little doubt it took great moral character to come up with this one as well.

Nevertheless, On Sept. 20, 2001, forty highly influential neoconservatives sent an open letter to the White House instructing Bush on how the war on terror must be conducted. The letter was signed by Bennett, Podhoretz, Kirkpatrick, Perle, Kristol, and Krauthammer and was an ultimatum that put the signers' support for Bush on the line. To retain the signers' support, Bush was told, he must target Hezbollah for destruction, retaliate against Syria and Iran if they refuse to sever ties to Hezbollah, and overthrow Saddam. Any failure to attack Iraq, the signers warned Bush, 'will constitute an early and perhaps decisive surrender in the war on international terrorism.'"

IV) Sloth - the vice vs. Zeal - the virtue against which it sins: Hmmm. If there is any sin for which it is difficult to condemn Bennett, it might be sloth. Bennett works very hard and his work is certainly focused on his goals. So I might give him this one and merely point out that he could certainly rid his life of sloth in the physiology department. It seems that, as noted in the "Gluttony" section below, Bennett has a bit of an obesity problem. Perhaps his eating malaise could be offset by getting off his fat ass once in a while and walking to the casino rather than having someone else cart his lardliness from place to place. Bennett is fat.

V) Avarice/Greed - the vice vs. Generosity - the virtue against which it sins: Although Bennett proudly charges upwards of $50,000 per speech, apparently that is not enough. The addictive behavior that he chose was gambling. Weren't his millions enough. Sure, some will claim that gambling in and of itself is a means of entertainment. Few would attempt to deny, however, that the excitement generated from gambling resides purely from the possibility of a substantial, financial payoff. Bennett is Greedy.

VI) Gluttony - the vice vs. Faith and Temperance - the virtue against which it sins: Temperance accepts the natural limits of pleasures and preserves this natural balance. This not only pertains to food, but to any overindulgence. Indeed, gluttony and greed are somewhat synonymous. But just to be fair, since I've already addressed Bennett's financial greed, here we'll simply note that he's grossly overweight as well. Bennett...still fat.

For another take, here is what Michelangelo Signorile of the New York Press has to say about the gluttonous one:

"Bennett relishes in telling us how immoral we are, implying that we must lead the supposedly solemn and sinless life that he does. He takes particular delight in slamming gays, and earlier this year he floated the all-gays-are-pedophiles canard, calling for the Catholic Church to ban homosexual priests in order to solve its problems. But Bennett also shows no mercy for... single mothers, people who work in Hollywood, feminists, and that old standby, Bill Clinton. Meanwhile, Bennett has clearly been scarfing down obscene numbers of lobster tails and French pastries every chance he gets, while millions of poor people in the world - people he devoutly claims to care about - starve to death... It is heart-unhealthy porkers like Bennett, lining their arteries with cholesterol like it was peanut butter being spread on raisin-nut bread, who are making our insurance premiums go through the roof and are costing us taxpayers a lot of our hard-earned money!"

VII) Lust - the vice vs. Self Control - the virtue against which it sins: Self control is certainly not Bennett's strong point. In fact, addiction, whether to gambling, drugs or anything else, is defined by it's required lack of self-control. Lust should not be confused merely with sexual desire. Indeed, its reach extends to all areas of want. Bennett has been at the mercy of a gambling addiction to the tune of at least $8 million. Of course, that lack of self-control has not only cost the sermonizing blowhard his money, but also his ability to make more through further moralizing. It has cost him a once perceived loyal following and hopefully, it has cost him his pride. Bennett has no self control.

What becomes exceedingly clear is that you can't really indulge in one deadly sin without tasting at least a morsel of each of the others. So Bennett doesn't even try. He proudly prances along the smorgasbord of sin with his (purple) teletubby-like figure, envying others' personal freedoms, raging against everything that he secretly desires of or for himself, growing fat… and then rich… and then fatter yet again.

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posted by Thomas Ball 9:38 AM

 
Bush, Iraq, North Korea News Summaries

N. Korea fired laser at troops (Washington Times) North Korea's military fired a laser in March at two U.S. Army helicopters patrolling the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas in what U.S. officials call a provocative action, The Washington Times has learned. Two Apache attack helicopters were illuminated by lasers in early March by a weapon that had the characteristics of a Chinese laser gun. The March laser illumination of the Apache helicopters occurred around the time that four North Korean jets intercepted a U.S. spy plane. U.S. intelligence officials said an internal analysis of the incident suggests North Korea has acquired Chinese-made ZM-87 antipersonnel lasers. "These are blinding laser weapons," said one official.

Western Targets Bombed in Riyadh (Washington Post) Explosions hit a U.S.-Saudi business and three housing compounds used by U.S. and other foreign residents Monday night and early today in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, hours before Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was to arrive there to discuss Middle East peace efforts and the war against terrorism, according to reports from the kingdom. A senior U.S. official in Washington said two Westerners were confirmed dead and six were missing, and the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Robert W. Jordan, said on CNN that more than 40 Americans had been wounded. The population in the targeted compounds is about 40 percent Saudis and other Arabs, and about 60 percent other foreigners, including Americans and Britons working in Saudi Arabia, according to a senior Saudi source. Diplomatic sources said one bomb exploded in each of the three compounds, which they identified as Cordoba, Jedawal and Al Hamra. A fourth explosion damaged the business, the Associated Press reported.

Israeli Peace Talks Doomed to Fail (Reuters) Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a published interview that dismantling Jewish settlements on land Palestinians seek for a state under a U.S.-backed peace plan is "not an issue on the horizon." The "road map" plan calls for Israel to stop expanding settlements in the West Bank and Gaza as part of a series of confidence-building steps under which Palestinians would crack down on Palestinian militants targeting Israelis. Sharon told the Jerusalem Post newspaper that all Israeli governments had pursued settlements in some form in the past even during periods of peace diplomacy. "But in my mind this is not an issue on the horizon right now," he said.

N.Korea Says Nuclear Pact a 'Dead Document' (Reuters) North Korea said on Tuesday a 1992 pact intended to keep the divided Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons was a "dead document." A long report carried on the communist North's official KCNA news agency accused Washington of scuppering the pact. "The DPRK will increase its self-defensive capacity strong enough to destroy aggressors at a single stroke," the agency said, referring to the official title for North Korea.

U.S. Forces Apprehend Hussein's 'Dr. Germ' (Again?) (Washington Post) U.S. military forces in Iraq have apprehended Rihab Rashid Taha, a British-trained microbiologist who earned the sobriquet "Dr. Germ" as head of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's top-secret biological research laboratory, defense officials said yesterday. A second prominent Iraqi also was taken into custody, but one official at the U.S. Central Command in Tampa declined to confirm media reports that the individual is Ibrahim Ahmad Abd Sattar Muhammed, chief of staff of the Iraqi military, citing protection of intelligence sources. While Taha is not on the administration's list, she could provide U.S. officials with critical information about the status of Iraq's biological weapons activities, having explored the weapons potential of pathogens that cause anthrax and plague at the Al Hakam research lab, beginning in 1987.

Deficit Forecast Up Again Amid Tax Cut Debate (Reuters) The U.S. government will run a record deficit of more than $300 billion this year as increased military spending and weak tax revenues continue to eat into the federal budget, congressional budget analysts said. In its monthly budget report the Congressional Budget Office boosted its 2003 deficit forecast from the $246 billion it last predicted in March. The CBO said the government ran a deficit of $202 billion over the first seven months of the current fiscal year. Tax revenues were $62 billion lower than the same period last year while government spending was $76 billion higher -- mainly due to growth in defense spending, the agency said.

New Study Finds 60 Million Uninsured During a Year (NY Times) Nearly 60 million people lack health insurance at some point in the year, the Congressional Budget Office said today, adding that official estimates fail to distinguish between people who lack coverage for a few months and those who are uninsured for a full year or more. In a new report today, the budget office said 57 million to 59 million people, "about a quarter of the nonelderly population," lacked insurance at some time in 1998, the most recent year for which reliable comparative figures were available. At the same time, the budget office said, government surveys suggest that the number of people uninsured for the entire year was 21 million to 31 million, or 9 percent to 13 percent of nonelderly Americans.

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posted by Thomas Ball 6:47 AM