George W. Bush, Pathological Gambler
The Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery (IIAR) says: “Pathological gambling is a progressive disease that devastates not only the gambler but everyone with whom he or she has a significant relationship.”
In the case of President George W. Bush, “everyone” means the entire world.
Bush’s Addiction is Chronic and Progressive
According to IIAR, pathological gambling is a “disorder of impulse control,” and it’s “chronic and progressive.” Chronic, meaning it won’t stop on its own, and progressive, meaning it will grow more and more out of control.
That’s exactly what we observe in the case of what President Bush’s gambling is costing us in money:
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2002 National Debt: $6.4 trillion
2005 National Debt: $7.8 trillion
2007 National Debt: $8.9 trillion
…and lives:
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Coalition deaths in Afghanistan: 562.
Coalition deaths in Iraq: 3,622.
Coalition deaths in Iran: predicted to be massive.
It’s both chronic, and progressive…
Three Phases of Bush’s Addiction
The father of help for gambling addicts, Robert L. Custer, M.D., identified three phases that victims of gambling addiction encounter.
First is the Winning Phase, when gamblers experience a big win. At this stage, they are optimistic, winning seems easy, like it might go on forever. Winning causes addicts to feel excitement, and their confidence surges.
Presidents in this phase do heady things like landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln in a jet and declaring, “Mission Accomplished.”
But after the rush of confidence, addicts increase their bets…and then they enter the Losing Phase.
During the Losing Phase, gamblers brag about past wins, become obsessed with the risk, and borrow to fuel their habit. Most of all, they start lying, and they become irritable and withdrawn. They may call the Constitution “just a !#$% piece of paper!”
Presidents, in particular, are unable to pay off their debts and begin to “chase” their losses. Sometimes, after watching $9 billion disappear into thin air, they’ll try to justify betting even more. Extreme addicts may even beg for ten times as much as they try to convince friends that they can win back their losses.
Next, gambling addicts enter the Desperation Phase…
Bush in the Desperation Phase
You can tell an addicted gambler is in the desperation phase because he spends more and more time gambling on everything in sight.
What’s more, they also start blaming others for their failures. And that’s when friends in their own political party start to leave and distance themselves.
Eventually, the addict may engage in illegal acts to finance their gambling, such as using false flag operations to finagle more resources, just so those resources can be thrown away on even higher-risk bets than before.
The bets have to get higher and higher, because it takes more and more to break even with the increasing mountain of loss. And pretty soon, it’s not just a mountain of loss — it’s a mountain range.
If gamblers in the desperation phase dig a big enough hole, they get cut off from the money, and then they crash. When they crash, they may commit suicide or go to rehab. If they don’t personally take action, they get arrested and may see prison time.
However, if the gambling addict stays his course, and the gambler’s friends don’t intervene, and law enforcement takes no action…the cycle continues.
Probably with nuclear warheads falling on Iran.
Read More: gambling, addiction, George W. Bush, Iraq, Iran
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This is exactly it. He gambled and lost, and has been steaming ever since to just break even.
Serious shit.
“…has been steaming ever since to just break even.”
Without a lot of real, meaningful opposition, too.
I guarantee you, if every McDonald’s and Wal-Mart announced they were going to shut down for one day to protest the war, first of all, a lot of Americans would say, “You mean we’re still fighting somewhere?”
And second of all, our Congress would get a lot of very pissed off phone calls and letters — not to end the war, but to make McDonald’s and Wal-Mart stay open. It’s one thing to send 18-year-old kids to die in a needless war, but the government better not let the Big Macs stop flowing or we’ll see a real revolution will rise over the land…
This is George Bush’s war,
but allowing it is America’s shame.
What the hell are our priorities?
It was high time for torches and pitchforks a long time ago.
It is sad that I have to agree with you on the reaction from the American public if Mickey D and Wal-mart closed for a day. Shows where this countries priorities are.
As for Indigo, torches and pitchforks? What and miss American Idol or some other mindless TV show on a fifty inch HDTV.
This is George Bush’s war,
but allowing it is America’s shame.
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Indigobusiness:
Exactly! We must end this war now!
When one is able to keep one’s enemy/opposition in disarray and unorganized, one can pillage freely.
As long as enough people in the mob are able to loot enough for themselves, they will do what they can to support the chaos or at least not interfere with it.
It seems to me that for a very long time (at least as far back as Nixon) that greed has been the controlling force. Generations since, now only know principles and morals as concepts that seem to be merely suggestions. They are not followed by our leaders which gives us permission to corrupt our little part of the world too.
That saying from “Three Days of the Condor” says a lot: “What is it with you people, you think not getting caught is the same as the truth?”.
I simply see no end or way to stop it until we all go over the cliff.
Perhaps the very best thing that can happen is for things to go very bad for the masses. They will look for who to blame and a Cultural Revolution will give us a clean slate.
I wonder if there are monuments and records of the “criminals” that China got rid of during that time.
Well said, Xman.
Machiavellianism must die.