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 Most of all, they start lying, and they become irritable and withdrawn.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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