all say at some time or other that politicians are crooks or 9
that the rich are the best thieves. But no one seems to 10
really know how they cheat and steal. It always comes as a 11
surprise when some politician has taken money. As a mat-12
ter of fact, it’s hard to see sometimes when a crime has 13
been committed even when it’s been proven and docu-14
mented. But Mr. Bennet could explain the arcane prac-15
tices of the rich and powerful, and he was willing.
16
“So you spend your time making up schemes,” I 17
prompted. “Figuring out where to
body has found yet.”
19
“No. Most resources are already known. There’s uranium 20
in some third-world countries. Other natural deposits or 21
labor that’s dirt cheap. The usual question is the cost of ex-22
traction. How much do I have to put in compared to what 23
I can pull out? No. I don’t have to find lost treasure. The 24
companies come to me as a kind of consultant when they 25
want to get in on the ground floor or, more often, when 26
they want to keep a good thing.” Bennet clasped his hands 27 S
under his chin as if he were preparing to pray.
28 R
“It’s a complex world, the one in which we live,” he said.
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The Man in My Basement
“The elements of power — greed, public opinion, applied 1
wealth, hunger, the natural distrust between groups, and 2
the quirks of politics and current events — must be dealt 3
with in such a way that you and your tribe are able to end 4
up on top. Sometimes it’s simple. A million dollars in a 5
military bag or toward both sides in a political campaign 6
can yield hundreds of millions. You never have to worry 7
about your commitment to a side or ideology. Your ideol-8
ogy is always the same. It’s amazing,” he said, looking up 9
at me in wonder, “how a girl-child of eighteen can get a 10
senator or prince to the conference table.”
11
“Do you kill people too?” I asked. God bless whiskey, I 12
say. Four shots and I knew no fear.
13
His look was both stern and startled. His left eye quiv-14
ered; his shoulders hunched slightly.
15
“Life,” he said, “has little to do with progress. More of-16
ten than not men make the decisions that lead to their 17
own deaths. They delegate, hate, stay when all the signs 18
say go. Mostly they’re unwilling to make a deal. And 19
