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I'm not sold, seems too mild-mannered for my taste.
"I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character." - M.L.King Jr
When it comes to political acumen, your doctors are probably morons too.
"I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character." - M.L.King Jr
Vaccines and answering simple questions with practical limitations isn't really politics though. I don''t expect many UK doctors struggle with either, though the first one especially.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
Using this thread to post news on Trumps poll rival – Ben Carson – will be taking a week off from his campaign to promote his new book. Curious what the 19% of the GOP electorate that favor him feel about that.
I think other candidates have released books during a campaign... can be a win-win promotion wise. Question is which came first... Was it a campaign, or a book tour?
Carson appears to be having a tough day. The media keeps using things he said against him. Facts have a liberal bias.
Yeah, the controversy seems to be manufactured, especially given the full text of his claim. Also, since when do we give a shit about "almost applying to West Point". It's one thing to say you served and didn't, its another to say "a general told me i'd get in no problem but i ended up not applying". Even if that dinner never happened, where's the controversy??
I predict his poll numbers will continue to increase. The far-right base of the GOP absolutely loves this kind of foolishness.
OAW
What sort of foolishness, OAW?
Having followed Carson from literally my childhood (I met him while on a field trip in 3rd grade, well my entire class met him), I can tell you the man is extremely accomplished - far more so than Obama was at this point in his first campaign. I don't see any Nobel peace prizes coming Carson's way, though.
I think there's a lot to be said for "first time" politicians - i.e. candidates that don't have years of experience playing the political games and filtering literally every word they say for fear of sparking national controversy. I am willing to give Carson the benefit here, and those his views don't line 100% with mine I think he's shown me enough to be able to trust him to find practical solutions that benefit the nation, especially on hot button issues.
The dude was a neurosurgeon because he is brilliant - if not the best communicator, if you were having a knife shoved into your brain you'd want him to be the one to do it.
I think Carson is an extremely interesting candidate - one capable of breaking some barriers for the GOP that have been too long standing.
Saw a link that Carson is complaining that Obama never got this kind of scrutiny. Um, I'm pretty sure he did. I remember all kinds of crazy theories and desperate attacks.
Saw a link that Carson is complaining that Obama never got this kind of scrutiny. Um, I'm pretty sure he did. I remember all kinds of crazy theories and desperate attacks.
the press NEVER looked closely at President LIAR. Not his background, education, funding, associates etc.
Th Low info voters just wanted a "BLACK" president, and didn't really care who. This time around they want a "WOMAN" president, and don 't care who.
This time around they want a "WOMAN" president, and don 't care who.
That's the bottom line. "It's time" for a female president, so they're hell-bent on the US electing one (even if they have to elect her themselves).
"We make the news. You believe it."
"I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character." - M.L.King Jr
Having followed Carson from literally my childhood (I met him while on a field trip in 3rd grade, well my entire class met him), I can tell you the man is extremely accomplished - far more so than Obama was at this point in his first campaign. I don't see any Nobel peace prizes coming Carson's way, though.
I think there's a lot to be said for "first time" politicians - i.e. candidates that don't have years of experience playing the political games and filtering literally every word they say for fear of sparking national controversy. I am willing to give Carson the benefit here, and those his views don't line 100% with mine I think he's shown me enough to be able to trust him to find practical solutions that benefit the nation, especially on hot button issues.
The dude was a neurosurgeon because he is brilliant - if not the best communicator, if you were having a knife shoved into your brain you'd want him to be the one to do it.
I think Carson is an extremely interesting candidate - one capable of breaking some barriers for the GOP that have been too long standing.
Dr. Carson's accomplishments as a neuro-surgeon are impeccable. He has widely been considered a hero in the African-American community because of that. The issue he is running now into is his Clarence Thomas-esque comments now that he's publicly aligned himself politically with far-right white conservatives. This op-ed sums up the "foolishness" I was referring to quite nicely ...
Dr. Ben Carson is the Republican Party's latest great black hope. New polls released this week show that the neurosurgeon turned politician is now sitting on top of the crowded GOP presidential field alongside Donald Trump. The soft-spoken Carson, who has never held a political office, is electrifying the GOP's base, and ironically, he's doing it with a campaign that conjures the excitement of a doctor's visit.
While conservatives have long accused their political counterparts of white liberal guilt, those on the right are showing their own brand of it. The modern day Republican Party has always had a strained relationship with people of color, but the election of President Obama has deepened the rift.
Many in the GOP and tea party have been accused of bigotry for denying the legitimacy of and being unwilling to work with the nation's first black president, although many conservatives will argue that their disdain for the President has nothing to do with his race, but with his politics. Even so, the "racist" label has begun to take a toll on the party's brand and, I believe, their conscience.
However, Carson is their latest "magic negro;" he is someone who makes them feel good about themselves and their beliefs. The divine intervention that transformed him from being a violent, quick-tempered black boy in an impoverished Detroit to a celebrated Yale-educated brain surgeon is what evangelicals' dreams are made of. He presents himself as an example of how minorities can lift themselves up from poverty through God and with little government intervention. Although some of the accounts of his childhood are now being questioned, it may do little damage to his reputation with his growing conservative fan base.
His harsh criticism of Obama, the Black Lives Matter movement, Muslims, and Mexican immigrants provides the political right with racial cover. Their logic is that if a black man says it, then it can't be racist. Their support of him is proof to progressives that they too are willing to vote for a black man. If you're trying to boast your racial tolerance credibility these days, "I'm voting for Ben Carson" sounds a lot more convincing than "some of my best friends are black."
However, Carson is not a new phenomenon. Clarence Thomas has occupied this role from the bench for decades now. But since 2008, Republicans have been searching for their version of Barack Obama. They first made Michael Steele the chairman of the RNC in 2009. Steele's goal was to prove that not only are conservatives not racists, they can speak in outdated hip-hop slang too. When Steele didn't do the trick, the party threw him under the bus by painting him as a "hood rich" black man who mismanaged the party's finances by using their credit cards on private jets, limo rides, and strip clubs.
Then came the 2012 elections and the party's love-affair with Herman Cain. Cain was a conservative radio host and the former head of Godfather's Pizza turned presidential candidate. Cain was most effective with conservatives when portraying their political enemies as the true oppressors and by challenging Obama's blackness. Cain would suggest that African-Americans are ignorant sheep held captive on a "Democrat plantation." However, Cain's history of womanizing and potential sexual harassment was too much for the party to abide.
But for many African-Americans, Thomas, Steele, Cain and now Carson's popularity with the right is reminiscent of an old racial dynamic. During and post slavery, white slave owners and employers would often provide special treatment to select blacks, who in turn would help assuage their white guilt. It became the role of these black servants -- who were often deemed a "credit to their race" -- to heap praise on the "good" and "God-fearing" white boss, often at the expense of their own people.
To be clear, the Republican Party should be encouraged to search for African-American candidates and political stars. What's offensive is that they are propping up inept and inexperienced blacks to run for the highest office in the land.
Carson, like Cain, is hardly Barack Obama's political equal. He lacks serious political knowledge and at times appears lost when pressed on details of his domestic and foreign policy agendas. His skin color and his willingness to criticize other black and brown people is at the heart of his appeal to the right. The Republican Party is now engaging in political affirmative action of the worst kind and in the most visible way.
Carson has excelled at telling the far right precisely what they like to hear and think. He doesn't challenge their beliefs, he confirms them. News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch -- the foremost expert on all things black -- went so far as to say that Carson would be a "real black president."
No one can confidently predict what will ultimately become of Ben Carson's campaign. However, with the caucus and primary season fast approaching, we'll know soon enough if his popularity with the base is for the benefit of their conscience or if he truly has their confidence.
So the op-ed is talking about foolishness like this ...
Originally Posted by Dr. Carson
You know Obamacare is really I think the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery. And it is in a way, it is slavery in a way, because it is making all of us subservient to the government, and it was never about health care. It was about control.
Like seriously .... WTF?
Originally Posted by Dr. Carson
I would not advocate that we put a muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.
Well a lot of people might have an issue with his Seventh Day Adventist beliefs that the earth was created in six literal days and the biblical Joseph built the pyramids in Egypt. But when the Constitution said "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States" there's nothing in there that says that applicable to Christians only. But it's abundantly clear that many far-right evangelicals think it should and this appeals to them.
In response to a reporter's question about whether he would be open to the possibility of drone strikes on American soil to secure the border....
Originally Posted by Dr. Carson
The take home point is this. We have excellent military leaders. We need to employ their expertise because this is a war we are fighting. That's the bottom line.
So now we are leaving the option on the table to conduct drone strikes against illegal immigrants. The far-right xenophobes in the GOP are definitely eating that all up.
Originally Posted by Dr. Carson
The Black Lives Matter movement, where it’s foisting yourself on people – rather than engaging in dialogue – and bullying people. I never liked the idea of bullying on behalf of anybody.
Followed up by this op-ed where he actually said ...
Originally Posted by Dr. Carson
Of course, the protesters are right that racial policing issues exist and some rotten policemen took actions that killed innocent people. Those actions were inexcusable and they should be prosecuted to deter such acts in the future.
... yet the entire balance of the article was talking about everything but that!!! So it's clear that Dr. Carson is only paying lip-service to the issues being raised by the #BlackLivesMatter movement ... while "scolding" them much to delight of the far-right white conservatives who buy his books and pay him to make speeches. But don't get me wrong ... I'm not knocking the man's hustle. I'm just saying that the more outlandish stuff he says the more the far-right base of the GOP will love it. Even this situation where the increased scrutiny that any presidential candidate will face has revealed that at best he "embellished" his long-repeated story that he was offered a "scholarship" to West Point will only endear him to the far-right wing of the GOP even more. Even when this Wall Street Journal article ... you know a bastion of leftist sentiment ... starts to question some of the claims Dr. Carson has made in his autobiography ....
... it's only going to increase his supporters fervor. Because it plays into the "liberal media" narrative of which they are utterly convinced. And it won't matter that West Point doesn't even offer scholarships nor was he admitted nor did he even apply. And it won't matter that Yale never offered a "Perceptions 301" course nor that Dr. Carson was never featured in the school newspaper. Because little things like facts don't matter to his constituency.
the press NEVER looked closely at President LIAR. Not his background, education, funding, associates etc.
Th Low info voters just wanted a "BLACK" president, and didn't really care who.
Sure they did. He was born in Kenya. His education included a Madrassa school in Indonesia. None of his supposed classmates at Columbia University even remember him. All that talk about him having known associations with a former terrorist was BS. He was a member for over 20 years of a black church led by a pastor who hated America. And everybody knows all his campaign money came from small donors. What are you talking about?
Yeah, the controversy seems to be manufactured, especially given the full text of his claim. Also, since when do we give a shit about "almost applying to West Point". It's one thing to say you served and didn't, its another to say "a general told me i'd get in no problem but i ended up not applying". Even if that dinner never happened, where's the controversy??
The stories the media looked into don't seem to exist. The man is running on his life for story, so that becomes an issue.
In 2007, while campaigning at an A.M.E church, Obama claimed an event 4 years after he was born inspired his conception. It must have occurred in that 57th state.
Trump knows exactly what he's doing. Don't think it's a "coincidence" ...
The inspiration for Donald Trump's immigration policy, as Donald Trump himself has proudly told plenty of interviewers (and the moderators of last night's Fox Business presidential debate), is "Operation Wetback."
Originally Posted by Donal Trump
Dwight Eisenhower, good president, great president, people liked him. I like Ike, right? The expression. I like Ike. Moved a million 1/2 illegal immigrants out of this country, moved them just beyond the border. They came back. Moved them again, beyond the border, they came back. Didn't like it. Moved them way south. They never came back. Dwight Eisenhower. You don't get nicer, you don't get friendlier. They moved a million 1/2 people out. We have no choice.
Trump's love for Operation Wetback makes sense — not just because the name, like a lot of other things Trump says, offends immigrants and Latinos in the year 2015. Operation Wetback, which took place during the Eisenhower administration, was the closest to mass deportation of unauthorized immigrants the US has ever actually come. Over the summer of 1954 and into 1955, hundreds of immigration agents swept through the southwestern United States, rounding up immigrants who were in the US without legal authorization and packing them into trucks, trains, planes, and ships to be sent back to Mexico. It was macho and militarized. It was very Trump-y.
Needless to say, Trump (like US officials in the mid-'50s) exaggerated the impact of Operation Wetback. And Trump might find the real story of the operation somewhat surprising: Behind the hyped, militarized Operation Wetback of 1954 were years of quieter (and arguably more effective) enforcement, as the US collaborated with the Mexican government to encourage the legal hiring of immigrant workers as a complement to a crackdown on illegal hiring. In fact, the greatest success of Operation Wetback is that it encouraged immigrants who'd been working in the US illegally to become legal — the sort of thing we might call "amnesty" today.
I'm getting a very Zaphod Beeblebrox feeling out of this. Except, not cool, hoopy, and froody... but if Trump's brain had been taken away that would explain a lot.
I'm just saying that the more outlandish stuff he says the more the far-right base of the GOP will love it. Even this situation where the increased scrutiny that any presidential candidate will face has revealed that at best he "embellished" his long-repeated story that he was offered a "scholarship" to West Point will only endear him to the far-right wing of the GOP even more. Even when this Wall Street Journal 
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