Dr. Ben Carson

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=630744112 Matt McClanahan

In Dr. Carson’s speech, he advocated health care savings accounts. These may make sense for young people, who don’t use much health care, and have years to accumulate health care savings. I am in my fifties. How would it be fair that in the years my expenses are going up, your change would mean that my insurance will cover less, and I will have to make up the difference from money I have only just started to save? It feels like what happened to so many when their company dropped pensions and converted to 401(k)s. The company is off the hook for the pension, but if the employees who depended on them don’t have enough savings? Too bad… Too bad the rules were changed in the middle of the game. You are on your own. And this doesn’t even count the people who would just be irresponsible and not save enough. (We have certainly seen this with 401(k)s.) In the health care space, what will we do with those people? Will we withhold care and watch them die? When talking about things like outliving our savings in retirement or not having the resources to pay to keep our health, isn’t it better to have an approach that mutualizes these risks rather than one that says “You didn’t save enough? Too bad.”?

Vigilarus

Judging by the responses of the tea party hecklers in the GOP primary debates, letting the uninsured die would be gleefully enjoyed as a manifestation of GodMarket will. Since they’re gerrymandered into national legeslative undemocratic control, the answer to your questions is “Yes.”
Scott B

(agreeing with Matt) Save what? It’s a good idea for those that can afford it. But something like 40% of Americans are at the poverty level or below, my family included. Those of us in this situation are already robbing Peter to pay Paul, closer to the drain we’re circling a little more every day. All because the conservatives on the Right couldn’t understand the word “option”, nor that an uninsured person having to be treated at the ER isn’t “free” for anyone and is a bigger tax on all American than letting some of us buy into Medicaid.
http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB

Heath insurance does not make much sense for young adults for that matter.
- Don_B1
  
  Those young people who fall and break their backs, leaving them paraplegic or quadriplegic would be really unlikely to agree with you.
  
  Fortunately the occurrence of such events is low enough to make insurance for people of that age relatively affordable and therefore a good buy when such unpredictable events occur.
  
  Young people from families with chronic diseases have higher risks of being affected also; they are prime cases for realizing the benefits of insurance.
  
  But the bottom line is that NO ONE can fully calculate the probability of a health catastrophe and banding together to spread that risk is the cheapest way to ease the costs should that occur.
  - http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB
    
    Very sorry DiSQUS error.
  - http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB
    
    I am concerned that any good idea be enforced in this heavy handed way. Are only yellow safety rain coats acceptable and all others are to be punished with heavy taxes? What does it mean when everything not forbidden is compulsory?
    - Don_B1
      
      The Constitution calls for actions for the General Welfare. Putting everyone in a common risk pool is the most equitable way to distribute the costs for unpredictable catastrophes.
      
      Purchasing health insurance is NOT, repeat NOT, the same as purchasing a big-screen TV, which can be reasonably allowed to be income dependent.
      
      In health care, inability to purchase health insurance results in life-preserving treatments being available or not.
      
      As long as we as a society (and justifiably, both ethically and economically) chose not to let people die for lack of treatment, the costs must be spread over the society, which means that those with more money must pay more than those who live on lesser means, particularly those below the poverty level.
      
      As Jonathan Cohen made clear her, when those of limited means are required to pay fully for their treatments, they do not do it and get sicker, resulting in higher costs to society.
      
      This is one of those cases where conflicting values have to be reconciled, and the cheapest way is to have all in the same risk pool.
    - http://twitter.com/NoMandate Mandate Amendment
      
      If such elements of the Constitution could be interpreted so broadly, what necessity would our founders see to having an elaborate and difficult process to amend the Constitution as that which existed then and still exists today? If the intent was to allow the government to wield power when such power was for the purpose of commerce, taxes, or the general welfare, then there would be no need to have an amendment process at all. Such an interpretation, without question, would include nearly every action government wished to take because nearly everything done in life involves commerce, taxes, and/or the general welfare. Obviously such an interpretation is spurious and not the intent of our Founders.
    - http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels
      
      if you didn’t put things in such extreme ” either/or ” comparisons , you might not seem so angry and live longer.�
      FYI , the gov’t is NOT planning to take away your weapons in support of the next hitler-president and frankly i’m not sure that you would survive very long if they tried nor very long if you didn’t have common-ordinary daily gov’t services
    - http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB
      
      Thanks for sharing that tip.

Aaron Read

A surgeon who says he’s not totally in control? Yeah right. Name me ONE surgeon who’s not a total control freak.

JGC

Does Dr. Carson ever play video games before he heads into surgery? I remember reading about a microsurgeon who played Donkey Kong to limber up before surgery; he said it helped him with his manual dexterity and spatial reasoning.

WorriedfortheCountry

Dr. Carson has an incredibly inspiring biography.

1Brett1

“Carson has said he doesn’t plan on running for office, but continues to keep the door open. ‘That calling has to come from God,’ he said. ‘I never rule anything out because I’m not totally in control.’”

Seems a bit of a copout–if one were to give Dr. Carson credit, that is. If one weren’t so charitable, then it appears Carson is quite arrogant, claiming to have complete certainty that not only God exists but has absolute power over the moment to moment actions of humans (or at least some of those actions, anyway). I can’t say whether God has any power over humans, or that such an entity even exists…because I do not know. One thing I do know, Dr. Carson does not know God with such certainty as he appears to claim. I suppose it is okay, even expected, for believers to have moments of doubt, that is if ultimately they come around and back to believing in God (or at least the Abrahamic interpretation).

Dr. Carson begins his speech in the clip provided at the prayer breakfast with the “keep Christ in Christmas” meme, that Christians are somehow being persecuted and are afraid to say what they believe, and that this must stop, which is crap. Nobody is persecuting Christians or telling them they can’t celebrate Christmas the way they want; nobody is preventing anybody from saying, “Merry Christmas.” Nobody is telling Christians they can’t worship as they wish, that is unless Christians desire to worship in such a way that prevents others from doing as they desire or worshipping as they wish, including refraining from worship without persecution.

He goes on to malign what he calls “PC” in general, that it “is dangerous” …I wonder how well being called a “negro,” inferior because of the color of his skin would sit with Dr. Carson? How about a “colored person”? Would he think such freedom of expression, particularly institutional uses of those expressions for African-Americans, frees people from having “a muzzle” put on them? It is so-called “political correctness” that moved such expressions out of fashion.

What important issues are being stifled because of “political correctness,” Dr. Carson? How has “political correctness” prevented people from getting an education, Dr. Carson? He attempts to explain; however, his explanation is so muddled and banal, his point seems obscured by his less than compelling argument.

Dr. Carson proves one thing: one can be a fine surgeon, that doesn’t mean one, by extension, has any depth of thought outside that skill. He seems to engage in a lot of junkyard philosophy and populist demagoguery…Republicans sure can pick their heroes.

Ray in VT

Remember those times when people tried to stop Christians from building their houses of worship in Manhattan and in Murfreesboro, Tennessee? ; )

When I was in graduate school I worked with a guy whose grandparents on one side were both Holocaust survivors. It was about that time that David Limabaugh came out with his book Persecution: How Liberals Are Waging War Against Christianity. My friend was absolutely incensed by such rhetoric, and it is pretty outrageous given the real persecution that some people have faced.
- DrewInGeorgia
  
  But they declared War On Christmas for Christ’s sake Ray!
  
  ;’)
  - Ray in VT
    
    A long and brutal war it is, indeed, Drew. Many years has it lasted, and many are the casualties. The horror, the horror. What terrible offenses must one suffer when one is not always greeted with Merry Christmas? A terrible persecution indeed.
    
    I did real John Gibson’s War on Christmas years ago. What an incredible waste of a couple of hours of my life that was.
- Gregg Smith
  
  It was a good book and made a very compelling, well-sourced case.
  - Ray in VT
    
    I found it to be an incredible bore which attempted to make some sort of case for a great societal undermining of Christmas based upon 3-4 cases of fools getting too worked up over something trivial. I’m sure that Fox News and talk radio fans loved it.
    
    I’m fine with a Christmas tree on and funded by the public, as the Supreme Court declared it to be a non-religious symbol, and I certainly know some Christians who regard it as pagan. I would not support public funds going towards a Creche, which is quite explicitly Christian. I think that private groups should be able to set one up in a public space so long as other religions are allowed to do the same with their symbols, and so long as the taxpayers aren’t footing the bill.
    - Gregg Smith
      
      Maybe I just see it in more dramatic terms down here in the Bible belt. I see it.
      
      O’ Reilly made a big deal about it but I never heard much on the radical right wing radio.
    - Ray in VT
      
      http://mediamatters.org/video/2005/12/09/limbaugh-ties-kerry-and-democratic-party-to-war/134404
      
      It was a while ago. I guess that he stays away from that. It’s mostly an O’Reilly/Fox monster, but I’m guessing that the audience that crosses over there probably believes it, but that is only speculation on my part. Maybe they just stick to the other conspiracy theories.
Gregg Smith

With all due respect, must you begin the vilification immediately? It’s easy to tell someone what they think then criticize them for thinking it. That’s the sum total of your entire comment. IMO, you miss his message by a mile. I look forward to the show.
- 1Brett1
  
  The good doc talks about being a Christian and that God has plans for him. I disagree with that model of life and the universe. Is that vilifying him? I don’t think so; I think your “vilify” is a characterization meant to put what I said in its worst light. Especially since he is the one in the video instructing people on what they need to do (and what not to do), to solve problems, not I.
  
  Your “telling people what to think and criticizing them” is a copout default mode when you can’t think of anything intelligent to write. I’m not telling him what to think, merely that I don’t believe what he SAYS in the video. He said the things I wrote that he said. I suppose you would rather I characterize what he meant, but in a way that is favorable to those who don’t like political correctness and are vocal Christians?
  - Gregg Smith
    
    Your “telling people what to think and criticizing them” is a …
    That’s not what I said, you used quotes and everything. This happened the other day with someone else. Maybe it’s why I’m so misunderstood. I do not accuse you of telling people what to think. I accuse you of assuming you no what they think and building your argument of that false premise.
    
    But never mind.
    - 1Brett1
      
      Quotes, as in they are a mind of meme for you. You think that quotes are only used to denote exact words someone said? It’s not that you’re misunderstand; it’s that you never seem to stand for anything directly, just against liberalism. You say you are agnostic, yet you are always defending fundamentalist Christians (yet I’ve heard you criticize atheists as being arrogant). You won’t be pinned down on any political views beyond broad platitudinal generalizations that you yourself, God forbid (pun intended) anyone else make them.
      
      I was commenting on what Dr. Carson said. He said what he said. While we can wait to hear what he has to say (and I am looking forward to it), we can comment on what has been put up so far that he did say.
    - Gregg Smith
      
      You were commenting on what “it appears” to you he thinks not what he said. Did he comment on being called a Negro? Just like you were quoting me as saying you tell people what to think. I didn’t say it and Dr. Carson didn’t take the positions you assign to him. That’s all.
    - 1Brett1
      
      Well, he did say that “political correctness is dangerous.” He even related a story from someone he spoke too “just this morning” about how it is a shame people can’t call Asian people “Orientals” for fear of being called on it. I wasn’t quoting him on the “negro” thing just opining that political correctness has served to rid or society of such words from our lexicon. If people should be okay with the term “Oriental” in what they call Asian people, then he should be okay with being called a “negro” or a “colored person” as those were once acceptable terms. He doesn’t get to decide what an Asian person wishes to be called.
      
      Can you stop with the I “tell people what to think” meme. It’s utter nonsense. I am commenting on what he has said, and his interview today didn’t put down those red flags.
    - Gregg Smith
      
      “tell people what to think”
      You just refuse to get it.
    - 1Brett1
      
      What about my comment was inaccurate? I clearly distinguished and supported my opinion parts and described what he said…so you tell me. Are you going deaf or are you just being cognitively dissonant? Maybe you’re just stupid? Maybe you’re just excited to be a neocon who can hold up a black person (like you did with Cain) that you can call your man to admire (so you can hide you racist leanings and seem less anachronistic in your views)?
    - 1Brett1
      
      “It’s easy to tell someone what they think then criticize them for thinking it”
      
      Explain what you meant, then, by this statement.
    - Gregg Smith
      
      “If one weren’t so charitable, then it appears Carson is quite arrogant, claiming to…”�
      But what if his is a position of humility and not arrogance? You assumed to know what he thinks and criticized him for thinking it.
      
      I’m not here to dissect your entire comment but he didn’t mention Negros, fearful Christians or much of the things you wrote.
http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB

“He goes on to malign what he calls “PC” in general, that it “is dangerous” …I wonder how well being called a “negro,” inferior because of the color of his skin would sit with Dr. Carson? How about a “colored person”? Would he think such freedom of expression, particularly institutional uses of those expressions for African-Americans, frees people from having “a muzzle” put on them? It is so-called “political correctness” that moved such expressions out of fashion. ”
So the high tech lynch mob has formed. Know your place or else.
- Don_B1
  
  1Brett1 was just showing, by an example that Dr. Carson might appreciate, how “PC” has improved the culture, not been a hindrance to growth of the nation, both culturally and economically.
  
  He was NOT trying to form a “high tech lynch mob.”
  - 1Brett1
    
    Thanks, Don. I guess RWB doesn’t realize that I am old enough to remember terms like “negro” and “colored person” being acceptable vocabulary in polite company…listening to Dr. Carson, it sounds like he is okay with terms like “Orientals.”
    - Gregg Smith
      
      The NAACP still uses it.
- 1Brett1
  
  You, like Gregg, miss my point. It is “political correctness” that has served to rid our society from such derogatory words as “negro” and “colored person.” (Words that were acceptable just less than 50 years ago.) I’m sure Dr. Carson wouldn’t like to be called such words, and anyone should be called out who would call him that. He did relate a story in the interview today that he spoke to someone “just this morning” who “had been out of the country” and didn’t realize Asian people can no longer respectfully be called “Orientals.” Well, in current society the term “Orientals” is in the same category as “negro” and “colored person.” They are INAPPROPRIATE. Yet, ostensibly, he sees nothing wrong with people using the term “Orientals.”
  
  By intimating that my point amounts to a high tech lynching is despicable! For you to make such a statement is either ignorance, stupidity, or disingenuousness.
  - Gregg Smith
    
    O yea, “African-American” makes sense.
    - 1Brett1
      
      We all know you prefer (and regularly use) the term “colored people” but that doesn’t make it respectful! (And stop using the word “negro” too! That’s offensive to so many, yet you persist!)
keltcrusader

He knows “not only God exists but has absolute power over the moment to moment actions of humans”

If this is the case, why is he a neurosurgeon? Shouldn’t it be God that decides the fate of a person who need brain surgery? Sounds like we don’t even need Dr Carson.
valedjad

I found Dr. Carson to be very arrogant. His responses (words and tone) in this interview make me think he holds a smug feeling of moral superiority. His statements about the Big Bang and evolution leave me questioning his intelligence.

JGC

Theistic evolution or intelligent design or pure Darwinism?

Fiscally_Responsible

Given his very impressive credentials and very detailed, experiential knowledge of the complexity of the human body and interdependence of its systems, perhaps he has an educated, fact-based opinion on the subject that you raised. That is, unless your mind is already made up. By the way, it’s seven literal 24 hour day creation as given to us in The Book Of Genesis.
- Ray in VT
  
  One can only hope that your last sentence is tongue in cheek.
  - Fiscally_Responsible
    
    You are welcome to answer the questions that I raised in my reply to JGC above. But please, legitimate answers rather than trite slaps which don’t address these issues.
    - Ray in VT
      
      I think that science can only prove so much and go so far. It reaches a point where it cannot reach. For instance, what happens when we die? Who knows? Nobody. There’s plenty of belief, but no proof. Hawking says that all of creation can be explained with math. Maybe he’s right. I don’t know.
      
      I attempt to pursue facts through the observable world, not via the supernatural, for which I have yet to see any evidence whatsoever. I do have an especial dislike, though, for faith which denies that which science can prove. Carbon dating works in predictable ways, and it says that the world is far older than 6,000 or 10,000 years. I don’t feel that calling someone out on that is a trite slap any more than asking one if one is serious if one questions the shape of the world.
      
      If everything has a beginning, then what created the divine?
    - sickofthechit
      
      INFINITY!
    - Don_B1
      
      Your post shows you might be interested in a PBS program, “Closer to Truth: Cosmos, Consciousness, God,” which runs on the PBS WORLD channel, broadcast by many PBS stations and available on cable. It runs on Fridays at 7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time, other times in some areas(?).
      
      Today, science cannot say anything about what came before the “Big Bang” or what happens after death. But it is unclear on what issues science may be able to say something in the future as more discoveries in physics are made.
    - Ray in VT
      
      That does sound intersting. I wish that I had the time to watch more such things. Science is an ongoing endeavour. One of its shortcomings is that it cannot answer the why question that many people seek. Maybe there is no why. Maybe there just is. I recently found the National Geographic Channel’s show about the human family tree and how they traced prehistoric movements of people by genetic markers to be very interesting.
    - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1032093601 Robert Evans
      
      One of the clearest statements I’ve read (or written!) of my own faith. Thanks
    - Ray in VT
      
      You’re welcome, Robert. It just seems pretty basic to me, and I think that it works.
- jefe68
  
  How did they figure out it was 24 hours if they thought the sun went around the earth?
- 1Brett1
  
  I thought God rested on the 7th day? Man, you’re such a slave driver!
Fiscally_Responsible

JGC, Assuming that you are a believer in Darwinism and the Big Bang Theory, I have several questions which I really would value your answer to. First, evolutionists typically define their starting point as the point at which the Big Bang supposedly occurred. But where did the material and energy that comprised all of the material and energy of the Big Bang Theory? If you say that “it was always there”, doesn’t that require as much faith as a religious person has since everything in our human experience is that everything has a believer? And doesn’t that really mean that those who hold that position have no answer to life’s ultimate question? And if your answer is what I found as an explanation on the internet: “One hypothesis, consistent with all current knowledge, is that the primal energy came from a false vacuum that formed by means of a random quantum fluctuation.”, what caused that?

And for the sake of argument, we assume that the Big Bang is true and the material and energy always existed, why didn’t the Big Bang happen an eternity ago? Wouldn’t whatever preparatory changes required for the Big Bang to occur have had an eternity to take place? I seriously would welcome any thoughtful answers to these questions. Please answer the questions rather than take a shallow smack at those who disagree with evolution and the Big Bang as a way of avoiding answering these profound questions.
- Fiscally_Responsible
  
  two corrections. “But where did the material and energy that comprised all of the material and energy of the Big Bang Theory come from?
  ….since everything has a beginning?”
  - 1Brett1
    
    During times when the Bible was written folks believed the earth was flat, and they didn’t believe in dinosaurs (that’s why they are not mentioned in the Bible) because no evidence had yet been found that dinosaurs existed…but I digress.
    
    You see, in the “beginning” there was energy in the form of light which then became discreet packets of photons. When photons had the right amount of energy they deteriorated into particles and antiparticles….mmmm, let’s just say a big man with a beard in the sky made everything in six days, including woman from man’s rib so the man wasn’t lonely, and everything was perfect.
    
    Well, until a talking snake came along and conned the woman into eating an apple which gave the perfect world sin (and that bearded guy in the sky was pissed and gave all kinds of trouble to his perfect creation because, well, he was pissed.
    
    The bearded guy’s creation of free will for humans was just a trick, you see, to see if they would obey him without being forced, even though he would get all medieval on them if they didn’t obey, without knowing exactly how to obey (and even though he knew they didn’t know how to obey because he made them himself).
    
    The bearded man was cruel, well, of course until he sent his son down to be murdered. He seemed fine after that…
  - Prairie_W
    
    Humility is everything, FR. We don’t know. Why do you need a god to fill the gap caused your (and our) ignorance? That’s what I’d love to know.
    - notafeminista
      
      It’s called “the arrogance of man” for a reason.
    - Fiscally_Responsible
      
      I was simply trying to
      raise what I consider to be profound questions that I genuinely was interested
      in getting answers to by those who want to define the starting point as the big
      bang, which is convenient but doesn’t begin to address the questions that I
      raised such as “where did the matter and energy come from before it big
      banged?” and if it existed for eternity past, why didn’t the big bang
      happen and eternity past ago? It seems that if those who support the big
      bang think that they have answered life’s questions but can’t address mine,
      then they are simply fooling themselves. I think that it makes for an
      interesting, thought provoking discussion. I didn’t mean to upset people.
      Just raise legitimate questions. If evolution/big bang is correct, it seems
      to me that they should be able to answer these questions.
    - Fiscally_Responsible
      
      I was simply trying to raise what I consider to be profound questions that I genuinely was interested in getting answers to by those who want to define the starting point as the big bang, which is convenient but doesn’t begin to address the questions that I raised such as “where did the matter and energy come from before it big banged?” and if it existed for eternity past, why didn’t the big bang happen and eternity past ago? It seems that if those who support the big bang think that they have answered life’s questions but can’t address mine, then they are simply fooling themselves. I think that it makes for an interesting, thought provoking discussion. I didn’t mean to upset people. Just raise legitimate questions. If evolution/big bang is correct, it seems to me that they should be able to answer these questions.
  - margbi
    
    First there was nothing; then it exploded. Words to live by.
    - Fiscally_Responsible
      
      I’m not sure what you are trying to say. It sounds like you agree with me (how can nothing explode). Can you clarify.
    - margbi
      
      My take is that we don’t know and will never know – at least in this lifetime – what happened. Perhaps in any afterlife we’ll have all the answers but for now, “nothing” is as good an answer to life’s mysteries as something.
  - Don_B1
    
    Cosmologists and physicists have OBSERVED the “bubbling” of “empty space” with particles and anti-particles appearing in what was “empty” previously and then recombining and disappearing, which is what they call a “quantum fluctuation.” They do not have a theory of where that energy comes from, though some have undoubtedly attempted some hypotheses to see how to create experiments which might help to find out.
    
    They speculate that occasionally such a bubble might be of a size to create a universe such as the one we observe. But they do not say that is how it happened, they admit they just do not know. That is the difference between science and religion.
    
    In that sense, science does not try to answer “Life’s ultimate question,” it does try to answer the question of how life works here in every way possible.
    
    Religion tries to comfort those who want/need answers to “ultimate questions,” while science comforts those who think the answers, while not yet known, may be able to be found. [On a different level, sort of like those who need instant gratification versus those who are willing to wait for more complete gratification later.]
    
    It that way, science requires faith in a “METHOD” of finding truth while religion requires faith in “FACTS” that are often shown to not be factual, the most well-known example being Galileo’s promulgation of Copernicus’s theory of the planets revolving around the Sun rather than all the “heavenly bodies” rotating around the Earth.
    
    Religious institutions have great difficulty backing away from things that were once considered “facts,” and are subsequently shown to not be true, whereas, while individual scientists may cling to old theories, the vast body of scientists accept new theories when they are shown to best predict how thing happen.
- 1Brett1
  
  The age of the earth is 4.5 billion years.
- http://twitter.com/Dragonsong73 Eric R. Duncan
  
  According to my limited understanding, there are big bang theories that posit a yo-yo type universe big bang big contraction.
  
  Now with the true vacuum hypothesis building after the near Higgs at CERN there are ideas that universi are consumed by a vacuum as another universe is created to overwhelm this one.
  
  Add to that the issues of Branes as divisors between universes (and where much of gravitation’s “force” goes to) where the original material comes from gets even harder to identify.
  
  I will say I am OK with a Prima Motivator produces the original material (or is the original material) I do not think Evolution and Darwinism are antithetical to religious expressions that include a creator, however the one these theories points to looks more like Brahman/Shiva from Hinduism rather than a Christian deity.
- JGC
  
  I must refer you to my Spiritual Advisor, Ray in VT (see below: “I think that science can only prove so much and go so far…”)
  
  (For any financial questions, I will refer you to my CyberAccountant, Mike_Card.)
  - Ray in VT
    
    I thank you for humbly submitting to my spiritual guidance. One down, 310 million to go. ; )
    - 1Brett1
      
      I’m a follower, so 309,999,999 to go!
    - Ray in VT
      
      Excellent! If I can only continue at this rate (1 convert every 3 hours or so), then it will only take me roughly 100,000 years to get everyone in the country.
      
      http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QsRLX1oDTT4/TjTQ1DzgO6I/AAAAAAAAAGs/1mksY_zwbyw/s1600/excellent-mr-burns.gif
- 1Brett1
  
  Who created God, if everything has a beginning?
Gregg Smith

How ’bout, “God created evolution”?
- JGC
  
  I think that is theistic evolution, which is the personal belief held by the head of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins.
  - Gregg Smith
    
    I figured it wasn’t my most original thought.
    
    You do imply a very good question. To what degree should a candidate’s religion factor into one’s vote for President. I say “should” but there is no should.
    
    Not that you asked but I’ll tell you what I think. I think being a President means having unbelievable influences jerking you in all directions. The temptations are humongous. Do you do what’s right? What’s popular? What the donors want? What other world leaders want? And on and on without end. I never criticized Obama in 2008 for being woefully inexperienced because I believe it’s not the most important requirement. I think moral integrity and a true set of core values are the only weapons to combat overwhelming influence. A steady rudder.
    
    In the end none of us know all the answers, like what happens after you die or what happened the day before the big bang or what is on the other side of the outer edge of the universe. It comes down to faith at some point even if that faith is in nothing.
    
    So Presidents like GWB or Bill Clinton who were very religious don’t bother me much even if I don’t see it their way. I’m just glad when all hell is breaking loose they can go somewhere within for clarity.
    - JGC
      
      Well, I was pretty much nodding my head in agreement until the part about GWB and where his clarity took us.
    - Gregg Smith
      
      That’s the disagree part. I’m the other way and think it was righteous and unavoidable. But let’s not go there.
      
      There was a lot of hand wringing, agreement, opposition, new dangers, old dangers and corruption… not to mention suffering. There was a lot that we could not have done. We don’t know what the result would have been despite any rosy picture anyone paints. So I do value the core principles that formed the decision.
    - Don_B1
      
      While it is traditional and unlikely to change, those who are atheistic or agnostic can be just as morally or ethically rigorous as any “religious” person.
      
      Just claiming religious feelings does not make one morally or ethically driven when making decisions.
      
      Remember the Bible was used to defend slavery and other demonstrably immoral and unethical things.
      
      Also, calls to “morality” are often to actions that some view as hugely immoral, such as discrimination against homosexuals.
- J__o__h__n
  
  The latest creationist spin. There is no creator.

1Brett1

How does Dr. Carson feel about Medicare covering end-of-life counseling between a patient and his/her doctor?

StilllHere

Oh no, he believes in self-reliance. Liberals will vilify him.

http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB

And are lining up to destroy him.

1Brett1

Should insurance companies be allowed to offer reproductive services coverage, counseling or otherwise (including abortion), in stand-alone insurance policies?

And should a woman be forced to have an ultrasound by the same doctor performing her abortion and within the same 24 hr. cycle as the ultrasound, even if she has had an ultrasound by another doctor and outside the 24 hr. cycle of the abortion? What does Dr. Carson think about forced vaginal probes?

Does Dr. Carson think abortion clinics should be forced to close if they don’t comply with stringent building regulations such as doors being the same width as those in Catholic hospitals that don’t have to comply with the same regulations?

http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB

If you would admit that over regulation was a problem I would find myself supporting you. But you want the same law to be applied differently to different citizens. It is exactly the same as when a racist cop pulls over a young black man for driving 4 miles above the speed limit. The racist is sure the young black man is up to something criminal.
- 1Brett1
  
  What regulation, specifically, do you think is excessive? If I knew this I’d have a better chance of replying to your comment.

1Brett1

If a doctor commits gross malpractice, from a which a patient dies unnecessarily, how much is that patient’s life worth in actual dollars? $5,000? $10,000?

Ray in VT

$5 for the elements. Maybe $45 million if you sell off the parts.
- 1Brett1
  
  So, ole’ Potter was right when he said George Baily was worth more dead than alive!

1Brett1

Does Dr. Carson feel insurance companies should not insure those with pre-existing conditions? And should insurance companies have the freedom to drop their services from those who become sick while insured?

jefe68

Interesting question given that in his line of work he will most likely be seeing patients with pre-existing conditions.
- 1Brett1
  
  That is my favorite comment so far!

1Brett1

What does Dr. Carson think If one can’t afford health insurance and one has saved, say, $5,000 in an account devoted to pay for health care needs, then one gets cancer–with treatment costing upwards of, say, $200,000 or more–how should this be handled?

jefe68

Death panels…
- 1Brett1
  
  Yeah, I’d bet that would be the way the good doctor would characterize this type of doctor-patient counseling appointment (which, the counseling exists now; it would just be paid for under the ACA).
- Gregg Smith
  
  No, I think he advocated paying for the health care of the indigent with the money we are already spending.
  - jefe68
    
    He’s talking about health care accounts, at least that was my impression.
    - Gregg Smith
      
      Yes, and in some cases the government contributing to them. I’m pretty sure that’s what he said. I’ll check and give you the time.
      
      Edit: 21:40

Gregg Smith

Kudos On Point.

DrewInGeorgia

People always seem to be getting the Hippocratic Oath and the
Hypocritical Pledge all tangled up. It’s always so inspiring to hear one espouse the teachings of Jesus and The Bible, and then proceed to explain how we don’t need to help others because they will learn to help themselves. Guess I must have read the wrong Bible, the one I read would have backed Universal Healthcare without hesitation. Poor Jesus, hist core teaching is always getting trampled by The Old Testament.

Gregg Smith

Really? Jesus would love Obamacare and send the good Doctor to purgatory for his cold cold heart. Is that the implication? Are you distorting God’s word to spread the gospel of Obamacare? If so, how is your comment any different from the average Bible-thumping street-corner evangelist?
- DrewInGeorgia
  
  Come on Gregg, my comment didn’t espouse The ACA. I’m for Universal Healthcare and “Obamacare” is decidedly not Universal. I also didn’t condemn “the good doctor” to anywhere, judgement is not my job. All I said (and continue to say) is that it amazes me that individuals who take an oath to do everything in their power to help their fellow Human will deny care because someone fails to “qualify”. Smells like Hypocrisy to me.
  - Gregg Smith
    
    I think plenty of fair minded people would support a reasonable form of universal health care. But what I see is Obamacare and anytime someone criticizes it they are labeled anti-healthcare. Maybe not you, but you’ve seen it I’m sure. You are also misrepresenting Dr. Carson who does not want to “deny care”. Jesus would love his approach. I guess you didn’t condemn him to purgatory for it but it’s quite a charge.
    - DrewInGeorgia
      
      Let me try this again:
      I am not criticizing or misrepresenting Dr. Carson. I am saying that any physician who takes The Hippocratic Oath and then doles out care solely to “The Deserving” is a Hypocrite.
    - Gregg Smith
      
      Oh good, I thought you were talking about Dr. Carson. My bad.
    - http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB
      
      Just because this is a thread about Dr. Carson.
    - hartford sam
      
      poor gregg, i bet you’ve got a headache ! drewinga is beating you about 15 to 1 in likes ! man , what a whippin’ , he’s floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee . when you crawl out of the ring and go down to ER and if you don’t have insurance , go ahead , get treatment, and it’ll just raise everyone else’s rates.
      what drew and i want is universal healthcare and when that is in place , obama , followed by hill & bill can hammer down prices , reduce doctors pay and make the AMA kick out the quacks and fraudsters !
1Brett1

Careful, Drew, somebody is about to put words in your mouth…
- DrewInGeorgia
  
  Too late.
  
  Thankfully my tongue (which I’m sure some think is forked) still works.
Ray in VT

“Jesus was a hippie. I wore sandals and didn’t have a job. What more do you want?” – A.J. Rimmer.

Scott B

His story is inspiring, having read about him in Readers’ Digest many years ago. However, I have a issue with a doctor that would support a political side that supports the status quo in the current insurance and heath system, and regularly denies fact, science, history, and experience. Not that it’s stopped doctors like Bill Frist, who tried to misinform people that HIV could be passed along through casual contact like kissing and tears; and Sen. [Dr.] Broun (R-GA) who though being a medical doctors denies embryology, and believes that the earth is less than 9000 years old, yet somehow was appointed to the science and technology committee. I also have an issue with someone that would seek the Presidency if “God calls him”. The last guy that that said God talked with him said God told him we needed to invade Iraq.

notafeminista

*chuckle*

Gregg Smith

I wonder how he got on the bill? President Obama at times was visibly agitated. I saw a little puff of smoke come out of one ear. Senator Sessions leans over at one point and says something, I wonder what? I thought it was a great speech.

Ray in VT

The group that sponsors the Prayer Breakfast, the Fellowship Foundation, can be a bit iffy. They’ve been tied to support for some foreign dictators and the movement in Uganda to criminalize, perhaps up the capital level, homosexuality. The selection of a conservative who belongs to a church that is opposed to evolution doesn’t seem like a big surprise to me.
- DrewInGeorgia
  
  Friends of Hummus?
  - Ray in VT
    
    How could Chuck Hagel possibly support such an organization? It makes one wonder about his loyalties to cream cheese.
    - 1Brett1
      
      I was going to reply with something funny, but your reply is much better than what mine would have been. Good one!
    - Ray in VT
      
      Thank you. I do what I can.
- Gregg Smith
  
  It does to me because Obama was sitting right there but you know how I am. I’m thinking assumptions were made about his positions because he was black. I don’t think Obama nor his people saw this coming. I’m just speculating.
  - Ray in VT
    
    The government doesn’t sponsor it. It’s a privately organized event, so as far as I know the White House doesn’t have a say as to who speaks at it.
    - Gregg Smith
      
      I get all that. You do not see this sort of thing because he is very particular. He won’t even go on CNN much less Fox. Just an observation, that’s all. As a matter of fact, to your point, I think Jeff Sessions organized it.
    - Ray in VT
      
      Sessions and Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor may have hosted it, but I don’t think that anyone in the government actually organizes it in terms of the actual planning
  - JGC
    
    Wait a minute! That doesn’t sound like you, saying assumptions were made because of color! But while we are on the subject of assumptions, I wondered if Michelle Obama agreed to present the Academy Award for Best Picture because the White House advisors were hoping for a “Lincoln” win, and the resulting imagery.
    - Ray in VT
      
      Did you see that the Iranian news photoshopped her by raising the neckline of her dress?
    - JGC
      
      Was that in retaliation for “Argo” winning? At least they didn’t photoshop her wearing that crazy black spiderwoman costume Cher had on, years back.
    - Ray in VT
      
      Good one. Seriously, though, it was probably to shield men from the tempting viewing of a woman’s flesh. What must they have thought of Beyonce?
  - 1Brett1
    
    Right, as if Obama didn’t know anything about Dr. Carson.
anamaria23

The usual hyperbolic nonsense from one seemingly delighted to have yet one more chance to stick it to Obama. �
I hope that Dr. Ben Carson reads this week Time Magazine report on the near corrupt US health care system. He might find balance for his views.
1Brett1

Yes, and that NPR with their public funds never giving voice to conservative gobbledygook!

NewtonWhale

Wow. An entire hour given over to a religious fundamentalist Obama critic who believes in a flat tax and rails against the debt and political correctness.

Cause Lord knows we hardly ever hear from folks like that.

http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB

Why does this inspiring physician elicit so much hatred from the left? Isn’t: “I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” a liberal value? Or has Voltaire gone out of style.
- NewtonWhale
  
  I expressed no hatred.I simply pointed out that this show promotes conservatives excessively.
  
  If you want to see some real criticism of Dr. Carson, you could read Conservative Fox News pundit and contributor Cal Thomas, who said that Carson’s remarks were inappropriate for the National Prayer Breakfast and that he should apologize to President Obama:
  
  Carson should publicly apologize and stop going on TV doing “victory laps” and proclaiming that reaction to his speech was overwhelmingly positive. That’s not the point. While many might agree with his positions (and many others don’t as shown by the November election results), voicing them at the National Prayer Breakfast in front of the president was the wrong venue.Organizers for this event tell speakers ahead of time to steer clear of politics, but Carson apparently “went rogue” on them. I’m told organizers were astonished and disapproving of the critical parts of Carson’s keynote address. The breakfast is supposed to bring together people from different political viewpoints and cultures. It is supposed to bridge divides, not widen them.
  
  Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/02/12/dr-ben-carson-should-apologize-to-president-obama/#ixzz2M175Y8yR
  
  Or maybe you should amend your comment and ask: “Why does this inspiring physician elicit so much hatred from the right?”
  - http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB
    
    Emotion can be lost in typed in posts. But none of the words you chose are a sign of love and affection.
    P.S. When I respond to Mr. Thomas I will be more pointed in my remarks.
    - NewtonWhale
      
      I don’t know the man, and I suspect you don’t either.
      
      He is a highly successful man who has accomplished a great deal and inspired great enthusiasm in a lot of people.
      
      Charles Lindbergh and Henry Ford did all those things, too.
      
      That doesn’t make their political or economic ideas inherently worthwhile.
      
      I have no love or affection for the policy prescriptions of any of them.
- DrewInGeorgia
  
  “from the left” lol
  
  There is no Left anymore, anything left of Nationalism is labeled Socialist.
- nj_v2
  
  In RWB’s world, vigorous criticism of dubious ideas is “hatred.”
  
  And anyone who doesn’t subscribe to them is a “leftist.”
  - http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB
    
    Not all criticism is hateful, some is constructive. Not all who subscribe to dubious ideas are “leftists” some are just wrong.
toc1234

no kidding… I wonder who held a gun to Tom’s head to allow someone like this on his npr show… but don’t worry, I’m sure Tom will do his best JackB impression today…
- http://www.facebook.com/people/James-Patrick-Dwyer-Jr/100002088204784 James Patrick Dwyer Jr.
  
  I hope someone does something.

JGC

If you believe in Intelligent Design, how can you explain _____ (fill in the blank with your most puzzling conundrum).

JGC

Sylvio Berlusconi? The popularity of the Kardashians?
Ray in VT

The duck-billed platypus.
- scottmartin49
  
  The Platypus resulted from Gods’ short lived attempt to be more proactive by appointing a design review board. It started out as a Beaver….
  - Ray in VT
    
    I always assumed that it was created on the last day from everything that was left over.
    - scottmartin49
      
      Ahhh, Australia as “the closet under the stairs” where the miscellaneii are stored. Excellent theory!
      
      That one goes in the next Home-schooler’s BIO 101 textbook for sure.
    - Ray in VT
      
      The closet under the stairs. That’s pretty funny. I’ll make sure to forward that ideo to the Bob Jones University Press and A Beka Books.
- 1Brett1
  
  I can explain that: comic relief!
scottmartin49

To be completely fair, rationality has no answer to how matter came to be aware of itself….

JGC

Proverbs 11.25. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will be refreshed.

Are all who prosper generous? Or just a random sample? Are the Wall Street Masters of the Universe generous, as evidenced by their overwhelming prosperity? And why do they hideth their profits in the Caymans, if they be so generous?

Ray in VT

Are you familiar with Prosperity Theology? I think that it basically holds that those who make a bunch of money are those who please God (or something to that effect). It seems to rather contradict Matthew 19:24 “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
- TomK_in_Boston
  
  No question, the right has rebranded Jesus as the CEO of Galillee Capital Management.
  
  There’s a false discussion of “self reliance”. The reality is that individuals are most likely to succeed by their hard work when the playing field is NOT massively tilted toward the plutocrats and the corporations. However the talking point is that it doesn’t matter how much advantage the elites grab for themselves, the individual can always make it. Unfortunately. the righty media, including NPR, only give us the propaganda.
  
  Hey Tom, there are still some liberals in America, y’know. Ever think of having them on the show?
  - http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB
    
    “The reality is that individuals are most likely to succeed by their hard work when the playing field is NOT massively tilted toward the plutocrats and the corporations.”�
    On that fact we agree. Now if you would just stop working for those plutocrats and corporations that are using our government to increase their profits and power. We could work together if the scales could fall from your eyes.
    - TomK_in_Boston
      
      IMO you have the scales.
    - http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB
      
      Which is why we work against each other instead of with each other.
- 1Brett1
  
  “The Family” knows all about that there Prosperity Theology.
  - Ray in VT
    
    I remember that once upon a time I worked with a very religious guy whose church was somewhere in the line of the Amish. I asked him what he thought about Prosperity Theology, and he laughed in my face.
    - JGC
      
      HA! I’m laughing again!
http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB

Are you saying that paying taxes is the same thing a generosity?
- JGC
  
  Definitely not! People are not asked to pay taxes to demonstrate their generosity: “Taxes are the price we pay for civilized society.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes. At the Prayer Breakfast, Dr. Carson started off by reading scripture, “A generous man will prosper…” So how does the truly generous person share their prosperity in order to continuously refresh their bank account, according to the Lord (or something like that…)
  
  The Chronicle of Philanthropy shows the ways the individual wealthy prefer to share their prosperity. “Most of the money (in 2012) went to big, elite institutions. Seventy-two percent of the dollars pledged supported higher education, arts and culture, hospitals, and private foundations…very little goes to causes aimed at enriching the lives of the less fortunate.” And that is why taxes are necessary. Not to be generous, but otherwise the poor would be forgotten in the stampede to fund business schools and build self-aggrandizing named wings on to hospitals and art galleries.
  - http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB
    
    In the broad brush stroke we agree. Taxes (a civic duty) and Charity (as a religious duty) are very separate and distinctly different things. I personally don’t consider funding a library with your name on it at the university you attended a significant act of charity. The fact that our current tax code encourages such actions, IMHO is insulting to anyone that sees the truth in “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” Matthew 6:3

William

It is ironic Obama takes advice from Al Sharpton but won’t even talk to Dr. Carson.

anamaria23

Please document that President Obama takes advice from Al Sharpton and won’t even talk to Dr. Carson.

J__o__h__n

It disgusts me that Obama goes to this event and gives credibility to these religious nuts.

JGC

What is the history of the National Prayer Breakfast? I think it is well established as part of the Presidential calendar, and would be pretty difficult to avoid. Some events the President is just expected to attend; I guess a Seventh Day Adventist President would still have to show up to light the National Christmas Tree.
- J__o__h__n
  
  It only dates back to the ’50s and is sponsored by the Family. Some especially moral members of the Family are: Pete Domenici, John Ensign, Mark Sanford, and Strom Thurmond.
  - JGC
    
    Maybe there should be formation of a competing Progressive Prayer Breakfast.
    
    Edit: Also, this whole Obama/Carson event reminded me of the National Press Club Roast when GWB was sandbagged by Stephen Colbert as they shared a similar dais.

Michiganjf

Tom,

Please try to keep your guest from following Republican protocol, and GLOSSING OVER the fact that health care expense is the number one cause, by far, of personal bankruptcy in America.

Health care costs were sky-rocketing at an unsustainable pace LONG BEFORE Obamacare was even a glint in the eyes of Republicans who came up with the idea in the first place.

I have health care from a company that has made Fortune’s top 100 best employers in America for 15 years running, yet our lousy healthcare plan and huge premium (and yearly out-of-pocket) has us broke any year we need to use it!

If my wife or I ever had a terminal illness, which required expensive care three or more years in a row, our fortune top 100 healthcare plan would have us selling off our home to pay for the overwhelming costs… they would be in excess of 20,000 dollars at three years of maxed-out care!

Obamacare, that originally Republican idea, is THE ONLY thing that has been done (in memory) to actually try and bring healthcare costs under control!

I would have preferred a single payer system, but since Republicans made that “best idea” impossible for Obama to pursue, Obamacare is the best (and ONLY) measure we could get!

http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB

“ Please try to keep your guest from following Republican protocol, and GLOSSING OVER the fact that health care expense is the number one cause, by far, of personal bankruptcy in America.”

Please post links to your supporting evidence.
- Michiganjf
  
  Medical problems caused 62% of all personal bankruptcies filed in the U.S. in 2007, according to a study by Harvard researchers:
  
  http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2009/db2009064_666715.htm
  Always amazes me how Republican commenters here always think people are incapable of a simple Google search, just because they themselves are too lazy to do one.
  
  Gee, 2007… who was President then, and which party had been in charge of Congress for the last 12 years, in 2007?
  - http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB
    
    The validity of the report you are sighting has been repeatedly disputed as well as much of the bias confirmation propaganda produced by Senator Warren during her career in academia. Perhaps you can goggle, Rutgers Law Professor Philip Shuchman, Professor Todd Zywicki, and writer Megan McArdle. �
    Also I am a member of the Tea Party not the Republican Party. The Republicans like me just as much as you do. Ask Mr. Rove, he’s raising money to try to stop me.
    - TangentMan
      
      Ha! The Tea Party are people who are just too ashamed to admit they are Republican. Tell me, how many Tea Party members vote anything but Republican (or Libertarian which is equally aligned with Republicans).
    - http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB
      
      In MA you would be surprised how many Tea Party members are Democrats. It is sad and telling that you believe that sound fiscal policy has no place in the Democrat party.
- jefe68
  
  How about you posting evidence to the contrary.
  - Michiganjf
    
    Easy… he can just go to Breitbart.com, where any stupidity can be found in support of conservative dogma.

liminalx

umm, kind’a sad… a neurosurgeon with no brains

Ray in VT

I don’t think that there’s a need for that.

sickofthechit

Universal Wellness Care for all, coupled with Catastrophic coverage is how this should have been done. Your individual cost of Catastrophic would be tied to typical Underwriting guidelines as well as your adherence to the Wellness guidelines laid out by your primary physician. It is idiotic for this country to continue to waste 15-20% or more paying Health Insurance Company salaries, bonuses, profits and commissions which contribute absolutely nothing to anyone’s Wellness.
charles a. bowsher

Scott B

Why is it that the call for “self-reliance” is always made by people that don’t have any worry about where their next meal is coming from?

This usually seem to comes from two camps: The “silver spoon” set, who have never had to worry. Of those that “boot strapped” it, forgetting where they came from, and that they were on social safety nets, and in programs that were funded with government money, be it Pre-K, day care, or or reduced meals at school, after school programs, job training, education opportunities, and so on.

http://profile.yahoo.com/EAYKORTHSLPQEZFKXBJMXMV2IE Tony

Applying your logic Scott B, everyone that attended Pre-K day care, after school programs, had reduced meals at school, and educational opportunites would be self sufficient and reliant….in other words 95% of Americans would be, which they are not because there is more to success than what you described!
- Scott B
  
  Not at all. I’m just listing some things that people forget the government pays for, and that many of these same people “forget” that they benefited from these programs at some point in their life. Paul Ryan’s (and family), for instance, got government benefits after his father’s death, and the government programs and loans that helped enable him go to college, and his mother that’s getting at least Soc Sec and Medicare, and very possibly other gov’t programs.
  
  There’s a disconnect there, such as the people that demand the government keep their hands off their Social Security, like Soc Sec isn’t from the gov’t. Or, better – People like well-known actor Craig T. Nelson saying that he was on food stamps and welfare and there was nothing and no one there to help him. If that’s not a Scooby-Do “Arruu?” moment about him not getting it, I don’t know what is?
  
  It seems when a programs benefits them and theirs, it OK. But when someone else is getting it, it’s adding to the debt, and making people lazy takers and unwashed savages (ala Ayn Rand).

sickofthechit

What resulted in 602 banks in the Cayman Islands is nothing but selfish greed, selfish greed sir.

perihelion22

When will the other shoe drop?

http://twitter.com/Astraspider Astraspider

He’s a “darling” of Teabag Nation merely because he was willing to stand up in front of the President and stick it to him. That’s enough to put you in the WingNuttery Ring of Honor.

sickofthechit

Dr. Carson,
If it is a moral failure to pass on debt to the next generation, then what of the cost we pass on to them in the form of a polluted environment, depleted and wasted natural resources?
charles a. bowsher

andreawilder

Jefferson died bankrupt!
His taste out ran his income!
His slaves were sold!

JGC

His slaves were sold, except for his Hemings children. He freed two of them during his life, let a few of them “escape” without pursuit, and freed the rest of his Hemings children after his death through his will. (from the monticello.org site.)
- andreawilder
  
  A very complex strange man.
  Dirty tricks politically, then there is Sally Hemmings,
  further back there is education in the Enlightenment.
  The Declaration is beautiful, but…. hold it up to the man’s life.
  
  I divide his life into before France and after France.
  You?
  - JGC
    
    A life divided against itself cannot stand.

Scott B

Dr Carson’s logic doesn’t follow on why banks in the Caribbean exist. Those taxes they don’t want to pay wouldn’t even be taxed at the same rate as a bus driver in this country, yet they still want to avoid what would be their fair share on the progressive tax schedule.

disqus_b4EKT4sHZK

I seldom turn off a Tom Ashbrook show, but I just cannot waste an hour listening to this drivel.

Ray in VT

Give the man a chance to air his views, even if you don’t like them.

Dave Holzman

why are you giving a pediatric neurosurgeon a political platform? As for his comments on taxes, he’s a doctor, not an economist.

nj_v2

I’m having trouble just getting past “National Prayer Breakfast.”

sickofthechit

Unaffiliated? Then why are you against taxing Carried Interest, closing loopholes that benefit none but the wealthy, and other items that were manipulated into being by the powerful moneyed interests?

Scott B

He strings a bunch of quotes by the founding fathers , taken out of context, ignoring the larger whole of their ideas and ideals, and this is wisdom? That’s an e e cumming poem.

bigbearsfan

Referring to people the way they wish to be referred to is not political correctness. It’s called being respectful of the people you are talking to or about. I bet if someone called him a name blacks used to be called during Jim Crow, he would be offended. He and everyone in this country has the right to determine what they are called.

http://www.facebook.com/irvwestyouthadvocate Irv West

I hope his surgery is reality-based because his philosophy is in a void… in denial

Ray in VT

There is some pretty ugly language in our history, and that while people should not be forbidden, punished or ostracized by the government for using such words, I do not see a reason why people in public discussions or polite company should not look down upon those who use such disgusting or dehumanizing terms.

sickofthechit

I feel beaten down because of the unfairness in our system, and the absolute refusal of the Republican Party politicians to think of country first instead of the their party.

ToyYoda

If he is oblivious to skin color, I’d like to know his opinions on affirmative action and rights for minorities. I’m not being quarrelsome, but I’m really just curious.

sickofthechit

Did God “desire” that Martin Luther King be shot? It’s called free will Doctor.

Michiganjf

Don’t lionize this guy just because he’s a surgeon… plenty of Frat-boys cheat their way through med school, and plenty of doctors are complete idiots… just look at some of the Republican physicians in Congress now, for example.

Any bonehead can get through med school if they apply themselves… all it takes is time, money, and a modicum of effort… why do you think malpractice insurance has gotten so ridiculously expensive??!!

http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB

President Obama told us about all the surgeons cutting off limbs just to get rich from medicaid payments.

toc1234

I can almost hear komrade krugman typing away a hit piece (a la rubio) on this guy.

John Maguire

I lasted about 60 seconds into this one before I had to turn it off.

jaia60

I used to respect this guy, but these self righteous generalizations are changing my mind.

iccheap

I’d say his expertise in medical issues should be the driving force behind what contributions he makes to national issues. Beyond that he is simply a well educated person who happens to be male and black.

NewtonWhale

Dr. Carson quotes Jefferson as saying that it is immoral to saddle future generations with debt. Let’s ignore, for the moment, the moral standing of a man who owned slaves. Let’s stick with Jefferson’s ideas on debt and taxation.

Dr. Carson seems to have neglected Jefferson’s conviction that we should raise enough taxes to pay for our needs:

- “It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.”

- “Our government has not as yet begun to act on the rule of loans and taxation going hand in hand. Had any loan taken place in my time, I should have strongly urged a redeeming tax.

“http://www.famguardian.org/Subjects/Politics/ThomasJefferson/jeff1340.htm

toc1234

I think Jesus was in favor of a flat tax – 10% I believe.

sickofthechit

Dr. Carson needs a hearing aid.

J__o__h__n

When is Paul Krugman going to be on the show to discuss neurosurgery?

NewtonWhale

Great post!

I think the only way he gets on is if he goes fundie at the National Prayer Breakfast:

“if God intended us to open skulls He would have made them with zippers.”
http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels

perfect summary of the value of carson’s political, religious and evolutionary commentary. how would you like to see david axelrod interview ben carson ? now that would be boffo…………….for ben !

iccheap

Nothing wrong with a flat tax if you provide an acceptable level of exemption for those who are poor.

http://www.facebook.com/Vanity.Glamour.Cosmetics Patrick Boltinghouse

It is centralist attitudes like yours that scare people away from Faith. Thomas Jefferson also called the Bible “A Steaming pile of Dung.” Flat Tax dose hurt the middle class and pour because prices of milk & Brad don’t have a flat price!! To the Dr. currently on I must say: Pushing personal faith as social responsibility makes you more of a socialist than our president. I hope you …see the Rich heritage of our nation comes from its diversity not it’s one-sided uniformity. Your voice is compassionate, but your words are exclusive to embrace one side of faith, those that can afford, and yet it seems to forget about those who have lost faith be casue of a broken system. Kudos for you in your philanthropy, but shame of your for thinking your personal views of faith should be everyone’s … In Short I would think a man of science would see most modern marvels would have been considered witchcraft, and sorcery. To play to the conservative right with little homage to the truths that are unseen in the universe discredits your plea for faith … I bet you also think Dinosaurs bones were planted on earth by God to try our faith … Ha!

Amahl Harik

I don’t see what’s so fresh about Dr. Carson. All I hear is the same politics of grievance and victimhood that conservatives have latched on to for years now. The rich apparently now are society’s greatest victims. Must be so hard for them.

sickofthechit

The wealthiest 20% control 88% of our countries wealth. Is the good doctor then saying that they should only own 20%?

J__o__h__n

Progressive taxation isn’t about taxing the rich to hurt them. It is to make sure they pay their fair share.

1Brett1

Wait a minute, Romney paid 9, er, 13% last year (well, he has three years to go back and get that lower 9% rate, anyway, but hey…)!

nj_v2

This emphasis on “political correctness” looks to be a preemptive defense for his ridiculous ideas that fly in the face of known science (he’s not sure of evolution) and he advocacy of regressive political notions such as flat tax.

Then he couches everything with Bible quotes so he has God and Jesus on his side. Who can argue with God?

nj_v2

See, he just did it. Talking about “proportionality” (paraphrasing): “If it’s good enough for God…who am I to argue? And he’s got the hutzpah to talk about “political correctness.”

NOLALiz

O sheece. Stop it. There have been long stretches of time where other harmful words were used commonly. Stop whining about have to think about what you say. If we all have to think about words from a different perspective for awhile then it is okay. The pendulum will swing back. Just relax… As for usurping personal responsibility and getting on the govt dole… think about it. Modern economics require workers to get up and move to where the jobs are. That means that extended families are not able to thrive. Half the kids are on one coast the other on the other coast. Everyone making a profit. So then who takes care of the disabled brother back home? The elderly aunt? The ill parents? If our system moves people like pegs. Then there has to be some support to allow profits to be made by consolidating industries – someone has to take the role of the extended family with child care, elderly care, care for disabled, whatever. Stop crying about it and use your brain to look at it. It is a natural balance for dismantling families for corporate profit. Something has to fill in the space.

http://profile.yahoo.com/EAYKORTHSLPQEZFKXBJMXMV2IE Tony

Dr. Carson,
You are a breath of fresh air that America needs to hear and especially the black community. Speaking as an unaffiliated black, non-religious man, I agree with your ideals on freedom of speech, limited, efficient government and self reliance as the keys to economic prosperity…I’ve lived by these ideals all my life.

Scott B

Dr Ben went to college? Because “proportional” is what we have, but it’s called a “progressive tax rate”. Flat tax is the samerate for everyone. Facts are that everyone can’t afford to go hide money in the Grand Caymans.

Flat tax doesn’t work for exactly the reason Tom mentioned. 10% to someone making $19K on min wage is $1900, and that’s a whole lot of things that it can buy like food, heat, clothes, day care, gas, the things that break, the emergencies that come up. Show me someone making a million dollars that can’t live a good life on $900K a year.

Someone get Paul Krugman or Robert Reich on the phone to explain it to him!

jefe68

A flat tax will also bankrupt the Federal government.
Which seems to be what libertarians want.

J__o__h__n

If you want god setting laws, move to Iran.

keo

Yet another Republican disconnected from reality and wrapping politics in the bible.

Too much religion, not enough substance. Next.

Elizabeth_in_RI

Well said! While I support personal responsibility the unending drive for short term profit has short circuited any rational thought. So thanks’ Dr. Carson – but common sense is not what you are promoting!
WorriedfortheCountry

Who is a Republican? He said he is an independent, ex-Democrat.
- 1Brett1
  
  He can call himself whatever he likes, however inaccurate that may be. I say we call him a NISDO (Neutral Independent in Self Description Only)
  - 1Brett1
    
    How ’bout a NINO?

http://www.facebook.com/irvwestyouthadvocate Irv West

Oh my, how pompous. Pompousness makes for great satire… I hope Saturday Night Live flies with this.

Ray in VT

I’m not so fond of making public policy based upon what is in a religious text.

Michiganjf

Proportionality??

WHY THE WEALTHY DO INDEED OWE THE REST:

Every single dollar earned by the wealthy consumes at least some of the limited resources of this planet, or what one might call “planetary legacy.”

Whether in paper resources, mineral, energy, rubber, asphalt, petroleum, water, LAND (which is highly limited), food for workers, etc…, resources of some sort are consumed for every dollar earned. Also, some degree of pollution is likely produced.
Since this is the case and we live on a planet of limited resources, one must question why our society allows the wealthy to use up a disproprtional amount of “planetary legacy” for their own personal benefit.
In other words, a very few are costing the vast majority of current and future generations quite a bit of their planetary legacy.They have no right to do this, EXCEPT that our society never gave much thought to what the wealthy really cost the rest of the world and future generations.　

Yes, entrepreneurship itself creates value, but just how much do all future and current generations on Earth owe a single entrepreneur?
Should one entrepreneur be allowed to bleed the planet for tens of thousands, or even millions of times the resource cost of the average individual?

Our society lets a single wealthy person do exactly that!My contention is that the wealthy owe the rest (current and future) due to the very fact that our society allows these few to amass so much unto themselves, for their own private and selfish benefit.
If they are forced to pay back this debt to society in the form of higher proportional taxes, so be it.�
They SHOULD be forced to pay restitution for the disproportionate amount of limited resources they are allowed to consume, and tax is the easiest, most equitable way for them to do it.
Even when paying increased taxes, the wealthy still amass wealth and enjoy its benefits beyond the wildest dreams of the vast majority of us.
The wealthy in the U.S. have no legitimate basis for complaint, since our society is more fair to these individuals than nearly any other nation on Earth, despite what these individuals cost current and future generations in terms of “planetary legacy.”
The wealthy in America will still have the best of all worlds, despite being asked to PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE, as per this simple, logical argument.

iccheap

Nicely stated MI. I would also suggest a change in what constitutes “wealth” and how we live. A true accounting of individuals lifestyles should be open to public debate, then again I am a “green socialist”. We have done a poor job of recognizing we live in a closed system with finite reasources. Indefinite growth isn’t the solution to our ills.

NOLALiz

This guy is more sounds than thoughts. Too bad he is getting press when there are so many other interesting people with innovative and brilliant thoughts. Tom, you are going backwards with this one. Get someone with more intellectual heft.

“You need to listen to me carefully.” Hey, if he was refreshing and interesting, he would not have to say that. Nothing new here. Slow news day.

sickofthechit

The distribution of wealth now is even more out of whack than it was in the 1800′s the good doctor is talking about.

Textile mills! great place for the kids to work!

BHA_in_Vermont

There is ZERO equity when someone living in poverty pays the same tax rate as someone making more money in a year than the average person could make in 2 lifetimes.

It doesn’t have to “hurt the guy”. The point is that a 10% tax HURTS the poor and a 30%, 50% or even 70% tax would NOT hurt the rich. A graduated tax is the ONLY equitable form. The doctor is channeling Mitt Romeny.

All the rich people from the 1800′s that he listed made their money by screwing the competition. There is a reason we NOW have anti-trust laws.

Kathy

No kidding. All that middle class and infrastructure stuff he’s babbling about came about because of unionization and after WWII because of government investment in education, infrastructure, and the middle class.

http://profile.yahoo.com/QMDZ3LH5U2B4GAT7J2HS4TCP6E Jim

Mr Carson,
Self-reliance is a disingenuous point you are making.

Maybe you should open up and understand how you came to become a doctor. you did not go and become a doctor without other people giving you a break in life, right?

gimme a break.. and stop being unoriginal.

btw.. self-reliance is definitely not applicable to YOU. i hate fraudulent conservatives like you misusing this term.

can you live a life like Henry David Thoreau? i don’t think you can survive one day in Thoreau’s cabin.

DonM55

His talk of ‘proportionality’ in regards to paying taxes implies that the playing field is even. The rich have stacked the deck with tax loopholes. If they were removed, I’d agree with him.

Kathy

Even if you did, a flat tax doubles and triples the taxes on the poor and middle class and results in a huge lowering of taxes on the wealthy.
Kathy

Even if you did, a flat tax doubles and triples the taxes on the poor and middle class and results in a huge lowering of taxes on the wealthy.

Scott B

Jesus said to “render unto Caesar what is Casear’s”. Jesus was saying pay your taxes and be a good citizen. Tithing is supposed to be something you give to your church, not the government.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1269291688 Brady Weinstock

I agree with John Maguire. Yikes. Sickening. Turning off the radio.

LianeSperoni

Proportionality?

That very publicly-funded infrastucture made winners and losers- that is why “proportionality” doesn’t work. Because wealthy people often benefitted from public research: Pharma, computers you name it

sickofthechit

He lost me with Death Panels!
28 minutes is enough to waste on this drivel.

iccheap

The transcontinental railroad was a fleecing of the US government (and investors) and it lined the pockets of a few – lined them mightily I might add. That is a poor example of historical generosity from the wealthy.

http://www.facebook.com/john.m.cogswell John M Cogswell Jr

I’d like to hear what he has to say, I’m genuinely interested. BUT. The guy sounds like he’s speaking from a hospital bed. I don’t find him very persuasive or forceful which is a characteristic I need to see in someone who might lay claim to a serious leadership position.

Sound like a man, Man. Maybe he’s having an off-day, who knows.

nj_v2

“Proportionality” with regards to taxes is not fair.

People making huge sums of money rely on public infrastructure and amenities—banking system, roads, regulatory mechanisms, etc.—out of proportion to the gains they make from it.

http://www.facebook.com/michael.labare Mike Labare

Built the continental railroad? Not by themselves. Those companies received huge, huge government contracts and huge incentives. They received approximately 1 mile of land along their tracts. They would not have considered building it without government backing. They were paid per mile and if they had stopped they would still have walked away with profit.

Kathy

That doesn’t matter. Those things are facts and facts have a liberal bias and must be discarded.
- http://www.facebook.com/michael.labare Mike Labare
  
  True, even Reagan once said in a state of the union speech, “facts are stupid things.” He was misspeaking but reflecting his thoughts.

adks12020

This guy isn’t presenting any new information. Why is he such a big deal?

toc1234

how did that David guy get through the npr screeners??? I’m sure Tom is thinking about a staff meeting right after show…

http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB

Connie Stofko

Dr. Carson says it’s fair if someone who makes $10 billion to contribute $1 billion and someone who makes $10 a year to contribut $1. $10 a year is not enough to live on! Society needs to help that person, not demand financial payment.

Let’s look at how his idea of proportionality would affect the medical system. Every person in this country gets 10 doctor visits a year. If you have a brain tumor and I have a hang nail, treat everyone equally.

Justine Lombardi

Dr Benjamin’s conservative argument that the American moral decline results from the irresponsibility of Liberals and Democrats is getting old. Sorry but, there is plenty of blame to go around on both sides. American Christianity has failed to proved any kind of moral anchor partly due to the corrupting influences their political alliances. Why don’t I see Christians angry over fact that the USA has more hungry children than any other first world nation, practices of payday lenders, or
the rating agencies lying to us about the value of CDOs before 2008?

“First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Mathew 7-5

Coastghost

Tom Ashbrook: you’re a clever guy, too. If you listen, I think you’ll hear Dr Carson castigating the MARGINALIZATION OF THE POOR, who are not asked in our therapeutic nanny state to exercise any responsibility for their own desperate situations, whose contributions are not solicited in any measurable or substantive fashion. The poor have contributions to make, too, and they’ll never learn lessons that Dr Carson apparently has applied in his very life if they are forever being shielded from any and all notions of personal responsibility.
President Obama’s demeanor in the NPB clip I would characterize as “studied impassivity”.

StilllHere

Very perceptive.

DrewInGeorgia

Okay, I kept my mouth shut until we got to the decrying of Equivalent Sacrifice. If you say that a Billionaire who pays Ten Million dollars in taxes makes sacrifices equal to that of a man who makes ten dollars paying one dollar in taxes, you sir are a Tool.

Here’s the results of a study on charitable giving for ya’, it’s pretty much what a rational person would expect.

http://www.npr.org/2012/08/20/158947667/study-reveals-the-geography-of-charitable-giving

JGC

Yeah, I was looking for something like that, Drew. There was another article in that vein in the NYT “Bulk of Charitable Giving Not Earmarked for the Poor” by Ginia Bellafante, 12 Sept 2012. Bellafante wrote of the top five individual donations, totaling $190-million, made in the NYC metropolitan area (literally Ground Zero for the Wall Street crowd) to that date in 2012, one went to Columbia University’s business school, another to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a third to the building of an indoor cycling track. “Of the top 49 gifts on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list, not one went to support social services explicitly…if giving were conducted with the greatest consideration paid to the most urgent needs of society, then Yale, a private institution with a $19.2-billion endowment, would arguably never receive another 50 cents.”

Political Pundit aka Paul Ryan

run for president? wtf? this is the most remarkable con job being rolled out in years. I am going to thoroughly enjoy this. Better than wrestling..

William

A better con job than Obama?

http://profile.yahoo.com/NA4243SY557Y56GPEOTIVJ4VOI Brian

So all those people who put their money into building this country in the old days is ok, but to spend that money now on taxes to KEEP things moving forward and continue to build is bad?

Not sure I’m following the logic….

sickofthechit

I wonder how many of the good Doctor’s patients wound up in bankruptcy?

Michael Bellefeuille

Great. Just what we need—another wealthy conservative telling us that what he believes is “American,” what he believes comes from God, what he believes is the only way, and that anything else is just ideology, and implicitly un-American and ungodly. You’ve got to be kidding me. There’s nothing new or refreshing in what Dr. Carson is saying—it’s the same tired “I got mine; you’re on your own” rhetoric that Republicans have been promoting for years, and that the American people soundly rejected in November. Rather than new ideas, Republicans like Dr. Carson are offering us redux.

melfan

This man has blinders on. Those on the top love to talk about personal responsibility, but there will always be those in need and those who have cannot wash their hands of the responsibility to help simply by invoking Jesus. Jesus said the widow’s mite thrown in the collection was worth far more than the rich man’s large contributions – because it cost her more! There is your proportionality! _ Mel, Bettendorf, Iowa

DrewInGeorgia

Hey, People ARE that stupid. Yes they do need to hear common sense, I’ve yet to hear any thus far this morning.

Kyle

please point out to Dr. Carson that the concept is not that spending money will reduce the debt, it is that you should spend money in a recession to get the economy started again, then recover the money in the good times. It is to even out the ups and downs. Recent history has not had us willing to even out the ups with higher taxes and less spending, which is why we are in debt.

LianeSperoni

Proportionality also doesn’t account for historical injustices that the wealthy have built their wealth on

nj_v2

Now he invokes “common sense.” So, if we disagree with his smooth-talking, folksy-sounding sophistry, we not only lack “common sense” but we’re also disagreeing with God.

No wonder the right wingers love this guy.

StilllHere

Racist.
- nj_v2
  
  ^ Troll
jefe68

It was an interesting hour to say the least.

onpoint080

Why must we bring religion into this? The greatness of the USA is it’s secularity.

Secondly, which proportion do you mean? There is no law written in stone that defines equal proportion as the best economic strategy.

What about the parable, and I’m paraphrasing - from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from
the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

jaia60

Preaching from the tea party playbook.

NOLALiz

I listened for a short while and now it is off. Better to have the quiet.

http://www.facebook.com/michael.labare Mike Labare

Proportionality sounds great. If you make more, you pay a greater proportion. Excellent. Nobody has ever said you have to hurt the rich. They simply can avoid to pay more. They certainly have benefited from the fruits of the land.

http://twitter.com/Astraspider Astraspider

Oboy, the charisma is lazily oozing out of my speakers. This is the guy who pitched the teabaggers’ tents? Says more about their desperate search for something or someone to rally around then anything else.

sickofthechit

“Cutting Medicare”? It’s called negotiating for lower costs doctor.

RickinWNY

How does “proportionality” square with the various exemptions, deductions, phase out of FICA taxes for high incomes, etc.?

Kyle

he says that he would like to get rid of all the loopholes, which I assume means no more deductions

LauraBethany

Dr. Carson is a inspiration and brings me hope for our Nation!! If he ran for President he already has my vote!! He is brilliant and as long as he doesn’t get sucked into the corruption I will always support Dr Ben Carson.

Wool

Why does Fox News embrace Dr. Carlson so tightly (ie Hannity, Limbaugh, Cavuto, etc) ? Your judged by the company we keep.

http://www.facebook.com/dolores.whitman.5 Dolores Whitman

The fact that Dr. Carson favors health savings accounts makes me question his real concern for human beings. This is money that goes to profit-making, high overhead insurance companies. Human care should be a right, not a priveledge to begin with. If your parents can afford to put money in, you’re fine. Otherwise, you’re out.

http://www.facebook.com/gkeefermcgee Glenn Keefer-Mcgee

To make ends meet?!? Doctor’s get paid well for seeing their patients. I son’t see many Doctors driving ’95 Accords here in Brookline.

Hoshiar abdollah

So Dr. Carson prefer to go back to 1920 and before the new deal. He also like the 1% with their handout determine what should get funding or not. Dr. Carson is either naive or he is spoke person for 1%.

LianeSperoni

The reason why he wants to make topics “smaller” is because he can’t win the argument if it is broadened to include injustice

bigbearsfan

Also, for someone who doesn’t consider himself a conservative or liberal, he is surely taking all of his talking points and beliefs from the conservative handbook. He either needs to do more soul searching about who he is or be more honest about who he is and what he believes. Him pulling from the conservative handbook and saying he’s just speaking the truth is further feeding the conservative belief that they are the only ones who can be right on an issue.

rahsaandhall

Dr. Carson,
In regard to your reference of God’s biblical principle of proportionality Luke 12:48 also references progressive giving. “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from
the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

In regards to the regressive flat tax you suggest is appropriate, the reality is that 10% of someone’s salary who makes less than the federal poverty limit has a greater impact on their finances.

Rahsaan D. Hall (Boston, MA)

jefe68

And in that lies the rub. The flat tax is all about favoring the well off, which is why it was proposed by Forbes in the first place.

LauraBethany

Dr. Carson is a inspiration and brings me hope for our Nation!! If he ran for President he already has my vote!! He is brilliant and as long as he doesn’t get sucked into the corruption I will always support Dr Ben Carson.

JiMC98

Why is Tom giving a platform to this buffoon?

StilllHere

Racist.
- scottmartin49
  
  Well, he ‘sounds’ white.
- nj_v2
  
  ^ Troll

http://www.facebook.com/people/Drago-Z-Kamenov/1013015297 Drago Z Kamenov

The Rockefellers, Fords, Kellogs he is so fond of were paying 90% income tax

WorriedfortheCountry

Not true.

http://www.facebook.com/irvwestyouthadvocate Irv West

He is right that we spend much more on health care and get poor resuits. What he does not mention is that every country ahead of us in life expectancy, all 17 of them, have national health programs… and most have socialized medicine.

http://www.facebook.com/karl.quick Karl Quick

I didn’t hear Dr. Carson say we should not have national health programs…. we’ve had national health programs for over a century! The question is the health care a choice of the individual or forced by government?
Who chooses how much money to spend and how is that done? …in an ideal world, it is the patient and his/her family working together in a loving way with the advice of doctors informed by experience. In a socialized medicine system, often it turns out to be a bureaucrat…. further, the actual decision is not “made” so much as the patient is put on a waiting list and given pain killers, easing the patient and family into a position where there is no alternative. It is effective, even efficient. But it is not allowing the individual the freedom to weigh the options for themselves and their family.

Kathy

Wow, that’s just amazing. Covering more people is a problem because it will mean more people are able to go to the doctor and they won’t have time to spend with them?! Really?

carolcronin

I was so offended by the smarmy smugness of Mr. Carson that I turned my radio off. I have never done that before, but his focus on proportionality v. idealogy literally made me sick. Not because of the opinion itself, but because it’s under the GUISE of being religious or “Christian”. I bet he opposes raising minimum wage too. What a wolf in sheep’s clothing!

WorriedfortheCountry

This Cohn dude sounds like he could be an adviser to Nanny Bloomberg.

http://www.facebook.com/phobday2 Paul Hobday

While i appreciate the “fairness” of proportionality, I have to question, how did the $10 billion earner and the $10 earner get to this state of being? Can the person who only makes $10 a year (in this hypothetical) really afford to give up even $1? That wealthy individual achieved their wealth (at least partially) because of a government and economic system that supported their ability to earn. Shouldn’t they then support that government and thereby help the poor to achieve wealth?
The question boils down to: does anyone need $9 billion a year? Do they? When there are sick and poor and crumbing roads, is that wealth serving any purpose other than to bloat the ego of the rich?�
Money isn’t real, much in the way God isn’t. They are both abstractions of human’s; we created them and we choice to worship them. Do you really believe that “personal responsibility” is the answer to a system that caters to a minuscule portion of the population?

PithHelmut

Dr Carson is a nice genuine guy, refreshing. But still uses very old thinking. He talks about poor people paying taxes, like that will do anything. What about all the money we spend on killing sir? We need a person with boldness yet compassion, moxie, courage and big picture thinking for the new world we are in, with the internet, drones, nuclear proliferation and a collapsing environment. Anyone who doesn’t put forth a long-term energy policy makes themselves obsolete from the get-go. How about a business plan from those who apply for public office? With details of the time frame of their policies and the projections of expected effects along the way. And if the goals are not met after their inauguration, the people will have something concrete to refer to. Apart from that it’s about time we recognized that men are consistently incapable of handling power with a kind but firm hand. Their ego is the barrier. They do 99.9% of the killing – not a good thing on the resume. Women are the nurturers which is exactly what is needed to fix the detritus men have left for the people of the world.

Kathy

The free market approach to health care is idiotic. It works great with optional purchases of consumer goods. When HDTVs were too expensive, I didn’t buy one. The prices were forced to come down.

That doesn’t work if you have cancer because spending to cure it isn’t a voluntary action. If you want the free market to force cancer treatment prices down, you need to have a cadre of people who are going to go without care and die while the prices come down.

That’s not folksy wisdom. That’s psychopathic insanity.

Wool

I would be more inclined to take Dr. Carson seriously if Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Neil Cavuto and Fox News weren’t so in love with him.

Peri_W

I’ll happily concede that proportionality in taxation is fair ONLY when this guy and those like him concede that proportionality in wages is fair. The fact is wages in America are not proportional to the value generated by individuals’ labor. Never has been; never will be. Not anywhere. It is illegitimate to pick one aspect of economic life and demand that it and it only be “fair,” while so much else is not.

And for heaven’s sake, stop hiding behind God and religion. That is equally illegitimate. “Well, God says so” is no defense. Especially not for a claim that “God made me run for President against my will.” Nothing about this guy is credible. Any snake oil salesman could come up with this stuff.

And one last thing: it takes exactly zero courage to pander to the rich and powerful. Not impressive.

http://twitter.com/MattEdJohnson Matthew E Johnson

I’ve not read all the comments so I’m probably repeating something. But how do we judge HOW people got rich or made their money in the first place. It’s going against everything you’re saying about judging people on the surface. They’re ultra rich, they might have cheated and broke laws to get there, but hey, judge them on one point…the money in the bank.

Scott B

Save what money? Let’s see Dr Carson live on minimum wage and save for anything. He would already have everyone paying a flat tax of, say 10%, so that takes a worker on min wage, at $19K @ yr, down to $17,100 a year. Then he says they can buy insurance, and that’s easily $100@mo of even cut rate insurance (at least) for a one person, so now they’re down to just over $15k@ year, minus housing at $6000 a year if they can find a place for $500 per
mo. Minus $2000 @yr for gas in the car…

How many years would it take for a low wage earner to save for one operation or the type Dr. Carson does? My cancer treatment was over $60K, without the costs of the surgery and imaging. I’ve never made a large income, just enough to cover my costs of living and maybe have some left for a pizza night once in a great while. AND I’m supposed to, somehow, save for my retirement because Soc Sec, et al, want to be gutted by those same conservative voices yelling for smaller government, and “boot strapping it.” Save what?!

Kwabena Ofosu

very sensible and refreshing comments. mr carson is a good man and distinguished physician, but on this issue he is dead wrong.

Shag_Wevera

What should self reliance mean? Should the price of failure be strvation, homelessness, and death? Please lay out the depth and dimension of self reliance.

Ever notice how many proponents of self reliance are people who are already doing well?

http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB

Juan Williams Recounts His Encounter With Liberal “Tolerance.”

http://www.mrctv.org/public/checker.aspx?v=hdSU4zSUZu

carolcronin

I had to turn off the radio, I was so offended by Dr. Carson’s smarmy smugness. Really? Proportionality v. Ideology? Tell that to the people I work with every day who are suffering. He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing!

Rebecca Carr

What is proportional about taking 10% of a person’s income who doesn’t have enough to live on vs. taking 10% of a person’s income who will still have more than enough left to live in obscene luxury?

OnPointComments

Taking 10% from each is the definition of proportionality.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001485766474 Hannah Miller

I respect your desire to work for America and not for a partisan group, and to renew a sense of morality to the U.S.; however I think you’re fooling yourself if you think too much political correctness is a major problem in our country. Yes, perhaps it was embarrassing for your friend to be ostracized for calling some one “oriental”, however I think education, healthcare, clean energy, and immigration are much larger issues. Also, political correctness is not something imposed by government, but is rather something that starts at a grassroots level by majority support. I think our society is more welcoming and supportive by eliminating words that alienate and hurt people.

TessinArlington

I cannot believe that this man thinks he has historical underpinnings for why the wealthy have provided such a great “boon” to the rest of us. Last time I read anything about the great industrialists of the late 1800′s, they were in the business of making money and feathering their own nests. I think that the great charitable gifts they gave began when the IRS was brought into existence in the early 1900′s, and charitable deductions became tax deductible and an important part of estate planning. By the way, the great families were forewarned about the advent of income taxes and planned accordingly to protect their great wealth prior to its implementation.

Also, I personally am an atheist and know that I am in a minority. I do not openly share my views to all due to the ramification such openness would cause. I resent the fact that my tax dollars support religious organizations and charities dues to the fact that they are tax exempt organizations.

We all have problems with what the government spends money on or gives tax advantages for. I unlike Dr. Carson, do not have God speaking to me personally so I know I am right about everything I believe, and those who disagree are politically correct and sucking off of the rich.

Gregg Walker

Wow now tell me there is no “Santa Claus”. I once reviered Dr. Carson, but after listening to his ill informed, half answers to the issues, I am so disillussioned. Would never had thought that he would be a sell out shill for the GOP. The idea of starting an account once a child is born? With money from where? How about those without access? I have a great career and putting money away to send my kids to college is almost impossible! I can’t believe he has sold out.

DeJay79

I also have a good middle class job. and after mortgage, food, healthcare, gas/auto, retirement and life insurance expenses I find I am living check to check and have not even thought about college funds.
1Brett1

Finally, a Gregg who speaks with intelligence!

Shag_Wevera

We are supposed to be in favor of equal opportunity, but terrified of any sort of levelling of outcomes. Why is this, exactly?

OnPointComments

You have touched on the root of the problem with liberal ideology: liberals want to guarantee an equal outcome, not an equal opportunity.
- Shag_Wevera
  
  Care to try answering the question, anonymous stranger?
  - OnPointComments
    
    Why are we terrified of any sort of levelling of outcomes? Because it presupposes that everyone expends the same level of effort, has the same level of intelligence, and has equal ideas of innovation. Would you mandate an equal outcome to Dr. Ben Carson and the person who dropped out of school? How does merit figure in your world of equal outcomes? To whom would you grant the awful power to to take from one who labors strenuously and give to one who doesn’t work quite as hard?

LianeSperoni

The greatest wealth in this country was “protected” by government. Let’s go back to the infrastructure. The men who built the railroads were not these pure souls…

They made their money by preventing their workers from organizing for better pay, employing the use of government foce to threaten violence. The proportion of force was squarely on their side. They took those profits and invested in railroads.

Roger Johanson

The goal is not to HURT the rich. Dr. Carson is clearly skilled at distracting attention from the issues; at loading biased images into his message. (Not the plain English a caller appreciated.) The biblical story of the “talents” can be called upon to emphasize God’s call that “to whom much is given, much will be expected.” The Bible is filled with reminders of God’s preferential option for the poor. We only have an economy that supports billionaire individuals and corporations because of the work of the masses. The richest are not appropriately contributing. Of course the GOP seizes upon a well-educated black man who reinforces their plan of dividing the country and maintaining policies that privilege the privileged. All should contribute to our tax base. Because the wealthy take more from the economy, they should pay a user’s fee larger than the ridiculous flat tax he promotes. His message is hardly common sense. It is a carefully crafted message of distortion to justify a system that takes from the poor and gives to the rich.
His nonsense about health care is another distortion. We spend much more and get much less from our health care dollars because it is, like the tax system, a profit-oriented system that benefits those who have wealth/power/privilege. This is NOT Christian (or biblical) despite his efforts to muddy the water.

65noname

another condenscending, softball interview from government radio. Besides Carson’s innane, shallow philosophizing about taxes and speech, he refuses to take head on legimate questions. First, after being critical of his friend being asked not to use rascist references, he refused to answer whether there are any words that he would consider racist. Similarly when it was suggested that he was being selective in his use of biblical
�
�
references and after being asked to discuss the bible’s assertion that the rich would find it very hard to get into heaven, he refused to acknowledge the question. As to his reference to the US being founded on freedom of speech and liberty and his breakfast speech attempt to sentimentalize francis scott key as personifying those ideas in his writing of the star spangled banner, he neglected to mention that Key spent a large portion of his legal career as a proscecutor, prosecuting anyone who spoke out in opposition to slavery. thus in one fell swope Key contridicted both freedom of speech and individual liberty.
�
This guy is a joke; he is another in the long line of right wing nuts who the media turns into some sort presidential candidate of the day (remember last year’s republican primary season)
�
But, of course, there is no room on government radio for genuine thinkers such as noam chomsky

timwesley

http://onpoint.wbur.org/2012/06/11/noam-chomsky
- 65noname
  
  Yes, government radio has chomsky on every several years. In the meantime it fills the air with these celebrities created by the media because they espouse right wing politics

Rebecca Carr

This guy is a Christian? I think he worships at the feet of Ayn Rand, not Jesus Christ.

http://www.facebook.com/gkeefermcgee Glenn Keefer-Mcgee

This guy is one of those “I got mine, F you” rich guys.

http://twitter.com/Astraspider Astraspider

“Drawbridge Republican”

singlepayer

I think this person is rich and does not like to pay taxes. He thinks it is ok that many people do not have health care. He only wants to treat those that can pay him his high fee. He expects people to have a health savings account when they probably can not even pay the rent. I think he lives in cloud cuckoo land. I can not believe you are giving him a chance to spout this selfish rhetoric.

emdonpoint

What does he think about climate change? How are we the people treating God’s creation?

ashahan

you gotta love these conservatives, and the wildly twisted way they think. Mr. Carson, in the same breath, lauds the robber barrons for building infrastructure and then says the ultra rich now (who are taking the lion’s share of everything) shouldn’t have to contribute in this way–which is it Mr Carson?

J__o__h__n

Why don’t doctors charge people a flat percentage of their income for medical costs? Wouldn’t god support that?

hartford sam

no, doctors think that they are g-o-d and they like every upper class in the u_s of A have a lobby. that lobby is called the AMA and the AMA is a union also, in the sense that bad members get retention and paid and benefits as well as good members,

MurielV

Dr. Carson seems to imply that all the wealthy “robber barons” the Rockefellers, the Carnegies, etc built this country’s infrastructure. How much money/free land/ etc did the railroad companies get? Sure thereafter they built libraries and universities, which makes them feel really good about themselves (costing families today about $55 to $60,000 a year currently) which actually also receive a lot of money from the federal government. There is no absolute free market in this country and big companies would not want any of it. They get a lot of breaks and actual dollars/subsidies from the federal government (and I am not talking bail-outs here)

One big difference with health insurance in the other industrialized nations is that health care providers made much less anywhere else than in this country. What is the average income for a general practitioner in this country? OVer $150,000. And they have a hard time making ends meet? (part of the problem of course comes from the cost of education for medical school, about $70,000 per year!! Sure doctors have to repay their student loans. That is partly why health insurance costs so much. Think about the person on the minimum wage who with a 40 hour job lives in poverty. How would buy a heath savings account to pay for their health care?

FoundinTranslation

Health savings accounts should be available to all, and without having to purchase a high-deductible health insurance policy to get one. It should be similar to an IRA with more flexible withdrawals. The IRS needs to increase the pre-tax amount to actual annual health costs, not lower the HSA amount as the IRS did this year. But the real problem is that individuals without health insurance have no bargaining power and are forced by providers (especially hospitals) to pay the most expensive rates, whereas the health insurance companies have the bargaining power to reduce the rates they pay, which is where they get their profit and create inefficiency in the system. We need transparent healthcare pricing and no middlemen (profiteering insurance companies).

sickofthechit

Actually Medicare is the best at negotiating lower rates based on its volume. Only trouble was Bush’s Medicare Prescription Drug benefit prevented Medicare from negotiating on Drugs as they do so well on services. Keep in mind that Medicare is covering the most expensive part of our population when it comes to per capita health care. Their results are remarkable.

northeaster17

Many of the countries in this world we share have single payer health care. It works. Why do we keep trying to reinvent the wheel?

DrewInGeorgia

Because it’s not financially profitable enough and doesn’t break down as frequently as the manufacturers would like it to.

Scott B

This man is going to mention God one to many times for people’s comfort, and his math on the flat tax, let alone his definition of it, will – hopefully- do any candidacy in. There’s a reason why we have separation of church and state, and why Jesus said “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s”.

The arrogance of this man is astounding, that he feels he can poke a hole in anything you throw at him.

Political Pundit aka Paul Ryan

a propped up comedian..to play to simple southern folk

Kathy

The guy doesn’t believe in evolution. LOLZ.

PJ2012

“Pull yourself up by your bootstraps” was one of the themes that Dr. Carson emphasized. I think it is very interesting that someone who grew up in poverty and obviously received assistance from government programs thinks that everyone (even if they need the same services) can be successful without any of the same assistance that his family used.
HYPOCRITE!
The PRESIDENT has much more compassion and Christian spirit than you dear doctor.

J__o__h__n

Anyone who would let a doctor who doesn’t believe in evolution operate on him, needs to have his head examined (by someone else).

http://twitter.com/Astraspider Astraspider

This guy’s a joke, leaning on circular logic, hazy policy prescriptions, dodges and equivocations.

Kyle

I don’t think that universal health care should be conservative or liberal. I also don’t think that subsidizing oil companies should be conservative or liberal, but people disagree on things, and we classify these beliefs based on general groupings

toc1234

Tom fishing for a got-ya… zzzz

http://www.facebook.com/gkeefermcgee Glenn Keefer-Mcgee

Tom, this guy is the worst guest ever. He argues semantics more than points And he is excellent at debate. His debate coach must be so proud.

http://profile.yahoo.com/ZZBXB56CRBHUTOBM7AXJT74Y2U Scott

OMG ..why does Tom have this jack ass on…my god it is like listening to a brain washed 10 year old . Some how the idea that because some one is a doctor that what they have to say is worth while . I want to put a noose around my neck listening to this self grandstanding born again . Jesus …can we create an island to send these guys to..any where…Somalia . Then you have some one saying he should run for president,,,wtf..it is like living in the Neverland ranch .

Scott B

He calls himself a man of science, but cherry-pucks evolution, and calls the big bang doubtful. A-effin-mazing

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OGMNNTBQJCU6MBPAWQJ55ZYEXE Island

Man, this guy is full of himself!

Political Pundit aka Paul Ryan

gosh darn evolution denier…really?

Wool

In all due respect, Dr. Carlson offers non answers to any one who’s called to question him. Very defensive.

JiMC98

Yeah, interesting how a guy who is preaching personal responsibility doesn’t seem very interested in taking ownership of the ideas he’s promoting.

iccheap

How specifically did he come to the conclusion there is a creator?

Wow, he doesn’t believe in evolution – serious credibility drop. He clearly doesn’t understand evolutionary processes.

DrewInGeorgia

Didn’t you get Gregg’s memo? God created Evolution to give us something to do…

http://www.facebook.com/michael.labare Mike Labare

Ask him if he ever read a scientific journal. He has lost all creditability. Tell him to give Dr. Kennith Miller a call.

Michiganjf

Okay, this guy is OFFICIALLY a moron.

I guess the timeline OF THE ENTIRE FOSSIL RECORD doesn’t constitute proof ???!!! … not to mention limitless proof from countless other disciplines…

We’ve got another Herman Cain here, with a medical degree instead of a pizza franchise.

sickofthechit

I’ve been told by “believers” when I asked them about the earth’s fossil record and they actually claimed GOD placed them there.

unknown_personality

I would like to know how he feels about socializing the medical field. How is our system better than what they have in most of Europe. It seems that his views, and the views of most of America, is more concerned with greed and getting as much money as possible. There is nothing wrong with having a government run medical program, this has been proven in many countries.

http://profile.yahoo.com/QMDZ3LH5U2B4GAT7J2HS4TCP6E Jim

what? you a man of science do not accept evolution?

man, look at yourself in the mirror!

man, you are brainwash bro. do you live in an all rich and white neighbourhood?

ml77

He’s very condescending to those who don’t agree with him. He condemns sniping, but his attitude is just as offputting and not likely to change anyone’s mind.

William

Great show!.

Wool

EGO. EGO. EGO!

http://www.facebook.com/barbara.harshav Barbara Harshav

At the risk of sounding un-PC, if this were a white man mouthing this nonsense, no one would be listening to him.
I hope I never need his services as a surgeon!

Political Pundit aka Paul Ryan

he was spawned off of franklin graham?

racman63

Man oh Man! This is the latest guy who’s going to save the GOP?

LMFAO

StilllHere

Wow, you liberals certainly didn’t let me down. So predictable. 200 comments free of facts, vilifying the man and ignoring the ideas. The only thing PC to you are the comments of those you agree with. It’d be better if you turned of the radio, as some of you did, since your minds turned off long ago. Tom’s echo chamber will be available tomorrow, come back then.

J__o__h__n

Despite wanting to turn it off, I listened to the full show. His ideas were the same extremist conservative garbage.
ashahan

This is also a predictable response, not all the comments here vilify the man; listeners are asking for a more reasoned and logical explanation of Mr. Carson’s often contradictory statements.
nj_v2

What’s predictable is your mindless trolling.
- StilllHere
  
  You are a racist troll.
Ray in VT

As opposed to your insightful and thoughtful comments such as “very perceptive”, “racist” and “get a life”? There’s plenty of room to criticize his tired 19th century views regarding social organization, the role of government and taxation without taking the unnecessary step of criticizing the man or his intellect.

DenaInIA

Dr. Carson, while I enjoy the refreshing directness of “commom sense” I felt you were disrespectful to the caller who pointed out that you are coming from a conservative personal belief and calling it middle ground

Andy Addleman

I agree with almost every one of his points except the god stuff. How can he trust science so much with his profession but blindly follow the Bible and refute evolution?!?!?

Rapidograph

I listened to the On Point broadcast and Carson agreed with all those who agreed with him, and found fault with the comments of everyone who disagreed. He certainly has talking out of both sides of his mouth down to a science. And they use his name and “president” in the same sentence. How frightening!

Bushido53

Dr. Carson, what I have heard so far is just a new coat of whitewash on the same old conservative fence. I am offended by your cavalier invocation of sanction from God himself, as if God would sanction the petty things we humans do. By your claiming the high road for the conservative political arm at the same time touting a political outlook that is nothing short of “survival of the fittest”, you expose yourself as a charlatan. Shame on you.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=644943450 Eric Miller

I know we’re not supposed to dismiss a person because of their religious beliefs (talk about political correctness!) but when a man bases his political ideas on a belief that there’s a big guy in the clouds surrounded by human-like creatures with wings who directs all things on earth, shouldn’t that influence how seriously we take his ideas?

ThirdWayForward

….

Kathy

Actually, it’s more an extremist far right libertarianism than what anyone outside the US would call “conservative.”

Political Pundit aka Paul Ryan

sponsored by Kellogg, too….

http://twitter.com/JasonLacoste Jason Lacoste

Dear Dr. Carson,

1. Let’s repeal the 13th and 14th Amendments, like our founding fathers intended. Then we can see how self-reliant you are.

2. Paying 10% on $1b vs on $10 of income is COMPLETELY different. Even if I make $10k (about poverty level), and have to pay $1000, it’s going to affect how much food I can eat or whether I can afford rent. The guy paying 1/10 of a billion can still eat at the fanciest restaurant in town every day.

3. So we’re piling onto rich people and hospitals, and thats our health care problem? Did you read the recent expose in Time Magazine? According to Mr. Brill, a large part of the problem is that people like you are absorbing massive salaries by arbitrarily manipulating price structures.

You’re a prototypical neo-Conservative, so stop pretending to be otherwise.

anamaria23

With respect for Dr. Carson’s great work, many would have more acceptance of his position if he questioned the $77.00 charged the patient for a box of sponges, used in his surgeries, that would sell for under $10.00 elsewhere
Or if he questioned the near $3,000 dollar bill for a 2 hr ER visit, most of it waiting, without ambulance ride. Or the $10,000,000 salary reaped by health care co’s CEO’s.
At the rates charged by hospitals, et al,health care savings account could be wiped out in a day, let alone passing it along to family members.
http://www.facebook.com/karl.quick Karl Quick

The issue is not what happens too the poor… I assure you, the poor will receive a generous portion of charity, preferably voluntary from a generous and wise society, but most likely from a political machine fishing for votes.

The issue is the founding cornerstone of our nation: equality of opportunity from Nature or nature’s God.

Equality of outcome is unequal in that it punishes those who work hard to survive and rewards those that didn’t.

Natural selection is based upon unequal outcomes.

(Amazing, isn’t it, that many will poo-poo the idea of the hand of God influencing creation (possibly through evolution) but then come back and insist Nature didn’t know what it was talking about and we should force equal outcomes! …they deny God, but pretend they should build a government that acts like God.)

I’m not wise enough to assure equality of outcomes, but I can recognize when people are being called dumb or evil because someone thinks their ideas are superior and assign evil motives to those with whom they disagree.

bridget_in_wisdom

In Luke 21: 1-4 Jesus speaks of the poor widow and her small coin offering as putting in “far more than all of the others, for they out of their surplus put into the offering, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had.” How does they man call himself one who follows Christ? His philosophy seems not to square with so many of Christ’s teachings.

DenaInIA

Dr. Carson, while I find your directness on the common sense angle refreshing, I feel you are misrepresenting yourself when you claim you are of the “common sense” when you do not acknowledge that you are coming from a place of personal conservative belief.

Political Pundit aka Paul Ryan

the thinking, herman caine. Blend them together and we would be getting there… part of the gop multicultural push, black, hispanics… can’t wait for their hispanic performer to appear..

scottmartin49

I know, right!?! This year’s GOP minstrel show looks to be even more embarrassing than the last one.

Lindsay Graham’s starting to remind me of the emcee in ‘Cabaret’.

Sascha Deri

Un-impressively defensive and closed minded. Doctors are highly educated (body) mechanics – his specialized career success should give him no more ability to weigh in on politics and religion than a doctorate in theology should be able to weigh in on neurology.

Bill Bodge

Dr. Carlson does not believe in evolution and natural selection but he believes in free markets. Duh, they are essentially the same process. Google is analogous to a mutation that works. Mutations occur all the time and mutations that are successful survive in the given environment. Amazing how a smart person can be so ignorant.

ThirdWayForward

Carson is evasive and not forthright about his politics. The caller is absolutely right that he is espousing a conservative philosophy (which doesn’t make any sense to anyone who isn’t rich or obsessively religious) but is denying that he is doing so.
Evolution is always a telling question there on the right. Carson is a creationist! Amazing. He says he believes in natural selection but thinks there is no evidence of speciation.

In retrospect it was interesting that the press never asked Romney about the evolution question during the presidential campaign. Never mind global warming, evolution is the best test of how aspiring politicians think about truth, evidence, reason vs. superstition, political expediency, and feel-good faith.

emdonpoint

You missed a chance to talk about topic #1: Climate Change. I would have liked to hear how this man of science views it. Can he ignore all the ‘PhD’s sitting around saying Climate Change is real and caused by humans?

http://www.facebook.com/garrickstephens Garrick Stephens

Another conservative, overtly religious, “flat earther” claiming to be neutral… What a crock! His disbelief in evolution betrays his supposed intelligence…. as well as his neutrality… It would also be interesting to know if he benefited from societies social programs to get where he is today? or if his family benefits/benefited from the system he speaks against?

TomK_in_Boston

Eff these idiots. Nobody who denies evolution or thinks the earth is 6,000 yrs old is qualified to be holding forth on anything.

NewtonWhale

Dr. Carson denies evolution. He says there is no evidence of one species turning into another. He just dismissed the voluminous evidence of mutations and the entire science of genetics

He should stick to surgery:

Fish Caught Evolving Into Three Different Species

http://news.discovery.com/animals/zoo-animals/fish-evolution-conservation.htm

lanesvillian1

Dr. Carson talks about proportionality when he can’t do arithmetic. In 1960 the wealthiest Americans (top 0.01 percent) paid an effective fed tax rate of more than 70 percent. They pay less than half that now, even though they earn vastly greater sums than the wealthiest Americans of the early ’60s. Back then, the rich paid their fair share and we had a vibrant middle class supported by strong unions. That was real “proportionality.”

It’s disappointing that a math-impaired Dr. Carson invokes God to argue that we shouldn’t crimp the putocrats’ style.

TomK_in_Boston

Dam right. He parrots plutocrat propaganda. Average citizens have a hell of a lot better chance of succeeding by their hard work when the gvt reins in the corporations and the plutocrats, as in the high tax, high regulation 50s and 60s. “Getting gvt off the backs” of the elites just makes it easier for them to screw us.

I do NOT want to go to a doctor who is ignorant of basic science. How did he get into and through med school?
William

I was reading JFK’s State of the Union speech (Jan 30, 1961) and he paints a different picture of the economy.

Scott B

So dinosaurs with feathers don’t show proof that one species evolved into another, dinosaur to bird, reptile to fowl. No questions to why whales have hand/foot bones? No acknowledgement that there’s a prime example of evolution happening we can look at today, the lung fish that can (and do) walk on land a good deal of their time, and breath air? Enough “micro-adaptation” and you get evolution.

Ray in VT

I found it interesting that he said that he doesn’t have enough faith for evolution, but he can believe in an all powerful being that created the entire universe and also took the time to give us a guide to life, i.e. the Bible.
- Scott B
  
  I still find it interesting that some people that think that the same god they believe created the universe, and made man out of clay, gives a rat’s ass about their favorite sports team.

jefe68

There is no evidence that one species turns into another?
That has not been proven… Really?

He might want to have a conversation with Neil deGrasse Tyson on this topic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti3mtDC2fQo

Dr. Carson sounds like a conservative/libertarian with strong religious beliefs. Nothing more or less.

Ray in VT

I have found it very interesting to look at overlap between American Evangelicals and libertarianism. For instance, yesterday I was looking at the Discovery Institute, and I was surprised (although perhaps I should not have been) to see that they have a position favoring limited government and free markets:

http://www.discovery.org/about.php

They also receive a large amount of funding from wealthy evangelicals.

sagramore4

Dr. carson speaks of common sense and non-partisanship and yet his positions are, as any well informed American can recognize, clearly from one side of the aisle, so to speak.

Further, every time someone brings the partisan nature of his comments he returns to this common sense line as a shield and becomes hostile, almost belittling, of the callers point or question.

He ignores established scientific evidence concerning the evolution of species. He claims the “great” industrialists as pillars of the development of America while dismissing the human cost and exploitation to make that development possible. And when challenged on this point says that all great development comes with a cost, invoking slavery. A very good point, but to then wonder whether the benefit outweighs the cost is heartless, ignorant and a stance that only serves to perpetuate the problem.

Dr. Carson is not man who is concerned with the truth, he is concerned with hammering his point home at any cost. Listening to the interview it is evident that he is not interested in debate, only in having others listen to him. Hubris runs strong in this one.

valedjad

Well stated, my friend.
http://www.facebook.com/karl.quick Karl Quick

Sir…. If you are open minded, you would not assume there are only two sides and everyone has to be on one side or the other. Your premise gives you away as being a political animal more than being a logical one.

I would also point out Dr Carson never denied being conservative, as repeated many times by commentator.

He did deny being one party or the other. It is the parties that have partially self-segregated themselves along a liberal/conservative line. I am a life long conservative, but independent of any party. I never donate to a party… I feel it is illogical to allow a party to think for me. I feel very sorry for those who treat their party as if it were their NFL team… rah rah rah… regardless of how foolish they play.

Live independently, think independently, vote independently, and Liberty and Independence will flourish.

Pick sides among just two options, and you blind yourself to so many opportunities, alternatives, solutions, and just plain good people.
- sagramore4
  
  I find it oddly disingenuous to sit in judgement over others concerning their presumed close-mindedness when you self-identify as a conservative. To be open-minded in the context you claim to espouse you should first disassociate from the term “conservative” as it directly defines a stance, a mind-set, a certain political ideology. There is diversity of thought within the parties (BlueDog Democrats, Log Cabin Republicans are 2 examples). The parties themselves are not the poles, but the terms conservative and liberal however, are.
  
  To deny that his commentary is very much that of a certain political ideology is to remain ignorant of the truth of the matter. One does not need to directly say they are in one party or the other for their positions to echo a policy position of a specific side. Simply refusing to self-identify with a party does not remove the connections your positions may exhibit.
  
  I live independently, I think independently, I vote independently and no one may ever take that from me. I will defend to my dying breath our right to do so.
  
  I applaud Dr. Carson for defending his positions. I may not agree with them. I may criticize him. But just because I have grievous issues with his interview does not make me close-minded.
  - http://www.facebook.com/karl.quick Karl Quick
    
    You seem to think that being of a conservative mind with regard to fiscal or personal responsibility labels me in some way as narrow minded. This is precisely the type of pigeon-hole mentality that we fought a civil rights revolution to overcome! …diversity goes deeper than skin color, and broader than the one dimensional line between liberal and conservative.
    Respect the opinions of all people, testing them with logic and experience, not preconceived notions, too often dependent upon who’s “ox is gored” in a given instance. I think we all should (and I hope do) agree on that. It pains me to see on independent thinker like Dr. Carson pigeon-holed by color OR views just because he was repeated called a conservative …and then assumed to be a Republican! Possibly you didn’t do this…. I’ve lost the thread of the discussion…. but the interviewer many times did push in this direction and many in the forum demonstrated amazingly un-liberal attitudes by using the code word “conservative” in their responses. We need to return to the basics of personal responsibility, hard work and get off this binge of “government is the answer” thinking. We need stronger societies, better people, and more honest thinking, and that is not achieved through government, but through personal development and then leadership at every level in our society. Dependency on government saps the need to discipline ourselves or take personal responsibility.
    I join you in pushing for a much more independent nation, diverse enough to get away from the biases fed by our political parties, ending this one dimensional liberal – conservative “toe the line” mentality that leads to misunderstanding, rather than enlightening discourse.

Collard_Greenwood

Shame on Tom Ashbrook for having such an ignoramus on his otherwise stellar radio show. Carson learned everything he knows from cronies at the country club, and nothing more. The way he disses “PhD economists”! It’s shocking how someone in academia could be so ignorant of history and economics! Someone should tell him that his conservative ideology has been in effect for the past 30 years and has brought us de-industrialization, increasing disparity between rich and poor, a deteriorating infrastructure, and financial crises. Maybe if he ran for president, he would be exposed to some different ideas.

http://profile.yahoo.com/HDXVKFIGU6ZIOSSCV6FRG2J6EE Phenomemom

And you’re smart? Lol…

andreawilder

A very slick presentation.

JGC

Carson is a motivational speaker. You can hire him through the Washington Speaker’s Bureau for about $20,000 plus travel expenses. Now that’s motivation, alright!
- http://profile.yahoo.com/JXSANCUDPIKQSPID5KT2U4XK5Y TF
  
  Who has two thumbs and got to hear a $20k/per motivational speaker for free? This guy!

http://www.skeeterbitesreport.com SkeeterVT

With all due respect to Dr. Carson, I remain unalterably opposed to a flat tax. He asks why is a flat tax unfair.

Here’s why: Something called the debt-to-income ratio.

A flat tax would negatively impact the debt-to-income ratios of low and moderate-income Americans, compared to those of the wealthy.

For the sake of this discussion, let’s say that there is a 20 percent across-the-board flat tax. For a person earning a million dollars a year, the flat tax would require him or her to pay $200,000 in taxes — leaving that person with $800,000, which is plenty of money to live on.

For a moderate-income person earning $100,000 a year, that 20 percent flat tax would require that person to pay $20,000, leaving the moderate-income person with $80,000. Still enough to live on fairly comfortably.

But for a low-income person earning only $10,000 a year, that 20 percent tax means he or she would have to pay $2,000, leaving that person with only $8,000 to live on.

I defy Dr. Carson and anyone else who favors a flat tax to show how a low-income person earning $10,000 a year can live comfortably on just $8,000 a year after paying a 20 percent flat tax — especially if that person lives in an area with a high cost of living.

That low-income person earning only $10,000 a year would be saddled with an unbearable debt-to-income ratio, forced to pay 10 times the proportion of his or her income on taxes than the $100,000-a-year income earner would have to pay — and 100 times the proportion of income that the millionaire would have to pay.

There is no way that a flat tax can be anything but unfair to low and moderate-income Americans if they’re forced to pay a higher proportion of their incomes on taxes than millionares and billionaires would be.

That’s not just unfair, it’s immoral. It’s PRECISELY the kind of regressive taxation that prompted the American Revolution against King George III, the French Revolution against King Louis XVI and the current tide of unrest in Greece, Spain and Italy.

OnPointComments

It’s basic math. In your own example, each of the three income earners pays 20%, exactly the same percentage.
- riknlaur
  
  to take 10% or 20% from someone who is already at or below the poverty level just doesn’t make sense. They already hurting. Taking 30% from someone who makes $10 million doesn’t hurt them. It actually makes them feel better and helps everyone
- http://www.skeeterbitesreport.com SkeeterVT
  
  You STILL don’t get it. It’s a LOT HARDER to live on just $8,000 a year after paying a 20 percent flat tax on a $10,000 annual income than it is to live on $80,000 of a $100,000 annual income — and certainly harder than living on $800,000 after paying $200,000 in taxes on a $1 million-a-year income under that same 20 percent flat tax.
  
  The less money you make, the harder it is to make ends meet after paying that flat tax. Indeed, to even call it a “flat tax” is to engage in an obscene deception. It’s really a regressive tax. It’s Robin Hood in reverse.
  - OnPointComments
    
    We’re arguing over semantics. When you state that if everyone pays 20% it means that each person does not pay a proportionate share of his income, the statement is factually incorrect. If you were to change your statement to “If everyone pays 20%, it takes more out of the basic living expenses of someone making $10,000 than the person who makes $100,000,” then you’ve got an arguable point.

jmcan

Just a fabulous and terrifying new version of ultraconservative speech. When referring to taxes, he alludes to tithing essentially saying that God is telling us to use a flat tax. He mixes evolution with devine intervention trying to tell us that every so often God swoops in and adds a few new species, sort of like someone taking care of a home aquarium. Lastly, he equates healthcare with the open marketplace. Recent studies have shown that healthcare is exactly the opposite: pricing is occult, intentionally fragmented and cryptic, and worse of all, it is the only system in which there is a large extra charge if you want to pay cash.

I am a successful physician whose family would greatly benefit from a flat tax but this is simply neocon speech in a softer package

http://profile.yahoo.com/4B3GQYNQ7CAFLGLNWHAJZA6G7Q George

This was a frustrating show to listen to. I was angry, thinking about proportionality. Are we also going to be paying a proportional amount for driver’s licences? It hardly seems fair that everyone pay X% (proportionally!) in income tax, but then not in property taxes, fees, sales taxes and so on.
I was angry thinking about health care, and how many hours I’ve spent on the phone trying to talk through why I am being charged for something. I pay attention, and I’ve asked some questions that have stumped the agents, and then their agents bosses, and then they’ll have to get back to me after they figure it out. But they do, they then they are happy to point out this little line in a 70 page document that shows (in combination with two other lines in different places) why I need to pay more for this thing than for that other thing, and they nod their heads and agree that it doesn’t make sense – but what can you do, you know? I like the idea of HSAs BUT when the rubber meets the road there will be one horror story after another about how filling out the form wrong, or a wrong choice, or not reading the fine print turns out to cost some family their house.
I wish these ideas would have been challenged more in the show, but at the end of the day I am, despite the frustrations, better off having heard from Dr. Carson. I disagree with most of what he said, I hated even listening to some of it, but sometimes it’s good for me to listen to people I can’t stand. So thanks Tom, for making me take my medicine. Though, next time… maybe some sugar?

http://profile.yahoo.com/JXSANCUDPIKQSPID5KT2U4XK5Y TF

The thing I don’t get about HSAs is how they’re supposed to be a solution for people who don’t have the spare working $$ to keep anything in an ordinary SA (savings account). I can see them serving a purpose, but they’re not the same windfall benefit for everyone who’s below the upper class..

hennorama

Dr. Carson is a talented neurosurgeon who should stick to his specialty.

Breathless grandstanding about Federal deficits and debt are all very entertaining, but one notices he offers no solutions. His simplistic “tithing as taxation” ideas are interesting but worth about as much as the breath that came out of his mouth.

“I don’t have time to go into it all, but we can do all of these things because we’re smart people” is not a solution, Dr. Carson. Messrs. Romney and Ryan proved the very same during the last election campaign.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=599541098 Benjamin Leviton

IF we are a rich country we can take care of our people. YOu can get rich by increasing the money supply and creating more debt. If this was the case zimbabwe would be paradise. The solution is to repeal laws and not create new ones.
2Gary2

Why do people assume that because he is a doc that he knows anything about anything else? Just like the dumb shit actors who know how to act but are brain dead other wise?
- hennorama
  
  2Gary2 – I have no idea.
  
  It is interesting to note the dismissal of the political and public policy opinions of some as “they’re Hollywood actors,” meaning “don’t listen to these vapid brain dead fools,” yet the very same dismissive parties accept the political and public policy opinions of Dr. Carson as if he has some expertise and his opinions have some special import.
  
  Dr. Carson got attention for his old recycled ideas only because the President was in the room when he expressed them. He is just the latest “flavor of the month.”
  
  Coincidentally, Ben & Jerry’s has a “half baked” flavor, which might be an appropriate choice for Dr. Carson.
- http://twitter.com/JayEllington Jay Ellington
  
  You mean the same “dumb shit actors” that have made millions glorifying gun violence on tv and in motion pictures, then want to preach to America about how evil guns are? Those dumb shit actors?
http://twitter.com/JayEllington Jay Ellington

“Breathless grandstanding about Federal deficits and debt are all very entertaining, but one notices he offers no solutions. His simplistic “tithing as taxation” ideas are interesting but worth about as much as the breath that came out of his mouth.”
There’s absolutely no way to verify this unless it’s tested. You have ZERO evidentiary material to back this statement up.

Go ahead and feverishly Google for any shred to back your hypothesis.
- hennorama
  
  Jay Ellington – TY for your response.
  
  One wonders exactly what you wish a poster to “verify” or “back … up.” Presumably you mean “prove with evidence”; please correct any error in presumption.
  
  Is it that Dr. Carson’s remarks were breathless, grandstanding, and entertaining? Perhaps it’s that Dr. Carson’s ideas are simplistic. Maybe it’s that his ideas are interesting. Is it instead that the breath coming out of Dr. Carson’s mouth has little or no worth?
  
  Please express the particulars of what you describe as my “hypothesis” and pray tell what evidence may be needed to satisfy your intellectual curiosity.

DrewInGeorgia

It may take a mountain of cash to purchase “The Best Education That Money Can Buy” but being poor is the only way you ever truly learn.

Ray in VT

It certainly taught me the value of a dollar.

Dee

Carson is a glorified apologist for conservatives & Wall St
Think Tanks….

And contrary to his claim that the “Hole” we are in was�
created by the over spending of the Liberal Class instead
of the reckless overspending of the conservative class &�
their Wall St scams during the last 8years of Bush ..see
the URLs below for this…

The 10 trillion Dollar Hangover After 8 years of Bush�
http://www.srwolf.com/reports/Stiglitz10trillion.pdf

(Keep in mind the Clinton Camp left almost 1 trillion doll-
ars in the US Treasury before the conservatives under
Bush squander this and ran up another 10 Trillion Doll-
lars Hangover on America’s credit card. see the URL….

Yet let’s not stop there on the glorification of conservatives and their Wall Street Robber Barrons and look at how they picked more billions & trillions from middle class tax payers pockets and indeed the US Treasury itself under the false pretenses of job creation….

Here is Mitch Mc Connell and his conservative friends�
protesting & blocking a CBO Report that showed the
Bush era Tax cuts had no correlation with job growth.
See the URL below.

GOP blocks the CBO Tax Report on the Non-Job Creation�
on the Bush Era Tax Cuts….

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/business/questions-raised-on-withdrawal-of-congressional-research-services-report-on-tax-rates.html?_r=1&

And those unemployed victims looking for Jobs that were
never created to begin with….And then the GOP’s evil do-
ings blocking Obama Job Program to bring those out of
workers relief. This is criminal complicity on this public
theft….

The lingering unemployed workers…

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/business/economy/lingering-unemployment-poses-long-term-risk.html?pagewanted=all

The GOP Balk at Obama’s Jobs Program, NYT

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/us/politics/13obama.html?_r=0

If the Justice Dept doesn’t issue warrants for their arrests pretty soon I would suggest taking to the streets and call-
ing the crooks in the GOP & Robber Barrons on Wall Street
Dee

William

Like Hillary said “What does it matter about Bush?”…go forward….
Blue_To_Shoe

_______________________________________________
-
-
Couldn’t agree with you more…

Also, I’m glad that you brought up the reality of how the deficit became as large as it has:
Republicans and so-called Conservatives are just as responsible for the deficit as anyone; and their rhetorical attempts to re-write history to place it all solely on Obama’s back and Liberalism may succeed if the TRUTH of deficit creation is not constantly affirmed by earnest individuals.
-
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_______________________________________________

MadMarkTheCodeWarrior

Just because someone has Doctor in front of their name, some assume they are geniuses qualified to speak on anything. I’ve met a lot of greedy, stupid doctors in my life.

The fact is that some people learn to be very proficient at complex skill sets, while their reasoning skills are, how shall we say kindly, challenged by the myopia of rigid belief systems that they choose to embrace while consciously embracing disbelief that the world full of evidence surrounding them has any relevance whatsoever to how they should live their lives and solve problems in that world.

If I need a neurosurgeon, I’ll get a referral from the doctor that I am married to.

PS: One does not need to deny evolution and dinosaurs to believe in the Christian God:
believing one to be incompatible with another demonstrates a lack of
faith that God can be more clever and patient in creating this vast and beautiful the universe than we mere humans can possibly
imagine or understand.

Steve__T

Agreed, I would say that since he is a professed Christian he has not studied his Bible as much as the brain. The book of Mark came to my memory, this I found hit the nails, and drove home the underlying points of this whole discussion so I posted it below, to show the similarities.

Mark 12:38
As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! 40 They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.

Mark 12:41
He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43 Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the
treasury. 44 For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.

I kind of made me go Hmmmm

riknlaur

I submit that it does not hurt someone who makes $10 million to take 20% for tax anywhere like it hurts someone who is right at the poverty line to take 10% of their income. It would put that person right into poverty and if they make less it’s even worse. And when you consider how many people you don’t have take 10% from by taking more from the wealthy, a flat tax just doesn’t make sense. Taking a higher % from the wealthy doesn’t really hurt them. Ask Warren Buffett.

Ron Povich

I would have confidence in Dr. Carson’s great creativity and skill if I were in need of a pediatric surgeon, but knowledge in one field does not necessarily qualify a person to opine on what is “common sense” in the realm of another complex discipline—-such as economics. In that sphere, I would defer to the knowledge, wisdom, and the historically-supported findings of Dr. Paul Krugman, to whom I think Dr. Carson was referring in his offhand critique early in the program re: deficit spending. Dr. Carson might consider a bit of God-inspired humility regarding government expenditures on behalf of working people, especially when human-directed “market forces” are not up to creating or providing jobs.

Blue_To_Shoe

_______________________________________________
-
-
All this guy really represents is the true epitomization of a sort of post-modern tokenism:

Here is the key aspect of this type of tokenism: I guarantee you will NEVER!…NEVER here this guy say ANYTHING that runs contrary to the opinions and will of this country’s Republican white, “old money,” ruling elite classes!
Conservatives just love minorities that agree with them, (especially on the most profound and controversial issues of our society such a ‘race’).

It’s the same thing with some other prominent conservative blacks such as Clarence Thomas and Herman Cain.

It’s all about assuaging any responsibility of elitist whites by parroting – and legitimizing – their negative and/or racist views of minorities – (because that’s what this is really all about: the overall negative regard (stereotypes) of minorities held by elitist, so-called Conservative whites; and legitimizing those views by having a black face echo their sentiments).

This guy (Dr Carson) was recently on Fox News, addressing an all white, so-called Conservative audience; suggesting that they were basically superior to blacks by his alluding to the high rates of single parent births in the black community; and following this with a statement saying that they were “different” from this.

Also, all of this “common sense” talk is just a cute aphorism hiding the socio-economic truths that really define our society.
For example, HONEST Republican intellectual David Frum is the only Republican voice that publicly admits that it’s actually Republican constituencies that receive/benefit the most from Government subsidies: elderly Americans and rural Americans, which are reliable Republican voting blocks, are the primary beneficiaries of Government funding.

But, in an increasingly polarized Fox News media environment where people turn to the news and truth they WANT to here, these little truths of reality are simply discarded for ideological comfort.

Dr Carson is simply just the latest ambitious personality taking advantage of this reality.
-
-
_______________________________________________

pete18

Amazing, all the harsh critics. A bright and talented man, who promotes self reliance and believes in god. Oh the horror! When
people on the right criticize the unquestionable failure, mendacity and stupid ideas of the current holder of the oval office they are called racists. But of course that’s never true for the left, who can be as as petty, personal and thoughtless in their criticism as they want want against an African American….as long as he’s a conservative. Sad.

scottmartin49

Pete, I’m also a “bright and talented man, who promotes self reliance and believes in god.” This guest is at best a skillful dingbat.

Sometimes Tom does this- A bone for the ignorant perhaps?- a “Look Ma- I’m relevant!” for the delusional right?
- pete18
  
  Example?
  - scottmartin49
    
    Of?
  - Ray in VT
    
    Taxing a billionaire at a higher rate than a poor person is punishing the billionaire.
    - pete18
      
      Treating people fairly under the law seems to me to be the epitome of fairness, regardless of how much they earn. People who make more pay more. Is he a “dingbat” for saying that, or do you just happen to disagree?
    - Ray in VT
      
      Why is it that some on the right decry the idea of fairness, expect in this area, perhaps. Fair is a matter judgement. Is it fair for someone who is a day shy of 18 to not be able to vote? Is it fair that one must be at least 16 to get a driver’s license? It depends upon how one cuts it.
      
      Is it fair to tax a wealthy person and a poor person at the same rate, regardless of what impact that “fairness” has upon one’s ability to pay for one’s basic needs? I would say no, and pretty much every nation since the imposition of the income tax system has also said no.
      
      I am not going to call Dr. Carson a dingbat. He is obviously a skilled surgeon, and one can’t be that if one is a moron. I just happen to think that he is wrong on the issue of such regressive taxation.
    - pete18
      
      Well, then why are you
      posting that response when I asked for examples of what he said that would justify a “skillful dingbat” comment?
    - Ray in VT
      
      If you like, then I could post it as a reply to another comment of yours. I made what I think is a valid criticism of one of his positions, and I do not think that that should be treated as a criticism of his intellect. It may be a bit of a whacko idea as far as I’m concerned, but I don’t think that it makes him stupid.
      
      Do you have a response to my defense of my position that such a regressive taxation system is certainly outside of the norm in the modern, Western world?
    - pete18
      
      See above.
    - pete18
      
      My only point was that
      people on this board are using their disagreements with the good doctor (which are perfectly legitimate to have and express) as an excuse to attack him in all sorts of unfair and lo-rent ways. Very few people seem capable of honest disagreement. Your first post appeared to be joining that train, but your second post recovered nicely.
      
      On tax rates, I wouldn’t call taxing everybody at the same rate “regressive,” I’d call it “fair.” I don’t know how
      treating everybody the same can be seen as anything else. However,
      I agree with you that this argument has long been won by your side
      and we will always have some sort of progressivity in our tax rates. Of course, for your side it will never be enough, the bottom 50 % of tax payers pay virtually nothing in federal taxes and the top 10% pay over 70%
      but the left still talks about them “not paying their fair share.” It’s absurd on every level.
NOLALiz

No, he is just more noise than thought.
Ray in VT

I would be more than happy to criticize anyone’s promotion of the idea that if tithes are a good method for the support of a religion and supported by God then it’s a fine method for a modern nation state should that person be an orange liberal, but that is not who was on here today.

It’s too bad that Dr. Carson can’t run for our highest offices due to the controversy regarding the validity of his status as a natural born citizen.
nj_v2

Amazing, all the distortion and spin in such a few sentences.

Let’s go through it…

[[ A bright and talented man, who promotes self reliance and believes in god. ]]

As if that’s all he said. (An aside: Careful, Dave. You will be smited by Believers for failure to capitalize God. Or, maybe you were merely challenging “religious correctness.”)

[[ When�
people on the right criticize the unquestionable failure, mendacity and stupid ideas of the current holder of the oval office they are called racists. ]]
I see racists on the right called racists. You’ll have to provide some examples of what you’re referring to, otherwise, you’re just making groundless, over-generalizations.

[[ But of course that's never true for the left, who can be as as petty, personal and thoughtless in their criticism as they want want against an African American ]]

Which merely goes to show you have no idea what “leftist” philosophy is about, and/or that you simply use it as a kind of sweeping term for anyone who holds views you think they hold or which you assign to them.

Most of what i consider to be sensible criticism of Obama’s policies actually comes from what most people would consider the further end of the left spectrum. Drone strikes, government secrecy, failure to curb military spending, caving in on public option in healthcare, failure to prosecute Wall Street criminals, extension of Bush-era surveillance policies, continued pursuit of free-trade agreements…

[[ Sad. ]]

Yes, your post was sad, or at least irrelevant.

AJNorth

Thank you just the same, but Ayn Rand’s philosophy presented in surgical garb by a distinguished physician is no less sociopathic or misanthropic. Indeed, her beliefs are already well represented in the political arena (particularly in the Congress) by members of the medical community.

Scott B

Giving God credit where science can’t explain, and where certain people don’t want to acknowledge, it is what happens
throughout history. Newton figured out gravity, whereas before that God
was making is stick to the ground, and causing thing to fall. But when he did find an answer it was, “That is in God’s domain.” And so it stood until the next scientific explanation.

It’s
funny how even God follows natural order universally. There’s no errata
popping up that sticks out in a with a big mysterious, unexplainable
thumb that violates every law of nature and physics. The Bible even
follows the same path of life on earth as science, with plants first,
the sea creatures, reptiles, birds, and finally mammals.

The church, ironically, developed the “scientific method”. They wanted to prove God did this and that, like thorns on rose bushes being his representing the crown of thorns in nature, as they thought God showed himself in literally everything in nature. Even the green of leaves of the rose bush represented something God did to represent himself in. The problem was that the more the priests set about proving God in the things they investigated, the less proof of God they found and the more scientific proof they gained. A lot of those priests left the church, unable to justify blind belief over scientific reason.

http://www.facebook.com/michael.labare Mike Labare

Careful about saying “the church.” The Catholic church accepts evolution, in fact John Paul II said it seems to be correct (paraphrasing). It is sects of Protestants that reject evolution.
- RetiredChemEngineer
  
  Studies dont bear your theory out. The groups that score highest in “accepting evolution” are atheists, unitarians, lutherans and other mainline protestant denominations. That said .. studies also show that all sects have a spectrum of cognitive models at work each with its own predisposition for or against creationism/evolutionary theories.
  - Ray in VT
    
    I found this graphic to be really interesting:
    
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-tegmark/religion-and-science-distance-between-not-as-far-as-you-think_b_2664657.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008
    - http://profile.yahoo.com/JXSANCUDPIKQSPID5KT2U4XK5Y TF
      
      There are few things more entrenched in the mainstream press than the idea that since “real believers in God” don’t much like (parts of) science, therefore, hardly any real scientists go to Church.
    - Ray in VT
      
      I know. There are plenty of believers who are very credible scientists and who belong to churches that reconcile science and faith quite well. That having been said, though, some churches certainly do take a firm line against many scientific principles.
    - RetiredChemEngineer
      
      Thanks for this Ray. My research in this field (how religios belief acts on environmental attitudes and behaviors) concluded in 1997 though I’ve followed from an armchair since. Good to see that others have continued to study in this field.
      
      The seven point classification scheme used in the MIT survey includes “Statement embracing diversity of beliefs within their community or that members are free to believe whatever they want about origins science.” in their “green zone. This mixes the concept of personal attitudes and beliefs with collective orthodoxy. In my view these responses should not be mixed or cross factored in a study. Doing so allows a person who is personally opposed to the survey question to score opposite their personal beliefs in light of the fact that their “community” has issued a “statement” to the contrary.
      
      The approach also skews the results due to the fact that not all denominations have “communities” that are as influential on personal attitudes and beliefs (e.g. the autonomy of Presbyterians and Unitarians vs. the structured enclaves of Catholicism and Episcopal denominations).
      
      Just the same .. I suspect the results of the 90s, that every denomination has a spectrum of cognitive models at work in their followers leads to the result that religious affiliation alone does not predict environmental attitudes and beliefs (e.g. Al Gore and Jimmy Carter (formerly) of the Southern Baptist Convention).
      
      Thanks,
      Steve
    - Ray in VT
      
      You’re welcome, Steve. You raise some good points. There are certainly some communities that seem more prone to orthodoxy, and there are always dissenters from a given orthodoxy if one exists. Even if a bit (or even more than a bit) flawed, I thought that it did provide some interesting information that was thought provoking. I have always found belief to be fascinating to study.
- Scott B
  
  Back then the only church was the Catholic church. Those of other minds about that usually lost their lives, and the Catholic church often, and still does, refer to itself as “the Church”.
  
  But Christian churches, Catholic included, still say that man was not a result of evolution, but a product of God.
  - Steve__T
    
    I say that evolution is a product of God.
    You can’t believe that God created the universe and skipped every thing else.
    - Scott B
      
      The point is that if there is a god, that god is following natural order. There’s nothing out there in the natural world here on earth, nor in space, that sticks out like a sore thumb to contradict science that would make us think otherwise.
    - Steve__T
      
      I Respect your views and beliefs.
      I’m Sorry Scott, I don’t debate God, I will debate the Bible and just about every and anything else.
Ray in VT

I heard it said once that God is everything that science cannot explain. It does boggle my mind, though, how in this day and age someone can blame and earthquake on God’s wrath for a gay pride parade or something.
- Scott B
  
  The same people that believe that Pat Robertson prevented one hurricane from hitting the states, who also says that Katrina, Sandy, and the earthquake in Haiti are God’s judgment on the evil of the US and voodoo in Haiti. How is it that Robertson knew the hurricane he prevented from hitting land wasn’t from God? Does that make him equal to God, since hurricanes seem to be God’s garden variety punishment for the wicked that men do, and he countermanded God’s punishment?
  - Ray in VT
    
    He prevented a hurricane from hitting? Who knew that he was so powerful. Has the Pennsylvania town that kicked ID out of the science curriuculum been wiped out yet, which was a prediction that I think that he made at the time.

http://profile.yahoo.com/HDXVKFIGU6ZIOSSCV6FRG2J6EE Phenomemom

It’s funny how desperate you people get when the race card in your back pocket just fell to the floor. lol!

scottmartin49

‘Ignorant’ is colorblind, just like ‘skill’. He may be a skillful surgeon, but policywise he’s just another GOP strawman, like Laffler, Rubio, Willie Horton, Saddam Hussein, etc.
WalterMittyUSA

Please think before posting, your ignorance is showing.

This has nothing to do with race, as far as I can tell this guy is ok with racist epithets to describe people. Is that racist? I would think so, just because he is a complete fool who is incapable of answering a serious question means he is an incapable fool in the political arena

http://www.facebook.com/people/Rich-Madison/100002956347397 Rich Madison

Tom, right now I am listening to the segment on circuses. Are you going to suddenly interrupt the topic of conversation to ask Duncan Wall what he believes about evolution? That was a fair question to ask Dr. Carson, but ridiculously out of context, a blatant attempt to discredit him in the eyes of those who don’t agree with his religious beliefs. Is that On Point’s new litmus test for guests?

Ray in VT

I think that it’s certainly a valid question to ask when someone is commenting about society and promoting a religious book as a foundation for social policy to ask if that person believes in basic scientific theories.
- http://profile.yahoo.com/HDXVKFIGU6ZIOSSCV6FRG2J6EE Phenomemom
  
  “Theory” is the key word there. Theory: a proposed explanation whose status is still conjectural and subject to experimentation, in contrast to well-established propositions that are regarded as reporting matters of actual fact.
  - Ray in VT
    
    “A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of knowledge that has been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment.”
    
    Given the status of evolution, it certainly has far more scientific standing than the origin of man created by a higher power, which has no scientific basis whatsoever.
    - http://profile.yahoo.com/JXSANCUDPIKQSPID5KT2U4XK5Y TF
      
      I gotcher scientific theory right here.
      
      Some scientists “saw” N-rays until they were tested for, blindly, and proved to not exist. At that point nobody believed in them any longer.
      
      As long as intelligent design doesn’t become a real theory, it can’t be debunked. And big props to our mainstream press corps’ scientific illiteracy on this front.
William

Good point.
- Ray in VT
  
  Is it a valid question to ask of someone on the Science Committee?
WalterMittyUSA

I believe the good doctor brought up religion first …. exploring the man’s religious base beliefs is not an interruption, nor is it out of context. If it discredits someone then it is because of the absurd notions the person’s religious beliefs carry.

Now excuse me while I hope on my t-rex to ride across town …. Yeeehaawwww
- 1Brett1
  
  Now, Mr. Mitty, we all know that dinosaurs didn’t really exist but were just some fake bones liberals planted around the world to discredit religion!
  - Ray in VT
    
    I thought that Satan put them there to lure people away from God.
    - 1Brett1
      
      Satan, Liberals, same difference.
  - Steve__T
    
    Sorry Brett dinosaurs don’t discredit religion, any one who is religious that say’s they don’t believe they existed, discredits themselves. In Genesis all things were created before Man. Anyone of critical thinking will not take the Bible Literally, but use the common sense given by God to understand what was written, was to an uneducated, undisciplined people who needed rules to live by. Explaining evolution, other than their own, at the time it was written was not its purpose or goal.
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Rich-Madison/100002956347397 Rich Madison
  
  WalterMitty, I try very hard to keep an open mind toward those whose beliefs are different from my own. I believe that every person, regardless of their beliefs, deserves dignity and can contribute to my growth as a person and to our shared understanding of this world.
  
  In answering sarcastically, you are cutting off any real discussion.
  - WalterMittyUSA
    
    Rich – you act as if this is a discussable point. When you use religion as a basis for your economic policy your religion needs to be fully explored (thus making it relevant) and any belief that highlighting one part of their religious belief makes them look foolish is a spurious argument with no basis in reality. The person who espouses the belief delivers their own appearance. If someone thinks that ignoring science is a rational thing because of religion (even though many major religions support evolution), then yes they look like a complete and utter fool.
    
    No excuse me … need to round up some brontosaur burgers for lunch ….. yeeehawww
J__o__h__n

He isn’t asking him his economic views either.
1Brett1

Considering the good doctor mixes up his religious views and intertwines them with his political views (in a very public and is the new darling of neocons), and considering Tom waited to the end of the broadcast to get to the good doctor’s views on evolution (the man is a scientist [neurosurgeon], after all. It seemed a valid inquiry. The guest on the circus segment wasn’t known to espouse religious views mixed with political views at all…apples and oranges.
- WorriedfortheCountry
  
  It was clearly a gotcha question that has been used in the past to diminish religious public figures. It was also completely out of context. Personally, I considered it OK but borderline.
  
  Imagine Tom interviewing Obama in 2007 on one of his two memoirs and then throwing in a question about Obama’s support for partial birth abortions at the end. A fair question but out of context.
  - http://profile.yahoo.com/JXSANCUDPIKQSPID5KT2U4XK5Y TF
    
    What’s a “partial birth” abortion? I’m doing a search in medical texts and coming up empty.
    - 1Brett1
      
      For the “pre-born”…I guess.
    - Ray in VT
      
      What? You mean that that is not just some non-medical term crafted by opponents of abortion?
  - J__o__h__n
    
    It isn’t out of context. He is advocating public policy solutions and cites god as a reason for them.
    - WorriedfortheCountry
      
      No public policy discussed related to the theory of evolution so it yes it was ‘out of context’. Why not a question about the virgin birth?
    - J__o__h__n
      
      If he cites religion for a foundation for his views, then it is proper to see what those views are.
OnPointComments

I’ll start worrying about what a religious person who is conservative thinks of evolution when I hear someone ask a liberal politician running for office if he/she believes that evolution and the Big Bang theory totally explains everything from beginning to end.
jefe68

How so? The man is a doctor, not a circus performer.
The basis of his education is biology, not juggling.
Biology is the study of life based on science, not religious beliefs. I doubt Dr. Carson would use the idea of the bodies humors or bleeding to treat his patients.

JGC

Health Care Savings Account: Your health care savings go into my account. �

ensteph

Like a few others I almost turned the radio off. I wasn’t going to leave a comment but after considering and cooling down I will say this much. I can’t possibly imagine Dr. Carson ever being a threat but we should all be gratefull for On Point and Tom for covering this man just in case he does recieve that Call from God! If other societies at other times had had pervasive social media as we do! But we do. WE DO!

http://profile.yahoo.com/HDXVKFIGU6ZIOSSCV6FRG2J6EE Phenomemom

LOL! Get ready!
- WalterMittyUSA
  
  He might rank right up there with Bachmann and Caribou Barbie as worthy candidates!
  - Ray in VT
    
    Now there’s no reason do insult Dr. Carson.
    - WalterMittyUSA
      
      no insult his religious beliefs, ability to duck a question, and the starry-eyed looks from the right wing are both bachmann-esque and his appeal is similar to the quitin’ queen…

WalterMittyUSA

I find it interesting that he quotes Jesus yet when it comes to taxes he forgets that Jesus said pay unto Caesar what is Caesars….He forgets Jesus berating the pharisees for letting a poor woman pay her last penny. He forgets that it is easier to a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to get into heaven.

He also thinks proportionality = fairness. It does not, he equates two unlike terms here that are very misleading. He uses biblical tithing as his base (10%), yet ignores any biblical reference that refutes this (see above). The example he uses of a poor person spending one of their only ten dollars is ludicrous (reducto absurdium (sp?)) but he glosses over how the poorest of the poor would survive.

He refuses to answer most questions (as in, is it ok to use derogatory slang since political correctness is bad?), how would he rectify the insurance gap? (do you have 6 hours)

Then he talks about the deficit growing (Obama has actually shrunk the deficit) and immoral spending (yet fails to clarify what he considers immoral – our obscenely high spending on military? Programs for the poor?) .

He is a scientifically challenged neurosurgeon – I would question having him operate on anyone, and certainly not on me …. but I pray that someone like this runs for president ….

http://profile.yahoo.com/HDXVKFIGU6ZIOSSCV6FRG2J6EE Phenomemom

“If a man does not work, neither should he eat.”
~ 2 Thessalonians 3:10
- scottmartin49
  
  That’s internal church policy (Pauline), not universal theology. Use it on yourself if you like, but not on those outside.
- WalterMittyUSA
  
  Methinks you would be best inspired to read and understand the entire passage.
  
  First – this is an admonish to the other traveling disciples (in other words – when you travel and preach you must do more than just travel and preach) Second – it would be instructive to read why this was said: “11 We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. 13 And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.”
  
  So the busybodies amongst the traveling disciples, who did no work were being admonished for not contributing to the travels and upkeep. I whole-heartedly agree – when Christian pilgrims travel they should pay for the food & pray over it (2 Thes. V 8). If one settles in an area they should not just be idle preachers, but actually contribute to the good of the entire area. Third – if you take that literally then you want to starve out all in retirement – how christian of you.Fourth – please, for the LOVE of GOD try to think things through before you freaking post and make yourself look like an ignorant fool.
- LRDuff
  
  What if he can’t find a job? He should starve according to scripture, or your convenient interpretation. If his job has been sent overseas, he’s been replaced by automation, or lower paid, non-union workers, he should starve, I guess. God’s will.
- StilllHere
  
  We have nothing to learn from religion or old books. Please quote only John Stewart.
  - Ray in VT
    
    Jon Stewart? Please. We have nothing to learn that is was not written down 2,000 years ago.
    - StilllHere
      
      Your g_d not mine.
      
      Amen brother.

RetiredChemEngineer

The foundation of the health care reform act is managed care and the improvement in quality of life and cost of care provided to the vast majority of low income families that cannot or choose not to retain the means to pay for medical services. This has been demonstrated in studies by Harvard and by the physician if not surgeon members of the AMA. Greater investement in preventative care means a better life for the poor and lower costs to those of us who can pay.

Shag_Wevera

Run him in ’16 GOP, please!

JGC

My first thought was to agree, but then I thought, as I listened to Carson over the last hour, his voice did not sound so strong and healthy to me. I know he had cancer, and is probably weakened from that, but he just doesn’t sound like he has the physical stamina for the rigors of a presidential campaign, much less all the brush clearing and wood chopping and golfing in the Florida heat we expect our presidents to do.
- Ray in VT
  
  I just thought that he sounded like a quiet, low key kind of guy.
  - JGC
    
    Hmmm…maybe. Quiet, low key kind of guy…sounds like someone else I know:
    
    “…the remarkable ability to soothe race consciousness among whites. Any black person who has worked in the professional world is well acquainted with this trick…This need to talk in dulcet tones, to never be angry regardless of the offense, bespeaks a strange and compromised integration indeed…” (Ta-Nehisi Coates)
hennorama

Shag_Wevera – Yes, please.

One could imagine the entertainment value of Dr. Carson explaining how he reportedly once raised a hammer and tried to hit his mother over a disagreement about his wardrobe, for example.

That might be too large of an elephant in the room, even for The Elephant Party. Aren’t they trying “to STOP being the stupid party” these days?

coyotejazz

Tom, Thanks for inviting this individual. Always good to confront the reality of the maniacs who seek to peddle their greed based nonsense.

1Brett1

He seems about as informed as was Herman Cain. The difference is that he articulates better and talks more slowly. He makes less gaffs (well, less ones that are comical, anyway).

Ray in VT

It didn’t seem to me that he offered much of anything new. His points and positions seemed to largely be in line with many of the views that have been advocated by the GOP and the TEA Party for years, sort of like Marco Rubio’s State of the Union response. Much the same message, but with a different voice and face.
hennorama

1Brett1 – Indeed.

Dr. Carson is proposing something like “10-10-10″ which sounds much better than Mr. Cain’s rather Teutonic “9-9-9/nein-nein-nein.”

BTW – 10-10-10 is a common all-purpose chemical fertilizer formulation. It has about 5 times the plant nutrients as dried cow manure.

One might then conclude that Dr. Carson’s simplistic idea is equivalent to BS times 5.
- 1Brett1
  
  I wondered why I felt I was in the presence of super manure in listening to this show! Thanks, henn!
  - Gregg Smith
    
    What do you suppose he’s up to? Or is he just stupid?
- Gregg Smith
  
  Manure has the nitrogen but not the potash and phosphates.
  
  9-9-9 would have been better than this. I liked the idea.

hennorama

Here’s the story of another neurosurgeon – Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa.

Dr. Q’s story is pretty inspiring. In 1987 he was a 19 year old poor and hungry Mexican citizen living in Mexicali, who had been working to help support his family since age 5. He made the decision to jump the border fence and sneak into the US as an illegal alien, and. soon found work as a migrant farm worker in the California Central Valley.

Dr. Q eventually enrolled in a nearby community college in order to learn English. To pay for college, he worked in the fields and also scraped fish lard out of tankers, nearly dying in the process. For years he lived in fear of being picked up by immigration authorities.

Quiñones-Hinojosa got work authorization under California’s reformed immigration rules, which led to a temporary green card. Over time, with hard work and adherence to the rules, he eventually received permanent legal status. He became a U.S. citizen in 1997 in a ceremony at Boston’s Faneuil Hall, ten years after literally jumping the border.

Over the years, Dr. Q completed his bachelor’s degree in psychology at UC Berkeley, went to Harvard Medical School, then on to UC San Francisco for his residency and postdoctoral work, eventually becoming a surgeon.

Here’s part of his bio from his current employer, the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center:

“At Johns Hopkins, Dr. Quiñones is a Professor of Neurosurgery and Oncology, Neuroscience and Cellular and Molecular Medicine. In addition to directing the Brain Tumor Surgery Program at Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital, and the Pituitary Surgery Program at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dr. Quiñones leads the Brain Tumor Stem Cell Laboratory. He focuses on the surgical treatment of primary and metastatic brain tumors, with an emphasis on motor and speech mapping during surgery as well as in the treatment of patients with pituitary and skull base tumors using transphenoidal endonasal and minimally invasive surgical approaches.”

Pretty good for someone who might instead be working in some dusty field if he hadn’t jumped that fence more than 25 years ago.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/quinones-hinojosa.html

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/05/143141876/illegal-farm-worker-becomes-brain-surgeon

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/experts/profiles/team_member_profile/36A35BDE9B71CB08318C8F419FD7ACB4/Alfredo_Quinones-Hinojosa

OnPointComments

I’ve read Dr. Carson’s life story, and it also is inspiring.�
�
http://www.biography.com/people/ben-carson-475422?page=1
- hennorama
  
  OPC – I agree. Dr. Carson overcame significant disadvantages and a violent streak to acheive a great deal.
  
  But unlike Dr. Carson, Dr. Quiñones sticks to the field in which he is an expert, and to discussions of his personal experiences. Dr. Q does not go around propounding ideas about turning a religious practice into a way to fund government, as Dr. Carson is doing.
  - pete18
    
    Funny, there was this community organizer
    from Chicago who also had the audacity not to “stick to his field.” Hey, come to think of it maybe you have a point.
    - Ray in VT
      
      Didn’t that guy have a law degree and then get involved in the process of making law?
    - pete18
      
      Yeah, a law degree that’s the ticket. That and two bucks will get you a Grande at Starbucks. Heaven forbid anyone have any real word experience before they’re allowed to comment on what the role of government should be in this country.
    - http://twitter.com/JayEllington Jay Ellington
      
      Edited for accuracy: Didn’t that guy have a law degree and then get involved in the process of perverting law?
    - hennorama
      
      pete18 – TY for your response. I respect your views.
      
      Assuming your are referring to Pres. Obama, he has done a pretty darn good job of organizing his communities. Such much so, he is the first “community organizer from Chicago” to be elected and re-elected President. In addition, he continues to organize his communities through various means, notably through social and traditional media, as well as by using the bully pulpit.
      
      President Obama could fairly be considered the ultimate community organizer and to have indeed stuck to his field of expertise.
      
      Thank you for bringing this up. Well done.
    - pete18
      
      Given that type of loose word usage for your criteria, then
      Dr Carson is eminently qualified to both speak on public policy and to run for president, because what this country needs is a good surgeon to cut the waste.
    - hennorama
      
      pete18 – TY for your response. I respect and appreciate your views.
      
      “loose word usage”? An interesting construct, that. Does it mean something like “using a word or phrase in the exact same way as pete18 did”? If so, then mea culpa.
      
      If you think that Pres. Obama (assuming he was your reference) is no longer a community organizer, please make your case.
      
      I did enjoy the “what this country needs is a good surgeon to cut the waste” part of your post. Touché.
      
      But as to Dr. Carson’s being what you describe as ” eminently qualified to both speak on public policy and to run for president”? Not so much.
- JGC
  
  Is anyone here inspired by my life story? My brother always said I was “a rich girl born into a middle class family”…I always thought that would make a great opening line for my autobiography…
StilllHere

Unless he’s a strict evolutionist who believes religion is devoid of value and government has all the answers, we have nothing to learn from him.
- Ray in VT
  
  Apparently the only people from whom we can learn anything are creationists who think that the Bible should be the basis for social policy, that 19th century economics work best and that the government can do no right.
  - Gregg Smith
    
    Which idiot said that?
    - Ray in VT
      
      The exact polar opposite of whomever Stillhere was quoting. This is sort of in line with what I was aiming for:
      
      “They’re quite clear that we would create law based on the God of the Bible and the 10 commandments, it’s pretty simple.”
    - Gregg Smith
      
      It’s kind of odd to quote Palin in this context.
      
      Did you get her point?
      
      http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,592422,00.html
    - Ray in VT
      
      I don’t think so. I think that there is plenty of room to talk about religion and God in the public discourse. However, I think that some, such as Sarah Palin or David Barton, are attempting to rewrite history in such a way as to base our country in something that is much more overtly religious.
      
      For instance, take this quote:
      
      “You can just go to our Founding Fathers’ early documents and see how they crafted a Declaration of Independence and a Constitution that allows that Judeo-Christian belief to be the foundation of our lives.”
      
      Now, there is a refernce to the Creator in the Declaration, but there is no reference to the divine in the Constitution. It is a pretty practical, secular document that disallows religious tests for public office and acknowledges the right of religious freedom and the areligious character of the government itself. Now, some religious laws are pretty good, and some are relatively universal (don’t kill people, don’t steal), but I think that there is a relatively weak case to be made for our nation and its laws being based upon the Bible. Much of the history comes from English common law, and the structure of the government owes a far greater debt to the ideas of the pagan Greeks and Romans than to the anicent Hebrews. Another issue that I have with some of these type of statements can be a bit of semantics. It is correct to say that we are a Judeo-Christian nation in that most of our citizens fall into that category, but we are certainly not an officially Judeo-Christian nation. The latter is the impression that I get from some speakers.
    - http://profile.yahoo.com/JXSANCUDPIKQSPID5KT2U4XK5Y TF
      
      I think we have more gay/lesbian elected politicians among the top 1000 (however that can be measured) than Muslims and athiests combined.
      
      That’s a pretty telling stat on how deep it runs and the kicking one can run into when one tells folks “we’re not officially Judeo-Christian”.
- hennorama
  
  StilllHere – TY for your response. I understand your views.
  
  Dr. Q’s views on religion and evolution are unknown to me. Unlike Dr. Carson, he seems to keep his opinions on areas in which he has neither expertise nor personal experience to himself.
  
  Dr. Carson puts forward his opinions on both his religious beliefs and other topics in which he has no expertise or experience. Notably, the ideas he expressed at the National Prayer Breakfast are neither unique nor new. He told some interesting stories, but there was nothing but a regurgitation of the ideas of others.
  
  Pray tell, what if anything did YOU “learn from him”?

LRDuff

‘Theories of convenience’. People feel ‘beaten down’ because of the nearly complete rigging and domination of the system by corporate interests, but they’re made to feel like something is wrong with them if they can’t make it on their own, they are ‘lazy’ if they can’t make it in when their job is transferred overseas, or they are replaced by automation to increase profit for shareholders. Self reliance is made nearly impossible in the current system because of this corporate dominated system.

The rich are not currently paying a proportional amount of taxes. That’s what Warren Buffet was talking about, his secretary was paying a higher percentage than him. The rich have managed to transfer a vast amount of wealth from the working/middle class to themselves. The rich are not currently paying for the infrastructure he mentioned.

JGC

I wonder if there will be choice soundbites from this program on the Limbaugh show tomorrow…

StilllHere

Tom seems to have a great respect for Rush, I’m not sure it is reciprocal.

Dee

Re: Ben Carson’s misconception on the makers & takers.

I am so grateful to the women who called in to call out Carson’s self deception on how conservatives & wealthy individuals built America and made it great nation….

It reminded me of a letter (“Growing Pains” ) I read�
in Harper’s Magazine February issue in which Trevor�
Davis praises jeff Maddick’s critique of the column�
” Half Empty ” (The anti-economist). And the sheer
absurdity of blaming the poor (and the middle class)
for the country’s ills..when case in point it is the stag-
nation in their wages and the regressive tax code that�
has puts less in their pockets and more money in the�
pockets of the rich that is the real culprit….

And of course , the ongoing conservative & rich de-
lusionary thinking that the poor (and mIddle Class )�
are the ” takers” (the parasites in conservative and�
Wall St language.) When in reality the opposite is
true….Read the letter with the URL below…Dee

http://harpers.org/archive/2013/02/letters-804/

TomK_in_Boston

“Takers” are romney types who are “entitled” by birth to lucrative careers, and never do a hard day’s work or create a product but spend their lives transferring numbers from balance sheet to balance sheet.
- WorriedfortheCountry
  
  You really have a Romney problem Tom.
  
  Since you are loose with facts I suspect it is purely because of his party affiliation.
  - StilllHere
    
    He’s just envious.
    - TomK_in_Boston
      
      Lacking an idea, reach for a talking point!
      
      The rise of the financial parasites is one of the primary reasons for the decline of the middle class. How is an economy going to produce broad prosperity with so much wealth going to those who “make” nothing?
    - Ray in VT
      
      They built that.
    - TomK_in_Boston
      
      Gub’mint is the problem.
    - Ray in VT
      
      Just let me run it, and I’ll prove it.
    - TomK_in_Boston
      
      Without “entitlement reform”, “we’ll be like Greece”. This script will repeat….
    - pete18
      
      Like clockwork.
    - StilllHere
      
      He’s a post-bot stuck on stupid.
    - StilllHere
      
      I believe your describing the main motivation behind our tax system; using the government to distribute wealth to those who earn nothing.
    - TomK_in_Boston
      
      Exactly – to the romney types.
  - pete18
    
    There you go using talking points again, WFTC!
    - WorriedfortheCountry
      
      Where’s the talking point? My comment was analysis.
      
      Tom also has a problem with Scott Brown. Since Scott Brown would be a solid Democrat in most states we can only conclude TomK’s hate for Scott Brown is also because of party affiliation.
    - pete18
      
      You were making so much sense that you didn’t see my tongue planted firmly in my cheek.
      
      All Tom needs is a person to make one more dollar than himself and that person is a plutocrat. “Rs” and “Ds” are his only measuring stick.
    - TomK_in_Boston
      
      I doubt that there are any plutocrats among you righty losers by that definition!
      
      According to the talking point of the moment, Warren Buffett is “envious” because he thinks we should return to progressive taxation.
      
      The deficit will get us if we don’t reform entitlements, Awwk, polly wants a cracker.
- Dee
  
  For once I can agree with you…..And the utter�
  delusional thinking there is the CEO of Goldman Sach called this “God’s work ” a few years ago.
  
  He still continues to push the GOP for cuts to�
  the Middle class & the poor ‘s safety net to line�
  his pockets. He is a soulless man……
  
  Did you know a Pew Study showed 2 years�
  ago more than half (I am afraid to say 2/3)
  of the residents in the 5 boroughs of New�
  York are forced to rely on food stamps to�
  get by.and he doesn’t give a freakin damn.
  
  It’s evil…..Dee
  
  P.S. I think we are headed for another�
  Storming of The Bastile In this country.
  Many people will feel they have little�
  to lose……

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1597152808 Debi French

Personal responsibility is a wonderful thing. I’ve been waiting for CEO’s to take responsibility for the fair payment of their employees instead of paying them the least allowed by law so that those employees are forced to rely on the government for food and medical care.

Dee

This is why we should move towards a national system�
to control the banks & markets, big oil & coal & utilities,
Big Phram, Big Agra, Mass transit and Big Defense…..

All the countries in Europe have lived better than Amer-
icans for the last 3-4 decades…..We have too many�
robber Barons in the US and we need to put them out�
of business or in jail….I will take it either way…Dee

P.S. The capitalist system is a dead end for the middle class and the environment…….
- William
  
  You forgot Big Welfare.
  - StilllHere
    
    and Big Labor.
StilllHere

CEOs don’t determine employees pay. Owners do. That seems like a crucial misunderstanding on your part.
- WalterMittyUSA
  
  Funny CEO’s get paid and determine salary rates at every company I have ever worked at …. telecom, insurance… etc.
  
  At restaurant chains they set the guidelines so you don’t have mcdonald’s across town competing for workers (means less corporate and overall profits)
  
  Methinks Stillhere does not understand that franchises and corporations are not one and the same and that corporations still create the rules of the franchises….
  - StilllHere
    
    Everything a company does has the implicit and explicit approval of the representatives of the owners, the owners themselves or the board of directors, through the budgetary process.
    
    Methinks you’ve never been exposed to higher levels of the corporate structure or smaller companies.
    - WalterMittyUSA
      
      Uhm – as a franchisee the pay rate is set by the board – which is, surprise surprise, a group of people who take the recommendation of …. yes you guessed it - the CEO.
      
      If you have ever sat on a BoD you would know that the board acts based upon 3 things – stock price, self-interest, & recommendation of the CEO (or C-level staff) ….�
      Having the pleasure of working with the BoD for multiple companies… to think that there is some outside owner (as in one person) who drive decision making is a huge fallacy. No, the board is driven by stock price (or profit sharing if private).
    - StilllHere
      
      The recommendation yes, but it makes the decision.
      
      Your insights, such as they are, seem limited to large, public companies ignoring the vast majority of the economy.
OnPointComments

Why do you suppose that someone making $10 an hour can’t go down the street and get a job paying $20 an hour? If you’re making $10 an hour, and the next business says it will pay you $10 an hour, and another business says it will pay you $10 an hour, chances are that your labor is worth $10 an hour.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1032093601 Robert Evans

There is an 18th c observation that, in the presence of labor surplus, wages will be driven to starvation (the wage at which a worker would rather starve quietly than work AND starve). The phenomenon takes place under “ideal conditions” (something like the friction-less world of HS physics) where workers are fungible, etc, but the point is that the pure free market has no morality. Morality is the role of charity, church, gov’t, etc

http://twitter.com/NoMandate Mandate Amendment

It seems amazing to me that those on the left who are supposed to abhor corporate power have such zeal for the Obamacare Mandate which now sets the precedent that corporations can pretty much force us to do anything just by getting a bunch of politicians to agree to it by a 51% majority vote. How can they not see that eventually a person like Bush will be back in office and now that this power has been granted by them the likes of one of the worst Republican presidents will possess **the same right**. Just bizarre.

There is although one last hope to end not just the Obamacare assault on the health care industry, but also to end the ominous and definite effects the Roberts’ decision will have on future generations as government and corporations combine to force American citizens to do just about anything by way of the taxation.

It is called the Mandate Amendment to the US Constitution – short, simple, and common sense:

“Congress shall make no law mandating the purchase of a product or service from a private entity”

Please join us, this is our last hope. Just Google Mandate Amendment for more information or find us on Facebook and Twitter.

hennorama

Mandate Amendment – TY for the comic relief.

Now that my laughter has subsided and I can type again … please quote the portion of the ACA that “mandat[es] the purchase of a product or service from a private entity.”

Also please address the fact that there are multiple exemptions to what you describe in a somewhat rambling fashion as “the Obamacare Mandate which now sets the precedent that corporations can pretty much force us to do anything just by getting a bunch of politicians to agree to it by a 51% majority vote.”
Good luck in your quest.

1Brett1

Imagine all the good that could have come to African-Americans if there had never been that “dangerous political correctness”? And what about those horrible Civil Rights policies like Affirmative Action? Why, I’ll bet the good doctor would have done just fine a hundred years ago being raised by a single mom and making it to Yale! And, I’m sure Dr. Carson would have done just fine in his practice if all of his patients had simply had HSAs!

Gregg Smith

I think, in this day in age, Affirmative Action is racist as hell, but that’s just me.
- JGC
  
  I could support something like Affirmative Action but based on family income, all sources.
  - Gregg Smith
    
    I think that is better than judging by the color of skin.
jefe68

100 years ago there were hardly any Jews at Yale let alone African Americans.

jsmetz

By his statements of political philosophy, estate taxes and flat taxes for example, it looks to me like Dr. Carson likes rich people. Is he getting paid for reading their scripts?

WorriedfortheCountry

My sense is Dr. Carson likes rich people … and poor people … and everyone in between.
- StilllHere
  
  That’s crazy, you gotta hate someone.

Bruce94

I missed portions of today’s show, but was intrigued by Carson’s reference to a “back-handed slap,” which in his lexicon apparently occurs when govt. does for people things they are capable of doing for themselves. However, when it comes to healthcare, the pre-Obamacare reality was clear:

–40-50 million uninsured Americans, which was a national disgrace considering that every advanced, civilized Western democracy in the world has figured out how to guarantee access to healthcare, maintain quality and contain costs.

–a dysfunctional healthcare market with perverse incentives and gross inefficiencies

–a healthcare system that was both economically unsustainable and morally unacceptable

Hearing the good doctor’s prattle about individual responsibiity and “back-hand slaps” ignored the indisputable fact that the classical laws of supply & demand simply don’t work in the healthcare market AND, as Lincoln once observed, the time-honored principle that “the legitimate object of govt. is to do for a community whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all…or so well for themselves in their separate and individual capacities.”

The caller nailed it when she correctly identified the nonsense the good doctor was trying to peddle as “common sense.” In fact, what he was pushing was the same Far Right talking points from that wing of the GOP that is intellectually and morally bankrupt.

While what the good doctor was putting forward didn’t feel like a “back-handed slap” to me, it did leave me with the feeling that a forearm shiver had been delivered to some of our core values.

John Thomas

I’m sorry but anyone claiming “God said it so it makes sense” is waaay off the reservation.

WorriedfortheCountry

Just in from the Department of Things We Already Knew.

The GAO just released a report that Obamacare will add $6.2T to the nations debt.

Obama in 2009 to Congress:
“I will not sign a plan that adds a dime to our deficit — now or in the future”

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/341589/gao-report-obamacare-adds-62-trillion-long-term-deficit-andrew-stiles

Ray in VT

Over 75 years based upon projections. That’s getting a bit out ahead of oneself, isn’t it? Let’s see if we can actually measure whether or not it’s having the desired affect of bending the curve on the increase in health care costs and then re-evaluate and act accordingly.
- WorriedfortheCountry
  
  Absolutely!! We’ll never see it. Obamacare was designed to collapse long before 75 years — and in the hopes of its creators — replaced with a single payer scheme.
  - DrewInGeorgia
    
    Oh Noes! Not The Single Payer SCHEME!!!
    
    Now I’m Worried…
  - jimino
    
    I agree that implementing most of the right’s long-advocated plan for insuring health care and letting as many as people as possible be exposed to its features would inevitably lead to the only logical conclusion if one wants to cut costs: single payer.
    
    And you’re correct that it won’t take 75 years. Not even brainwashed Americans are that stupid.
Ray in VT

“The effect of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA),
enacted in March 2010, on the long-term fiscal outlook depends largely
on whether elements in PPACA designed to control cost growth are
sustained. There was notable improvement in the longer-term outlook
after the enactment of PPACA under GAO’s Fall 2010 Baseline Extended
simulation, which assumes both the expansion of health care coverage and
the full implementation and effectiveness of the cost-containment
provisions over the entire 75-year simulation period.”

From the beginning of the report

http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-281?source=ra
- WorriedfortheCountry
  
  The GAO report only measures the cost to the government books. It takes no measure of the increased premiums to rate payers and the effects to dampen the US economy (aka hidden costs).
Gregg Smith

There was no way it ever was going to save money. He knew he was lying.

http://profile.yahoo.com/UGOYMQZ4HDHZRNKECAJNFBWPSE Melva

ll

http://www.facebook.com/jasendorf John Asendorf

Please tell that colored boy that I really liked his comments about how outrageous political correctness has become!

http://profile.yahoo.com/HDXVKFIGU6ZIOSSCV6FRG2J6EE Phenomemom

He doesn’t care. He is more of a man that you will ever be.
- Gregg Smith
  
  I thought all blacks broke down in tears when they hear the word. Do you mean they aren’t crybabies? Surely not.
1Brett1

At least he’s not one of those “Orientals” he was so concerned that the PC police were forcing people to call Asian!
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Ruth-Baker/100001422167591 Ruth Baker
  
  Exactly!! Again!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ruth-Baker/100001422167591 Ruth Baker

Exactly!!

http://www.facebook.com/vargas515 Michael Vargas

I only heard a portion of the interview, about the last 20 minutes or so. I had heard of him, since he’s getting a fair amount of press, but didn’t know anything specific about his positions. My impressions from that short exposure…
Overall, I think it is a symptom of a GOP looking for someone to be their savior / leader / contender on a national level. But his ideas sounded an awful lot like the same sort of policies and opinions towards people that the GOP clings to (i.e. nothing new here). My snarky remark is that he sounded like Sarah Palin with a medical degree. I was very struck when a caller asked him about his statements that there was good that came from the Robber Barons who built our infrastructure. She asked, what about the people who were exploited (and in some cases killed). His response was essentially – you have to break a few eggs. Really a cop out and disgusting that he didn’t acknowledge the tragedy given that he says he’s religious / christian / whatever. I also can’t understand how someone who is obviously bright and well educated doesn’t believe in evolution. How can that be? I don’t discount everything he says. I do agree that in the US we need to have a better sense of what health care costs and have some skin in the game. But this guy is absolutely unelectable in the same way that Romney, Palin, Santorum (and likely Rubio) are unelectable. It’s the GOP policies and attitudes that people are increasingly finding unreasonable. It doesn’t matter who the messenger is

Political Pundit aka Paul Ryan

a southern talking simpleton, wrapped in gawd almighty; that is all many southerners need to believe… maybe he’s newt’s project?

http://www.facebook.com/people/Ruth-Baker/100001422167591 Ruth Baker

LOL!

Davidb10

All positions on public policy are part of an ideology if they are based upon a consistent set of assuptions about what is right, moral, appropriate, etc. Dr. carson has and is advocating an ideology that is generally considered to be conservative. His not wanting to be laveled is disingenuous at best.

A flat tax is a proportional contributiion to government revenues. It is NOT a contribution proportional to ones income. 10% paid by everyone is the same for everyone; it is not proportional. $1,000 to a person with a $30,000 annual income is proportionally more of whZt they need to survive than it is to some one making $500,000.

“For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” Luke 12:48I am a liberal as defined in the 1930s until now. I am not the a liberal as the right wing of the Republican Party has tried to distort the definition.

hennorama

Davidb10 – what you’re getting at is the difference between “proportional” and “equitable.”

Dr. Carson’s argument is that the exact same rate of taxation for all is “inherently fair.”

He goes on to say “of course you gotta get rid of the loopholes” and that higher tax rates for those with higher incomes is somehow “hurt[ing] the guy.” And “it’s that kinda thinking that has resulted in 602 banks in the Cayman Islands.”

What nonsense.

To quote Dr. Carson – “enough said.” I agree. He’s said enough.
- Davidb10
  
  I agree that it is nonsense but I still think that taxes can be proportional to different things, and equitable means different things to different people. Too many people think that a progressive tax is unequitable, unfair. Most of them are like Ohio’s governor who is actually proposing increasing regressive taxes while cutting our progressive income tax. Canada keeps looking better and better
  - hennorama
    
    Davidb10 – TY for your response. I appreciate and respect your views.
    
    Indeed, there are differences of opinion on these matters. When Dr. Carson uses the word “proportional,” he means “having the same ratio.” But he conflates proportionality and equitability.
    
    A select few quote from today’s interview:
    
    “If you have a proportional tax system, proportionality is the FAIREST system that you can possibly come up with.”
    
    “I mean everybody pays according to their ability. That’s what proportionality is, that’s what TITHING is. So if you make a very small amount of money, you make a very small contribution. If you make a very LARGE amount of money, you make a very large contribution.”
    
    “Here’s what’s even more important about proportionality – if you have what is to be an EQUITABLE society, where EVERYONE is equal, then everybody needs to CONTRIBUTE to the maintenance of that society. There shouldn’t be some people who are EXCLUDED, and other people who are PILED upon. And the reason that is so important in the kind of government, governmental system we have is if EVERYbody is putting into the pot proportionaly, it FORCES to be MUCH more fiscally responsible. Becasue every time you raise taxes, you raise taxes on EVERYbody, not just on 1% or 2% or 5% who you can MARGINALIZE because they don’t have the ability to vote you out of office.”
    
    “I think the flat tax – proportionality – is fair.”
    
    So his entire argument on the topic is that if everyone one pays the exact same tax rate, it is both the fairest system possible AND equitable.
    
    Dick Armey and Richard Shelby lost this argument in 1995.
    
    Steve Forbes lost this argument among Republicans in 1996.
    
    Arlen Spector lost this argument in 2009.
    
    Rick “OOPS!” Perry lost this argument in 2012.
    
    Herman “I am suspending my presidential campaign” Cain lost this argument among Republicans in 2012.
    
    Beware the flat tax zombie apocalypse. Perhaps the CDC was wrong. We must be prepared, as this particular zombie won’t die.
    
    http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/zombies.htm

http://www.facebook.com/jasendorf John Asendorf

As for proportionality… if proportionality is the only way for things to be fair… perhaps we should take the GDP, divide by the number of Americans and hand it out proportionally.

Taking a random percentage and calling it “fair” completely ignores that nothing else in our economy is governed by proportionality. Is the cost of feeding a child proportionally the same for a teacher and a wall street trader? Is it fair that it costs me more, proportionally, to buy a means of transportation than it does a billionaire? I’m guessing that Dr. Carlson would try to explain away this “unfair disproportional” cost of existing by saying that nothing is stopping me from becoming a billionaire. But the truth is that the only thing the good Dr. wants to be proportional is his taxes… which questions either his premise that proportionality is the only fair doctrine in matters of economics or his intellectual honesty.

“Anything outside of proportionality is unfair and ideological,” says Dr. Carlson. Poppycock!

StilllHere

I like your proposal. Let’s take the GDP, divide it by the population, and give everyone double.
- jimino
  
  With math “skills” like you apparently have, it’s no wonder you are literally wrong about everything.
  
  On the other hand, maybe you are confused by the fact that in the last 5 years, the top 1% have reaped essentially all of the gain created by the post-recession economy. It doesn’t seem that could be possible in an actual free market economy, but it’s true:
  
  http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/saez-UStopincomes-2010.pdf
  - StilllHere
    
    You are so limited. The difference is made up by borrowing. Come on, get out of your old idea box.

Political Pundit aka Paul Ryan

Carson appeared on the Fox News program Hannity
on Friday February 8th, and was asked about a possible run for the
White House. Carson responded: “If the Lord grabbed me by the collar and
made me do it, I would.”[15]

JoyfulChange

I think Dr. Carson is a very arrogant. When a caller called in to express that his views were from a conservative slant and he was being disingenuous with his claim that he is neutral, he missed the callers point and said that his points make sense. Then reaches further to state, then conservatism must make sense. I am a Christian, but I find it extremely offensive at how Dr. Carson just throws out his views and claims they are what God would condone, when what Dr. Carson is preaching really goes against Jesus Christ’s teachings and life. Jesus always preached loving your neighbor, taking care of the poor. Dr. Carson should re -read The parable of the Tallents, Mathew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:12-28 in which the Jesus points out that those with much should contribute more. If Jesus was preaching today, he would be considered a socialist and abandoned by the current conservatives. Dr. Carson’s idea of proportional taxing doesn’t take into account that the very rich are the ones who pay the least because of all the tax loop holes and their access to politicians to make policies work for them to make more money. How does the average person and the poor have a chance of swaying politicians to vote what is right for them when they don’t have money to give to them? It’s very easy for Dr. Carson to espouse his opinions since he lives a privileged life. Yes I’m sure he worked very hard to get where he is in life. However, it wasn’t only his own hard work that brought him his successful life, but he had the right opportunity which was acquired by the sacrifice of people in the past who gave more then their fair share.

http://profile.yahoo.com/HDXVKFIGU6ZIOSSCV6FRG2J6EE Phenomemom

If a man does not work, neither should he eat.
- TomK_in_Boston
  
  I wouldn’t be that cruel to Mitt.
  - http://www.facebook.com/people/Ruth-Baker/100001422167591 Ruth Baker
    
    LOL!!!
OnPointComments

You can make statements like “the very rich are the ones who pay the least” and point to an individual instance where one rich person paid little, but the fact is when you look at federal income taxes as a whole, the rich pay the lion’s share of federal income tax revenues and pay at a rate much higher than those at the low end of the earnings scale.
kingofgolf

Dude…Come on now…the disingenuousness the caller claimed?..was ridiculous..the entire idea of conservatism is based on his common sense approach.
You want want t research the authors of the the dreaded tax loop holes you espouse to?

If these authors of these disproportionate loop holes are in fact rich liberal democrats?..Would you be surprised?

Rich not paying there fair share !!…this is a most curious idea..What is you version of fair?..

Dr.Carsons idea is 10% for all!!..is this not fair..Why one needs to be punished for an aggregate of wealth..which is based on the idea the accumulation of ones wealth was done so by nefarious means?…to have this predjudice is a less then fair approach to being fair..lol

you make $10..you give a $1
you make $1bill you give $100mill

That is a cool rate of tax at my house!!
Maybe you have some research to do ..lol
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ruth-Baker/100001422167591 Ruth Baker

Nicely said!!

Ray in VT

Given the religious slant of some of the comments today, and also given that some can and do call for basing national policy on religious texts, I thought that it would be worthwhile and amusing to repost one of my favorite pieces of Internet history. So here it is, the Letter to Dr. Laura asking for advice based upon some Bible passages:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/drlaura.asp

hennorama

A classic indeed Ray. TY for the reminder.

http://twitter.com/JayEllington Jay Ellington

I love the tone in here, that Dr. Carson should stick to doing things “he knows” how to do. That same might be said about Barack Obama. Dr. Carson is a true American who isn’t afraid to speak his mind and he speaks for many. Too bad there are petty lapdog liberals that hang on every word a stooge like Tom Ashbrook “reports”.

suzyf921

Since Dr. Carson dismissed the views of PhD economists, opting instead for “common sense”, I’m thinking of using my PhD in health economics to set up a neurosurgery practice…

Any takers? No? thought not….
- http://twitter.com/JayEllington Jay Ellington
  
  Right because economics is 1/100th as complex as Pediatric Neurosurgery.
hennorama

Jay Ellington – is it your view that Pres. Obama is somehow NOT doing things he knows how to do? As I said to another poster, who pointed out that Pres. Obama is a “community organizer from Chicago”:

“Pres. Obama, has done a pretty darn good job of organizing his communities. S[o] much so, he is the first “community organizer from Chicago” to be elected and re-elected President. In addition, he continues to organize his communities through various means, notably through social and traditional media, as well as by using the bully pulpit.

“President Obama could fairly be considered the ultimate community organizer and to have indeed stuck to his field of expertise [and doing things he knows how to do].”

Dr. Carson has gotten attention for his remarks only because Pres. Obama was present when he made them. Otherwise he would likely have gotten little if any coverage of his unoriginal and old ideas.

He is merely “the flavor of the month.”
- OnPointComments
  
  I was quickly scanning comments and read “Pres. Obama” several times in your comment, and then the conclusion “He is merely ‘the flavor of the month’ ” and almost clicked “Like.”
  - hennorama
    
    OPC – Yes I do prattle on now and again, don’t I?
    
    Perhaps I should insert the following disclaimer at the beginning of every post:
    
    “Warning: please read entire post carefully before clicking [Like] or [Reply]“
  - Lorenzo Foster
    
    I believe the interviewer is using a soft approach on this interview unless someone calls in opposing Dr. Carson’s position then he presses the caller to the meaning of what is said.
- pete18
  
  He’s done an excellent job organizing his voters, he’s done a horrific job running the country. That’s in part because he was one of the least experienced or prepared men who’s ever held the job. Not a lick or executive or business experience and it shows.
  - http://twitter.com/JayEllington Jay Ellington
    
    Let’s not get this twisted, anyone with half a brain and a nice smile can organize a community.
  - hennorama
    
    pete18 – TY for conceding my point that Pres. Obama is the Community Organizer-in-chief
    - pete18
      
      Thanks for conceding my point that he was totally ill-prepared for the job and has been a disaster.
    - hennorama
      
      If by “conceding my point” you mean “ignoring the pejorative remainder of my post” then mea culpa.
- http://twitter.com/JayEllington Jay Ellington
  
  Community organization is the ONLY reason he was reelected. Well that and the mountains of money Hollywood helped him raise to campaign on.
  - hennorama
    
    Jay Ellington – TY for your response. I respect your views.
    
    For the sake of argument only, let’s say your assertion is accurate. What difference does it make? Elections are all about organizing, motivating and mobilizing communities of voters, are they not?
    
    Now let’s look at other possible options for Pres. Obama’s reelection:
    
    1. American voters prefer the President’s ideas over those espoused by Republicans and TEA shindiggers
    
    2. Mr. Romney was a complete phony and voters saw through him
    
    3. The economic recovery was in a fragile state and voters preferred to “not change horses midstream”
    
    4.. Republicans nominated a number of fools who opened their mouths around open microphones, notably Messrs. Romney and Ryan, but also the other Republican Presidential primary circular firing squad candidates, and the Republicans Rape Remarkers
    
    etc.. etc. etc.
    - http://twitter.com/JayEllington Jay Ellington
      
      Could the republican party have done a better job leading up the last election? Absolutely. Romney was never electable and they knew it. It was never Washington’s will have a Republican candidate edge out Obama. As far as the man being unqualified for the job, it should matter to every tax paying American. I have a dazzling smile, I’m smart, engaging and influential. Does this qualify me to be President? Lord I hope not.
    - hennorama
      
      Jay Ellington – TY for your response. I respect your views despite being unable to understand all of your words.
      
      Your remarks indicate that you were therefore incorrect in your prior assertion that “Community organization is the ONLY reason he was reelected. Well that and the mountains of money Hollywood helped him raise to campaign on.”?
      
      Your concession on this is appreciated.
      
      Now if one could only decipher your incomprehensible phrasing of
      
      ” It was never Washington’s will have a Republican candidate edge out Obama.”
    - http://twitter.com/JayEllington Jay Ellington
      
      Hennorama, you don’t have to keep thanking me for my responses as I doubt very seriously you are being the least bit sincere. I’m sorry if you don’t “understand my words”. There are a number of online dictionaries that you might reference if you need help with some of the larger words. Also, I’ve conceded absolutely nothing. Not sure why you keep saying this other than it must be some half witted attempt at validating yourself. Lastly, and I have no idea why this thought is “incomprehensible” to you… presidents are selected not elected. Let me know if you need further clarification.
    - hennorama
      
      Jay Ellington – TY for your responses.
      
      The tone of your remarks leads one to think that perhaps politeness is unknown or absent in your world; it certainly is not in mine. I do sincerely appreciate all those who respond to my posts, regardless of their level of civility, or whether they agree or disagree with my words.
      
      Please use your obviously superior full-witted abilities to explain this string of words you so brilliantly put together, and which you seem to believe are easily understood by one and all:
      
      ” It was never Washington’s will have a Republican candidate edge out Obama.”
      
      Alternatively, perhaps you could ask ten randomly selected English language readers if they have any idea what your full-witted remarks mean. Good luck.
      
      Clearly your comprehension of your own words is superior to that of all others who read them. It is also clear that you lack not only the ability to defend your positions, but also to understand how your words support mine.
      
      Let’s return to the essential points, shall we?
      
      1. You typed “I love the tone in here, that Dr. Carson should stick to doing things “he knows” how to do. That same might be said about Barack Obama.”
      
      2. I then asked you “is it your view that Pres. Obama is somehow NOT doing things he knows how to do? ” and went on to repeat my remarks to another poster about Pres. Obama’s history as a community organizer.
      
      3. You did not answer my direct question but instead asserted “Community organization is the ONLY reason he was reelected.”
      
      4. In an effort to explore your views, I asked you “For the sake of argument only, let’s say your assertion is accurate. What difference does it make?” I then posed 4 other possible options for Pres. Obama’s reelection.
      
      5. In reply, you agreed that there was at least one other possible option by sayng “Could the republican party have done a better job leading up the last election? Absolutely. Romney was never electable and they knew it.”
      
      Given that you agreed that there was another possible reason for Pres. Obama’s reelection, (i.e. “Could the republican party have done a better job …Absolutely. Romney was never electable …”) you yourself proved the falsity of your statement in #3. above
      
      “Community organization is the ONLY reason he was reelected.”
      
      Please correct me if I’m wrong, but the emphatic word “ONLY” does mean “SINGLE” does it not? Perhaps you might consult one of the “number of online dictionaries” you so helpfully referenced in your remarks, should you feel the need to clarify your own full-witted words.
      
      TY again for your response.
Gregg Smith

You must admit, Obama is an excellent snake oil salesman. His ability to fundamentally transform America has been impressive. I had hoped he’d fail but he’s getting what he wants.
- http://twitter.com/JayEllington Jay Ellington
  
  It is fairly astounding that he can stand at the podium and say just about anything he wants, then 15 minutes later do the exact opposite and people still gobble it up like he has their best interests at heart. It’s comical to me that idiots like Janeane Garofalo can attribute being an african american conservative to a form of mental retardation without any explanation whatsoever. Liberals like to go around demonizing anyone that doesn’t share their view of politics. When I say view of politics, I mean what they’ve been programmed to believe about politics. They are the most intolerant people walking the face of the planet and they’re breeding. Scary stuff.
http://profile.yahoo.com/JXSANCUDPIKQSPID5KT2U4XK5Y TF

Nice to hear that someone is a “true American” when they agree with you. But you forgot to call Carson “courageous” at the same time.
- http://twitter.com/JayEllington Jay Ellington
  
  I have no way to verify that Dr. Carson agrees with me. Did you read this online? If so please link to the story.

http://profile.yahoo.com/5UHOKAYLICY7RKXGD6IEBVRXSU Yahoo 2007

Thank you Dr. Carson, I don’t think I would have had the courage to say the things that you said in that speech, especially with the president sitting there. Your speech was very good and hopefully informing to the president, as well as everyone who hears it. Good Bless You!

kingofgolf

I have been viewing the recent comments, The idea that this most educated guy has his own thoughts on evolution and cares little about the history of precieved damages caused by the robber barrons..and has a very calm demeanor in his delivery..has many on this comment board a bit interested..lol

Sorry,,his idea of asking the host “Show me where a species has turned into another species”..??..is frankley ..An excellent question..Evolution is accepted by consensus..yet consenus does little to make a theory a fact.

Why this idea his the supporters of Darwin closed into a box has always amused me..For what it is worth…the content of this guys charecter and his commons sense approach i.e. Conservatism has many baffled..yet he just stays on point to his feelings of how to CORRECT ill’s of our country, and the way it delivers govt to the populus!!

Govt is clearly broken..and maybe a doctor is needed to heal?
Afterall..some 5 physicians were part of the group that founded this country?..Maybe that in and of itself has this detractors in a tizzy!!

lol..If his education is not an asset that he brings to the converastion..Where does our Presidents education fit in that criteria!!

Bottom line?
Dude has most of the left side of things, a bit worried?
Or
.. they cant believe that he has such palatable ideas that crosses into the realm of their particular acceptability

jefe68

So I guess you question the theory of gravitation.
Gravity is a law but gravitation is still a theory, and yet we exist in this theory day in and day out as our planet orbits the sun and the moon orbits the earth.

In Biology a theory is the highest title you can give to a scientific study. There is more than enough evidence to substantiate that evolution has occurred, does occur, and will continue.
- kingofgolf
  
  actually Not only do I question ikt ..But NASA said they now know less about the idea of gravity then they thought ..and this was in 2007
  Google Nasa+what is gravity+Dark matter
  
  you may be enlightend ..if maybe ajust a smidgen
  - jefe68
    
    Go ahead, walk off a cliff and test your disbelief of gravity. Better yet do it from a 23 story building.
    You are going to fall.
    
    Dark matter is interesting, but nonetheless you will still fall, dark matter or not.
    - kingofgolf
      
      uhhhh yep..I would fall…but with my cat like abilities..I may survive!!
      
      unlike your juvenile approach to something that seem to have you perplexed..?
      
      A black dude with a conservative mantra
      
      lol
      
      that must be an oddity on top that roof you hang out on!!
    - jefe68
      
      My juvenile approach?
      I’m not perplexed by Dr. Carson’s race and he could be green for all I care. I would still question his comments regarding evolution and biology. Especially being that he is a doctor operating on people. If he was a minister I could care less.
      
      Beside the inanity of your comment, you would still fall, cat like or not. If it was high enough or you fell with the right amount of force (inertia) you might need a neurosurgeon. Oh the irony.
      
      Don’t you have golf game to attend?
- kingofgolf
  
  “The highest title one can attain” Is when ones hypothesis is peer reviewed..and then there is CONSENSUS TO THE PLAUSIBILITY of the hypothesis..and this consenus becomes a catalyst for like the minded to proceed with valuable time and effort to exstrapolate the tangible factors of the selected hypothesis …This level of consensus is as high as consensus can go at my house?
  ..And theory then become a model to study..and ponder and try to grow it into fact
  ..if indeed it can be..then the theory GRADUATES TO BEING FACT?
  
  I think..lol
OnPointComments

An old Paula Poundstone routine: if monkeys evolved into human beings, why do we still have monkeys? Some of them just couldn’t get over the hump?
- jefe68
  
  Actually we have more in common with chimpanzees, which are apes, not monkeys.
  Both of you are incorrect and you seem to have zero knowledge of how biology works or just choose to be ignorant of it. I give Poundstone a pass as she was not being serious, hence the joke.
  - OnPointComments
    
    How sad it must be to live in your humorless world.
  - OnPointComments
    
    How sad it must be to live in your humorless world.
    - jefe68
      
      I’m full of humor and like a good joke when there is one.
      
      Paula Pundstone is funny and smart.
      You sir seem to lack a lot what she has, take your pick.
nj_v2

Looks like someone was playing golf during high school science classes. …lol

And English. …lol

Ha ha! lol
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Ruth-Baker/100001422167591 Ruth Baker
  
  Got that right!

http://profile.yahoo.com/HDXVKFIGU6ZIOSSCV6FRG2J6EE Phenomemom

Liberals are skeeerrrreeeed! This is great!

suzyf921

Hey Pheno, what is skeeerrreeed? Since I’m a liberal, I’d like to know what it is you think I am….
- http://www.facebook.com/irvwestyouthadvocate Irv West
  
  When I figure out what is wrong with being a “tree hugger,” then I will work on this.
kingofgolf

lmao..They spell it Scaird on block..lol…But that fat dude limburger mentioned just the other day?..”just listen to the left side of things?..and they will tell you what scares them”
http://www.facebook.com/bob.cleary.7 Bob Cleary

not scared – just a bit appalled that his education – which includes evolutionary progression in describing neurobiological structures – escapes him, or he now rejects it as heresy. also the notion that God asks for ten per cent – God does no such thing in any Bible, tho churches like to – and somehow equates that with a fair tax rate. Jesus, in fact, asks for everything – if u wanna use him as a model for taxation – read mark 10:21 – “sell everything, give the money to the poor, then come follow Me.” – (paraphrase) and who likes Jesus as an advocate for the redistribution of wealth? no one – and that’s why you nailed Him up the first time

suzyf921

Dr. Carson showed himself to be far too thin-skinned to be President! Every time someone challenged him, he became defensive and just claimed “it makes sense.” He wouldn’t last more than a day!

kingofgolf

lmao..now this post is sheer genius..his demeanor did not change when he made the statement you dislike..except to chuckle?..
The lady was concerned about something that she had not thought about in depth

Conservatism has a platform of common sense..and with the loaded question asked with minimal time given to deliver an essay…his reply was quite appropriate given the landscape at the time!!
- JGC
  
  http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/successful-black-man
  
  for the “Successful Black Man” Quick Meme. Even,calm personality, gentle chuckling, crisp suit good (Obama, Carson).

Political Pundit aka Paul Ryan

Most interesting historical missive of Ben. Looking back with waybackmachine and internet archive; it is apparent, that the message has been incubating for many years… and now brough center stage. Is this turd Blossom’s work?

kingofgolf

lolol..turds blossom?..excellen
t..turds tend to ferment..curious if the fermentation process you associate with? is similar to the mantra I heard the POTUS spew today

…800k jobs lost come March 2?..lol..really..I will keep an eye for these poor souls at the soup line!!

MattCA12

“I have no evidence that one species can turn into another…” this is code for he doesn’t believe homo sapiens evolved from the original hominids.

He’s an idiot. Next.

kingofgolf

“Code”…lol..really..hummm??

And you have this proof of Homo sapiens evolving from an actual hominid?..Imean an actual tangible fossil?.or remenant thereof??..Awesome!!

Nice..I would cash that in If I were you!!
and buy some silver and gold

As you are now the star of the Archealogical World..
- jefe68
  
  And the inanity starts.
  - kingofgolf
    
    I love reliving my youth with likes of you nd your clueless cronies…but Genghis Kahn has 17% of his DNA spread throughput that part of the globe..As for tiger woods..he is a hack..I am a hacker..lol..I play well in my mind..But I had to attend to my empire ..Which takes away from the playground that is this forum.Am curious..Do any of you wear a Tie?
    
    I would wager most likely you may..As to keep that darn hominid foreskin from creeping over your unibrow!!
    
    But The Good Dr…He has the message that sares your polutitics..yep that is a wordsmith app..left leaning thoughts have ruled this country into the shape it is in fiscally and otherwise..Maybe ..Just maybe…Common sense could be a welcomed tonic to add as a sweetner for your favorite drink!!
    
    I hear that is kool-aid..but It matters not..
    As the country is ailing..and the recent leadership is w/o intellect enough to know..MATH IS REAL AND WILL BITE YA!!
    
    THE WOUND WILL HURT YOU MORE THEN ME!!..so enjoy the recess fellars,,you seem right at home
- hennorama
  
  For some reason, I enjoy anagrams.
  
  For example, anagrams for “kingofgolf”:
  
  Flog Kin Fog (for fun, trying saying it fast)
  
  Off Log, King
  
  Go Flog, Fink
  
  Gin Fog Folk
  
  It may be an acquired taste.
  - JGC
    
    JGC, GCJ, JCG, CJG…
    - hennorama
      
      hahahaha or is it ahahaha or aaaahhhh or hhhhaaaa or ….?
  - jefe68
    
    I think the guy likes golf or wishes he was Tiger Woods.
- zzowee
  
  Actually, genetic research has shown (since 2010, btw so not exactly breaking news) that humans of European descent have up to 4% Neanderthal DNA in their genome. That was a different species that added to ours.
  - kingofgolf
    
    I love reliving my youth with likes of you nd your clueless cronies…but Genghis Kahn has 17% of his DNA spread throughput that part of the globe..As for tiger woods..he is a hack..I am a hacker..lol..I play well in my mind..But I had to attend to my empire ..Which takes away from the playground that is this forum.Am curious..Do any of you wear a Tie?
    
    I would wager most likely you may..As to keep that darn hominid foreskin from creeping over your unibrow!!
    
    But The Good Dr…He has the message that sares your polutitics..yep that is a wordsmith app..left leaning thoughts have ruled this country into the shape it is in fiscally and otherwise..Maybe ..Just maybe…Common sense could be a welcomed tonic to add as a sweetner for your favorite drink!!
    
    I hear that is kool-aid..but It matters not..
    As the country is ailing..and the recent leadership is w/o intellect enough to know..MATH IS REAL AND WILL BITE YA!!
    
    THE WOUND WILL HURT YOU MORE THEN ME!!..so enjoy the recess fellars,,you seem right at home!!
    - zzowee
      
      I was answering what I thought could have been an honest question and all I got was a thoroughly misspelled diatribe which (honestly) I’m not even sure is actually directed at my comment…
    - kingofgolf
      
      your instincts are correct..not meant entirely for you..but the replies are fun sometimes..and mis-splellings are only a nusiance if you can decipher the composition..But yep..DNA is a funny thing..90% is referred to as “Junk DNA”…why is that?..always a lable adorned to the uncomphrehended subject matter….Enjoy

JGC

Darn. I just realized I forgot to ask if Dr. Carson would characterize the surge in gun sales as a public health crisis, or as a boon to Second Amendment rights.

And I never got an answer about pre-op prepping with Donkey Kong.

Gregg Smith

Isn’t there some kind of provision that requires your doctor to ask if you have a gun?
- JGC
  
  Your doctor doesn’t have to ask you if you have a gun in your household, but he can ask if he wants. However, he cannot document your answer (that provision is found within the 2010 Affordable Healthcare Act, and brought to us courtesy of NRA operatives). You can trust my source; I read it on The Blaze.
  - Gregg Smith
    
    Thanks.
- Oregon Smitty
  
  No. Harry Reid specifically omitted it from Obamacare so his gun-toting constituents wouldn’t retire his flaccid a*s.
Oregon Smitty

Wheeeeee! This reminds me of the day that the host of “Wait, Wait! Don’t Tell Me” made an innocuous Obama joke. The audience gasped in horror AS ONE! You people should honestly get used to thinking for yourselves.

Political Pundit aka Paul Ryan

Ben’s Rove’s project. I just know it. Nurtured since Bush; but those dang Chicago mobsters beat ‘em to it with their BO project….

JGC

Other questions I wish I had asked Dr. Carson:

1.) Were you ever a C. Everett Koop Fanboy? and

2.) On your MCAT for Yale, did you answer the questions about evolution honestly, or did you tell them what you thought they wanted to hear?

kingofgolf

One of superior mindset always panders to their respective hinderances…Why is that question of relevance in the first place..Is it a password to gain entry to that establishment?..there should be no wrong answer when referencing a Theory!!..But others feel differently im sure,,lol
- Tyranipocrit
  
  a theory based on good science–your faith has much much much less value than that. How do you reconcile the faith of others? In your own religion and among Hidnusim and Bhuddists and Muslims, and all the ancient gods that cam before christ–Mithra, Ra, Horace, Zues–all worshiped with as much faith as you have? How do you know you are right? how do you know they are wrong? How do you know the “Truth.”
Tyranipocrit

you are so right–the earth was created 6000 years ago and we all used dinosaurs as car-washes.

http://www.facebook.com/bob.cleary.7 Bob Cleary

Dr. Carson says God only asks for ten percent. where in the bible does god ask for ten percent? i know some churches ask for ten. God makes some particular requests for sacrifice in the OT from cain and abel - just a test, boys- and abraham – just a crueler test, that last one – but for you evangelicals, Jesus laid it out in mark 10:21 and matthew 19 – sell everything, give the money to the poor, and then go follow him. any takers? no? oh well. besides, the US govt is not God. Dr. carson also dismisses q’s he’s uneasy with by saying ” I dont have time for that answer.” did it twice I while was listening. carson shilling for fat capitalist cats using disproven arguments for regressive taxes and trying to protect the racket that private insurance has become puts him in way over his head. and his belief that one species cannot evolve into another? ludicrous on its face – and his education – evolutionary progression is essential in studying all biology, much less neurobiological structure.

Gregg Smith

I think tithe means 1/10th.

jefe68

Despite my misgivings about Dr. Carson and his comments about evolution, he is a brillant man and I for one am fascinated how he deals with the contradictions of his faith and science. I wish the show was more about how he deals with this juxtaposition and less about his libertarian political ideology.

That would have been a very interesting show.

JGC

I don’t know if you have seen it, but on youtube there is a debate from around 2006, with Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett (representing the pro-evolution side) versus Francis Collins (theistic evolution) and Benjamin Carson (straight-up creationist).
- jefe68
  
  Thanks, I have to watch that.
- DrewInGeorgia
  
  You’ve got to listen to this if you haven’t already. It’s a debate from 2011 along the same line as the one you mentioned. Dinesh D’Souza took over for Carson in this one. It’s pretty brilliant.
  
  Would The World Be Better Off Without Religion?
  http://www.npr.org/2011/11/21/142470957/would-the-world-be-better-off-without-religion
kingofgolf

Moving the goal posts is the farce that is science of the day..any and all science re-boots there platform with each passing decade…yet the bible has never re-booted..hence the bible followers are always the sect in the “contradiction /cross hairs of the ney sayers”..Really?..lol

..I follow no bible on a daily basis..but I enjoy the stahlwort cornerstones it bases its ideals upon…As they never seem to re-boot to gain acceptence of the mjority..and when a re-boot happens..it is certainly minor!! Unlike all science that has ever been harvested!!..

Why is belifes of the secular followers, in this country, the gallstone of the left!!
Not sure..faith is a personal thing for most all involved in this discussion of our countries future..Why must it be a focal point in the equation of curing the countires ills!!

Science and Academia have had their respective thumbprints on the problems that face our childrens future since 1965..and poor stewardship is not a good reason to tell ones grandchildren, as to why they are responsible fo some $50k each ..when they had little to do the debt load to begin with!!

Sad state when the kids will not reap the same cool times i had just 45yrs ago!!

So vote for a boob ..and a nipple..just do not whine when it costs more then you have to pay

lololol..
- Paul McKnight
  
  what you call rebooting the platform, i’d call gaining a better understanding of truth. (ah, so NOW you’re trying to tell me that the earth revolves around the sun? that’s not what you were saying yesterday!)
  
  science–at the very least–has within it a self-correcting method (which is more than can be said for a lot of other belief systems)
  
  next time you find yourself seriously ill, would you want to walk into a hospital in the Holy Land, circa 30 B.C, or would you be grateful for the all of the “re-boots” in our understanding of the human body, etc.? they certain don’t come from the bible
  - jefe68
    
    Forget 30 BC, try London 1530. How about some blood letting to balance out the humors and to rid the body of bile.
- http://profile.yahoo.com/A7UM6FV3QMSOQOVOFLFGOXE2ZM JE
  
  Science has the mechanism to admit when it is wrong (and strangely enough left leaning people seem to have a strong propensity to admit when they are wrong). The bible cannot admit that it’s wrong (and strangely enough the right seems to find it very hard to admit when they are wrong).
- Tyranipocrit
  
  the bible is a manufactured document compiled form many voices over many thousand sof years–oral stories mostly–and many of thoses stories were told many different ways and the authors of the bible decided which stories to include and which to discard and then altered the stories for their own malevolent purpose. Th council of nicea was imperial. Furthermore, may christ figures have existed long before jesus–his incarnation was adopted and borrowed by many cultures long before year one. So it seems–the bible and jesus are reboots–they ve been rebooted more times than we can count–even in our own times–how many christain sects exist today? We re all atheists—some of us just go one god further.
  
  God help us if the bible contains ll the infinite wisdom of an all knowing all powerful god–because its not very impressive or rational or compassionate.
- jefe68
  
  What are you on about? The bible is fiction and myth. That people need to believe in faith is how religion exploits their ignorance of how to use rational thinking.
  
  The whole history of these books [the Gospels] is so defective and doubtful that it seems vain to attempt minute enquiry into it: and such tricks have been played with their text, and with the texts of other books relating to them, that we have a right, from that cause, to entertain much doubt what parts of them are genuine. In the New Testament there is internal evidence that parts of it have proceeded from an extraordinary man; and that other parts are of the fabric of very inferior minds. It is as easy to separate those parts, as to pick out diamonds from dunghills.
  -Thomas Jefferson, letter to John Adams, January 24, 1814
  - kingofgolf
    
    lololol..myth..or fiction?..which is it?..even you are confused about something that has you questioning
    yourself!!..lol
    
    Im not a bible person..im not a science person..i am a human being that did not evolve from lower form..I am a being that descended from the cosmos!!..
    
    how is it you are beatin a dead horse ..and I am not!!
    
    cause your horse is not dead..lol
    
    your arguing with yourself on this one..
    
    Common sense is my mantra,,yours is based on what you were told,..not what you know!!
    
    So you are a lemming or a genius?..Either is a good thing at your house!!
    
    quit while you are ahead!!..lmao
    - jefe68
      
      It’s myth and fiction, what part of that idea are ouy having issue with?
      By the way brainiac, if you think you’re from the cosmos than you believe in astrophysics, which is part of the world of science.
Oregon Smitty

Many, many men of science have dealt with the seeming contradictions between faith and “science.” If only science could provide for the soul …. according to some of these posters it has not. Mean, spiteful, bigots.
- JGC
  
  Proverb 11.12. A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue.
  - Tyranipocrit
    
    you are quoting a manufactured Roman Catholic–imperial book designed to manipulate the masses. frankly, i dont care. Guess what–there are other books. if there is a god–dont you think its reasonable to assume that he inspired many other books and ideas and is working to erode capitalism for the betterment of all mankind–how can you hold to radically different concepts in your brain at the same time. Show me a man of one book and i will show you a tyrant. Corporate pawns died to evict sadamm hussein. We dont need that BS in our country.
    
    Silence is guilt. Silence is betrayal. Silence is acceptance. My neighbor sexually assaults and murders a child–i dont put my head in the sand–i dont try to understand it. I take him to court and judge him. And i say–let no man be like him.
    
    We might all have “sins”–but we’re not all so cruel, we don’t all lust for money, and we don’t all have a malevolent agenda or designs on little boys.
    
    When a rich man engineers a war that kills thousands–millions–yeah–i will throw a stone–i just hope i get him square in the head. i don’t sit idly by and say oh its in gods hands–he must have wanted it this way–if you believe in god–you must also believe in the devil.
    
    And according to your own deranged faith–the devil is the father of all lies–deception–illusions–he tempted jesus did he not–and he showed him all the kingdoms of the world–and said it is MINE i i did that–and i can give it to you.
    
    Your “rich-man” world, it seems, according to your own god–is a work of the devil. Your BOOk also talks of hypocrites. I think you better start looking in the mirror. its not god that the corporate aristocracy worship. Its not god that you worship.

Michele

Dr. Carson is making an argument that is based on the current tax system and simultaneously on his vision of the ideal system. Proportionality is great when everyone pays the same rate. However, we have seen repeatedly that not everyone does not. Hence people like Warren Buffet saying it’s ridiculous that his tax RATE is lower than his assistant’s. Perhaps Dr. Carson’s time would be better spent campaigning for a flat tax than slamming people who think the current state of affairs places an undue burden on low and middle income wage earners. Perhaps there are people who think the rich should be punished. Personally, I think it is more a notion of how the rich “hear” the argument that proportionally they are not taxed at an equitable rate to lower income earners.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Ruth-Baker/100001422167591 Ruth Baker

Exactly!!!
- Oregon Smitty
  
  Do your f-ing homework, toots.
  
  Carried interest or carry, in finance, specifically in alternative investments (i.e., private equity and hedge funds), is a share of the profits of an investment or investment fund that is paid to theinvestment manager in excess of the amount that the manager contributes to the partnership.In private equity, in order to receive carried interest, the manager must first return all capital contributed by the investors, and, in certain cases, the fund must also return a previously agreed-upon rate of return (the “hurdle rate” or “preferred return”) to investors.[1] Private equity funds only distribute carried interest to the manager upon successfully exiting an investment, which may take years. The customary hurdle rate in private equity is 7–8% per annum
Oregon Smitty

Jeez Louise, M. Warren pays tax based on capital gains. His secretary pays a rate based on income. They are two entirely different sourced of incomes. The rationale is this. When income is earned it is taxed. After that income is invested, it may earn capital gains but should they be re-taxed? Taxed twice? It is bad enough that they are taxed again, albeit at a lower rate.
- sickofthechit
  
  and what about carried interest?!
- http://www.facebook.com/amalalane Amala Lane
  
  Instead of taxing things twice as you say, why not have a investment transaction tax? That way the contribution is shared each time an investment transaction takes place instead of on earnings on an investment.

Tyranipocrit

There in nothing wrong with the word ‘Oriental’. Chinese people use it every day. In fact, the most popular and successful Englsih traing school owned by Chinese with thousands old schools all over china and traded on the NYSE is called “New Oriental.”

jesus never existed.

Enough religion please–stop shoving it down our throats.

how does this guy know exactly what all the people intended when they founded this nations? every man at the first congress had different thoughts.

This guy is manipulative–and makes me fel sick–he slips in words and comments here and there to attack Obama but pretends to be so innocent and godly–”i say if the show fits, where it…eyes shooting darts…’

his fanaticism is scary. We are not a theist nation–this is not Iran. And then he acts so coy when he is criticized. This guy has an axe to grind–he is made at the common man” because he was beat up so much in the hood for being a dishonest tricky dicky phony jerk.

This guy has fascism and totalitarianism in his heart–i think he is evil.

The rich are godly and the poor are lazy frauds.
nothing he says makes sense.

Dana85

.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ruth-Baker/100001422167591 Ruth Baker

You couldn’t have said it any better!!!

Tyranipocrit

how is proportionality not fair?–hmm. a poor guy makes 10 dollars a year and is taxed 8 dollars, while a rich man steals 10 billion a years and is taxed 8 dollars–is that fair and balanced? You dont make any sense doc jesus.

Come on ON pOint–what the heck is this being taken serious for?

He wants us to prove that god thinks taxes on the rich is unfair, how does he know what god thinks–i think its strange and wierd that he would ignore and try to debunk the “rich man in a needle” analogy. ehy would he do that? how does he know what god thinks and wants? Oh my God–he must god! And now even god hates the poor and worships the rich–wow–we are in trouble. Anti-christ is what he is

WorriedfortheCountry

Your example doesn’t sound fair to either the poor bloke or the rich bloke. Try again.
- JGC
  
  (You don’t want to get into it with this guy…)
  - Tyranipocrit
    
    how so? when have you people ever said anything of value? give me an example. reach deep down into that mammalian brain and find something to support your –well i don’t even know what to call it–because you’ve never said anything ever.
    
    Okay, i can only assume that when you say–dont want to get into it with this guy–you mean–because i make sense ans expose all your trash for what it is–rubbish BS. You know what–why dont you just pray for the answers–maybe the doc will give em to you.
  - StilllHere
    
    Agreed, complete nutjob.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ruth-Baker/100001422167591 Ruth Baker

Not to mention that, most of the rich don’t pay the high tax rates that they are designated to have to pay because of deductions, tax havens, access to smart lawyers. . . .that the “ordinary” people don’t have access to. . . Just ask Larry Summers. . .
- StilllHere
  
  Nothing but vacuous talking points.
  - Tyranipocrit
    
    you mean talking facts. there you people go again–twisting reality–you talk manufactured points by your rapist lords and then when we talk facts you say points–you kill someone and say we did it. enough. insane in the membrane
    - StilllHere
      
      No points, you know what I’m talking about. Even you are not that dense.
- Tyranipocrit
  
  The biggest American corps dont pay taxes at all–zero. GE
Oregon Smitty

Did you ever get a job from a poor man?
- http://www.facebook.com/amalalane Amala Lane
  
  And your point is that only wealthy people create jobs? That’s not true. There are poor who join together for mutual aid and survival. If you’ve ever had to dumpster dive and not know where you will get your next meal or if you have a place to sleep, you wouldn’t understand how generous a poor person can be. They may not be able to ‘hire’ you but they are more likely to share their food and warmth than a rich person would ever do.
  - Oregon Smitty
    
    Truly elevating. Going on my first dumpster dive right now!
    - StilllHere
      
      Bon appetit
    - http://www.facebook.com/coyo7e Carl Hueske
      
      I suspect that you’ve been basking in the muck for quite some time.
- http://www.facebook.com/coyo7e Carl Hueske
  
  Yep. Of course, we probably skipped out on the permits, too.. And both picking at the raspberry patch and bucking hay bales were pretty crummy wages.
- StilllHere
  
  The guy’s no good at math, I don’t see him getting a job from anyone
  - Tyranipocrit
    
    when do the “rich: give anyone jobs these days–jobs are exported and automated. They are not hiring–they dont want to. they take your money–bailout, go on vacation–and concoct austerity budgets–increasing the burden on the poor and middle classes–even tho they are the ones responsible for the mess–manufactured mess–in the first place. And we keep having the same tired argument. You say have steers have teats and oink like pigs–i say that doesn’t make sense but you insist that it does and call me crazy. Why do you do that? You people? Why do we allow you to take reality hostage and force your delusions on us? Why don’t we just lock you all up and throw away the key? The we can get on with living. The wrong people are inn jail.
    - StilllHere
      
      You are a joke.
- Tyranipocrit
  
  1. define poor.
  Wealth is in the eye of the beholder–whether economic, emotional, spiritual, or otherwise. I know people with ocean front property, with several boats that “poor” would call yachts, but boaters do not, and Harleys, and jet-skis and the all the nicest things–yet they constantly look over the water at the Bigger houses, whining, crying how poor they are–one time a homeless man peddles his bike into the neighborhood–a gentle, doe eyd old man–no smell, no dripping poop, knocking on doors-and I watched as each of my neighbors turned him away, with angst and hostility–like a cockroach stepped up on the door. i didn’t see the big deal. i made him a cup of coffee and and brought him some apple brownies. We sat, we talked, we had coffee. The neighbors had to put their big heads where it didn’t belong and march over to tell me how wrong i was–and called the police no less. The police arrived faster than you could say “oh my lord jesus is a fraud”–and the oink-oink man in uniform was belligerent acting like i had done something criminal as he swaggered onto MY lawn. He told the old man to vacate MY premises or he would be arrested–and then looked at me with despising cocky smug eyes and said, “unless he’s your friend–is he your friend?” I didn’t know what to say-i glowered back at him–i hated him as much as he hated me (he hated me for caring about an individual.) I couldn’t say the old man was my friend because i took the question to straightforward and said nothing–i was shocked actually–i wanted to beat the cop off my property. But i didn’t because, (we give fascists martial uniforms and a badge that authorizes them to criminalize all americans) and doing so would put my delusional hypocritical asinine neighbors in jeopardy –the police might not respond when it is necessary.
  
  2. I have worked for people of all economic brackets and in several nations. I’m not sure “job-giving” makes you a descent or legitimate authority–that is not how i view the world. I’m not a coward or a worm like some.
  
  3. i dont believe in “working” for some one else–i dont feel the need to subjugate myself to a higher authority that is concieted and self-worshiping–or even one that is compassinate. I think all workers should walk out now and create their own economies apart form the “rich”–go local, go green, go sustainable–don’t export wealth out of your community–keep it in your community. Withdraw your money form the banks–now. Do not recognize their system of extraction and suppression. Form your own economy.
  
  i dont need anyone to hire me for anything–i can do it my self. the age of the box store is dying. You can either adapt or be “sequestered”. Free trade is a fraud. Anarchic-capitalism and market capitalism is a fraud. We need small local businesses and trades and CSAs, organic farming, and co-operative shops and businesses. we will be self-empowering, and more prosperous and more happy.
  
  4. i don’t buy into your BS GDP–it only measures disparity. And is a sign of a decaying society. If we are really united–we would build infrastructure that reflects it–it is anti-social and anti-society-and anti-democracy and anti-freedom and anti-equality and anti-”United” and unpatriotic to buoy one class over another–or to put the “rich” on a pedestal and say they are untouchable–bow to them and chow-tow kow-tow or rot in hell–that is not “united”–that is not a society–that is being deranged.
  
  5. Its high-time we recognize the fact that it is a sickness (above), and that these wealth-worshipers are part of the problem, and that the corporate aristocracy are actually big time criminals that NEED to be incarcerated for the good of humanity, the planet, and society…

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1208412405 Kathleen Benson

How does this guy know that God thinks proportionality is fair?? We all know that neurosurgeons think they are God. Please, go back to the OR!!

sickofthechit

How does he know? He asked himself!
StilllHere

I can’t take any one with your hairstyle seriously.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1208412405 Kathleen Benson

Ben Carson is looking for his 15 minutes of fame…

StilllHere

15 more than you deserve

mrhw

My husband has childhood onset diabetes (insulin dependent), we have health insurance through his work, but we still spend at least $9000 a year for co-pays! How much would he be responsible for if we just had an HSA?

disqus_OugGYSoDDw

I am an AFrican American democrat who recen

Paul McKnight

Dr. Carson’s condescending dismissal of any caller who challenges his statements flatly exposes the insincerity of his “all we need is more honest conversation” attitude. When you consider one array of political positions “straight talk” and dismiss any criticism as some kind of “political correctness”, then you are dealing in ideology.

The caller who questioned Dr. Carson’s preoccupation with political correctness deserved a better response.

Dana85

Sounds as if this pompous insufferable godbothering whining preener is on the verge of exploding with self-importance.

At least Ashbrook is doing his job and holding this fraud’s feet somewhat to the fire. Excellent move exposing Carson’s complete ignorance and rejection of the most exhaustively substantiated and best established theory in all of science; the foundation of Biology: Evolution.

It boggles the mind that this individual has been permitted to advance so far in medicine associated with a prestigious institution.

If this is the reasoning Carson employs when making his decisions on the operating table one wonders how many patients he has killed or left damaged for life.

Oregon Smitty

You kids get really worked up, dontcha?
- sickofthechit
  
  Your demn right we do!
Lorenzo Foster

I do believe that Dr. Carson is a brilliant Neurosurgeon, but I just cannot follow this ultra conservative view of intelligent design and putting everything up to GOD’S will when they claim everyone should claim personal responsibility for their actions.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=755360288 Lauren Dahlin

Thank goodness this segment ended with the closing on Koop. I almost lost all faith in humanity.

StilllHere

Ye of little faith…
hennorama

Lauren Dahlin – TY for reminding me of what I’ve intended to say all day:

R.I.P Dr. Koop.

He stood up for reason and science despite his religious and political views, forcing a reluctant President Reagan to finally address HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately this was only after several years had passed following the identification of the means of transmission, and tens of thousands of possibly preventable infections had occurred

He will be missed.

Oregon Smitty

AMAZING! The host seemed utterly gob-smacked that “the wealthy” would not be forced to give more money, “especially when the country needed it.” For what? To continue wasteful spending? Even the most dedicated liberal knows the government doesn’t manage their money wisely, right?

DrewInGeorgia

I’ll tell you what’s amazing, it’s amazing that this sorry excuse for an hour of Radio generated over 600 comments. Guess all the Great Minds were freed up to engage in enlightening conversation here once Hagel’s appointment went through.

Pathetic.
- sickofthechit
  
  There are so many comments because we live in fear that the “conservatives” will begin talking in terms of tax cuts to save the economy as if it still hasn’t sunk in that part of the reason we are in such a deep hole is because of the Temporary Bush Tax Cuts which did not accomplish what they were claimed to be able to. We have learned that if we let people like the good dr. spout this crap unchallenged then if enough time passes we will wind up going down the same counterproductive path over and over again and we are not willing to do that.
StilllHere

How else is Obama going to give out free phones?!
- A. Yasemin Goksenin
  
  Free phones = not true. Government doesn’t fund the phones, that’s a phone company thing. Government does fund (in part) the access to phone networks, as it has since the Reagan administration, with the understanding that phone access is a safety issue.
dianewinter

Not wisely at all but better than the unregenerate private sector. At least government doesn’t REQUIRE that all sense and foresight and morality give way before the need to make the largest possible profit in any way by any means at any cost to human and other life and liberty.
Too bad you right wingers can’t actually understand new or different concepts and you will probably prate your worn out cliches with horrified self-righteousness as long as you can deceive yourselves. That’s easy and I guess you don’t want to ever strain yourself or question your preconceptions. Too bad for the future of the world.

http://www.facebook.com/amalalane Amala Lane

Dr. Carson is admirable and inspiring for his message of hope and unity. It sounds very familiar. In fact, I believe that is the message that the president sounded in 2004 at the DNC and is still his guiding principle. The fact that the doctor does not even acknowledge this or the shoulders he stands on just makes him come across as smug to say the least. What is also annoying about him is his constant refrain about political correctness. Who cares? W/not someone is PC according to which side of the political spectrum is the least of our problems both at home and abroad. And who is he to preach self reliance to me and thousands, if not millions of my fellow citizens when we are working of our asses and not seeing a rise in our standard of living? While the gap between rich and poor increases? Is it due to lack of personal responsibility that this is taking place? Or is it due to a huge lack of personal responsibility on the part of the wealthy to not pay their taxes? To off shore them? He states that taxes shouldn’t be about punishment and that is why he doesn’t see anything unethical about the unequal, in fact punishing hardship it would have on the poor – but of course he would say that because the government’s hands are totally off the wealthy – they never feel any pain at all when it comes to sharing the responsibility of our national economy. But why should the poor and middle class have to shoulder most of the pain? Why should anyone have to take taxes as a burden and a punishment? They wouldn’t if we all dealt with them as our personal responsibility to each other for those services and institutions that we share such as public safety, the environment, public health, education, justice, infrastructure and our cultural heritage. Instead of a tax, we should think of it as our contribution and just remove that word, ‘tax’ from our vocabulary. Lastly, I totally agree with him about our unity under the skin – as a neurosurgeon he sees the inside of a human being first hand. That sentiment is a profound one and if he would say nothing else, that would be enough.

Oregon Smitty

The president PROMISED a lot of stuff. On most of it, he has failed….miserably. Why would a gentleman like Doctor Carson engage in DC bul**hit? He doesn’t come from the same mold as the Obamas and Bidens, thank God!

disqus_OugGYSoDDw

I am an African American democrat who recently switched to Independent.I must say that I am appauled by many of the comments on this site that try to dismiss Dr. Carson as some kind of religious nut or uncle Tom that the right wing is using to fuel its message. Dr. Carson is greatly admired by the African American community irregardless of their party affiliation. Contrary to popular belief, African Americans are not monolithic in their thinking or beliefs. a lot of what Dr. Carson had expoused, holds true for many African Americans. Many of us were raised by parents who migrated north from the segregationist south. We were told on a regular basis that we had to be twice as good, just to be seen as OK. A large percentage of African Americans are conservative in their thinking and beliefs, even though many of them are registered as democrats. If the GOP would get their act together and treat all people with the dignity and respect they deserve, they would find that many African Americans would return to their first chosen political party. The Republican party, better known as the party of Lincoln. Our legacy is that of excelling in spite of our stumbling blocks. It is something we take great pride in. If you have a chance read the poem by Maya Angelou, Entitled “Still I rise” it pretty much says it all.

Oregon Smitty

Nice post. Run spell check or these f-ing Leftists will skewer you while, at the same time, spewing about tolerance and diversity.
- http://profile.yahoo.com/A7UM6FV3QMSOQOVOFLFGOXE2ZM JE
  
  Apparently only you the nice rightist is critiquing the man for his spelling.
Lorenzo Foster

I do believe that everyone is entitled to their opinion and would agree that a lot of African Americans are very Proud of Dr. Carson, but if his interview is any indication of his ideology then he is only giving a conservative viewpoint.
http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels

nobody is calling ben any names, he is just very poorly educated out side of his calling. he is arrogant in the same way that most doctors and all surgeons are. he obviously doesn’t read history ( just made things up, in fact ) and has greviously misquoted the bible . and tom did softball him too much for someone who is letting the republicans pour their poison in his ear and inflate his ego. medical students and his patient’s parents will sit in rapt attention at his every word but outside of them he just put on a clownish show and has doomed any chance of being taken seriously , and certainly of gaining political�
office.
StilllHere

I’m afraid you’re going to have to be exposed to a lot of racists, like the guy below.

http://profile.yahoo.com/A7UM6FV3QMSOQOVOFLFGOXE2ZM JE

–

http://profile.yahoo.com/A7UM6FV3QMSOQOVOFLFGOXE2ZM JE

I find it disappointing when Tom fails to ask difficult questions of his guest. I’m not that smart and yet the questions are screamingly obvious to me. I surmise that Tom is being nice and soft to Mr. Carson. First, forget progressive tax — we don’t even have a flat tax. It is a fact that the wealthy are taxed effectively at a lower rate than the middle class. Mitt Romney is one glaring example. Warren Buffett has been advocating to be taxed at the same rate as all of us.

Second, the philanthropy by the Kelloggs, Carnegie et al. were engendered by the pressure of taxation. Philanthropic tax write offs gives the wealthy the option as to how to do good with their money rather than handing it to government to “redistribute” the wealth.

Yes, Mr. Carson, I am one of the ones you mentioned who is stupid enough to think this way.

notafeminista

You’re offended that someone had or has the choice to do as they wish with his or her money?

What other sorts of choices offend you?
- Pointpanic
  
  unfair and misleading question ,nota. it’s about people not given the same opportunity. this guy is nothing but a shill for the corporate class who uses religion to promote an elite class.

Lorenzo Foster

Those are talking points, can we have a real conversation?

StilllHere

Nice talking point.

dianewinter

This guy blithely claims that 19th century Europeans insisted on central governments redistributing wealth rather than allowing accumulations of private wealth. He blandly assumes that of course God is in favor of a flat tax. Did he ever crack a history book or spend 10 seconds trying to imagine something outside his apparently teeny, tiny personal horizons? The guy can’t even see that his own simple-minded ideology is an ideology. Guess he and God know the truth and everything else is Evil Political Correctness. Funny that despite his intimate knowledge of God’s political opinions he shows no evidence of any information whatever about morality, logic, economics, tithing, taxation or history–on all of which he inanely holds forth. Come on Tom and NPR––You can do better than this! This person seems to already have had more than enough air time. Please give us something worth at least thinking about next time– there is enough vaporous swill out there already. We don’t need to tune in to the radio much less donate money to hear flimsy, uniformed, dull blather.

Lorenzo Foster

I believe that Dr. Carson is a Conservative talking point person. I don’t dispute his right to believe in GOD but to possibly lead and say GOD’s will is a cop out because if anything goes wrong you can blame it on GOD’s will.

Gregg Smith

Obama blames Bush, it works.
- StilllHere
  
  Maybe Bush is Obama’s g_d.
Oregon Smitty

Jeez. Where you been? Not that I can’t handle these twerps ….
Pointpanic

“and you never ask questions, when God’s on your side” -Bob Dylan

2Gary2

where is the download button for the pod cast ?

JGC

At the very top of this page, where it says 90.9 wbur boston, look to the right side and click on “listen”, then scroll down the page to find the format you want.

http://profile.yahoo.com/A7UM6FV3QMSOQOVOFLFGOXE2ZM JE

Dr. Carson would you run for president?

Answer: Only God (and enough political capital garnered by my self promotion campaign) can answer that question.

StilllHere

Says he who has nothing to promote
- http://profile.yahoo.com/A7UM6FV3QMSOQOVOFLFGOXE2ZM JE
  
  You are exacty right.
  - StilllHere
    
    Sure, because you got nothing and offer nothing.
http://www.facebook.com/coyo7e Carl Hueske

The great thing about claiming only god can make you do something: only you can claim god said it is now OK to do.

Dr Carson sells a book about how awesome Dr Carson is, and he spouted nothing but platitudes (and a few insulting responses to callers which sidestepped answering their question or statement each time) which I could find in any Chicken Soup book. Naming yourself independent or common sense is extremely disingenuous when you are embracing 100% of the views of one side, yet blaming “everybody” for not working together.
- http://profile.yahoo.com/A7UM6FV3QMSOQOVOFLFGOXE2ZM JE
  
  Well said, thank you.

Lorenzo Foster

It is a sad day when as long as you have conservative talking points that you are given an audience no matter how absurd. I truly wish the interviewer would have asked Dr. Carson about the eight years before President Obama or how he feels as a medical doctor about AIDS or Homosexuality or Gay people getting married. I would like to hear his views because he said in the interview that he was independent.

Oregon Smitty

Hey, whaddya say we shut down that ole Free Speech thang! Some of you people are loathsome…..

http://twitter.com/VTEducator VTEducator

*

http://twitter.com/VTEducator VTEducator

I am completely surprised by the lack of recognition Dr. Carson has regarding the difference in peoples’ ability to contribute and to care for themselves without the support of our society. His whole perspective completely ignores the important work of many of his colleagues regarding the impact of trauma and severely challenging life experiences have on the brain. The idea that a billionaire is equitable in his or her contribution to those who have been victims of childhood abuse, significant health issues, debilitating generational poverty and so many other dramatic life challenges is absolutely preposterous.Unity and equity go hand in hand with caring for your neighbor. This man’s approach of “personal responsibility’ and “proportionality” makes me wonder if he understands the differences of the brains he operates on.

Gregg Smith

The world is full of very wealthy people who are “victims of childhood abuse, significant health issues, debilitating generational poverty and so many other dramatic life challenges”.
- http://twitter.com/VTEducator VTEducator
  
  If the world were full of very wealthy people, maybe that holds water against the argument, but alas, it isn’t true. Most people who experience those challenges need support from those of us who can give it. It is a rare occasion that people rise to high levels of wealth who have childhoods and lives as I describe. I wish that telling people to pull up their boot straps worked, but it doesn’t.
  - Gregg Smith
    
    All we can do is make sure there is equal opportunity for the Oprahs and Steve Hawkings of the world. We can’t legislate equal outcome. Rich people are in a better position to help the poor …and they do. Really.
    - http://twitter.com/VTEducator VTEducator
      
      I think we can do a lot more than ensure equal opportunity. We can combat poverty, we can close the gap, we can ensure children are not abused and we can make sure parents have the supports they need to be good parents. Being a good neighbor and a good society means more than providing opportunity. It means caring for one another and helping one another. I think what gets me most is this idea that everyone is just responsible for themselves. I have less of an issue with proportionality than the lack of societal support for those who need it.
    - Gregg Smith
      
      But we do those things. Being a good neighbor or a contributing member of a community is not a matter of wealth. But if you suggest closing the gap to combat poverty then you are talking about legalized theft.
      
      IMO the societal support we have, is abused. People are buying lap dances and drugs with food stamps. Able-bodied people are collecting disability. We’re paying people not to work for years. We are creating a dependency class and that is highly destructive. It helps no one.
      
      All of that is separate from the notion of caring for our fellow man.
Lorenzo Foster

Once again, the Ultra conservative right only wants individuals to be held responsible for their actions when they are not the ones to be held accountable, when they are to be held accountable then it is GOD’S will.
- http://twitter.com/VTEducator VTEducator
  
  I continue to be perplexed by the use of God to say you should only be responsible for yourself. It just seems so opposite of the message of the bible.

http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels

i’ve got two words for ben carson’s interview today “arrogant and ignorant”. good surgeons are not known as deep thinkers. they are like good plumbers and good mechanics, i.e. , they can do certain things very well, over and over, but don’t expect them to be well educated much beyond that. fortunately good plumbers and mechanics don’t get that ” god-complex ” , even though they all know how to pad the bill. ben is going to be just like the former rnc chairman steele. repubs are shouting ” get us a black man , we need a black man , any black man will do ! “�
i hear a death knell starting to toll for this poor man’s candidacy in any national position. he was startled that tom ashbrook would even dare question him. most of his answers were in the vein of ” why, why …. because I TOLD YOU SO ! “�
bye-bye-ben

http://profile.yahoo.com/A7UM6FV3QMSOQOVOFLFGOXE2ZM JE

And some of his answers is, to paraphrase, b/c God said so, thinks so, or wants so.
Oregon Smitty

Don’t look behind you. Ben’s coming.
- http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels
  
  maybe we can have a “beer summit” and he can teach me about the brain and i’ll encourage him to read and use his own ( ….. think ! ) wanna join us oree ?

brightathlete

wow
you called this guest america’s ‘darling’
tom
he’s arrogant and provocative in a hugely NON productive way.
much to arrogant to even keep listening.. ive heard enough

http://www.facebook.com/coyo7e Carl Hueske

I almost wonder if this was Tom Ashbrook’s version of a Hit Piece, where you expose someone to the light of day and see what’s left after the screaming clears and the dust has settled.

cjmaras

Time Special Report March 4,2013 Pages 16 through 55. Why medical bills are killing us. Please read this report more than once. Every person who is an American should read this and respond regarding the solution to this massive situation. Each of us are affected by this. Get involved and insist on reforms now!

http://www.facebook.com/michael.edelman2 Michael Edelman

What strikes me most reading the comments here is how much they support Carson’s main contention- that the free expression of conflicting ideas is being utterly rejected by those who cannot accept the existence of beliefs contrary to their own.

http://profile.yahoo.com/A7UM6FV3QMSOQOVOFLFGOXE2ZM JE

Well, Mr. Carson preemptive response to contrarian view is that those people are “stupid”…or was it “dumb”. YOu get the point.

And by the way, your criticism of people’s contest of Mr. Carson’s remarks contradicts the virtue of free expression which you champion. you contrarian you.
- Oregon Smitty
  
  Mr. Biden just dubbed Americans who don’t agree with him as “dumb.”
Oregon Smitty

You go, Mike!
Pointpanic

Michael, if i’m reading you right, it’s not that views contrary to my own are being aired. It’s just that “public” radio seems to favor these vies. Why won’t most if not all “public” radio programs talk to socialists or citizen advocates?

http://www.facebook.com/people/James-Armstrong/1250346692 James Armstrong

I’m terribly confused. What does Dr. Carson define as, “politically correct?” He started with an anecdote about small minded intolerant people reacting poorly to a comment failing to distinguish or acknowledge the differences between “Asian” and “Oriental.” I trust the accuracy of his story. But later, he referred to moving from what he refers to as “proportionality” in the tax structure (that is a flat tax or tithe) to a progressive tax structure as “politically correct.” I’m not sure what he’s talking about when he uses the term.

In response to a question about whether proportionality can represent both a progressive and a flat tax, Dr. Carson retreated to a deist justification of his own position – that is, god gave us tithing and so that’s the only theologically grounded method of taxation (?). What shall we call Christian Sharia law? That is, shall we abide governance grounded in one creed or another? How unAmerican can we get?

Pointpanic

James . don’t expect too much substance from people who employ trite terms like “politically correct”
- Tyranipocrit
  
  or “god”

joe nicholas

–critique from a friend and co-religionist of Dr. Carson…
�
Dr. Carson’s application of God’s view on proportionality (tithing) to a flat tax today is grotesquely inappropriate. The economy of Israel (a true theocracy based on God’s values across the board) was divinely ordained to prevent the extreme disparity in wealth we see today in the United States. Maybe if the American economy incorporated the cancellation of debts every seven years, the Jubilee year recalibration of the whole national economy and applying the principle of allowing the poor to glean the fields of the wealthy, etc. a proportional tax would make sense. But as economic policy is written now, a flat tax would only eat up proportionally more of poor people’s income, and the economic divide would only increase. The wealth of the already rich would inexorably grow, and for the poor the possibility of climbing out of poverty would only be farther out of reach. I can’t believe this would be pleasing to the God I see throughout the Holy Scriptures.

Consider that Israel was bound by divine imperative to care for the widow and the fatherless, the poor and needy. In fact we are told in Ezekiel 16 the primary sin of Sodom was not sexual at all: “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.” (v 49, 50). The sin that preceded Sodom’s perversion was arrogance, excessive wealth and selfishness. The Bible is certainly not silent on sexual sins, but has vastly more to say about material values. There are over 3,000 biblical admonitions about caring for the poor, and a multitude of judgments against those who refuse to do so. Jesus had nothing to say about homosexuality or abortion, but warned repeatedly against the danger of riches. James 5 is an explicit warning against those who take advantage of others to amass great wealth.

I would note that since the mid 20th century, a time of general prosperity and growth of the middle class, we’ve seen executive compensation rise from just 20 times that of the average worker to over 200 times as much. Tax rates were much more progressive then – in fact there’s a strong historical correlation between a prosperous middle class and higher tax rates on the wealthiest in America. And correspondingly there’s a strong correlation between financial catastrophe and extremely low tax rates on the wealthiest. These are just statistical relationships – make of them whatever you will, but they are factual.

And with all due respect to Dr. Carson, he chose the wrong venue to critique the president’s policies. I’m not the only one to observe this – even Fox News published an op-ed piece by Cal Thomas that says why more eloquently than I ever could- http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/02/12/dr-ben-carson-should-apologize-to-president-obama/

anamaria23

Thank you for your fine and thoughtful post. Appreciated.

Wotan

Dear Ben, I’m Asian and I’m one of the rare Asian Americans who are NOT offended by the term “oriental.” Having lived in Europe, I know well that this isn’t necessarily a pejorative and I’ve even argued with my Asian American counterparts that though I understand and take sympathy with their taking offense in the term, there are greater fish to fry on the issue of racism targeting my group.

Said this, I’ve zero respect in your unwillingness to answer the question Tom had asked you. Are there or are there not words, phrases, iconography, acts of mimicry and so forth that do offend you as an African American? Yes or no and why is this such a hard question to answer? And when we clearly do know that such terms exists, why mock those who found the term “Oriental” offensive?

That’s all I have to say because I’ve stopped listening. I never waste time listening to people who cannot be sincere and do not hold themselves up to the same standards they presume for others.

Tom, with all the great people doing great work, why was this guy even on?

Pointpanic

Carson is a tokenfor the conservative movement to give it some semblence of credibility with minority people.
- Gregg Smith
  
  That’s sick.
  - Pointpanic
    
    gregg what’s really sick is a “public” radio program giving a self-righteous shill for corporate America a full hour of free air time void of any counterpoint.
- Tyranipocrit
  
  true dat
http://www.facebook.com/todd.trimm.7 Todd Trimm

you got that SO right…..when he dodged that question, the first thing I thought was “we have a guy who is angry about “PC-ness” for others, but not for himself.”
And if you are not saying something because of it not being PC, that is no ones fault but you. Don’t blame others because you are worried….you are restricting your own speech

http://www.facebook.com/kieferlr Linda Kiefer

With all due respect, Dr. Carson makes no sense to me despite his claims to speak to common sense. Republicans are grasping at straws these days and Dr. Carson appears to be filling a desperate longing for a conservative voice in the wilderness. I haven’t heard him say anything new.

Oregon Smitty

We’ll see about them straws, toots.
Newcomments1

The only thing he is saying is “Rich folks are soooo special”.

Pointpanic

why does “Public” radio allow such self righteous ideologues to use their program as a mouthpiece? Tom, would you ever consider talking to a rep. voice from Center for Science in teh Public Interest? or would that ruffle the feathers of WBUR’s corporate underwriters. THis is NOT the ‘BUR, I came to know and love as a college student.

Oregon Smitty

You kids jes’ cain’t get a grip.

banjovi

Dear Tom,

This is to you. It seems to me that your question to Dr. Carson regarding evolution was thrown out there to put some kind of cast on anything he had to say. It was completely out of left field, no pun intended, and though I’ve enjoyed your show for years and your knowledge as well, I have never felt personally offended by anything you’ve ever said until I heard you throw that most worthless question out there. I hope it came back to you later and caused you pause.

Thanks for your program.

Paul McKnight

It’s possible that Tom’s question was meant to “put some kind of cast” on Dr. Carson’s remarks, but I disagree that it was a “worthless question”. It goes directly to credibility. For someone who professes “straight talk” and sound reasoning–and is a doctor, nonetheless–it’s fair to question why he denies one of the principle tenets of biology and dismisses the expansive body of evidence that supports it. Carson’s attitude towards evolution is an ideology, I’m afraid to say, and does undermine his credibility.

Tom could have pushed him harder on some questions:

Carson dodged a fair question (Aren’t there some words that offend you, as an African-American?) with a canned (if noble) comment about why he doesn’t talk about race much. He frequently claimed to be “above-the-fray” as a way of avoiding challenging questions. What would it have cost him to say, yes, I do find some words hateful, but here’s how I think we should respond to them (rather than ostracizing, as in his example). And THEN explain why doesn’t talk about race much?
J__o__h__n

Anyone who brings his or her religion into public policy debate should expect to be questioned on it.

http://www.facebook.com/albert.pisani.16 Albert Pisani

where are the true progressive voices?

Pointpanic

forget it Al, “public” radio is too busy airing people who use religion to further their elite ideology

BlueNH

Sad to hear a person educated in the sciences deny evolution. Religion s@cks. The last thing this country needs is an anti-science President!

hman47

just because someone has a different perspective than you doesn’t mean he/she is stupid. The problem with the universities in this country is that they no longer teach people how to think, but what to think. Dr. Carson obviously learned to question all things and found evolution is a theory – not a fact. And if you think all to life is that what you can find with your 5 senses, how do you explain love, mother’s affection, the concept of guilt, etc. Religion has alot more to offer than you think. And being that Dr. Carson is one of the best surgeons in the world, it may be a wake up call for everyone to think outside the science box.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=778053779 Cristóbal Salvaje

Wow. This guy should be laughed at. I know I laughed at this interview. His level of ignorance on evolution was out of this world. The dinosaurs (especially the raptors) are rolling over in their feathers. That makes me wonder how deep he really looks into crystal ball of common sense. Things in this world are rarely black and white and more often than not common sense is not a sensibile solution. It is like a carpet too big for a room. Push down a bump and another bump appears somewhere else.

“Common sense is the most widely shared commodity in the world, for every man is convinced that he is well supplied with it.”�
― René DescartesIn actuality, rarely is common sense the right key for the hole.

WorriedfortheCountry

After reading some of these comments it appears many on the left feel threatened by Dr. Carson. I guess he doesn’t fit their stereotype. So sad.

OnPointComments

A liberal’s greatest fear: that a poor black child will succeed primarily on his own initiative. It disproves one of their basic tenets, that the poor are too incompetent and stupid to better themselves without a liberal to guide them.
- dianewinter
  
  Happy to have anyone succeed just don’t want to listen to ill-informed drivel on my commute. Dunno what some does that have to do with your imaginary liberal or poor black children’s success or whatever imaginary thing you are railing against
  - StilllHere
    
    Your belief system is so set in stone that you call this man’s incredible experience drivel. Truly pathetic.
- Wotan
  
  From Detroit public schools to Yale, then to Ann Arbor for med school to Johns Hopkins, I can assure you that he got some help along the way. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Who successful didn’t receive some sort of help in one form or another in their lives at some point. But there are many Asian Americans with better schooling and credentials including M.D.s AND Ph.Ds? Even at that, I and so many other Asian Americans do not complain and make a issue of it. Rather, we’re truly glad at the success because each groups has a different social tax they’re levied.
  
  His opinions, however, is the source of my personal consternation and objection as I’ve written below, and not his success.
  - Oregon Smitty
    
    Yas Yas, dem darkies aways get de leg up,
    - Wotan
      
      Is that what I said or even implied? Don’t you dare imply racism when it was neither expressed or remotely implied.
    - Gregg Smith
      
      Then why can’t you imagine he triumphed on his own?
    - 1Brett1
      
      Why can’t you imagine he had some help along the way? And why is some form of help bad? Why is it that those who consider supports of some kind a good idea being racist? Or, how is viewing having structures in society in place to help people an expression of seeing folks who need help as weak? Why do people have to make it on their own, as rugged individuals, in your view, to be considered whole people who are the only ones to be applauded?
    - jefe68
      
      Because this flys in the face of the rights fantasy of the rugged individual, all alone doing stuff. That everyone should be John Wayne or some kind comic book character.�
      It’s kind of pathetic.
    - Gregg Smith
      
      I can but you assumed it.
      
      Help is not bad.
      
      The assumption that being black means you are poor and helpless is racist.
      
      Strong people don’t need as much help. People are not victims by default.
      
      People don’t have to make it on their own to be whole. It does help though. They aren’t the only ones I applaud but they have the grooviest stories.
      
      That’s all of yours, please answer mine: Why do you assume successful blacks more than likely had help from some white guy’s policy or charity than not? Even when it’s not stated.
    - http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels
      
      because no surgeon or doctor got anywhere�
      without, the NIH, a medical school and attachedhospital and on and on and on. what was that french guy’s name ? pasteur ? carson’s not on his level but he acts like he is !
    - 1Brett1
      
      To show your hypocrisy, I did the same thing to you you did to Wotan.
      
      Your last paragraph above is all full of assumptions, but then you are just a tit-for-tat logician (what you perceive to be tit-for-tat).
    - Gregg Smith
      
      You made the assumption about Dr. Carson.
    - 1Brett1
      
      Name a person who assumes being black means one is poor and helpless?
    - Gregg Smith
      
      Any proponent of AffirmativeAction.
    - Wotan
      
      He did triumph on his own. I don’t understand this assumption that a person was given everything in life on a silver platter for free and had to do nothing whenever there’s a suggestion that they received help along the way.
- Duras
  
  A conservative’s greatest fear: that the poor black kid growing up on food stamps has the same opportunity as Bush.
- jefe68
  
  What’s that smell? Oh, it’s the mendacity of a right wing extremist waxing on about nothing much in particular.
- StilllHere
  
  So true. The lib whiners here are cutting him down with thinly veiled racism, see directly below.
jefe68

Threatened by what? You are delusional.
Oregon Smitty

They will ALWAYS signal whom they fear most. It is an axiom coined by Mr. Limbaugh. Aw, c’mon, don’t soil your Depends.
StilllHere

You are exactly right. The racism is pathetic.
http://twitter.com/VTEducator VTEducator

I would like to say I have a tremendous about of respect for the work Dr. Carson has done. Clearly he is highly accomplished. I appreciate his message of unity, equity, and value of divergent opinions but the his concept of personal responsibility sans government support and involvement is so disappointing to hear just based on his knowledge of neuroscience. The concept couldn’t be more opposed to the research about what happens to brain development from environments of poverty, poor parenting, and lack of community supports.

Its almost like he is saying “Oh well, you experienced that? Too bad for you, bummer. Glad I’m not you”.

I do wish that the comments below were specific to making our world better and not about hating on the right or left.

And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand.” Matthew 12:25

Dr. Carson quoted this and then engrained it. That is what is sad.
- Gregg Smith
  
  But he himself experienced devastating poverty and racism.
  - 1Brett1
    
    Where has it been written that he experienced racism? Or are you just guessing?
    - http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels
      
      his pomposity and arrogant ignorance seem to be his defense against possible racism and being frequently told to aim lower or forget higher hopes .
  - http://twitter.com/VTEducator VTEducator
    
    I know and so he is one of the few who have had the opportunity to climb out. I know someone personally who was also able to do that, but if I ask about his other 8 siblings, not so much. I’m not saying it NEVER happens, but for everyone who pulls themselves out of poverty, thousands and thousands exist who do not. I don’t think we should take the one over the thousands as a majority perspective, do you??

Tyranipocrit

I think this guy was probably plucked off the street–given a shower and put in a gown for photo ops and now they are rolling him out for repugnant-cons. H is a lie–im sure. He cant be for real. he looks like he has an IQ of about 6. thats ok. Im sure he is sweet but he is not who they say he is. I wouldnt doubt it if they scooped him up at a mental hospital. When the game is over they will send him back with some qualoods and 10ccs of brain-zap.

disqus_OugGYSoDDw

What an ignorant remark. I suggest you do some research on Dr. Carson before casting disparaging remarks on him. You can start with two books he wrote Gifted Hands and America the Beautiful.
- Tyranipocrit
  
  i would never read a book called ‘America the Beautiful’–i will go puke now. What a cliche title besides.–so very trite. It doesn’t take much to get published in a flag worshiping occult fascist superstructure when the title is America the beautiful–i am laughing so very hard–thanks for that. i will probably go on laughing all day.
  
  Anything titled america the beautius–is either meant ironically or pure propaganda–i am not surprised you fell for it hook line and sinker. SUNk…! Bloop
  
  i don’t pretend to be all knowing–as a progressive and non-bible thumping evolved-monkey–i recognize when i don’t know something. ‘I know nothing’ was the wisest thing ever said. they say a sign of feeble intelligence is when you can’t recognize sarcasm or humor–i was stoking your fire buddy. And you got stoked! Why do you have such faith in a man that is obviously presented for your delight–a set up?
  
  Perhaps you are his campaign manager? I’m puking again.
glorkohl

There are some 2nd grade level books and My Weekly Reader articles on Dr. Carson’s accomplishments going back several years that might be at an appropriate reading level.
- Tyranipocrit
  
  I’m not sure what you are saying–write with brevity. Your message is lost. Who are you talking to? What is your point? When you reach the 3rd grade reading level–try again.
jefe68

If your trying to be offensive you have succeeded.�
Dr. Carson is one of the top Neurosurgeons on the planet. Show a little common decency and respect.
- http://profile.yahoo.com/JXSANCUDPIKQSPID5KT2U4XK5Y TF
  
  Yeah, there’s plenty to criticize about how Dr. Carson is a newfound darling of the right-wing advocacy media without having to make stuff up.
- Tyranipocrit
  
  I am trying to be offensive–nut you know what–so is he–heroes out of his way to be offensive to me, most of the American people, the world, and mr. Obama.
  
  Brain surgery does not qualify you for presidential leadership. Writing a silly book with a silly title does not qualify you for much either.
  - JGC
    
    I want to say I think we are mostly on the same side of the fence but we do not always agree on how to get to the other side.
    
    Also (this is a totally different subject) I think you are not corresponding from the U.S. (I am not either – I am in Canada)- Are you signed up or checking into MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses). They are free and open to everyone, everywhere,in every country; many large private universities like Harvard and also large public universities like Duke and McGill are participating. I think it is something you would like, if you are able:
    Coursera, EdX, and Udacity are the three main ones I know about. �
- Tyranipocrit
  
  please excuse my typos. “But you know what…” “he goes out of his way…”

kingofgolf

yo tyranipocrit
you dont read so well
my faith is personal..therefore what are you talkin about!!

are you trippin?..as i am reading this replyre-read wht i wrote..then come back withn sum sumj

Tyranipocrit

Why is “conservatives” always talk about straight talk–but nothing they say is ever straight–far from it. Why is that everything they say is straight and everyone is so wrong–how can it be that the educated class is stupid and the faithful are so straight? It doesn’t seem very straight to me.

doctor god–these universites and railroads have a much more complicate dstroy that i thnk you will see made profit for them–not any sense of compassion or welfare–remmeber how much it costs to get an education? Railroads began as independent enterprises and the banks bought them up–and a lot of that was tax payers money–the rich banners and politicians are always one and the same. And rich charities are created as foundations to avoid taxes and building a nation united. Lets not forget it was the rich who always always past present and future that wage wars–they create war and send the poor to war for wealth and power–the rich love to cry class war when it is they waging the class war–a poor person cant wage war. But they can certainly die in one.

kingofgolf

the 2 are entirely seperate..as some myths are only unproven facts..get over you mental handicapp..its easy..just say ..”I love all and everyone”..lol

http://twitter.com/PickettWeeks pickettweeks

Carson says there is not enough evidence to believe in evolution yet he believes that God created the universe in all its complexities in seven days. There is not a shred of evidence to support that assertion. Tom, how could you not ask him where the logic or common sense is in that statement? Don’t be afraid of questioning the rationality of believing in a biblical God.

Newcomments1

I would only bash Baptists who marry 13 year old girls, which is probably illegal. That would apply to Carson’s father, a Baptist minister who married his mother when she was 13.
- Oregon Smitty
  
  Gosh, sagacity!

http://profile.yahoo.com/V3A2R3IYZWCI3GX25QGSRT524Q charlesk

ok, political correctness – what a non-issue. giving an example of someone being ostracized for using the term oriental rather than asian. even if true, this is not an attack on the 1st amendment, but society setting a standard, grass roots democracy at work. if you don’t like it, well, your speech IS protected, and you can say anything you want and won’t go to jail. that’s what the 1st amendment gives us. it doesn’t mean others have to like it, and it certainly doesn’t mean others can’t speak against it. So tough doo-doo on political correctness. you can speak against the idea all you want, but don’t expect vaporous arguments to create societal change.

and then , this whole thing about proportional taxation and god saying this is “the way”. So, i’m no bible scholar, but someone needs to show me where the quantitative aspects of this are pointed out. Where does it say that everybody gives an equal percentage of their earnings as a tithe. I doubt it is in there in such terms. and the term proportional does not mean equal percentage anyway. In the end, the good doctor says that it should be done according to God’s way or some such… great, well how about a rational discussion that doesn’t end with “because God said so” what a cop out!

Look, i don’t want a president who God is talking to, either, so if this guy does run, as he said himself, it would be because God told him to. And you know what, i think it will be true in his mind, because he is a world famous neurosurgeon and probably thinks that he is God. (and to be honest, if it is my brain being operated on, i want the guy to have a big ego and i don’t care if he thinks he is God, but I don’t want him running my country)

Gregg Smith

I know, it makes you wonder why we elected a Southern Baptist like Bill Clinton.
- 1Brett1
  
  Bashing Southern Baptists so early in the day?
- jefe68
  
  Or a Quaker like Nixon.
Newcomments1

I agree. George Bush talked to God and God told him to attack Gog and Magog in Iraq so we did. I think George should have checked caller ID on that call.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1032093601 Robert Evans

Please leave the Old Testament out of this. Caring for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and “the stranger among you” is repeated over and over in the Torah.

Thanks.

Newcomments1

You can find almost anything in the Bible so don’t use it to make laws. For instance, it recommends stoning people to death.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1032093601 Robert Evans

Ironically, a flat tax would be more progressive than what we have now, if you count capital gains, carried interest, etc as income, and have a decent personal exemption to keep the poor from getting hit.

glorkohl

Wait- Am I supposed to ask for an “Asian rug” when I am shopping from now on ?

Exactly what kind of silent , passive, slimy jellyfish have people turned into ?

If anyone ” corrected ” my speech from using the word ‘Oriental’
a word which served generations, I would, in turn, correct them and tell them to get TF out.

Go Dr. Ben Carson !

http://www.facebook.com/todd.trimm.7 Todd Trimm

that’s the problem…..he is acting like a victim. Pretty sure no one cares about that term. But he did dodge the n-word question
1Brett1

If you did use the term, “Oriental,” would you be persecuted for it? Would it make you afraid to express your beliefs? Would there be a “war” against people like you who use terms that are anachronistic? Dr. Carson is doing two things here: 1) trumping up the idea that political correctness is dangerously stifling freedom of speech and 2) that people don’t have to be careful with their speech and call others what you want to.

Why should you be able to freely say a derogatory term but someone else, say, sitting next to you, should not be able to tell you they think you are wrong for using that term?
jefe68

No, use your brain. When buying an Oriental rug one would use this term. Or you could use Persian it was from Iran or that type of rug.

When talking to someone who is Japanese or Chinese you would not call them Oriental or use the word in context to their identity. If you dont’ understand the reason why this could be offensive then you have a problem that is not about being PC.
http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels

GROOVY comment, gloryhole ! tell us , do you ask your dance partner if he/she wants to go ” cut the rug “? when you use “oriental” do you mean china, japan, cambodia, persia, eastern russia or arab or muslim ? or just ” slant-eye ” or maybe “yellow-peril” ?
oriental , which means “easterner”, is vague, anachronistic, and imprecise , but there is an “asian rug ” ! it’s on the menu at your favorite massage parlor, just above, “happy ending” and maybe you should try it .
AND SHUT “TF” UP ! LOL
- Oregon Smitty
  
  Using LOL in 2013 shames you and yours.
  - http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels
    
    how ’bout ” cat’s meow ” , oree ?
    something more appropriate to your age ?
    LMFAO
    - StilllHere
      
      Grandpa, you’re not funny.
Wotan

Actually, Asians are not rugs nor are they silent, passive or slimy jellyfish. I’m sure at some point in your life, you had your ass kicked by one. If not, keep it up and you will. And no, I’m not leaving. Neither should you if a Native American tells to you go back to from where you came.
http://twitter.com/cwooley89 Charles Wooley

The politically correct term nowadays is “Chinaman”
- Wotan
  
  You’re both idiots.

J__o__h__n

Does god ask for 10% for carried interest too or does he hate freedom?

Newcomments1

Dr. Carson suffers from a disease. I saw it in my surgeon father. After being treated like God for a while these types start to think they have a direct line to God. Not only that, they think because they know a lot about one area that they are the world’s greatest expert in every area.

BTW, doesn’t it say in the Bible from each as he is able to each as needed, or something to that effect. It is ludicrous that he thinks God likes the flat tax. But then he talks directly to God, doesn’t he?

OnPointComments

The quote you’re trying to remember isn’t from the Bible, it’s from Karl Marx. It’s communism.
- Ray in VT
  
  There is Marx there, but he/she may also be thinking of Luke 12:48:
  
  “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required”
  - OnPointComments
    
    You may be correct; thanks for pointing this out. I was thinking he/she was referring to “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” There are similarities.
    - Ray in VT
      
      I’ve certainly seen people quote both together. I think that Marx’s family was Jewish and that he may have been an nonbeliever, but I wonder if he did pluck pieces of the communal social philosophy from some elements of the Christian religious tradition. I’m sure that someone has wrote or speculated on the similarities and what inspired the more recent one.
    - Gregg Smith
      
      The two comments seem very different to me. I suppose on the surface one could draw an analogy between “given” and “ability” but they are not alike at all. And then if you look at the word “given” through the liberal lens of what the government has given, the comment is very malleable. In the liberal mind the government gives you health care, a living wage, civil rights, and infrastructure to which you are beholden.
      
      That is why the government defining “ability” and “need” is an abomination of the highest order.

http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels

dear dr. ben,
the trans-continental railroad was made possible , during lincoln’s administration by the congress granting vast tracts of land alongside it to the capitalists who thereby profited . despite this largess , it was built fast and cheap, at great loss of life to workers and early passengers and had to be constantly rebuilt at the time. who were those workers ? often chinese and irish who were treated as sub-human laborers. safety took back seat to greed and avarice and state legislative corruption and attempts of corporate monopoly and rate-fixing which along with overbuilding and industry malfeasance not unlike today’s real estate market caused many national economic depressions. these corporatist monopolists created the gilded age and were popularly called “robber-barons” . economic disparity at this level was not again equalled until the 1990-2008 era.
and the bible DEPLORES IT !

Newcomments1

I’ll bet he received government grants to go to medical school.

http://www.facebook.com/todd.trimm.7 Todd Trimm

And if you are not saying something because of it not being PC, that is no ones fault but you. Don’t blame others because you are worried….you are restricting your own speech.

ebonyy

Ben Carson is clearly much better at medicine than rhetoric, logic, and argument. Else wise most of his patients would be dead.

StilllHere

Else wise I’m not sure what you’re better at.
- jefe68
  
  Else wise you prove yet again your inanity.

Newcomments1

Being great at one thing doesn’t mean you have any common sense. I see this all the time.

Newcomments1

I have a life an a job. I have worked for 40 years. I also think in my spare time. I don’t attend church as they ask to check your brain at the door. Have you ever heard the phrase “Doctor, heal thyself”? Doctor Carson needs to go back to his church and ask for his brain back.

hman47

just because he doesn’t say what you want him to hear doesn’t mean he is stupid. You are the typical liberal who assumes you are the only smart one in the room and everyone else is dumb. Its a shame you have to result to ridicule to make a point. Maybe it reveals that your point is meaningless and you are mad at the world for some strange reason. Maybe you have become brain-warped by the liberal left. Let me guess – your TV is set to MSNBC.

mostboringpersonalive

My concern about Dr. Carson’s message is this. He proposes medical savings accounts for all to handle non-catastrophic medical expenses, such as visits to primary care doctor, family medicine doctors, gerontologist, gastroenterologist, etc. His rationale is that medical savings accounts and direct cost “negotiations” between patients and their doctors will drive down healthcare costs. Ostensibly he argues this because he feels that the “middleman” he referred to that operates in the insurance markets drives up costs. So specialists like himself, who work in areas of catastrophic medicine, where for the patient, it is imperative they see an expensive specialist, will not be subjected to”market discipline” but primary care doctors, and gastroenterologist (the people who do cancer screening colonoscopies) will be. This will drive down the wages of the primary care doctors yet do nothing to control the wages of the rock start specialists like himself. Already, we have too few residents going into family medicine and primary care because the compensation is lower, an important factor when med students have huge loans to pay off. With Dr. Carson’s proposed system, the wages of primary care and family medicine physicians will be driven down even further and med students will flee those fields for the ones with higher salaries where expenses are covered by “catastrophic” insurance.

1Brett1

Excellent point!
WorriedfortheCountry

Are you saying the lack of market forces in health care aren’t artificially inflating prices? Look at cosmetic surgery and Lasik — prices have plummeted while other health care costs have risen. Why? Because the insurance industry and government meddling hasn’t distorted the market.

What is needed for competition to work is transparency on costs AND quality. The state of Indiana has offered a HSA option to state workers for years. It has produced real savings and is growing in popularity every year and this is without the system changes which would produce the transparency in quality and costs.

I recently encountered this flaw in the current system. My PCP recommended a standard (but expensive) cancer screening. He gave me a list of 6 qualified (and recommended specialists). It turns out 3 did the procedure in the hospital and 3 did it in their office. Cost never factored in my selection. In fact, I didn’t find out the cost until I received a receipt from my insurance company. Competition doesn’t work for every type of medical procedure but it will work in many. HSAs do make a lot of sense.
- jefe68
  
  News flash, we don’t have a real market based health care system. If we did it would be cheaper and better run.
hennorama

The health care industry is responding to the ACA and is already squeezing costs out of their systems. The trend is toward more vertical integration, with hospital groups AND insurers buying up physician groups. Costs will be wrung out through greater efficiencies and a push to greater productivity.
�
Hospitals seem motivated to buy access to physicians, to ensure they have a supply of providers for their system.
�
Insurers seem to want to ensure that their members will have continued easy access to primary care providers.
�
Both hopsitals and insurers foresee a shortage of physicians. Demand for primary care will spike, since the ACA will give millions of previously uninsured people access to health care. What this means for PCPs is yet to be seen. Given the increased demand, there may in fact be at least a short-term uptick in PCP salaries but greater patient loads.
�
There are other trends to lower costs, with the the so-called “Docs in a box” retail clinics being one, and the greater use of physician assistants being another. Increased usage of patient care teams is another obvious example, with the idea being an integrated collaborative approach rather than the more traditional physician-centric somewhat dictatorial approach.

Floridaze1

I listened with interest to Dr. Carson’s uninspired diatribe and found it lacking in any depth. For a person who has been exposed to a broad base of information through education, he lacks any capacity to translate it to the real world. He seems to have shunned all meaningful data in favor of religiously derived fairy tales. Why is there a need for people who would consider becoming candidates for high office in this country to bring in their religiuos views out and flaunt them and almost force them upon those who believe differently. He is so out of touch with reality that it is scary. Politicians need to keep religion out of politics and let everyone believe as they wish. Religious beliefs are personal and no one should try to foist one set of beliefs over abother. There is no right nor wrong set of beliefs. If one wishes to believe in fairy tales, then let them and if one wishes to believe in reality, let them.

WorriedfortheCountry

You didn’t listen very carefully. Dr. Carson isn’t a politician and has no desire to be one despite Tom’s (and others) best attempt to recruit him.
- Ray in VT
  
  Do you mean Sean Hannity and (maybe) God? ; )
  - WorriedfortheCountry
    
    Actually it was started by the WSJ editorial board.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1617053368 Sally Rosen

Hello Floridaze1, were you in a daze?? Dr. Carson was speaking at a prayer breakfast, so yeah, he brought up religion as a key note speaker. As far as fairy tales, his life story of work ethic and self reliance are real and what real Americans and the American Dream are all about. Communists like Obama and his camp are feeding propaganda fairy tales with scary monsters of doom and gloom to intimidate the uneducated masses who voted for him. Our president stays empowered by keeping his constituents in the darkness of fear of the unknown. Dr. Carson brings to light the truth and empowerment of all of our citizens.

ericd725

ideal tax policy. but how do you deal with corruption? i think the devil lives a lavish penthouse life in this massive detail

http://www.facebook.com/talmos.webster Talmos Webster

Dr. Carson is wonderful. He makes sense. He should have been our first black president. The one we have now is a failure on every level.

http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels

golly gee, tal, its good that most of the country doesn’t agree with you. in fact most would say that the repubs are failure on every level. but , its obvious why you agree with ben, you both just make stuff up to suit your predjudices and then pretend its factual.
- Oregon Smitty
  
  Another “Low-Information” lib. Yawn.
- TomK_in_Boston
  
  Actually the far right has been a spectacular success. Their agenda is redistributing wealth to the top, and they’re getting it done! The key is fooling gullible sheep into voting for them. The number of citizens with zero street smarts is amazing.
  - http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels
    
    based on your limited definition of success , wouldn’t you say that they started running out of steam about 2006 and based on the demographics of the last election its been downhill since then , while the president has been cleaning up bush’s economy, bush’s war’s and and instituting national healthcare in face of failed opposition from the right ? the public is not that dumb , but is often slow however it won’t soon forget the the disasterous bush years and a black or latino candidate with the same ideas just won’t salve the wounds they have inflicted on this country.
    - TomK_in_Boston
      
      I don’t see any sign that the redistribution of wealth to the top has slowed, and that’s all the right really cares about: the rest is camo.
      
      If the public wasn’t that dumb, average citizens losing wages and benefits in the ongoing class warfare would not think voodoo economics is a good idea. All you have to do is look around this forum. Do you think “smitty” below is a romney type?
    - http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels
      
      well, we’ll see. this gross redistribution upwards started with reagan and then accelerated rapidly with bush’s tax cuts in 2000-2003 along with 2 wars put on a credit card. the repubs are still pushing the same agenda and saying that we must give more back to the “makers” and starve the “takers”. so , i think that the public have caught on , but they have been so cowered by their employers ” take -it -or -leave-it ” attitudes that they are just accepting it for now. like turning a fullsteam ship around , its gonna take another 4 years under obama and then 8 years under hill & bill to change things. americans are just NOT REVOLUTIONARY or haven’t been pushed to the brink yet.
    - TomK_in_Boston
      
      There’s something we can agree on, but I don’t understand why the pitchforks haven’t come out yet. Quite the contrary, those who are losing the most seem to love the plutocrats. When someone born on 3′rd base gets a nice financial sector job from daddy’s friends and pulls off a few scam deals, they call him a “maker”. Go figure.
    - http://profile.yahoo.com/PPVKW5SFGU5YGX6BTO2747H7MU Edie
      
      And who are the plutocrats – oh yeah, Obama’s backers. Afterall, who owns the media who loves Obama so.
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    - Gregg Smith
      
      Do you seriously believe Bush owns this economy? This is what Obama wants.
    - hartford sam
      
      let’s see , all the events that caused the current depression were done between 2000 and 2006. obama has struggled upstream against republicans ever since.�
      YES, BUSH BLEW IT ! BIGTIME !
      he left obama a broom, mop, bucket and NO help .
    - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1617053368 Sally Rosen
      
      Well, geeze…why don’t we just go back and blame it all on Eve for giving Adam the apple Obama had a democratic house and senate in his first term and he still could not make any traction. He simply is not competent to lead our country. He looks great on camera in front of a teleprompter but he’s inept as a leader.
    - hartford sam
      
      what ? he PASSED national healthcare ! and more than half the nation would disagree with you. i like head-in-the-sand republicans like you, sally. the republican party was dissolved as an effective political party and demographics predict that it will ONLY continue to rapidly decline. so for you to deny the obvious means that your party will just continue to do the same and get the same results. chris wallace and 5 republican shills on sundays faux news all admitted the same. about 70% of american voters
      disagree with republican party values, goals and false rhetoric and mudslinging. karl rove got 1% of his candidates elected after spending half a billion dollars !! and mitt and ann romney boo-hooing on the same show ! hilarious! you guys just don’t get it ! and i hope you continue in the same vein !!
    - http://profile.yahoo.com/PPVKW5SFGU5YGX6BTO2747H7MU Edie
      
      Nobody wanted his lousy healthcare. We always could have bought healthcare, now we have to. With no price controls, great.
    - http://profile.yahoo.com/PPVKW5SFGU5YGX6BTO2747H7MU Edie
      
      Poor Obama, so helpless against those big mean Republicans. Why are liberals so gullible – they believe anything the media tells them.
- StilllHere
  
  disqus

http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB

FTA:
Interestingly enough while MSNBC has time to hit CPAC about Chris Christie live during their 11 AM hour they didn’t have time to mention Dr. Carson’s inclusion. I wonder why?

http://datechguyblog.com/2013/02/27/cpac-2013-invites-dr-ben-carson-joe-scarborough-hardest-hit/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DatechguysBlog+%28Datechguy%27s+Blog%29

http://profile.yahoo.com/PPVKW5SFGU5YGX6BTO2747H7MU Edie

MSNBC would love Dr. Carson to just go away. Pretend he doesn’t exist so we don’t have to deal with his ideas. That’s our media today.

http://www.facebook.com/talmos.webster Talmos Webster

You are dense.

http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels

no , ben carson is the dense one and that is what has generated so much awe-struck response . he seems to be a great surgeon but is just ignorant of politics, non-medical science, history and lacks understanding , empathy and logical thinking skills . which is typical for his�
party.

http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels

most educated people who have studied science even only up to the 12th grade level understand and accept evolutionary development. just for fun google �
” neanderthal man ” and read a few pages. �
the bible and faith and belief will be found under
” folklore”. also check out 1st nicean council called by constantine the great and notice how humans sliced and diced the biblical message that you only partial understand today.

hman47

thanks for enlightening me. I feel so much smarter now. I guess I am just dumb and I only partially understand anything. – sarcasm

Steven – if you allowed yourself to think beyond your ego, then you might realize you don’t know everything. Have you ever seen a baby born? If you have, you might realize that so many things have to happen for a baby to switch from breathing fluid to breathing air. It’s a miracle that the human race even exists. What about the Golden ratio? Science cannot explain everything. As for the bible, do you understand grace? The bible is far bigger than a science book. The messiah story of Jesus is the greatest story ever told. And if you look deeply into a lot of movies, these philosophical characteristics are very prevalent. The bible is not about proving something is right or wrong. You are missing the point all together. One day when you have relented your ego and decide to humbly look at the world, you will understand it. Until then, don’t assume your 12th grade education is everything. I can tell you from experience, the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know. One day you will understand. Trust me – I was once like you. Keep an open mind. And all humans (christians included) are flawed. If evolution was correct, we would be working towards perfection and purity- right? Instead, the world is working towards greater chaos, yet, we still have small miracles. Good reading for you is C.S. Lewis.
- http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels
  
  thank you hman47 , but religion might be the striving towards perfection or purity, evolution is the striving toward reproductive and environmental success and domination. �
  remember the bubonic plague or black death that wiped out most europeans in the middle ages ? well the survivors may have had a beneficial genetic mutation that aided in their survival and they passed it on to us and that is evolution plain and simple.�
  we are not descended from monkeys and apes , but they are our cousins and share 96+% of our dna and we likely killed off the neanderthals and other proto-humans from sheer competition for food , shelter and females. that again is evolution and interestingly why we retain some neanderthal dna in our genome. that is what is taught at least in bio101 in college, but probably barred today from highschool science by the texas board of education.
  anyway, i’m educated beyond a BA from an excellent college in virginia and have continued to read from all subjects at least 2 hours a day ever since.
  i’ll look up c.s. lewis . i’ve always wanted to . didn’t he write the screwtape letters ? but , i don’t believe in devils and angels, ghosts and goblins and other such supernatural stuff.
  but you might want to look up how the�
  the book you like to thump was written . how it was sliced and diced by a committee of men and even read some of what was tossed out . then you will understand what i meant by “partial”.
  oh, yeah check out the following too : The symbol (“phi”) was apparently first used by Mark Barr at the beginning of the 20th century in commemoration of the Greek sculptor Phidias (ca. 490-430 BC), who a number of art historians claim made extensive use of the golden ratio in his works (Livio 2002, pp. 5-6). Similarly, the alternate notation is an abbreviation of the Greek tome, meaning “to cut.”
  In the Season 1 episode “Sabotage” (2005) of the television crime drama NUMB3RS, math genius Charlie Eppes mentions that the golden ratio is found in the pyramids of Giza and the Parthenon at Athens. Similarly, the character Robert Langdon in the novel The Da Vinci Code makes similar such statements (Brown 2003, pp. 93-95). However, claims of the significance of the golden ratio appearing prominently in art, architecture, sculpture, anatomy, etc., tend to be greatly exaggerated.
  has surprising connections with continued fractions and the Euclidean algorithm for computing the greatest common divisor of twointegers.

Wayne Sentman

Any physician who titles their autobiography “Gifted Hands” gives you a very intimate look into their own “god complex”. What a boob this guy was, he fails to realize that the guy earning $10 billion might have had a few advantages on the way up, or once there. So while he acts like we are all equal in the chances and advantages we have been given, the reality is something very different. I have rarely heard a more arrogant interviewee. Every time he was asked to expand on his pompous uniformed statements, he acted as if he were above the person asking the question. Basically implying that if they would just listened to the foolishness he was spouting they would “understand”. Anyone questioning him obviously did not “hear” him. It is very sad that he seems to have so much support across our country. The less you give him a pulpit to tell us how much smarter he is, the better!

http://profile.yahoo.com/3YLGQ2BEKNHOS23MX4MZCP3ESE Susan

I see where you are coming from. Although Dr. Carson talked about starting a dialogue, he sounded like he didn’t come to his opinions through any struggle. In fact, he said that his first party, Democrat, moved away from him. Sounds like a nice guy, and everyone has the right to his/her way of thinking, but sounds like a very black and white thinker.

I’ve read about Dr. Carson before. He grew up poor, and with what sounds like a very excellent and committed mother and an obviously fantastic brain for medicine, he was able to do what is increasingly uncommon in our country – move from poverty to comfort. The man is obviously a brilliant surgeon (does little stuff like separating twins who have conjoined heads!) and there is so much in his story to appreciate and model.

Being a brilliant surgeon does not necessarily make someone a brilliant politician, though. I prefer a politician who sees the gray, and understands that politics are about compromise. A black and white thinker is not what I think this country needs now in politics. Yes when you are doing surgery on me! No when you need to compromise and collaborate.

We need more people to be able to follow Dr. Carson’s path from poverty to security. To do that, we need politicians whose primary qualities are empathy and collaboration.
- http://profile.yahoo.com/PPVKW5SFGU5YGX6BTO2747H7MU Edie
  
  I would urge you to read Dr. Carson’s book “America the Beautiful”. He addresses compromise and collaboration and is very much in favor it. That does not mean he has no principles. He really just wants to start freeing people from having to sit by and watch their country destroyed. We need the left and right wings to fly.

Oregon Smitty

Moderator was pissing his Depends.

A. John Callegari

Carson’s affection for “common sense” is the reason why he is wrong about so many things. It is “common sense” that the earth is stationary at the center of the solar system, but the scientific revolution taught us that in order to find the truth we need to dispense with our most cherished ideas when the evidence requires it. The history of science bears this out over and over again. Carson illustrates the inadequacy of our science education in this country.

http://profile.yahoo.com/PPVKW5SFGU5YGX6BTO2747H7MU Edie

Science is not infallible – it changes all the time. I think Dr. Carson is entitled to his own beliefs. He seems to have done pretty well medically. Can anybody ever really prove anything for all time. Why must we all believe whatever the prevailing powers say? The lonely crowd is not for everyone, thank goodness. Maybe he is wrong, maybe not.

A. John Callegari

Carson brought up how billionaires help to build our infrastructure. Disappointed that nobody mentioned how superior the government-built infrastructure in Europe is.

jefe68

He forgot about how it was government that built the Hoover Dam, the Tennessee Water Vally projects, and the interstate highway system. Not mention the electric grid which was a joint project. Then there are the waterways, the railways and all the major airports.
- http://profile.yahoo.com/2THHKA555INBVLQCU4QCKVLYG4 Sewing
  
  And who funded the gov’t? Comments like this show the low-information sheeple for who they are. Get this straight: Government cannot give anybody anything that they didn’t confiscate from somebody else.
  - jefe68
    
    Ah yes the meme about taxes being a form of confiscation. That’s a childish notion.
TJPhoto40

I’m not aware of any major infrastructure that billionaires (wealthy industrialists) had a substantial role in building other than the railroads. Who built the highway system, the dams, the bridges, the water and sewer systems? Largely government funded. As with many things stated by Dr. Carson, this is very selective and distorted to credit the wealthy for our infrastructure, which once was the pride of the nation and now is crumbling.

http://profile.yahoo.com/HARSNAJRLB6KMZIHH3JWYTKA3A David

Is there a way to directly contact Dr. Carson through WBUR? I understood when listening to the show that that was possible, but I cannot see a way to do so online.

http://www.facebook.com/steven.samuels.16 Steven Samuels

just googled this :

Dr. Benjamin CarsonProfessor of Neurosurgery, Oncology, Plastic Surgery and PediatricsDirector, Division of Pediatric NeurosurgeryCo-Director, The Johns Hopkins Craniofacial Center
Specialty Areas: Pediatric Neurosurgery Trigeminal Neuralgia

CONTACT INFORMATIONThe Johns Hopkins Hospital
Department of Neurosurgery�
600 N. Wolfe Street, Phipps 577
Baltimore, MD 21287410.955.7888 (p)410.955.0626 (f)

Dr. Benjamin Carson is the Director of the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Carson focuses on traumatic brain injuries, brain and spinal cord tumors, achondroplasia, neurological and congenital disorders, craniosynostosis, epilepsy and trigeminal neuralgia. He is also interested in maximizing the intellectual potential of every child.

Bill Griffith

I just finished watching the “National Prayer Breakfast” from the link posted above, and I was truly inspired by listening to Dr. Carson talk about his background, and his concerns for the direction of education, and [in a more general sense] the direction of our country. Religion and politics aside, I believe the person speaking at the podium is a humanitarian, who seeks solutions that are the best interest for the citizens of this country. I am a big OnPoint listener but can honestly say that the general tone of Tom’s interview was more derisive, and did little to allow Dr. Carson to revel his true character. Watch Dr. Carson speak in the Prayer Breakfast video above, and see if you don’t feel the same way as I do.

S Myers

I read Carson book years ago and I admire his amazing story. As for Tom’s tone, he’s the first interviewer that did his job and that was….he got Carson to reveal himself minus the warm and fuzzy. A year ago, Carson said in an interview that he was happy Obama was pursuing universal health care but it was the Repubs that weren’t having it. With the insurance and pharma lobbyists padding the pockets of congress, what we got is not what Obama initially proposed. Carson’s lecture left out the most critical aspect to our govt…..it’s being run by the corporations and Wall St. In fact, the bill was written by lawyers from the insurance industry.

Tom’s mentioning that Carson is on the board of Kellogg is revealing. As huge corporations’ profits have skyrocketed, the working class’ standard of living has plummeted. Carson said Kellogg is doing “very well.” I wonder what the packers are making.

There’s over 12,000 lobbyists (including Kellogg) paying off legislators to vote so their bottom line benefits. It’d be interesting to hear what Dr. Carson’s solution to that little problem would be. But since Carson sits on a board, I guess it wouldn’t be politically correct to ask him.
http://profile.yahoo.com/PPVKW5SFGU5YGX6BTO2747H7MU Edie

I agree that Tom was definitely derisive but I thought Dr. Carson handled himself very well. No, it definitely wasn’t warm and fuzzy. Personally, I would so love a truly objective media but that is sorely lacking today. Everybody picks a side – that’s how the powers that be want it. I used to think I was a liberal but finally had to admit there is a lot of stuff called liberal I do not agree with. Dr. Carson is an independent and that’s a good place to be.

Gregg Smith

It’s interesting that Chris Christie was not invited to speak at CPAC but Dr. Carson was.

JGC

I wonder if Christie feels as unmoored as Charlie Crist. Christie/Crist? Christ? Conservatives for Christ? Conservatives for Carson? Coincidence?
- Gregg Smith
  
  Christie let Republicans down and he’s in the doghouse but I think his Conservative credentials are in tact. Crist is done as a Republican forever. He’s now a Democrat. He was the establishment choice over Rubio. That also revealed the establishment. Crist is just another in a long line of squishy middle losers like Dole, McCain and Romney.
  - JGC
    
    New Jersey residents (of all political stripes) really like Christie – I’ll have to check again with my (Independent) sister and her husband who live there, but that is the take home message I have heard. I heard about Krauthammer’s take on the CPAC incident: that it was a vast overreaction and a mistake. But maybe Krauthammer has an isolated inside-the-Beltway reading.
    Who are the younger generation of Conservative/Republican pundits, who are shaping Republican opinion, that we should be paying attention to? And Crist needs the political stage to live and breathe; he will do what he can to try to revive his political career, just like my former Senator, Arlen Spector, who I voted for in both his Republican and Democratic iterations. But the old switch-a-roo rarely works these days. Still, I think Crist is a big improvement over Gov. Rick “HCA Medicare Fraud” Scott.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1273328048 Tomasina Covell

Carson needs to be shot along with all the rest of the christian apologist from the New Republic!

JGC

Tomasina, you are filled with negative energy. How can we help you? Don’t worry, I am an Armchair Psychologist, and I may be able to assist…
Bill Griffith

Why post something so mean spirited? Assail his political or religious views if you feel so compelled, but please keep the hostile thoughts away from printed word.
StilllHere

I take from this comment that all Democrats are violent, racist psychopaths and I don’t see how anyone could conclude anything else. Democrats rhetoric of hate and violence is crushing the good that struggles to lift our society. You are all Tomasinas.
- 1Brett1
  
  This comment is almost as inappropriate!
  - StilllHere
    
    Really, I was channeling Tom’s reaction to the Tucson shooting last year.
    - Fredlinskip
      
      Channel a reality check
      
      “this one comment proves all Dems are violent, racist psychopaths and I don’t see how anyone can conclude different”Or change your name to “StillNeedsLotsPsychotherapy” so as to properly forewarn unsuspecting readers.
- Fredlinskip
  
  You would.
http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB

Why are these kind of comments allowed?
- JGC
  
  I was going to hit the “flag” button last night, but then I thought I would be accused of being anti-free speech. Still, Tomasina Covell’s comments are typically way beyond the pale. If you look at her activity profile, she is always dropping killing and assassination bombs. Truly a disturbed individual.
  - http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB
    
    I take a back seat to no one on free speech matters. Because of that I feel I must respond to such
    abuses. By taking appropriate action we
    serve the higher values we all adore. If
    we can help this individual see the error in this action we are helping
    them. It is important that we don’t
    condone such things by our silence.
- 1Brett1
  
  I agree, RWB. I never wish to censor anyone; this comment, however, is unacceptable!
  - http://read-write-blue.blogspot.com/ RWB
    
    Your resonse does you credit.

Fredlinskip

It’s Ashbrook- Ashcroft was goofball W Attorney General.
Sun goes round the Earth, although church burned lots of folks alive for believing otherwise.
Evolution occurred- although it seems some have advanced up the evolutionary ladder a bit further than others as far as ability to discern fact from fiction.

I don’t mean to be a jerk- you’ve a right to your opinion- it’s a free country.

Fredlinskip

Carson said at beginning of conversation:
“I want to get people to start talking with each other. And this idea of putting people in one corner or other and shooting at other side….” isn’t way to go.�
And then later:�
“we’re too interested in saying ‘my point of view is the only right one,’ rather than sitting down and having intelligent open discussions about pros and cons about way we do things. Once we learn how to do that we are going to make real progress”

I emphatically agree.
I don’t agree with some of his beliefs, but all in all if his main objective truly is encouraging public discourse- than that’s a good thing. And he’s a bigger man than a lot of folks.
If Congressman could get together and actually talk to each other- say after work on their own time more often (like used to be the case), I think problems would be addressed in much more amenable way.�
If Mr Carson represented one voice at a roundtable discussion in which other competing views were also fairly represented, that could work.
If Dems and GOP could sit at table and say, “Hey we all agree our health care system is inefficient and a drag on our economy” and they could have a honest discussion (preferably AWAY from prying eyes cameras and journalists), progress WOULD be made.

All righty then- back to reality.

http://profile.yahoo.com/PPVKW5SFGU5YGX6BTO2747H7MU Edie

Thank you, Fredlinskip, I so agree with you. And, maybe it could happen if more people had your open mind.

http://twitter.com/cwooley89 Charles Wooley

I didn’t think that Tom was too biased, In my opinion On Point is one of the most balanced and well rounded shows out there. Yes Tom lets his views shine through some times, but usually only cuts someone off when they say something factually innacurate or he is running against a break. He questions liberals on his show rather pointedly as well and usually has both viewpoints of an isue represented throughly and accurately.

MSNBC & FOX should take notes.

http://www.facebook.com/dane.wolf.3 Dane Wolf

It is extremely disturbing that a medical professional of this stature, whose ability to effectively practice his job would seem to depend on a solid understanding of science (especially, biology), is so ill-informed about the evidence for evolution as to suggest that it is merely conjecture. Apparently, Dr. Carson seems blissfully unaware that his counter-assertion that some divine agency — i.e., “God” — created each and every organism, separately and with special care, is as conjectural as any statement could possibly be. It would have been nice if somebody had asked him on what basis he was making this claim. As a follow up, it also would have been nice if somebody had mentioned, for example, the lungfish or Archaeopteryx (that famous feathered reptile) as RATHER compelling evidence that one species, over time and with sufficient environmental pressure, can and does change into another. One has to wonder: Is Dr. Carson even familiar with genetics? What would he say about the chromosomal patterns in human karyotypes that indicate the fusion of similar chromosomes in the chimpanzee? Of course, the concrete examples go on and on. One merely has to have the intellectual curiosity to look!

Since conjecture seems to be par for the course (at least in Dr. Carson’s case), I will offer him some of my own: the real problem in America today is that many millions (indeed the majority) of people are not only ignorant about biology, but they have a profound mistrust of science, in general. This anti-scientific attitude toward the world only promotes beliefs that are not grounded on evidence and data. As a consequence, people’s reasoning, and thus their viewpoints, become muddled with erroneous notions, fantasies, and downright falsehoods, and, not surprisingly, their ability to understand their own condition as individuals and as constructive members of a democratic society is severely compromised. In sum, the health of any society is proportional to the critical thinking skills of its citizenry, and, in order to cultivate these skills, people must get used to the idea of only believing things that are supported by the evidence; and, moreover, not, in the manner of Dr. Carson, ignoring mountains of hard facts when one finds it personally appealing or convenient to do so. Perhaps the only hope for modern people, in both the United States and indeed across the world, is to start getting comfortable with the proposition that the only fair and responsible sort of beliefs are ones that are supported by evidence, and that, consequently, they should always be open to revision and refinement — even complete dismantlement — on the basis of new, more compelling proof. As a species, H. sapiens must outgrow its infantile attachment to believing things simply because that is what it was taught or that is what makes it feel good. This faith in one’s own belief is inherently unfair because it always assumes, on the basis of itself alone, that one is right while everybody else is mistaken.

Fredlinskip

According to a 2007 Gallup poll about 43% of Americans believe that “God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.”
This- slightly less than the 46% reported in a 2006 Gallup poll.�
I guess it seems to be trending in the right direction, but personally I think it necessary to be tolerant of other’s views-
and not cut yourself off from almost half of America.

PaulfromHydeParkMA

I found Dr. Carson to be arrogant and incredibly disingenuous. We’re all glad he found a way to deal with his definition of reality, (e.g. God created everything, everything good is God’s doing and humans are fallible in too many ways to count). His scorn for the concept of fairness in the tax code (i.e. that the rich pay more because they CAN, not because they SHOULD), and his dismissive tone and attitudes makes thinking people, not many of whom we’d find among the current Conservative crop, being on autopilot, rubber stamp mode as they are, want to distance themselves from Dr. Carson’s deep self-satisfaction and clear sense of self-importance. Paying taxes is NOTHING like Tithing…the latter is an expression of religious commitment, the former is verification that one believes in, and appreciates to societal benefits of Democracy. We pay taxes as a price for living in the richest, best resourced and most open nation on the globe. Since the Conservatives have no intention of sharing their riches, don’t think that access to resources needs to changed drastically and stand for closing off everything they can to people, even if they’ve already paid their way (Social Security, Medicare, etc.), it’s no wonder that he’s the new darling of the Conservative Right. ‘Scuse me while I make a beeline for the Border…the last thing we need is a self-satisfied, sanctimonious, selfish and arrogant Republican – who happens to be Black – telling this nation that his ideas for the U.S. are good ones. You can change the color of the spokesperson, but until you change the core of their ideas, you ain’t getting nothin’ for the Conservatives from open-minded, caring, and giving Americans.

http://www.facebook.com/steve.cakouros.1 Steve Cakouros

To: Tom Ashbrook ofOn Point
From: Chaplain Stephen A. Cakouros
Am I wrong in thinking that NPR has become a shill for the homosexual lobby? Is this why a helpful and delightful interview with Dr. Ben Carson [Feb. 26, 2013] was immediately followed by another interview dealing with C. Everett Coop that pandered to Gays?
Tom, you could have called on a real scientist. Instead, you chose an in your face thoughtless homosexual for the interview who acted as if was his duty to lambaste evangelicals because of their opposition to the homosexual lobby. What is troublesome is that your guest exhibited the persecution complex and self righteousness characteristic of Gays. You should have called him on it. But how could you? You would have been denounced as a hate monger. All opposition to homosexuality is interpreted as hate.
I’m guessing that you know that generally speaking, evangelicals avoid NPR which is why he got away with his kind of hate.
BTW, C. Everett Coop flew the coop. He was a strange bird indeed. Coop is to blame for the way in which children are presently being propagandized by the homosexual community. Children not long ago potty trained, are now hearing about same sex marriage and anal sex which are subjects no one should hear about whatever their age.
Coop was bad for morals, children, and America, a disappointment to Reagan who appointed him. His statement that he could not determine if an abortion was bad for the health and psychology of women, was and remains one of the dumbest commentaries ever made by someone with claimed expertise. Your guest forgot to mention that by now the evidence to support the claim that abortion is bad for women is overwhelming. But so what, evidence and facts count for little or nothing to the people who use the word science as a cover for their unscientific what is factual.

,

anon

It is certainly true that Americans are so polarized that people don’t look at an idea on its merit but judge it according to whether their side or the other side came up with it. Given this situation, I don’t see how there can be any significant improvement from politicians of any persuasion.

I also agree that the political correctness has gone too far. People seem to be waiting to pounce on anything that might irritate them; for example, there is often great outrage and an outpouring of opinion on something a fictional TV character said, as if it were the most important thing in the world.

As for the tithing, as a Muslim, I can see Dr. Carson’s point, but our idea of that is a little different. Muslims (except for the very poor) are required to give 2.5% of their assets (savings, property, gold, etc. – it is not based on income) to the needy every year. This is the bare minimum, though – without giving this, one’s wealth is considered impermissible; this is how it is purified. It is also stressed that we are not doing the poor a favor, but that this is their right over us. Besides that bare minimum, though, charity is encouraged at all times, and many people give much more. Throughout Islamic history, there were foundations set up for all kinds of community services, including the first hospitals and libraries, area set aside for old and injured animals, etc.

http://www.facebook.com/RJBattistoneSr Robert Battistone Sr

That’s why the majority of Muslims are living so well off. Other than the reining Kings living off the Oil in the country.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1421720444 Christian Brunner

I’m still trying (albeit failing) to imagine an immaterial spirit entity (who people envision as a white old male with a long beard) crafting 8.4 million species and counting, all of them out of matter. And are they all made out clay as well, or only us humans? And for what purpose made this intelligence quite a number of species that then vanished?
I assume that Carson has some scientific evidence for that spirit doing all that (photos maybe) as he claims that the theory of evolution is lacking such evidence.
If the right is really calling for him to run for President, then we are in for a lot of strangeness…

ExcellentNews

In science, there are ONLY theories. The theories may change or get rejected based on experimental findings.

So yes, the theory of evolution is “just a theory” – like everything else in science. But it is based on thousands of observations of the real world, from disciplines ranging from molecular biology to mathematics. These findings all agree – the array of species we see today most likely evolved from a single ancestor. We most likely evolved from a primate and share common ancestors with apes. Life on Earth is very very old and far more complex than we ever thought.

Over its 150 years of history, the theory of evolution has been often revised and amended (e.g. punctuated equilibrium, homeobox gene mutations) as new data has come in. But the basic theory has been confirmed with every new finding. At this stage, it is very unlikely that we will find some evidence that contradicts it.

If someone rejects evolution, they should be honest and reject the ENTIRETY of scientific progress that has happened since the Renaissance.

TJPhoto40

I’m all for common sense and good ideas, but this good doctor seems woefully short on both. Carson talks out of both sides of his mouth, makes wildly contradictory or downright false statements about major issues, and is by all evidence arrogantly opposed to the very principles he claims to champion. He seems to think the wealthy will take care of the needy and government is only getting in the way. He recognizes we’re all the same beneath the color of our skin, which is enlightened, but ignores the blight of racism and intolerance. He’s more willfully oblivious than he is rational.

As for his remark about infrastructure, I’m not aware of any major infrastructure that billionaires (wealthy industrialists) had a substantial role in building other than the railroads. Who built the highway system, the dams, the bridges, the water and sewer systems? Largely government funded. As with many things stated by Dr. Carson, this is very selective and distorted to credit the wealthy for our infrastructure, which once was the pride of the nation and now is crumbling thanks to neglect and funding challenges that will only get worse. Perhaps we should ask the large corporations and billionaires to chip in, since they benefit greatly from such infrastructure without paying their fair share now.

Despite his claims of common sense thinking and desire for reasonable dialogue, Carson seems intolerant of other views and unwilling to engage in substantial debate. He brushes aside views he doesn’t care to engage and challenges Tom or others to show where he hasn’t been correct, but evades many major challenges along the way. He has plenty of “faith” in a supreme being but dismisses the more provable facts of science as requiring “more faith than I can muster”. He ascribes things to God about the creation of the species and claims God knows when all things should be done, even whether he’s to run for political office, yet Carson claims to be a proponent of personal responsibility.

When pressed to describe how he’d handle some issue, Carson tends to fall back on the lame “it would take a few hours to lay that out” approach. Where’s the common sense man of the people there? And when told his views sound remarkably like those of arch conservatives, his retort is “Well, if what they say makes sense, if it’s right, then we have that in common”. This is laughable nonsense when looked at closely, and Carson is a charlatan.

http://www.facebook.com/ron.rivers.779 Ron Rivers

d
- hartford sam
  
  ron,
  he’s got all the stage he wants , but he’s he’s all wet. great surgeon ? sure. big thinker or well educated ? hell no. and there’s the prob . repubs are poring their poison in his ear, his head is starting to blow up and what arrogance !! like rnc chair steele he doesn’t know what he is getting in bed with. monsters !
- http://profile.yahoo.com/PPVKW5SFGU5YGX6BTO2747H7MU Edie
  
  Dr. Carson has shared the same stage with your beloved Richard Dawkins (check YouTube). Not only is Dr. Carson a passionate supporter of all children, he has the nerve to question the media’s pushing sports and entertainment on our children to their detriment. All he is asking for is a dialogue – both sides talking to each other without the PC policing our words, so we can really communicate. Why is that so wrong? Each side has some truth, don’t you think. Isn’t it time we got together so we can solve our problems and move forward? It is always a mistake, I think, to think one’s side has all the answers and the other is some evil ignoramus to be ignored.
  - http://www.facebook.com/ron.rivers.779 Ron Rivers
    
    Dr Carson did share the same stage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPxGnN7RV1Y), and it was an excellent discussion, but in my opinion, Dr. Carson was the weakest of the 4 people involved in the discussion. So dialogue is good to the extent it’s a rational dialogue, where real meaning can be distilled.
ExcellentNews

The railroads were made possible by the Government who annexed the rights of way for the benefit of corporations, provided armed protection, and guaranteed the loans of the “robber barons”. The latter just collected on the wealth created by the coolies…
http://www.facebook.com/RJBattistoneSr Robert Battistone Sr

Hey TJ, you claim all the great infrastructure was produced by the government. (“Government Funded”). Where did the government get their money to fund them?
Stupid is has stupid does.
- TJPhoto40
  
  RBSr, your point is? Hey, I’m fine with all of us contributing to the pot for worthwhile infrastructure. Aren’t you? Now tone down the hostility and learn to edit your postings.
Kev_H

This comment is full of contradictions. According to TJ government funded and provided infrastructure is the way to go, but our current infrastructure is suffering with the claim that is due to the lack of funding. Yet funding has exploded including a previously unheard of nearly trillion dollar stimulus package that was supposed to go shovel ready infrastructure improvements. It would be far cheaper if a private organization took care of it because the payoffs to political supporters wouldn’t be necessary. Point is, we’ve turned that task over to the government and according to the commenter it isn’t working well so we should keep doing the same thing that isn’t working, but just more of it?
- Kev_H
  
  Note that the estimated cost of building the entire interstate system was $425 billion in 2006 dollars. We could have built two more just with Obama’s stimulus and what did we get that is comparable? He’s still calling for more money to do the same things he was talking about 5 years ago.
- TJPhoto40
  
  I don’t see the contradictions, Kev, but I do see strange claims in your comment. The governments at every level (city, state and federal) have some responsibility for failure to maintain the massive infrastructure that was built, particularly in the 1960s with great vision about its value to our country and its economy. We’ve simply let it erode without proper maintenance, repair and replacement. But government, and our tax money, is probably the only source large enough and comprehensive enough to tackle what needs to be done. Failure of our elected representatives to do this so far doesn’t mean it can’t be done or shouldn’t be done. See the report from the Amer Society of Civic Engineers about the state of our infrastructure. (http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/)
  
  I’m not aware of any funding to the tune of a trillion dollars–not even close. Where is this funding that “exploded,” according to you? You must get your information from some questionable sources; I won’t name them, but you know who they are. People don’t want to spend the huge sums necessary to upgrade or replace. That’s short-sighted, even stupid. There was a great program about American infrastructure (I believe on Frontline) that brought home how dire this is, and how much it will cost in the future when things are truly catastrophic. The proposed funding plans and stimulus money are a drop in the bucket, not even a quality bandaid. And if you think private organizations will handle this, you’re living a pipe dream of disturbing proportions.

Steve__T

Disqus

hartford sam

hey, man . here’s evolution for me : golfers fry their brain and skin and drink alcohol. dead brain cells, melanomas and cirrosis develop. they get curmugeonly , argue with their wife , alienate their children and reproduction stops. the children though take up the same habits, but earlier and family dna diminishes in the gene pool. VOILA !
evolution occurs and the world improves !
EVOLUTION !! isn’t it great !

http://www.facebook.com/ron.rivers.779 Ron Rivers

That’s funny. I like it. I see a book in the works for you. Allow me to suggest a working title: “The golfers dilemma”. Sorry, this comment wasn’t OnPoint.

S Myers

I want to like Dr. Carson. I loved his book, “Gifted Hands” and who isn’t in awe of his accomplishments?

I wish he was consulted during the health care debate. His contribution would have been invaluable. But, what purpose does his criticism serve now? Seems odd for somebody that claims he wants to bring people together. And the well informed Jonathan Cohn’s responses certainly seemed to stop Carson in his tracks.

Carson claims God guided his breakfast talk. He didn’t know what he was going to say. Reminda me of Flip Wilson’s Geraldine claiming “the devil made me do it!”

Perhaps the doctor should take a closer look at his motives, you know, assume personal responsibility and not use God as a copout. I think it was a cheap shot. If he had an open debate with the president where Obama had a chance to challenge the good doctor, that would have been fair. Perhaps the doctor and I have a different definition of fair which is too bad because I really want to like him.

http://profile.yahoo.com/PPVKW5SFGU5YGX6BTO2747H7MU Edie

Dirty pool? When we have a fawning enabling protecting Obama media, what chance does anyone have to raise any questions or suggestions to his majesty? I am glad God directed him to speak up at the prayer breakfast – poetic justice if you ask me. And Jonathon Cohn’s remarks did not stop him in his tracks. He wasn’t able to respond to his last remark about Obamacare being like Dr. Carson’s suggestions. It is too bad he wasn’t consulted during the health care debate but I don’t think Obama would have been too interested. Obama is the one driving people apart. I am glad you want to like him, it is very refreshing to hear his ideas. We certainly could use some new direction for our country.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=706051959 Annette Hindsley

they tryed to bully him into giving them a copy of his speech, and told him not to say anytthing against obama, He didn’t even know until 30 minutes before the speach what he was going to say. & Exactly what is wrong with letting God lead you its a lot better than Mohammond
ExcellentNews

I remember another President who talked to God daily and was told by God to invade Iraq, to let the money changers run wild, and to give them a big tax cut… Dr. Carson sounds like a black George W Bush the III.

At least, he made his money saving lives, not swindling investors in the oil company of which his father made him an executive.
- Kev_H
  
  You are ignorant. George W. Bush never enjoyed financial success outside of baseball, where he gained $14 million for his efforts with the Rangers. Not too shabby but he is no super fat cat like the richer than Romney tax avoider Al Gore.
http://www.facebook.com/eva.graham.391 Eva Graham

Dr Carson was not critical, he was making common sense suggestions you can take or leave. Unfortunately common sense went AWOL.
http://www.facebook.com/RJBattistoneSr Robert Battistone Sr

Sorry, S Myers. Mr. Obama has had the BULLY Liberal media for the past 5 years. What Dr. Carson was saying was very simple. If you gave people a health account and allowed them to determine how they would spend it, then 1) you would see a lot less people in the ER for colds, 2) you would have people that visited the ER doing what they were told, such as take the prescribed medicine (so they wouldn’t have a followup visit in the ER, and 3) get rid of most of the malpractice laws and the lawyers with them. Those few things would reduce our healthcare cost more than anything the government has done. Obamacare is not reducing healthcare costs!!! If you think that Obamacare is the answer, then 1) you have never worked in an ER, and 2) you don’t no what the question was!

anon

Do I understand what he means when he talks about health care accounts? That since people would be able to pass on any leftover credits to their children, old people might voluntarily refrain from getting medical care so their children can have that opportunity? (He says we won’t need ‘death panels’; presumably he means that we can get the same results, though.) Is that the society we want to be – where we can’t give old people and young people the health care they need? (I’m not talking about prolonging someone’s life on a machine when they don’t want it, but that doesn’t seem to be what he’s talking about.)

http://www.facebook.com/jim.starlin Jim Starlin

Then you are not listening. Open your mind and TRY to accept an original thought from someone without a hidden agenda for a change.. I know it is a foreign thought but just give it a try.. It is quite refreshing.
- anon
  
  It’s strange to me that you respond to my comment the way you did. I don’t have any particular agenda; I think I’ve written here before that most people in the US are so partisan that they can’t look at an idea on its own merit but simply develop their opinion based on whose side the idea came from. Having lived outside the US for many years (where thankfully we don’t have to make a choice about who can get access to health care), I find that sad. Personally, I don’t have any stake in either side.
  
  Really, I’m curious – How did you get such a negative idea about me from this comment? In fact, I listened to Dr. Carson’s speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, and I actually was very impressed and liked a lot of what he said. This is one point, though, that didn’t sit well with me. If you want to comment, perhaps you could address my question – is that what he was saying, or did I misunderstand him?
  
  (Oh, never mind. I clicked on your name and see that you’re a big supporter of Dr. Carson for President. I have no problem with that, but apparently you can’t be objective.)
  - http://www.facebook.com/eva.graham.391 Eva Graham
    
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9905740/Patient-malnutrition-is-unacceptable-says-Department-of-Health.html
    
    Grew up with socialized medicin and it’s not near what you think. You are probaqbly young or fairly young and never needed any. Dr Carsons suggestion of healthcare without government is way above what the politicians here have dreamed up. So which country did you spend a lot of time in and what kind of medical did you need and receive. How old are you?
    - anon
      
      It’s fascinating to see the assumptions people make out of thin air. Not that it’s really your business, but I’m in my mid-50s – it’s up to you whether or not you consider that young and inexperienced. Luckily, my father had a good insurance package, and while I was in the military, I had what would probably be labelled as ‘socialized medicine’. I have never had any catastrophic illness, but I’ve needed routine medical care, dental treatment, maternity and childbirth care, etc. I live in Kuwait, and unlike many people where I grew up (the US), if I need to see a doctor or my tooth needs a crown, or my kids need stitches, I don’t have to worry about whether or not we can afford it.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1617053368 Sally Rosen

I understand your conerns anon. Dr. Carson is referring to health care in a self reliant society where individuals can chose where their health care account dollars are spent. The premise is that by empowering individuals with managing their health care accounts, they will be motivated to take better care of themselves and keep expenses in control. Also, this will simplify the system and remove the bureaucratic overhead the Obama-care is inflicting. While Obama-care is a good start and universal health care is the right thing to do, the current plan of execution is riddled with inefficiencies that will hurt the economy even more. Dr. Carson has a simplified solution.
- anon
  
  Thanks, Sally.
- Shark2007
  
  If you look at the data, Medicare is much more efficient, has less bureaucratic overhead, than private insurance, check out the health care story on the March 4 Time magazine. Perhaps Tom can interview the author?
Kev_H

Health care is bought and sold, there is no way around it unless you want to enslave the people who provide it. With HSA’s everyone has direct incentive to be as healthy as possible which would lead to better lives for people. If you have a bad diet, start getting too fat and health problems result, the account you accumulated, maybe over generations, starts to dwindle and you do something about it. If payment is separated from the individual, they too often just prescribe more meds and manage the disease as the patient suffers through life. You can see it today at any Walmart, a health care system that due to perverse incentives, has failed low income people.

If you look it up, you will find actual doctors and health professionals don’t ask for doctors to “do everything you can” at the end of their own lives. They know all too well the true odds, have lived with and accept death as inevitable and have seen the physical stress and indignity that happens all too often in end of life treatment.

We currently live in a society where for too many people the end of life is extended for a few months or years with aggressive, horrifying medical treatment that only slightly delays the inevitable, if at all, and fills a person’s final, precious days on earth with intense physical suffering. I definitely don’t want the government to make those personal decisions one way or the other, but I also don’t want the government to mandate that we all must chip in to pay for everybody to have the right to unlimited resources in misguided efforts to cheat death.

We also live in a society where people regularly drop a couple of hundred dollars maintaining their cars and even filling their gas tanks for a month, but they don’t want to pay those kinds of bills directly for their own health. HSA’s allow people to save on insurance, by choosing low premium high deductible, catastrophic insurance. They can then pay for everything else out of their account and they get rewarded for staying healthy by the size of their account which they can pass on or donate to others as they choose. All in all it is far more humane and dignified than the special interest fiasco that Obama care is turning out to be.
- anon
  
  Thanks, Kev_H, for the detailed response. I do agree with a lot of what you said, and I know that a large proportion of health care spending goes to people who are near the end of their lives, which doesn’t make sense.
  
  One thing that does come to mind, though, is that people need to be informed and assertive if they’re going to manage their own HSAs. I know it’s a very different situation, but I recently heard a report on the BBC about an area in India that gave each person a certain amount of money per year for health care needs, and they now have villages where almost all of the women (including women in their 20s and 30s) have had hysterectomies. They would go to a doctor for heavy menstrual bleeding or something, and the doctors would tell them that they had cancer and needed a hysterectomy - which conveniently cost just about the same as the amount they were allotted for health care…
  
  (google ‘bbc hysterectomy india’ if you want more details about that)
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1636197122 Holly Lentz

As a hospice professional I know exactly what Dr. Carson is saying. So many patients just want to be done with these so-called curative treatments when they are too weak to tolerate them. They just want to spend their last months/weeks/days in peace and comfort. But their families keep pushing them to pursue burdensome treatments, out of guilt or fear of letting them go. Dr. Carson is talking about encouraging people to make the choice to go naturally in the comfort of home, as opposed to dying in the hospital.

http://www.facebook.com/todd.trimm.7 Todd Trimm

if you are not saying something because of it not being PC, that is no ones fault but you. Don’t blame others because you are worried….you are restricting your own speech

http://profile.yahoo.com/BAC7J5B5G233HRQ3H47YJYPA6Q yahoo-BAC7J5B5G233HRQ3H47YJYPA6Q

Dr.Carson is right about many things, as my role model i respect him, but i am worried about his political moves, you don’t just go in Fox news , you should go to other medias also. I am a conservative democrat, and i am excited to see what he has to offer, but i want to hear his message because his way of approaching is good, but let’s see!!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=706051959 Annette Hindsley

I would say the way the press is theywon’t invite him on their shows
http://www.facebook.com/eva.graham.391 Eva Graham

Other media probably would not invite him. His outlook is too different from mainstream media. He obviously does not agree with Obama’s “governing”.

http://profile.yahoo.com/JU7APEPKJ55KMJVPXQWDJOG5T4 Alice

Awesome!

DariusL

Dr. Carson is talking about a fair method in a society that is inherently unfair. I wonder who really thinks that approach is fair.

http://twitter.com/TRICIACOBB TRICIA COBB

Great American

ExcellentNews

Hedge fund managers shalt pay no more than 10% tax on the billions they make exporting American jobs abroad. From the holy book of Nordquist 4:38.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=706051959 Annette Hindsley

I have absolutely no fear of electing this man to be THE PRESIDENT something I have refused to call obama & I’m 69 years old

Shark2007

Clearly you are not to committed to the ideals of democracy. You must not have noticed that President Obama won both the popular vote and the electoral vote by a clear margin. Unlike his predecessor who was appointed by the Supreme Court for his first term after his party’s voter suppression in Florida was successful.

ExcellentNews

Much as I admire Dr. Carson as a person, I cannot accept his conservative views. Since I am not PC either, here is the truth – if things were left to the tender mercies of “personal responsibility”, Dr. Carson would be most likely picking cotton on a plantation at starvation wages (if any). The plantation owner would be boasting how “he did built that”, and his son might be the acclaimed neurosurgeon instead.

Mr. Ashbrook fumbled to explain why a progressive tax is more equitable than a flat tax. Anyone who has ever worked in private industry knows the explanation. Nobody makes a billion because he works a million times harder or smarter than the average. The vast majority of rich people are rich because they collect the SURPLUS WEALTH THEIR WORKERS CREATE. In a society where labor is plentiful, worker wages invariably gravitate to the lowest marginal pay the most desperate worker will accept, and owner profits skyrocket. That is our country, racing to the bottom with the other third-world oligarchies such as China, The Philippines…etc. Yeah, I am not PC…

The role of progressive tax is to even out the inequity of the “free market”. An intelligent government takes the revenue generated and invests it in projects that benefit the people equally (R&D, infrastructure, social safety net… etc). The fact that our government does not seem intelligent is besides the point. After all, how can we have an intelligent government when more than half of its members deny the basic findings and conjectures of science (yes, sciences deals with findings and conjectures) in favor of the “truth” in a book written by Middle East nomads 3000 years ago?

Kev_H

Marxism is a failed ideology in every way. It is cruel and immoral to all but the corrupt insiders. This has been demonstrated, tragically, time and again.
ExcellentNews

Agreed, Kev_H. Marxism is a failed and corrupt ideology. And we live in the era of Corporate Marxism. Losses are socialized, gains are privatized. People work for pittance while the oligarchs live it large and pass it on the next generation. The masses are brainwashed by a corporate media. Catchphrases and dogma replace logic and evidence. That is HOW marxism works in practice. We just call it GOP and “Club for Growth” instead of the American Totalitarian Party…
AudreyA

sigh. If I provide a diary farm, the cows, the feed, the tanks, the pasture, and the vet care, and I pay my milkers–am I getting rich by taking the surplus wealth my workers create? Or is he getting a job and I’m making money back on my huge investment in the dairy? In your ideal world, following your line of thinking, I’d never build a business and employ people because some government hack would demand I turn all the profits over to my employees. Why take the risk, why work so hard to build that farm, that factory, that firm?
And for crying out loud, get over the contempt for those who hold different beliefs about the origins of humanity. It makes not a whit of difference in how I live my life if I think we evolved from a protein slurry a billion years ago or popped into existance 3000 years ago. You might not want the latter teaching biology to 10th graders, but he or she is perfectly fit to do almost anything else–I know a lot of people with beliefs I think are nuts (like those who commune with the spirits of the trees) but are perfectly capable in their professions.
- ExcellentNews
  
  Thank you for your hard work. You know that dairy farmers or doctors are not who I wrote about. There are a lot of people who work hard and earn a lot thanks to their work. They are NOT the people funding the GOP. The top 2500 US oligarchs are worth more than the rest of the country combined. They do not work harder than you. They do not take more risks than you – in fact, you bailed them out in 2008. They virtually own you, me, and most other working Americans.
  
  As to contempt for other beliefs – everyone has right to their beliefs, and none should be held in contempt for it. But POLICY should be based on FACT and REALITY. Nations who get divorced from fact and reality perish. The politicians who drive us deeper and deeper in the ditch subscribe to creationism, not tree hugging or UFO worship.
  - AudreyA
    
    Hello Excellent News;
    What policies do you see that are driven by a belief in creationism? The only one I know of would be some misguided attempts to teach it directly which, given the staunch secularism of the vast majority of teachers, is an exercise in futility.

http://www.facebook.com/eva.graham.391 Eva Graham

You sound like you are misreading these posts. They are not fearful, but rather respectful. He makes more sense and has more genuine concern than most politicians right now. Fairness seems to be lacking at the present. Dr Carson also has a psychology degree, besides neurological surgeon, and seems more concerned about this country then most “citizens”. Unfortunately our fearless leader at the present is trying to govern via intimidation and threats, which some folks take to heart. These Washington threats make a few fearful but by no means all.

Dave S

He is giving GOP candidates a good lesson in how to combine conservative views with compassion. I hope some important people in the GOP are paying attention to this.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1443894113 Jon Kelley

Been selling HSA since they were MSA’s in the 1990′s. It is NOT an FSA. The attorneys jumped all over the MSA’s back when it was an Individual plan for none W-2 employees/group. Think it is the opposite of KP. You contribute and then the next year make more tax-deductible contributions which it is able to send off to Mutual Funds(hope more). Just like how IRA’s are structured. However, though Charles Schwab tried to create a dept. in 2003 for a year to capture this gap of understanding. Nevertheless..I still am marketing HSA’s but now in groups also(thank God finally in w-2 group).

http://www.facebook.com/susan.joneshayes Susan Jones-Hayes

I would really like to hear more about what would be done for people who are sicker than others…I am very healthy and go to the doctor MAYBE 3 times a year….what about people who are struggling with diseases and disabilities?

http://www.facebook.com/susan.joneshayes Susan Jones-Hayes

I would definitely vote for Dr.Carson.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000199038824 Bright Turaki

Me too!
Shark2007

A person who considers his own idiosyncratic views as common sense and ignores data/information that contradicts his beliefs. Not the kind of person I would vote for.
- Will B. Nyce
  
  Are you talking about Obama?

broomhill

i am so happy that we have provided entertainment for you …i for one am anxious for this country and where it is going and i believe with very good reasosn.

Shark2007

Dr. Carson clearly does not understand the the graduated income tax. Every one pays the same rate on the first x dollars earned, they then pay a higher rate on the next x+1 to x+n1 dollars, and then a higher rate on the next x+n1+1 to x+n1+n2 dollars. if a person only has income to the x+n1 dollars they don’t pay the higher rate. On the other hand, they haven’t benefitted as much from the current structuring of society.

In regards the theory of evolution, how does Dr. Carson explain the fossil record and the fact we share about 98% of our DNA with Chimpanzees? What useful/testable predictions has “intelligent design” ever made in the biological or medical sciences? One has to wonder how he ever passed through biology classes in premed?

Carl Will

Please explain…from what I heard if you make $100/$20. If you make $1000/$200 if you make & 1,000,000/$200,000 that’s a “Flat Tax” If you are a truck driver…and pay 20% on 50k. That’s only 10K. If you make 250,000 @ 10%. 25K. Now…if you make 250k a year or more you are most likely a business owner…with 5-10 truck drivers. Not sure what you are getting at…as far as “Graduated Income Tax” Im not to bright so please explain….

“INTELLIGENT DESIGN” What do you do for a living…? Are you a doctor?
- Shark2007
  
  A flat tax is where you pay the same percentage on your total income, regardless of the magnitude of the income. The graduated tax is as I described it above. If you need to work with real numbers, use Turbo tax or similar software and create a series of accounts with different incomes and look at the tax for each. You can also get the current tax brackets and rate for each bracket from the IRS and use a spreadsheet. You will see what the the rate/dollar earned is the same within a bracket. All the dollars you earn in that bracket are taxed at the same rate. If your income is exceeds that bracket, you only pay the higher rate on the dollars above the top of that previous bracket.
  Looked at another way if your income was presented as a stack of dollars, you would pay the lowest rate on the first increment, say the first foot of the stack, the a higher rate on the next increment between one foot and two feet on the stack, then a higher rate on the third increment between two feet and twenty feet, etc.
  
  The deficit would be fixed if we went back to the tax rates of that good Republican, Eisenhower with the brackets adjusted for inflation.
  
  The god theory, I.e. intelligent design, can be used to explain everything, therefore it explains nothing. Thus it is not a scientific theory. Evolutionary theory takes all of natural history and makes sense out of it. It makes useful, verifiable predictions that have been verified by voluminous research in paleontology, ecology, archaeology, geology and genetics. A medical doctor claiming to believe in “intelligent design” is equivalent to an urban geographer claiming to believe the earth is flat, because he is studying small towns in North Dakota
  - Carl Will
    
    “The highest rate paid during the Eisenhower years was the 49.3% rate paid by those making over $1 million back in 1953. ” Look up yourself how much the top 20% pay and the bottom 20% pay in taxes. My mother paid more in Union dues than state/federal taxes.
    
    Dr. Carson talked about a “Flat-Tax” when he referenced God. You also have to consider “inflation” but don’t for get the additional Government agencies Government Unions & outrageous spending.
    
    You might not believe in God, but someone that deals with death like a doctor might see so called unexplained events or “miracles”. Just like politics the person can have a strong faith; just as long as the persons judgment does not interfere with the outcome or process at hand.
    
    You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
    You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
    You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
    You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
    You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
    You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
    You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
    You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
    You cannot build character and courage by destroying men’s initiative and independence.
    And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.
    - Shark2007
      
      You are simply wrong on the Eisenhower tax rates.
      
      http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/sep/22/barack-obama/barack-obama-says-taxes-are-lower-today-under-reag/
      
      The top rate was 90% during Eisenhower.
      
      Your little recitation is the usual straw man argument. According to Warren Buffet, the rich are waging class war on the rest of us. He should know.
    - Carl Will
      
      http://brian-therightperspective.blogspot.com/2012/12/liberal-myth-of-91-tax-on-rich-debunked.html
      
      We can go back and forth all posting website links….Use common sense…Spending is the issue.
      
      AND What person would give 90% of their earnings away…..for someone who posts “Graduated Tax” information…
      
      ***THINK*** Would anyone give 90% away of anything???? LOL!!!!
    - Shark2007
      
      Go check out the reference I posted above. You obviously don’t understand the concept of top marginal rate. You are obviously arithmetically challenged, so there is little prospect you will do more than your continued rants. We get it, you don’t like paying taxes and you don’t like the government.
    - Carl Will
      
      “arithmetically challenged” you must be brainwashed by your Liberal College Professors….talk to an adult that pays bills.
      
      Living in your parents house I can see why you do NOT understand…WHO WOULD PAY 90% of THEIR INCOME TO ANYONE?….WAKE UP!
    - Carl Will
      
      I worked for Warren Buffet he one of the biggest tax evaders out there…TOP RATE what did they actually pay.
      
      Here were the effective individual income tax rates of the 3 very high income AGI groups.
      
      $200,000-$500,000 group: Tax as Share of Amended AGI (%)
      
      1953 = 45.9
      1954 = 39.3
      1955 = 36.8
      1956 = 37.4
      1957 = 38.6
      1958 = 36.9
      1959 = 33.8
      1960 = 33.1
      1961 = 31.5
      
      $500,000-$1,000,000 group: Tax as Share of Amended AGI (%)
      
      1953 = 46.3
      1954 = 38.7
      1955 = 35.6
      1956 = 36.7
      1957 = 36.6
      1958 = 36.0
      1959 = 32.1
      1960 = 30.8
      1961 = 29.1
      
      Over $1,000,000 group: Tax as Share of Amended AGI (%)
      
      1953 = 49.3
      1954 = 38.8
      1955 = 35.8
      1956 = 36.1
      1957 = 40.0
      1958 = 33.1
      1959 = 30.6
      1960 = 31.3
      1961 = 27.2
      
      You are lost there…guy! Where’s the 90%?
    - Shark2007
      
      Yea right, you can hardly write English and you obviously don’t know how to even calculate your taxes from the rate tables and clearly don’t understand the term top marginal rate, which was 90% during the Eisenhower administration. Warren Buffet wouldn’t hire you to mow his lawn. Instead of making things up, go look here for the marginal tax rates.
      
      http://taxfoundation.org/sites/taxfoundation.org/files/docs/fed_rates_history_real_1913_2013_0.pdf
    - Carl Will
      
      sorry write English? Once again Who would give up 90% of something….maybe your not so bright self. I actually worked and attempted to sue Warren Buffet…but they settled. Once again…90% ARE YOU EFFFING STUPID or just DUMB.
  - http://www.facebook.com/jim.harris.5851 Jim Harris
    
    You need to do a little more studying. The more we find out the more holes are blown in the “theory” of evolution. and the fossil record does not prove evolution when studied fully it disproves evolution.
    - Shark2007
      
      So what does the “god” theory predict one should find in the natural environment?
      
      Do you have any scientific papers you can cite that support your assertion?
      
      Actually I’ve studied it quite a bit.

TJPhoto40

Wow, and double-wow. Your post is amusing and revealing of you in ways your psychiatric training doesn’t seem to protect you from. I can’t speak for others here, but I certainly don’t fear this guy or his views. I think you’re seriously projecting imaginary or distorted emotions into people posting here, and your psychiatric background must be more of a detriment than a help to you in comprehending what you read. If people object to jumbled, simplistic or wacky pronouncements, I don’t consider it fearful to react negatively. I would call in reasonable. If they don’t always articulate the reaction very well, that’s a communication problem, not a pathological issue. But I’d say it’s mildly offensive that you’re amused by your faulty reading of notes here. Sounds like you take your professional opinion a bit too seriously, and need to try a different approach like defending views you believe make sense. Smug dismissal of others here is less interesting than what you really think of Dr. Carson’s questionable claims on several subjects. Show some courage and take up a position on these claims.

Regular_Listener

Wow, look at all the comments! Dr. Carson is certainly an attention-getter. I just wanted to mention that, while I did not agree with a lot of his views, I do want to commend him for speaking out strongly against the “politically correct” muzzling of free speech and expression, the notion that many unpleasant things that people say should be unacceptable and perhaps illegal because they might offend or upset somebody. This is not a good trend, it is contrary to our traditions and the Constitution, and I look forward to it coming to an end.

jfk909us

Yes, Ben Carson was right that political correctness sometimes stifles free speech. But at the same time that he was criticizing those who demonize their opponents, he was also calling his own critics absurd. http://mediapoliticsinperspective.wordpress.com/

Carl Will

“Conservative” view are common sense views…believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values and a strong national defense. Believe the role of government should be to provide people the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals. Conservative policies generally emphasize empowerment of the individual to solve problems.

A doctor or educated individual that can think…doesn’t need Government to get involved in personal choices. If you do not agree with that statement; can you honestly tell me Government is doing a great job and has the American people’s best interest in-mind?

As far as “Obamacare” are you a doctor? Ask your doctor about “Obamacare” and then tell him/her they are “absurd”. A doctor knows what’s best…and if you think doctors are greedy go see a social-worker for your medical issues.

Comm’on you are making a deal about the “N” word. Aren’t you unprofessional to even want a stupid answer to a stupid question? Adults should’t fly off the handle for some derogatory name calling….We aren’t in grade school…
- jfk909us
  
  Carl,
  
  I could make the same argument about liberal views. They are a way to empower people — all people. Liberal views are common sense views. For example, it is common sense to help those who are hungry or who live in poverty when the private sector cannot do the job by itself; it is common sense to educate people; it is common sense to build roads so workers can get to their jobs; it is common sense to build police and fire stations to protect citizens and private investment against crime; it is common sense to defend the nation against foreign sabotage against our vital infrastructure; it is common sense to provide healthcare to all citizens. It is common sense to ask government (i.e. you and me) to do things that private enterprise either will not do, or do at such a price that many would be left out.
  
  Anyone can claim the mantle of common sense. But let’s acknowledge that we are all being ideological. If you have an idea and a world view (for example, your world view that government should stay out of the way of its people), then you are ideological. I freely admit that I am ideological. My objection to Dr. Ben Carson is that he skirts this issue and tries to act like he is some how above the fray. He tries to act like he is so completely objective that we should trust all of his judgments because, after all, they are not ideological, they are only common sense.
  
  I’m sorry. To me, that is being disingenuous. He denies that he is a conservative in an attempt to shield himself from criticism. It’s a cop out. What he seems to be saying is: no one has the right to criticize me because I just want what everyone else wants: common sense.
  
  Your statement that “a doctor or educated individual that can think…doesn’t need Government
  to get involved in personal choices” does not address my point at all. I don’t know what personal choices you think I want the government to take away from Ben Carson. He is free to say whatever he wants. But he must know that if he refuses to support those statements with facts, his statements will have less credibility.
  
  Your next question, (Can you honestly tell me Government is doing a great job and
  has the American people’s best interest in-mind?) is too simple and does not allow for any nuance. Sometimes, government does an excellent job. It provides food to those who would not otherwise have it; it provides retirees with Social Security checks that many need to stay out of poverty; it tries to regulate workplace safety so that you don’t have to work in a sweat shop; it tries to regulate businesses so that — unlike in a place like China, where I have visited — you can live in a country where the air is somewhat safe to breath. I can go on and on. I live in the DC area and see many federal employees work extremely hard every day for the public good.
  
  Does government do everything right? No. It is sometimes inefficient. It is sometimes burdensome. And it sometimes makes bad decisions, such as bombing innocent people in other countries who pose no threat to us.
  
  But I do not blindly condemn government just for being the government.
  
  Am I a doctor? No, I am not a doctor. Are you suggesting that because I am not a doctor I can have no intelligent opinion about the healthcare system? Are you saying that all doctors, because they are doctors, know more about the entire national healthcare system than the rest of the country’s citizens? Are you suggesting that all doctor’s make all medical decisions correctly all the time? Are you suggesting that patients should do anything and everything their doctors tell them because, well, the doctor knows better? Have you never heard of doctors — good doctors — who sometimes make mistakes? Has anyone ever told you to question everything your doctor tells you to make sure that, as the patient, you are getting the best possible care? And what about your position on personal responsibility? Do you throw that ideology out the window when it comes to what your doctor tells you? Don’t you have personal responsibility for at least some of your own medical decisions?
  
  I have been a patient. I have had three major illness in my life. Does that give me a perspective about the health care system that is worth listening to? Should I have listened to everything my doctors told me? What should I have done when the first doctor I saw was completely baffled by my condition? Should I have said, “Well, he’s the doctor. If he doesn’t know how to fix me than I better just go off and die?”
  
  Of course not.
  
  Finally, the “N” word is not just some playground utterance that adults should laugh away and ignore. It is a word that was used historically by one group to dominate over another. It is a word that was used to exert power and exploitation. It was a word that was used by white people to make black people feel inferior. To ignore that is to ignore the power of words. You can try to dismiss it. You can try to say, “Oh, you are just being politically correct.” But if you do that, know that you are copping out. You are not recognizing the power of certain words. And if you do not recognize the power of certain words — if you do not respect that — then you can’t move the conversation forward. You can’t resolve the emotions someone feels over a word because you refuse to acknowledge the emotions themselves. Sorry. That makes you part of the problem, not the person who feels the pain.
  
  Tom Ashbrook’s question about the “N” word was very relevant in that situation. Ben Carson was making a point that people stifle debate through political correctness. As his example, he used this case where some people (he didn’t say who) ostracized a man for calling another man “an oriental.” Carson suggested that the term “oriental” should not be considered offensive. He waved off any discomfort the Asian man might have felt by being called “an oriental.” Instead, Carson said the Asian man should just “get over it” and turn the other cheek. He said that the other people in the room should not have come to the Asian man’s defense. That they should “get over it” too so as not to stifle discussion.
  
  So the reporter, Tom Ashbrook, did what any good reporter would do. He tried to test Carson. He tried to see if Carson himself could do the same thing he was asking the Asian man to do. Ashbrook wanted to see if Carson would “just get over it” if someone used a certain word about him. Ashbrook essentially asked Carson whether he could turn the other cheek after someone else ignored all the work Carson had achieved in his lifetime and reduced it all to one nasty, horrible word (the N word.”
  
  And what did Carson do when faced with that test? He refused to answer it.
  
  Carson had two choices to make at that moment:
  
  (1) He could have said, “You know what, I don’t care if someone calls me the N word. I would turn the other way.”
  
  In other words, Carson could have defended his earlier position and shown the world that Dr. Ben Carson puts his money where his mouth is. That even if he was called the N word, he would look the other way and continue a discussion with his adversary.
  
  (2)Carson could have said, “You know what, I would be offended by that word. That word is a horrible word. And America cannot advance the racial discussion forward until that word is damned to history — where it belongs. I was wrong in my other position. I should have placed myself in that Asian man’s shoes and better understood how he felt.”
  
  But Ben Carson did not take either of those choices. He took a third position: avoid the issue all together. Yes, he was too afraid to say either of those things because either of those positions might open him to criticism. So he found a way not to answer alt all. He was a coward.
  
  No one forced Ben Carson to be on Ashbook’s show. Ben Carson chose to be on that show. It was his personal responsibility to explain himself.
  - Will B. Nyce
    
    Liberal Views like Conservative views have changed over the years…Common Sense? Currently how are Liberal Views working out? Do we not have Laws, Scholarships do we not have a Healthcare system? Is it common sense to keep throwing money at a broken system? Is it common sense to blame the private enterprise when the “private enterprise” is how the Government get’s its funding? Like all Liberals and Liberal Views everything is to the extreme. “If you don’t raise taxes people are going to die!’ If you don’t raise taxes your house will burn down” So, the answer is keep feeding money into a system that has proven not to work. Of course you are going to say things like “Anarchist or Racist or Selfish”
    Are there people starving on the streets? Yes, but Government will NEVER fix that. When your views are blinded by the false pretenses Government is the answer Liberal Views are flawed. This is not R or D. I myself am responsible for knowing what is right or wrong…that is common sense. Once again…you (meaning Liberal’s) will twist and change things around. I’m not saying “No Government.”
    
    The actual fact is Government is needed for the incapable, uneducated and unwilling. Government is need to protect our Liberties not take them away NO matter how small. Putting more “TAX” money into broken system in the pretenses of “empower people — all people” for their own good and blaming or saying the “private individual/sector/enterprise” is unable; does not show common sense. When Government impedes on the People’s Rights to make a living, supports a family make their own educated decisions as consumers it’s a moral failure. Unfortunately Government will never educate or feed all the people.
    Acting above the “Fray”, “so completely objective that we should trust all of his judgments “or “support those statements with facts” I will take a page from the Liberal Media…and point the direction elsewhere….”Obama and his Administration” 2 wrong never make a right…but blaming someone else seems to work…Like you; Dr. Carson has his views…and we would hope a bright individual can choose to trust “all” none or some of his judgments.
    
    He has said he has “Conservative views” but is NOT a Republican or Democrat he’s an Independent. Saying it’s a “Cop Out” Seems to be “YOUR” way to bunch him in the Republican Party. Which in turn Liberals, Liberal Media and Democrats can just say “Oh see he’s a Republicans” Then of course the person reading your blog can agree with your views and gives them a right not to think. “ObamaCare” You choose your doctor…Obviously if you picked a doctor you would be able to trust his/her opinion on ObamaCare. We are talking about the “private” doctor’s views on ObamaCare NOT their medical options’ on your conditions. It has been said by the opposing side there are good things…but to say “pass the bill and find out”; Common sense or Idiotlogical?
    “Should not be considered offensive” He said the person who said “Oriental” didn’t know better. So, just because someone is not around today’s PC world it’s okay to attack the person? People of different ethnicity, age groups (elderly) and uninformed just don’t know about being “Politically Correctness” Do we blame Government or the Individual? Or choose to understand where the person is coming from. Using one’s race to get elected, saying someone is racist and pointing out someone is not “politically correct” only shifts the fact you don’t have a point or logical response. I don’t have a PhD in Journalism; not even a College Degree. I barely graduated High School so attack on my grammar skills…won’t work. But I know you’re above that.
Will B. Nyce

John Kirch http://mediapoliticsinperspect…

Media Bias at its best!. Why have a Political Media Blog that “generate a discussion about the role that the news media play in the American political process” if you moderate and delete opposing views without “discussion”?
- jfk909us
  
  Will,
  
  I do not moderate and delete viewpoints with which I disagree. If you had taken the time to look at the rest of the site, you would have seen many comments that disagree with my opinion. I have no problem with that. I moderate the site so that visitors do not leave profanity or other mean-spirited comments that vent anger rather than advance a conversation. Remember, I am a one-person operation doing the best I can.

http://www.facebook.com/iris.lynch.90 Iris Lynch

This man, like a few of his fellow conservative black men, has made it in the world of the white man. Why? Because they believed and operated in a way that color didn’t matter…because it doesn’t! If someone (anyone) works hard and learns, then applies that learning, he/she can become what they set out to become. The Miracle of Self Power (my book) explains it all! Not everyone will become a nuerosurgeon, nor a Supreme Court Judge, nor a celebrated mathemetician, but he/she can become the WHO that they are and be happy and well adjusted. Look for the book on You Tube for more and buy it on Amazon.

http://www.facebook.com/sreeparna.chattopadhyay Sreeparna Ghosh

Dr. Carson seems to be a smart man. However his knowledge of Public Finance and Economics leaves much to be desired – he seems to be unaware of the principle of diminishing marginal utility of money. In simple English, the more money you have the less you need it. So a man who earns $10 and pays $1, the utility of $1 to him is far more than a man who earns $1000 and pays $100. They are both paying 10% but clearly if you only have $10 to live on, $1 has a lot more value than $100. This is why we need graduated taxes and not flat-tax or proportional tax as Dr.Carson suggests. It is not about punishing the rich, but it is about a fair redistribution without which we would have anarchy and chaos in society.

Will B. Nyce

“fair redistribution” If everyone was created to be fair there would be no completion. There would be no innovation; no need to study harder or work harder. Here in America the ONLY thing hold a person back is ones-self. If you think there is some force (outside of Government) or secret club holding you back to do you best here in America…you are being fed a bunch of lies. People are tall, some are faster than others and some people just get it. Government is needed to “control anarchy and chaos” protect Liberty and Rights. Not to take them away.�
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
You cannot build character and courage by destroying men’s initiative and independence.
And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves. ~William John Henry Boetcker (1873–1962)
- http://www.facebook.com/brad.brooks.35728 Brad Brooks
  
  Hi Will, I’m a little late to the conversation but I’ve enjoyed reading these comments… I completely agree with everything that you’ve expressed and quoted, except you are advocating against “equal distribution” and no one is proposing that. False dichotomies are greatest problem in most political discussions. No one (Obama, democrats, progressives, occupiers, economists, etc…) is proposing “equal distribution” because everyone knows it disincentives competition. Most people are advocating for “fair redistribution” because extreme wealth inequality weakens and destabilizes the economy. Weakens – more and more people having less money to spend, invest, and take ownership in the economy (ex: trickle down history correlates to a decrease in middle class and an increase personal debt). Destabilizes – fewer and fewer people owning more shares of the economy can have catastrophic consequences when investments fail (ex: putting all your eggs in fewer and fewer baskets). Moreover, extreme wealth inequality erodes democracy and capitalism. Democracy – fewer and fewer people have more resources to sponsor political campaigns and influence politicians towards their own interests (ex: $500k donor has more political influence than a $5 donor); this is not a democracy. Capitalism – purchased political influence changes taxes and regulations to ensures that the wealthiest maintain their wealth and competitive advantage in the free-market (ex: Monopoly winner changing the rules to ensure that he wins all future games); this is not a free-market capitalism. This is a good discussion, but we to stay away from false polarizing talking points… no one is advocating for “equal distribution”.
  - Carl Will
    
    Hi Brad,
    
    There is a difference between “Fair” and “Equal”. Can you please reference my “Equal” statement? Either way “Fair Distribution” is based on what? Who determines “Fair Distribution”? The Government? Obama?
    
    “Extreme wealth” Which countries have have no middle-class? Which countries have “extreme wealth” and “extreme poor”. The same counties with little to no Capitalism.
    
    Crony Capitalism is the PROBLEM NOT True Capitalism….BUT in your own worlds “False dichotomies are greatest problem in most political discussions.”
    
    The majority of America are being told…it’s Capitalism that is creating the gap in classes which is 100% False.
    
    It’s the majority that think the current administration is helping the middle-class when use class warfare and fear mongering. Liberalism is what is killing the middle-class by using “Everyone needs to pay their fair share”
    
    Democracy – Unions are not the majority of the working class…the private working citizen is.
    
    Which party loves Unions? Union’s were needed when “monopolies” were around. There are no such this as “monopolies” due to educated consumers and already established regulations and laws. But what did you say “False dichotomies are greatest problem in most political discussions”
    
    Like Dr.Carson no one is stopping YOU from being successful in Americas just the Government selling the BS that they have YOUR best interest in mind.
  - Carl Will
    
    Hi Brad,
    
    There is a difference between “Fair” and “Equal”. Can you please reference my “Equal” statement? Either way “Fair Distribution” is based on what? Who determines “Fair Distribution”? The Government? Obama?
    
    “Extreme wealth” Which countries have no middle-class? Which countries have “extreme wealth” and “extreme poor”. The same counties with little to no Capitalism.
    
    Crony Capitalism is the PROBLEM NOT True Capitalism….BUT in your own worlds “False dichotomies are greatest problem in most political discussions.”
    
    The majority of America are being told…it’s Capitalism that is creating the gap in classes which is 100% False.
    
    It’s the majority that think the current administration is helping the middle-class when using class warfare and fear mongering. It’s the current views of this Administration and Left Party that is spreading the gap by using “Everyone needs to pay their fair share” & Government will slay the rich and give you your “fare share” you deserve BS.
    
    Democracy – Unions are not the majority of the working class but donate 100′s of millions…the private working citizen is.
    
    Which party loves Unions? Union’s were needed when “monopolies” were around. There are no such things as “monopolies” any more due to educated consumers and already established regulations and laws. But what did you say “False dichotomies are greatest problem in most political discussions”
    
    Like Dr.Carson no one is stopping YOU from being successful in Americas just the Government selling the BS that they have YOUR best interest in mind.
    - http://www.facebook.com/brad.brooks.35728 Brad Brooks
      
      Hi Carl,
      
      Thanks for chiming in! I’ve been listening to OnPoint for years, but this is the first time I decided to engage in the discussion (late)… it’s nice to have a response. First, I think most political discussions begin poorly with people jumping down each other’s throats (guilty myself) instead of finding the common ground.
      
      So, I hope that we can first agree that wealth inequality has exploded over the past generation; sure most people have improved living standards (microwaves, internet, etc…), but the enormous prosperity that our country has seen has not been shared proportionally. Here’s a great visual aid I recently saw… http://mashable.com/2013/03/02/wealth-inequality/
      
      So what is shared proportionally? What is fair? I don’t know, but I know that the numbers and graphs representing current wealth distribution are “extreme”… I agree that “extreme” inequalities occur where there is no capitalism (like you stated) or in cases where there is crony capitalism (like you stated); pg64 table 1 draws an interesting historical comparison… http://econ.ucdenver.edu/beckman/research/readings/frenchincome1780.pdf
      
      Personally, I would like to see a wealth distribution graph that is more linear… where hard work actually translates to prosperity throughout the distribution (not just the top 10%)… but I’ll compromise with a slight exponential curve. We’ve already agreed that preserving true capitalism is central to preventing or correcting these extremes… so how do we this?
      
      Additional thoughts – I don’t think most people are blaming capitalism for wealth inequality; I think they are blaming crony capitalism (like you stated) where the policies give some people (corporations, unions) an unfair advantage thus eroding the free-market. Also, I think that government should only do what the free-market can’t do… and sadly there are some things that are in the best interest of our society that aren’t profitable enough to be handled by the free-market… Lastly, I noticed some of your comments on healthcare… as a medical student I’ve had lots of conversations with doctors, professors, healthcare workers about the ACA and they overwhelmingly support it! Not because it’s perfect… but because the status quo is so unsustainable. Most healthcare professionals want a single-payer system. And ironically, I’m flying to DC tomorrow with thousands of other medical students and physicians from around the country to meet with Senators and Congressmen to advocate on these issues. So Ben Carson may be a great surgeon and person, but his beliefs on healthcare are not held by many healthcare professionals.
    - Will B. Nyce
      
      Hi Brad,
      
      I’ve been busy so hope you are still monitoring theses
      posts. Im use to posting on Yahoo and jumping down people’s throats…So if I jump down your throat I apologies. Common sense and logical conversation
      is productive, but only when both sides think and comment logically.
      
      I will look at the charts, but like I have mentioned before. People and Politicians all have agendas. Like Ben Carson said anyone can
      distort facts or stats…for instance. The called mentioned the “Rich
      Capitalist” using slave. There are 3rd world countries that have
      kids digging trash. But once corporations opened factories parents
      were able to get jobs feeding their families. Yet all one side shows it as “slave” labor. So people have distorted views by media or people showing/reporting made
      up or missing stats/data.
      
      You are like my wife, there are uneducated uninformed people that watch bias media and blame capitalism 100%. You as my wife don’t think
      that way so it’s hard to comprehend there are millions of stupid people that feel capitalism
      as pure evil. Once again…Government is needed for the unwilling and unable. I am against Government taking away rights in…pretenses its best for us. For example Gay rights do not supersede Religious,
      Civil or Personal rights. Yet, Obama and Government is forcing private business
      to sell birth control. Forcing gay marriage over religious rights. Government is forcing their agenda on the American people by taking away Religious, Civil and Personal Rights.
      
      As for ObamaCare….and my common sense logic. Just do the numbers…There is no way a business can pay for healthcare for everyone. We
      spend trillions on healthcare, but punishing business owners and worker through taxation doesn’t sound like common sense. A wealth person or business will either raise the price of the service or product or lay off workers. They will always find a way…Why would anyone own or run a business just to spread “fair” distrbution of there income. If you are a part-time working, working
      in warehouse or work at a fast food restaurant; just like welfare it’s a stepping
      stone to get a Full-time job and an education. Not doing back breaking work, America’s was built on dreams to support a
      family by hard work and improving oneself. Not using and blaming the more successful.
      There is not one group in America stopping anyone from succeeding. Other than
      Government itself….

joelbuz

Dr. Carson is a breath of fresh air and has much forgotten common sense!

superpage

For a neurosurgeon Dr. Carson is surprisingly. His views are defended through a straw because they are so narrow minded. Whenever Tom asked him a tough critical question Dr. Carson refused to answer and instead rambled on about how he is neither conservative or liberal, red or blue, just common sense. That seemed like his stock response to any tough question. Instead of admitting that he is extremely conservative, he believes he makes common sense in any affiliation which is clearly not the case. One woman caller had it right on when she said he was being very disingenuous.

Dr. Carson also likes the straw man argument. If he’s not self proclaiming non-affiliation he is making up a false argument from the other side. I have never heard the argument for a progressive tax system is to “hurt” the billionaires. Another favorite response of Dr. Carson is to say, “I don’t understand why you don’t see it my way”. Meaning that you did not make your point in the 20 seconds you had on air.

One caller offered nothing but praise for Dr. Carson, especially for his plainspoken words. If anything, this man parses and chooses his words more carefully than a lawyer in front of the Supreme Court. It may seem like plain speak, but it is anything but.

Dr. Carson does make some good points but they are so wrapped up in this bubble of an alternate reality they are all twisted in his own ideology and flawed. Let’s not forget that Obamacare was originally conceived by Newt Gingrich and other conservatives in the 80s. Of course since it’s President Obama’s accomplishment then conservatives including Dr. Carson don’t like it anymore.

Carl Will

Wow! If Universal Healthcare was Newt’s idea…him and Bill Clinton should of passed it when they had the House and Presidency. Bill Clinton gets 100 percent of the surplus which is a crock…
http://twitter.com/Roofrins Roof, Rinse & Run

I thought the argument about “hurting” the wealthy was well-taken. To me, it’s a matter or principle. Fairness (proportionality; percentage-based giving; tithed-giving) is a blessing to all. To get an evil eye, and start looking at all the money of the wealthier in America, and saying, “If we took that, we could solve our national problems” is not only coveting our neighbor’s goods, but then stealing them, breaking two of God’s Ten Commandments (#8 and #10). Not only does it break those commandments, but those commandments are written on our heart (Rom. 2:15), such that we write laws that reflect the wrongfulness of avarice and theft. So, even though it is not “hurting” them in the sense of “they’re not going to be able to survive,” it is hurting them in the sense of trying to extort extra money out of them because of the “easiness” of doing so to solve financial woes (instead of reining in spending and living within governmental and societal means). It’s a case of the greed of the human heart reaching for something it shouldn’t be reaching for (that’s the whole appeal of socialism). It’s a case of a wrong in society that is overlooked and excused. It’s a capitulation to a lower, less-fair, less-righteous standard for the sake of ease, which is wrong. Obviously governments have the right to levy taxes, and whatever they decide we must submit to; but for people in society to agitate for a disproportionate amount of money to be taken from the wealthy is a wrong attitude.

Also, I appreciated Dr. Carson not calling himself one side or the other. That’s part of stereotyping, and it’s hurtful (it pits people against each other). You’ll notice that Mr. Ashbrook continued to introduce him, after every break, as the “conservative” Dr. Carson. He could have dropped the label, and just called him “Dr. Carson.”
- http://twitter.com/Roofrins Roof, Rinse & Run
  
  And by saying that stereotyping is hurtful, that’s not inconsistent with what Carson said about the dangers of PC. When there’s an atmosphere of strife that divides people, that’s unhealthy. When somebody is just trying to kindly share his views, and he gets pounced on because his view was not the “correct” one, that’s what Carson is speaking of about the dangers of PC. Those two concepts are not inconsistent with each other.
- http://twitter.com/Roofrins Roof, Rinse & Run
  
  I did think, like one person mentioned, that when asked about if the rich were being “hurt” currently, he could have said “yes,” along the lines of violated principle, and not along the lines of “danger-of-starvation.” But perhaps he didn’t want to seem too critical of things – only to present/advance his idea of proportionality.
http://twitter.com/Roofrins Roof, Rinse & Run

Also, concerning the caller who commended Dr. Carson, I don’t think he was “parsing his words” – I think he was just nervous.

superpage

.

http://twitter.com/Roofrins Roof, Rinse & Run

Great response by Dr. Carson. I was quite taken aback at Mr. Ashbrook’s statement – did he call Jesus a “dictator”? Wow, that’s irreverent, but Carson handled it great. It’s so refreshing to hear, as Carson styles it, “common sense.” Great comment on the evolution question also. I also think evolution between species requires a lot more “blind faith” than creation in the image of God.

http://twitter.com/Roofrins Roof, Rinse & Run

I also appreciate Dr. Carson’s civility and generosity. Snide remarks were made against him, and he did not answer them in kind. That shows a man with character.

http://www.facebook.com/stanbgf Stan Gunn

THIS IS THE KIND OF MAN I’D BE PROUD TO CALL MY PRESIDENT.

http://www.facebook.com/jennifer.vanbuskirk.39 Jennifer VanBuskirk

May 11, 2013, I do not understand why Barack H. Obama was ever Created and allowed to live when he has mandated and caused the Murder of Millions upon Millions of GOD’s Babies. Obama is a very horrid and Evil and Wicked person. Obama lies in every sentence. Obama has committed thousands of Crimes against the American People. I think Obama should be IMPEACHED as soon as possible. Then Obama should be put in PRISON and then put into the Electric Chair. Give Obama NO MERCY whatsoever. It was so horrible that Obama made his lousy followers go into the Voting Booths and rig the voting machines so that when a person voted once for Mitt Romney, Obama made it so the votes would come up as 3 votes for Obama. Obama lied and cheated his way into The White House both times.

http://www.facebook.com/jennifer.vanbuskirk.39 Jennifer VanBuskirk

May 10, 2013, Dr. Ben Carson is NOT ignorant. The person who wrote that comment about Ben is the one who is ignorant.

Guests

Closing Segment on Surgeon General C. Everett Koop

From Tom’s Reading List

Dr. Carson’s Speech at the National Prayer Breakfast