Silly Ben Carson

[Arkady]

I know that Arkady must be bright in some areas. You don't graduate law school and have a successful career without some native intelligence. But the weird crap that pops out of that guy's mouth is awfully hard to square with the idea of an educated person.



http://www.leaderu.com/common/nationsdie.html

Welcome to "Progressive" America, 2014.

Excellent example of another person who probably isn't an idiot in all areas, but says some absurd stuff. Rome's decline came from a devaluing of human life? Please. Rome in its rising phase may have had many virtues, but a value for human life wasn't one. After the revolt of Spartacus, they crucified countless slaves along the Appian Way as a message. They similarly brutalized Judea after the uprising there. They practiced mass slavery and infanticide. They held regular gladiatorial games as entertainment. They were in a constant state of expansionistic war. They leveled Carthage and made sure nothing would ever grow there. That's how they acted, for centuries, even as the nation was growing bigger, richer, more advanced, and more powerful, with art and culture flourishing. If anything, you could argue they gained more respect for life later on, around the time they started to decline. Slavery and gladiatorial games were ended, they stopped trying to expand the empire by war, infanticide was shunned, etc.

 

[JuliefromOhio]

Who knows? But the bigger question is.....when marriage between same gender partners is legal all over the country, what group will the left exploit next?

“I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian — for me — for me as a Christian, it is also a sacred union. God’s in the mix.” - April 17, 2008, while running for president, defining marriage at the Saddleback Presidential Forum.

And you voted for him, didn't you?

will the evangelicals/religicons on your side demand that the 2016 GOP presidential nominee speak out against same-sex marriage?

 

[Hmmmm]

Who knows? But the bigger question is.....when marriage between same gender partners is legal all over the country, what group will the left exploit next?

“I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian — for me — for me as a Christian, it is also a sacred union. God’s in the mix.” - April 17, 2008, while running for president, defining marriage at the Saddleback Presidential Forum.

And you voted for him, didn't you?

2008. Six years ago. People change and that is a good thing. Also, and maybe more importantly, Obama was a candidate seeking the presidency. Candidates (on both sides of the aisle) tend to say that which the public wants to hear and will get them elected. The times have changed and the president is now publicly on the correct side of the issue as are a majority of the U.S. citizens.

 

[Arkady]

What did Ben Carson try to tell people he didnt know the word for something In Austrian? LOL the democratic who has Joe Biden as his V.P. is going to call someone silly...You will never have an edge on this conversation about Ben Carson being silly if Joe Biden is the V.P.

Austrians have their own dialects that differ substantially from standard German, and which includes different words. I get around just fine in Germany, but have a lot of trouble in Austria. For example, they say "Paradeiser" instead of "Tomate" and "Erdapfel" instead of "Kartoffel." Or "bissel" instead of "bisschen." Ask Barbella. I'm sure she knows other examples of words in Austrian.
http://german.about.com/library/bldialect_aus01.htm

 

[Arkady]

Any dumb ass knows that those in power voted to give the people more to stay in power, just like today. Its like today the Democrats vote to keep handing out the benefits and the people just go along and don't rock the boat. God your one ignorant human being.

In the late Empire, the people in power didn't vote. They were Emperors who just gave orders. Read.

 

[Barbella]

so that means Ben Carson will have to shut up about same-sex marriage if he wants to be considered by the GOP base as a 2016 GOP presidential candidate.

No. It means that anyone who has a good, solid plan on

1. the economy (88%)
2. the availability of good jobs (86%)
3. the way the federal government is working (81%)
4. the situation with Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria (78%)
5. equal pay for women (75%) and
6. the federal budget deficit (73%)

can ramble on about same sex marriage to his heart's content. Sane people have much more to be concerned about than that one issue that, realistically, only affects a small minority of Americans.

 

[Hmmmm]

In the late Empire, the people in power didn't vote. They were Emperors who just gave orders. Read.

I guess that you aren't just any dumb ass.

I know only enough to be dangerous. I am guessing that he is referring to the currency debasement and the fact that the emperors tried to buy the influence of the military as all dictators do. Or, I could be full of shit as well.

 

[Barbella]

Austrians have their own dialects that differ substantially from standard German, and which includes different words. I get around just fine in Germany, but have a lot of trouble in Austria. For example, they say "Paradeiser" instead of "Tomate" and "Erdapfel" instead of "Kartoffel." Or "bissel" instead of "bisschen." Ask Barbella. I'm sure she knows other examples of words in Austrian.
http://german.about.com/library/bldialect_aus01.htm

True, Arkady. But that also stands for dialects within Germany... I'm from Bavaria, and when I want to I can speak with a Bavarian dialect that will make it sound like a foreign language to somebody from, say, Berlin.

And vice versa.

 

[Arkady]

Who knows? But the bigger question is.....when marriage between same gender partners is legal all over the country, what group will the left exploit next?

“I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian — for me — for me as a Christian, it is also a sacred union. God’s in the mix.” - April 17, 2008, while running for president, defining marriage at the Saddleback Presidential Forum.

And you voted for him, didn't you?

Exploit?! The GOP fought for years to deny a group of Americans equal protection under the marriage laws... For no better reason than that discrimination was popular at the time, and gave them an edge in elections. That's exploitation. The Democrats fought for the rights of a minority, even though it cost them votes for many years. And eventually the Democrats won... the legal fight and gradually the one for hearts and minds. It was similar to the fight a couple generations earlier, against the conservative bigots of that era, who wanted interracial marriage to be illegal.

 

[Arkady]

True, Arkady. But that also stands for dialects within Germany... I'm from Bavaria, and when I want to I can speak with a Bavarian dialect that will make it sound like a foreign language to somebody from, say, Berlin.

And vice versa.

Bayerisch is the only dialect, besides standard German, I can follow at all, just because I had so many Bavarian friends. To this day, my instinct is to greet a German with Gruss Gott.

 

[Sgt Staples]

I

I know that Ben Carson must be bright in some areas. You don't graduate med school and have a successful medical career without some native intelligence. But the weird crap that pops out of that guy's mouth is awfully hard to square with the idea of an educated person. For example, he is attributing the fall of the Roman Empire to political correctness and gay marriage.

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/a...ntial-bid-suddenly-looks-a-lot-more-realistic
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/03/29/ben-carson-marriage-equality-could-destroy-amer/193345

Roman history is a hobby of mine and I can't say I recall any historian ever linking the fall of Rome to political correctness or gay marriage. There are all sorts of theories, stemming from lead poisoning and epidemics to systematic economic breakdowns and economic inequality. The most famous historian of the Fall, though, was Gibbon, and his take on the decline of Rome was almost 180-degrees removed from Carson's. In Gibbon's view, Christianity was the main culprit. As Christianity became more dominant, Rome became less able to incorporate other people into its empire successfully (the insistence on just one God means conquered people are expected to give up their faiths), and the nation became sapped of the will for greatness in this world, as it focused increasingly on mumbo jumbo about the next world.

The late Roman empire is about as far from "politically correct" as it's possible to be. And it actually grew MORE hostile to homosexuality later in the era. Early on, they were more influenced by Hellenistic culture, which was fairly tolerant of homosexuality. Later, under Christian emperors, Rome became extremely intolerant -- treating homosexuality as a crime and doling out "exquisite punishment" for it (see the edicts of Constantius II and Constans, and the Theodosian Code). As Rome became less politically correct and more hostile to homosexuality, it became weaker and weaker. So, Carson's idea isn't just out of left field -- it's contrary to the most basic understanding anyone who'd studied Roman history would have.

I guess it's possible to be a smart surgeon and yet a great idiot in other areas. Perhaps Carson should keep that in mind and at least try to do some remedial reading on other topics before publicly making claims about them. It would be like me making public pronouncements on the efficacy of a certain surgical procedure without even bothering to crack a book on the topic.

While I didn't read all of your soliloquy, it's not that simple and the fact is that decadence was a major factor in the fall of the Roman Empire.

Neither the Greeks or the Romans had a concept of homosexuality or heterosexuality.

Men were assumed to be attracted to both males and females.

When the Roman Empire became Christian the Greeks and Romans could appeal to religion in their belief that their behavior was moral, though we might have a different view on what is proper today.

Homosexual characters were often mocked as figures of fun in Roman comedies, but at the same time same-sex couples, cross dressers and male prostitutes would have been common sights on the streets. And some couples did buck what the liberal elements in our modern society would call discrimination by publicly celebrating their commitment through same-sex marriage.

 

[JuliefromOhio]

No. It means that anyone who has a good, solid plan on

1. the economy (88%)
2. the availability of good jobs (86%)
3. the way the federal government is working (81%)
4. the situation with Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria (78%)
5. equal pay for women (75%) and
6. the federal budget deficit (73%)

can ramble on about same sex marriage to his heart's content. Sane people have much more to be concerned about than that one issue that, realistically, only affects a small minority of Americans.

and that's why Ben Carson doesn't have a chance in hell of being the GOP 2016 prez nominee.

 

[gigi]

2008. Six years ago. People change and that is a good thing. Also, and maybe more importantly, Obama was a candidate seeking the presidency. Candidates (on both sides of the aisle) tend to say that which the public wants to hear and will get them elected. The times have changed and the president is now publicly on the correct side of the issue as are a majority of the U.S. citizens.

Well, tell that to Julie. She seems very concerned about what the candidates will say.


Seems like you're saying he either believed what he said and has changed his view, or he lied to win an election. Well, we know he lies. But if you really think he believed what he said about marriage, then you are left with no choice but to admit that the position he held was the same as the "religicons" and still....the same folks who attack the "religicons" for this view voted for Obama when he held the same view.

 

[Sgt Staples]

will the evangelicals/religicons on your side demand that the 2016 GOP presidential nominee speak out against same-sex marriage?

While I am pro heterosexual marriage, right now homosexual marriage is the least of our many, many problems. Obama has weakened our military, Radical Islam is laughing in his face and beheading Americans in videos, we have Ebola at our shores,
Wall street is in turmoil, we have a record number of working age Americans who have left the workforce, we are seeing diseases we haven't seen in years coming across our unenforced borders.

Why is it not surprising that you would want to focus on Homosexual marriage. What's the matter, isn't the war on women working for you anymore?

 

[JuliefromOhio]

While I am pro heterosexual marriage, right now homosexual marriage is the least of our many, many problems. Obama has weakened our military, Radical Islam is laughing in his face and beheading Americans in videos, we have Ebola at our shores,
Wall street is in turmoil, we have a record number of working age Americans who have left the workforce, we are seeing diseases we haven't seen in years coming across our unenforced borders.

Why is it not surprising that you would want to focus on Homosexual marriage. What's the matter, isn't the war on women working for you anymore?

Ben Carson wants to focus on same-sex marriage.

 

[gigi]

Exploit?! The GOP fought for years to deny a group of Americans equal protection under the marriage laws... For no better reason than that discrimination was popular at the time, and gave them an edge in elections. That's exploitation. The Democrats fought for the rights of a minority, even though it cost them votes for many years. And eventually the Democrats won... the legal fight and gradually the one for hearts and minds. It was similar to the fight a couple generations earlier, against the conservative bigots of that era, who wanted interracial marriage to be illegal.

Yes, exploit. Like when John Kerry had to talk about Cheney's daughter's sexuality something like a dozen times during a debate because he thought it would turn religious people off to Cheney.

Like when lefty celebrities and pundits blather about marriage equality and then make their livings in movies and TV programs where gays are stereotyped for the laugh.

Like when the election was getting close and Biden laid the groundwork for Obama's "evolution" on gay marriage. Obama never said anything about his changing position until using gay people seemed like a good edge to have.

But let's go back a bit further, like when Obama signed the law that allowed gay S/Os just a few crumbs of the dignity that married people have in emergency medical situations. Didn't make a sound about marriage equality. Didn't mention, at the time, repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (Which DEMOCRAT Clinton signed into law, along with "don't ask/don't tell")
No, instead, Obama did the equivalent with gay people that slave owners used to do with favorite slaves. Let them in the house, but not through the front door.

Marriage between same gender partners and gay rights in general is a political soapbox on both sides. Please let's not make it sound like democrats have had pure intentions all along because that's not the truth.

 

[Sgt Staples]

Ben Carson wants to focus on same-sex marriage.

I haven't heard him talk about it that much, and I've seen him quite a bit. He and Huckabee have made statements about it.

It is an issue, although one I'd put on the back burner. When I was at the VA, I was talking to a black intern who was an Air Force Vet and he asked me what I thought of Ben Carson. Turns out he's a big fan of his. He agrees that the pillars of morality that support our society are collapsing. He also said that a vast majority of blacks are against gay marriage.

So there is going to be some discussion about morality in the 2016 campaigns. I doubt it will be an issue in the 2014 elections. People don't be seeming to bite on Gay marriage and the war on women this time around, to the chagrin of Democrats who have been using it in campaign ads to cover up their own incompetence.

 

[Hmmmm]

Obama when he held the same view.

No. I believe most opinions follow a gradient and aren't binary.

 

[Craig]

Naw... YOU misunderstood. No one really cares enough about same sex marriage to make it a deciding issue in the presidential election. The points I gave you are much, much more important to the majority of Americans.

Someone cares...although Huck isn't a true contender.

One of those morals Huckabee wants to push on every household is that guys marry gals, not other guys. So when the Supreme Court last week declined to hear any of the gay marriage cases directed their way, he was upset. He was further upset that the Republican Party didn't officially respond with outrage, and now he's threatening to quit the party entirely if they don't go back to clucking their tongues at Cam and Mitchell. From the Washington Times:

"If the Republicans want to lose guys like me and a whole bunch of still God-fearing, Bible-believing people, go ahead and just abdicate on this issue — and go ahead and say abortion doesn't matter, either," Mr. Huckabee said, during an interview on the American Family Association's "Today's Issues" radio show. "Because at that point, you lose me. I'm gone. I'll become an independent. I'll start finding people that have guts to stand. I'm tired of this."


http://reason.com/blog/2014/10/13/huckabee-threatens-to-walk-if-gop-backs

 

[gigi]

I haven't heard him talk about it that much, and I've seen him quite a bit. He and Huckabee have made statements about it.

It is an issue, although one I'd put on the back burner. When I was at the VA, I was talking to a black intern who was an Air Force Vet and he asked me what I though of Ben Carson. Turns out he's a big fan of his. He agrees that the pillars of morality that support our society are collapsing. He also said that a vast majority of blacks are against gay marriage.

So there is going to be some discussion about morality in the 2016 campaigns. I doubt it will be an issue in the 2014 elections. People don't be seeming to bite on Gay marriage and the war on women this time around, to the chagrin of Democrats who have been using it in campaign ads to cover up their own incompetence.

Very well said.