Phx-Suns.Net

Ben Carson is always good for some interesting quotes. For example...

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-tra ... d=34544229

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's turn to some domestic policy. I was struck by reading your previous book, "America The Beautiful," of things that you wrote there that sound a little bit more like Bernie Sanders than some of your Republican rivals.

In that book, you wrote about taking the positive aspects of socialism and actually implementing them within capitalism.

What did you mean by that?

CARSON: I meant one of the things that happens, for instance, in Europe, for medical school, is that you don't have to pay for it. And, as a result, they don't have the skew that we have here. A lot of people, when they finish medical school, they're hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

And instead of, you know, doing what they may have wanted to do, which was maybe be a private -- a primary care doctor, they decide that I'd better become, you know, one of the specialists that makes a lot more money so I can pay this money back.

That's not an issue in Europe and they don't have this -- the kind of primary care deficit that we have.

And this...

STEPHANOPOULOS: Also in your book, you talked about government regulation. You said that, unfortunately, we decided to deregulate during the 1990s and that paved the way for the economic meltdown in 2008.

Again, that sounds like similar things -- similar to what Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley, some of the other Democrats are saying, talking about.

CARSON: Well, certain types of regulations, certain types of regulations. You know, Glass-Steagall, I think, was a very reasonable regulation after what happened on Wall Street in 1929 and in the subsequent decades, because the banks were playing fast and loose with people's hard-earned cash. That needed to be contained.

And then in the '90s, we kind of took the teeth out of that and we started thinking maybe men were angels. But as our founders said, men are not angels, and therefore, we do need government and regulation. So the right kinds are there.

But what we have done instead is we've just ballooned the number of regulations. And every single regulation costs in terms of goods and services.

And who is hit most by that?

Poor people and the middle class. That's what we've got to start thinking about.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So would you reimpose Glass-Steagall?

CARSON: With -- perhaps with some modifications. We certainly need to make sure that we don't have, you know, out-of-control credit default swaps and all kinds of funny money going on. We need to make sure that we protect the people. And that's what the regulations are for.

STEPHANOPOULOS: The United States is about to hit its debt limit on November 3rd.

Do you think it should be raised?

CARSON: Well, you know, we get into this question every single year. I think, you know, it's kind of ridiculous. And we wait until we're right up against the wall and then we say, yes, we've got to raise it or we're going to default. You know, that's craziness.

What we need to do is, at the beginning of the financial cycle, determine where we're going to make the cuts so that we don't wind up in this situation every single year.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But these are bills that have already, you know, we've -- this is money we've already spent. These are bills we have to pay.

CARSON: Well, I recognize that our backs are up against the wall in a couple of weeks and we have to do that in order to prevent a default. I do know that.

However, this should be the last time we have to do it.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So you would raise it this time but not again?

CARSON: I would raise it this time with the stipulation that we are going to go and look at those 645 government agencies and sub-agencies and we're going to find fat and we're going to get rid of that so that we don't have to do this ever again.

Well, at least somebody finally explained to him what the Debt Ceiling is...

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2 ... debt-limit

Ben Carson Apparently Doesn't Know What the Debt Limit Is

Ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Ben Carson:

Ryssdal: As you know, Treasury Secretary Lew has come out in the last couple of days and said, "We're gonna run out of money, we're gonna run out of borrowing authority, on the fifth of November." Should the Congress then and the president not raise the debt limit? Should we default on our debt?

Carson: Let me put it this way: if I were the president, I would not sign an increased budget. Absolutely would not do it. They would have to find a place to cut.

Ryssdal: To be clear, it's increasing the debt limit, not the budget, but I want to make sure I understand you. You'd let the United States default rather than raise the debt limit.

Carson: No, I would provide the kind of leadership that says, "Get on the stick guys, and stop messing around, and cut where you need to cut, because we're not raising any spending limits, period."

Ryssdal: I'm gonna try one more time, sir. This is debt that's already obligated. Would you not favor increasing the debt limit to pay the debts already incurred?

Carson: What I'm saying is what we have to do is restructure the way that we create debt. I mean if we continue along this, where does it stop? It never stops. You're always gonna ask the same question every year. And we're just gonna keep going down that pathway. That's one of the things I think that the people are tired of.

Ryssdal: I'm really trying not to be circular here, Dr. Carson, but if you're not gonna raise the debt limit and you're not gonna give specifics on what you're gonna cut, then how are we going to know what you are going to do as president of the United States?

It sure sounds as if Carson doesn't know what the debt limit is, doesn't it? Kai Ryssdal tries manfully to get a straight answer out of him, and after the fourth try Carson rambles into a long disquisition on the infinite-time-horizon fiscal gap, at which point Ryssdal finally gives up. I guess I don't blame him.

On the other hand, I'll give Carson credit for something Ryssdal doesn't: telling him what he'd cut in order to balance the budget. Carson is pretty clear about this: he would cut the government across the board by 3-4 percent via the simple expedient of keeping spending flat for everything. In real terms, this gets you to Carson's 3-4 percent decrease. He says he'd do this for three or four years, and boom! Balanced budget.

Ryssdal badgers Carson about this, but doesn't ask the obvious follow-ups: You'd cut Social Security 3-4 percent each year? Medicare? Defense? Veterans? If the answer is no—as it probably would be—then you ask Carson how he's going to balance the budget with just the stuff that's left over.

In any case, it's pretty scary that a guy this ignorant of the basics of governance is doing so well in the Republican primary. Not surprising, maybe, but still scary.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/10/24 ... ech-audio/

Ben Carson Says He Will Outlaw ‘Liberal’ Speech On College Campuses, Not Conservative Speech (AUDIO)

In a stunning display of hostility toward liberals, reason, and the First Amendment, GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson openly stated his intention to outlaw what he considers “liberal” speech on college campuses.

Earlier this week, Carson told right-wing radio host Glenn Beck that he would force the Department of Education to monitor and punish political speech on college campuses.

“I actually have something I would use the Department of Education to do,” Carson said. “It would be to monitor our institutions of higher education for extreme political bias and deny federal funding if it exists.”

Here’s the video via YouTube.
[video][/video]
And if that weren’t bad enough, the Republican presidential wannabe clarified his remarks during an interview with Dana Loesh and openly admitted that he would only ban and punish liberal speech while allowing conservative speech to run amok.

LOESH: “There are some who would say that it’s kind of like monitoring political speech. Do you agree with their assessment of that?”

CARSON: “No, I don’t, I think it’s a very big difference. But, of course, that would be the first thing that the left would claim because they want to be able to continue to do this, and it’s not appropriate for public funding to be used to indoctrinate students in one direction.”

In other words, Carson wants to punish college campuses by stripping them of funding just because they teach facts to educate students instead of teaching bullshit to indoctrinate them.

He even made sure to let Loesh know that conservatives won’t have to worry about their own speech being monitored because he only labels “liberal” speech as “extreme.”

“I think we would have to put in very strict guidelines for the way that that was done — and that’s why I used the word ‘extreme.’ I didn’t just say ‘political bias,’ I said ‘extreme political biases.’”

Clearly, Ben Carson intends to shred the Constitution if he becomes president. He’ll create an atmosphere on college campuses where only conservative points of view are allowed and that means an anti-science, racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-poor, fact-free conservative “Christian” agenda designed to indoctrinate students rather than educate them. Meanwhile, liberal speech is to be policed and punished to silence those who speak the truth backed up by evidence.

Not only is this unconstitutional, it’s just another in a long line of things that disqualify Ben Carson from being president.

Some other memorable quotes from Carson...

“Certainly there’s the potential because you have to recognize that we have a rapidly increasing national debt, a very unstable financial foundation, and you have all these things going on like the ISIS crisis that could very rapidly change things that are going on in our nation. And unless we begin to deal with these things in a comprehensive way and in a logical way there is no telling what could happen in just a couple of years.”
~Ben Carson, telling Fox News that President Obama might declare martial law and cancel the 2016 Election so he can continue being president, September 2014.

“I think most people when they finish that course, they’d be ready to go sign up for ISIS.”
~Ben Carson, claiming the AP History curriculum will cause students who learn about civil disobedience in this country to join a violent terrorist group, September 2014.

“Anyone caught involved in voter fraud should be immediately deported and have his citizenship revoked.”
~Ben Carson, advocating for stripping non-citizens of their non-existant American citizenship if they are caught voting, November 2014. NOTE: quote was later removed from Carson’s WND column.

“There comes a time when people with values simply have to stand up. Think about Nazi Germany. Most of those people did not believe in what Hitler was doing. But did they speak up? Did they stand up for what they believe in? They did not, and you saw what happened.”
~Ben Carson, comparing Democrats to Nazis, January 2014.

“I mean, [America is] very much like Nazi Germany. And I know you’re not supposed to say ‘Nazi Germany,’ but I don’t care about political correctness. You know, you had a government using its tools to intimidate the population. We now live in a society where people are afraid to say what they actually believe.”
~Ben Carson, telling Breitbart News how America is like Nazi Germany because of liberals, March 2014.

“You know Obamacare is really I think the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery. And it is in a way, it is slavery in a way, because it is making all of us subservient to the government, and it was never about health care. It was about control.” – 2013 at the Values Voter Summit

“Well, my thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman. It’s a well-established, fundamental pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality. It doesn’t matter what they are. They don’t get to change the definition.” – 2013 on Fox News’ Hannity 3. “There comes a time when people with values simply have to stand up. Think about Nazi Germany. Most of those people did not believe in what Hitler was doing. But did they speak up? Did they stand up for what they believe in? They did not, and you saw what happened.” - Carson comparing Democrats and those who voted for President Obama to Nazis.

“Because 9/11 is an isolated incident. Things that are isolated issues as opposed to things that fundamentally change the United Sates of America and shift power from the people to the government. That is a huge shift. You have to take a long-term look at something that fundamentally changes the power structure of America.” - Carson claiming that “Obamacare” is worse than 9/11

“I think what’s happening with the veterans is a gift from God to show us what happens when you take layers and layers of bureaucracy and place them between the patients and the health care provider. And if we can’t get it right, with the relatively small number of veterans, how in the world are you going to do it with the entire population?”
~Ben Carson, thanking God for dead soldiers in an attack on ObamaCare amid the Veteran’s Affairs military healthcare scandal in which veterans died waiting for medical care, Memorial Day Weekend 2014.

“So if there were a container of contaminated urine, and somehow it managed to find its way to someplace a lot of damage could be done. Someone comes up to a lab worker. He knows he’s got the urine. ‘How would you like to have a million dollars?’ … Such things have been known to happen.”
~Ben Carson, fearmongering over Ebola by saying it could be used a biological weapon even though infectious disease experts disagree, August 2014.

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/ ... ouncement/

7 Ridiculous Things Ben Carson Believes

Anarchy could cancel the 2016 election

Carson warned in an interview in 2014 that if we “continue down this pathway that we are going down,” referring to “this pathway where everything is framed in a political sense and our representatives are not working for the people, they’re working for their party,” then the anarchy could lead to the 2016 election being called off. He claimed that the growing national debt, ISIS and the then-Democrat controlled U.S. senate’s refusal to consider legislation passed by the Republican House of Representatives all pointed toward the idea that the country is headed toward anarchy.

If Carson’s prediction proved to be true, he said, Obama could declare martial law and the 2016 election would not occur.

Congress should be able to remove judges for voting for marriage equality

In an interview with a conservative radio host earlier this year, Carson said it was “unconstitutional” that judges have ruled in favor of equality despite statewide ballot initiatives that resulted in different outcomes. Carson said that when federal judges make rulings like this, “our Congress actually has the right to reprimand or remove them.”

Needless to say, Carson’s assertion is incorrect. Congress cannot simply remove a judge for ruling in a way the majority disagrees with. Judges may only be removed for impeachable offenses, which the constitution defines as “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Being gay is a choice because prison turns people gay

Carson now infamously said in a CNN interview in March that homosexuality is a choice, citing people who “go into prison straight – and when they come out, they’re gay” as proof. He later attempted to apologize for the remarks in which he addressed those who were offended, but reinforced his belief that sexual orientation is chosen.

Carson has also called marriage equality a “Marxist plot,” described marriage equality supporters as “enemies of America,” and compared homosexuality to pedophilia and bestiality, another statement that led him to similarly “apologize” for his “poorly chosen words.”

There’s no such thing as a war crime

Carson also said earlier this year that the U.S. should not hesitate to send troops to defeat the Islamic State and should not fear prosecution for its actions. In the Fox News interview, he said he would “not hesitate to put boots on the ground” and suggested that the military should not be subject to any war crimes law.

“If you’re gonna have rules for war, you should just have a rule that says no war,” he said. “Other than that, we have to win.”

Obamacare is the worst thing since slavery

Back in 2013, when Carson was still gaining recognition in the Republican Party, he said in a speech that “Obamacare is really I think the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery.”

“And it is in a way, it is slavery in a way, because it is making all of us subservient to the government, and it was never about health care,” he added. “It was about control.”

Carson has continued to speak out about Obama’s health care plan, saying this year that it’s “a bunch of crap” that politicians say they can’t unravel the legislation.

Obama is depressing the economy to keep people on welfare

After appearing on The View last year and saying that Americans have become dependent on welfare, Carson elaborated on Fox News. “Do you think that people who are on welfare want to be on welfare?” Fox’s Megyn Kelly asked him.

“I think some people have that as a way of life,” Carson responded, later adding that “perhaps some of the things that are going on right now which could be easily remedied are not being remedied in order to keep the economy depressed because there would be no appetite for many of the social programs if people were doing well.”

When pressed by Kelly, Carson wouldn’t name Obama but said there are “some people” taking these actions.

Obama signed immigration reform to bring in government-dependent voters

After speaking out about welfare, Carson said in an interview months later that Obama’s executive action on immigration was part of a “nefarious agenda” to bring new voters into the United States who will be dependent on government.

“Is he just trying to instead of get out the vote, bring in the vote?” former Republican Congressman J.D. Hayworth asked Carson.“Is this all designed to have new voters — despite the fact he claims they’re not going to get citizenship — is the long-term goal to bring in a new class of voters dependent on government?”

“Of course it is,” Carson replied. He added that Republicans should respond to Obama’s action by shutting down the government, but only the parts that are “important to the president” and not any parts that will “hurt the American people.”

http://reverbpress.com/politics/ben-car ... ger-video/

Ben Carson Now Needs Secret Service Protection: ‘I’m In Great Danger’ (VIDEO)

On Oct. 22, during a radio interview with GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson, WABC’s Rita Cosby noted that the Ben Carson campaign had requested Secret Service protection. Carson has changed his tune substantially about the issue in only three days, having been quoted in an interview on Oct. 19 that he didn’t feel the need for such action.

In her interview, Cosby asked Carson about the alleged threats he has received.

Carson responded that he believes he is in danger because progressives see him as an “existential threat.”

“I’d prefer not to talk about security issues but I have recognized — and people have been telling me for many, many months — that I’m in great danger because I challenge the secular progressive movement to the very core.

“You know, they see me as an existential threat and I know that, but I also believe in the good lord and we take reasonable precautions.”

Cosby continued by questioning Carson on whether the “threats” were actually valid and serious.
“I believe the threats are serious,” Carson responded. “They wouldn’t even be considering this if the threats were not serious.”

The Department of Homeland Security on Oct. 19 confirmed that Carson and Donald Trump have both requested Secret Service protection.

In a statement by Homeland Security’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Todd Breasseale, stated:

“The Department of Homeland Security has now received official requests for Secret Service protection from both the Carson and Trump campaigns and has taken them under review pursuant to the statutorily required process.”

There are conflicting stories in the media regarding the status of Secret Service protection for the two. In a recent report from Fox News, their headline asserts that protection has already been activated for both Carson and Trump. However, an Oct. 21 report in the Washington Post states that neither candidate has Secret Service protection at this time.

Carson stated as recently as Oct. 19, that he didn’t “feel the need for it” but that the Secret Service thought he needed the additional protection, according to the report from NBC:

“I don’t feel the need for it, quite frankly, but the Secret Service thinks that I need it. So, you know, it is what it is.

“I recognize that someone like me who is very truthful and who really doesn’t subscribe to all the traditional power scriptures is probably gonna be a target.”

Which is it, Mr. Wishy Washy? Who is leading Carson around by the nose? From his drastic change of opinion in such a short period of time, it appears that Mr. Carson is highly susceptible to the power of suggestion.

Trump has a much more basic reasoning as to why he has yet to receive Secret Service protection. He made the comment on Oct. 14 that his own protection had not been approved because he’s a Republican and “they don’t give a shit.” Perhaps Trump is just an asshole without a filter and has brought the hate all by himself.

Actually, obtaining protection from the Secret Service is a little more complicated than thinking you’re an existential threat or someone actually giving a shit about you. According to the Secret Service website’s FAQS, there is a process in place:

A written request must first be submitted to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.
The candidates must establish that they are serious and have some chance of becoming president.
DHS will conduct a threat assessment to ascertain if there are legitimate potential dangers facing a candidate, not simply taking the candidate’s claims at face value. Threats are considered in tandem with other criteria.
The next step involves a panel convened by Johnson to review the request. The group includes the speaker of the House, the House minority leader, both the Senate majority and minority leaders, plus an additional member selected by the Senate.

The final decision is made by Johnson, the DHS secretary. Whether or not he gives a shit, is yet to be seen.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/10/23 ... ts-images/

Poll: Iowa Republicans Love Ben Carson’s Outlandish, Inaccurate Comments

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson has won over the hearts of Republican caucus-goers in Iowa, taking the place of rival candidate Donald Trump. This makes the retired neurosurgeon the favorite choice at 28% – now 9 percentage points beyond Trump’s 19%.

The more interesting thing is why Iowa’s conservatives love Carson so much. According to a recent poll from the Des Moines Register and Bloomberg, Carson is surging in the state because he hates Muslims and consistently makes outlandish remarks about the Holocaust and slavery. He also has zero political experience – which isn’t a deterrent in the least for conservatives.

To make a long story short, these Republicans adore Carson because he reminds them of themselves. Here are some of the poll’s most disturbing findings:

[ Image ]

As clearly laid out in the poll figures above, conservatives in Iowa don’t mind at all that Carson has uttered more insane, inaccurate statements than can be counted – especially in the last few weeks. Most (57%) of the “likely Republican caucusgoers” polled considered Carson saying that Obamacare was “the worst thing since slavery” a “very attractive” attribute of the GOPer. A terrifying number (42%) also found it attractive that Carson didn’t have any experience in foreign policy. Conservatives also latched onto the fact that Carson said he’d be guided by his faith in God, with 89% listing this as an attractive attribute. The majority (77%) loved the fact that Carson doesn’t have the slightest understanding of what actually happened during the Holocaust, and 73% supported Carson’s blatant Islamophobia – which is why these particular results are hardly a surprise:

[ Image ]

Perhaps the even more hilarious finding is that an overwhelming 96% of these Iowa Republicans valued the retired neurosurgeon’s “common sense,” a trait that most of us know GOPers – especially Ben Carson – have very little of.

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/vete ... /71312038/

Vets groups upset with Carson's plan to eliminate VA

Presidential hopeful Ben Carson’s comments suggesting the Veterans Affairs Department should be eliminated drew quick condemnation from multiple veterans groups, who called the idea short-sighted and ill-informed.

On a national radio show Thursday, Carson said that the country need to re-examine how it cares for veterans but also how to cut back on government bureaucracy.

“There is a lot of stuff we’re doing that doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “We don’t need a Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans Affairs should be folded in under the Department of Defense.”

Carson said he wants to provide all veterans with health savings accounts to pay for private-sector medical care and reserve defense-run veterans clinics for highly specialized care, like traumatic brain injury treatment and limb replacements.

Just a few hours after the remarks, leaders from the Veterans of Foreign Wars blasted the proposals as harmful to veterans.

“To suggest that disabled veterans could be sent out into the economy with a health savings account card overlooks the fact that civilian health care has waiting lists of their own … and presupposes that civilian doctors have the same skill sets as VA doctors, who see veterans of every age and malady every day,” VFW National Commander John Biedrzyck said in a statement.

“(VA) provides an irreplaceable service to the nation’s wounded, ill and injured veterans, and my organization will not let any candidate for any office suggest anything otherwise.”

Officials at Wounded Warrior Project said they will not endorse or condemn any candidates, but said Carson’s proposal “would not constitute a good path forward” for veterans.

“While the VA certainly has significant challenges, it also plays a vital role for our nation’s veterans and their families,” the group said in a statement. “The system must be improved, not eliminated, and now is the time to be looking for innovative solutions such as private/public partnerships between VA and civilian or academic health care providers.”

In a lengthy online essay, Paralyzed Veterans of America Deputy Executive Director Sherman Gillums Jr. called the plan “a misguided notion born from ignorance of what each department does.”

“Those who insist ‘we don’t need a Department of Veterans Affairs’ are likely people who in fact do not need VA care because of good health or cannot access VA care due to ineligibility, as is the case with Dr. Carson,” he wrote.

“However, frustration in reaction to problems in VA combined with ignorance about what VA does and how it works are not the ingredients for a recipe of success where fixing the department is concerned.”

VoteVets.org — a left-leaning lobbying group which has attacked Republican candidates for trying to “privatize” VA health care — called the remarks “insulting” to veterans.

“When men and women enlist, we, as a nation, make a pact with them that they will be guaranteed care when they come home,” said Paul Eaton, senior adviser to the group. “Rather than think of ways to nickel and dime our veterans, Dr. Carson should be thinking of other areas of fat in government — particularly in defense contracts — that can be cut.”

Carson received similar criticism from veterans groups in spring 2014, when he called the VA’s care delay scandals “a gift from God” because it showed the weakness of government efforts to provide health care for veterans.

And in contrast with Ben Carson's anti-vet's stance...

http://www.salon.com/2015/10/24/vets_fo ... s_partner/

Veterans for Bernie Sanders: Why the anti-war candidate is so beloved by former soldiers

Sanders' congressional record is proof that actively opposing armed conflict doesn't preclude supporting our troops

When then-freshman Vermont Congressman Bernie Sanders first arrived in Washington, D.C., he didn’t first tend to the great social democratic causes that he spent his life working on: a national living wage, health care for all, or expanding labor unions.

Rather, the very first bill he introduced was H.R. 695 – the Guard and Reserve Family Protection Act of 1991. The purpose of the bill was to make sure that reserve and National Guard soldiers who were deployed to serve in the Gulf War were entitled to any pay they may have missed as a result of going to war, to ensure that their deployment wages were equal to their civilian wages.

Sanders’ career in Congress has been living testimony to the fact that opposing wars but supporting our soldiers are not mutually exclusive goals. He has been a consistent advocate for both active duty military and veterans, and there are now signs that those veterans are returning the favor, organizing for his campaign.

A Steadfast Advocate For Veterans

“He works for veterans. He’s not just saying that. He does do the work,” said Brenda Cruickshank a retired Army nurse who served as the past commander of the Vermont Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), over the summer. Indeed, last spring the national VFW presented Sanders with its 2015 Congressional Award.

That award came after Sanders forged a successful compromise to overhaul the Veterans Administration (VA), which had been plagued in scandals over its inability to handle its intake. “Last year when we had the scandal at the VA, he was incredibly effective, engaged in getting the legislation passed, in getting it funded. Frankly, without him, I don’t think we would have gotten it done because there was a lot of name-calling but there wasn’t a lot of constructive, ‘OK, here’s the resources. …’ And he did it,” said Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), noting how crucial Sanders was to the overhaul.
The praise for Sanders for his leadership on the VA issue was bipartisan. The deal wouldn’t have gone down without the support of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who worked closely with Sanders. “I found him to be honorable and good as his word. And his word was good,” said McCain. “Senator Sanders understands what it takes to get legislation across the goal line,” said Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) of the VA compromise. “I think he’s very outspoken in terms of where he is ideologically. But when he gets down to the need of get legislation into law, then I find him to be one who’s willing to sit down and compromise and negotiate to get a final product.”

The VFW award joins numerous other awards Sanders has received for his work for veterans, including the 2014 American Legion Patriot Award and the Military Officers Association of America Colonel Arthur T. Marix Congressional Leadership Award, given to Sanders in April 2014.

Returning The Favor

It’s no surprise that Sanders’s work for veterans is now leading many veterans to support him. An affinity group, Veterans for Bernie, has launched to mobilize veterans who support Sanders. The site pushes out social media content based around endorsements from individual veterans, such as this one from Doc Bergeron, Navy vet:



The group is currently led by Tyson Manker, an Iraq war veteran who joined the military after the September 11th attacks but calls his trust in Bush to go after the people who did the attacks “sorely misplaced.”

Manker recalls that when he returned home in 2003, “there were literally no PTSD psychological counseling services of any kind…They shipped us home and that was it.” The next year, he tried to seek help at the VA in Springfield, Illinois but was told there was nothing they could do for him.

He started doing drugs and and drinking heavily until in 2007 he was nearly stabbed to death in Austin, TX. Manker saw this as a wake up call and decided to take out loans to go to college and law school. Today he is an attorney and an adjunct professor.

While in college, he learned about Bernie Sanders during a class project. As a fellow independent, Manker came to admire the Senator, believing him to be above the corruption he saw in the political process, and even showed up at his very first rally at Drake University, in Des Moines.

Today Manker spends half a dozen hours a week organizing veterans to support the Sanders candidacy. “When most every politician gives lip-service to military personnel, Bernie Sanders gets stuff done. He’s heard hundreds of testimonials, and he understands our issues. He’s the only candidate who talks about, let alone understands, the “true costs of war.” Frankly, he has demonstrated a genuine concern American Veterans and the issues we face. As President, I know Bernie will never rush to judgment on foreign policy issues, or lie about his intentions. I know that he’ll never put troops into harm’s way unless it’s absolutely necessary to keeping America safe. And I know that he will fundamentally transform the VA into a leading example of modern healthcare, one that is worthy of all Veterans,” says Manker.

Is anyone aware or paying attention to the Current Ben Carson meltdown?

Apparently he's been caught in a whirlwind of lies, and he's kind of freaking out, especially for the soft-spoken neurosurgeon candidate.

[video][/video]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/poli ... /75312506/
Questions about Ben Carson's biography may imperil 2016 campaign

Increased scrutiny into Ben Carson’s personal history and the candidate's responses are creating questions about how long Carson will be able to stay in the race.

“Unless he is some kind of political ju-jitsu master, I really do think that this is the end for him,” said Katie Packer, a Washington political consultant who served as deputy campaign manager for 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Two published accounts this week have called into question Carson’s portrayal of his early years as a pathologically angry youth prone to violence against his friends.

A CNN story included interviews with people they identified as Carson’s childhood friends in Detroit who had no recollections of the violent encounters Carson describes in his book Gifted Hands. In an interview with CNN, Carson called their story “a bunch of lies” and “pathetic.” He declined to reveal the identity of the victims of his youthful violence, saying they preferred to remain anonymous.

“If you choose not to believe it, if it doesn’t fit the narrative that you want, that’s fine. Let’s let the American people decide,” Carson told CNN. “Unless I have specific permission to use their names, it’s inappropriate for me to do so.”

A story by Politico Friday revealed that claims by Carson that he had been accepted to West Point and was offered a full scholarship were inaccurate. The story has been repeated by Carson in his books and in appearances over the years. The campaign acknowledged Friday that while Carson was a member of ROTC as a high school student in Detroit, he never applied for admission to West Point.

The ROTC position "allowed me the chance to meet four-star general William Westmoreland, who had commanded all American forces in Vietnam before being promoted to Army Chief of Staff at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.,” Carson wrote in his 2015 book You Have a Brain, for example. “I also represented the Junior ROTC at a dinner for Congressional Medal of Honor winners, marched at the front of Detroit’s Memorial Day parade as head of an ROTC contingent, and was offered a full scholarship to West Point.”

In an interview with The New York Times Friday, Carson said: “I don’t remember all the specific details. Because I had done so extraordinarily well you know I was told that someone like me — they could get a scholarship to West Point. But I made it clear I was going to pursue a career in medicine.”

“To have written this in a book and it’s such a major discrepancy. I don’t think you can call it a gaffe,” said Chris Arterton, a professor of political management at George Washington University. “This is quite different than a slip of a tongue or something said in the heat of the moment. This is much more deliberate and therefore, much more worrisome.”

Carson needs to own up to the contradictions, Arterton said, and the sooner the better, even before the GOP’s next debate on Tuesday in Milwaukee, Wis. If he doesn’t, he risks his recent status as a front-runner in the race for the GOP nomination, where he’s been neck-and-neck with New York businessman Donald Trump.

“A large amount of his support comes from the evangelical community, which has a long tradition of begging for forgiveness,” he said. “I don’t think this will drive him from the race, but it may drop him back to just his base of evangelical support and away from mainstream moderate Republicans.”

Packer said the media and Carson’s opposition in both the Republican and Democratic parties can smell the blood in the water and the West Point story probably won’t be the last misstep Carson will face.

“I think people can forgive a mistake, but at some point it becomes to be a pattern and it’s hard to lie about West Point. People know that being offered a position at West Point is a big honor and is something hard to come by. It’s pretty hard to misremember that,” she said. “The whole thing about Carson is that he’s supposedly a truth teller. It’s too central to his story. If you’re lying about West Point, I have a feeling there is a lot more out there.”

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/b ... int-215598

Exclusive: Carson claimed West Point 'scholarship' but never applied
Republican hits POLITICO story, later admits to The New York Times he wasn’t offered aid.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStor ... r-35028638
Defiant Carson: Questions About West Point Story Are Unfair

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/11/07 ... ale-class/
Lying Liar Ben Carson: I Was Named ‘Most Honest’ Student In My Nonexistent Yale Class

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/05/politics/ ... ump-tweet/
Trump: Carson still suffers from 'pathological disease'

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/11/06 ... ion-video/

I said it before, I think there is more than enough evidence out there right now to prove that Ben Carson is insane.

And the meme's about that and this absurd statement are beyond friggin' hilarious!

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ben-carsons ... -pyramids/

Ben Carson's unusual theory about pyramids

"My own personal theory is that Joseph built the pyramids to store grain," Carson said. "Now all the archeologists think that they were made for the pharaohs' graves. But, you know, it would have to be something awfully big if you stop and think about it. And I don't think it'd just disappear over the course of time to store that much grain."

In the same speech, he went on to say, "[W]hen you look at the way that the pyramids are made, with many chambers that are hermetically sealed, they'd have to be that way for various reasons. And various of scientists have said, 'Well, you know there were alien beings that came down and they have special knowledge and that's how--' you know, it doesn't require an alien being when God is with you."