# Ben Carson for President thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 31, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554 "2015-08-31T22:58:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 31
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/601 "2015-11-12T00:28:58Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > It would be awesome if someone could find the missing woman and get her side of the story. She’s probably in a trunk in his basement. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/602 "2015-11-12T00:33:37Z")
I like how God help him cheat on a chemistry test. Even funnier if God gave him the wrong answers. Oh wait, [he did.](http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/09/ben-carson-creationism-six-days) ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/603 "2015-11-12T00:35:51Z")
> [@RedSwinglineOne](#): > > These are both funny, and scary.:eek: > > 11 times God intervened directly in Ben Carson’s life, > > I didn’t know god had so much free time. Apparently he answers prayers for bus fare. That’s not even all of them – God gave him bus fare twice. According to his book, the fake test where he got ten bucks from the prof (for being the most honest student) also occurred right after he prayed to God for bus fare. And the arrogance displayed is incredible. For the safari, he says he reminded God that they only had one day to see the animals. But I guess it does explain why God doesn’t help 98% of the people with terminal cancer who pray for a remission. He’s too busy making sure that his favorites have nice vacations. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/604 "2015-11-12T00:38:46Z")
10 bucks for bus fare? Hope he put the change in the collection plate! ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/605 "2015-11-12T00:43:32Z")
> [@](#): > > The Washington Post has collected some instances where Carson said God has directly intervened in his life. Did he pray for all of his patients, and all of them survived, or did he only pray for a few and they all survived, or did he pray for some of his patients and some of them died anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/606 "2015-11-12T00:47:55Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Did he pray for all of his patients, and all of them survived, or did he only pray for a few and they all survived, or did he pray for some of his patients and some of them died anyway? Ah, but Ben has faith that God spared the “good” ones. All he prayed for was god to keep his hand steady, which can be difficult if you’re sedated as heavily as he appears to be. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/607 "2015-11-12T01:03:24Z")
I was also caught by the part where he “reminded God” that he only had a day to see the wildlife. Does God need a lot of reminders? Maybe so. He is getting up there in years. And, to be fair, He was starting to slip a little 6000 years ago, to the point that He needed to set up rainbows to remind Himself not to destroy the earth again. So, I can see a detail like Carson’s vacation agenda getting lost in the shuffle. ---
**Author:** ![nani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58956e/32.png) [@nani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nani)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/608 "2015-11-12T04:24:01Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > It would be awesome if someone could find the missing woman and get her side of the story. What really happened: Dr. Carson’s secretary offered to make him a cocktail during the hospital Christmas party. Only alcoholics know how to make cocktails. Strike one. The following Tuesday, the secretary organizes Dr. Carson’s paper clips by color in alphabetical order, rather than the reverse alphabetical order that Dr. Carson prefers. Strike two. Dr. Carson retreats to his office and asks God for advice on how to fire her without his office’s insurance being on the hook for her inevitable stint in rehab. God advises him to wait for strike three. Meanwhile, the secretary has found another job at the patent office. She submits her two-week notice to HR and starts the search for a replacement. Dr. Carson, still upset over the paperclip fiasco, does not check his email. Two weeks later, the new secretary begins her job. Dr. Carson notices the change when the new secretary introduces herself and mentions to him that she had called the old secretary’s home that day to ask where the printer ink was kept, but had received no reply. The next day, Dr. Carson has lunch with several doctors from different hospitals. He off-handedly mentions his former secretary and warns them to not hire her because she’s an alcoholic. They hadn’t heard of her. On Wednesday, Dr. Carson comes to work and sees that his paperclips are arranged correctly. Praising God, he calls off the search. The secretary’s name? Albert Einstein. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/609 "2015-11-12T05:31:07Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > \*\* > _Wrong!_\*\* > > Carson City is named after a Great American Western Hero. > > Johnny, from _The Tonight Show_. And he must be spinning in his grave, now that the Tonight Show has gone back to NYC. Spoilered because… ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/610 "2015-11-12T16:39:10Z")
In 2008, Ben Carson’s friend and business partner Al Costa was convicted of medical billing fraud. Costa was a dentist in Pittsburgh. At Costa’s sentencing hearing, Carson testified on Costa’s behalf, requesting leniency. Fair enough. In his 2013 political paper “America the Beautiful”, Carson addressed the problem of medical billing fraud. He argued that medical billing fraud was no big deal and people convicted of it should be let off with light penalties. Ha! Just kidding. He really wrote: > [@Ben Carson](#): > > Why don’t people steal very often in Saudi Arabia? Obviously because the punishment is the amputation of one or more fingers. I would not advocate chopping off people’s limbs, but there would be some very stiff penalties for this kind of fraud, such as loss of one’s medical license for life, no less than 10 years in prison, and loss of all of one’s personal possessions. Even putting aside the hypocrisy for a moment, I’m kind of struck that he’s advocating for forfeiture of _all personal possessions_ for medical billing fraud. That seems a bit harsh. I mean, I’m against medical billing fraud as much as the next guy, but 10 years in jail and reduction to penury seems a bit excessive. Cite: [TPM, reprinting an AP article](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/ben-carson-business-partner-felony-fraud). ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/611 "2015-11-12T17:35:08Z")
That’s a little different. If a friend of mine got his penis caught in a ceiling fan, I’m likely to bend my principles to help. Principles are important, but you can’t get drunk and tell crude jokes with your principles. Of course, neither of them would do anything like that… ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/612 "2015-11-12T18:46:25Z")
[Ben thinks there are Chinese in Syria](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ben-carson-armstrong-williams-chinese-in-syria). Not sure which side they’re on. But it’s funny that nobody else seems to know that this is a thing. I do wonder who is briefing Ben and his spokesman about these things. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/613 "2015-11-12T18:48:52Z")
Do they have UN helmets and black helicopters, too? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/614 "2015-11-12T18:55:06Z")
The funny thing is that the hypocritical claims aren’t even accurate. Saudi crime rates are “low” because very few crimes are reported to secular authorities, and many crimes that are reported are deemed the fault of the victim. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/615 "2015-11-12T19:17:59Z")
> [@rick kitchen](#): > > [ben thinks there are chinese in syria](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ben-carson-armstrong-williams-chinese-in-syria). Not sure which side they’re on. But it’s funny that nobody else seems to know that this is a thing. I do wonder who is briefing ben and his spokesman about these things. Top. Men. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/616 "2015-11-12T20:11:18Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The funny thing is that the hypocritical claims aren’t even accurate. Saudi crime rates are “low” because very few crimes are reported to secular authorities, and many crimes that are reported are deemed the fault of the victim. I couldn’t find the robbery rate in Elizabethan England, but I suspect it was higher than today. They did not have a three strikes law - they executed you after two. But the homicide rate was five times that of today. [Cite](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime-in-britain-creation-of-police-contributes-little-to-800-year-decline-in-murder-rate-1458064.html) One interesting snipped from that source > [@](#): > > The dramatic fall in the murder rate in the mid to late 18th century was believed to be the result of disarming the aristocracy and stopping them carrying their swords as a status-symbol. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/617 "2015-11-12T20:53:47Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Ben thinks there are Chinese in Syria](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ben-carson-armstrong-williams-chinese-in-syria). Not sure which side they’re on. But it’s funny that nobody else seems to know that this is a thing. I do wonder who is briefing Ben and his spokesman about these things. It’s bad enough he spouts crap like that, but it’s even worse that there were a dozen guys running for President standing up there with him, all of whom were desperately hoping they could manage to say something that would help their chances and hurt his, and none of them were confident enough of their Cliff’s Notes knowledge of Syria to call him on it. So now, to the Republican faithful, the dumbest guy on the stage looks like the smartest guy on the stage. How did we get this fucked up? And I’m sure that within a few days, Carson’s campaign will produce a grainy photo of a Japanese tourist in Jordan, and say he’s vindicated. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/618 "2015-11-12T20:56:42Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > That’s a little different. If a friend of mine got his penis caught in a ceiling fan, I’m likely to bend my principles to help. Hmm. I like to think that I have a fairly comprehensive set of principles, but that situation isn’t covered. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/619 "2015-11-14T17:01:59Z")
[Ooops!](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-ben-carson-terri-schiavo-jeb-bush-20151113-story.html) I think Ben Carson may have made a serious misstep here when asked about the Terri Schiavo case. > [@](#): > > After he spoke at a Republican Party conference here on Friday, a reporter asked Carson what he thought of the infamous case – one that Bush speaks about occasionally as he mounts his own presidential campaign.“We face those kinds of issues all the time, and while I don’t believe in euthanasia, you have to recognize that people that are in that condition do have a series of medical problems that occur that will take them out,” he said. “Your job (as a doctor) is to keep them comfortable throughout that process and not to treat everything that comes up.” and then, > [@](#): > > I don’t think it needed to get to that level. I think it was much ado about nothing. Not only will this play poorly with the evangelical folks who have been flocking to him, I can’t imagine Bush, Rubio or one of the other GOPers won’t pounce on these remarks. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/620 "2015-11-14T17:51:54Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Not only will this play poorly with the evangelical folks who have been flocking to him, I can’t imagine Bush, Rubio or one of the other GOPers won’t pounce on these remarks. Bush will steer clear. Regardless of his personal feelings, he remembers the political stick he took over that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554.md?page=32)