# So tell me about Ben Carson... **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 2, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154 "2014-12-02T19:11:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Donald\_Rump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Donald\_Rump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donald_Rump)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/221 "2015-03-04T16:59:10Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The odd thing is that even if it were true (people going in straight and coming out gay), that still wouldn’t prove it was a choice. Who chooses to get raped in prison??? And, of course, the cure then becomes obvious. Have the guy rape a woman. Problem solved!! To be charitable to the good doctor, I assume he means that those _committing_ the prison rape are choosing to be gay. Still, I wish I could challenge Carson to produce some stats on straight inmates who have raped other same-sex inmates and later self-identified as gay. My guess is the number is ~zero. ---
**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:** [March 4, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/222 "2015-03-04T18:39:04Z")
I wonder what his position is on treating gay patients. ---
**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:** [March 4, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/223 "2015-03-04T18:53:51Z")
He’s not a prison doctor, silly. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/224 "2015-03-04T19:39:00Z")
I have no reason to doubt his medical skills, but the more I hear of his worldview, the less I want him anywhere near the Oval Office. ---
**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:** [March 4, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/225 "2015-03-04T19:41:30Z")
What if the POTUS needs a craniotomy? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/226 "2015-03-04T19:58:50Z")
Find a brain surgeon who doesn’t himself want to be President. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/227 "2015-03-04T20:03:26Z")
> [@Donald\_Rump](#): > > As if on cue with the announcement of his presidential run, Ben Carson spouts more [ridiculous nonsense](http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/04/politics/ben-carson-prisons-gay-choice/): The utter idiocy of his comment on homosexuality, unfortunately, seems to obscure the utter ignorance he displayed when he spoke as if the Fourteenth Amendment was not part of the Constitution. (_Civil rights should be determined at the state level._) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/228 "2015-03-04T20:25:13Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Carson is forming a presidential exploratory committee: [Dr. Ben Carson Announces Presidential Exploratory Committee](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/dr-ben-carson-announces-presidential-exploratory-committee-n316306) He probably thinks anything “exploratory” involves surgery. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/229 "2015-03-08T15:56:46Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > The utter idiocy of his comment on homosexuality, unfortunately, seems to obscure the utter ignorance he displayed when he spoke as if the Fourteenth Amendment was not part of the Constitution. (_Civil rights should be determined at the state level._) Well, technically, he said 'Civil _issues_ of that nature should be determined at the state level." He doesn’t think gay rights are civil rights. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/230 "2015-03-09T13:53:23Z")
[Janet Allon writes in AlterNet:](http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/5-unhinged-right-wing-moments-week-ben-carson-wins-stupid-prize) > [@](#): > > Carson represents a particular kind of evil in the right-wing universe. His venality is cloaked in doctor’s scrubs and the intonations of a reasonable and well-educated man. His seemingly pleasant manner, twinkly eyes and soothing voice nevertheless has been the vehicle for some of the bat-sh_ttiest, and just plain sh_ttiest utterances of the past few years. Obamacare is worse than slavery. Same-sex marriage is like pedophilia. Black people are to blame for all their problems. People who believe in evolution are unethical. (Yes, a doctor, a supposed man of science said this.) > > The Fox News darling tried to blame CNN, of course. They twisted his words, he whined. How, exactly? They were his words. He said them. On TV. He later gave up, and apologized-not-really, on Facebook. “I realized that my choice of language does not reflect fully my heart on gay issues.” Later, he promised he’d stop talking about LGBT matters altogether. Sure he will. > > Not really a “choice of language” issue, Ben. And we don’t even want to venture to guess what might be in your heart. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/231 "2015-03-11T19:50:55Z")
OK, before it was arguable that Carson is merely stupid. [Now it appears he’s tinfoil-hat crazy.](http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/ben-carson-people-will-stop-obamas-third-term) ---
**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:** [March 11, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/232 "2015-03-11T20:24:13Z")
That seems like more craziness from WND than Carson. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/233 "2015-03-11T21:41:50Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > That seems like more craziness from WND than Carson. A non-crazy response to the question asked would have been, _“There is no evidence that President Obama would seek to stay in office for a third term; why are you asking me such a silly question?”_. His response indicated that he was willing to buy into the conspiracy theory. Idiot and nutcase. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/234 "2015-03-12T02:32:16Z")
Eh, don’t fight the hypothetical. I don’t think Carson’s answer there was particularly crazy. It’s probably what I’d say, at least. “The 22nd amendment says you can only have two terms. If he tried it, people wouldn’t let him.” I don’t think that’s an idiotic or nutty answer. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/235 "2015-03-12T15:34:15Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > A non-crazy response to the question asked would have been, _“There is no evidence that President Obama would seek to stay in office for a third term; why are you asking me such a silly question?”_. > His response indicated that he was willing to buy into the conspiracy theory. > > Idiot and nutcase. They didn’t ask him if there was evidence that Obama will seek a third term. They asked what would prevent him from doing so. It’s a stupid question, and an accurate answer. There are plenty of stupid Carson statements to be going on with. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/236 "2015-03-12T16:27:30Z")
Yeah, that’s a non-starter, BrainGlutton. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/237 "2015-03-13T18:00:00Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Right. Clinton was a poor draft dodger, and Bush and Cheney were rich draft dodgers (Cheney wasn’t as rich as Bush). Poor kids dodged the draft in a different way than rich kids. Clifton protested against the War & used his student deferment. Bush & Cheney were chicken hawks. Cheney had[5 deferments](http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/01/politics/campaign/01CHEN.html). Bush had his daddy get him a place in the National Guard. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/238 "2015-03-13T19:10:33Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Clifton protested against the War & used his student deferment. Assuming you meant Clinton, not quite. It was after his student deferment was up that he got his influential friends and family members to postpone his physical, and arrange a number of stalls on his behalf. Clinton then tried to avoid the draft by promising to enter Arkansas Law School (he did not, he went off to Cambridge for a second year) and by promising to enter an ROTC program for which he was not eligible. Here is a [fairly good timeline](http://www.1stcavmedic.com/bill-clinton-draft.htm)of the various lies, deceptions, and political pressures brought to bear on the lying and cowardly Clinton’s behalf. He dropped his efforts to dodge the draft when he drew a high lottery number. > [@](#): > > That Bill Clinton went to great lengths to avoid the Vietnam-era draft, that he used political connections to obtain special favors, and that he made promises and commitments which he later failed to honor, are all beyond dispute. [Cite](http://www.snopes.com/politics/clintons/felon.asp#HXXWo0fA47UMShyT.99). > [@](#): > > Bush & Cheney were chicken hawks. Cheney had[5 deferments](http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/01/politics/campaign/01CHEN.html). Bush had his daddy get him a place in the National Guard. If Clinton used his student deferments, he must also then have been a chicken hawk, or perhaps just a chicken. The difference between Bush and Clinton is that Bush did actually go into the Texas Air National Guard. The part about Clinton protesting the Viet Nam war is true. He organized two small protest marches in London (in coordination with the KGB-backed World Peace Council) and played a smaller role in a larger protest in the US. Regards, Shodan PS - no, Bush didn’t go AWOL. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/239 "2015-03-13T19:15:49Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Assuming you meant Clinton, not quite. It was after his student deferment was up that he got his influential friends and family members to postpone his physical, and arrange a number of stalls on his behalf. Clinton then tried to avoid the draft by promising to enter Arkansas Law School (he did not, he went off to Cambridge for a second year) and by promising to enter an ROTC program for which he was not eligible. Here is a [fairly good timeline](http://www.1stcavmedic.com/bill-clinton-draft.htm)of the various lies, deceptions, and political pressures brought to bear on the lying and cowardly Clinton’s behalf. He dropped his efforts to dodge the draft when he drew a high lottery number. > [Cite](http://www.snopes.com/politics/clintons/felon.asp#HXXWo0fA47UMShyT.99). > If Clinton used his student deferments, he must also then have been a chicken hawk, or perhaps just a chicken. The difference between Bush and Clinton is that Bush did actually go into the Texas Air National Guard. > > The part about Clinton protesting the Viet Nam war is true. He organized two small protest marches in London (in coordination with the KGB-backed World Peace Council) and played a smaller role in a larger protest in the US. > > Regards, > Shodan > > PS - no, Bush didn’t go AWOL. I agree with all of this, and I don’t think it conflicts with my assertion that Clinton was a poor draft dodger, and Bush and Cheney were rich draft dodgers. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/240 "2015-03-13T19:28:26Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > A non-crazy response to the question asked would have been, _“There is no evidence that President Obama would seek to stay in office for a third term; why are you asking me such a silly question?”_. > His response indicated that he was willing to buy into the conspiracy theory. > > Idiot and nutcase. Eh, he said the constitution prevents Obama from seeking a third term. Which is accurate enough. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154.md?page=13)