Gratitude list for 2015:
Daughter Marie is expecting and due at the end of June with our first grandchild!
Joan and I celebrated our 38th anniversary this August. What a blessing to have her in my life.
Joan and I and daughter Jeanette had a wonderful vacation to Canada, including Montreal, Niagara Falls and Quebec this summer.
We are blessed with dear siblings, including my sisters Sue, Gina and Toni and Joan's sisters Carol and Paula.
We have terrific in-laws too: Marie's husband Robert, Robert's parents Marcia and John, Carol's husband Paul and Paul's dad Hal.
I completed my sixteenth year at College of the Sequoias, a good place to work, with colleagues and students I enjoy. This was my 33rd year as a full-time educator, counting my 17 years at Cucamonga Middle School.
I published my first book this year, Liberally Speaking. I've had a lot of fun having book appearances, signings and discussions.
Though we both have been presented with some new dietary limitations, Joan and I continue to enjoy good health.
I am really enjoying my new car, a Subaru Forester.
It was great to see the LGBT community win marriage equality this year.
It's been very gratifying to see the economic recovery gather momentum this year, with real progress on jobs, the unemployment rate and the lowest gas prices in years.
I am grateful a climate accord was reached in Paris this month. It wasn't as much as is needed but it's the first serious, truly global step in the right direction.
I'm grateful to have been able to play more golf this year and make more friends on the course.
The invention of Facebook has made it easier to keep up better with friends and relatives.
I'm grateful to have made it through another year!
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Obama Adminstration Achievements in 2015
Despite opposition from and dysfunction in the Republican-controlled congress, 2015 has been another year of remarkable achievements for the Obama administration. On the economic front, the past 12 months have seen the creation of 2,637,00 jobs, and the all-time record of consecutive positive job creation months is now up to 69. A moderate growth rate of 2.1% combined with a low 0.5% inflation rate has yielded a healthy net growth rate of 1.6% over inflation. The United States is now the largest oil producer in the world, while at the same time renewable energy production continues to break records with each passing day and fuel economy continues to grow. The result is a 27% reduction in oil imports and a huge price savings for the American consumer at the pump. Here's a list of the highlights of accomplishments in 2015.
April 16: New Medicare reimbursement formula rewards doctors for health outcomes instead of just for performing services.
April 16: Medicare Access and CHIP (Children's Health) Reauthorization Act signed.
June 30: Overtime pay threshold for hourly workers improved from $23,660 through $50,440.
July 14: US and Cuba reopen embassies after 54 years.
July 16: US and six major powers reach agreement with Iran to curb its nuclear program and accept inspections in exchange for sanctions relief.
August 4: Each state required to reduce its carbon emissions to set targets by 2030.
August 18: First openly transgender employee hired by the White House.
September 3: Discrimination against transgender people in health or medical insurance is banned.
September 7: Employees of federal contractors must be offered at least 7 days of paid sick leave per year.
September 18: First openly gay American nominated for Secretary of the Army.
October 6: Sentences reduced and adapted for 6,000 people serving excessive punishment for nonviolent crimes.
October 22: 70 ISIS hostages rescued in Iraq by US Special Forces.
November 6: Keystone Oil Pipeline rejected for not serving the interests of the United States.
December 3: All military positions become open to females.
December 10: Every Student Succeeds Act signed.
April 16: New Medicare reimbursement formula rewards doctors for health outcomes instead of just for performing services.
April 16: Medicare Access and CHIP (Children's Health) Reauthorization Act signed.
June 30: Overtime pay threshold for hourly workers improved from $23,660 through $50,440.
July 14: US and Cuba reopen embassies after 54 years.
July 16: US and six major powers reach agreement with Iran to curb its nuclear program and accept inspections in exchange for sanctions relief.
August 4: Each state required to reduce its carbon emissions to set targets by 2030.
August 18: First openly transgender employee hired by the White House.
September 3: Discrimination against transgender people in health or medical insurance is banned.
September 7: Employees of federal contractors must be offered at least 7 days of paid sick leave per year.
September 18: First openly gay American nominated for Secretary of the Army.
October 6: Sentences reduced and adapted for 6,000 people serving excessive punishment for nonviolent crimes.
October 22: 70 ISIS hostages rescued in Iraq by US Special Forces.
November 6: Keystone Oil Pipeline rejected for not serving the interests of the United States.
December 3: All military positions become open to females.
December 10: Every Student Succeeds Act signed.
Sunday, December 13, 2015
The Real Donald Trump
There's been a lot going on the past few days. The terrorist attack in San Bernardino and the international climate change agreement reached in Paris are big news, and legitimately so. But I think it's time to directly address the phenomenon that is the candidacy of Donald Trump. I have commented on him before in these pages, but not with the directness and bluntness I feel is now necessarily called for.
Trump is a classic demagogue. His popularity is the encapsulation of every angry, mean-spirited, bigoted, xenophobic, violent, ill-informed, racist element in the Republican Party. The principal driving force of his support is fear, and he plays on it as adroitly as Segovia ever strummed the classical guitar. Trump's slogan may be "Make America Great Again" but his message is never about building up America or encouraging the greatness of its people. His stump speech instead begins with about half an hour of bombastic blather about how great Trump is, followed by another half hour of naming scapegoats and tearing them down. This began on day one of his campaign, when he announced that immigrants from Mexico were "rapists, murderers and thieves." He has spoken approvingly of the Japanese internment of World War II and "Operation Wetback," which rounded up Mexican-Americans, many of them natural born citizens, and expelled them. He has also demeaned women, Vietnam veterans, blacks and Muslims. His misogynistic insults against Megyn Kelly and Carly Fiorina were followed by assertions that a black protester manhandled at one of his rallies "should have been roughed up." John McCain, who was tortured for his country for years as a POW in North Vietnam was a "loser" for letting himself be captured.
Trump has concocted a story that American Muslims celebrated the fall of the Twin Towers on 9/11. He says people who are entering the U.S. should be asked their religion and barred entrance if they are Muslim, and that Muslim citizens should be "registered" and have to wear identifying labels like the Jews of Nazi Europe. For months he kept the "birther" controversy boiling about President Obama's citizenship. Whether Mexican, woman, black or Muslim, the recurring theme is that people who are different are scary and must be delegitimized and eliminated. Trump's references to his opponents in the race are similarly pitched to the basest level of personal invective. They are "stupid," "losers," "psychos," "weak," "ugly," and "dumb," to name a few of the dizzying succession of schoolyard taunts he hurls at those with the temerity to run against him.
Based on the large number of contradictory statements he has made over the past many years in the public eye, it is impossible to tell whether he actually believes any of these things. I tend to think he probably does not. Rather, I think he knows exactly what he's doing: appealing to the fear, bigotry and desire for an authoritarian leader he knows is rampant in the Republican base with the design of riding that to the nomination and perhaps the White House. The Republican establishment is in a panic about Trump's popularity and his chances of garnering the nomination, but they have only themselves to blame. For years they have fed these fears in the base through their statements and their media outlets. They have succeeded in whipping their adherents into a frenzy of fear and hate. They have finally run up against a sharp and unscrupulous publicity hound who understands what has been created and knows how to take advantage of it. Instead of appealing to these dark intimations obliquely like 'respectable' Republicans do, Trump goes ahead and directly plays to them right out loud, and the haters love him for his 'honesty.' Not only the GOP establishment, but the whole nation now reaps the whirlwind.
Trump is a classic demagogue. His popularity is the encapsulation of every angry, mean-spirited, bigoted, xenophobic, violent, ill-informed, racist element in the Republican Party. The principal driving force of his support is fear, and he plays on it as adroitly as Segovia ever strummed the classical guitar. Trump's slogan may be "Make America Great Again" but his message is never about building up America or encouraging the greatness of its people. His stump speech instead begins with about half an hour of bombastic blather about how great Trump is, followed by another half hour of naming scapegoats and tearing them down. This began on day one of his campaign, when he announced that immigrants from Mexico were "rapists, murderers and thieves." He has spoken approvingly of the Japanese internment of World War II and "Operation Wetback," which rounded up Mexican-Americans, many of them natural born citizens, and expelled them. He has also demeaned women, Vietnam veterans, blacks and Muslims. His misogynistic insults against Megyn Kelly and Carly Fiorina were followed by assertions that a black protester manhandled at one of his rallies "should have been roughed up." John McCain, who was tortured for his country for years as a POW in North Vietnam was a "loser" for letting himself be captured.
Trump has concocted a story that American Muslims celebrated the fall of the Twin Towers on 9/11. He says people who are entering the U.S. should be asked their religion and barred entrance if they are Muslim, and that Muslim citizens should be "registered" and have to wear identifying labels like the Jews of Nazi Europe. For months he kept the "birther" controversy boiling about President Obama's citizenship. Whether Mexican, woman, black or Muslim, the recurring theme is that people who are different are scary and must be delegitimized and eliminated. Trump's references to his opponents in the race are similarly pitched to the basest level of personal invective. They are "stupid," "losers," "psychos," "weak," "ugly," and "dumb," to name a few of the dizzying succession of schoolyard taunts he hurls at those with the temerity to run against him.
Based on the large number of contradictory statements he has made over the past many years in the public eye, it is impossible to tell whether he actually believes any of these things. I tend to think he probably does not. Rather, I think he knows exactly what he's doing: appealing to the fear, bigotry and desire for an authoritarian leader he knows is rampant in the Republican base with the design of riding that to the nomination and perhaps the White House. The Republican establishment is in a panic about Trump's popularity and his chances of garnering the nomination, but they have only themselves to blame. For years they have fed these fears in the base through their statements and their media outlets. They have succeeded in whipping their adherents into a frenzy of fear and hate. They have finally run up against a sharp and unscrupulous publicity hound who understands what has been created and knows how to take advantage of it. Instead of appealing to these dark intimations obliquely like 'respectable' Republicans do, Trump goes ahead and directly plays to them right out loud, and the haters love him for his 'honesty.' Not only the GOP establishment, but the whole nation now reaps the whirlwind.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Obama Address on Terrorism
I watched President Obama's Oval Office "Address on Terrorism" Sunday night. His remarks were occasioned by recent events. ISIS or ISIS-inspired terrorists have put themselves squarely in the public's consciousness as a result of the highly organized internationally directed attack in Paris and then the seemingly independently undertaken attack in San Bernardino, California. The President showed the gravity of the matter by speaking to the public from the Oval Office for only the third time in his presidency.
He tried to strike a balance between respecting the seriousness of the threat, reassuring the American people that all reasonable steps are being taken, and making an appeal to remember our values. Mr. Obama stated that "ISIS and any other organization that threatens Americans must and will be destroyed." He pledged that the ongoing campaign would be "strong and smart, resilient and ruthless." But he also made a plea that anger over terrorism not turn into intolerance against the Muslim religion and Muslim Americans as a whole.
The actions highlighted were a continuation of what is already being done, including stepped-up air attacks and special forces raids in Iraq and Syria, training of more Iraqi, Kurdish and Syrian forces, cutting off terrorist funding sources, enlisting more Muslim authorities to counter ISIS propaganda about the true nature of Muslim teachings, and pursuing diplomatic efforts to expand the growing coalition and a cease-fire in Syria that would allow all parties to focus on eliminating ISIS. These are all the same strategies every Republican and Democratic presidential candidate except two are already advocating. The two exceptions are Lindsay Graham, who wants to invade with American ground troops and Donald Trump, who is advocating fascist tactics like "registering all American Muslims," "going after the families" of terrorists and preventing any Muslim from entering the United States.
President Obama asked for congressional help on four items. He wants an official authorization of the use of military force, legislation mandating tighter screening for those entering the US without a Visa, a law making it illegal to sell a gun to anyone on a terrorist watch list, and a law making it harder for people to buy "high-powered assault rifles." The second and third of these requests might conceivably be passed, but the first and fourth have no chance in a majority Republican congress. Republicans overwhelmingly support the kinds of military action the President is taking, but they have heretofore avoided taking such a vote, likely afraid that if things go sideways they might be held partially to blame. It's easier and politically safer to criticize and shout louder for "stronger measures" without being specific about what those ought to be.
As always, Obama is focused on practicality. If it's not particularly glamorous to caution that this is going to take resolve and patience, the fact is that it will. There is a great deal of difference between running for president and being President. That's certainly been on display in the past week.
He tried to strike a balance between respecting the seriousness of the threat, reassuring the American people that all reasonable steps are being taken, and making an appeal to remember our values. Mr. Obama stated that "ISIS and any other organization that threatens Americans must and will be destroyed." He pledged that the ongoing campaign would be "strong and smart, resilient and ruthless." But he also made a plea that anger over terrorism not turn into intolerance against the Muslim religion and Muslim Americans as a whole.
The actions highlighted were a continuation of what is already being done, including stepped-up air attacks and special forces raids in Iraq and Syria, training of more Iraqi, Kurdish and Syrian forces, cutting off terrorist funding sources, enlisting more Muslim authorities to counter ISIS propaganda about the true nature of Muslim teachings, and pursuing diplomatic efforts to expand the growing coalition and a cease-fire in Syria that would allow all parties to focus on eliminating ISIS. These are all the same strategies every Republican and Democratic presidential candidate except two are already advocating. The two exceptions are Lindsay Graham, who wants to invade with American ground troops and Donald Trump, who is advocating fascist tactics like "registering all American Muslims," "going after the families" of terrorists and preventing any Muslim from entering the United States.
President Obama asked for congressional help on four items. He wants an official authorization of the use of military force, legislation mandating tighter screening for those entering the US without a Visa, a law making it illegal to sell a gun to anyone on a terrorist watch list, and a law making it harder for people to buy "high-powered assault rifles." The second and third of these requests might conceivably be passed, but the first and fourth have no chance in a majority Republican congress. Republicans overwhelmingly support the kinds of military action the President is taking, but they have heretofore avoided taking such a vote, likely afraid that if things go sideways they might be held partially to blame. It's easier and politically safer to criticize and shout louder for "stronger measures" without being specific about what those ought to be.
As always, Obama is focused on practicality. If it's not particularly glamorous to caution that this is going to take resolve and patience, the fact is that it will. There is a great deal of difference between running for president and being President. That's certainly been on display in the past week.
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Muslim Scholars Condemn Terrorism
Many in right-wing circles like to ask where are the Muslims who condemn terrorist atrocities committed by extremists in the name of Islam or the outrages of groups like the so-called Islamic State. Well, here they are. A group of 120 eminent Islamic scholars has conducted an extensive study of the Qur'an and the Hadith, and assails the actions of these extremists in the strongest terms. The group includes the Grand Mufti of Egypt and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and All Palestine. The item was first published in English by Lauren Markoe of the Religion News Service and appeared today in the Huffington Post. The scholars make clear that such practices as torture, forced conversions and the killing of innocents are incompatible with the true teachings of Islam. I've reproduced the list below.
1. It is forbidden in Islam to issue fatwas without all the necessary learning requirements. Even then fatwas must follow Islamic legal theory as defined in the Classical texts. It is also forbidden to cite a portion of a verse from the Qur’an—or part of a verse—to derive a ruling without looking at everything that the Qur’an and Hadith teach related to that matter. In other words, there are strict subjective and objective prerequisites for fatwas, and one cannot ‘cherry-pick’ Qur’anic verses for legal arguments without considering the entire Qur’an and Hadith.
2. It is forbidden in Islam to issue legal rulings about anything without mastery of the Arabic language.
3. It is forbidden in Islam to oversimplify Shari’ah matters and ignore established Islamic sciences.
4. It is permissible in Islam [for scholars] to differ on any matter, except those fundamentals of religion that all Muslims must know.
5. It is forbidden in Islam to ignore the reality of contemporary times when deriving legal rulings.
6. It is forbidden in Islam to kill the innocent.
7. It is forbidden in Islam to kill emissaries, ambassadors, and diplomats; hence it is forbidden to kill journalists and aid workers.
8. Jihad in Islam is defensive war. It is not permissible without the right cause, the right purpose and without the right rules of conduct.
9. It is forbidden in Islam to declare people non-Muslim unless he (or she) openly declares disbelief.
10. It is forbidden in Islam to harm or mistreat—in any way—Christians or any ‘People of the Scripture’.
11. It is obligatory to consider Yazidis as People of the Scripture.
12. The re-introduction of slavery is forbidden in Islam. It was abolished by universal consensus.
13. It is forbidden in Islam to force people to convert.
14. It is forbidden in Islam to deny women their rights.
15. It is forbidden in Islam to deny children their rights.
16. It is forbidden in Islam to enact legal punishments (hudud) without following the correct
procedures that ensure justice and mercy.
17. It is forbidden in Islam to torture people.
18. It is forbidden in Islam to disfigure the dead.
19. It is forbidden in Islam to attribute evil acts to God.
20. It is forbidden in Islam to destroy the graves and shrines of Prophets and Companions.
21. Armed insurrection is forbidden in Islam for any reason other than clear disbelief by the ruler and not allowing people to pray.
22. It is forbidden in Islam to declare a caliphate without consensus from all Muslims.
23. Loyalty to one’s nation is permissible in Islam.
24. After the death of the Prophet, Islam does not require anyone to emigrate anywhere.
1. It is forbidden in Islam to issue fatwas without all the necessary learning requirements. Even then fatwas must follow Islamic legal theory as defined in the Classical texts. It is also forbidden to cite a portion of a verse from the Qur’an—or part of a verse—to derive a ruling without looking at everything that the Qur’an and Hadith teach related to that matter. In other words, there are strict subjective and objective prerequisites for fatwas, and one cannot ‘cherry-pick’ Qur’anic verses for legal arguments without considering the entire Qur’an and Hadith.
2. It is forbidden in Islam to issue legal rulings about anything without mastery of the Arabic language.
3. It is forbidden in Islam to oversimplify Shari’ah matters and ignore established Islamic sciences.
4. It is permissible in Islam [for scholars] to differ on any matter, except those fundamentals of religion that all Muslims must know.
5. It is forbidden in Islam to ignore the reality of contemporary times when deriving legal rulings.
6. It is forbidden in Islam to kill the innocent.
7. It is forbidden in Islam to kill emissaries, ambassadors, and diplomats; hence it is forbidden to kill journalists and aid workers.
8. Jihad in Islam is defensive war. It is not permissible without the right cause, the right purpose and without the right rules of conduct.
9. It is forbidden in Islam to declare people non-Muslim unless he (or she) openly declares disbelief.
10. It is forbidden in Islam to harm or mistreat—in any way—Christians or any ‘People of the Scripture’.
11. It is obligatory to consider Yazidis as People of the Scripture.
12. The re-introduction of slavery is forbidden in Islam. It was abolished by universal consensus.
13. It is forbidden in Islam to force people to convert.
14. It is forbidden in Islam to deny women their rights.
15. It is forbidden in Islam to deny children their rights.
16. It is forbidden in Islam to enact legal punishments (hudud) without following the correct
procedures that ensure justice and mercy.
17. It is forbidden in Islam to torture people.
18. It is forbidden in Islam to disfigure the dead.
19. It is forbidden in Islam to attribute evil acts to God.
20. It is forbidden in Islam to destroy the graves and shrines of Prophets and Companions.
21. Armed insurrection is forbidden in Islam for any reason other than clear disbelief by the ruler and not allowing people to pray.
22. It is forbidden in Islam to declare a caliphate without consensus from all Muslims.
23. Loyalty to one’s nation is permissible in Islam.
24. After the death of the Prophet, Islam does not require anyone to emigrate anywhere.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Nations Now Uniting Against ISIS
ISIS is certainly not afraid to make enemies. Their latest round of terrorist strikes may have succeeded in uniting international action to finally begin bringing an end to their barbaric outrages. The horrific terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday, November 13 that have claimed 129 lives thus far came close on the heels of the October 31 murder of 224 in the downing of a Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, apparently by an explosive stowed in baggage, and the killing of 43 by twin suicide bombers on November 12 in Beirut, Lebanon.
French President Francois Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed retribution and have sent warplanes to deliver heavy attacks against ISIS targets in Syria. American planes are already conducting their own campaign in Syria and Iraq at the head of a coalition that includes 16 nations. Their strikes paved the way for Kurdish Peshmerga forces to seize the important crossroads town of Sinjar from ISIS militants.
France has invoked article 42.7 of the European Union Lisbon Charter, which calls for aid to any member state under attack. All 27 nations of the EU President have responded positively. Hollande is about to go to Washington to confer with President Obama and then will cross the Atlantic again to meet with President Putin in Moscow. Putin was shown on Russian TV today ordering his military forces to treat France, which is sending an aircraft carrier to the Easter Mediterranean, "as an ally."
The Foreign Ministers meeting on Syria, held in Vienna on October 30 has now led to a semi-permanent group, styling itself the International Syria Support Group. Participants include the Arab League, China, Egypt, the EU, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, the UK, the United Nations, and the U.S. The group has declared that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Da'esh, in its Arabic initials) as well as the Jabhat al-Nusra Front, and ″other terrorist groups, as designated by the UN Security Council, and further, as agreed by the participants and endorsed by the UN Security Council, must be defeated.″
The tricky part is that the U.S. and its Western allies want Bashar Assad out as Syrian leader while Russia and Iran are trying to prop him up. This has so far prevented joint action among the international community on the Syrian problem. Meanwhile the war has dragged on, creating the refugee crisis and giving ISIS the chaos it has used to establish its territorial sway over much of Eastern Syria and Northern Iraq. It may well have angered enough powers now that they will put aside their differences, at least long enough to focus all their firepower on crushing ISIS first. Talks are underway to arrange a cease-fire of the various factions in Syria by January 1 that would permit effective coordination against ISIS. Don't be surprised if these talks bear fruit. ISIS's latest terror ventures have been way too successful for their own good.
French President Francois Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed retribution and have sent warplanes to deliver heavy attacks against ISIS targets in Syria. American planes are already conducting their own campaign in Syria and Iraq at the head of a coalition that includes 16 nations. Their strikes paved the way for Kurdish Peshmerga forces to seize the important crossroads town of Sinjar from ISIS militants.
France has invoked article 42.7 of the European Union Lisbon Charter, which calls for aid to any member state under attack. All 27 nations of the EU President have responded positively. Hollande is about to go to Washington to confer with President Obama and then will cross the Atlantic again to meet with President Putin in Moscow. Putin was shown on Russian TV today ordering his military forces to treat France, which is sending an aircraft carrier to the Easter Mediterranean, "as an ally."
The Foreign Ministers meeting on Syria, held in Vienna on October 30 has now led to a semi-permanent group, styling itself the International Syria Support Group. Participants include the Arab League, China, Egypt, the EU, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, the UK, the United Nations, and the U.S. The group has declared that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Da'esh, in its Arabic initials) as well as the Jabhat al-Nusra Front, and ″other terrorist groups, as designated by the UN Security Council, and further, as agreed by the participants and endorsed by the UN Security Council, must be defeated.″
The tricky part is that the U.S. and its Western allies want Bashar Assad out as Syrian leader while Russia and Iran are trying to prop him up. This has so far prevented joint action among the international community on the Syrian problem. Meanwhile the war has dragged on, creating the refugee crisis and giving ISIS the chaos it has used to establish its territorial sway over much of Eastern Syria and Northern Iraq. It may well have angered enough powers now that they will put aside their differences, at least long enough to focus all their firepower on crushing ISIS first. Talks are underway to arrange a cease-fire of the various factions in Syria by January 1 that would permit effective coordination against ISIS. Don't be surprised if these talks bear fruit. ISIS's latest terror ventures have been way too successful for their own good.
Sunday, November 8, 2015
The Real Dr. Ben Carson
Now that retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson has surged to the upper echelon of Republican presidential primary contenders, many of his positions and statements are beginning to receive a much more serious level of scrutiny. The picture that is emerging is that of a man with extreme and often bizarre views and a marked tendency to exaggerate or invent fantastical stories about himself. These traits, along with Carson's strategy for dealing with these revelations, prefigure, at some point in the not-to-distant future, the likely collapse of his candidacy.
To listen to Dr. Carson for more than a few minutes is to be treated to a set of views that can only be described as bizarre. He has proposed ending Medicare. He wants to phase out Social Security. He has said the Holocaust would not have happened had the Jews been armed. (The Warsaw Jews did arm themselves and rose up against their Nazi tormentors in 1943. Their ghetto was razed in a campaign of savagery that annihilated them all to the last man, woman and child.) He says "Obamacare is the worst thing to happen to America since slavery." He's opined that the ancient pyramids of Egypt were used primarily for grain storage. These strange and loopy views are part and parcel of a fellow who regularly offers opinions completely out of the mainstream politically or completely out of the reality-based factual universe. To be blunt about it, they are the babblings of a crackpot.
Painting in Carson's Home: Carson at the right hand of Jesus
Dr. Carson's writings and statements about his own formative past have proven similarly elusive. He's said he hit his mother over the head with a hammer and tried to stab a friend who was only saved by his belt buckle. Friends have told CNN they have no memory or knowledge of these incidents. Carson, a doctor, has described his childhood "rage" as a "pathological disease," of which no record of diagnosis or treatment exists. He's claimed to have been invited to dinner as a young man with Gen. William Westmoreland, U.S. commander in Vietnam. Reporters have determined that Carson and Westmoreland were never in the same place at the same time. He also claimed on the Charlie Rose program he was offered a full scholarship to West Point, a school that is free, where there are no scholarships, because there is no tuition if you are admitted. He had prostate cancer surgery in August, 2002 and in November of that year said he had been cured. Two years later, in 2004, he said his prostate cancer had been cured by dietary supplements provided by Mannatech, a company that was paying him $42,000 a speech to represent them and which has been fined $4 million by the state of Texas for making medically spurious claims. When asked about his involvement with this company during the CNN Republican debate on October 28, 2015, he denied having any relationship with Mannatech. Dr. Ben Carson appears to be a serial prevaricator.
When confronted with evidence of his obvious dishonesty Carson has played the victim. Instead of saying 'Ask my classmates, teachers, relatives, or witnesses,' as you or I would do if we were telling the truth, he has fallen back on the Republican politician's dodge of blaming the "liberal media." He maintains "There's no question I'm getting special consideration. The liberal media is out to tear me down. They're after things that happened fifty years ago, that happened when I was 13." No, they are checking into preposterous-sounding things he claims have happened at various times throughout his life, that he has maintained as an adult and as recently as yesterday. Dr. Carson is running for President of the United States and leader of the free world, a position for which he seems to feel he need not have to undergo any scrutiny about the truthfulness of his statements or the content of his character. He is about to be sorely disabused of that notion.
To listen to Dr. Carson for more than a few minutes is to be treated to a set of views that can only be described as bizarre. He has proposed ending Medicare. He wants to phase out Social Security. He has said the Holocaust would not have happened had the Jews been armed. (The Warsaw Jews did arm themselves and rose up against their Nazi tormentors in 1943. Their ghetto was razed in a campaign of savagery that annihilated them all to the last man, woman and child.) He says "Obamacare is the worst thing to happen to America since slavery." He's opined that the ancient pyramids of Egypt were used primarily for grain storage. These strange and loopy views are part and parcel of a fellow who regularly offers opinions completely out of the mainstream politically or completely out of the reality-based factual universe. To be blunt about it, they are the babblings of a crackpot.
Painting in Carson's Home: Carson at the right hand of Jesus
Dr. Carson's writings and statements about his own formative past have proven similarly elusive. He's said he hit his mother over the head with a hammer and tried to stab a friend who was only saved by his belt buckle. Friends have told CNN they have no memory or knowledge of these incidents. Carson, a doctor, has described his childhood "rage" as a "pathological disease," of which no record of diagnosis or treatment exists. He's claimed to have been invited to dinner as a young man with Gen. William Westmoreland, U.S. commander in Vietnam. Reporters have determined that Carson and Westmoreland were never in the same place at the same time. He also claimed on the Charlie Rose program he was offered a full scholarship to West Point, a school that is free, where there are no scholarships, because there is no tuition if you are admitted. He had prostate cancer surgery in August, 2002 and in November of that year said he had been cured. Two years later, in 2004, he said his prostate cancer had been cured by dietary supplements provided by Mannatech, a company that was paying him $42,000 a speech to represent them and which has been fined $4 million by the state of Texas for making medically spurious claims. When asked about his involvement with this company during the CNN Republican debate on October 28, 2015, he denied having any relationship with Mannatech. Dr. Ben Carson appears to be a serial prevaricator.
When confronted with evidence of his obvious dishonesty Carson has played the victim. Instead of saying 'Ask my classmates, teachers, relatives, or witnesses,' as you or I would do if we were telling the truth, he has fallen back on the Republican politician's dodge of blaming the "liberal media." He maintains "There's no question I'm getting special consideration. The liberal media is out to tear me down. They're after things that happened fifty years ago, that happened when I was 13." No, they are checking into preposterous-sounding things he claims have happened at various times throughout his life, that he has maintained as an adult and as recently as yesterday. Dr. Carson is running for President of the United States and leader of the free world, a position for which he seems to feel he need not have to undergo any scrutiny about the truthfulness of his statements or the content of his character. He is about to be sorely disabused of that notion.
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