Carson: "Joseph built the pyramids to store grain"

There are comments following one news story where posters speculate that Carson may be displaying symptoms of actual dementia -- the lies about matters of fact, the rigid extreme beliefs, etc. One notes that Carson retired from medicine entirely -- not just from surgery, but also from teaching and administration -- at age 61, much earlier than most doctors give up their profession, and wonders if it could be the result of declining skills and deteriorating thought processes.
 
Bob001 said:
There are comments following one news story where posters speculate that Carson may be displaying symptoms of actual dementia -- the lies about matters of fact, the rigid extreme beliefs, etc. One notes that Carson retired from medicine entirely -- not just from surgery, but also from teaching and administration -- at age 61, much earlier than most doctors give up their profession, and wonders if it could be the result of declining skills and deteriorating thought processes.
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I watched around 15 minutes of that latest GOP debate before I had to turn it off, and one strong impression was that this guy is totally stupid, which doesn't match with what I'm finding out about his career. So that sounds plausible, only question being how he came here where he is allegedly leading against Trump in a race for POTUS.
 
Running for president. One of the many things you ought to do to get people to read your book.
 
Childlike Empress said:
I watched around 15 minutes of that latest GOP debate before I had to turn it off, and one strong impression was that this guy is totally stupid, which doesn't match with what I'm finding out about his career. So that sounds plausible, only question being how he came here where he is allegedly leading against Trump in a race for POTUS.
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Republicans are desperate for someone that will not act like a politician. Because politicians do unsavory things like compromise and the new GOP credo is "No Retreat, No Surrender!"
 
Travis said:
Republicans are desperate for someone that will not act like a politician. Because politicians do unsavory things like compromise and the new GOP credo is "No Retreat, No Surrender!"
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I don't think that this common partisan view is healthy. Are you aware that the honorable Lawrence Lessig "is done" before most people ever heard of him, because of sneaky DNC rules changes? That's a corrupt system in action.
 
Cain said:
The liberal media has vowed to destroy him. If Hillary Clinton posited this theory, the MSM would call it "provocative" and "interesting." They would invite Harvard talking-heads to lend support to the idea.
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Vowed to destroy him? The CT forum is that way >>>>>>>

They sell news. Saying dishonest and goofy things sells news.


There's a new one today, Carson's description of being offered a full West Point scholarship (no one pays at WestPoint) and having had dinner with Westmorland. His story is a tad conflated and/or has some false memories interspersed. Carson's camp has 'evidence CNN is wrong' and will reveal it Monday?

:popcorn1
 
Skeptic Ginger said:
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There's a new one today, Carson's description of being offered a full West Point scholarship (no one pays at WestPoint) and having had dinner with Westmorland. His story is a tad conflated and/or has some false memories interspersed. Carson's camp has 'evidence CNN is wrong' and will reveal it Monday?
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I'm willing to give him a pass on that one. His story is that he was a senior ROTC cadet in high school, and his advisors encouraged him to apply to West Point and told him that, because of his grades and ROTC record, he wouldn't have any trouble getting in. He decided not to apply because he wanted to be a doctor. It sounds like sloppy language: "You can get in" isn't the same as "you're in," and "full scholarship" isn't the same as "free ride" or just "free" (although you really do pay for it with five years of service), but it's not like he was claiming to be an astronaut, and he wrote the book 25 years ago, long before he thought about politics.
 
According to Ben Carson, his total lack of experience is OK because, "Every signer of the Declaration of Independence had no elected office experience."

Of course this isn't true.

Of course, the Declaration of Independence was crafted by a committee charged by the Continental Congress, which was made up of delegates who had been elected by the Colonial assemblies. But we’ll assume that Carson knew that, and instead meant that prior to being elected to Congress, the delegates had had no elected office experience. Is that correct?


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Carson needs to hit the history books, or at least do a Google search. More than half of the signers of the Declaration of Independence had elected office experience.

Indeed, one reason why the American Revolution was successful is because it was led by men with many years in politics, political action and protest, often honed in the debates held in Colonial legislatures. In many ways, the background of the Founding Fathers undercuts the very argument Carson was trying to make.

(Update: After this fact check appeared, Carson’s Facebook post was edited to read “no federal elected office experience.” There was, of course, no “federal” government at the time.)
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This is the guy that is top of the Republican field?
 
Bob001 said:
I'm willing to give him a pass on that one. His story is that he was a senior ROTC cadet in high school, and his advisors encouraged him to apply to West Point and told him that, because of his grades and ROTC record, he wouldn't have any trouble getting in. He decided not to apply because he wanted to be a doctor. It sounds like sloppy language: "You can get in" isn't the same as "you're in," and "full scholarship" isn't the same as "free ride" or just "free" (although you really do pay for it with five years of service), but it's not like he was claiming to be an astronaut, and he wrote the book 25 years ago, long before he thought about politics.
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On the last point, he told the story a month ago.

I was offered a full scholarship to West Point, got to meet General Westmoreland, go to Congressional Medal of Honor dinners.
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http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/11/06/conservative-media-react-to-ben-carsons-admissi/206676
 
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And I was thinking all along that pyramids were for sharpening razor blades ...
 
Tony Stark said:
On the last point, he told the story a month ago.
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He's been repeating the story throughout his career. I suspect that he way he tells it now -- the same way he told it in his 1990 book -- is what he truly believes. And the difference between "full scholarship" and "no charge" really is a fine point, especially since he didn't go. I consider it much more of an indictment against him that he compares "Obamacare" to slavery and claims that living in the U.S. is like living in Nazi Germany. It would be truly bizarre if what finally sinks him is his memory of something somebody told him when he was 17.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/ben-carson-west-point-215598
 
slyjoe said:
Wow - 3 lies in 1 sentence.
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Not necessarily.
There are, however, several reports of an event in February of that year, similar to the one Carson described. Then, Westmoreland was the featured guest at a 1,500-person banquet to celebrate Medal of Honor recipient Dwight Johnson. The event drew prominent guests, including the governor at the time, the mayor of Detroit, the president of Ford Motor Company and nine previous Medal of Honor awardees, according to an Associated Press account of the event.

Carson, a leader of the city’s ROTC program at the time, may have been among the invited guests at the $10-a-plate event.
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http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/ben-carson-west-point-215598
 
Carson campaign 'clarification' issued today.

Dr. Carson was the top ROTC student in the City of Detroit. In that role he was invited to meet General Westmoreland. He believes it was at a banquet. He can’t remember with specificity their brief conversation but it centered around Dr. Carson’s performance as ROTC City Executive Officer. He was introduced to folks from West Point by his ROTC Supervisors. They told him they could help him get an appointment based on his grades and performance in ROTC. He considered it but in the end did not seek admission.
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This is what he was clarifying. From his autobiography. (and you know how off-the-cuff they are. :rolleyes:)

At the end of my twelfth grade I marched at the head of the Memorial Day parade. I felt so proud, my chest bursting with ribbons and braids of every kind. To make it more wonderful, We had important visitors that day. Two soldiers who had won the Congressional Medal of Honor in Viet Nam were present. More exciting to me, General William Westmoreland (very prominent in the Viet Nam war) attended with an impressive entourage. Afterward, Sgt. Hunt introduced me to General Westmoreland, and I had dinner with him and the Congressional Medal winners. Later I was offered a full scholarship to West Point. I didn’t refuse the scholarship outright, but I let them know that a military career wasn’t where I saw myself going
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Bob001 said:
There are comments following one news story where posters speculate that Carson may be displaying symptoms of actual dementia -- the lies about matters of fact, the rigid extreme beliefs, etc. One notes that Carson retired from medicine entirely -- not just from surgery, but also from teaching and administration -- at age 61, much earlier than most doctors give up their profession, and wonders if it could be the result of declining skills and deteriorating thought processes.
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It would explain his unusual word choices. Today I heard him on TV asking a reporter why they wanted to talk to people from his past to "cooperate" his story.
 
Bob001 said:
He's been repeating the story throughout his career. I suspect that he way he tells it now -- the same way he told it in his 1990 book -- is what he truly believes. And the difference between "full scholarship" and "no charge" really is a fine point, especially since he didn't go. I consider it much more of an indictment against him that he compares "Obamacare" to slavery and claims that living in the U.S. is like living in Nazi Germany. It would be truly bizarre if what finally sinks him is his memory of something somebody told him when he was 17.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/ben-carson-west-point-215598
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I suppose you're right. It is perfectly plausible that he was telling the story as he remembered it.
 
I almost went to West Point. Got a nomination, but never the appointment. He could have been offered a nomination, but would have had to go through the process to get the nomination.

No one refers to it as getting a "scholarship". I guess, technically, it is but you don't refer to it as such.
 
Skeptic Guy said:
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No one refers to it as getting a "scholarship". I guess, technically, it is but you don't refer to it as such.
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The thing is that if you tell a 17-year-old kid -- especially one from his background -- that he can go to college "free," it's not wildly implausible that he would hear "full scholarship," and since he never followed up, nobody ever said "Well, young man, that's not what we call it here." This just seems absolutely trivial in comparison with all his other baggage.
 
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