Dr. Ben Carson's Speech At Prayer's Breakfast

[John317]

http://blog.heritage.org/2013/02/08/dr-b...ayer-breakfast/

[John317]

I thought Obama looked glum and I noticed he rarely applauded throughout Dr. Carson's speech.

[Tom Wetmore]

No more so than the sober looking man beside him. Neither clapped much.

You see glum. I see serious and attentive.

[Guest]

No more so than the sober looking man beside him. Neither clapped much.

You see glum. I see serious and attentive.

So you think Obama was liking that, huh?

[bonnie]

So you think Obama was liking that, huh?

I bet he was attentive,wondering how that "conservative" had been allowed to speak.

That whole speech is a repudiation of everything Obama and his admin stands for

[Guest]

I bet he was attentive,wondering how that "conservative" had been allowed to speak.

That whole speech is a repudiation of everything Obama and his admin stands for

Yeah, he was attentive alright. Thinking: "How can I kill this guy right now, without creating too much stir in the media? If it wasn't for Fox News, I could probably get away with it. Darn Fox News!"

:)

[Tom Wetmore]

See, this is just confirming the reason behind the perceptual difference. You are assuming Obama's reaction not by any objective assessment, or even his own words, but rather based on you own perception of him. (By the way, has anyone here seen or read Obama's remarks immediately after Ben?)

That is why I have pointed out the apparent reaction of Senator Sessions (R. Alabama) that also sitting right there. His posture and facial expressions and apparent reactions were pretty similar to Obama's.

It really is quite amazing to have watched Ben's speech after having read and head numerous reactions to it. Almost all of the commentary and buzz is from the right wing blogosphere and "news" sources. After hearing and reading all of the hyperbole and right wing reactions I expected something quite different from what Ben actually delivered. I actually wondered if I was watching the same thing as what all the right-wing commentators had watched. So what made the difference? Perception. And ones perception is largely dependent on ones point of view rather than what is being viewed.

[bonnie]

See, this is just confirming the reason behind the perceptual difference. You are assuming Obama's reaction not by any objective assessment, or even his own words, but rather based on you own perception of him. (By the way, has anyone here seen or read Obama's remarks immediately after Ben?)

Obama's words immediately after a speech means little .It is his words for the last over four years,

Have you ever heard anything coming out of Obama's mouth that is similar

Famed Baltimore neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson addressed the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday morning on healthcare. Dr. Carson often criticized Obamacare and government intrusion in healthcare while President Obama sat in the audience. Dr. Carson encouraged a program where newborn babies are given health savings account as an alternative to Obamacare.

DR. CARSON: What we need to do is come up with something simple. And when I pick up my Bible, you know what I see? I see the fairest individual in the universe, God, and he's given us a system. It's called a tithe.

We don't necessarily have to do 10% but it's the principle. He didn't say if your crops fail, don't give me any tithe or if you have a bumper crop, give me triple tithe. So there must be something inherently fair about proportionality. You make $10 billion, you put in a billion. You make $10 you put in one. Of course you've got to get rid of the loopholes. Some people say, 'Well that's not fair because it doesn't hurt the guy who made $10 billion as much as the guy who made 10.' Where does it say you've got to hurt the guy? He just put a billion dollars in the pot. We don't need to hurt him. It's that kind of thinking that has resulted in 602 banks in the Cayman Islands. That money needs to be back here building our infrastructure and creating jobs.

###

DR. CARSON: Here's my solution: When a person is born, give him a birth certificate, an electronic medical record, and a health savings account to which money can be contributed -- pretax -- from the time you're born 'til the time you die. When you die, you can pass it on to your family members, so that when you're 85 years old and you got six diseases, you're not trying to spend up everything. You're happy to pass it on and there's nobody talking about death panels.

Number one. And also, for the people who were indigent who don't have any money we can make contributions to their HSA each month because we already have this huge pot of money. Instead of sending it to some bureaucracy, let's put it in their HSAs. Now they have some control over their own health care.

[phkrause]

See, this is just confirming the reason behind the perceptual difference. You are assuming Obama's reaction not by any objective assessment, or even his own words, but rather based on you own perception of him. (By the way, has anyone here seen or read Obama's remarks immediately after Ben?)

That is why I have pointed out the apparent reaction of Senator Sessions (R. Alabama) that also sitting right there. His posture and facial expressions and apparent reactions were pretty similar to Obama's.

It really is quite amazing to have watched Ben's speech after having read and head numerous reactions to it. Almost all of the commentary and buzz is from the right wing blogosphere and "news" sources. After hearing and reading all of the hyperbole and right wing reactions I expected something quite different from what Ben actually delivered. I actually wondered if I was watching the same thing as what all the right-wing commentators had watched. So what made the difference? Perception. And ones perception is largely dependent on ones point of view rather than what is being viewed.

And we're assuming he's conservative too!

[bonnie]

And we're assuming he's conservative too!

It would be great to hear a liberal talk this way.It would be almost as good to hear at least 90% of the republicans be as plain spoken and to the point with as much common sense

[bonnie]

And we're assuming he's conservative too!

I think it is a safe assumption. Everything he stated is in direct contrast to everything Obama has stated for the past four years.This is not something that would come from the mouth of any liberal

A Perfect Contrast

By William Sullivan

Contrast can bring clarity. And I do not think that the two warring political ideologies in America have never been personified, juxtaposed, and as clearly defined as the contrast we witnessed at this week's National Prayer Breakfast.

Dr. Benjamin Carson, the famed director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University, was given the unique opportunity to share his beliefs before a distinguished audience, including President Barack Obama. He did not waste the opportunity, and courageously expressed his beliefs with conviction, contrary though they are to those of the president.

Much has been made of Dr. Carson's alternative solution to make healthcare more efficient:

Here's my solution: When a person is born, give him a birth certificate, an electronic medical record, and a health savings account to which money can be contributed - pretax -- from the time you're born 'til the time you die. When you die, you pass it on to your family members, so that when you're 85 years old and you got six diseases, you're not trying to spend up everything. You're happy to pass it on and there's nobody talking about death panels.

Number one. And also, for the people who were indigent who don't have any money we can make contributions to their HSA every month because we already have this huge pot of money. Instead of sending it to some huge bureaucracy, let's put it in their HSAs. Now they have some control over their own healthcare.

We must admit -- there is something amazing about this. In two paragraphs, Ben Carson has offered a free market solution to create competition and reduce healthcare costs that is feasible, understandable, and compassionate. (And one that has already been tested -- it is very similar to the system used in Singapore. ) Its relative simplicity alone stands in stark contrast to Obama's healthcare solution pitch, the mechanics of which were so confusing that after two years of explaining it, Democrats entreated Americans to not even try to understand it. Just accept it and see what happens, as Nancy Pelosi suggested.

But to focus on the contrast between their healthcare approaches alone is to miss the deeper contrast on display. That is, the contrast between Dr. Ben Carson and Barack Obama, the ideologies that have driven their life's work, and the results of that work.

Years ago, I remember my mother asking if I had ever heard of Dr. Ben Carson. She explained that he was a pioneer in neurological medicine, and that he had an amazing and inspiring story. She had a copy of Dr. Carson's book, Gifted Hands, and began to read passages that she had selected. I was captivated, committed to reading more about him, and later watched the film of the same title starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. Indeed, his story is one of the most amazing and inspiring I'd ever heard, from his unique upbringing to his design of a groundbreaking procedure in 1987 which successfully separated two cranially conjoined twin babies. His life, his work, is nothing short of miraculous.

Dr. Ben Carson was one of two sons born to Sonya Carson, a single mother who had married Ben's father at thirteen years of age. Ben's father was a bigamist, and after learning of his other family, Sonya resolved to raise her two sons alone. Though in poverty, and though she herself had no formal education beyond third grade, she insisted that her sons devote diligent efforts to their education. She required that the boys read books from the public library each week and write lengthy reports for her (which she would review for them to support their effort, despite being unable to read). She worked hard to support them financially, in staunch determination that she would not be a victim, and neither would her children. In short, the Carson family is a testament to personal perseverance and the success that follows.

A little different than the less than honest Obama portrayal of his life,with a far better outcome. Notice the lack of bitterness and blaming everyone else

One story of Dr. Carson's childhood that particularly stood out to me is an instance where he, an admittedly angry child, attempted to stab his friend in the stomach, only to have the blade of the knife blocked and broken by the other child's belt buckle. This was a moment that shaped his worldview thereafter, and he has expressed a belief that it was divine intervention. And I could not help but agree. Could it be anything but Providence that this good fortune, without which he may have been incarcerated and set on a different path, became the good fortune of the world, allowing Dr. Carson to touch and save so many lives?

Knowing of his background, it came as no surprise when I reviewed the entire speech at the National Prayer Breakfast that nearly everything Ben Carson said was a perfect contradiction of the values expressed by Barack Obama.

Dr. Carson began his speech, even as he shared the stage with the world's most renowned spokesman for political correctness, by decrying political correctness as a "dangerous" concept. He argued that political correctness acts as a "muzzle," keeping people from "discussing important issues while the fabric of their society is being changed," even as the architect of that "change" sat just a few feet to his right.

He related the admirable tale of his mother's unwillingness to be a victim, as he was in the presence of our president who unequivocally demands that women in such circumstances be viewed and treated as such. Dr. Carson told the audience about his revelation that poverty is a "temporary" condition, one which people could personally alter. And he said this in the presence of a man whose political ideology is founded upon the notion that poverty is an institutionally applied condition, and that it is the responsibility of society, not the individual, to alter that condition.

Dr. Carson went on to destroy the notion of the progressive income tax, arguing that "God has given us a system" that would work. He argued that because God requires tithing regardless of outcome:

There must be something inherently fair in proportionality. If you make ten billion dollars, you put in one billion. If you make ten dollars, you put in one. Of course you gotta get rid of the loopholes. [Laughter] But, now some people say, "Well that's not fair, because it doesn't hurt the guy who made ten billion dollars as much as the guy who made ten." Where does it say you have to hurt the guy? He just put a billion dollars in the pot!

Is it possible to say anything more contrary to Barack Obama's insistence on the moral imperative to take disproportionately more from the wealthy to redistribute among the collective?

And this is where the contrast between the two men becomes most apparent. Barack Obama rejects the notion of fairness presented by God, because his devotion to God, if it was ever a driving motivation in his life, has become supplanted by his devotion to the government administration of fairness. That much is abundantly clear. Consider that Dr. Carson carries himself with a pious humility, crediting God and family for giving him the strength of will to succeed. President Obama, whose name would rarely collide with humility in a sentence, insists that the government is responsible for people's success.

The revelation here is not that Barack Obama is a PC thug who intends to transform the fabric of America, or that he makes victims of women rather than empowering them, or that he subscribes to a Marxist's notion of fairness by coercion, or that his healthcare solution is a muddled, hopeless mess sold on Utopian dreams. We already knew all that.

No, the real revelation is that at this year's prayer breakfast, so often only a pious ritual, his exact opposite stood and spoke in sharp contrast to our president. And Dr. Ben Carson owns a legacy as an innovative pioneer of his field and philanthropist whose life and work have personally touched, and even saved, countless others. Barack Obama, on the other hand, despite all his celebrity, owns a legacy that amounts to little more than stirring fear and outrage on the premise that others are not doing enough to help people.

Which ideology has produced the more effective, positive outcome?

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/02/a_perfect_contrast.html#ixzz2KVyEiw3K

Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook

[Guest]

And we're assuming he's conservative too!

Why else would he be espousing conservative values, if he's not a conservative?

It's only an assumption in the same way as when I see "Mustang" on the back of a car, I assume it's a Ford. Not really an assumption at all.

[Tom Wetmore]

Except that as someone who has known Ben for many years, I don't see him as all that conservative.

I think it is just too easy for a conservative to assume that someone else is a "conservative" if they express a view that coincides with what conservatives think on that issue. But if one considers the totality of a persons perspectives on a whole range of issues, I think you will come up with more varied perspectives.

I think that you will find far more variance among so-called liberals than you do among conservatives on various issues. And even some "liberals" who express very conservative ideas on particular issues.

[bonnie]

Except that as someone who has known Ben for many years, I don't see him as all that conservative.

I think it is just too easy for a conservative to assume that someone else is a "conservative" if they express a view that coincides with what conservatives think on that issue. But if one considers the totality of a persons perspectives on a whole range of issues, I think you will come up with more varied perspectives.

I think that you will find far more variance among so-called liberals than you do among conservatives on various issues. And even some "liberals" who express very conservative ideas on particular issues.

Dr Carson touched on a number of issues,not a particular issue or two.Everything he said has a conservative mentality behind the words.

Not sure where you would find the liberals you are referring to.

Liberals in general are for more and bigger government,more so called entitlements etc

[John317]

No more so than the sober looking man beside him. Neither clapped much.

You see glum. I see serious and attentive.

Tom, look closely.

Is that the look of a man who's enjoying someone's speech? I don't think so. Obama often looks like he's sleeping.

Compare how many times the other people in the audiance applaud and laugh with the number of times Obama does. I don't think he applauds more than a few times.

Have you ever watched Obama when he's thoroughly enjoying someone's speech.

There's a reason for the difference. Dr. Carson's speech is contrary to Obama's viewpoint. Do you agree?

[John317]

Except that as someone who has known Ben for many years, I don't see him as all that conservative.

I think it is just too easy for a conservative to assume that someone else is a "conservative" if they express a view that coincides with what conservatives think on that issue.

Shawn Hannity thinks Ben Carson is kind of conservative, which is probably why he's had Dr. Carson on his show and asked him to come back and talk about his conservative views.

[bonnie]

Shawn Hannity thinks Ben Carson is kind of conservative, which is probably why he's had Dr. Carson on his show and asked him to come back and talk about his conservative views.

In the unlikely event that Ben Carson were to announce a run for the presidency,which democrat with any clout would endorse this not so conservative man?

Repudiating every thing Obama stands for does anyone think Obama would stand behind him in a run for the presidency? What a joke.

Some of the more liberal republicans would probably sabotage him as well.

[John317]

A Perfect Contrast

By William Sullivan

...And this is where the contrast between the two men becomes most apparent. Barack Obama rejects the notion of fairness presented by God, because his devotion to God, if it was ever a driving motivation in his life, has become supplanted by his devotion to the government administration of fairness. That much is abundantly clear. Consider that Dr. Carson carries himself with a pious humility, crediting God and family for giving him the strength of will to succeed. President Obama, whose name would rarely collide with humility in a sentence, insists that the government is responsible for people's success.

The revelation here is not that Barack Obama is a PC thug who intends to transform the fabric of America, or that he makes victims of women rather than empowering them, or that he subscribes to a Marxist's notion of fairness by coercion, or that his healthcare solution is a muddled, hopeless mess sold on Utopian dreams. We already knew all that.

No, the real revelation is that at this year's prayer breakfast, so often only a pious ritual, his exact opposite stood and spoke in sharp contrast to our president. And Dr. Ben Carson owns a legacy as an innovative pioneer of his field and philanthropist whose life and work have personally touched, and even saved, countless others. Barack Obama, on the other hand, despite all his celebrity, owns a legacy that amounts to little more than stirring fear and outrage on the premise that others are not doing enough to help people.

Which ideology has produced the more effective, positive outcome?

X100

[Guest]

In the unlikely event that Ben Carson were to announce a run for the presidency,which democrat with any clout would endorse this not so conservative man?

[John317]

See, this is just confirming the reason behind the perceptual difference. You are assuming Obama's reaction not by any objective assessment, or even his own words, but rather based on you own perception of him. .... And ones perception is largely dependent on ones point of view rather than what is being viewed.

Check this out:

Quote:

The doctor who slammed Obama to his face: Ben Carson for president?

Conservatives swoon over a prominent black surgeon who challenged the president on everything from taxes to health care at last week's National Prayer Breakfast

By Harold Maass | February 12, 2013

Ben Carson "may not be politically correct, but he's closer to correct than we've heard in years," says The Wall Street Journal.

A video of prominent neurosurgeon Ben Carson blasting President Obama at last week's National Prayer Breakfast has gone viral. With Obama sitting a few feet away, Carson criticized the notion that the wealthy should pay more taxes and proposed a flat tax, saying that God had spelled out such a system as fair with descriptions of tithing in the Bible. Without mentioning ObamaCare, he also said that the best health-care reform would be to give every American a health-care spending account at birth, so everyone would take charge of his or her care to keep spending low.

Since the breakfast, conservatives have been lavishing Carson with praise. The Wall Street Journal even went so far as to publish an editorial under the headline, "Ben Carson for President." Carson, a devout Seventh Day Adventist who rose from poverty to prominence preaching against the culture of dependency, is already a "black celebrity role model." Could he really be a contender for the presidency — presumably for the GOP — in 2016?

Carson certainly showed he has the courage to be a national political figure if he wants to, says Elahe Izadi at National Journal. "Raised by a single mother in a poverty-stricken home," he "went on to become a top Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon," and didn't break a sweat as he politely criticized Obama while the stone-faced president sat just a few feet away.

If conservatives are looking for a political outsider with an inspiring rags-to-riches story and who could effectively challenge President Obama's policies on health care and taxes while also quoting Scripture and criticizing political correctness, look no further than Ben Carson.

Dr. Carson is undeniably "a phenomenon on the right," says Allahpundit at Hot Air. His speech has a million-plus hits on YouTube, and he has followed it up with two appearances on Fox News. Still, "it's completely unrealistic, needless to say, for a total political novice to contend seriously for a presidential nomination, even one as personally accomplished as Carson." Conservatives will need a national figure with a track record to win back the White House.

Senator is a more likely bet, but Carson has the misfortune of living in one of the most reliably blue states in America. Maryland hasn’t sent a Republican to the Senate in more than 25 years... He could, of course, move across the border to Virginia and take his chances there, but the next Senate election is in 2014 against Mark Warner — who won with 65 percent of the vote last time. Second look at running for the House instead? [Hot Air]

Plus, there was nothing presidential about Carson's speech, suggested Cal Thomas at Fox News. If anything, he owes Obama an apology. The prayer breakfast is supposed to be an occasion for politicians, Republicans and Democrats alike, to set aside their differences for one morning. Carson only showed that "our politics have become so polarized and corrupted that a president of the United States cannot even attend an event devoted to drawing people closer to God and bridge partisan and cultural divides without being lectured about his policies."

Carson is a great example of what perseverance can accomplish and his success is a rebuke to the entitlement-envy-greed mentality. By lowering himself to mention policies with which he disagrees, he diluted the power of a superior message.

His remarks were inappropriate for the occasion. It would have been just as inappropriate had he praised the president's policies. The president had a right to expect a different message about another Kingdom. I'm wondering if the president felt drawn closer to God, or bludgeoned by the Republican Party and the applauding conservatives in the audience.

And "it requires some pretty selective editing to see Dr. Carson's speech as some kind of conservative manifesto," says the Baltimore Sun in an editorial. He spent more time calling for society "to reward good students as it does successful athletes than he did on the flat tax or HSAs combined."

That could all change, though, suggests Thomas Lifson at American Thinker. Carson is "not avidly pursuing the presidency, though he tells Neil Cavuto that if he had a nickel for every time he has been urged to run for president, he could finance a campaign." Plus, the good doctor is retiring from surgery in part so he can pursue his passion for politics, which, he says himself, "does open a lot of possibilities..." Sounds like we might be hearing more from Dr. Ben Carson.

Source and video of Dr. Carson's remarks and Obama's reacton:

http://theweek.com/article/index/240018/...n-for-president

[Tom Wetmore]

Yes, context is important. The context was a prayer breakfast. It seems everyone has forgotten that just as the President predicted in his remarks (well worth reading too):

Quote:

I have to say this is now our fifth prayer breakfast and it is always just a wonderful event. But I do worry sometimes that as soon as we leave the prayer breakfast, everything we’ve been talking about the whole time at the prayer breakfast seems to be forgotten — on the same day of the prayer breakfast. (Laughter.) I mean, you’d like to think that the shelf life wasn’t so short. (Laughter.) But I go back to the Oval Office and I start watching the cable news networks and it’s like we didn’t pray. (Laughter.)

Read the whole thing... http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/02/07/transcript-of-obamas-remarks-at-national-prayer-breakfast/

[Guest]

The doctor who slammed Obama to his face: Ben Carson for president?

Conservatives swoon over a prominent black surgeon who challenged the president on everything from taxes to health care at last week's National Prayer Breakfast

By Harold Maass | February 12, 2013

Ben Carson "may not be politically correct, but he's closer to correct than we've heard in years," says The Wall Street Journal.

A video of prominent neurosurgeon Ben Carson blasting President Obama at last week's National Prayer Breakfast has gone viral. With Obama sitting a few feet away, Carson criticized the notion that the wealthy should pay more taxes and proposed a flat tax, saying that God had spelled out such a system as fair with descriptions of tithing in the Bible. Without mentioning ObamaCare, he also said that the best health-care reform would be to give every American a health-care spending account at birth, so everyone would take charge of his or her care to keep spending low.

Since the breakfast, conservatives have been lavishing Carson with praise. The Wall Street Journal even went so far as to publish an editorial under the headline, "Ben Carson for President." Carson, a devout Seventh Day Adventist who rose from poverty to prominence preaching against the culture of dependency, is already a "black celebrity role model." Could he really be a contender for the presidency — presumably for the GOP — in 2016?

Carson certainly showed he has the courage to be a national political figure if he wants to, says Elahe Izadi at National Journal. "Raised by a single mother in a poverty-stricken home," he "went on to become a top Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon," and didn't break a sweat as he politely criticized Obama while the stone-faced president sat just a few feet away.

If conservatives are looking for a political outsider with an inspiring rags-to-riches story and who could effectively challenge President Obama's policies on health care and taxes while also quoting Scripture and criticizing political correctness, look no further than Ben Carson.

Dr. Carson is undeniably "a phenomenon on the right," says Allahpundit at Hot Air. His speech has a million-plus hits on YouTube, and he has followed it up with two appearances on Fox News. Still, "it's completely unrealistic, needless to say, for a total political novice to contend seriously for a presidential nomination, even one as personally accomplished as Carson." Conservatives will need a national figure with a track record to win back the White House.

Senator is a more likely bet, but Carson has the misfortune of living in one of the most reliably blue states in America. Maryland hasn’t sent a Republican to the Senate in more than 25 years... He could, of course, move across the border to Virginia and take his chances there, but the next Senate election is in 2014 against Mark Warner — who won with 65 percent of the vote last time. Second look at running for the House instead? [Hot Air]

Plus, there was nothing presidential about Carson's speech, suggested Cal Thomas at Fox News. If anything, he owes Obama an apology. The prayer breakfast is supposed to be an occasion for politicians, Republicans and Democrats alike, to set aside their differences for one morning. Carson only showed that "our politics have become so polarized and corrupted that a president of the United States cannot even attend an event devoted to drawing people closer to God and bridge partisan and cultural divides without being lectured about his policies."

Carson is a great example of what perseverance can accomplish and his success is a rebuke to the entitlement-envy-greed mentality. By lowering himself to mention policies with which he disagrees, he diluted the power of a superior message.

His remarks were inappropriate for the occasion. It would have been just as inappropriate had he praised the president's policies. The president had a right to expect a different message about another Kingdom. I'm wondering if the president felt drawn closer to God, or bludgeoned by the Republican Party and the applauding conservatives in the audience.

And "it requires some pretty selective editing to see Dr. Carson's speech as some kind of conservative manifesto," says the Baltimore Sun in an editorial. He spent more time calling for society "to reward good students as it does successful athletes than he did on the flat tax or HSAs combined."

That could all change, though, suggests Thomas Lifson at American Thinker. Carson is "not avidly pursuing the presidency, though he tells Neil Cavuto that if he had a nickel for every time he has been urged to run for president, he could finance a campaign." Plus, the good doctor is retiring from surgery in part so he can pursue his passion for politics, which, he says himself, "does open a lot of possibilities..." Sounds like we might be hearing more from Dr. Ben Carson.

I like that. :)