If the election were held today

These were more general than specific and he must have been a little bit nervous to do this in the presence of our president. He alluded to the domination of our congress by lawyers rather than people of trades and professions and that their goal was to win rather than solve problems. He spoke of misguided priorities in our educational system with which I completely agree. He spoke of our inability to properly communicate due to the felt need of being politically correct. He spoke of our inability to listen due to being more focused on looking for something to find offensive...at which point we listen no more. In these and in many other statements, I feel the man is right on target.

This was a prayer breakfast from a while back so I'd expect references to religious teachings should still be permitted. This tradition is probably in jeopardy now but it's obvious to me that, from this event onward, our president wasn't impressed enough to revisit his own policies. Perhaps he was offended early and separated his mind from his ears...hearing rather than listening. IMO, we need more people with Mr. Carson's attitude running this country.

I'm getting the feeling voters are tending to think "anyone other than another black guy" and not looking at the message and quality of the man as much as comparing him to Obama simply by race. Still, I do hope he is offered and accepts Surgeon General post if a Republican gets elected. I think he'd make a great one. He's a modern day Booker T. Washington.

other than maybe his demeanor. Of course I don't know well either of the two so it's not easy to say much but Booker T. Washington was regarded as something of a mild mannered civil rights activist while Ben Carson's activism, if any, is in his example of what has been possible for those who took advantage of the work Booker T. and many others have done. As for Obama...and partly in his defense...he doesn't truly share the history and culture of African-Americans. The similarity is only in the skin color. I think his attempts to identify with black persons in this country have been rather awkward. It would be like a man from Minnesota visiting Atlanta and trying to fake a southern drawl. Ben Carson, though I could suspect his blood is mixed, is more the "real McCoy". His skin color fits as well does his heritage. If he's elected, he'd really be the first true African-American to hold the office, IMO. Unfortunately, I think Mr. Carson's disadvantage might be in that same history in that he's a rare bird that has escaped the life created by a different kind of exploitation of black persons that have come with civil rights legislation. That exploitation is for their vote and is largely done by continuing to hold a carrot dangling within sight but out of reach. If Ben Carson should be elected, I don't see him as continuing that exploitation. His advice to the African-American community is more likely to be the same advice his mother gave him. Any success in that regard would need to be achieved by inspiration rather than legislation. Personally, I think our country would be better off if we could find and keep that kind of leadership. He's right when saying we don't need government to feed, clothe and house but to have personal dignity. A radical thought in this day, I'd say.

Wasn't just mild mannered, he also ran Tuskeegee, the first black college in the South. His approach to "civil rights" was teaching others to "earn it" and his friend and fellow school teacher, George Washington Carver was even milder mannered, worked in the system, even under sometime severe persecution to win acceptance by a Christian attitude for himself both among peers and many whites. Theirs was a peaceful approach toward making gains, unlike WEB Dubois (founder of NAACP) who was a socialist-communist sympathizer and believed in agitation methods. Some interesting history of those three if you care to investigate it more.

that I'm not seeing anything from Ben Carson that suggests he has an agenda specifically focused on the African-American community. Attempts by interviewers to pin him down in that area don't seem to get anything other than general answers that could apply to all people regardless of race. He's not separating people by color in his own speeches. If anything, he's separating them by their priorities and level of education. We can make what we want of that in our own minds. As best I can tell, Booker T. was specifically involved in the advancement of his own race but had an expressed method of doing so that avoided being confrontational. I very much approve of that approach. Better and enduring results come from being listened to rather than just being heard.

and cursing and threats and get anything constructive come from it other than a rise in anger on both sides.

nothing of note or excitement or hardship ever happened to him in those early days. Blah, blah....

Have you ever heard of the POW camp during the Civil War called Camp Sumter?

http://civilwarhome.com/andersonville.htm

There are other links, some with pictures of people looking like Holocaust victims instead of Americans........google it and learn.

And while you're at it, google the original kidnappers of whole villages in Africa by other blacks who were paid by slave traders. If you're going to continue to apologize a hundred or more years later for what the South did, try blaming ALL of the perps and not just a choice few in order to ease your conscience.

I'm not talking about a few years; I'm talking about generations.

Yes, families were most often torn apart to various 'owners'......but because they were needed to do the jobs that you claim only illegals will do now, they were housed, fed, and clothed in order to keep them 'healthy' enough to do their work. That's much more than those POW's were afforded from those same Southern 'gentle men'.

AND.....slaves were rounded up by their own and sold off to slave traders.......there was no backward thoughts about what they were doing then anymore then there are backward thoughts about blacks killing off their own today.

It was started in Africa by their own race, Diana.....and no liberal out there and no black leaders out there today will even admit to it let alone have a discussion about it.

work. US now gives them housing, clothes, food and a "paycheck" to stay out of work. Aren't we all so proud of that today?

How many whites? Yeah.

it was forbidden in the south to arm slaves as the southern planters feared the worst from their former slaves.

to fight for the South. The ones who fought in the north and died were about 40,000 out of the total whites killed on both sides of 620,000 approximately. The Union had over twice as many soldiers, but the South killed twice as many of them as died for the South. If it had been based just on numbers killed, the South won. Unfortunately northern side had 22 million citizens and the south had 9 million, so fewer to draw forces from. No other war in the history of the US has claimed so many American lives, not even WW2.

1965 should have been 1865, of course.

What a downer that would be.

Might this more closely resemble your memory?

http://m.snopes.com/ben-carson-slavery/

Maybe you can provide some evidence of him saying that but, personally, I find your statement difficult to believe. What purpose would it serve for him to moan and groan over such things in public? Everything I've seen of him doesn't show that attitude at all. I think you might consider giving the man another listen and then come back here with what you've found.

Obamacare was worse thing to happen to the nation since slavery. So every industrial nation has universal healthcare except the US. I don't think they other nations think of it as the worse thing that happened to their nations.

I am currently just paying the copay for my son's chemo and office visits and just that is bankrupting me. My credit cards were paid off and I had money in my checking accounts and all my bills paid. Now my credit cards are maxed out and no money in my checking accounts and bills aren't paid. The biggest reason for bankruptcy is medical bills. It's ridiculous that this the only country where medical bills can bankrupt someone.

I keep hearing about wait times in the other countries but we just let people die (including our vets) because of costs and wait times.

In the UK we have free medical care (NHS), and in Wales we don't even pay for prescriptions. The USA gov needs to sort it out.
Dafydd.

worse thing since slavery.

one of the major factors, including housing and food, that so many countries are restricting or limiting the number of refugees they can take now.........bankrupting individuals is one thing, bankrupting an entire country is another.

a very difficult time trying to do what's best for your son. That's certainly admirable. I know saying this won't help but it could sound like Obamacare isn't working for you and that maybe Ben Carson's words weren't that far off track. I, too, am for affordable health care but I cannot see where monkeying around with insurance premiums is the best solution. Insurance isn't health care. In the longer run, I'd say the Obamacare approach will likely increase the percentage of income going for such services. Mr. Carson has worked in the healthcare system but it sounds like you've been a victim of it at its worst. My bet is that Carson has a much better idea of what could improve things than does our current president. I'd not dismiss him that easily.

a person and the doctors and medical care just adds to the cost. This country is drowning in all sorts of insurance payments. It's a huge industry built on "what if" and nothing more. No national healthcare system should have an involvement with insurance companies, it just ups the cost to the govt for the program and places a greater burden on those who can't afford it. Medical insurance should be only for those who can afford it and get their care outside a national health care system, and nobody should be required to be a registered member of a national healthcare system. That way would insure those who can't afford premium special care would still get the basic care needed and not deliver everyone over to the insurance industry, there would be a choice.

no government involvement in the student loan industry.....if there were no guarantees to the colleges for the tuition, the costs would come back down because of competition. The more guarantees there are the easier it is to raise the tuition levels to whatever the colleges want it to be rather than what it needs it to be.

It's called family health plus and there is no premium but there is a co-pay. The co-pay can be from $60-80 with several visits a month (one set is ten days for a total of $800) and prescriptions are around $100 with several a month.

Did a GoFundMe page and got $680.