Dan
Dr. Ben Carson was not going to win the Republican nomination, but if you asked around conservative circles about Ben Carson, likely you would hear what a good man he was. A Christian, a conservative, a man of virtue, unity, and kindness. “Not my choice, but a good man.” Everyone said, everyone agreed. He has an inspiring story. Raised in poverty, Carson worked his way to become a respected and talented neurosurgeon. He seemed to exemplify the American Dream. He caught attention at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast, openly criticizing Obama’s ACA. When he announced his run in 2015 everyone admired the simplicity of it. Small donations, fun, silly promos on Facebook. “Pets for Ben Carson, post photos of your pets and we will share them!” Run Ben Run. There was gentleness to his demeanor and a warmth to his approach. He was likable, calm, and civilized. His debates weren’t the greatest. He never seemed to gain enough time, but that didn’t stop him from leading in the polls. Run Ben Run.
As Carson overtook Donald Trump in the polls, Trump launched an attack, infamously calling Carson “pathological” and even likening him to a child molester. But Carson’s calm was still the polar opposite of Trump, and seemed to keep him afloat. The media piled on too, but Republicans defended him. He was a good man, Ben, and no one was going to let him get pushed around. With an electorate that seemed to favor and enjoy an outsider, Carson definitely seemed in the running. Then, there was Iowa, when the Carson Campaign foolishly sent out mixed messages about Carson taking time off, that other camps used to their advantage. The Cruz Camp was singled out the most, and as Ted Cruz finished first, Carson was suddenly unforgiving and even hostile. Cruz apologized both privately and publicly, but Carson seemed resistant to accept. As the debates rattled on, Carson had fewer minutes and even less impressive moments. He once stumbled through the preamble of the Constitution as he recited it from memory, which came off inauthentic and sounded like a high school presentation. His biggest highlight was asking “Can someone attack me please?”, citing his desperation for speaking time. It got a few laughs and some pity, but ultimately Ben was going no farther. He dropped out in March, leaving the question of endorsement. The anticipation was high and confusing, and though many wished it hadn’t happened, Carson announced his endorsement of Donald Trump. The motivation was unclear, as to why he would endorse the man who basically called him a pedophile, but hints of appointments were made, admitted, and then recanted by Carson himself. Impossible to say exactly, but one can be sure that Carson never forgave Ted Cruz, and blamed him for Iowa. The endorsement was cheered and jeered. Many people felt betrayed that Carson, their “good man,” would endorse a man of ill repute, and even more, a man who was not a conservative. But Carson believed there were two Donald Trump's; one was a tough, angry man with nasty insults, but the real one was a sweet, gentle soul. As time went on, and Carson was forced to defend Trump’s absurdities, it seemed, the people were going to find out there were two Ben Carsons. The virtuous, always principled and calm Carson was slowly turning more into an unvirtuous, unprincipled Carson. Sure Trump lies, nobody’s perfect. Sure Trump is irrational, but who cares, this is about the country. He insisted he knew the real Trump, and blamed the media for the distortion. He even stepped in to offer a defense to Trump’s thug campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, after he was arrested for battery. The pressure of selling out seemed to hit its peak during the most recent allegations of sexual assault against Trump, as Carson once again rolled out his integrity for Trump to walk on. Where was the “good man” conservatives had been defending? Where was the virtuous man exhibiting Christian values? It is unclear. It appears the Ben Carson we thought we knew is no longer present, and now there is only a man asking to put the conversation about values to the side so that the presidency can be handed to Donald Trump. It’s a shame about the Ben Carson we thought we knew. We need men like him now.
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Rebecca de Winter
I’d like to introduce you to my son, Jake. He is a sweet, thoughtful, cheerful 16-year-old who happens to have autism. Although he is verbal, his mental/intellectual development is roughly equivalent to an average 5-year-old. He still watches Winnie-the-Pooh and loves trains. He is working on counting change up to a dollar. While he is exceptionally friendly, he struggles with understanding the hidden rules of social interaction and is dependent upon the goodwill of other human beings to navigate the perils of life outside of home.
Jake, excited about his first day of 11th grade
Jake is lucky in that he attends a high school in a district that is phenomenal with supporting those with special needs. He participates in an outstanding organization, Best Buddies International, which creates opportunities for friendships for those with disabilities who might otherwise struggle, alone and misunderstood.
Unfortunately, the real world is not so insulated and certainly not always kind. As he gets older, behavior that might be deemed “cute” at age six is generally frowned upon when one is a teenager or adult. Jake enjoys introducing himself to strangers, with a big smile and random observations. He has about a 50/50 success rate with this, as some people smile and play along, while others give him a strange look and quickly move on. Although I’m getting used to it, I fret about how this will be perceived when he doesn’t have the safety net of his family around him to run interference as needed. My fears intensified exponentially yesterday when I came upon a horrific story of the bullying and abuse from feminists heaped upon an autistic young man in Melbourne, Australia, for the “crime” of trying to be friendly, in his own, albeit awkward way (attempting to get “high fives”), while on a train ride. Using hashtags such as #feminism, #silentnomore, #hollaback, #streetharassment, #women, and #feministrant – a fellow female passenger took his picture and plastered it on the internet in a Facebook rant in which she referred to him as a “festering turd of a human being.” It doesn’t end there. As of a couple of days ago, the post went viral – with 80,000 likes and countless thousands of shares. Violent threats and blistering abuse rained down upon the young man and his family, despite protests and pleas from people who actually knew him, explaining that he was mentally challenged and meant no harm.
According to Daily Mail Australia, “multiple sources have since told Daily Mail Australia that the man is a regular commuter along the city tram line who is reportedly autistic and 'wouldn't hurt a fly.’”
Eventually, the vitriolic post was taken down, but the damage is done. While shrill third-wave feminist harridans continually shriek about absurd “micro-aggressions” such as “man-spreading” and “stare rape” – they can’t take the log out of their own eye to see the enormous damage they inflict upon other human beings. I’ve written before about the shameless, loathsome bully tactics of modern feminists, but this one might take the cake. Well done, feminists, well done.
Rebecca de Winter
"But mom, Bobby was drinking at the party too, and he's a straight-A student," says Johnny. Mom's response is classic if not predictable, repeated a million times through the decades: "If all your friends jumped off a bridge then would you too?"
While the Democrats aren’t always our “friends,” there are still a lot of Republicans eager to jump off a bridge with them lately. We all know by now about Trump's lewd comments caught on a hot mic: Trump: Yeah, that’s her. With the gold. I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Bush: Whatever you want. Trump: Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything. I'm not a fainting couch kind of a gal. I don't get the vapors over coarse language; I'm not offended by playful, even risqué conversation. I'm also well aware that behind closed doors, some men say lascivious, nasty things. I don't want to hear it, but I know about it. That said, there is something about this tape that made me recoil, and I mean on a visceral level. I assumed most people would have the same reaction, especially fellow conservatives – and to their credit, most did. And yet, I see a surprising amount of them defending this, dismissing it as "locker room talk," "boys will be boys," "much ado about nothing," and so on. "I can't believe people are offended that he said the P word," is one defense I see over and over and over. Let's clear one thing up: I don't care that he said "the P word." There is probably no dirty word in existence that offends me. The more salacious, the more likely it will just make me laugh at the absurdity. But Trump didn't "just say the P word." He admitted, on tape, that he "just grabbed it" – because, in his own words, he could "do anything." To miss the larger implication here, beyond just saying a dirty word, is to have the point go flying over one's head like an aerial drone headed for Julian Assange. But enough about the puerile defenses. On to the truly brazen one, the nauseating "the other guy did it" song and dance. If I had a nickel for every tweet with some variation of the words "But Hillary/but Bill" in response to Trump's fiasco, I might not be rich – but I'd have a ton of nickels. We all know that Bill Clinton is a sexual predator. Even the most die-hard liberals know this, deep down. And yes, they have played defense for him for a long, long time. We also know that Hillary played the enabler part to perfection, so greedy and power-hungry that she willingly trashed women without mercy. We know her “I’m for women” shtick is as genuine as the tenth anniversary of San Serriffe. Here is what I want to know: isn't this what we have screamed and raged about for, well, decades? That the Democrats have allowed a sick, indecent creeper to not only exist comfortably within their party, but to elevate him to movie star status? Haven't we mocked them and scorned them for years, while Bill strutted around like a rooster to adoring, Roman-Polanski-at-the-Oscars style standing ovations? So what gives, GOP? Why are some of you asking us to debase ourselves for so-called party unity? So many are saying "Bill and Hillary did this and worse." My response to this is simple. I don't care. I expect more of my party, and I hold them to a much higher standard. We all should. The Democrats have long stewed in their cesspool of filth, making excuses and raving about the benefits of swimming in a scum-filled pond. I want no part of a GOP that tells me to drink a glass of curdled milk because the Democrats eat rotten cheese. Go jump off a bridge, if you must, but I’m staying right here. |
MisfitsJust a gaggle of people from all over who have similar interests and loud opinions mixed with a dose of humor. We met on Twitter. Archives
January 2024
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