Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Surgeon, Professor, Dr. Benjamin Carson – Common Sense Ideas for Our Confusing Time

Written : Feb. 26, 2013

I’m now active on Twitter. Please follow me there at @markacohen

Dr. Benjamin Carson Dr. Benjamin Carson
Dr. Benjamin Carson

The neurosurgeon who became the first to separate conjoined twins (joined at the back of the head), is a genius. Not necessarily because of his vast medical knowledge, but thanks to his uncanny ability to speak about the issues of the day. Dr. Benjamin Carson, 61, Professor of Neurosurgery, Oncology, Plastic Surgery and Pediatrics at John Hopkins University, spoke as the keynote at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast on February 9. The topics at this yearly event, for the most part cover religion, but Dr. Carson touched on politics, a tricky subject, because the President of the United States sat close by with the First Lady. However, Dr. Carson approached the subject with care and dignity.

Dr. Ben Carson speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast
Dr. Benjamin Carson speaking at the prayer breakfast

Past keynotes included Mother Theresa, American politicians of both major parties, and various Prime Ministers (including Tony Blair of England). When they touched on politics they spoke in vague generalities about peace, love, and standing with those left behind. Dr. Carson used specifics, however. Using his usual, quiet tone, Dr. Carson quoted four bible verses. Then he illustrated the problems with the dangerous, politically correct (PC) police. On some TV shows since he has called them “bullies” and vowed to stand up against them. “People are afraid to say Merry Christmas at Christmas time… That’s a salutation, a greeting of goodwill. We’ve got to get over this sensitivity…it keeps people from saying what they really believe.” He stressed the importance of communication, and the value of respect for those “with whom we disagree.”

In his own words, “My mother got married when she was 13. She was one of 24 children. Had a horrible life. Discovered that her husband was a bigamist, had another family. And she only had a third grade education. She had to take care of us. Dire poverty. I had a horrible temper, poor self-esteem. All the things that you think would preclude success. But I had something very important, I had a mother who believed in me, and I had a mother who would never allow herself to be a victim no matter what happened. Never made excuses, and she never accepted an excuse from us. And if we ever came up with an excuse, she always said do you have a brain? And if the answer was, “yes,” then she said then you could have thought your way out of it. It doesn’t matter what John or Susan or Mary, or anybody else did or said. And it was the most important thing she did for my brother and myself. Because if you don’t accept excuse, pretty soon people stop giving them, and they start looking for solutions. And that is a critical issue when it comes to success.” How can anyone not embrace this peaceful and thoughtful man? He dislikes stereotypes and political ideologues, and denigrating one’s opponent, saying, “What we need to start thinking about is, ‘how do we solve problems?’” How can anyone argue with that?

Dr. Benjamin Carson
Dr. Benjamin Carson

Dr. Carson wants America to “have good health care for everybody.” But he proposed that “when a person is born, give him a birth certificate, an electronic medical record and a health savings account (HSA), to which money can be contributed, pre-tax from the time you are born, to 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’ve got 6 diseases, you’re not trying to spend up everything. You’re happy to pass it on and nobody is talking about death panels.” What a terrific idea, but I wonder what President and Mrs. Obama thought?

Dr. Carson is a vigorous proponent of education, but he denounced the national debt. “$16.5 trillion – you think that’s not a lot of money? I’ll tell you what, count one number per second …one number per second. You know how long it would take you to count to 16 trillion? 507,000 years – more than a half a million years to get there. We have to deal with this.” He’s for a much simpler tax code. Dr. Carson used the tithe as an example. He said that, and he doesn’t propose 10%, that if a man makes $10, he may give $1. If a man makes $10 billion, he puts in $1 billion, the same ratio. God didn’t say, he reasoned, that “if your crops fail, don’t give me any tithes. He didn’t say, if you have a bumper crop, give me triple tithes. So there must be something inherently fair about proportionality.” I think that by quoting God and saying that the media tries “to define what you’re supposed to think,” he can’t be elected to public office, but he will make a fine cabinet member someday, perhaps Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Reaction to Dr. Carson’s speech at the prayer breakfast was mixed, of course. Some thought he owed President Obama an apology. Those who can’t stand any criticism of President Obama (and even some on the right) called his speech disrespectful. I tried to find any nasty attacks on Dr. Carson on the web, but there are few, if any, out there. Many on the left compare him to conservatives who have been ridiculed by the mainstream media and say they never heard of him, but they cannot or will not criticize his message. Conservatives, for the most part, hailed him as the best, possibly the only one of late, who has articulated their message with such crispness and clarity. They used a phrase of the left, popular during George W. Bush’s presidency, saying that Carson “spoke truth to power.” Responding to criticism from the left, Dr. Carson, with a calm voice asked, “When did this become a monarchy?” and, “The President works for us.” Like me, last year’s National Prayer breakfast speaker, author Eric Metaxas, who posed with a picture of President Obama, taken by VP Joe Biden at last year’s National Prayer Breakfast, also praised Dr. Carson for his talk.

You can Google “Dr. Benjamin Carson,” but I’ll give you some links for starters. I suggest we read all we can on Dr. Carson, because with his supreme grasp of logic and a unique set of ideas, he’s going places.

Articles on Dr. Carson from the middle-left: One, Two

Article on Dr. Carson from the right

The 2013 National Prayer Breakfast Video

The Transcript for Dr. Carson’s speech


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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative blog, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, Red Eye, Dr. Benjamin Carson, Dr. Ben Carson, President Obama, 2013 National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 9, 2013, conservative message

Keywords: "Conservatism", "Conservative blog", "Mark A. Cohen", "From The Left to the Right", “Red Eye”, “Dr. Benjamin Carson”, “Dr. Ben Carson”, “President Obama”, “National Prayer Breakfast”, “conservative message”

Mark A. Cohen is currently seeking representation for his memoir, From The Left to the Right.

Mark A. Cohen is a member of and helps run the Parker Writers Group (Check out their Facebook page here)

Or, see the Parker Writers Group Web page here

Mark A. Cohen is a member of the Castle Rock Writers (Check out their Facebook page here)

Mark A. Cohen currently sits on the committee which hosted the Castle Rock Writers Conference on October 13, 2012. He is currently their Vice-Treasurer. The group, whose motto is Rock Solid Writing, is seeking their 501c3, and will convene to plan the 2013 conference soon.

Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 20 minutes at the Coffee4Conservatives meeting at the Firehouse on State Road 83, in Franktown, CO, on Oct. 21, 2012.

Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 30 minutes at the Douglas County Republicans’ First Friday Breakfast in Parker, CO, held at The War Horse Inn, on Dec. 2, 2011.

Click on the logo below to get to the main CBC site:

Conservative Blogs Central

Or, you can find From the Left to the Right on Conservative Blogs Central (it’s now on page 3) by clicking this text.

You might also find From the Left to the Right on the left hand side (after clicking this text) under ‘navigation’ (scroll down a bit) – or, look for/search for/find the text ‘from the’

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Monday, February 18, 2013

The Gun Control Debate and Rep. Chris Holbert (R-CO) – Part III

Written : Feb. 9, 12, 18, 2013

I’m now active on Twitter. Please follow me there at @markacohen

Colorado State Representative Chris Holbert Colorado State Representative Chris Holbert Colorado State Representative Chris Holbert

I posted Part I of this series on Feb 5, 2013.

I posted Part II of this series on Feb 12, 2013.

This one, Part III, is the final post of this series.

A couple of weeks ago Rep. Chris Holbert (R-CO) accomplished for conservatives what I try to do with this blog for everyone. He made a mere suggestion, posed a couple of hypothetical questions, and took some of us off the beaten path. When we all head down the rabbit hole in a hurry, sometimes it takes a simple, clear, and bold statement to reverse course. He did this for me, and I appreciated it. Republicans must learn to highlight sensible alternatives, as Rep. Holbert did, and they need to communicate the same to open-minded people who don’t necessarily identify as conservatives. Our message, our way can resonate, but, to use a baseball metaphor, will our elected officials step up to the plate and hit a double - which might just turn into a home run?

The idea to ban munitions for the general public seems overly charged with emotion and void of careful thought. Not to everyone, perhaps, but to me. Can the ordinary citizen remain calm enough to aim at and shoot several drug-crazed thieves in his or her living room - with only one weapon and a handful of bullets? Would we succeed in defending our families with this restriction in place? I saw Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. speak about the issue on TV. He calmly urged residents to “take a firearm safety course.” After reviewing the same video, one of the pundits on NBC’s Today show said that they heard nothing of safety in Clarke’s message, so they obviously didn’t listen to what he said, and two others called the sheriff irresponsible. With cuts in many local budgets, I disagree, and think Sheriff Clarke showed competency when he said, “I need you in the game.” He meant that the police can’t do it alone – they need a ready public.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke

The Obama Administration’s Department of Homeland Security issued a video which, in the case of an attack on your workplace suggests that you to run, hide, and pleads that defenders use anything they can find (not a gun) against the assailants. It shows a participant in a staged event grabbing a pair of scissors from a drawer. Which idea makes more sense? Would you choose to defend yourself with some heat, or run, hide, and use a pair of scissors?

Democrats hurriedly drafted new legislation, but shouldn’t we further refine Gabby Gifford’s statement in which she urges our national legislators to take action, RIGHT NOW? Yes, the issue requires more study. Thanks to Colorado State Representative Chris Holbert for keeping us informed and thinking about the gun debate’s intricacies. We need fewer knee-jerk reactions, and more consideration. The people tire of lawmakers making major decisions on their behalf - without presenting the proof. This is not the end of the debate, Ms. Giffords. You said that the “time is now.” Of course it is, but not for immediate action, for clarification and more examination, instead. We need to mull this one over a while before we make any old change because we feel panicky. Sorry, we’ll need to see what’s in this bill before they pass it!


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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative blog, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, Red Eye, Chris Holbert, Gun Control Debate, Gabby Giffords, Gabrielle Giffords, Second Amendment

Keywords: "Conservatism", "Conservative blog", "Mark A. Cohen", "From The Left to the Right", “Red Eye”, “Chris Holbert”, “Gun Control Debate”, “Gabby Giffords”, “Gabrielle Giffords”, “Second Amendment”

Mark A. Cohen is currently seeking representation for his memoir, From The Left to the Right.

Mark A. Cohen is a member of and helps run the Parker Writers Group (Check out their Facebook page here)

Or, see the Parker Writers Group Web page here

Mark A. Cohen is a member of the Castle Rock Writers (Check out their Facebook page here)

Mark A. Cohen currently sits on the committee which hosted the Castle Rock Writers Conference on October 13, 2012. He is currently their Vice-Treasurer. The group, whose motto is Rock Solid Writing, is seeking their 501c3, and will convene to plan the 2013 conference soon.

Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 20 minutes at the Coffee4Conservatives meeting at the Firehouse on State Road 83, in Franktown, CO, on Oct. 21, 2012.

Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 30 minutes at the Douglas County Republicans’ First Friday Breakfast in Parker, CO, held at The War Horse Inn, on Dec. 2, 2011.

Click on the logo below to get to the main CBC site:

Conservative Blogs Central

Or, you can find From the Left to the Right on Conservative Blogs Central (it’s now on page 3) by clicking this text.

You might also find From the Left to the Right on the left hand side (after clicking this text) under ‘navigation’ (scroll down a bit) – or, look for/search for/find the text ‘from the’

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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The Gun Control Debate and Rep. Chris Holbert (R-CO) – Part II

Written : Feb. 4-5, 9, 2013

I’m now active on Twitter. Please follow me there at @markacohen

Colorado State Representative Chris Holbert Colorado State Representative Chris Holbert

I posted Part One of this post last week (on Feb 5, 2013), please use this link to read it.

After hearing Rep. Chris Holbert (R-CO) speak, I considered the questions he posed on gun control. Meanwhile, on the way to work, I heard We’re All Alone by Boz Scaggs, and Suzie Q by Credence Clearwater Revival. These songs are as different as right and left-wing opinions. “Of course, this is the story of my life,” I reminded myself. Then, the same old question, “Should we choose restrictions or freedom?” That’s now an easy one for me. I choose freedom - but why? Restrictions lead to tyranny and freedom leads to liberty. As a former major league baseball manager once said, “It’s that simple.”

In response to pressure we might feel to set up a CIA/FBI national database of law-abiding citizens who own guns, should we rely on knee-jerk reactions, leaping to conclusions, panic and fear? In an effort to satisfy a lust for vengeance, must we screen everyone for mental health issues and/or impose a healthy dose of taxes on them before they buy a gun? Rep. Holbert suggested that perhaps thoughtfulness is a better way. For this balance I consulted my friends. Most of them don’t identify as strict conservatives, but every one of them stressed the importance of thinking it over instead of rushing to any old one-size-fits-all solution. It’s a balance of security vs. liberty, they all agreed (yes, even my liberal friends), and they raised more questions we must ask.

Does Jared Loughner deserve the same freedoms we enjoy – before he kills? No one wants him to kill, but if his record is clean, how can we stop him ahead of the crime? Should convicted criminals forfeit the right to carry? How would you know ahead of time if Seung-Hui Cho is going to commit mass murder? Should we allow his parents or elementary school teachers to decide? What qualifies them? If we bestow the power to deny a citizen his rights, which procedures would we use, and which board of directors gets to choose them? Do we have the power to strip others of their rights? How far will it go before someone takes away some of your rights – just because someone wrongly thinks that you pose a danger to the rest of us?

If your government limits the number of legal guns you can purchase, criminals - who don’t let laws influence their behavior - will try to obtain them illegally. With the same stroke of the pen, more law-abiding citizens would lose the capability for self-defense. For example, if they reduce magazine capacities to 7 cartridges each, as the state of New York did, what will happen during the next surprise break-in? Yes, more innocents will die.

I’ll post Part III next week.


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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative blog, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, Red Eye, Chris Holbert, Gun Control Debate, Gabby Giffords, Gabrielle Giffords, Second Amendment

Keywords: "Conservatism", "Conservative blog", "Mark A. Cohen", "From The Left to the Right", “Red Eye”, “Chris Holbert”, “Gun Control Debate”, “Gabby Giffords”, “Gabrielle Giffords”, “Second Amendment”

Mark A. Cohen is currently seeking representation for his memoir, From The Left to the Right.

Mark A. Cohen is a member of and helps run the Parker Writers Group

Mark A. Cohen is a member of and helps run the Parker Writers Group (Check out their Facebook page here)

Or, see the Parker Writers Group Web page here

Mark A. Cohen is a member of the Castle Rock Writers (Check out their Facebook page here)

Mark A. Cohen currently sits on the committee which hosted the Castle Rock Writers Conference on October 13, 2012. He is currently their Vice-Treasurer. The group, whose motto is Rock Solid Writing, is seeking their 501c3, and will convene to plan the 2013 conference soon.

Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 20 minutes at the Coffee4Conservatives meeting at the Firehouse on State Road 83, in Franktown, CO, on Oct. 21, 2012.

Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 30 minutes at the Douglas County Republicans’ First Friday Breakfast in Parker, CO, held at The War Horse Inn, on Dec. 2, 2011.

Click on the logo below to get to the main CBC site:

Conservative Blogs Central

Or, you can find From the Left to the Right on Conservative Blogs Central (it’s now on page 3) by clicking this text.

You might also find From the Left to the Right on the left hand side (after clicking this text) under ‘navigation’ (scroll down a bit) – or, look for/search for/find the text ‘from the’

From the Left to the Right - Follow this link to Facebook and please click “Like” it!

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I highly recommend Dr. Anna Geving, my dentist in Parker, CO

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

The Gun Control Debate and Rep. Chris Holbert (R-CO) – Part I

Written : Feb. 4-5, 2013

Colorado State Representative Chris Holbert Colorado State Representative Chris Holbert
Colorado State Representative Chris Holbert (R)

Most of you always thought the way you do today. Making political decisions came easy for you, but not for me. To use President Obama’s term, my positions always evolve. I find myself sifting through each question and evaluating, turning the coin over, and over. I think and think again, sometimes seeming never to arrive at a final conclusion. You may be open-minded, but I’m always up for considering any new idea. This is often painful and tiring for me. So, welcome to my world!

At a gun hearing on Jan. 30, 2013, U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) said, “Violence is a big problem… We must do something!” As a co-worker of mine says, the question is, “What?” What must we do, and why must we rush - out of our minds and out of control, to pass legislation, anything, something? Colorado State Representative Chris Holbert (R-CO), spoke sensibly about the gun control issue (and others) at a meeting of Douglas County Republicans. I nodded through most of the speech. Yes, of course we need to uphold the Second Amendment (capitalized for a reason), our right to arm ourselves. Picture images of mass-murderers, wide-eyed and troubled. I thought, “We don’t want those like them to get weapons, do we?” Mr. Holbert then asked whether we support universal background checks.

As I began to nod again, Rep. Holbert asked us to think twice. He raised some interesting questions. Universal background checks – what are they (define them) and how would we implement these rules? What about the gun handed down from father to son, mother to daughter? Would the government require every person down the line to re-register the same weapon (taxing the same family each time)? Does that much interference make sense? No, it doesn’t. If the feds stick their noses into your gifting practices, then what stops them from asking you to register your fine cutlery, your pocket knife, or your tools?

”Surely he wants to stop the crazy guys from getting guns, he must believe in checks for them, I thought.” During Rep. Holbert’s discussion I thought of politicians enacting a law which insists that psychiatrists evaluate each patient’s mental capability relative to owning a gun. “So much power,” I thought. “Why should we entrust the thought police, or anyone else, for that matter, with such responsibility?” Rep. Chris Holbert made me think more deeply about the subject, as should we all.

Just read about the knee-jerk reactions some Second Amendment opponents in my state, Colorado, recently expressed on the gun control issue. If this is proposed legislation and if they pass them, even if you support these rather intense restrictions - please observe - and keep track of what happens afterward. I am an optimist, but don’t believe the crime rate will decrease. These reductions of personal liberty will either have no effect or will increase the number of deaths related to gun violence.

After you visit the link above, ask yourself if they might benefit the housewife defending her children with a single gun in a crawl space, hiding from three intruders. Ask yourself whom these new bills would help or hurt. Would they really keep guns off the street? What a shame that so many of our legislators don’t take the time to consider all the options. Like Gabby Giffords (D-AZ), they say, “We must do something! No we don’t, we’re obligated instead to ask, ”What?” “Why?” and “How?” Thank you, Representative Holbert, for urging me to ponder the gun control issue with more granularity!

I’ll post Part II next week.


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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative blog, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, Red Eye, Chris Holbert, Gun Control Debate, Gabby Giffords, Gabrielle Giffords, Second Amendment

Keywords: "Conservatism", "Conservative blog", "Mark A. Cohen", "From The Left to the Right", “Red Eye”, “Chris Holbert”, “Gun Control Debate”, “Gabby Giffords”, “Gabrielle Giffords”, “Second Amendment”

Mark A. Cohen is currently seeking representation for his memoir, From The Left to the Right.

Mark A. Cohen is a member of and helps run the Parker Writers Group

Mark A. Cohen is a member of and helps run the Parker Writers Group (Check out their Facebook page here)

Or, see the Parker Writers Group Web page here

Mark A. Cohen is a member of the Castle Rock Writers (Check out their Facebook page here)

Mark A. Cohen currently sits on the committee which hosted the Castle Rock Writers Conference on October 13, 2012. He is currently their Vice-Treasurer. The group, whose motto is Rock Solid Writing, is seeking their 501c3, and will convene to plan the 2013 conference soon.

Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 20 minutes at the Coffee4Conservatives meeting at the Firehouse on State Road 83, in Franktown, CO, on Oct. 21, 2012.

Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 30 minutes at the Douglas County Republicans’ First Friday Breakfast in Parker, CO, held at The War Horse Inn, on Dec. 2, 2011.

Click on the logo below to get to the main CBC site:

Conservative Blogs Central

Or, you can find From the Left to the Right on Conservative Blogs Central (it’s now on page 3) by clicking this text.

You might also find From the Left to the Right on the left hand side (after clicking this text) under ‘navigation’ (scroll down a bit) – or, look for/search for/find the text ‘from the’

From the Left to the Right - Follow this link to Facebook and please click “Like” it!

Hyper Smash

I highly recommend Dr. Anna Geving, my dentist in Parker, CO