Why are people not seeing the double blind standard here? Are people so concerned with being called a racist that they will not see deception when it is in your face? If Carson were white he would be called out and slapped down on his hypocrisy and in a huge way.
Ben Carson has maintained a business relationship with a close friend, Al Costa who was convicted of defrauding insurance companies and testified on his behalf. Why is this an issue? Because Carson has called for such crimes to be punished harshly. In 2013 as he prepared to launch his presidential campaign, he stated in his book, “Those convicted of health care fraud should go to prison for at least a decade and be forced to forfeit “all of one’s personal possessions.” (more on this below)
Yet, at Costa’s 2008 sentencing hearing, Carson testified Costa the dentist as “one my closest, if not my very closest friend. We became friends about a decade ago because we discovered that we were so much alike and shared the same values and principles that govern our lives.” He stated that next to his wife of 32 years there is no one on the planet that he trusted more than Al Costa and that their families vacationed together and they were involved in “joint projects.”
What Carson did not tell the judge was that Al Costa built a multimillion-dollar fortune through commercial real estate, nor that investments he and his wife made through Costa earn them between $200,000 and $2 million a year. This only came into public light through the financial records that Carson was required to file when he declared his candidacy.
The convicted insurance fraud Costa has served on the board of Carson’s charity- the Carson Scholars Fund, and continues to lead his charity’s fundraising efforts in the Pittsburgh area. Costa also continues to promote his involvement with Carson’s charity as part of his real estate business, prominently featuring the logo of the Carson Scholars Fund on his company’s website.
Carson the man is a walking “golden” double tongue speaking all the words needed to win an election, shouting ‘that’s unfair” when called out on his views, values and double standards. What white politicians would be accused of as being a liar, Carson is praised for standing up for his rights and not letting the press vet his real actions nor question his true motives . But why open up another can of worms from Carson’s own books? Hey, why not. Look at some more of Carson’s view (I guess the one that applies to others):
From Carson’s book, America the Beautiful, anyone found guilty of health care fraud should face what he called the “Saudi Arabian Solution.”
“Why don’t people steal very often in Saudi Arabia?” Carson asked. “Obviously because the punishment is the amputation of one or more fingers. I would not advocate chopping off people’s limbs, but there would be some very stiff penalties for this kind of fraud, such as loss of one’s medical license for life, no less than 10 years in prison, and loss of all of one’s personal possessions.”
Despite his tough-on-crime message, Carson and his wife have kept their investment with Costa and tax bills for their Pittsburgh office building are mailed to Costa Land Co. A recent lease for a portion of the property was signed on the Carsons’ behalf by the president of Costa’s company. It is just another one of those do as I say and not as I do Carson things.
Read more here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ap-exclusive-carson-profits-from-ties-with-convicted-felon/ar-BBmUEUy?ocid=fbmsn
Just add Al Costa to his list of questionable best friends like Farrakhan supporter Armstrong Williams. The rest of the world is known by the company they keep, Carson gets a free pass. After all they didn’t question Obama’s buddies, it would not be fair at all to question Carson’s relationships now would it? That, as Carson recently shouted, is a double standard and he does know a lot on how that works now doesn’t he.
Dianne Marshall
