Manns Medium

The older I get, the more I attempt to find a positive spin on anything that occurs.  I do this because it is easier for me to try and understand the motives of another if I can see things a little as they see them.  It helps me to reconcile myself with the fact that as the Bible tells us we should always respect another person’s truth.  It does not say we have to agree with it or even like it but it does ask us to respect it and in so doing we can now expect that they will respect our truth. Listening to the latest in the Donald Trump Saga, many are talking about a rift in the party and those anti-Trump people may have a valid shot at winning and blocking him out while others are saying the exact opposite.  I don’t truly know which is right or wrong and neither is it my place to say either way.  I have never been given the power or authority to tell anyone whether they are right or wrong, I can only control and diagnosis my actions and advise myself. ...

Many are applauding House Speaker John Boehner’s latest tirade where he finally puts the Heritage Action and other groups into the proper prospective but some are saying “too little too late”.  Mr. Boehner could have saved his party and raised the level of play in Washington to a much higher level by doing what he began to do with the “Grand Bargain”.   Had he completed this action, America would have to reconsider its thought of Republican governess and would have a completely different take on them as they have today.   But, alas, Mr. Boehner found himself hamstrung by his two most devastating mistakes far too early after taking control of the gavel.  His two major mistakes were inheriting Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy. With Eric Cantor, Mr. Boehner inherited a partner who was immediately embraced by sabotaging of the speaker in order to claim that gavel for himself.  History tells us that as soon as he was named as the number two man, Mr. Ca...

Having not being able to view the Obama-Romney Debate live and in person, I subjected myself to hearing the recap from pundits, commentators and those experts who seem to have their finger on the pulse of the political events shaping our world.  According to them, I half expected to see Mitt Romney as an aggressive overseer, holding a whip and taming both Barack Obama and the moderator Jim Lehr.  The vision I had was Romney’s complete command from beginning to end and Obama just standing in a corner somewhere refusing to look in Romney’s direction in fear of being lashed for disobedience.  However after watching it in it’s entirety, the debate that I saw was completely different than the one I had heard about.  This made me begin to questioned if I had witnessed a completely different one. The one that I saw, showed me how gracious Obama really is toward someone he disagrees with.  It showed me that he could deliver a devastating and direct hit to his opponen...

Since Mitt Romney won the Republican Party nomination for President, we have heard nothing but negative comments on the job being performed by Obama.  There were negative comments before but not as often as they have been lately.  Also present are the assist that the Romney campaign is receiving from outside groups and those who seem to have a burning desire to hate this president. The label “angry black man” is what was expected by those who view this president as less than they are but the more they attack him both professionally and personally, they can not seem to get him to react in that manner.  So many may now be wondering why I say that the GOP has given credence to this label, I ask you to consider this. Many from the minority groups have been demanded an equal playing field and claiming that they are always at a disadvantage.  Image doing and following every rule established to get ahead only after accomplishing them do you find that there have now bee...

I ask this question after seeing maximum coverage of Paul Ryan entire story because he might be chosen as Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential pick. It got me to thinking of how the coverage from all forms of media from politics to pro athletes, from movie idols to music legends. How we elevate average people because of the job that they have, the amount of money that they control or the amount of influence they wield. They may be movie stars, jetsetters, important people and big business but if you took away all that they have in tangible assets, they would be just average people. They put on their pants the same way each and every person put on their pants, on leg at a time. So why do we chase them, worship them, fear them and hang on their every word? Many of us claim to be Christians and when it is convenient we use our faith to make our point, but we do not hold God in as high esteem as we do those average people. We know that this is one of the most horrendous sins, we can commit, ...

Let me tell you a story about times gone by where actions taken by a few kept a nation locked into the past.   It’s a story which seems to be repeating itself today and a clear reason why so many of us pray for clarity soon. “The beginnings of the Ku Klux Klan in 1865, after the Civil War, some white people in the South decided to form a group to protect themselves and to terrorize black people. Black people, who had been slaves before and during the war, became free after the war. Some white people, who previously had all the power and wealth, resented their losses and feared retaliation by the newly freed blacks. The Klan appealed to people who believed that their beliefs were superior to the beliefs of immigrants, Catholics, Jews or “colored people.” The Klan supported what they called “clean living” and attacked “dope, bootlegging, graft, night clubs and road houses, violation of the Sabbath, unfair business dealings, sex, marital 'goings-on,' and scandalous behavior....

By no stretch of the imagination am I pretending to be as smart as or smarter than those who do politics for a living but as a connoisseur of this mess, I do develop a few thoughts and opinions every now and again. Many professionals say that if the economy gets worse, President Obama will have a harder time getting a second term and I can see their reasoning for it but I think that a few opposers of this president have discovered a more plausible reason to deny him a second term.   It is in the turnout.   Many voters who are very much aware of the tactics being played by those who are really trying to block their vote will be driven to the polls for that reason alone but it’s those who are so confident that they do not have to bother because of the lack-luster opponents fielded by the GOP that worries me.   We saw this in the midterms which now explains clearly why we are in the position we find ourselves today. Many will surmise that surely the others will...

In a taped interview, after the meeting between President Obama and Republicans, Paul Ryan asked that there cease to be talk about mis-characterization of his plan and civility.   I can remember when Obama asked for this same civility; Ryan did not think civility was possible. After getting hammered from his voters regarding the GOP plan about his Medicare plan, he is now feeling the need for civility.     The saddest part of this development is that even those who may wish to support him and his position will not lead them to the White House.   At what point will America finally demand accountability and not hypocrisy.     They have not proposed one jobs bill but several attacks on women’s rights.   They have not done one thing promised on the campaign trail but have made several attempts to change Medicare as we know it.   They have whined about the deficit but refuse to allow the Bush tax cuts to expire or cut subsidies to big oil. If any ...

A large part of the media is spinning this win by the Democratic challenger Kathy Hochul as a referendum on Paul Ryan’s Budget Plan and while that appears to have a great deal to do with it a larger lesson is available for consumption.   That lesson is the message that was sent by those Republicans voters who chose Hochul over Republican state Assemblywoman Jane Corwin and just how strong the Tea Party may really be in the Republican Party. Lesson one is that Democrats, Independents, a good number of “real” Republicans and even a few Tea Party members no longer feel like they can trust the campaign promises and words of Republicans.   This was brought about when the current office holders promised to bring jobs back but instead spent all of their time concentrating on assaulting women’s reproductive rights and made no clear effort to fulfill any of the promises made.   The call for a smaller government while voting to increase government’s role in all pregnancies, the...

When I was growing up in a small town in Tennessee, we used to be warned all the time about putting the cart before the horse.   Now as a child, I would envision a cart in front of the horse and wondered why anyone would do that especially if they were looking to have the horse pull the wagon.   The GOP appears to be guilty of this very thing. Associated Press’ David Espo penned an article titled Medicare overhaul proposal causing GOP stress sighting “ With Congress just back from a week's vacation, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., indicated Monday that Republicans want to change the subject. Without mentioning Medicare, he said the House majority has been focusing recently on "how to address the deficit (by) cutting back on the expenditures."   Now, he said, the GOP will present a "growth agenda."   They campaigned and won in 2010 on job creation and deficit reduction.   When the new session was gaveled in their focus became strictly about aborti...

David Gregory made news on Meet the Press but I don’t think he or anyone else heard it.  He asked Paul Ryan a question and got one of the best sound bites any oppose of Ryan could ever dream about using when running for his seat.  Paul Ryan explained in detail his definition of leadership and that definition could bury him. Mr. Ryan stated that he did not need a poll to tell him what his policies should be.  He said leaders lead and that’s what they are doing in the House.  He was tapped as the economy guru for the Republican Party and all swore to support any idea that he envisioned on that subject.  He offered his plan and by now, we all know what that is but when it came up for a vote, two Republicans realized that it was radical while another two stepped away because they thought it was not radical enough.  That’s not leadership nor is it courageous.  Leadership is facing your problems head on and looking for solutions which affect all the same wh...

This week should give anyone who is watching a great look into how hypocritical the far right really is and those representing the Tea Party in the Republican Party.  Newt Gingrich stepped all in it when he spoke the truth about Paul Ryan’s budget and how it will radically change Medicare and Medicaid as we know it.  The flood gates opened and he is now still trying to find the sides before he gets swept up by the wave of criticism coming from his party.  We will learn about them by the way Rick Santorum is treated by these same individuals and groups. According to an article by the Associated Press titled Santorum: McCain doesn't understand interrogation , “former Sen. Rick Santorum said today that Sen. John McCain, who spent 5 1/2 years enduring brutal treatment at the hands of his North Vietnamese captors, doesn't know how effective waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques can be.”  He told this lie trying to defend torture as a part of the Ame...

What does it say about a country and its leaders when a group of lawmakers are able to pass draconian bills like the one written about in Andrew Taylor’s article for the Associated Press titled House passes $6T spending cut plan?   More important what does it say about the people who put them into office?   It says that the excellence of a nation is at stake and if the people fail to correct this problem, the economy will not be the only thing that falls flat on its face. According to the article “t he House has passed a Republican budget blueprint proposing to fundamentally overhaul Medicare for future beneficiaries while combating out-of-control budget deficits. It would impose sharp spending cuts on social safety net programs like food stamps and Medicaid.   The GOP proposal passed 235-193, with every Democrat voting "no." The nonbinding plan lays out a fiscal vision cutting $6.2 trillion over 10 years from the budget submitted by President Barack Obama.   It cal...

I do not know how many times, I’ve tried to explain to anyone who will listen just how this president operates.   I advised them to look at how he speaks to those he disagrees with and then contrast that with how he does it in public.   He is not a man who wishes to air his dirty laundry in public nor does he want to embarrass anyone in front of a camera.   He speaks candidly and frank to them alone but speaks respectfully in public.   If you still do not believe me take a look at the article written by David Jackson of the USA TODAY titled Obama unplugged, tells Republicans: 'You think we're stupid? ' The article reports, among other things, that “ Thinking that reporters were out of the room, Obama took questions from political donors after a press pool had been dismissed. But a microphone remained on, and   Mark Knoller of CBS News   took notes. In what amounted to his most extended remarks on talks with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and others, ...