Manns Medium

If someone had told me that ushering Barack Obama into the White House would eventually lead to more Americans coming together than many have seen in eons, Republicans, Democrats and Independents, I probably would have said that they were not operating from a full deck, I would be wrong. The midterm elections were a time for progressives to declare that they were so very disappointed in Obama and many other Democrats that they were going to teach them a lesson and stay home.   Their base followed their lead and became missing in action at the polls.   This allowed the fringe elements to come together and elect those that they believed would be their friends and support the causes that they campaigned to believe in.   Now the State Houses are filled with Republican legislators and governors who showed their true colors almost immediately after being sworn in.   Their campaign for creating jobs gave way to an all out assault on women, unions, the middle class, the poo...

I was surprised to find that the new series on the USA Network called “Necessary Roughness” would be as good as advertised, it was so much better.   The star of the show is Callie Thomas (Dr. Danielle (Dani) Santino) and she plays her character like it was more a part of her.   When she discovered her husband, Craig Bierko (Ray Santino) was cheating on her, she made a very tough decision to seek a divorce.   It was later discovered that even though her husband said he wanted to come back home, he was making moves which contradicted it.   Moves like freezing the credit cards, claiming to have lost all of his profits in his garment business and fighting for the kids so as not to have to pay child support.   Dani bundled up that ball of energy and strapped in to fight back. She knew that the road would be rough trying to raise two teenagers, Patrick Johnson as Ray "Ray Jay" Santino Jr. and Hannah Marks as Lindsay Santino.   They too, had to digest the su...

Now no one knows more about the devastating effect that this economy has had on the middle class especially teachers, firefighters and police as I.  Being a small business owner, here in Rockford, without the pristine credit score needed to secure small business loans from our local financial institutions.  It is of this understanding why I believe that so many may be willing to do almost anything to guarantee their ability to sustain their livelihood.  What I can not stomach and condone is when that drive causes good people to do very bad things. I speak of a teacher in Auburn High School who teaches algebra by the name of Mr. Taube.  This revelation was brought to my by my niece whom has been saddled with summer school all because she turned in her lessons late.   While I can understand accountability, this requirement must also be met by the very ones who are tasked with teaching it as well.  I can also understand how an upset student may be willin...

If you love great theater, yesterday was your day to watch MSNBC and the other “major” cable news outlets.   To virtually a person, each one had their own take on how disappointing the president’s plan was.   It was too much for some and not enough for others.   The scary part was, much of the disagreement with Obama spanned the political spectrum and was mostly centered on the cost and how broke this country was.   Sad to think that these same “heavy hitters” were not screaming as loud when we were being lead by the nose into these wars. Many, who would normally be on opposite sides of any issue, now bands together and scream that since we killed Osama bin Laden, we can now bring all of our troops home and then use that money to help restore this economy.   I can somewhat understand their premise but I have to chuckle at the thought that those who are supposed to know really do think that bringing all the troops home will really allow us the use of the money c...

I must admit, when I was first beginning to read this article, I immediately went to the thought that the Supreme Court had once again sided with big business like they did with the Citizens United case.   I was so wrong and I realized it only after actually reading this article instead of just scanning it.   The article that I speak of is the one written by James Vicini of Reuters titled Wal-Mart wins Supreme Court sex-bias ruling What made me realize that I was wrong   was when I read that “The justices unanimously ruled that more than 1 million female employees nationwide could not proceed together in the lawsuit seeking billions of dollars and accusing Wal-Mart of paying women less and giving them fewer promotions” and “It accepted Wal-Mart's argument that the female employees in different jobs at 3,400 different stores nationwide and with different supervisors do not have enough in common to be lumped together in a single class-action lawsuit.”   It became very...

As a sports fan, I get very involved in the game of my favorite sports team and it bothers me when they lose.   My children have figured out that when I am watching sports they are to remain quiet and still.   Only after a few hours of a loss, will my children then attempt to hold a conversation with me.   I love my teams but I do not get so involved that I have to go out and damage property and it’s time we as a species began to hold people accountable. When the Vancouver Canucks lost the last game of a 7 game series, the people went out and caused damage to property that was not theirs to damage and in it wake it left nearly 150 people hurt.   The result of the riot claimed another victim as written about by Max Thompson in his article titled Vancouver Rioter, an Elite Canadian Athlete, Makes a Teary Confession it tells the story of 17-year old Nathan Kotylak. “Kotylak was caught lighting a rag on fire that was tucked into the gas tank of a police car during the ...

Many reporters, journalist and commentators are wondering, some out loud, as to why the “establishment” is so set against Mitt Romney.   I believe that I have stumbled upon the answer. I believe that the establishment is afraid of what Mitt Romney would do if he wins the Republican Party nomination and go on to win the White House.   The Republican Party prides itself on being the “working man’s” party but if Romney becomes the face of this party, would it then turn into the “privileged” party?   Some may be under the impression that he would push policies that are not fully vetted by the establishment.   Some think that he could set back their so called advances and be worse for them than even Obama may be.   His passage of healthcare in Massachusetts appears to be a warning to them at what else he may be inclined to try and sign into law.   Another would be even if Romney did not go on to win the White House, if he wins the nomination, he would then be ...

Let’s play a little game of pretend and say that the Michelle Bachman claim of Obama being a one-term president is correct.   Assuming that is true then one has to begin to look at the striking similarities between that and the constant Republican over-reach in the states and now in Washington.   Picture this. President Obama loses his bid for a second term and the Republican replacement now begins to see his/her election as a mandate from the people and smartly begins to dismantle everything that he has done and attempting to do during his term.   Much like the invisible mandate that new flock of Republicans believed that they received in the U.S. House of Representatives or those Senators, Representatives and new Republican Governors.   It doesn’t matter what they campaigned on because this invisible mandate tells them that they do not have to fulfill any of them.   They proceed to seek more discriminatory actions toward those that they feel will never vote f...

If you have not read this article by Charles Johnson titled Last Straw for an African American GOP Supporter which can be found on www.littlegreenfootballs.com or in Newsvine, you really should search it out.   This article confirms everything that I have been saying about the direction of the Tea Party and many in the Republican Party.    In it he provides a letter from “a long-time Republican from Sacramento, Ken Barnes” who has just given up trying to belong to a party that really do not want him and only see him as useful when it comes to attempting to show that they are an inclusive party. The main idea of this article and what many minorities need to heed is the question Mr. Barnes asks at the end of his letter.   “If this can be done to a black man who is the leader of the free world, how long will it be before fellow Republicans insert my face on a chimpanzee?”   One is lead to believe that a difference of opinion can be better handled in a civil ...

It became apparent in Game 5 that the Miami Heat was lacking something.   It was not the “killer instinct” that many experts talked about nor was it impressive scoring from LeBron James in the 4 th quarter that everyone else likes to point the finger at.   What the Miami Heat was lacking was the reserve tank required to win an NBA Championship.   The Dallas Mavericks did not have it when they first attempted to win the title but this series, it was on total display. You heard the Heat players and some of the coaches always referenced how they played during the regular season and that in itself was the problem.   How a team performs during the regular season is not how they should perform during the playoffs.   Each playoff game needs to show something different in a team, a bench guy who suddenly comes to age but doesn’t start the next game.   An aging player coming off the bench who has not seen much game time but is only needed for a few minutes at t...

All of us have heard the members of the Tea Party from all the different parts speak so highly about a smaller government and how they want to reduce the involvement of government in our lives.   We’ve heard them say this but we have witnessed and are witnessing their elected representatives do the exact opposite.   Prime example is the article written by Joe Wolverton, II of The New American titled Tennessee Divests Teachers Union of Collective Bargaining Power   in which he reported that “on June 1, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed a bill eliminating the collective bargaining “rights” of teachers in the Volunteer State.”   It quotes the Speaker of the Senate, Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville) saying “It matters who governs. For years upon years, one union has thwarted the progress of education in Tennessee. Reform after reform has been refused or dismantled.   The barrier that has prevented us from putting the best possible teacher i...

It is one thing to crow about our “founding fathers” and how they sacrificed to fight for the freedoms that we enjoy while doing all that you can to completely undermine those very freedoms.   You may be believed that you have the best interest of this nation at heart and win on that rhetoric but actions prove more and more your true intentions. Case in point is this article by Joe Wolverton, II for The New American titled Wisconsin GOP Accused of Electoral Manipulation .   In it he reports about “a cadre of Republican insiders have devised a plan to place the names of fake Democratic candidates on the ballots in two upcoming special elections.”    He samples a report by the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Journal-Sentinel Online (JSO) and details about “The elections involved in the alleged scheme are part of nine state Senate seats where incumbents could soon face recall elections as a result of their actions in the recent budget battle with Gover...