Manns Medium

To a commentator, you hear the same thing. We need to do more to support our veterans but these are only words and much of it are coming from those with very little say or influence on what is needed most.   Many say that they are willing to do whatever it takes to demonstrate how supportive they are to their American veterans but they do not know what to do.   Well this article will detail exactly what you can do, so listen up. This administration has already done a lot to show its support by offering businesses tax credits for hiring veterans, the new GI bill, and increasing funding for the Veteran’s Administration.   These actions displays clearly that there is only so much government can do and the remaining steps needed to take falls outside of their control.   For the Veterans Administration, the rule that established a time frame that restricts veterans from applying and receiving their benefits should be eliminated.   If you served honorably or in a...

Media is missing a large piece of the puzzle as to why there now seems to be a love affair between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.   Many want to attribute it to a prime0time speaking spot but it is much simpler than that. The great meeting between Romney, Trump and Gingrich is nothing more than to get them on the same page.   It’s an opportunity for Gingrich to get help from Trump in nailing down the second spot on the ticket.   Yes, that’s right; Newt Gingrich is vying for Vice President.   Image the roar it would create.   Newt is quite strong in the South and Romney needs that.   Gingrich can sling the mud better than most and he can even be convincing when he does it.   Newt matches up with Joe Biden better than many because the knock on Biden is that he is a gaff machine but so is Newt.   Joe Biden can speak to so many subjects without missing a beat and so can Newt Gingrich.   The Vice Presidential Debate would draw millions for no...

Listening to the expert pundits and journalists on cable news, it appears that the recent attacks by President Obama on what Mitt Romney has been allowed to say is being viewed as tainting the oath of office or staining the office.   Some say that the recent vitriol regarding Rev. Wright, Food Stamp President, not an American at heart, birthers, high school and college transcripts and so much more are Tea Party backed and a “dog whistle” to those who harbor a deep resentment of the first African-American president.   I say that if that is truly the case, then the same must be said by the media as well.   Simply put, the reason behind many speaking of the whistling is that those doing the whispering are doing so without regards to the facts.   It is also combined with distortion of what really is happening but what about the media and friends of the media.   Politicians distort the truth and many viewers rely on the media to ask the questions and demand clar...

Rachel Rose Hartman ’s article titled Sarah Palin endorses Sen. Orrin Hatch in Utah tells us that “ Sarah Palin weighed in on the Utah Senate race during an interview Tuesday night and took a side. But instead of rallying around the Republican tea party challenger, as she has in other primary campaigns, the former Alaska governor endorsed longtime senator Orrin Hatch.   "I want him to win," Palin told Fox News host Greta Van Susteren , saying she joined with other conservatives "who would like to see Mr. Balanced Budget return to Washington."   The endorsement represents a departure from Palin's history of backing anti-establishment tea party outsiders like Christine O'Donnell in Delaware and Sharron Angle in Nevada, both of whom ran for statewide office in 2010. But according to Michael Warren of The Weekly Standard in his article titled All Utah Needs Is Love?   A GOP star emerges in the Beehive State there has been no mentioned of the former Alaska gove...

The most surprising thing that appeared in Good Morning America Christina Ng’s article titled Former Rising Football Star Exonerated in Rape Case was not “a rising football star in southern California whose career was brought to a sudden halt by a kidnap-rape conviction that landed him in prison was exonerated today after his accuser contacted him on Facebook recanted her story. It was information hidden in the eighth paragraph saying " the problem was that Gibson did not want to tell prosecutors the truth because she feared she would lose the $1.5 million she and her family won in a civil suit against Long Beach schools after the incident.”   So his “high-school acquaintance—Wanetta Gibson—accused Brian Banks of rape and kidnapping following a consensual sexual encounter."    Another life halted in its tracks because of what I think was completely one-sided investigations.   It was probably more about two sides attempting to just get this case over instead of t...

Firm yet fair, has anyone else ever heard of this?   How about, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander?   Nothing fuels hostilities more than officials being seen as favoring one team over another.   Many will point to several instances where the Miami Heat has gotten some pretty favorable calls in their history but that is not the whole story. According to The Sports Xchange in their article titled Heat's Haslem suspended for 1 game, Pittman for 3 it is reported that “the NBA has suspended Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem for one game and Heat forward Dexter Pittman for three games for their retaliatory flagrant fouls in Tuesday's Game 5 of their series against the Indiana Pacers.    Haslem hit Hansbrough across the face and shoulder with both arms in the second quarter of the Heat's 115-83 victory and the 6-11 Pittman leveled Pacers guard Lance Stephenson with an elbow in the final minute of the game.”    But the one thing that was qu...

A now 15 year old boy is asked to decide if he wishes to plead guilty to criminal sexual assault and go home after being held in a juvenile detention facility for 5 months.   It is not explained to him that by pleading guilty for a crime you did not commit you will have to register as a sex-offender and answer “yes” to the question of being convicted of a felony on all employment and secondary education applications.   He is led to believe that this is his only way out and his court-appointed attorney has done very little to defend and protect his rights.   Their defense is that this may become a sealed file once he turns 18 years old but what they fail to see is the record may or may not be sealed but the experience and the nightmares could last forever.   I believe I see now what happens with young kids now when it comes to getting justice.   It appears the State makes juveniles a Ward of the State so they do not have to conform to the requirement that any ...

As time elapses and evidence is revealed, more and more it begins to look like the conviction of George Zimmerman maybe much harder than first expected.   According to Dylan Stableford in his article titled Trayvon Martin shooting: Witnesses change stories ahead of Zimmerman trial “four witnesses in the Trayvon Martin case have changed their stories, some "in ways that may damage" George Zimmerman, the Orlando Sentinel reports .   According to records released last week in the second-degree murder case, the witnesses--all of them neighbors--were interviewed multiple times by police and special prosecutors about what they saw on Feb. 26.” As a former law enforcement officer, one of the most unreliable evidence you can have is witnesses and many times the reason is when their stories change.   To secure the perfect witness is one where no matter how much time expires, their story remain consistent.   This article clearly shows why forensic are the best source fo...

Well lookie here, the GOP may have finally found it’s “extremely literate conservative African-American.   Who says that wishes do not come true? According to Jonathan Karl of ABC News in his series Spinners and Winners he profile Mia Love of Utah as a New Kind of Republican?    He reports that “ Mia Love is unlike any Congressional candidate ever -- she is African-American, she is Mormon, and she is conservative. Republicans have deemed her race in Utah's newly drawn 4th district one of the top ten most important races in the country, vowing to spare no expense to get her to Congress. If she wins, Love would be the first black Republican woman ever elected to the House of Representatives.”   Her major concerns as reported in the piece is debt and deficit and do not see any need to raise taxes even though it was pointed out in the interview that she did raise property taxes while serving as mayor.   My only wish was that while she was so visible and w...

Yes, that’s right I said it and I will say it again.   I say it because it burns me up to think that an organization so revered and copied as the ultimate organization to provide unequivocal service to the poor and needy in any community from food banks to financial services and not to mentioned spiritual guidance would allow their name to be buried in nothing that has anything to do with their primary and initial purpose for existing.   Do not be fooled, it has nothing to do with religious freedom and everything to do with religion in politics.   It has taken the last great institution and turned it from the goodness spoke of in the Bible to a business. When you hear freedom of religion, think about the purpose of that right granted in the US Constitution.   It is the freedom to worship as you see fit.   That means an individual can choose to take on the label of Catholic, Protestant, Baptist and yes even Atheist if they wish.   It means that no gover...

If you have ever given any thought to this subject then you have probably come to the same conclusion that I have.   If you haven’t then it’s time you spent a few minutes to consider this. If you are pro anything you are for it which means that if you are pro-life then you are for life and not death in many cases but can sometimes get confused when your stance is questioned by situation like going to war.   If you are pro-choice then you are for each individual having the choice and not being forced in one direction or another.   This stance rarely, if ever, provides you with a dilemma because it always goes back to the individual’s choice.   Some have confused this issue with abortion and will scream to the high heavens when a female makes a choice of aborting.   They scream that this is the same as murder and should not be allowed in this society but as they scream to save the life of a fetus, they condemn the doctor or female to death.   These are t...

Dear Rockford Health Physicians ROCKFORD, IL- After coming to you in hopes that you would be able to help me understand my physical pain and especially with my second trip which manifested itself into such a severe headache that I felt my head was going to explode.   It appeared that many there were much more concerned with whether I had any insurance than what was going on.   They asked the questions but never stood still long enough to receive the answers except for one.   Since you appeared to be just as complexes and stumped as I were as to the cause of my suffering, my insistence for an MRI was honored and to my relief there were no bleeding in the brain or busted vessels.   As with the first visit, you subscribed strong headache medication well outside of my affordability range and sent me on my way.   I left there not feeling satisfied but feeling more like some product on a conveyor belt.   It seemed that you were more concerned with getting us i...

According to Devin Dwyer of ABC News in his article titled Booker Walks Back Obama Criticism it is reported that “Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a Democrat and high-profile Obama supporter, said in an appearance on "Meet the Press" that he is "very uncomfortable" with an anti-Bain, anti-Romney ad campaign launched aggressively last week.   "If you look at the totality of Bain Capital's record they've done a lot to support businesses, to grow businesses. And this, to me, I'm very uncomfortable with," Booker said.   "This kind of stuff is nauseating to me on both sides," Booker said. "It's nauseating to the American public. Enough is enough. Stop attacking private equity. Stop attacking Jeremiah Wright. This stuff has got to stop, because what it does is it undermines, to me, what this country should be focused on."   It is reported that he later said “Mitt Romney has made his business record a centerpiece of his campaign. He...

It was reported in First Read that “a group of Iraq war veterans have pledged to toss their medals over the security fence surrounding the summit site in a symbolic protest. Matt Howard, a former U.S. Marine who served in Iraq, said 50 veterans planned to throw away their medals.   Vietnam War veteran Ron McSheffery, 61, said, "I'm in total support of stopping NATO and stopping the slaughter of innocent civilians. But one report stated that the reason some of them was throwing the medals was because their were no honor in the Iraq and Afghanistan War. As a former US Marine, I am supportive of my fellow servicemembers exercising their right   to protest and the only restriction I would have would be the burning of the flag.   I take offense about the fact that there is no honor there.   I take this offense because it is not where or whom you fight that provides the honor but the way you fight and those standing by your side.   The honor is not in killing but...

Arlette Saenz of ABC News reported in his article titled Rubio Comes Out Swinging at Obama at S.C. GOP Dinner reported that “Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., doled out attacks on President Obama tonight in a high-profile speech before South Carolina Republicans, laying out aggressive criticisms of the president as he called him the most "divisive figure" in American politics.   "The president and his party's view of America's government and our lives is a failed one. It hasn't worked. His ideas that sounded so good in the classrooms of Harvard and Yale haven't really worked out well in the real world."    But this is not the missed opportunity. It is expected that Rubio speaking to his group and people would garner “applause at the South Carolina GOP's Silver Elephant Dinner.”   It would be news if he had not have spoken about President Obama in terms like   "they get frustrated. They can't win on their record, and so they've chosen to...

I do not consider myself a strong republican or Democrat nor do I conform to the rules and regulations of the Independent.   What I do conform to is my own understanding of the issues which allows me to be able to disagree with any politician or pundit on any subject where I have disagreement.   I do not pretend that I know everything nor do I claim ignorance of certain topics being discussed today.   I do believe that as the title above states, democrats fundraising on the Rev. Wright revelation are wrong and here’s why. According to George Stephanopoulos of ABC News in his article titled Nancy Pelosi Defends Dems Rev. Wright Fundraising Appeal it was reported that “House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi defended the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on "This Week" for sending a fundraising email that attempted to capitalize on the apparently dead advertising plan to link President Obama to Rev. Jeremiah Wright. "Why would we have any regrets?" asked P...

For many African-Americans there is a quiet celebration going on because of the historic step the oldest and most respected group took yesterday.   The Associated Press reports in their article titled NAACP backs same-sex marriage as civil right that “the NAACP passed a resolution Saturday endorsing same-sex marriage as a civil right and opposing any efforts "to codify discrimination or hatred into the law." “The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's board voted at a leadership retreat in Miami to back a resolution supporting marriage equality, calling the position consistent with the equal protection provision of the U.S. Constitution.   "The mission of the NAACP has always been to ensure political, social and economic equality of all people," Board Chairwoman Roslyn M. Brock said in a statement. "We have and will oppose efforts to codify discrimination into law."   "Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civi...

If you have ever experienced when you hear something but are really not sure what you heard.   You tend to want to freeze the frame, rewind and play that entire scene again just to make sure you heard or didn’t hear what you thought you did.   That happened to me yesterday. I was watching Politics nations with Al Sharpton and he had invited radio host Heidi Harris on to talk about the Eduardo Saverin story.   Now for those of you who might not know, Mr. Saverin is reported to be an immigrant who was in danger when this country took him in and provided him with shelter and protection.   Mr. Saverin invested in Facebook and because it was now going to make him millions, he decided to relinquish his American citizenship making many believe that he was doing that to avoid paying taxes.   Some on the left are all up in arms because of this perception while some on the right are calling this man an American hero.   Both sides are missing the point, in my opi...

I have been shaking my head a lot lately, wondering just how one party could claim to work for voters while making so many fatal mistakes when it came to political decisions.   Last night, it finally donned on me why. Conservatives are clashing over what positions that their party should take and because they are not as organized as they want people to believe, their chosen representatives are being pulled in several directions at once.   Take for example Grover Norquist and his “No Tax Plan”.   Here this one person cracks the whip and get’s his GOP ducks in a row swearing never ever to raise taxes in any manner, shape or form.   The only problem with that is another group riding in wants a smaller government and the deficit fixed.   To believe that you can fix the deficit without increasing revenue is about as smart as spitting into the wind.   So the representative promises to fix the deficit, arrives in Washington and realizes that in order to do th...

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....

Well cut my tail off and call me BOB, finally a judge has stepped up and voiced an opinion that has been so silent and so restrained.   According to Larry Neumeister of the Associated Press in his article titled Federal judge: Terror law violates 1st Amendment “a judge on Wednesday struck down a portion of a law giving the government wide powers to regulate the detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists, saying it left journalists, scholars and political activists facing the prospect of indefinite detention for exercising First Amendment rights.   U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest in Manhattan said in a written ruling that a single page of the law has a "chilling impact on First Amendment rights." She cited testimony by journalists that they feared their association with certain individuals overseas could result in their arrest because a provision of the law subjects to indefinite detention anyone who "substantially" or "directly"...

The U.S. Census Bureau provides the numbers but to many this is not surprising news.   With the recent uproar over gay marriage, many have said that America attitudes were changing and now we see that it is not only attitudes but the color of this nation as well.   We find ourselves looking directly into the eyes of history and it appears to be one void of the past division of color. Dylan Stableford of Yahoo Lookout reports in his article titled U.S. Census: Minority babies now majority, surpassing whites for first time reports that “for the first time in history, there were more minority children born in the United States than white, according to 2011 census data released on Thursday .   The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 50.4 percent of children born in a 12-month period that ended July 2011 were Hispanic, black, Asian-American or from other minorities groups, while non-Hispanic whites accounted for 49.6 percent of all births in that span. In 2010, minority babies a...

"Joe Ricketts is prepared to spend significant resources in the 2012 election in both the presidential race and congressional races," Brian Baker, the super PAC's president, told the Times. "He is very concerned about the future direction of the country and plans to take a stand."   Remember this statement because if this continues to be any part of the line of attack against President Obama, he will defy Mitch McConnell and get his second term. This quote was taken from an article written by Dylan Stableford for Yahoo News titled Super PAC plans to attack Obama’s ties to Rev. Jeremiah Wright.   The article further reported that “a conservative super PAC is considering an advertising plan to attack President Obama's ties to Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright  Jr., his controversial former spiritual advisor, and "do what   John McCain would not let us do" during the 2008 presidential campaign.   Chicago Cubs billionaire owner Joe Ricketts commissioned the $...

Claudine Zap of Yahoo! TV penned an article titled Kanye West to Join 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' which reports that “Kim K. confirmed to E! Online that her new beau, rapper Kanye West, will appear on several episodes of the reality series, saying: "I want to show my life,” adding, "If we are having dinner and he does show up, I'm sure we're not going to go, 'Stop the cameras!'" But she added, "I'm not going to be taking a bubble bath and drinking champagne or on a sex swing [on camera] like Khloé and Lamar do," My first thought after reading this was how extremely competitive Kim must be when it comes to the success of the family.   The comment about bubble baths, drinking champagne and sex swing was a little much and made me begin to think that Khloé may have a sibling stalker on her hands instead of a supportive sister.   I also began to wonder if this was nothing more than just another stunt by Kim to boost her ratings ...

According to Matt Gutman and Seni Tienabeso of ABC News has inked an article titled ABC News Exclusive: Zimmerman Medical Report Shows Broken Nose, Lacerations after Trayvon Martin Shooting In which they report that “a medical report compiled by the family physician of accused Trayvon Martin murderer George Zimmerman and obtained exclusively by ABC News found that Zimmerman was diagnosed with a "closed fracture" of his nose, a pair of black eyes, two lacerations to the back of his head and a minor back injury the day after he fatally shot Martin during an alleged altercation.    Zimmerman has claimed self defense in what he described as a life and death struggle that Martin initiated by accosting him, punching him in the face, then repeatedly bashing his head into the pavement.”   The only problem that I see after reading this article is how Zimmerman claim Martin accosted him while the evidence proves the opposite. I also find myself questioning this report mainly...

Much has been made of the opportunities that Mitt Romney has had to create a Sista Soulja moment.   A moment where he takes a stand against those he believes are the ones who may cast a vote for him in the upcoming election.   Because there has been a few, one can only speculate as to the results of seeing Mr. Romney showing a little bit of backbone.   Below is what I think could be accomplished if he did take that elusive stand for doing the right thing. Because much of what Mr. Romney says is about non-divisive language, taking a stand could finally give him complete control over his party.   It could bring back the real Republicans who have gone into hiding or surrendered to the Tea Party.   He could finally bring Mormonism into the main stream, dispelling all of the lies and myths about his faith and give many a clear and correct look into a faith that frightens people mainly because they know nothing about it.   His stance could finally unite the have...

Today one of the top stories was the billion dollar loss suffered by JP Morgan Chase Bank through one of its division.   To hear it being reported some were quick to tell us that it was the bank’s money and not depositors so we should really not be that concerned about it.   Some were saying how this could now re-open the push for stronger regulations of the big banks and even a deeper look into breaking them up.   What they have forgotten is the fear this news instills on the millions of customers of JP Morgan Chase. The fear is that even though this was their money and did not come from their depositors, one still wonders just how they will attempt to make it up.   It was reported that even though this was a major loss, the company as a whole will still show a decent profit because of the many arms of Chase Bank.   Still those of us who may know better, will still be on the look out for an increase in services that JP Morgan adds to their customers. For thos...

House Republicans push the need for an eastern missile defense to be built in New York and while they feel it is vital for our National Defense, the reported aim was to try and make this president seem weak on defense.   The question now is will it work. It will work for those who support them because nothing this president will ever do will change their minds about him but it will not work for those looking to advance this nation.   These same Republicans have said before that this country could not afford to extend unemployment insurance, help those Americans struggling to make ends meet, providing funding for healthcare coverage, supporting the jobs bill or even helping student s not pay more for their loans but they now want to spent 2 to 4 billion dollars on a system that has not worked before.   Yes, President Ronald Reagan began this process of a missile defense shield and all evidence has shown that it has not worked; now we look to put good money after bad j...