Manns Medium

Yesterday, VA Secretary of State Shinseki offered President Obama his resignation and the president accepted it.  He gave an elegant speech about how disloyal, distrusting and irresponsible the treatment of veterans were.  He apologized to veterans, their families and all of America.  So now I assume, those who screamed for his head can now relax and began looking for something else to scream about because none of those screaming ever made any attempt to help fix the problem. Will the problem ever get fixed?  It will if the firings of those in charge take root and those coming after them know now that the mistreatment of veterans will never be tolerated.  It wills if those further down the line continue to stand up and step up to make known any questionable actions or policies that they believe will lead to the mistreatment of veterans.  It wills if congress stops looking at the letter before the name and start looking at the people behind the name. ...

Many people in the Human Resources Industry, or what I like to call the “People Factory Business” will have many different and a variety of ways to accomplish this goal of getting the best from your employee or associate.  Much of the information is good and most of it is solid but I have a much simpler way and instead of having the top 3, top 5 or top 10, I have only one consideration.  Now don’t get me wrong, I do not think that my way is better than the rest nor do I think that I know more than them.  I offer this because it is the most consistent barrier that I have come across and if you are constantly running into this wall as well, maybe this could help. Based on my many years of leading Marines, a few Corpsmen and a couple of soldiers from 1980 till 1991 and in some peaceful situation as well as some that was greatly chaotic,  I've  learned a few things.  Based on the years of managing several small businesses, a household of 4 and more as a si...

For years people have been trying to figure out what is with this world and why it seems to be getting worse than getting better.  There are those who actually get paid to figure out this and other deep, philosophical circumstances and offer their hypothesis as to why it is happening.  I am not one of those but I do have a thought about why this world is going to hell in a hand basket and here is mine. While I do agree with some who say that this world is going to hell due to the tremendous influence of a discarded angel called Satan, I also think that another major reason is that not only is this world hell but it’s getting worse because we have simply began to disregard and dismiss individualism. That’s right, individualism.  It was once a good thing to be different with a different prospective on things, a different outlook on life, a different path chosen to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, a different career path or a different lifestyle....

Listen to those in political office and many others who wish to capture some attention and the one constant is how much they love and respect the troops.  Everyone tends to favor veterans especially when it comes to getting face time in front of a camera but few every go further than that when the lights goes out and the cameras stop rolling.  That is except for the majority of those very same veterans who live by that military code daily.   That military code of leaving no man/woman behind. We have individuals claiming to care about the troops while playing games with their benefits, denying their earn rewards and keeping them from even seeing a doctor.  These same lovers of the military speaks to a veteran about what he/she earned as if the assistance that they are seeking is coming directly out of their very own pockets.  Politicians are quick to smile for the camera along side of a veteran but are now where to be found when it is time to put your m...

So many ask this question but few ever get a straight answer to it.  Most are given the “old tired and true” reasons like lack of sufficient credit or lack of sufficient equity/capital or my favorite, lack of sufficient personal wealth.  Which begs the question, how can any of these be achieved if one cannot get the capital to begin that journey. The real reason that minority and women businesses face a steeper climb up the wealth ladder than others is that program rules are set for those already there or it is designed to keep minority and women owned businesses from ever achieving this status.  I say that because the evidence of such is quite overwhelming, if you look at it honestly. There is a recent story in our local news about a “79 year old former owner, CEO and president of a company called Rockford’s Commercial Mortgage and Finance Company who was just sentenced to 7.5 years in prison on 17 counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of s...

Many people ask me where do I come up with these deep philosophical solutions or theories in many of my writings and the simple answer is having a very strong desire to understand why people do what they do and an equally strong desire to be able to explain it in a way which allows all of us a choice.  The choice of owning our actions which gives us back control over them or ignoring them which keeps us in that funk which some seems to enjoy.  Others have accused me of being too simplistic and minimizing an issue but to them I say that contrary to popular belief the simple answer is always the right one because problems are only complicated when we inject other things into them.  Ever notice that the simplest change to an existing product makes that product better? This hypothesis leads me to our current debate or discussion.  The real truth behind why we lie.  The simple answer is fear.  We lie because we fear what the results will be if we tell the t...

Again I embark on a subject that many will forever tag me for but if one refuse to address a subject in order to avoid critics, then you are not living you are only existing and if it one thing you will all learn of me, I refuse to just exist. Again we are in search for the simplest solution to the issue because for many parents, guardians or caretakers hatred from your child is not a problem.  So maybe hatred is too strong a word and maybe we need to use the word dismissing you but in order to use this word, or any other as far as that matter, we have to believe that the cause of this hatred is not something many parents, guardians or caretakers practice daily.  So I ask these questions.  How many of you make corrections to your child’s action in public or in front of others and how often do you do this? I ask that because this is the primary secret to keeping your child from hating you.  No one enjoys being corrected but it is even more demeaning and devas...

You could always find mother sitting on his screened in front porch in the 700 block of Ashland Avenue.  He seemed to always be standing guard over his two story partially brick framed house where so many have walked through his doors and emerged a completely different person than when they went in.  Mother was a person who took in those that others had given up on or tossed away.  The forgotten ones and those left to fend for themselves after all of the social-experiments had failed.  That house had a reputation of finding that ingot of good in a person and turning it into a gold mine of talent and righteousness. Ask anyone around the neighborhood and they would tell you tales of mother and how he was able to reach those that was once thought unreachable.  How he could take those harden by society, jail and circumstances and mold them into citizens with more than a purpose.  They became citizens with a cause.  But the most interesting thing about...

ROCKFORD- A local TV Station recently reported that “a regional grocery chain will no longer ask people applying for a job if they have a criminal past.  Jewel-Osco applications won’t have a box to check asking if you have been convicted of a felony”.  It further reported that “According to Jewel-Osco that stopping the cycle of homelessness, joblessness “is one of the reasons a criminal background won’t stop them from interviewing candidates but they will still perform background checks as the final step to employment”. Now this is what I call leadership.  They are not talking about hiring the individual but giving him/her an interview and while that may not seem like much to many, it is a far cry from not even being considered at all.  Mistakes in your past should not limit you to  achieving  goals in the future.  If the future is closed off to you once you make a mistake, what other avenue do you have.  Many people like to jump on that soap...

Women of all stripes and sizes have often been heard asking the question of “where have all of the good men gone” and to my recollection there has been little to no real answer.  That was until now. You want to know where the good men have gone; the real answer is that they have not gone at all.  The good man is the one who has always had your back regardless of whether the incident or event was of your own doing or not.  The good man is the one who answers your phone call each and every time you call and never ignores your plea for a friendly ear or a comfortable shoulder to lean on.  The good man is that diehard friend who has maintained contact with you throughout the years.  The good man is the one who listen when you talk, desires to hold you when you cry and suffers with you when you are in pain.  The good man is the one who tells you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about everything even if they know that is not what you want...

Some people believe that there is a very big difference between being dependent and being independent.  They also believe that people can be made to be dependent and only through sometimes, extreme means must we act to make sure that each of us stand on our own two feet and not become a burden on society or those who feel that they are the only ones who can represent society.  I must disagree with this point of view and declare that no one can be made to do anything especially be made to be dependent.  I also suggest that we are all both dependent and independent at certain times, in our lives and the primary cause of this stems from the choices we make as individuals.   I offer you this as proof of my point. As infants, we depend on our parents, guardians or caretakers to provide us all the things we need to survive and thrive.  We look to them for food to nourish our bodies.  We look to them for clothes to cover our bodies.  We look to them...

I was awakened by a thought this morning.  A thought about what the real purpose of conversation is all about.  A conversation not unlike this one that we are having right now, I through writing and you through reading.  A thought of how easily the subject of a conversation can be switched and turn what began as a quiet and civil discourse into a more distinct and possibly enraging exchange. The thought began with a story from guy one, we will call him Larry.  Larry began by telling Sam, David and Ron about a young lady who decided to legally open a business in her town.  She decided to open a home of prostitution because earlier her sister had her children taken from her and placed with this new business owner for working as a prostitute.  Her issue was not that her sister did not stop immediately and find another job but that her sister refused to give her a portion of the money she was making to help her feed, clothed and care for her kids. Afte...

So much has been said and written about the escapades and rants of the Los Angeles Clipper’s Owner, Donald Sterling.  About what he is alleged and admitted to saying which many have found quite offensive.  While the conversations are about the penalties imposed upon this owner and whether they are just or not, there is one major issue that seems to not be so important to talk about. The ultimate sin reported to have been admitted to about this owner was adultery.  While racism and bigotry is a major thing and should always be exposed where ever it rears its ugly head, one should take care not to use these to overshadow something worse.  I am very disappointed and dismayed by the lack of religious leaders making this point more often than it has.  It appears that many leaders have chosen to remain silent instead of using this opportunity to defend the position of Christ when it comes to sins being committed.  Many of them jumped on the band wagon o...