Manns Medium

You hear so often others say that the rioters and looters in Ferguson Missouri are proof of all blacks in America.  Only looking for something free and the chance to destroy and never to build.  Well this article about these 4 black Ferguson residents just shattered that concept. The article is titled “ Black Ferguson Residents Arm Themselves and Descend Upon White-Owned Business — The Reason Why Is Front-Page Worthy ” written by Jason Howerton.  It reports that “A group of four black Ferguson residents reportedly armed themselves and descended upon a white-owned business following a grand jury’s decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown. But unlike many of the Ferguson demonstrators, the armed men were there to protect the business, not destroy it in protest.  The men told the Las Vegas Review Journal that they feel indebted to the white store owner, Doug Morello, who has given them employment over the years....

Regardless of how you slant things, there are some stories which sparkle through that you cannot just shrug off and this is one of them.  It is a very clear example how we as Christians, can control and caste out Satan or any demon, if we have a mind to do so and our faith and spine are strong. The story comes from TPM Live wire titled “GOP Staffer Apologizes For Telling Obama Daughters To Show 'A Little Class'.  It is written by Caitlin  Mac Neal  and it reports that “a Republican staffer apologized on Friday for comments she made about the way Sasha and Malia Obama dressed for the turkey pardoning ceremony on Wednesday.  Elizabeth Lauten, the communications director for Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-TN), wrote in a Facebook post that the Obama girls did not dress with "class" and looked like they were dressed for "a spot at a bar." Read the full Facebook post:  Dear Sasha and Malia, I get you’re both in those awful teen years, but you’re a part of t...

In an article titled “ National Bar Association calls for Federal Charges against Darren Wilson ” by Onomastic for The Daily Kos it is reported that “In 2010, the last year for data on the number of federal criminal cases and grand jury decisions, U.S. attorneys prosecuted 162,000 federal cases. Grand juries declined to return an indictment in 11 of them.  Newspaper accounts suggest, grand juries frequently decline to indict law-enforcement officials. A recent Houston Chronicle investigation found that “police have been nearly immune from criminal charges in shootings” in Houston and other large cities in recent years. In Harris County, Texas, for example, grand juries haven’t indicted a Houston police officer since 2004; in Dallas, grand juries reviewed 81 shootings between 2008 and 2012 and returned just one indictment. Last night, the National Bar Association, "the nation's oldest and largest national network of predominantly African-American attorneys and judges," is...

What’s the message? It’s simple as long as you wear a badge and a gun, you have the right to initiate a confrontation and if you feel yourself losing that battle, you can now draw your weapon and kill the threat.  You may not be so lucky if you are a civilian but why not take a chance.  You could fall under the George Zimmerman defense or the gentleman who shot and killed that young boy for loud music.  This gives you a 50/50 chance.  But if you are unarmed, hard of hearing or playing with a toy gun, your chances of getting justice may not be so balanced. Consider this, the grand jury said that Mr. Wilson followed the law and the training he received in law enforcement training but I have to wonder if that is true or have the training changed since I attended.  You see, we were instructed never to engage without back up especially if you were outnumbered.  Mr. Wilson’s odds were 2 to 1.  We were instructed to monitor and track until the numbers we...

Leave it to the headlines to hype a story and cover only the obvious points while shaping the public’s opinion.  The focus has been that a 12 year old boy was shot and killed with a fake gun but if we were to dig a little deeper and ask a few more questions, we may find that the death of this 12 year old falls not only on the shoulder of the officer who shot him but all those connected and involved.  This is a row, we must all hoe.  The article is titled “ Cleveland Police Shoot And Kill 12-Year-Old Carrying A Fake Gun ” written by Zack Ford for the Associated Press.  The article reports that “A 12-year-old boy died early Sunday from complications after being shot in the stomach by Cleveland police. The officers believed that the fake pistol the boy had been brandishing on a playground was actually real.  According to Cleveland.com, someone called 911 describing “a guy with a gun pointing it at people,” but the caller twice suggested the gun was “probably fake”...

American made history with the nominations and confirmation of the first enlisted man given the highest job in our military.  The nomination and eventually confirmation of Chuck Hagel did more for moral within the enlisted ranks than ever but this was never noted or reported on because media seeks confrontation instead of collaboration. Now this media is all up in arms about Mr. Hagel’s resignation.  In an effort to find some point of confrontation, top media elites like Mark Murray of NBC wishes America to know that his resignation is all about the White House having no confidence in his leadership.  They speak of having this resignation coming at the wrong time and how it will be seen as disruptive to the many functions that our military is involved in right now.  Even after Chris Jansing, White House Correspondence for NBC news attempted to clear that line of thinking by reminding all that this post for Hagel was within the agreed upon 2 year hitch.  Med...

Heard a story about this new bill working its way through Congress called “The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for America Veterans Act” on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC.  This bill calls for independent evaluations of all mental health-care and suicide-prevention programs in VA and the Defense Department, a student loan repayment program that would offer up to $120,000 per year to recruit psychiatrists who commit to working for VA, and a program that would take back unneeded prescription drugs from patients at VA facilities.  Now while all this may sound good and is needed much of it is actually worthless in solving the problem of veteran suicide.  Clay Hunt’s mother said that after he finally got in to see a  psychiatric , he called her and said that he was not going back, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)  and other veterans groups believe to solve this problem VA needs more psychiatrist.  Both completely ignoring the fact that mor...

POP QUIZ, what is worse than a hothead with a gun?  ANSWER, a hothead with a badge to go along with that gun.  There is so very much wrong with the story and much of what else is so wrong is not even covered in this story.  In an article titled “Video Of Cops Gunning Down Young Father In Illinois Hospital Released (VIDEO) ” written by Randa Morris for NBC 5, it is reported that “On November 11, 2014, the Lake County, Illinois state’s attorney ruled that Highland Park police were justified in the shooting death of 27- year- old Christopher Anderson. Anderson was killed by police inside Highland Park Hospital on November 3. Anderson and his nine year old daughter were taken to Highland Park hospital, following a car accident that left both with minor injuries. According to police, Anderson became ‘agitated’ over the care that his daughter was receiving in the emergency room, and pulled a gun.  Police say that the officers involved in the shooting repeatedly asked ...

So many religious leaders want you to know what lessons the Bible teaches and each has their own ideas of what that lesson is.  The problem comes when their idea of that lesson conflicts with my idea then as Satan would have it, the arguments begin.  We send more time trying to convince another that we are right than we do investigating our own ideas and thoughts to see if they are right.  It soon becomes unimportant if we are truly right as long as we are willing to act like we are and not allow anyone else to sway us from believing it.  We spend the majority of everyday looking at the decisions of another person comparing them to decisions that we may have done differently and then attempting to prove that point.  At no time  publicly , do we consider that we may be wrong or that there is truly no right or wrong answers.  At no time do we consider that what you believe is your right to believe and even though we may not agree with it, we can at...

Many parents are under the impression that buying your child name brand items and everything he or she wants is the ideal measure of good parenting.  They think that just by giving them all that they desire, it will prevent them from desiring anything that the parent cannot afford.  The only problem with this is they are wrong and have been for so long, I’m embarrassed that it has taken so long for many of us to realize it. If you buy your child only name brand items and everything he or she wants, you are setting them up to keep that mindset as they age and because of that, they now will do whatever they need to in order to obtain that desire.  People often wonder why children shoplift especially when they are quite affluent or have the money in their pockets.  Children shoplift because they want it now and the effort to walk up to the counter and pay for it is just too much for them.  You ask why children who are poor shoplift, simply because their parent...

Not much happens in this country that goes on in this nation without someone finding out and many times the news either thrills you or bums you out depending on how it is disseminated.  How it is disseminated is called the slant, meaning that whoever is writing the article can make it sound like it is something you should be worried about, upset about or happy about.  Personally I don’t think this is what real journalism is supposed to be about but even certain cable news channels are slanted one way or another.  Many conservative leaning and liberal leaning entities may report many of the things that are right with an article but soon afterwards add in a little bit of sting for the other side making those of like minds enjoy more the reading.  The only problem with that is you have just short-changed your readers by not letting them form their own opinion which may be fine for those who are afraid to think for themselves but can prove quite deadly to those who don’...

As a member of the military, the last thing you wish to think about is how your government is mistreating you or ignoring the fact that by signing that enlistment contract, you made a promise to be willing to give up your life for this country and its way of life.  Sad to say that the toxic contamination of the drinking water on bases like Fort McClellan and Camp LeJeune may end up killing more veterans than any war, campaign or skirmish that they may have been involved in.  All because those we hired to carry out our desires in this government gets taken over by greed and the lack of a spine causing them to totally disregard our willingness to die so that could continue to survive and thrive. According to an article titled “EXCLUSIVE DOCUMENTS: DOD Keeping Toxic Exposure to Veterans Hidden from Public”   written by Beth Baumann for Politichicks, those in charge have known about this contamination at Fort McClellan for quite some time but made a conscientious choice ...

In Whitefish, Montana there is an organization with a leader who is attempting to bring back a newer, sleeker and modern take on the old ways of the Klu Klux Klan.  His ideas are mostly the same but his methods seem more human than those of the past.  Gone are the robes and hoods, now what stands before you is a clean-shaven man in a stylish two piece suit. In an article titled “ The hatemonger next door ” by Lauren Fox political reporter for U.S, News and World Report it is reported that “Richard Spencer’s tidy appearance is about more than his sense of propriety; it’s a recruitment tool. Spencer advocates for white separatism and he wants to shake his movement’s reputation for brutality and backwardness.  “We have to look good,” Spencer said, adding that if his movement means “being part of something that is crazed or ugly or vicious or just stupid, no one is going to want to be a part of it.” Those stereotypes of “redneck, tattooed, illiterate, no-teeth” people, S...

Don’t know whom her opponent in that race had working for him but plain to see, they were not doing as good of a job as they could have.  Ms. Ernst is okay with these things because it is what she knows and since she was allowed to say these things but never held to account for them makes her even more embolden.  In an article titled “Republican Joni Ernst Admits Why Republicans Really Hate Obamacare” written by Jonathan Chait for The Daily Intelligencer/The National Interest, the audacity of those most fortunate to worry less about making ends meet or never truly had to live from pay check to pay check floors me with their advice on what those that do need to do.  It never ceases to amaze me how those who have never struggled will stand and tell anyone how the life they have is not a struggle.  It’s like a man telling a woman how it feels to get raped when only she is the one who was. The article reported that Ms. Ernst said “We’re looking at Obamacare right no...

Depending on which channel you are watching will often determine which side of the issue of inaction in Washington you take but to me, the best position to sit in order to see the entire forest is right smack dab in the middle. Sitting here, I can see the wonderful things this President has accomplished while in office as well as a few things I still have a hard time figuring out why he made the choice he did.  There are a tremendous amount of things he has done that I can honestly agree with and will defend to no end but there are also things that he has done which I do not agree with and would need much more convincing to defend.  This is the advantage I have by keeping myself in the middle. Being in the middle has also made certain actions in and around Washington clear for me which do not involve the president.  Take the Supreme Court for an example.  The rules that they have instituted, and I say instituted because once you step into the role of legisla...

As Christians, we have been led to believe a lie that has been propagated by many of those standing behind the pulpit as well as those who may have never stepped foot in a church.  We have been told that if we believe strong enough, pray hard enough and have an undying faith, God would grant us with all that we desire.  We believe it because so many entrusted to show us God’s way and deliver the Good News as only they can have said so.  They have used passages from the Bible to show how powerful he is and even reminds people of how his son Jesus turned water into wine.  But what they refuse to tell us is that God foes not deliver present like the mythical Santa at Christmas.  What our father does is open the doors necessary for you to receive those things you prayed for but it is up to us to reach out and grab them, to turn that knob and walk through to show that we deserve these things by fighting our way to them instead of waiting on God to deliver them on a ...

People can tell you mostly anything you wish to hear and many can make even a flat out lie seem plausible.  The trick is at what cost is this revelation.  Is it of little cost to you but great cost to friends and family?  Is it of little cost to you but great cost to stalwart institutions or is it of little cost to everyone else but great cost to you in the form of losing your soul.  This is the question that anyone with information must weigh each and every day but regardless of the choice they must also be willing to take responsibility for the outcome of that choice.  This is especially true of a recent article from the Associated Press that talks about the retired Navy SEAL who is now preparing to share his side of the story about the bin Laden raid with the claim that he fired the shots which killed him. The article reports that “Some special operations service members and veterans are unhappy that one of their own has taken credit publicly for killing...

This too is a story seldom told and often overlooked but this story here points to a much larger issue and it is the issue of how important we think paying child support is over how much more important non-custodial parental involvement is.  The article is titled “ Police: 3-Year-Old Hung Up By Feet, Beaten, Killed In Pennsylvania ” taken from WABC-TV Channel 7 Eyewitness News.  The article reports that “Police say a man and his girlfriend are charged with murdering the girlfriend's 3-year-old son.  District Attorney Tom Hogan of Chester County, Pa., announced the arrests of Gary Fellenbaum and Jillian Tait Thursday morning. He says Fellenbaum, his wife, and girlfriend, Tait, all lived in a trailer park on Hope Lane in West Caln Township.  Police say Fellenbaum, Tait, and another witness confessed that the little boy had been beaten with blunt and sharp objects, whipped, taped to a chair with electrical tape and beaten, hung up by his feet and beaten, leading to his...

Many people have taken offense at this article written about the U.S. Army saying a service member can use the word Negro when referring to a black or African-American.  Me personally, I take no offense to it and the question becomes why is it offensive in the first place, I mean what’s really in a name? Friends and family call you much worse than Negro and many of our current idols use the slang of this very word and it appears that no one has a problem with it unless it is used by anyone other than those who could easily be called black or African-American.  Why is it okay for us to use the derogatory derision of the word Negro to other Negros but get all worked up when others use it?  That is as about hypocritical as you can get,  isn't  it? The article states that “a newly published U.S. Army regulation says a service member can be referred to as a "Negro" when describing "black or African American" personnel. The Army confirmed the language is cont...