Manns Medium

So much has been made about the rioting and looting seen in Baltimore, Maryland Monday, April 27, 2015 and many had decent questions and concerns but to a person those questions and concerns still remain because nothing was done to address them because so much energy was spent trying to make sure that yesterday was not a repeat of Monday.  All those meetings and not one to address the true concerns of those living in that community.  All those resources and not any of it was lent toward fixing the problems those citizens endure each and every day.  All that news coverage and nothing solid to help those who live and love that community feel better about their community.  All that money and none of it to be used to locate more jobs in that area or secure local financing to where those from that community to borrow and grow these jobs with a services that they know is greatly needed in that area.  So much time, effort and money wasted on reacting to an issue inste...

I have been searching to a better way to write this but noting comes to mind so instead of racking my brain trying to come up with a much more digestible way to word this, I am going to just say it. Some wishes you to believe that the economy of America is not coming back and they cite so many reasons as to why.  Some wishes you to believe that the economy of America is coming back and they also cite so many reasons why but to every single unemployed person in America and for those struggling to make ends meet, both sides seem to be talking out of the sides of their necks.  Many wish to pinpoint the problem so that it may be addressed and others wish to blame the lack of jobs as a reason for the riots in Baltimore and the over-all feeling of disenfranchisement felt by the majority of those.  I think the culprit is simply three and as long as the power to decide are left in the control of them, this economy whether coming back or not will never each the apex of what i...

All across the television we saw peaceful protests being combined with rioting and looting, many of us thinking that all that violence was a part of it.  We watched as those facing the cameras had all types of descriptions to justify the actions taken and excuses of why it happened.  We heard from people who say that they were angry about the violence being perpetrated upon their community and how they lack closure because nothing seems to ever be done about it.  They say that if only we would have accountability and hold those responsible clearly responsible then this type of violence would not befall a city.  They say that it is because the schools fail to provide all children with a way out and a way up, that what is learned in school is not sufficient to give a child the dream of being all that they can be.  They say all this, yet as we watch the video of the rioting and looting, none of this appears true and it is time for the truth. Who ever said that...

My wife stumbled upon this article titled “Few vets getting care through $10 billion VA program” written by David Caruso for the Associated Press and shared it with me.  After reading it, I became abundantly aware of how misguided some programs can become especially when they appear to be administered by people who have no earthly idea to whom they are attempting to service.  They seem to lack the understanding of the particular kind of citizen to who they are contacting and quickly lose focus behind the initial reasoning for the program in the first place. As reported “a new program that was supposed to get patients off waiting lists at Veterans Affairs medical centers by letting them switch to private-sector doctors is proving to be an even bigger disappointment than initially thought.  The Veteran's Choice program launched on Nov. 5 with $10 billion in funding and the expectation that it would instantly relieve backlogs at VA hospitals and clinics. But after a hur...

Leave it up to the skeptics and those who may have never spent one day behind America’s bars designed and built to correct our societal behaviors by locking us away and throwing away the key so that the decent folks in society are protected from us unruly, uncontrollable and criminals who seek to destroy our otherwise peaceful society with violence.  Leave it to them to speculate that the reason many who go to prison is often times quoted as finding God as the reason why they have been rehabilitated and has turned over that new leaf, is simply to receive more privileges in prison or get their sentence reduced.  Now we are not that cynical to think that there are some who think along that line but let’s assume that the few who actually believe that they found God in prison and that they do turn over that new leaf do.  What is the teachable moment here and how can we maybe help so many others reach this calm within out jailing everyone we see? The primary force, I beli...

Consider the possibilities that the world’s number one retail store would suddenly have to close stores and those who can see nothing more than a conspiracy saying it is because of the livable wage debate currently raging all over the place?  Could they be right?  According to an article titled “ Wal-Mart suddenly closed 5 stores and laid off thousands of workers and no one knows why ” written for Reuters by Hayley Peterson that may be the ultimate question. The article states that “Wal-Mart suddenly closed five stores in four states on Monday for alleged plumbing problems.  The closures could last up to six months and affect roughly 2,200 workers in Texas, California, Oklahoma, and Florida, CNN Money reports.  Wal-Mart employees say they were completely blindsided by the news, having been notified only a couple hours before the stores closed at 7 p.m. Monday.  All workers will receive paid leave for two months. After that, full-time workers could become el...

Nothing bothers me more than the desire some feel that inflicting pain on another is ever justified for any reason.  I am especially bothered by those calling them role models or parents failing to set the proper example and then wonder why our jails and prisons are so filled. The article that conjures up this distaste in my mouth is one titled “ Attack by mom and juvenile niece knocks NY teacher out cold ” as reported by the Huffington Post.  The article details that “an attack on a New York teacher by Annika McKenzie – a double team attack and beat down by a mother and her juvenile, 14-year-old niece – left a teacher unconscious on a school hallway floor. The teacher, identified as Catherine Engelhardt, was beat to the point of unconsciousness on Wednesday after McKenzie stormed into the school and placed the math teacher in a headlock while her niece pummeled her in the face.  Writes the HuffPost: “Annika McKenzie, 34, is charged with second-degree assault and str...

With all of the major issues facing Americans from all over the United States, it appears that the Grand Ole Party is more concerned with prohibiting activities that are already prohibited in currently existing legislation.  Now could this be because this action is much more important than the state budget problems, the unemployment problem or the lack of job creation by these same GOP heroes or could it be because they are clearly out of ideas of how to govern because much of the ideas that they come up with seems more juvenile than adult?  In a story by the Associated Press titled “ New Kansas Law Limits Spending of Welfare Benefits on Concerts, Pools, and Lingerie ”, it is reported that “a new Kansas law tells poor families that they can't use cash assistance from the state to attend concerts, go swimming, get tattoos, see a psychic or buy lingerie. The list of don'ts runs to several dozen items.  Many of the spending restrictions in the law already existed in sta...

How many times have we heard that “they are taking all of our jobs” as the primary reason we need a wall built around this country or the primary reason we need gun-toting vigilantes’ helping our border patrol cruising our lower borders?  If you have heard this, then I can only assume that you must have forgotten that many of our ancestors came here as immigrants whether they came of their own free will or against their will.  Regardless of how they got here, we are here now and instead of dealing with the real reason for our so-called immigration problem, we still wish to believe the answer lies within a strong more restrictive entry into this country.  We still wish to believe that those who travel those hundreds of miles are not here to seek a better life but seek to infiltrate and rob us of the wondrous opportunities that America provides.  Well I hate to burst your bubble, America but nothing could further from the real truth. Our fight for equality and inc...

One often wonders why this world is seemingly to be going to hell in a hand basket and depending on whom you ask you might get several interpretations as to why.  Well, let it be said that I am not above spouting my simple little opinion on that subject as well.  Now fair warning, to some this may appear offensive and if so then may I remind you that we all have a right to our opinion even if those opinions may not be right.  For some this will make you think and if it does then my task is complete because the worst thing ever in this world can those God has placed to protect all that he has built do is not think for ourselves. In my opinion, God made one and only one mistake coming in the form of the Old Testament.  Taking the lessons learned there by the ultimate creator, we need to learn that even the biggest and the brightest star can shine a little dim every once in a while.  Now don’t get it twisted, God is never in a habit of making mistakes but beca...

In order to truly understand my purpose in penning this article is to first understand my definition of what a false prophet and a false person is.  A false prophet is one who claims to be all about religion and the lessons of the New Testament while doing nothing but providing those who wish to be atheists the best evidence in the world to never believe.  A false person is one who goes about their daily lives looking to be whatever the situation calls for in order to avoid being detected as false.  Now before we go any further, you need to know that my definition of these types of people may not be yours and that is alright because we all must be left to choose our own destiny and make our own choices.  All that I ask are you learning to respect another person’s truth even if it is and may never be yours.  Nothing says you ever have to agree with it nor do you have to support it but only an unsure person will refuse to respect it. There are but two major d...

Like so many speakers being quoted and researched by our media, many of them is truly not worth the ink and the paper but every once in a while, someone comes along and it appears that since they speak to only a select group, the larger group feels compelled to listen.  How sad is that?  One such person is the famed rocker Ted Nugent.  His latest rants have been mostly about Barack Obama and how bad of a president that he makes.  His rants keep him in the news and keeps him relevant because someone has to pay him to speak so it is truly not much about whether he convinces anyone  and only about padding his bank account or simply paying his bills.  He can’t make a living selling records anymore but like all of us, he has to eat so he does that which many wish to pay him to do.  God bless his little imperfect soul but when it comes to his mention of the military or talking going to war, knowing that he will never be out there to dodge one bullet, for me...

The battle of religious freedom and liberty rages on currently and both sides have seemed too staked out their positions, each proclaiming that their side is more righteous than the other.  Depending on whom you talk to, you may be able to see and understand the justification of each but as evil would have it; you will be the only one.  There shall never be a true “meeting of the minds” because if that is the case then the war would end and evil loses when there is not a war to fight.  So ask yourselves, all of you highly educated individuals, why is it so important for evil to have us all at war with each other?  Is it to drive us toward a better understanding of each other or could it be to drive us directly to him?  Evil creates division simply because it can and gets a serious treat out of seeing the very rulers over him, stumble all over each other because we are not yet smart enough to be able to recognize which rules are truly of God and which ones only ...

Listening closely to those who support these new religious freedom restoration bills, you have to understand their concern about the rights of the Washington State florist losing her fight in the courts when she refused to supply flowers to a gay wedding but to hear them speak, you would think that because of that decision, this florist was about to not only lose her business but her home as well.  Seeing it in that manner, any reasonable person may pause but according to Reuters news agency in their article titled “ Washington state florist fined for refusing to service gay wedding ” one would find themselves misled and lied to by the way this story was constructed. The article reports that “a judge in Washington State on Friday fined a florist $1,000 after she refused to sell flower arrangements for a gay couple's wedding, officials said.  Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who along with the couple - Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed - sued florist Barronell...

Governor Mike Pence of Indiana and the Indiana State Legislature opened a very large Pandora box when they secretly pass their Religious Freedom Restoration Bill, thinking that they would be successful is cloaking it with the label of religion hoping that no one would notice or even care.  The governor stated as early as yesterday that this bill would not give any business the right to deny service to anyone proving that no man or woman will ever have the power or authority to direct, corral or control another.  Case in point. This article by Inae Oh for Mother Jones Magazine titled “ Indiana Pizzeria Says It Will Deny Service to LGBT People” In it the operator of this business clearly tells us a different story.  It reports that “Catering pizza to your wedding guests might sound unconventional, but it does happen. Oh, does it happen.  But if you're gay and in Indiana, don't call Memories Pizzeria in Walkerton: They won't help you make your wedding memories. Th...