Manns Medium

American exceptionalism is often defined as “the theory that the United States is inherently different from other nations” but to some this many not make sense.  Why is not that they may be questioning the truth of this statement but simply because many can’t remember what the word inherently means.  Inherently is defined as “something that is built-in or a part of the makeup of a person or thing”.  I believe that once we understand the word and how it fits in the above definition of the phrase, we then began to restore our pride in being an American and living in a nation truly viewed by others as exceptional.  Others think that this is what makes others seek asylum or any other excuse to come here, they may believe that it is because we are called the “land of opportunity” and they are seeking just that.  They may believe that it is because we are one of the richest nations in the world and one of the most powerful but the truth may surprise even those Americ...

Really America do we have to have this conversation again.  How many times must I remind you that your age old truths may be outdated today, that what you believed yesterday needs to be modified to fit what is needed today.  So let’s try this again and please prepare yourself because it will be nothing nice. Let’s break down a few of your so-called truths that are really only selfish excuses not to do better or take responsibility.  The first is the rash of police shootings.  Now on the surface, it appears to be between two or more people but that is not the case.  It has long been a growing fantasy of those who seek to control other sections of society and are failures at controlling that one person whom they were entrusted to control, themselves.  We saw this coming quite some years ago and a few warned us then but the majority was too busy with our heads up our own butts while the rest was still trying to get our heads out of the sand.  I was a...

Many of us stand glued to our television sets this morning listening to the horrendous story about a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.   Some have already began questioning whether if we had stronger gun control could this and other recent shootings could have been avoided.   My answer is simply “no”. My reasoning for saying this can be easily discerned from those recent events especially when compared in contrast to what recently happened in an elementary school in China.   Imagine a country where no citizen has the right to carry, conceal or bear firearms.   Yet violence does happen and as the example in China where it was a stabbing of several people instead of a shooting, to say that China should now outlaw knives makes no sense.   It is time we begin to place the blame squarely where it belongs and that is on the person or persons committing the acts. Now don’t get me twisted, no “real” hunter needs a 32 clip magazi...

Normally I do not consider myself a conspiracy theorist but the actions of the Colorado Movie Theater shooter, Mr. James Holmes does gives me pause.  No one has to try hard to imagine the cowardice it took to attack unarmed citizens as they embarked on a night of entertainment but try, if you can, to follow my thoughts on why he took those actions and why he may have acted as he did after being captured. Now remember, he was not caught as reported, he surrendered and that alone makes me wonder.  Many who feel justified in their actions and are resolved to give their lives to whatever cause, will not surrender unless they know that they will be released or they have other scenarios that they want to see play out.  Mr. Holmes surrendered peacefully and quietly even offering to warn law enforcement about the booby traps left in his apartment.  Either he is extremely weak or there is something else he wanted to see the results of. Given what we know about his backgro...

Again Arizona baffles even the most accepting of our better angels.   They forever push the intelligence of the public and no one can honestly tell us why.   It seems that just when you think the Republican Party could get no more dismissive or exclusive, they come up with something even more mind-blowing. I speak about the article by Evan McMorris-Santoro of Talking Points Memo titled AZ Senate Passes Birther Bill With Overwhelming Majority.   The report says that “t he Arizona state Senate passed Wednesday the revised version   of a bill that would require candidates to prove their citizenship before they can appear on state ballots 20-9.   The original proposed, a candidate would have to produce a certified copy of a "long-form birth certificate" which would have to include the date and place of birth, the names of the hospital and any attending physician, and the signatures of any witnesses in attendance, but the revised has an amendment by Sen. Frank Anten...

David Schwartz of Reuters has alerted us to something that sticks to high heaven in his article titled Arizona enacts ban on abortions based on gender, race .   It reports that “ Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on Tuesday signed into law a controversial bill that makes the state the first in the nation to outlaw abortions performed on the basis of the race or gender of the fetus.   Under the new Arizona statute, doctors and other medical professionals would face felony charges if they could be shown to have performed abortions for the purposes of helping parents select their offspring on the basis of gender or race.”   If truth be told, I think that any parent who wishes to abort because the child is not the race or gender that they want should be held responsible for that ignorant decision but not by man.   She will be held responsible for that decision by a much higher and more just power than any which could be found in the state or federal government. I say Governor...

It is or should be expected that any decision made by this administration will be looked at in nothing more than a political frame but every once in a while; one wishes that there will come a time when we all are more honest than political.   May be wishful thinking but looking for your better angels is not at all as bad as many would like you to believe. In Erin Kelly   and   Dennis Wagner of USA Today article titled   National Guard troops to leave Mexico border in June , you can find the contrast of criticism from an honest prospective and one from a totally political one.   Individuals quoted in this article can easily be tagged as partisan and to better prove this point take heed to a comment by   Arizona Governor   Jan Brewer "It's inexcusable and inexplicable to consider withdrawal of National Guard troops from our southern border at a time when cartel violence continues and the security of the border region remains under threat from drug and...

The subject is the attack on Democratic Rep. Gilford and her supporters in that mall in Tucson, Arizona.   Much has been made about the lesson lawmakers may be learning about their own security, much is being made about what both parties could do to try and fix this problem.   Much is being made about the rhetoric that is spewed by those who find it easy to get in front of a camera and speak as if they and those who hang on their every word are the only true Americans on this planet but what I think may be missing more than anything else is the influence of parents or parental figures in our society and what they should be doing to also help curb this type of activity. What brought me this thought was an article written by Associated Press’ Justin Pritchard titled Shooting suspect's nihilism rose with isolation .   In that article it mostly spoke about the type of person the alleged shooter appeared to be from the take of his school mates.   It attempted to describe...