Manns Medium

Since Donald J. Trump made the decision to run in the Republican primary, I have been struggling to understand why it is still difficult for me to totally accept this man as the 45 th president of the United States.  My better angels are telling me that one can only control that which one can and therefore must accept those things that they cannot but for the life of me, I cannot understand why being reasonable in this situation is harder for me than any other I have ever encountered.  That was until just a few minutes ago. It was after hearing those voices in Kentucky who benefited  from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare hearing Trump say that his main focus will be to repeal and replace it, would still vote for him.  It all became clear to me when I heard this one voice say that the only reason she voted for him is because she detested and did not like Obama.  So because you don’t like a person, you stand against all that they say or do even if ...

It all started January 19, 2008 after Barack Obama won his first term as President of the United States.  The stars had already aligned for many who just could not believe that a man, unlike any of those that have gone before him was actually voted into an office many felt very name denies them entry.  Those who just could not believe were told to believe and as sheep to the slaughter, they followed their masters without questions.  Today they still follow their masters without questions except now it has culminated into one form, one being, one chance and that chance is Donald J. Trump. People say that Donald J. Trump is a brilliant businessman but I don’t agree with it.  I do say that Donald J. Trump is an outstanding opportunist however because he saw a very clear and wide berth opening up toward the Republican nomination for President and when he finally decided to take the plunge, he dove in head first and now refuses to admit that there he now stands among...

He burst upon the scene in July of 2004; prior to that Barack Hussein Obama the second was a little known individual who had recently won a seat in the Senate.  After that speech, many begin to see him as a potentially rising star in the Democratic Party.  They saw him as someone who could motivate and capture the imagination of many.  They saw him as a connection to that base of Democratic voters who had been feeling disenfranchised for so long and a bridge to bring them back into the fold.  They saw him as an advantage to stand on stage with and hold arms with for no other reason than to advance their own cause.  For those who were not of the Democratic Party, they only saw a black man who was articulate, well-groomed and would make a good preacher.  What none of them saw, except a few, was a man who stood for something, had a pretty good idea how to obtain it and was not going to let anyone or anything be the reason he did not achieve.  The only ob...

Not much outside of media concentrating on WWDD (What would Donald do) occurred in the Republicans Debates except one of the most spectacular answers to a question anyone could have ever given.  A peak into what the majority of us would love to see more of and what we envision this nation’s political positions to always be.  I find myself agreeing strongly with some of the statements made in an article called “ 2 under-the-radar Republicans won big at the debate ” by Brett Logiurato for Business Insider dot com. Mr. Logiurato writes “ The GOP debate's hometown candidate just gave a touching answer on gay marriage. This GOP candidate barely made the debate stage —but he might be the one to watch tonight.  Four years ago, at a Republican presidential debate moderated by Fox News host Megyn Kelly, a gay soldier asked GOP candidates a question.  "Do you intend to circumvent the progress that's been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?" the soldier aske...

I have always wonder how a “no nonsense” guy like Eric Holder would step down at the Justice Department especially since he does not have a history of ever running away from a fight and recent run-ins with the Republican Senate and House members would certainly constitute a fight.  Today, I think we may just have our answer. We all know that Democrats as well as Republicans enjoy big money donated by big business in order to win in any election, or that is the perception anyway.  Now having taken their money, they feel obligated to try and return the favor in any way possible while in office so holding them accountable, responsible or their feet to the fire is certainly a lost art and one most avoided by our elected officials.  This is also true of the Obama Administration just like all others before them and that shall follow.  Not many have ever been able to navigate this dark and tricky path but I think the Obama Administration may have just found a way. ...

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...

As a retired U.S. Marine who served from 1981 till 1991, I am amazed at how often those with thoughts of revisiting the Christian Crusades occupy our control centers when it comes to saber rattling, fear mongering and cowboy justice.  I am amazed because I wish to think that we have hired the best and the brightest to occupy the seats of government and therefore wonder how so many could be led by the nose by those who have little to no risk involved in the decisions that they push or make. In an article titled “Netanyahu Warns Congress Iran Deal Guarantees Nuclear Arms ” written by Jonathan Ferziger for Bloomberg News, Mr. Ferziger reports that “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, directly challenging President Barack Obama in a speech to U.S. lawmakers, said an emerging agreement with Iran would backfire and ensure the Islamic Republic gains a nuclear arsenal.  “That deal would not prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons -- it would all but guarantee that Ira...

Things were kind of falling into place when there was a story about Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney meeting and then there was the story titled “Jeb Bush snags top Mitt Romney Iowa strategist David Kochel” by Benjy Sarlin and Kasie Hunt but now it seems to have come full circle with the story titled “Mitt Romney is not Running for President in 2016” by Daniel Strauss for Talking Points Memo.  Many will now be asking why and to me the answer is clear.  Those wizards behind the curtain are prepared to spend billions of dollars on this round of elections and the last thing they need is a bruised and battered candidate.  They favor the younger crowd but know that after what America has just endured, someone without any kind of experience will not make it through the general elections, so they hedge their bets and last time Romney killed any chance of him ever being president when he made so many major blunders even though only a few of them was captured for prosperity. The answ...

If you wish to know why Elizabeth Warren is so popular in the Democratic Party, it is simply because you can hear, see and feel the passion she has for issues and her voice is mostly consistent on all of them.  She shows many how we can disagree without being disagreeable and she makes Democrats feel that even those closely to her would not be able to sway her from the task she has to represent not just her state but this nation as a whole.  That ladies and gentlemen is what you call leadership and that was sorely missing from this crop of Democrats in these years mid-term elections. Republicans will swear it was all about Obama and that is a lie because if Obama had been on the ballot, Democrats would have rode his coat tails and easily won.  Obama was not on the ballot.  Minimum wage, a woman’s right to choose, voting rights, immigration, healthcare, pay equity, jobs, and gay rights was.  So why did these not carry Democrats to victory, simply because the...

So much has been made by the media as to why larger more ample forces in the Islamic World does not wish to get more involved with defeating ISIL.  I am quite surprised that many of them are not saying what Vice-President Joe Biden has said about those Islamic countries but then why should they.  They already have a scapegoat in Barack Obama so like many police forces, once you have a primary suspect why search for anyone else.  Just gather enough innuendo and speculations to support your position even if and when many of those have been dispelled. The question is why Saudi Arabia which was described by Senator Bernie Sanders in his interview with Candy Crowley on CNN as “Saudi Arabia is the fourth largest defense spender in the world,” he pointed out. “They have an army which is probably seven times larger than ISIS; they have a major air force. Their country is run by a royal family worth hundreds of billions of dollars.”  They appear to be a major player in t...

Was watching the Rachel Maddow Show last night on MSNBC and she had a segment on how what is happening now as far as the first call for military  advisers  in Iraq was around 200 just before President Obama announced that he was sending 300 more to provide embassy protection and airport security only yesterday to announce another 200.  Pentagon Spokesperson said that this was going to be a short mission but those who know or have studied the history of the Vietnam War, showed eerie similarities between that and this. They are similar since I was Dwight D. Eisenhower who first sent in a small number of military  advisers  into Vietnam because he did not want to send a larger group of troops.  Word is that later, John F. Kennedy inherited that mission and even though beefed up the number of  advisers  in Vietnam would have probably never increased them past that point.  The Maddow piece further explained that after Kennedy d...

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. ...

Politicians claim to want to fight for you so they need your vote but as soon as they get into office, you are forgotten and the only voice they hear are those of lobbyists or major donors to their next campaign event.  Funny how they talk so well on the stump but renege quickly on their promises at the trough.  Take for example this article written by David Espo for TPM titled “Why Did the GOP Just Expand Obamacare Choices?” Remember the GOP, they are the ones who promised if elected that they would give you jobs but refused to even bring that 2 year jobs bill to the floor.  They did, however, “at the prodding of business organizations, House Republicans quietly secured a recent change in President Barack Obama's health law to expand coverage choices”.  So what does this mean to you, nothing but it clearly shows you that hiring a group of people who do not carry your interest forward from campaign trail to office, should be quickly fired.  But alias, we si...

The news is filled with stories about the mudslide that claimed at least 25 people so far with about 90 more missing and while it is a somber time for those family members of those lost in this tragedy, it has also revealed another side of the news gathering community that shows us glimpse of another tragedy still being played out in the world today. Losing a loved one in any fashion is heart-breaking even to those who are far removed from the situation and if never experienced can never be properly explained.  From the mudslide in Washington State to the disappearance of the Malaysian Flight, nothing can compare to devastation like that.    Instead of waiting until all the bodies were recovered or giving many the proper time to grieve there are reports about someone failure to warn those who built near this area.  Instead of listing more about the coming together of a community which can be found in a  Tribune wire report stating “The deeply traumatiz...

Many of those who follow politics for a living has been caught by surprise of the most prominent defender of the CIA, Diane Feinstein has now taken to the floor of the Senate to openly blast this same agency.  Many cannot seem to understand how it happened even though it is being said to have something to do with the Senate Committee investigating torture being bullied by the CIA.  They may be right but I have a different take. I say that this is more about the weary Democrats being so very tired of those who block this president at every turn and cannot seem to let go of the Benghazi and IRS bone.  These Democrats see this as a way Republicans are using to gain control of empty seats and are looking for a way to counter that.  What better than tying them to torture and George W. Bush.  Since President Obama made the decision not to pursue criminal charges against those who may have had something to do with this, Democrats felt that Republicans should have ...

Not much offends me these days because so much is happening that one cannot afford to get caught up in all this unnecessary drama but when I read certain articles and view comments, I do acquire a few questions here and there. Much of the time I just either ask them quietly to myself, send a silent message to God to help me understand or just shake my heads and thank God that I do not and did not spread this type of hate to my children.  This time is different because now I feel that these questions needs answers from those who hide behind the anonymity of the internet or are comforted by money and allow these harmful acts to continue.  I say harmful but not to this nation as much as it is towards family, friends and loved ones who refuse to see the goodness in all for the sake of just belonging. I came to this decision after reading this post on Facebook by someone perpetuating the “GOPUSA”.  They posted this article “It's Time for Another Expensive Obama Family Wor...

Today, President Barack Obama launched his “My Brother’s Keeper Initiative” which is designed to bring together industry, faith-based organizations, religious groups and business owners to help create, fund and monitor programs which has been proven to help erase the enormous gap between young minority males and their white counterparts.  Some of those programs already have a proven track record and others are still in the experimental phase.  These programs would seek to open doors which has been closed and locked to minority males for years.  This was supposed to be a good thing but as luck would have it; to some it wasn’t seen as an opportunity to fix these long broken promises and times.  It was seen by some as another excuse to keep this nation as broken as it always been. Now I did expect individuals like Mr. Charles Hurt to be offended by the comments made by President Obama considering that there has been nothing that this President has done or said whic...