Manns Medium

Throughout our lives, nothing seems more important than “finishing the race”, “providing for the family”, “making ends meet”, “getting mine”, “surviving”, “grabbing that brass ring” or any other useless and misguided saying that you can think of.  This, our only main focus sometimes is so important to many that they will resort to any means to get theirs or hold on to what they have.  Even if it means taking the life of another because no one will take what they got.  This is the driving force behind our reason for living and if question some most often find it very hard to explain why.  This belief takes hold though and soon society is flooded with this idea and sensation.  Books celebrating this type of thinking fill the shelves and the air waves are amassed with television shows preaching this same idea.  Eventually it is seen so often that it becomes the way of a people and of a nation.  You find this philosophy being taught in all our schools...

I ask this question because it is often the phrase uttered by those that attend the funeral that the one who has passed on left them.  That there was so much left unsaid and there was so much left to do.  We talk about how wonderful that person was and how much they are going to be missed.  We talk only of all the good that they done and hold tight to the old adage “never speak ill of the dead”.  We pretend that things would have turned around if they had stayed on earth just a little while longer and we make promises to them to remember the good times and take heed to the lesson that they taught us.  Some people even go as far as to say to the departed how they will change their lives and dedicate this change to their memory. While all that sounds good and would make excellent drama on television, one has to wonder just how truthful and unselfish it really is.  I mean just a few days before they died, were things really good between you?  Did you...

Since I am an advocate for pushing people to exercise their authority and power over evil through my writings here and my internet radio shows, I am often asked a question of “Why does hatred, bigotry and unequal justice still have such a hold on our nation and continues to corrupt our youth?”  I guess I am supposed to know this answer since I appear or pretend to be so knowledgeable in what steps we need to take to curb this evil but as sometimes luck would have it; I am often unable to answer that question at the exact time it is asked.  Now this leaves those asking, wondering if I truly believe what I preach or just running off at the mouth.  Well let me tell you, I used to allow this thought to bother me and sometimes anger me to the point of violence, especially if anyone persisted in making it a point to constantly make me aware of feeling this way.  Only after making a conscious decision not allow that evil to control me did I finally discover an answer to th...

Lawmakers of all stripes continue to make the case for the numerous rules and regulations government and politics put abroad that the primary purpose is to combat evil.  In even smaller circles you might hear a few of them express the idiotic ideas that making these laws will even eliminate evil.  It’s idiotic because it is not true and nor will anyone be able to completely erase evil from this world or any world.  Evil is in this world and all worlds to stay and there is nothing we can do about it except control it and not let it control us.  We do have the power to control and defeat evil and this power was given to us by the new covenant and the shedding of Jesus’ blood on the cross. You do not have to believe me, just pick up your Bible and turn to 1st John chapter 5, verse 19 which tell us that “we know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one”.  The evil one that he speaks of is none other than Sata...

While the parents of Trayvon Martin believe that not only would their son be proud of the pressure placed upon the State of Florida to arrest and bring to justice George Zimmerman, Justice was not served.   While they are the ones who lost a child and their wishes of no rioting or violence should be honored, after all our kids are still with us.   While I know that God Almighty can and will deliver more justice than any court ever created, I still have a few things to say. I find it quite hard to accept the verdict because George Zimmerman took a life and in that realm alone, he should have been held accountable.   I do not hate him personally but I deplore the laws that allow him and others like him to flourish.   Commentators were quick to say that the jury should be concerned about what effect their verdict would have on the community of Sanford, the State of Florida and the world.    They mentioned that we need to consider that they are mother...

When I first read the article titled “ Churches Sever Ties With Boy Scouts For Accepting Gay Youth” written by David Crary for the Associated Press, I was furious but the more I read, the more it became clear to me that these so-called churches are doing nothing but fulfilling the scriptures as written and taught by Jesus himself.   I say this to the Boys Scouts of America, hold your head up and hold it high, a man more worthy of reverence endured something quite similar to what you may be experiencing now, that man was Jesus Christ. The article reports that “In suburban Atlanta, northern Idaho and a number of other places, churches have moved swiftly to sever ties with the Boy Scouts of America in protest over the vote last month to let openly gay boys participate in Scouting.   But the exodus could soon swell, depending on the outcome of the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting next week in Houston.” Baptist churches in Elizabethtown and Rineyville, Ky., Helen...

I was awaken this morning with a message for all of us, especially to those who are parents, grandparents, educators, instructors and those who have  a platform to address the masses. This message is one of frankness and one that many of us try so very hard to avoid saying because we worry about being “politically correct”.  It’s about the “true” evil that exists in this world and is all around us twenty-four hours a day. It is time for us to stop pretending that we will ever be able to rid this world of evil.  Evil of any and all kind.  Even God Almighty is not able to accomplish this and if it is difficult for him, we all should admit that it is more than far outside of our range to eliminate.  In this life, there are and always will be good and evil.  Even though we would love to believe that evil only exist in a very small portion of us, we know for a fact that evil can immerse even the strongest of us. It’s time to stop this charade of thinking...

I ask this question after seeing maximum coverage of Paul Ryan entire story because he might be chosen as Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential pick. It got me to thinking of how the coverage from all forms of media from politics to pro athletes, from movie idols to music legends. How we elevate average people because of the job that they have, the amount of money that they control or the amount of influence they wield. They may be movie stars, jetsetters, important people and big business but if you took away all that they have in tangible assets, they would be just average people. They put on their pants the same way each and every person put on their pants, on leg at a time. So why do we chase them, worship them, fear them and hang on their every word? Many of us claim to be Christians and when it is convenient we use our faith to make our point, but we do not hold God in as high esteem as we do those average people. We know that this is one of the most horrendous sins, we can commit, ...

Of all of the potential lessons that one could gleam from the Wisconsin election results, the one few will ever talk about is the weakness of the voters.   Faced with a golden opportunity to restore their state, their citizens and possibly a nation, they shrunk, bowed their heads and cried “yasa masa”. In one of the best article written to date Walter Shapiro explains better than most in his titled What Scott Walker can teach Barack Obama .   In it is reports that “Republican Gov. Scott Walker declared, “Tonight, we tell Wisconsin, we tell our country, and we tell people around the globe that voters really do want leaders who stand up and make tough decisions.”   And while he is correct that Walker and those like him will undoubtly make this claim and has plenty of evidence to back it up.   The voters was handed an opportunity but failed to send a more inclusive message.   While his article clearly shows the reasons why recalling Walker was the right messag...

Yes, that’s right I said it and I will say it again.   I say it because it burns me up to think that an organization so revered and copied as the ultimate organization to provide unequivocal service to the poor and needy in any community from food banks to financial services and not to mentioned spiritual guidance would allow their name to be buried in nothing that has anything to do with their primary and initial purpose for existing.   Do not be fooled, it has nothing to do with religious freedom and everything to do with religion in politics.   It has taken the last great institution and turned it from the goodness spoke of in the Bible to a business. When you hear freedom of religion, think about the purpose of that right granted in the US Constitution.   It is the freedom to worship as you see fit.   That means an individual can choose to take on the label of Catholic, Protestant, Baptist and yes even Atheist if they wish.   It means that no gover...

With all of the recent rhetoric about who may or may not be a Christian, I decided to check the only true authority on the subject.   I looked through my Bible and here is what I discovered. First John Chapter 1 to 6, 9 through 11, 15 through 17, and 26 through the 27 th .   I combine these because I believe each verse has a particular message that we all need to hear.   It begins; “my little children, I am telling you this so that you will stay away from sin.   But if you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father.   His name is Jesus Christ, the one who is all that is good and who pleases God completely.   He is the one who took God’s wrath against our sins upon himself, and brought us into fellowship with God; and he is the forgiveness for our sins and not only ours but all the world’s.   And how can we be sure that we belong to him?   By looking within ourselves:   are we really trying to do what he wants us to? ...

Today we want to talk about the Calendar and dates that we hold so  dear.   The issue is whether we should continue to follow common wisdom or begin to think for ourselves.  Jehovah Witness say Jesus was born in October and some point to the Greek calendar to say it was other  months.   Regardless of what date you decide to observe and celebrate the birth of Christ, the main point is that you celebrate it.   What we have come to call the birth of Christ on the 25 th of December has  stopped meaning celebrating the best gift this world could have ever gotten, to seeing just how many  lights we can strum upon our house, how many presents we can put under the tree, who can out spend  whom on this date.   The news is not about the birth of Christ and instead we are bombarded with  Christmas Specials as if Hollywood has the answers to our salvation.   Kids get to see all the old Christmas  Cartoon Specials and for we...

It’s been 49 years and I still can hear the laughter, the taunts and sneers of children my age teasing me for being on Welfare.   It didn’t matter that my mother was challenged to raise ten children single-handily or the quite clear fact that I was not able to choice to what family and to what situation I would be born to.   Honestly the memories were only whispers until Newt Gingrich reminded me with his comments of poor children cleaning the school bathrooms and mopping the floors.   The arrogance of those who believed as a child and now as an adult that getting financial help from the government was nothing short of charity and making all those who receive it lazy.   I used to think that way. I had made up my mind that I would never beg the government for help and this also made me quite defiant to asking anyone for help.   As I think back now, I believe that this has served me well.   I’ve paid very close attention when it came to learning somethin...

All of us should have heard the saying “Bless it are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called “the Children of God”.   If you have not heard or read this then it has been a failure of those before you to educate you on what that means.   It’s the only clear definition of God’s expectation of us while so many others can be gleamed and interpreted but is not so clear. It does not say that any specific religion is the children of God nor does it say that any particular color, creed, or sex is the child of God.   The Bible tells us that we all are God’s children yet we divide ourselves into these groups each claiming more of a connection.   Labels are those definitions we place upon ourselves and do not reflect the wishes of anyone but ourselves.   You decide to worship in a particular way so your gravitate toward those who share your vision of religion but that, by no means, prove that you are any closer to God than someone who choose to worship in another ma...

Riding around in a bus, telling the family it’s a vacation while bathing in the glory of herself on the dime of those who support her is all that Sarah Palin will have the heart to do.  While many may wish to go broke trying to support her and others wish to place her atop the entire Republican Party, the majority of Americans are acutely aware that she is not ready for prime time. Even if she undergo years of study to get the history of this nation more correct or expand her current knowledge of current events, she will never be ready.  Mainly because it takes more to become President of the United States than just the ability to point out the wrong in others thinking.  It takes an even hand and one who is not only willing to admit when they are wrong but learn from each and every situation.  This will never be a place where Sarah Palin will reside because even when faced with overwhelming evidence that her interpretation could use a little bit of adjusting, she re...

Representative Anthony Weiner was given a chance to step up and display why many Democrats viewed him as a “stand-up guy”.   Instead he decided to try and lie his way out of something instead of talking responsibility for it at the start.   American voters can forgive many things but to pretend you are what you are not, hypocrisy, is not one that I can easily forget.   According to an article by Beth Fouhy of the Associated Press titled Weiner admits he sent lewd picture; won't quit , New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner confessed Monday that he tweeted a photo of his bulging underpants to a woman and admitted to "inappropriate" exchanges with six women before and after getting married. He apologized for lying but said he would not resign.   "This was me doing a dumb thing, and doing it repeatedly, and lying about it”. Whether he should resign or not is not up to me because I am not one of those who trusted him with my vote.   Had I been, I would be calli...