Manns Medium

  Please allow me to begin with a phrase that we all have heard and many repeated over time, HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF, yet utilizing another phrase many may have heard but seldom repeated In God is speaking about rebellious people. “They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear” (Ezekiel 12:2). Today we consider the influence of Donald J. Trump in reference to his ability to lead the MAGA-Republicans in a take over of the Republican Party.   Many are surprised by this and have been asking how it happened and what does it mean for the democracy of these United States, but truth be told, this evolution is not surprising and should have been expected since history does repeats itself and many of us have eyes but do not see and ears but do not hear. The dye was casted when the Whig Party, “a conservative political party that existed in the United States during the mid-19th century and joined the Democratic Party to become one of the two major parties in t...

A parents number one concern is to try and prevents any harm, injury or death from coming to their children and to that end, we often rush to their defense considering that this actions proves our love but what if I tell you, it is not the action that you perform then but the actions you perform during the beginning stages of their lives that really shows your love.  Each and every time you step up and provide a buffer for your child, you are essentially setting them up for paying a heavier price of pain, injury or death because who will shield them when you are no longer around?  They have grown accustomed to you jumping in to save them and they have lost the fear of jumping in the deep in of the pool because they know you will jump in after them but what if there is a time they jump without thinking and you are not there to save them?  Do they now perish; do you now have to bury them?  The mistake your child makes growing up is the time to educate them and fin...

Find me anyone who disagrees with this title and allow me to have a conversation with them, before long you will see clear and convincing evidence that this is more than just pure speculation, it is fact.  It will begin, as all things normally do, as a frank debate and civil discussion but soon it will elevate to personal attacks and in some cases violence because one of those speaking will run out of defenses for their indefensible behavior and resort to that tried and true method of dismissing, ignoring and cowardly act which is violence.  Begin to notice people, that those who turn to personal attacks do so because reasonable retorts to opposition of ideas are no longer available to them. To watch children play proves that they do not care what color that other child is as long as they play nice.  They do not care about color as long as the other child treats them with respect and as a friend.  They do not care unless they have reason to care and that reason ...

Sometimes a story comes along that makes me see so many different avenues of what it may truly mean that I sometimes don’t know exactly how to phrase them and then comes a story that seems to encompass all of them at the same time.  This is one such story and it comes via an article titled “ Police chase ending near Route 38, I-39 ends in suspect suicide ” posted by Audrey Moon on WREX dot com.  She reports that “ The Illinois State Police and the Ogle County Sheriff's Department say a suspect committed suicide after a police chase stemming from a car-jacking that ended at Route 38 and Interstate 39 near Rochelle in Ogle County.  Officials say DeKalb Police saw a vehicle stolen in an armed car-jacking traveling on Route 38. Police pursued the vehicle westbound on 38 until the vehicle was initially stopped with vehicle stop-sticks.  However, the suspect continued to drive, leaving the highway and stopping in a nearby field. Police say the suspect then shot himself....

You can call it selfishness, you can call it jealousy, you can call it ignorance or you can call it greed but whatever you wish to call it the number one driver of violence is simply the hatred and complete disdain we have for ourselves. There are no truer statements than the one that credit is given to Eleanor Roosevelt which says “no one can make you feel inferior” and the one I coined that says “our only true limitations are those we place upon ourselves”, both meaning that no one else’s causes you more pain than the pain realized when you know within the depths of your very soul that you are the main reason your life is stuck where it is today and every day.  Anyone may have the strength to knock you down but only you can give them the power to hold you there. You can set up all the barriers you want, you can set up all the obstacles you wish and you can put up as large or high walls and hurdles as you please but you will never stop me from achieving that which I find the ...

Anyone wish to remember the occupation of Ferguson, Missouri when a bunch of outsiders descended upon that city to peacefully protest there?  Anyone remember if they showed up with all kinds of weapons or did they just appear as unarmed people?  So much was made of that with labels and names being thrown around that were not a description of the people but a description of the types of people they were.  Words like troublemakers, thugs and terrorist, so what are we calling another occupation from outsiders who decided to bring guns to a fist fight? I’m talking about the Ammon Bundy Clan who departed Nevada to travel to Oregon to speak for those oppressed ranchers there as if those ranchers couldn’t speak for themselves.  According to the article titled “ Oregon refuge occupation: 'It's getting dark, and it is freezing' Protest in Oregon ” written by Nigel Duara and Molly Hennessy-Fiske.  In it they report; Ammon Bundy, who has been described as the leader o...

Often time’s things happen in life that forces us to ask the question “What was that about” and when that happens there are but two clear choices.  The first is you deserve the fire for what you did but choose not to remember or it is what is referred to as “displaced anger”.  In order to know which one, take a step back and search your very soul to find out if it was truly something you did.  If it was then simply apologizing will correct the situation but if it wasn’t then take heart in knowing that the anger you just witness is an indication of something much deeper and if that person is truly a friend.  It is a sign that maybe you need to offer your help in solving. Many times anger directed toward us is really not about us and more about a deeper unsettling of the person expressing that anger.  Suppose you have finally gotten your fill of someone seemingly to be taking advantage of you.  You feel less like telling them where to go and drawing them...

If we honestly take a few minutes to truly think about wars, conflicts, battles and skirmishes, these things often originates between two people who cannot seem to agree simply to disagree.  Each find another, just as passionate, defensive and often times arrogant about his/her position and when they fail to sway the other over to their side of the argument, immediately seek others who agree with them and then take open aim at those who don’t.   People can be funny that way because what may have started out as just a difference of opinions has now morphed into a full-fledged war over an idea that neither is willing to compromise on.  We claim that it is a matter of principle and to compromise would mean that we must compromise our principle and nothing defines a human being more than principle.  If the end result of this style of thinking didn’t result in such serious consequences, we could all laugh about it and move on. History is then repeated and lesson...

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...

If you have ever had to face this, you will understand what I mean but if you have never had to face this then take a few minutes, go to a juvenile court waiting room and just sit there listening to the stories.  There are truly some horrific stories about child endangerment and neglect but there are also those stories that are fabricated and are so very far from the truth.  For those stories that are true, it is quite understandable why outside forces step in and attempt to give all children a shot at a decent life but for those stories that are discovered early enough in the process to lack credibility but are still push because of someone’s lack of conscientious or just plainly hate to be wrong, this is more than just a travesty of justice, it is downright criminal in its own right. You are notified that your children will be removed from your home for an offense that never took place but because they have those who appear to be carrying a grudge or clearly short-sight...

There is an article titled “How the Cycle of Chronic Homelessness Begins—and Ends” written by Christina Davidson that clearly spells out how such a man-made problem like homelessness could be solved.  The article clearly gives us a road map to fix not only this problem but addiction and violent mentally ill citizens left to disappear on our streets.  It is short, sweet and simple but maybe that adds to the problem of why it is not something in our past and so much still a part of our present.  Many talk about it but do we really want to fix it.  Many make millions saying that they are helping to end it but those same words have been echoing the=rough this country for decades now.  When are we going to put up or shut up, when are going to put our money where our mouth is? The article chronicles a gentleman named Charles and his 18 years on the streets of Washington D.C.  It reports that “This story is part of a CityLab series on the state of homelessnes...

There is a major rumbling and it centers on National Football League (NFL) commissioner Roger Goodell and his handling of the Ray Rice Domestic Violence Incident.  So many are screaming for his head on a platter and a few are hastily racing over to stand in his corner.  Between these two camps we have heard everything that could have ever been dreamed up for defense and prosecution but has anyone ever though to just stop to see the bigger picture. Yes, there is a great point made saying that the cover-up is all about big money and the serious chance of a huge loss in revenue.  This might mean that the owners may have to sell a few of their many vacation homes and high paid players might have to give up a few time shares and there are a few well-paid non-essential people who attach themselves to players and teams who may have to revise their resume but in the end, it is more than just about money. Yes, there is a great point about domestic violence not being toler...

Today I heard a very disturbing fact.  One of the many reporters on the ground in Ferguson, Missouri reported that several small but rowdy groups have descended upon Ferguson and is mainly the cause of the unrest there.  It’s disturbing because these “transplants” don’t have to stay there after they make it so very hard for those who do to survive in the place that they call home.  These selfish, unthinking and cowardly people, migrate into an area, create hate and discontent, then slim their way out leaving devastation and hopelessness in their wake.  If this sounds a little familiar, it should because this is the very same thing that is happening in Iraq, Syria, Israel and so many other countries where dialogue and compromise is a very dirty word. We call those who perpetuate this type of discord terrorist but when it comes to people who travel from place to place with their own agenda and not really caring about the cause of the gathering of people but only s...

We all should be very much aware now that post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD does not only affect combat veterans but all of us if we have experienced a terrifying incident.  Yet this knowledge and recognition has not translated to the awareness of people in charge providing those workers/employees with the necessary personnel or information to properly deal with this fact. Much like military members who have served in peace time had to constantly deal with the possibility of being called to duty at any time while they wore that uniform, so is the case for every police officer and correction official who steps into that arena, trying to make a living and provide for his or her family.  And as much as those veterans who are often overlooked as suffering from such, so are many departments overlooking those officers previously mentioned. Now don’t get it twisted, this is not an excuse for their actions because even if they are suffering from this disorder, that does ...

Was watching the Lawrence O’Donnell Show “The Last Word” and heard about the story of the 5 year old Kentucky boy shooting and killing his 2 year old sister with his new rifle purchase for his recent birthday.  Afterwards began to think just what it is that is causing, normally, intelligent people to engage in to such ill-intelligent actions.  As parents, many of us do all that we can to keep our children safe, we try and protect them from all harm even going as far as having them believe in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.  So are we so very silent or extremely naive when it comes to children and guns?  I entertained the” why” for quite some time and can only think of two good reasons.  One is, we are quickly coming close to “the end of days” but if this one is too scary for you, try my next one. Before I educate you on that here is a little from the story about the previously mentioned 5 year old Kentucky boy who shot his 2 year old sis...

Many of us can recall the day when a man was allowed to beat his wife and nothing would ever happen to him.   We are also aware that many Christian men still follow the “a woman’s place in society is to be subject to her husband” philosophy which means so many things the least of which “women should be seen and not heard”.   Some still find themselves struggling with this concept which may explain why so many men feel that it is their place to tell women what she can and can not do with their bodies but to the majority of men, we all know that this is not and should not be the case today.   We know that women carry the bulk of the burden when it comes to the effects and affects of this world.   We know that they have a mind and should have a voice in the decisions made.   We know that they have just as much right to pick and choose their destinies as men do.   We know this and now it’s time for us to not only stand up for them but stand up for ourselves as...

The longer this unrest in Libya goes on the stronger the chance that the real fighting will begin soon.   While the protestors have carried the bulk of the fight to Moammar Gadhafi, soon those in its military will stop sitting on the sideline and get into the game.   When that happens the world will begin to see a serious push toward Tripoli and the massive surrender of those though to be loyal to Gadhafi.   I say this because as a former member of the military, one can only sit idly by while the majority of their countrymen and women are mowed down by a dictator with nothing but disdain for his own people.   Those with training in military tactics will soon get their fill of seeing their fellow citizens being shot like fish in a barrel and remember that the oath they took was to defend those who can not defend themselves and their country from enemies which may now have become domestic.   They will soon realize that Gadhafi has become the oppressor of freed...