The Cross Can Stay: Mt. Soledad purchase leads to lawsuit dismissal, Capital campaign underway to fund Memorial programs

Jack McGrory, Tom Sudberry, Richard Woltman, Doug Manchester, Doug Barnhart, former Gov. Pete Wilson and Peter Farrell.

Jack McGrory, Tom Sudberry, Richard Woltman, Doug Manchester, Doug Barnhart, former Gov. Pete Wilson and Peter Farrell.

By Ashley Mackin

Since the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association bought the government land on which the controversial cross sits above the National Veterans Memorial in July 2015, the two-decades-long legal battle over its constitutionality ended last month when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined the case is now moot.

Since 1989, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and others have argued that the cross should be removed from government-owned property because it represents one religion over others. Counter-arguing that the cross is a neutral symbol for memorials, the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association maintained that veterans from several religious backgrounds are represented in the now 4,400 plaques on the surround-wall beneath the cross.

Read Full Article

On Top of Downtown

Papa Doug Manchester

Papa Doug Manchester

On Top of Downtown – a conversation with Doug Manchester

By Andrea Naversen | Photography by Vincent Knakal

Few developers have shaped the San Diego skyline as much as Doug Manchester; the Manchester Grand Hyatt, the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina, the San Diego Convention Center, the Fairmont Grand Del Mar are just some of the properties that bear his mark, and often, his name. Manchester, who likes to be called Papa Doug, is now developing the Manchester Pacific Gateway, a $1.3 billion waterfront project on downtown’s North Embarcadero. Considered to be the biggest and costliest private development in San Diego history, the 14-acre site, south of Broadway between Pacific Highway and Harbor Drive, will include hotels, offices, shops, and a new regional headquarters for the U.S. Navy.

Read Full Article

Opinion: Why President Donald Trump Would Be a ‘Good Deal’ for America

Papa Doug Manchester with Donald Trump.

Papa Doug Manchester with Donald Trump.

By Papa Doug Manchester

As the great coach Lou Holtz said, “The Democrats are correct! There are two United States of Americas; the America that works and the America that does not. The America that contributes and the America that does not. Some people do their duty as Americans, obey the law, support themselves and contribute to society. Others do not. That is the divide in America.”

President Obama has pledged for the rest of his term (which thank God will end at years’ end) to fight income inequality. He rightfully concludes that some people have higher incomes than others and he says that it is not just. That is the rationale of thievery. The other guy has it, you want it, Obama will take it from you. Vote Democrat. This is the philosophy that has produced struggling economies like Detroit.

Democrats preach equality of outcome as correct, while completely ignoring the inequality of effort. “The harder you work the more you get.” Democrats turn that upside down. Those who achieve are to be punished. In my view, life is 10 percent what happens and 90 percent how you respond to it!

People have asked me, “Why Trump?” I have known the man and have spent time with him and his family. Simply stated, he is the smartest person I know and has the biggest heart. He will be the first true capitalist to occupy the White House and will run the country as a business. His presidency would define everything in two words: “Good Deal!” Good deal for America verses the horrifically bad deals we have signed over the past 30 years.

So what’s wrong with the status quo? Over the past three decades, every presidential cycle has delivered promises to the American people: more jobs, better healthcare, higher pay, a more balanced budget, equal distribution of wealth, fair trade, greater justice, safer cities, superior education, military strength and, yes, a safer nation free of terrorism. Our political system — dominated entirely by career politicians whose first order of business is to position themselves for re-election — speaks boldly about what it can do for “the people.” Yet in the end, what can be done gets filtered over and over again, from the presidency through the legislative branch, until true change becomes unrecognizable.

Millions of people in the United States from both parties clearly are frustrated by promises unmet, representatives who don’t seem to listen, and a system of government that seems to bog down in its own machinery and convoluted ideology. As the presidential debates demonstrate, we are told from one side to trust the tried and true — however it’s defined. After all, this is what we’ve done throughout our lifetimes. We’ve placed our faith in an America always doing the right thing on our behalf, even if that “right thing” is defined by an absence of transparency, a twisting of the truth, and an allegiance to a stronger union that for many Americans has not happened.

With Trump, we have a legitimate alternative, a strong minded, extraordinary businessman who has mastered “The Art of the Deal.” Trump is a leader who has not been strapped down by convoluted financial and political relationships that have not served us well. He’s a decision-maker dedicated to listening to the needs of the populace. He’s an outspoken, unfiltered champion of the American way with a powerful vision about how to make us fiscally smart and internally strong, nationally and internationally.

We have a true choice in November to keep doing what we’ve always done, or make a bold choice to regain our true stature on the world stage.

Article from the Times of San Diego