Annexation of Parts of Ukraine Has Longer Term Implications

Annexation of Ukraine is an important point in history and while it has been discounted by some it comes with its own long term significance.  Most historians are likely to say such annexation wasn't legitimate. They will also likely bring in certain aspects of a broader historical timeline into their discussion. In hindsight, current events are seen through the context of past in a way that sheds light on motivations and behaviors.

Russia is using false justification of self-defense which likely gives Putin some additional powers to lock down the decision making of the nation. During "war time" or in "defense of the homeland" puffery, one is likely to get more powers to increase control on the Russian population to fight off internal descent, more control over resources and create a level of perceptual support for his actions. 

Putin is a sly fox with experience in the dark arts of manipulation so he is all about creating false justifications and leverage. "Defending the homeland" gives him additional war powers that he can use to create that internal leverage. We should not expect him to just leave because his army becomes routed. He might ratchet up his efforts to create the Iron Curtain to isolate Russia more to allow for a level of nation building and internal industry protection. 

(However some of the fundamentals might not be there anymore so it will come with longer term risks of another collapse.)

I think he is the type who loved the Cold War and really doesn't like democracy or free markets very much. He likely blames such markets for the Soviet fall. However, that isn't true as from my understanding of history the USSR was collapsing already well before they reformed. Reform was born out of necessity and social pressure. Much of our generation remember watching the news when the country collapsed and with many had hopes Russia could be brought into the fold of positive international engagement. Right now that feels a long way off.

*adjusted 10/27/2023 to ensure the message is clearer. I got confused by reading my own writing. 

Why Forgiveness and Not Forgetfulness is Important in Hate (Essential American Values)

 We are still one nation but we do run risks in the future as Far Right extremists call for Civil War and local corruption violates peoples rights. I'm the type of person that fights for togetherness and I encourage people to work out their differences. There are so many people trying to "pull the wool" over each other's eyes seeking some advantage for their particular cause. 

Because of people's agendas the right thing doesn't always come through. When you do and say the most reasonable thing and it falls flat on its face your realize something is not right. 

This crowd of "super cools" put me and my family at risk, lied about a great many things to defame, had financial incentives for engaging in these behaviors, and could have really hurt someone (...my son being one of them. Who gave them the right to make choices over others? I didn't give it to them and I'm going to do my best to ensure the courts don't give it to them.) They were intentionally harmful and destructive! Simply, giving them a free pass based on their social connections, race-religion, or any other superficial difference is against everything I think is appropriate and in line with our American values.

(Not the values many of our politicians profess but the real one's that connect generation to generation.)

I have advocated for positive change in ways that help resolve the problem for the long term future. The people who started this likely have mental health issues (One was already diagnosed and the other two need to be evaluated) and their close police friends (not the 90% of good officers) that engaged in coordinated targeting crossed some important civil rights boundaries (...and truth boundaries). I have advocated for group learning, help for the perpetrators, and a correction of that department so as to protect the public from future defaults. 

The problem we face is that if a local judge views themselves as extensions of this group and wants to please only a small fraction of their stakeholders we have bigger issues that federal or state courts should intervene. Bias is when a local judge comes down to the same conclusion every time regardless of fact and events. In other words, they are potentially misusing the law to protect their "in-group" consciously or unconsciously (Whether that is some misperceived notion of "local"/social, race, religion, politics or other. In this case its likely social, race, and religion oriented. However, I'm never 100% sure and we have to wait to see how things ferret out. I could be wrong but I think there was a lot of bad things on in the background and a judge would be the person who could have held them to account. The initial chase stopped but it appeared this group had an "understanding" and moved into micro aggressions where the law has a hard time regulating. The problem was that some of the initial behavior almost caused violence more than once and further encouraged local corruption.).

I'm not sure how anyone else views it but we started this country based on freedom of religion because people suppressed our forefathers. After the American Revolution we created doctrines that protect religious freedom and freedom of speech. We are now in a spot where life (my families life), liberty (the right to not be attacked by bigots or their police extension), and pursuit of happiness (not to be harassed, have things stolen, or have names smeared by bigots) are either lived values or just hypothetical in orientation.

I hope that these words still mean something to the many people that have fought for them (That includes myself). Right now....I'm not sure that is the case. 😥  Me, I will continue to peacefully push for a stronger, better, and more functionable nation that has a higher purpose than extremism, hate, clan or even political loyalties. Our politicians and our judges will have to determine what is most important to them. It comes down to their essential value system on a deep neural level (i.e. what defines them). Before they jump to a quick conclusion remember what is most important in the long run for their stakeholders.  

"...the unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates.

Local Judicial, Law Enforcement and Hate Group Corruption: Ensuring Checks-n-Balances

If you have been targeted by a couple of local police officers, your underage children pulled over multiple times in an unmarked car, a police car parked outside your home, your children targeted for manipulation, a large group of people pick fights and spread rumors to damage you, lost opportunity that the local college said you were "more than qualified" for, there would be a serious break in the legal structure if such behaviors were given a free pass. Looks like a local prosecutor was muted in their investigation of this group (I cant say that 100% but there is some indication they left the area for that reason. Even if not true it detracts nothing from what I have seen.) Worse, as this group was trying to set you up by staging undercover police (These police figured out what they were being manipulated and stopped. They are the good police.) they came to you and said, "We are doing this to you because your family is Muslim" we have what would normally be considered hate crimes of the worst type. Serious Federal and International Law violations.  Lack of enforcement is different than being a violation.

Lack of respect for the Constitution (freedom of religion and speech), children's rights, and the very purpose of law enforcement. First, let me say I support 90% of our law enforcement officials who are doing the right thing. However, when law enforcement engages in criminal corruption with the support of a local judge and group of hate supporters that is a different story. These judges shame the bench, shame good officers, shame the sacrifices of others and lower the perceived value the entire legal institution (This is why corrupt judges should be removed). 

We are down to some very fundamental things as it relates to the purpose of our nation and democracy. We started this country because of the need of these freedoms (i.e. religious persecution in Europe), my family has sacrificed for those freedoms, I have sacrificed for those freedoms, and others have sacrificed for those freedoms. For a corrupt group of bigots to throw that away simply because they want to "protect their own" as "locals" (Not defined by our genetic longevity in the area which is longer than most of theirs.) is unconscionable! 

Its a break in inherent value because you can't get around it and you can't justify it. Outside Federal and State stakeholders must come in and enforce our Federal laws. Without that the risks to my family and to myself continue to rise. No matter which way you slice or dice the law the behaviors I have seen cannot be justified through evidence in any third world nation nor in any first world nation. They didn't align to the prior immunity and coaching before they started nor the free pass after they ended (Its not actually over. With a free pass they will be back at it again.)

While I will be polite, positive, engaging and walk boldly in the middle of this agressive clan network, I will continue to walk in ways that help my community I will not be silent in the face of dangerous corruption. I have no doubt that talking in ways that challenge embedded hate where people have already shown the propensity to abuse power will likely result in increased corruption and targeting. I suspect they will eventually succeed in constructing a reason to violate more laws and rules. However, what kind of nation would we be if we accept local corruption as legitimate?

I want my kids to live in a free nation as it was supposed be beyond the lip service of many of our politicians. I want other minorities and people that hate groups like this don't like (based on their own false perceptions of entitlement) to live free without coordinated aggression. There are other needs of the community for protection this judge and associated officers can no longer provide. The proof is in the pudding. We either a free nation or we are not a free nation? Placing politics and/or disparately applying the law to protect one's own ethnic, racial, religious, or political group sort of answers that question. We must be better then the lowest possible position.

I have no doubt in the long run that I will win over this hate but I will likely go through another period of targeting, aggression and potential violence. Not because I'm an optimist but because the behaviors were so egregious, so dishonest, so inherently dangerous that simply pretending they didn't happen is also dangerous. I believe the facts cant be hidden.  I'm doing the right thing by having the adult maturity and the appropriate understanding of the purpose of our Constitution to put my hand up again and say "No!" We must protect the rights of our citizens and people. That includes me even if this group hates Muslims (Just listen to them and you will find they hate anyone not like themselves but they are stuck in a dysfunctional group with inappropriate values.), hates me, and thinks my kids are "nigga babies". 

This is just a local judge helping his "local" buddies with no consideration for the valid application of law. When the perks of the job and the nice suits become more important than the very purpose of the job then wider stakeholders must step in and make a correction. You see how quickly systems break down when you devalue the lives of citizens because they are seen as "the other". They become nonfunctional and/or functionable only for certain people. What happened to the concepts of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness? It looks like in some place that is only for certain clan affiliates. 

(Side note. How this turns out should be of interest to politicians, government administrators, and the American populace.  If such behaviors are allowed it should send a shiver down your spine. It would mean something is seriously broken and we may need to think about how those laws might apply to coordinated hate against their own families. If it is acceptable in one place it can become acceptable in another. Americans need to stick together against the illegitimate legitimization of hate, corruption and extremism in public positions of authority where they put everyone at risk. We either are or we are not what we profess. It is a choice. My loyalties are to my oaths/country, my God, my family and my community.  

To many others their loyalties are to themselves and their social group often defined by racial, religious, social and political factors. Whether far R or far L there should be certain agreed upon principles. At present seems like there are no laws and no moral conscious in place. It does not bode well for the nation if corruption like this is happening across other small towns throughout America. It is what it is!  Doors close to justice but maybe others may open. I never thought selling out your values and your people was so fashionable! Nothing I say at the moment will make much difference but I will now likely say it for the rest of my life until this moral and legal failure is corrected. It is fundamental to our national values. This group has been sent a message that their behavior was acceptable as long as its against the "wrong" type of people. We should see this behavior rear its head again in the future due to lack of checks-n-balances. This would not have been here if the court would have done their job in the first place. 🤷‍♂️ Even though I have asked for a win-win that helps the perpetrators and the community those comments fall on deaf ears. There appears to be more effort in protecting one's clan than one's country or the universal understand of the laws people believe in.)

NSA Employee Arrested Trying to Pass Documents to Russia

So an NSA employee gets caught trying to sell documents to Russia. You can read the FBI charges. Ok first, it sort of sucks that people are selling out their country for Russia. Money is awesome and 85K is a lot of money but that money can go quick! Doesn't really seem like such an incentive for such a horrendous act....maybe there was more motivation.

I wonder if people who fall prey to temptation in a way that cancels their oaths have serious debt or other issues that make them sort of soft. For example, maybe they are gamblers or have lots of other debt. I wonder what drives someone to sort of take that low amount and then in turn sell out their country? No amount of money can be worth your integrity!

What concerns me most is that people are willing to sell out everything for another country's needs. Especially a country we are in conflict with! As we move into the neuroeconomic choice of benefit and risk are they not considering how selling out one's nation will fundamentally change them the rest of their lives? It will be a stain on how that person views themselves; assuming they have normal psychological needs.

Either way a few questions sort of popped up in my head...

1.) Are they connected to a more important network? It likely means someone else got caught somewhere. Who or Whom?

2.) What other information has the person already passed on to foreign agents at other times?

3.) What type of protections/trips can the NSA put in place to uncover/discover these networks and highlight them for exposure?

GDP Show US Staying Steady?

 Interesting....

Escanaba Special Council Meeting Sept. 26th, 2022: Waiting for Development

I would agree with one thing. If projects don't start happening soon it will become increasingly difficult to make them work out as planned. When the iron is hot, it should be struck to start other investments. If it cools then you may loose out on other future investments. They should be reasonable but move at a faster pace and cut as much red tape as possible.

What Corruption Does to the Trust in Law and Its Application?

Law enforcement has an important function in our lives and must maintain certain standards and rights to ensure public trust and public support. Sometimes because law enforcement associates with certain groups they run the risk of warping the law to help these friends and associates. Sometimes groups carry racial and religious bias and when they begin to do bad or illegal things there are very few protections in place to help the chosen targets. In worse case scenarios, it creates a type of cleansing we see in lesser developed nations that can have a serious impact on the future health and vibrancy of our communities. 

Cleansing is a concept that means if you are an "undesirable" based on superficial reasons you, your children, your rights, your property, your contributions and everything about you is discounted. When socially supported by a Good Old Boy network the risks become serious (Think of how war torn countries are carved up by these networks comprised of racial, religious, social, political or tribal affiliations). It creates physical and social risks based on group discounting of life. 

When someone's life is seen as having inherently less value because of these racial and religious considerations, problems begin to rise because natural limits are broken through group disbursement of responsibility. When a larger group of supporters begin to support that blind hate without critical thinking it can lead to all types of potential violence and corruption (The sad thing is that most of the members are good people but when in a large group, mixed with some aggressive personalities, they begin to accept what is unacceptable. While they don't recognize it, none of it has any real reflection or connection to the targets. It is the internal distorted conversation and logic the group uses to control their environment/community through public bullying and "judgey" disdain. The problem is they can't see the negative aspects of their behaviors and in turn are not able to self manage. So while group members may be our friends and relatives there are certain social characteristics that must change before their immature childishness get someone hurt.). 

What I have learned after having my family (both kids and myself) become targets of hate is that the laws break down quickly under certain circumstances. While mental health, racial, religious, financial, and "better than you" aspects initially launched the problem the rest of this 100+ group (including a couple of law enforcement officers) followed suit in aggression. 

If you were on the receiving end and have had your kids pulled over by police 2X (Not to mention the car parked outside my home, being followed home, having lights flashed and other issues), intentionally manipulated, people pick fights with you, publicly mock you, been rejected for jobs, and have not a single person within that group stand up against cleansing behaviors, you will gain a new perspective. You adapt, learn and grow. While most officers are awesome people you learn it only takes an embedded network, a local judge, and a large group of hate supporters to break a system. 

Even after the storm has cleared and their behavior is well known, the risks still reside with the targets (...and their lower perceived value). We run the risk that if my dark skinned kids come into the area again they may be targeted by hate sympathizers or extreme oriented law enforcement personal (This doesn't reflect on the 90%+ good officers that know the bigger purpose of their jobs. They are assets to the community and it is a good opportunity for them to learn how things are seen from different angles. This situation is a win-win for good officers but creates a more challenging situation for those who did not do "the right thing".) Likewise, I can't guarantee someone is not going to get drunk and pick yet another argument. So it doesn't end just because you have exposed, challenged and thwarted bad behaviors to help your community and protect your family from corruption. Intimidation will continue to be part of the game. So I walk boldly in the town, obvious, and easy to find....because mastering extremism is about mastering fear (A lesson some of our politicians should learn. You must stand on your principles and not on your networks.). 

Everything we learned about the Constitution, all the sacrifices my grandparents, myself, and the rest of society made to ensure we have basic rights mean nothing in these situations. The only thing that counts is the wishes of a few distorted souls and their very close group of hate supporters. If this is happening throughout our nation, and there are no checks and balances, I believe someday its going to cause a major split. A break that can't be mended because local systems (It seems like the national systems are sort of functioning) will occur based on necessities. 

You can't really go back to before the cleansing behaviors broke out. The hate supporters will say "hi" and you will say "hi" back but deep down you now have insight (Insight they don't have about themselves). You know who they are, and their potential, behind the fake smiles. They threw everything they could at you, got as many people angry as they could and you know they are still clueless as to why they hate you. Being bested doesn't change that for them. Without genuine learning they are still a risk to others unless there are checks and balances between law enforcement and these groups (If their friends in law enforcement would have done the right thing they would not have coached them on how to set someone up, would not have carried these distortions into the "legitimate" realm, and would have told them to be polite and mind your own business.). You know that under certain circumstances out of your control you could easily be here again in a few years if the socialized acceptance of hate again tries to touch your kids or future grand kids because they don't have the right skin color or religion (Not that this group even has a clue about my religion, my kids religion or the essentials of their own religion.). 

Ever after being targeted I will continue to support the awesome people in the community, be polite but not passive, open to reconciliation, but will not sugar coat what happened here. It is too too important for society and we must learn how systems default when there are few local protections against projected hate. It is also a reason why in Michigan and the nation needs to get a better handle on extremism, hate, and mental health (So far falling on deaf ears even though we have seen politicians, officials and others targeted. Guess its still not that important? 🤷) 

We have obligations to our society beyond ensuring we don't crack fragile egos or bend a knee to self interest and intimidation. 

The Advantages of Humbleness vs. "Better Than You!" In Business, Work, and LIfe

 Personality is important and is one of the defining aspects of business, work and life. There has been a sense that "better than you" is a way to treat people. While excessive rudeness and self interest seems to make sense in the short run one must keep in mind the organizational benefits of concepts such as agreeableness and humility within one's personality repertoire. 

Consider Two Studies....

-A research study of 3,900 studies found that agreeableness was an important trait for work success. Agreeableness Metanalysis.

-Humility has an important and positive impact on the performance of organizations, individuals, and teams. Humility Study.

The traits of agreeableness and humility are collective oriented in meaning as they are part of the process of developing higher group performance. Such people recognize the value of others beyond being tools or extensions of themselves or their needs. People are valued for their own sake. (It is also why people stay with organizations.)

Hiring people that have agreeableness and humility is helpful to the development of the entire organization while hiring people with "better than you" personality distortions can be destructive. While people with toxic personalities may realize short term gains they fall short when it comes to long term performance not only for themselves but also for everyone else. 

(Side Note: I've seen where one overconfident personality that is "better than you" could warp all the personalities around them. Telling them "no" even when you have every legal and moral reason to do so can launch a narcissists rage. Dangerous if weaker personalities fall in line with that hate and don't have the backbone to stand up for something greater!

When they a view a person's race or religion as lower than their own, hate can be exploited as a social tool. Worse, as people file in to support the distortions as flying monkeys bent on harming the targets they become both the projectors of hate and the victims to the appeal of hate. 

Institutions begin to default on these social networks as local officials seek to please their friends and associates. The further they go, the more you see the distortion, and the less they see it in themselves (i.e. indoctrination). As we deal with extremism in this country let us recognize the destructive power of mental health the underpinnings of "better than you". 

In this case, they devalued just a little too much and it snagged them. Research on Selfishness and Game Theory. I guess its true on a local or national level. 🤷 👆

8 Million Student Loan Borrowers May Get Forgiveness: How Does it Work?

Student loan forgiveness is all over the news and for those who went to college, are involved, or college students they likely have some interest in this information. Some love it and some hate! You may read....

8 million student loan borrowers will get automatic forgiveness. Here’s what you need to know

Ukrainians Wise To Offer Sympathetic Surrender Terms to Russian Soldiers

This isn't a popular war for many Russian soldiers and many of the soldiers are relatively untrained. In line with Russia's history of warfare they often call on the lower classes (in the past peasant class) to fight for certain causes. In alignment with historical and cultural perspectives there are penalties for anyone who surrenders, doesn't fight, or tries to return home. In light of those concepts, Ukrainians are wise to be using sympathetic surrender terms in a way that could help defend their country and potentially help their economy afterward. 

Some of these things the Ukrainians are already doing and a few might actually make sense. 

1.) Easy Surrender Initiative: A soldier that surrenders is an amazing source of information. They also leave equipment behind, allows reallocation of military resources not used for fighting and could potentially save Ukrainian lives.

2.) Offer Path to Return Home or Ukrainian Citizenship: Because they have given up without a fight they took a pretty big risk. Treating them well and eventually offering a path to return to Russia or become a Ukrainian resident. 

3.) Given they a Job with Pay in Clean Up, Construction, and/or Specialized Services: Why just have to take care of them and the expenses of it. Perhaps giving them temporary work permits in cleaning up, fixing roads, construction, or contractors if they have specialized skills the Ukrainians can use. The average market wage should prevail to ensure positive good will. 

4.) Encourage Countries to Help Those Who Surrender; When people have a viable path to fight for a war they don't want or one in which they can surrender and be given a new life it is important. That may mean other nations may want to work with, hire, or absorb some the soldiers that want peaceful lives and have contributed to Ukrainians cause.

5.) Different Levels of Surrender: Those units and soldiers that surrender when requested are treated under Easy Surrender Initiative and treated as potential future friends. Those who fight and only surrender when exhausted/defeated they will be treated civilly, in accordance with international law, but strictly as enemy combatants. 

6.) Let it Be Known Surrender Options: Make sure it is obvious to all Russians, public media, and international media that if the troops come and surrender they will be seen as friends and will be helped. Give these units time to prepare and allow people to think about it way before they come. The PR advantages are also huge as people know Ukraine is "doing the right thing". 

You may want to read First new Russian military recruits already in Ukraine, says President's Office. Remember while they are attacking a country many people are untrained, boys, have no experience, and forced. Giving them an avenue out can save many lives, infrastructure damage, and have a huge psychological effect if masses of troops defect after reaching battlefield. The door to future positive relationships with a regime change of the general will of people when their kids were saved from Putin's bad choices. Opportunities for future reconciliation and peaceful relationships between Russia-Ukraine and Russia-UN. It could be a level k move.

Electoral Count Reform Act

 Probably a good idea. It shows that we are learning from our threats and making changes. Presidential Election Reform Act

Why Do We Need National Unity and Development? 9 Ideas to Think About

National unity around key concepts and values we all share helps ties different communities to a bigger picture of democracy and self governance.  There will be some disagreement and arguments based on which political party one belongs but the big picture should take precedence. 

I'm a light R but carry some values from the central L. Despite my party affiliation (RINO-DINO) I sort of just say what I think because I believe our country needs independent thinkers and people who can bridge gaps. 

A few ideas I'm sort of thinking about that are important to national development.....

1. Economic Development and Environmental Protection: It is possible to develop, improve technology, and protect our environment. That takes a balance between improving our natural systems like the Great Lakes while also encouraging economic investment in the region (I know short on facts but its just a quick statement.)

2. Military Readiness, Space Development: Develop the world's strongest, most capable and most innovative military. That includes advanced technologies and space development as the next frontier. Some of the technologies such as robotics and new lines of weaponry can be used in both. Military capabilities will need military, industrial, and scientific coordination.

3. Human Capital Development: Ensure that we have an education/training system in place that creates highly skilled graduates that are ready to compete on the global market. That includes life long learning and wide spread human capital development that maximizes creative, scientific and technical talent.

4. Infrastructure, Power Grid, Export Structures: Create an adaptable plug and play power grid focused on renewables and electrification as well as the ability to utilize older energy such as oil, gas, nuclear, etc. When one commodity goes up in price or becomes scarce other fuel sources can supplement. Likewise, we also need ports, rail and other methods of moving products off our shores and into the global marketplace.

5.Innovation, Core Technologies, Advanced Manufacturing: Encourage the US and our institutions to develop superior/leading products, services, and technologies so as to spearhead industries in multiple high value markets. That requires a focus and adjustment in how we approach business and create co-development.  

6. Market Development and Global Influence: We must continue to develop markets and relationships to sell American products and offer opportunities for other nations to join into supply chains and the free market system. Encourage nations to adopt principles of fair trade and cooperation that benefits all parties.

7. Internal Institutional Development and Universalization: I have seen local systems default in support of certain ethnic, racial, and Good Old Boy networks in a way that is similar to societies where ethnic, racial, and religious corruption/strife is brutal and common. We must believe and follow our Constitution to create/maintain societal stability/support from the widest amount of stakeholders in alignment with our conception of freedom. 

8. Capitalistic-Democratic Leadership, Social, and Wealth Circulation: We should encourage the best and brightest to rise as well as the capitalistic-democratic system to rejuvenate itself. That comes through ensuring there is room for new ideas, leaders, social groups, and opportunities that circulate throughout the system. It helps to create wider benefits of capitalism and greater decision making beyond current "connected" group think in our parties.

9. Reducing Domestic Extremism and Outside Election-Social Influence: We have to tackle how some of our politicians of both sides are encouraging and following extremist agendas. We need better methods of detection and new laws that can discover, analyze, implement and eventually overcome domestic extremism and foreign influence in internal national affairs.

Will Snowden be Drafted/Invited to the Front Lines of Ukraine? I Doubt It...But There is a Point to be Made

We owe loyalties to our nation even when we may disagree within something we must be wise with those disagreements. If that disagreement can't be fixed internally then you find another safe channel to deal with the disagreement (Perhaps consider other reporting channels, agencies, or Congress). The mistake he made is he went overseas to a foreign adversary without considering how that information is worth more than any individual person or their cause. 

No one is perfect, just like no system is perfect, and sometimes we need a little correction but the minute we go to a foreign adversary we open up a huge can of worms. Of course Russia is going to welcome him with open arms and give him safe haven. They are equally likely to get as much information as they can from him and exploit the PR of it all. 

Sometimes it feels like we have a few politicians and people who think Russia is out to help them solve some of their political and personal problems. Whether that is running there with national secrets or encouraging them to investigate political candidates those are inappropriate behaviors. They are inherently dangerous.

Snowden put himself in a difficult situation by not using the various legitimate channels available to him and then jumped to a foreign country to make his point. I wonder if part of that information he shared, and perhaps a few others, may have led to increased conflict we now experienced. Even small bits of information can change things.

Why is he getting Russian citizenship now and what secrets did that cost him? I think Russia should reconsider their current path of sending troops to Ukraine for the sake of everyone involved....Russians, Ukrainians, UN, and everyone else (Personally I hope they reconsider and find a peaceful alternative path to reconnect with the world.). I wonder if Snowden will be one of the first to earn his new Russian found citizenship by volunteering to the front lines?  

Ok sorry......

Truthfully I doubt he would go even if he was offered the opportunity! The point I want to make here is that there are channels we can have to raise concerns but one can't go to other countries. Stepping outside of internal channels with critical intelligence could put American lives at risk and that might be just as bad as someone leaving a door unlocked with national secrets on top of their desk. Maybe not? 🤷

Vladimir Putin grants former NSA contractor Edward Snowden Russian citizenship

Republicans Should Support FBI While Supporting General Oversight

 All systems must function as intended and I personally think the FBI is doing what they need to do. That doesn't mean on the very high end there isn't some room for oversight but at the same time they need to be free to investigate what they need to investigate. Before my fellow Republicans want to throw out the baby with the bathwater they should think about a few things.

The FBI's independence has uncovered potential espionage and an potential coup that would not have been discovered if we played politics as usual (Remember that it hasn't been publicly proven yet but it is something that we should be concerned about.). Their objectives are to ensure we keep our democracy moving forward based on the laws passed by our legislators (That is why there are different branches.). 

I'm always an advocate for change and think that general oversight is good on the upper levels but I'm not into angry retaliatory changes that further erode the ability to catch and manage those engaged in nefarious purposes. There is always room for improvement but only if the intent is to make more functionable. We must be serious with our politics if we want to succeed as a nation.

Let us consider that there needs to be enough independence to ensure it isn't being political swayed by far right or far left radical leanings. Likewise, there must be enough oversight on the top levels to make sure that it stays in line with the wishes of the people. It should not change so often as to be led by the nose of the flavor of the month movement. It shouldn't be so rigid as to not be adjusting to the longer term trends of society.

Get my point?

It needs to function, be neutral in politics, hold people to account of the law, and maintain its loyalties to the Constitution and its people. Some have argued that Americans should attack, defund, and get retaliatory with the FBI. I suspect those are many of the same people who felt it was ok to sack our capital, support political violence, potentially construct a coup, and bent a knee for self interest. 

Another reason why the best and brightest need to rise. People who are willing to make choices that can increase accountability and improve the system without wildly swinging the pendulum because they are upset they are getting caught. We need long-term strategic thinkers and that doesn't always come from a closed circle of "connected". 

I always support positive change and checks-n-balances in a reasonable way. I do not support breaking a system because people did wrong things and don't like being investigated. Take the reasonable and rational approach and recognize we need this system to maintain some level of independence of thought but not so much it can fall out of line. Yin Yang

You may read GOP readies political heartburn for an FBI it won't defund 

Police Recruitment at Capital and Our Hometowns: An opportunity to diversify

Policing is an important function in society and slow recruitment is a problem but it can under certain circumstances also be an opportunity. It may be an opportunity to recruit diversely and attract different types of people to the practice policing to ensure that is reflective of society and develops multiple new ways of looking at and interacting with people.

If we review current police demographics  (I cannot vouch for the statistics or how they are drawn.) we can see a good opportunity to shore up these slow recruitment/attraction by encouraging minorities and those with cognitive diversity to get involved and become officers. It is a chance for people to sort of take a bag of lemons and make lemonade in a way that improves the systems, encourages trust, and has a positive impact on drawing communities together. 

Support our police and support our communities. Some may have left or retired and that can create a flow of new people if we can find a mechanism to attract new officers. My suggestion is work on the PR, connect new college students and high schools, post widely and using different marketing channels in areas where more representation is needed (race, religion, cognitive diversity, etc.).

Be open to the idea that universalization around a shared need of policing is important. I would encourage those who are pro and distrusting of police to use this opportunity to create win-win.  What is most important is a person's desire to serve and protect the public. 

(That also includes Republicans and Democrats who have in recent times encouraged people to be violent toward police and the FBI. Its time to change the narrative to something more constructive.)

How to Stay Diligent in Face of Hate: Dissertations and A Story Just Behind the Story (Peaking Between the Veil/Curtain)

Hate isn't an easy thing to deal with. Especially if the people who did so are not honest with the blind followers and corrupt officers they surround themselves with. They can pretty much say anything and people will assume its true. That is even more likely if no one asked for the alternative story that money went missing prior, they put kids in harms way, and that there has been long stemming mental health issues by the initiators of hate. In other words, the goal never was to understand it was to scapegoat a family for others problems and issues. It was to circumvent accountability.

I have more obligation to ensure that corruption and hate don't get normalized then they do to protect their egos. Yes I do recognize that based in our current political and legal environment that those who are seen as minorities get taken advantaged of, targeted for ethnic cleansing, and will have few to no rights if someone views them as "the other" . I guess in many ways it has been that way ever since I decided to chase a dissertation and live as Muslim (It was supposed to be temporary but I realized you couldn't go back unless you bust the bubble others live in.). 

I did the one most horrible thing that any red blooded American could ever dare to do and that is I was so bold as to step into another world and left an old one behind (It just negates everyone's psychological sense of "ego centric "rightness"). The world changed immediately with the horrors on people's face and how quickly they were brought to rage (More about that later). This group began to spread rumors, coordinated hate, take things that didn't belong to them, and all types of sadism took over because they were "justified". In hindsight it was the best thing I could have ever done; I think it had a purpose. 

There is much more to this story and I will tell you why I'm against corruption, extremism and no longer care what anyone on this planet thinks of me; they can't judge...not even the judges have familiarity in this realm. I learned things that only a few brave souls are likely to have learned in history (I can only think of a few but none precisely this way. One of my goals was to do the most unique dissertation I could think of. I had few things holding me back) and they are important things that can only come from perspective and cognitive role switching. 

(As an example my kids were pulled over 2X and I have been followed home and had a car parked outside my home. The message is pretty clear that people like me are not welcome and we face risks for being there. As a father that is pretty much when I decided I will challenge hate and corruption directly. I did what any father would do trying to protect his kids after I told he perpetrators to keep my kids out of their issues and that was a red line. They crossed that boundary multiple times and used their police associates to help. Feeling frightened for their safety I drew the anger by being outspoken and challenging the larger pre-immune hate oriented self-entitled group that relied heavily on law enforcement as their enforcers {Not what they expected for a "blame the victim" to turn and face them and hold a mirror. Two logical systems as reflective of two different worlds. This was a glimpse of peaking through the curtain. Getting people to put a toe in was challenging.}. 

We have all heard of a sandpiper right? {If not spend more time in nature and on the beach.} Their choice was their choice and its telling of natural intent. Likewise, narcissists usually try to dominate weaker personalities. Tell a narcissist "no" when they want something and watch them attack the seemingly weak, different, socially isolated, or injured.  The choice to attack and those who blindly followed did so based on a dominant personality that has warped their relationships and objectivity of the people through immediate social vicinity. This is why we should have some checks and balances in place and ensure that police recuse themselves when their friends are involved. 

We should have never been put in such a situation because others have failed themselves and their duties. We assumed all the risk, and continue to do so, simply because someone else created us as an exploitable target for their inner turmoil. Not fair! Wrong is wrong and those who accept it are also wrong! Because hate is a dark value it can travel from one arena of life to another and only creates victims until it is challenged and overcome.)

(See I was diagnosed 3X as a highly gifted person with IQ butting against genius {Like 2 IQ points which actually don't matter after 120 much because other personality traits take over. So if your 140 or 160 it can be highly dependent on cultural bias, exposure, education, etc., etc., etc.. One of my kids was also diagnosed as a genius and the other one I'm pretty sure he is a genius based on his interests and association of his discussions. Those are mixed race kids that this group belittled, discounted their lives, and put in harms way. We have a habit of steeling opportunities and putting kids in harm's way for the self needs of others and their bigotries. Black, White or other our children are sacrosanct. Even more so when we have a community that needs leaders and genius contributors we shouldn't put them intentionally in harms way. Not protecting my own offspring would be irresponsible for me, them and the possibilities of what they could become with the right support. If our laws are not designed to protect the next generation from the corruption of the current generation we got a serious break as this generation matures with renewed expectations of freedom and democracy. We need solutions.) 

Walking in other's shoes on such a level has only a few examples I found in history and I drew from those examples. They were actually Catholic examples and I maintain a cultural sense of identity to Catholicism but also have accepted Islamic and Jewish principles into my world view (Its possible when you stop focusing on the minute details of difference). I have a truer respect for religion and how they all point to the same place....so I believe there is something universal and more out there that even the brightest minds can't fully comprehend (Its called life logic and a level of an understanding of a bigger system. Because modern science can't see what it can't measure we must have just a little faith to bridge the gap. or maybe not? 🤔).

That is not something I can explain at the moment but I think with extremism rising in this country and corruption becoming fashionable I think it is starting to be good timing to tell parts of the story. Not all parts are for public consumption; that is my right, my oaths and my conscious. Please don't assume the first thing that pops into your head because you could be very wrong. Think not? You can try this Harvard Implicit Word Research to give yourself some self-reflective insight (Remember the word implicit and implicit bias. Also remember social construction for later discussions. ☝) 

What I can say is that I switched my dissertation for practical reasons and the need to eventually graduate. However, there was much more I learned over my 20 years as a Muslim that wouldn't fit into a dissertation but parts of it are important for people to learn. That has to do with the very root nature of life and how we as a species create all types of justifications for things that are not rational, just, or fair. It isn't race or religion specific. 

A little more information on my beliefs of dissertations and the rise of nationalism. As our world pushes us to change and adapt it is up to us to continue the path of development from one generation to the next and how that creates adaptations (or failure to adapt).

I really should be working on my economic theory of transactional clusters (I didn't invent the whole theory but mine was somewhat independently created and I think it is viable for scalability in Delta County. Once I actually find the time to work on it. Right now I'm just trying to correct an injustice that should be within our legal system.)

()=commentary

{}=commentary of commentary.

Is the American economy heading into 'dire straights'?

 Investments are on the down track. I wonder how long they will go down. According to the video there is correction and there is downturn in the market. The question is how long and how severe the downturn? I would think that some of the investments we have put into our infrastructure and economy may help reduce some of that downswing. However, that may or may not be true depending on lots of other factors. 

Liz Cheney Should Stay and Rally "Old Guard" Republicans

I would be sad if the GOP loses Liz Cheney. Whether or not we agree on a political level what we can say is that she has integrity. The far right has turned very far right and has begun to outstrip its party. There has been some movement back to the middle as more and more information is coming out about the inner circle of certain politically connected groups. 

Instead of leaving I hope Cheney stays in the party and she begins to rally the "Old Guard" Republicans to start pushing out these far right extremists. While it won't immediately get her votes it is likely to be fruitful in the long run as the tide turns and hindsight kicks in. History often tells a different story that the way we see it at that time.

I like some things Trump did in terms of a few policies (i.e. boarder wall. Sorry its just an opinion and we still face some issues in society. We have to settle those and figure out an agreed path that helps those who need our help while ensuring we are not putting ourselves in harm's way. There are solutions and while I have a few ideas they are not that important in today's discussion.) 

Many of his ideas are good ones and I would like to play golf with him but I don't see him as able to really lead an entire diverse nation. I think the same hammer being used every time is not wise. I also think there are a few serious behaviors that could turn out to be troublesome for the nation. My vote is likely to go to one of the other Republican candidates (I haven't finalized my opinion yet.) 

As an "Old Guard" Republican I have to turn toward the rational center and encourage others in both parties to do the same thing. We have responsibilities to ensure that party politics doesn't derail our national development.  So the GOP needs Liz Cheney whether or not they know it or not. She should stay and fight for her Republican values and if she loses continue to fight until things start to bank in her favor.

I believe there are a lot of people in the GOP that are looking for direction and she could be one of the major players in that. It would be a tough choice but it is a choice. 

As always my loyalties lie with the Constitution and the American people. Parties are only a path to getting things done but parties must fall into line with essential American principles. 

Liz Cheney says she would campaign for Democrats

What To Do If a Local Judicial System Becomes Corrupt?

One of the problems we face within this country is we have far right and far left extremism. At present the far right extremism seems to be more of the issue but that doesn't mean it will always be. The problem is that these values can sometimes make their way into local judicial systems and create a type of corruption where normal laws and rules don't apply. 

Ideology can be a dangerous thing if it leads people to the same conclusions over and over without considering the rights and values of others. As a people we rely on these systems to enforce the law and provide a level of protection. If they work on behalf of a single group, clan, or people it distorts the law and could someday lead to third world strife.

That can change if you are considered "worthy" of being a target for hate and anger (Heightened by religious, racial, ethnic or Good Old Boy considerations). Its not based on the actual person or their merits but perhaps on things such as one's religion, race, who will financially benefit, the "connectedness" of the perpetrators and/or support of a few law enforcement members (The vast majority are doing the right thing but the wrong is praised.). 

We would expect our judges to uphold our laws universally and if they default in support of those values it opens a major can of worms. That becomes very important if they consistently default based on their own skewed version of the world. I would then expect outside stakeholders to come in and support our the protections of our Constitution and national values. 

(What this situation has done to me has created a level of skepticism that people are willing to do the right thing and they are able to step up against their social networks. That the laws in some places don't matter and you can say what you want, do what you want, and circumvent what you want as long as its against a family that are seen as less worthy or less American. I fell like there is one system trying to do the right thing and one system trying to do the wrong thing and they are running parallel. That system which comes out on top Pro Country or Pro Clan will determine the future of this town in some ways. Whether it will be open to new investments and people or it will be closed off and suffer the fate of many closed nations. I can't even say if that is 100% true but just sort of possible. We can learn from what happens on a local level as to what could happen on a national level. Opening one door versus another. What I can say is I cant afford to trust a system focused on enhancing their own group.) 

The problem is that in many cases judges are not investigated or held to account (Its very rare and that is dangerous.) They are above the law and can provide immunity for others who have violated the law. If we found they circumvented the law, held radical ideologies, or consistently punished certain groups (i.e. outsiders) when compared to people within their own social group we should be concerned. 

We may also find that the wider society knows there is an issue and has shown a positive and supportive disposition (Could be an indication the judge is working on behalf of a certain group and people know it because they have seen it and/or experienced it prior. Maybe they are just aware. I can't say one way for sure what I can say is what happened here is dangerous, unfair, and intentionally destructive. It put people at risk and no judge should pretend those risks were not there and don't continue forward in many ways. Its irresponsible. I have advocated for what would fix the system and help the perpetrators get help as well as create a level of accountability. None of that seems to matter. What seems to be of most importance is the needs of the perpetrators even when they were highly manipulative and aggressive.). I wonder if deep down they know this group is a problem and they know they are provided a level of immunity for their behaviors (An inherent risk for everyone as we will be here again in a few years when the coast is clear and the hate group is further emboldened through hate immunity.). 

That leads us to to our dysfunctional nature of politics and how that impacts our judicial proceedings. I actually hate politics! I think its just one of those things where people are more interested in proving others wrong then it is about finding solutions. That short sightedness encourages to all types of chaos. Sometimes there are breakthroughs and things get done. In general, toxic politics weakens our country and pro solution debating can increase positive adaptations.

Anyway...if I ever run for politics it will be because our nation is really struggling with leadership (Not everyone but there is a enough poor self-serving "leaders" to know that something isn't right with the way things are getting done). Things seem to be sort of broken and we are at a critical juncture where we must step forward into a modern universal society where human capital, innovation, and economic development is going to happen on a bigger digital era scale or we are going to increasingly look non competitive and third world at a time we are going to need to perform at our top (dysfunctional politics, extremism, corruption, ethnic/racial/religious clans, etc.. Hate supporting judges tear at our future! ). 

We need to open the opportunities to the best and brightest and not the most connected to ensure we have more solutions to these problems (See how the "connected" have defaulted local systems and that is foreshadowing of what can happen on a national level if we dont correct.).  It may be hard to do that if people are socialized into a certain party affiliation, racial or religious perspective and unable to think divergently about solutions. Just pressing a button like a blind money makes no sense whatsoever. 

I wrote this article in 2019 prior to an increase in extremism over the past few years. 9 Important Issues if I Run for Politics (Extremism is likely to decline on an official level because it is being debunked but it will also likely move more underground as people become awaere on a root needs level of its danger.). I'm just formalizing my main ideas. I don't think I have the personality to just give people quick sound bites even when I know they aren't likely to be helpful. Or to bend my knee to the gods of ignorance and blind followership. (Chances are I'm likely to become an overeducated dishwasher in our current environment but what is patriotism in todays world anyway? Loyalty to Clan or whole Nation? It's hard to have values when you see the distortion of values in people who should be doing the right things. Sign of the times and there are few willing to stand for something greater. Normalization of hate is a sign of moral and future economic decline. I'm doing my best to provide economic, social, legal, and moral solutions. We just are not ready to hear them; even if they are dumb or not from someone wealthy or powerful. You would think protests, January 6th, international conflict, rise of China, free pass threats to democracy and COVID would get us working together but it hasn't. In many ways we have moved in opposite direction. The proof is in pudding. Now make sure you discount everything I say because I do have a Muslim sounding name. Look I already knew they were immune when started because they checked with officers in their network and local judge before engaging in cleansing behaviors and when they got stumped they went back to the same judge.  Then smirked and lied and spread rumors. All legit indicating the local system became fully corrupt and intentionally sought to ethnic cleans people not up to their racial and religious standards. They told me they were setting up my family because we were Muslim; they know nothing of us! Then they moved on to harm my kids. I dont think you can get anymore corrupt than that. I will not be third word cleansed as my genetic line is longer in area than most of theirs and that shouldn't be a requirement of any type. The main perpetrators are acting like nothing happened, feel emboldened and likely looking for the next opportunity.  I ask that Federal and State investigators come in and hold this judge and clan accountable. While I had hope people didnt go to jail it looks like they cant correct and the local law no longer functions as intended. I will follow my values and spiritual beliefs while everyone else can follow theirs. Dirty Muslim and "Nigga Baby" kids or not! America must correct this demon. We either do or we dont! History will likely be written by such choices in a collective level. People must determine their loyalties to their clan or to their country. How dare they put my kids in harm's way for racism and financial gain! We are a nation of laws and if we aren't I would say we got so much work to do fixing it that generations will need to push for correcting the torch we smothered out in our lifetimes.) 

Anyway I wrote this......

1.) Equality of Opportunity. Began to change the political and economic environment to ensure all people have opportunities to succeed and social mobility is likely for those who work hard.

2.) Higher Education/School Reform. To ensure each of our children, young adults, and seasoned employees have new and innovative skills that push economic growth.

3.) Global Competitiveness-Economic Development and Innovative Manufacturing. Bring back manufacturing and innovative development through the creation of a high tech society. Global cluster management development for better global performance.

4.) Environmental/Clean Technology. Limit pollution through innovative business that reduces waste and finds green practices economically-socially desirable.

5.) Income Disparity and Business Development. Ensure small and medium businesses are easy to start and have an opportunity to grow. Change the legislative environment to have balance of different size businesses and thereby create a more resilient economy.

6.) Children and Development. The first 10 years of life are critically important. If we can nurture, protect, and enhance our children during this time we have set them off in the world with a "success" mindset.

7.) National security, military readiness, and terrorism. Updating our military through low and high tech training. Implement robotics as an enhancement.

8.) Police and Justice Reform. To enhance policing positions and opportunities based on new metrics of performance that encourage wisdom, reform, and cultural awareness. Hold criminals accountable while ensuring that non violent crimes are reviewed for reform purposes.

I would add something about judicial integrity and the need to ensure checks and balances if judges make decisions that are in support of certain clans, racial, ethnic ideologies without regard to evidence. I would think that the judicial system itself would need to hold their own accountable to help ensure the independence of the Judicial branch. We have three legs of government to help create checks and balances. There may be a way to encourage this independence but with a level of internal protections. We have seen recently judges take political positions that have little to do with protecting the public or relying on evidence. That risks destroying the foundations of trust that can cause bigger societal issues. For example, if extreme hate behaviors are given a free pass based on erroneous loyalties or distorting the purpose and scope of our American systems that would through necessity create legitimate distrust of at least local and possibly national institutions based on necessity. That becomes even more true if perpetrators knew they were immune prior to engaging in hate and their is a history of short sticking targets through inappropriate criteria.

9.) International Relationships. A collaborative approach to international relations. That process also includes holding "bad actors" accountable through increased pressure on reform. Fair economic policies that allow the U.S. to be competitive and maintain its position at the center of the distribution system.

Making Jokes about Death Threats, Extremism, and Politics in Michigan

No matter what party one belongs domestic extremism is a big thing and when someone's house was watched, people planned on coordinating and killing our politicians its not a joking matter (Same thing happens to intellectuals, visionaries, people who are different or even people who stand up for their American values.). It is rhetoric like this that creates problems for our nation as some (R or L) normalize extremist behaviors. I'm a light R and that does not take away from the unique skills the candidates have. However, joking about kidnaping and death threats is not the way to go anywhere and at anytime. We need the best and brightest versus the most "connected" to make their way to the top. A bad joke is a bad joke and if if not well thought-out and blurted out with insensitivity then it should be retracted and deserves an apology.

If she truly feels that extremism and support of violence is the way to go then I believe she will likely lose this election as the wider society has now come to understand  the danger of such beliefs. There are risks to moving so far right you start to outstrip large portions of your base for a smaller portion of far far Right (or even Left). Leaders are here for only a short time but certain principles should stay from generation to generation. Think about the very purpose of politics. Find solutions, challenge policies that don't work (Even Whitmer's policies if you have something better) but don't get destructive. Challenging in the right way pushes the whole system to adjust and develop as new ideas are brought forward and replace older one's. Our nation is an adaptive organization that needs adaptive leaders. 

 That is not an endorsement or a lack of endorsement for anyone. I couldn't care less if someone doesn't see me as a "real" RINO republican or even a "real" American (That would sound a little extremist to me anyway as though all Republicans/Democrats need to engage destructive rhetoric. Its not a badge of honor to go the lowest places possible. That goes for both sides.). Conservatism is based on time honored values like respect for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as based in our Constitution. True Conservatives are against extremism, use of violence, racism, and bigotry of all forms. At least those who follow traditional Conservatism. You can't be free if people use, plan or threaten violence! 

Let us keep it classy America!!!

Why Integrity and Learning in Justice is Important?

We often think that justice has something to do with getting people in trouble. It has more to do with keeping the system focused on what is in the best interest of our nation and communities. We must be a learning and adjusting nation/governance that seeks the highest states of democracy and human capital development.

A problem sometimes arises when we get confused about what justice means. I'm sure there is a lot of different perspectives on this but it is about appropriate weight based on the crimes committed. Each case is due to its merits.

For example, a hungry man who steals an apple is not on the same level as someone who defrauds millions (Which we are seeing more often). Punishing one due to poverty more than one with fancy attorneys is not justice. Its just power and limited budgets!

The same can be said for hometown hate. Free pass for self-enriching coordinated hate behaviors of a 100+ people (Most of these people are good but caught into a distorted sports network with little conception of the rest of the global world. Think of how in anthropological research aboriginals that might be isolated in the middle of the forest have their own way of looking at the world and are tightly bound so as to not be able to see values and beliefs outside their cultural knowledge and limited experiences. This group sees themselves primarily through the same social network they grew up with. That carries both good and bad characteristics.) with the blind support of at least one department (A few officials within that department. Not to take away from the many good officers) and perhaps a local judge (Either based in being misinformed or misaligned in values.) is not acceptable. Its just power!

It isn't always about getting people in trouble but it is about correcting the intentional wrong. The system should adapt, change, improve performance, and more focused on American principles. Something many of our national leaders have become confused as to their roles and reasons for being in office. It has little do do with catchy slogans and jingles.

As a nation we are in a state of transition and I believe the next generation will force us in say less than 10 years to face our demons (Maybe not). The young are diverse, increasingly global, and simply don't have the patience to placate poor values for the sake of a single group, clan, racial, religious, or political affiliation.

Even when making adjustments and changes are in the best interest of everyone, can be helpful to those that started the problem and improve local opportunities it is often swept aside in self interest. Some are not interest in win-win but perhaps instead of pleasing their homogeneous social networks. 

Its an opportunity I think to improve the entire local judicial system they shouldn't let slip through their fingers. It would be irresponsible. 

As always I encourage wiser and brighter minds to continuously adjust the system so that it functions at the highest possible state of development. If we want to be global leaders we have to think on a global level and that includes universalizing our systems to the needs of our society. It moves beyond essential American values and into the very root of values through shared/symbolic understands of moral conscious. 

Each person should ask if they will cling to the past or embrace the future? To me if it makes sense to adjust and improve a system then one should make practical adjustments if it is in line with a more global, interconnected, world where racial and religious differences are unlikely to be that important to the next generation. 

I'm not sure I know what the right answer is but I do believe a free pass is highly unfair and not justified based on what I have seen. We can't be a society of anything goes as long as its against certain people. It just seems so defunct. I believe change is needed to ensure these things never happen again. 

The only power we have is to teach the next generation a higher set of values and the need to maintain loyalties to our essential American principles. Our democracy is important and basic civil respect and civil rights are what will help us get there. These people were all about tearing things down and building boundaries and boarders between people in a way that benefited them. Hate is so powerful it can default entire systems. Its a shame!

President Joe Biden speaks at the National Education Association

Biden provides speech at National Educational Association. The audio on this channel sort of stinks but I couldn't find a better one. I do agree with one thing, work provides a level of pride for people, and having jobs helps. There is also a internal conflict between MAGA and Old Guard Republicans. I think that is start to switch back to the central stance as legal issues ramp up. 

As with all speeches there are things I agree with and things I disagree with. Very wealthy people don't count their pay checks in the same way as poor people. So help on one level could be valid and beyond that we need to fix the system in general. That would include increased opportunity for people and ensure that health insurance functions well is another. 

The devil is always in the details and it if was easy to solve it would have been solved a long time ago. Market forces should determine the price of drugs but at the same time an argument can be made that the pharmaceutical industry has responsibility to society and the community. 

Money and profits go far but community and resources goes much further. Invest in the American people through reduced cost on important drugs. The question is do you reduce drugs through competition in an imperfect market or do you simply say the retail price for these drugs should be lowered outside of market forces? 

Anyway....watch for yourself.

GOP Rolls Out Commitment to America: A Few Thoughts

There are some good ideas and comments in the GOP's Commitment to America. I have listened to President Biden's speech and have seen some of the recent changes in the GOP and let me say that they are more similar than both sides pretend to be (At least at their root.). At the end of the day they both want American to be strong and share some similarities in interest. I put my comments in in brackets below. Just in case you want to know I'm a light R and have no problem looking at things from different perspectives and angles. No one has to listen to me, or necessarily should, but certainly you should make up your own opinion regardless of what party you belong. Our nation is that important! I'm writing to understand myself. 

As an observation what I would say there isn't yet a lot of information in there so I would suspect its a developing agenda.

Taken GOP leaders roll out ‘Commitment to America 

-We will not allow it. The Commitment to America represents a new direction and better approach that will get our nation back on track. (New approaches are always welcome if they are thought out, supported, and have a high chance to succeed. Sometimes you just have to jump in both feet forward when there are lots of unknowns and no research to guide you. We are sort of half half with that now.)

-Because Americans are workers and builders, we commit to remove government-imposed obstacles to their success. Hardworking taxpayers should be valued, not punished. (In general, I agree that the more we remove road blocks, remove red tape to development, encourage investment and promote small business as an avenue of growth we are doing well. That being said there is room for some restrictions and rules when it comes to shared needs such as pollution and infrastructure.)

-Because no American should live in fear, we commit to reverse soft-on-crime policies that have caused violence in our communities. Public safety is a necessity, not a privilege. (People who commit serious crimes should be held to account. There are times where souls can be redeemed and we should always keep that in mind. Without an avenue of reform we don't really have a justice system or a reform system. We just have holding cells. It can be hard to find a balance. We should always seek to understand and use the right tools for people as individuals. Hard when hard is needed and soft when soft is wise. Its not always easy to judge a man's soul and we should always seek to enhance. Let us just make sure its fair and not giving some free passes and others not. Each on its own merit. It must be universalized.)

-Because Americans are learners and dreamers, we commit to advance excellence in education and respect for dedicated parents and teachers. Our future depends on it. (I agree. We need a robust education system all around. Without strong education and skilled trades we can't develop the human capital needed to truly build a modern innovative nation that others want to invest in. We need such skills to maintain growth and maintain strength.)

-And because Americans deserve fairness and real accountability, we commit to make Washington finally serve the needs of the people. We can no longer afford business as usual. We will work with anyone who shares these goals—as long as they put people before politics. (All of our politicians need to be more focused on the needs of the country versus themselves, their egos, their parties, and their pocketbooks. We need new blood so let us find the healthy balance between the stability of the "connected" and opening up the nation to the best and brightest. That allows for adaptability. Right now we have some stagnation in thought and ideas.).

(I struck through the part below because I like solutions more than rhetoric. I just sort of ignore these comments by both sides because they are not helpful. Extremism whether R or L is just destructive all the way around and creates group think. )

But the extreme ideology of this Democrat majority blinds them to the challenges of everyday Americans. They are simply too partisan and out-of-touch to correct course now. So be it. 

The National Importance of Local Judicial Integrity

The rule of law is important for order within society and its important for the development of our most important asset "The people". Sometimes law is misapplied in an avenue to protect certain races, religions, ethnic or social groups. When this occurs it needs to be corrected in order to maintain the integrity of the entire system as well as ensure such institutions stay in alignment with national values. 

What happens when institutions move outside of alignment with national values and/or engaged in corrupted behaviors?

If these behaviors are apparent then it might fall under the purview of US Public Corruption and Civil Rights Division. Such a division looks at cases where coordinated police, judicial, or and/or clan aggression appears to be in violation of some of our nation's most important/cherished values.

We are a nation in transition and there are still places that feel that their clan is more important than the national laws and that is why Federalism exists to ensure that people are treated fairly so as to maintain the internal stability of our democracy around shared principles (Try and sell that one to some of our politicians and you will find many confused as to what their actual roll is. Let me tell you it has nothing to do with helping themselves...they call it public service for a reason. Otherwise we would call it self service. 🤷)

Without that fairness we do run risks as certain groups and people have seen and come to accept the "normalization" of horrendous displays of bigotry and hate. For example, the group that started coordinated aggression did so based on their perceived power of 100+ blind supporters, coaching/connection/support of a few local officers (looks like up to 5 involved in other poor behaviors), and likely historical rulings of a pro-clan/"local" judge. 

All that power against a guy protecting his kids (and self) from manipulation, hate, pulling over, etc... Such weak groups only do so when they were given immunity before starting and have overwhelming power against individuals (i.e. smirky attitude with local police support by some officers) and when they do not expect to be held to account. Sounds like a well worn path for some of the members. 

To me it is more important to challenge these behaviors than to trash the Constitution that protects freedom of religion and freedom of speech. As a nation will we will have pressures to push our development into an enlightened society that moves into a universal democracy (that will likely gain support by many nations) and digital era where human capital is maximized. 

We also face risks we won't adapt and fall back into darker times where race, religion and Good Old Boy networks destroy our performance and options. Those that are engaged in minority targeting behaviors have become a risk to the rest of us and take on roles related to domestic extremism when opinion (especially intentionally manipulated opinion) is acted upon. 

Its a choice and its not my choice. The only thing I can choose is what I will do (They picked fights, intentionally insulted, yelled out to my kids "your father is a bitch", and told me why they were doing this because we were Muslim.). Protect my family, encourage integrity, be polite but not passive, encourage a system that corrects its behavior for the protection of the community and live by what I believe are my American/"American" values.

 Others will choose what they believe the values they hold in their hearts.  I use positive peaceful pressure to turn this into a learning situation because I now wholeheartedly believe it is possible its happening all across the nation as some groups feel frightened and threatened by a changing world and changing national demographic (I don't feel challenged. No matter anyone's race and religion we are all equals and our institutions should encourage that. We have positive things to teach this world.)

I know! I know! As someone with a Muslim sounding name and what these people call "Nigga Baby" kids we are the first to get targeted, the first to lose our rights, and the first to be retaliated against (At least on a local level). We are not seen by some as being full blooded and valuable Americans. Its a fundamental value system. I don't know what the right answer is but it seems like there is no remorse or accountability and that creates a pretty big problem for me, and people like me. 

To forgive is one thing but to forget when those risks are still present is another. It would be irresponsible of me. It wouldn't be fair to any past or future victims.  

Some doors open and some close, let us see what happens.....

Pictures of Casco Viejo, Panama

 A few pictures you might enjoy. 

Palace Views Casco Viejo, Panama 

Some of the revenue goes to fund charities such as orphans.

Spanish Street Models Casco Viejo, Panama. 

Some of the revenue goes to fund charities such as orphans.

Courtyard in Casco Viejo, Panama.

Some of the revenue goes to fund charities such as orphans.

College Readiness and Corporate Recruiting Practices Influences Human Capital Development

Human capital development is related to development of one's labor force and the capacity of people to move upwards and receive the rewards for their efforts. This is why I usually advocate for the benefits of training and development but also for the universalization of our institutions and opportunities. According to a publication the Brookings Institute entitled The contribution of human capital to economic growth employers should be hiring graduates based on their performance within universities, ability to conceptualize issues/problems, think clearly and originally on issues. 

College Preparedness and Company Hiring Practices

Ensuring graduates have the right skills is one things but the employers ability and willingness to hire and groom exceptional talent is another. My experience in the past indicates that most positions 70% are hired by people who know each other and that isn't always based on people's skills (I did a quick search to see if that was in the ball park Network Statistics 2022). That would create a problem for high performing students that aren't given a chance to succeed and must struggle to fully maximize their exceptional talent. 

Thus colleges can encourage these behaviors but employers but be willing to move outside of their social networks to recruit higher quality candidates. That is unlikely to happen unless we are forced through challenge to change existing patterns to find and promote the best, brightest, and most qualified. (I once created a variable course tract sequencing system that allows students to move through different courses based on their learning and interests in a way that tests and reinforces their knowledge through individualize competency development based on their natural abilities and interests. It was kind of a next stage on competency implementation.)

That leads us to 1.) Company hiring practices and 2.) College preparedness.

Its important to change how companies hire and how colleges prepare students because according to that publication the average contribution of labor productivity growth has been minimal for the U.S. at a stagnant .2% (Baily, Bosworth & Kennedy, 2020). Its an indication that we are not maximizing our national resources well and social nepotism is holding us back. (An argument for knowing someone's abilities through experience is one thing but not looking at qualified candidates because they are not within one's social circle is another thing. One must always be open to more qualified people from other networks and places to take a chance on the highest corporate/national performance.)

We learn that 3.) Social networking and nepotism could have a negative impact on human capital growth if exclusive.

Human Capital Calculations

Reading through the paper I also found an interesting human capital calculation that may be of benefit to someone who is concerned with how education and personal development are calculated. Remember that these are formulas and could easily be developed with different variations. They are not facts but just ways of understanding the components that allow for quantitative analysis. 

Mincer (1974) developed the Mincerian function ln Y= α +β‧S + g(A)

(Y is a measure of labor earnings, S is years of schooling, A is age or preferably years of work experience, and g is a higher order polynomial that reflects the concaveness of the age earnings) function.)

What we find is that education (I would include many forms of higher skilled trades) impact human capital development over a persons life in a way that improves the resources available to a country. Thus, education is so important for development that with the right infrastructure and investment environment could determine the economic path and resilience of an entire nation over time. 

It also brings up another important concept for countries that are aging in what we often see in developed nations. Education mixed with other forms of productivity enhancements (i.e. wearable tech, innovative clusters, etc.) could be a net positive when that education mixes with knowledge, experience, and pro growth policies to create real value and development opportunities. 

The work further discusses inventors, entrepreneurs and industrial research laboratories for maximization of benefits. 200 innovation. 4, 2010). I have advocated for economic clusters (i.e. Delta County Model) as places to improve upon human capital development because it puts the right inventors, investors, and entrepreneurs in the same location to enhance each other. It also allows for the creation of pools of cluster research that improves multiple industries at the same time (i.e. military, outdoor equipment, metals, auto-space, etc.). 

Suggestions and Recommendations

Based on the paper and my own research I would consider the need to ensure our schools are truly functioning at their best to improve on slow growth in human capital development. Likewise, education (and skilled trades) have become part of a life long learning opportunities that pays dividends for a nation and for the people who engage in them. That requires a level of easy access and mobility of education as seen in some of our transition to online schools and more inclusive educational frameworks.

Business and industry should always consider that they do not currently associate with the best candidates and are neglecting a huge untapped resource because they don't want to step out of their comfort zones. They should consider working with universities to design curriculum that enhances needed skills (i.e. competency model) and allow promising individuals (based on skill and not race, religion, or social network) to be selected for corporate grooming (mentoring would likely be helpful here). 

While hiring people we know may feel safe it also carries a long term risk for the highest performance levels needed in a global society because people with the highest skills (i.e. best and brightest) are not always considered. Often they are not part of those "connected" groups. To find such unexplored gems one must be willing to look at other markers and tools that lead to discovery, recruitment and enhancement.

Mixed with the right pro investment policies, clusters, and universalized institutions we can unlock our diverse human capital that is unique to the U.S. (each country will have their own mix) that will determine what skills and resources are available for their own industry development. I advocate for the U.S. to use its diverse background and abundant financial, natural, and political capital to place itself at the highest/valuable within the supply chain in a way that leads to maximizing of value for ourselves and our allies. 

Investments and maximization of returns is important for growth. Top down policies don't work unless they spark wider growth and greater return. Our economic system should consider methods of creating rapid innovation and investment value to help our nation push its development upwards into the Digital Era where maximum economic and social performance is possible in a way that sustains future capital.  See Foster New Discoveries, University-Industry Research, Delta County Invest. 

Baily, M., Bosworth, B & Kennedy, K. (September 2020)The contribution of human capital to economic growth: A cross-country comparison of Germany, Japan, and the United States. Brookings Institute. Retrieved September 19, 2022 from https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20210928_BailyBosworthKennedy_Returns_to_education_final.pdf

Mincer, Jacob (1974). Schooling, Experience and Earnings. New York: National Bureau of Economic Research.