President Trump Holds a News Conference 09/10/20

 President Trump discusses lives saved, improved job market, Afghan peace discussions, and much more. We are going through tough times as a nation but we must continue to worry about the other things going on in the world. They just don't disappear because we are focused on COVID. True...they may go on pause and everything settle down because people are using their energy and resources to fight the pandemic. Sometimes problems aren't so important after major events and other times the become even more important. Watch the video to understand what is currently going on in the country.

Governor Whitmer September 10 2020 Press Conference

Governor Whitmer provides news update on Michigan. The state has lower COVID cases when compared to other states. This means people were able to social distance and tracking/monitoring made a big difference. Yes... there are so many other factors to consider but on the surface its an impressive number. Frontliners program are helping to finance front line workers for free college. Furthermore, there was discussion on helping people update their skills through education grants. You will need to watch it yourself to get the details. It does look as though we are on the back end of this thing 😷! Hopefully!

President Trump Delivers Remarks on Judicial Appointments

 President Trump discussion Judiciary Nominees. The Supreme Court is the top court in the land and having nominees often means that people will be selected based on their backgrounds, ideologies, and personality. The court influences our laws and cultures. When they make a decision it is pretty much final. Having people you trust on the panel influences the ideological viewpoints through rulings.

How The Economic Machine Works

It is helpful to understand on at least a rudimentary level how the economy works. Each of us must find our place within the economic system. That place should be defined by our natural skills and abilities. Sometimes we have other factors that skew that development from racism/bigotry all the way over to family structure. Developing capitalism rests in many ways on how we use labor and in turn the development of full human potential. Thus, there is a larger economic cycle and system at play where factors such as labor development, investment, resources, etc... connect and interact with each other to develop a perpetual moving system that allocates and uses resources during its change cycle.Understanding the system allows us to create greater fiscal policies. 

In Search of Delta County's Queen City Shipwreck-Some Functional Characteristics

A few divers and I have formed an ad hoc team of people who are seeking to search out and find Queen City shipwreck in Delta County. The team consists of two deep/seasoned divers, a archaeologist, and me. It is kind of cool to be invited to ship wreck. I suppose I have some diving experience over the last couple years, boating, research and other organizing skills (ummm gift for gab) to go and look for this boat. Its a great project and it will be fun to really go a National Geographic type hunt. 

Delta County Michigan has a lot of shipwrecks still not found. Visit Escanaba has some resources on local shipwrecks that may be of interest. A little more information at the Delta County Historical Museum. The amount of wrecks in Delta County is substantial but the number eludes me. I think it was around 40-50 but many are undiscovered so there is room to explore.

Queen City is a ship that hasn't been found despite being suspect in semi-shallow water. We have its general location and a navigation map where other researchers have previously explored. We are going to continue off of that map and we are going to canvas the likely areas looking for structural changes on the bottom of the water. If we can find something of interest we will stop and dive off to see what it is. There will be other strategies I'm sure but this one gets us out there in a few days. 

Its not my first shipwreck dive but it is my fist shipwreck hunt. The principles of research will be relatively the same as other studies but they will be adapted to shipwreck study. Where we need specific knowledge we can talk with the archaeologist and/or divers as the case is needed. Furthermore, it is possible to hedge volunteer researchers/historians. 

The one beautiful thing about the U.P. of Michigan is there are lots of historical society and people who love to study this stuff. When I review the literature about the ships we can find the authors. Most of those are historians themselves and can be contacted. I guess that is why we should include references and contacts with our work. I have used that option a lot over the years. 

Much of the basic work has been completed by the time I got asked. There is an amateur historian-diver connected to the group and they have reviewed the documents and have a pretty good idea (with the map) to start looking. However, I think it would be beneficial to contact the ports and historical societies in the ports where it did the most commerce to see what information they have. 

My suspicion (and I'm not an expert in nautical history) is that there may be more paper logs out there that talk about the ship, give hints to its cargo, and how much commerce it contributed to local commerce. I also think no one went back to contact the owning company and/or its chain of ownership just to see if they have any knowledge of the ship. They might love to be a little involved! Just for the marketing purposes alone! Its an idea I might bring up when we meet again. 👀

At present it looks like we have a knowledgeable team, a methodology, including research approach and a wide network of specialized divers (including ice and deep) that can be called upon to help us for free if we need it. I have dived with many of them and I can say the are really nice people and truly enjoy helping out on dives and an excuse to do it with people they like. Each of us has some experience with the others and we have our own individual skills.

 We are at present just paying for it ourselves and are taking a semi-serious recreational approach to it and we think it would be helpful to the understanding of local history. Perhaps it can help bring awareness of Delta County tourism offerings as well the economic aspects of the area. With luck we can find some artifacts and can film them and see what the next steps are with local historical societies and state/local permits. While we plan on giving any findings to the local museums and on having lots of fun trying. Maybe there are grants for these things to augment some of the costs? I might have to look and see if there is anyone interested in sponsoring the costs (which we are willing to flip ourselves for tanks and gas and stuff).

Could Escanaba Attract Seasonal Visitors Through "Hometown" Events, Condos and Marina?

One thing that Escanaba offers is a hometown atmosphere that puts on fun events for families and vacationers. It also offers a beautiful Marina and lakefront that is underutilized. With renewed interest in downtown development and housing options it is a great opportunity to connect events, condos and the marina to attract summer visitors. 

People who own boats and yachts love to have a good time and enjoy visiting fun places that are safe and keep their interests and fun sensors perked throughout their visit. For example the 906 Labor Day Event hosted at the docks and sponsored by Escanaba Public Safety, Meijers, Resort Island & Casino and others is one example of how the downtown and waterfront add value. 

You can get a windy video HERE.

Consider if we also took some of the run down blocks on that end and allowed for young entrepreneurs, developers, and others to purchase, refurbish and offer upstairs condos for sale and vacationers. I've hosted on AirBnB and I'm aware that it is possible to seasonally rent these places until a larger purchase or renter is found. It might be wise to keep a few open for vacationers. You may even find people from outside the area buy property and storefronts to rent out the store front and stay/rend out the top.

Escanaba Yacht Club

We can connect and coordinate events between the harbor, housing and events to ensure that we attract people with boats that want to come and rent a place and stay for a week or a few months (i.e. 20% discount for slip fees if you rent a condo kind of thing). That would require coordinated marketing and effort. We may consider encouraging the recreational department to get involved to provide fun events for tourists in general. 

Its just one idea we can use to enhance tourism. To attract tourism and long-term industry requires a more detailed plan I have been working on but this is certainly something that could have merit. 

Finding a Path to Peace through Conflict Management-From Molotov Cocktails to Toasting Togetherness

Finding a path to peace requires us to keep our calm and use our conflict management skills. What I see in this video might be different than what other see. I see someone throwing a Molotov Cocktail and hitting other protesters. If that would have landed in the intended location that would have hurt a lot of officers. We have to start thinking about how we are going to use conflict management skills to open up the lines of communication and simmer angry sentiments. 

In the video we see the officer jump in to help the person put the fire out (appears that way to me). This is where training on how to protect people comes into play. Most officers have good intentions and a desire to help others. They are trained to help under stressful situations.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't start thinking about those reforms that appear to make the most sense and restores trust in the Justice System. 

People are going to talk and tell everyone their opinion. We can tell the genuineness  of that opinion based on whether it solves problems and draws people closer. Those who want to exploit this conflict will encourage people to engage in more radical behavior. That may be an unintended path to societal split if the right buttons are pushed at the wrong time by exploitative individuals.

We do need some type of policing in some manner so I'm not sure if we should be talking about banning police but maybe more akin to looking toward reform measures. That which pushes the justice department to go universal but at the same time further encourages police departments to be more effective. 

That won't happen unless we have dialogue. What should happen at this point is that we get people talking and reduce some end of the anger and hurt that comes from racial/religious inequality. We must have a path going forward and that can only come through finding commonalities. We need to talk to each other and listen.

We know we need police and we know we can reform aspects of the justice system that aren't as effective or transparent as it should be. I'm not sure what other options we have other than to work together and keep the focus on improvement and development. 

There are different types of models and theories as they relate to conflict management. You can learn a few about them from the Institute of Peace and Conflict. 

I would like to just discuss common sense. Most of the conflict has been over culture/image, resources, modes of thinking and potential fear of injury/loss. Thus, talking more about how police and protesters have similarities in helping and protecting people with inalienable human rights. Recognizing there have been mistakes and moving to correct areas where we can but being frank about things we cannot change (i.e. would make it difficult to protect the public). While most of the anger is directed at police there are four essential issues as I see them:

1. Lack of Accountability: Ensuring that there is some accountability with bad officers who need to be investigated and if necessary removed before they hurt people. Let's not allow the behavior of a few bad apples blemish the records of many. Build in more feedback loops, internal investigations, and connections to the communities. Promote officers with positive, pro social, and effective practices.

2. Systematic Racism: The justice system is made up of humans who unfortunately can be prone to bias and poor decision making that doesn't always reflect the highest standards of justice. Overstuffed courts that don't spend time looking at the facts. High power attorneys allow some to walk and sometimes and hit the poor harder. Small crimes from minorities (ethnic and religious) may be (one would have to look at the data)  may be treated than others. Research and open discussion can help here. 

3. Prison and Incarceration: We want to ensure that our prisons do not continue to be an expensive drain of national resources. We want people who are dangerous to go to prison and those who have done minor things to reform. Science is pushing our outer limits in space and our inner limits to how the brain works. Let us push the Justice system to accept science in reform and the ability to help people with mental health issues that can lead to a safer world without as many people going to incubative prison systems. 

3. Development of Full Capitalism: We have toward high participation within our economic system and government to create a full capitalistic system that is based on democratic principles. This means doing better to remove anything that limits a persons chances for individual and collective success based on merit alone. Other considerations outside of performance mean we are detracting from the ability of the system to grow and function fully. Psuedo-capitalism may be limiting our ability to overcome market challenges through innovative economic engagement base in biased practices. 

Thus, the fights between protesters and counter-protesters are a symptom of other essential issues that are being played out on the protest line. While many people from both sides understand some of the issues there are likely a lot of people that are going there to protest on partial knowledge and partial understanding. They are there for how they feel, their fears, what they value, and what they would like to see in their world. Taking a bigger picture and finding some safe place to discuss these issues for a stronger America is important in drawing them together.

I get it! I been on both sides of the isle. I understand the pain of the protesters and am upset when corruption and bias in policing damage people's lives and there is a lack of accountability. One the other side I know many of these officers are trying to do the right thing and feel that they are a target when this is what they have been trained for and taught how to do things. We must hold criminals accountable while pushing the system forward to its universal justice level. I fight for what I feel is right and I can say this is a tough one. We need a path forward!

A few ideas on how to reduce some of the conflict. 

1. Encourage our leaders to start talking about a path forward.

2. Don't sugar coat or bend around issues. Tackle them straight away.

3. Look for common ground and focus public discussion on that common ground. As we do this we may find our common ground growing.

4. Think about how to reform in a way that is cost effective, safe, and unbiased.

5. Don't de-legitimize...empower people to be better and solve problems

6. Build cognitive models on both sides by sharing information, knowledge, and perspectives that leads to understanding and mutual empathy.