March 3rd, 2022 Escanaba City Council Meeting: Smoke (Not the Type You Think), Fire Hydrants, Sidewalks, and Movement! Investors Welcome!

When I look back at the City of Escanaba I begin to think about where its going and how the enthusiasm of its people and leaders could encourage greater opportunities for the future. Within their packet are goals as they relate to attracting young entrepreneurs (and hopefully digital nomads) to the area. While some ideas will likely work and some wont, it is the effort that creates the most benefits over time (Think of economics as many choices that create a trending line.). When city officials are focused on developing their town with trends in mind by using current advantages to develop future advantages there will be movement regardless of the specific outcomes of any particular program. 

Within the March 3rd, 2022 Agenda Packet you can find a report on public engagement, an excellent picture of the tennis court revamp (hopefully the backboard is straight), the master plan action items, and much more. There is a plan to attract young professionals and entrepreneurs which is great! We need investment and ideas in order to create a more vibrant long-term city with lots of new opportunities. You may also want to check out the sidewalk and walkability. Since the Pandemic people are becoming more interested in the outdoors and outside. They like to walk.

You can read an article by Deloitte entitled, "Making cities smarter. How citizens' collective intelligence can guide better decision making" that discusses the bottom up approach and hedging technologies to create vibrant cities that can be a draw. You may also want to read 'Americas Cities of the Future 2021/2022 – FDI Strategy'  and you will begin to see how why I think hedging the outdoor recreation/tourism, digital nomads land, local-regional entrepreneurship, marketing for investment (entrepreneurs, companies, and FDI), downtown redevelopment, natural resource extraction, shipping & logistics, military, design & small batch manufacturing can create a viable cluster. 

Some cluster aspects will develop naturally but these are some of the options open and available for exploration. The specific make up of the clusters will depend on city, county, state, and federal interest. I we can build a working model here we can rebuild for other places.  That creates an opportunity to quickly speed up development with a rapid innovation economic system that helps put the U.S. first in multiple and essential industries.  You can read a book review on Strategic Planning.

If your an investor you may want to contact City of Escanaba and/or Delta County Chamber of Commerce. 

Russian Oil Ban: Ways to "Beef Up" US Oil Companies W/ Eye on EV Green

Russian oil and gas energy is to be to be banned by the U.S. and has strong bi-partisan support in an effort to not subsidize the Russian-Ukrainian war. Europe isn't going to join yet because they are on the oil "morphine drip". It would be too fast of a shift and change for them to adjust without seriously damaging their economies (I actually don't blame them but I think they might want to start thinking about alternative sources and supplies for energy). You can get most of the information below...... 

There is no point in writing it all out when you can read it in this excellent article posted by CNN 'Biden announces ban on Russian energy imports' by Kaitlan Collins, Jeremy Diamond, Kevin Liptak, Phil Mattingly, MJ Lee and Kate Sullivan (Sorry I stole the chart idea below. Love when they put in sources. It helps add credibility to arguments and ideas.)

U.S. Energy Information and Administration shows a table of near 0 and/or low daily Russian oil imports in  'Top 10 Crude Import Nations' where exposure in the U.S. is much less than many other nations. There is also 'June 2010 -Present Stats'. What you do see is there are some blank spots so it indicates there is some missing data and/or barrels a day (If it was 0 barrels they would state that I suspect.)

What we might want to consider if the numbers make sense.....

1.) Produce our own oil and ship to Europe (I'm sure the oil companies will be happy.)

2.) Of those oil revenues we might consider putting significant amount of profits into R&D sustainable and renewable energies to help give these companies a bridge between oil production and clean energy production (If I was a energy producer I would want to hedge my investments into clean energy as demand for one rises and the demand for the other declines.)

3.) Work with other national oil producers to beef up sales which helps diversify Europe's oil supply (I think the administration is already doing this.).

4.)  Put the U.S. more in the center of oil production and better navigate the movement from world oil dependence to clean technology (The silver lining of being a significant producer of oil is we have more control over a switch to clean energies.)

5.) Reduce despotic powers by using this opportunity to diversify all energy production and make a more adaptable energy infrastructure system (i.e. if we have problems in one area we can more rely on others to fill the gap trough other sources. Remember our electric grid is still put together by metaphorical duct tape.)

fyi....I think this is where leadership is starting to shine through. I'm pretending there are no political parties for about 30 seconds. 🐘+🐴=bipartisan🐣.......💨

“Emmett Till Antilynching Act” Applaud the Bill but Should We Already Know Better?

The antilynching bill sponsored by Rep. Rush, Bobby L. [D-IL-1] helps to solidify hate based lynching behaviors as illegal (See the progression of the Bill HERE). You can also read an explanation of the bill on NPR, 'Senate passes anti-lynching bill and sends federal hate crime legislation to Biden'. I think it is great movement to sending a message that we are all equal and we live under the same system, laws, rules, and political structure (I don't believe those who applaud and support hate should be in our government but alas they persist by our silence and lack of good moral conscious. I'm not talking about people who discuss race and religion honestly; even if we don't want to hear it.)

Here are the bones of the bill....

Legal Stuff: “(5) LYNCHING.—Whoever conspires to commit any offense under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) shall, if death or serious bodily injury (as defined in section 2246 of this title) results from the offense, be imprisoned for not more than 30 years, fined in accordance with this title, or both. (More Information). I didn't know there was a cap on punishment. Seems to me that there are some crimes so hideous someone should get multiple life sentences (...and I suspect others much lighter but it should be dependent on the circumstances and level of involvement.)

Take a look at this......

Radically Changing Demographic: The Census Bureau has 2020 stats that are a snap shot of our current national make up HERE. You may want to read Brookings Institute's analysis of the demographics of people under 16 years old HERE  and how the next generation is going to be radically different than this one. (One of the reasons why I advocate for our leaders to think of how quickly things will be changing in the next 10-20 years. What we think today is not going to be what they think tomorrow. We haven't connected well with youth and rightfully so some of our distorted values will be tossed. Of course its like pulling teeth without anesthetic because we have tunnel vision. Everyone is "right"!)

Should We Know Better? Of course we should! Yes the bill is helpful but we should already know that our laws should be universal and anyone who chases down others because of race, religion, ethnic origin or anything else and tries to lynch them is morally deplorable and the worst of our societal garbage. I can't even imagine that people would do this and if they do we are in a scary scary world where anything goes. As Americans we have the right to feel safe and secure!

"Ninety-nine percent of all perpetrators of lynching escaped from punishment by State or local officials."  Yep! I believe it!!!! If its true its shameful! (You can also find a lot more information on Gov. Track)

The law is welcome but we should not need it to tell us the difference between right, wrong, and the morally deplorable! Some members of our society are sick and those who turn a blind eye are even sicker! (I've seen it in action!) We must step into our futures where we work together as a society that lives by its essential philosophical truths and universality of human freedom and life. This is only a reminder of how we are taking the right steps but have a ways to go if we have a need for such a bill (I'm an "old guard" light right Republican who believes in the equality and value of human life. This bill is way way beyond overdue but shouldn't even be necessary. What century are we in?). 

To Prosecute or Not to Prosecute a Former President?

To prosecute or not prosecute a former president is an interesting debate. There is the rule of law and there is politics. It opens a Pandora's Box because no one should be immune from the law that are passed by a body of people and yet prosecutions should not be part of any politically driven motivations. This is the danger of hyper-politics. Decisions become skewed and people must decide which is more important; law or elected governance (Will one be immune or supersede the other?). Its not an easy decision for anyone to make and there are likely going to be all types of  pit falls in terms of how this could play out (and/or how people think about it.). 

In my fantasy land I feel that if I commit an intentional crime I should be held to account but that bar might be higher in this situation based on the sheer power dynamics involved (Perhaps intentionality might be part of the debate.). In other words, the case would need to be very strong and be public and be logically coherent. You must have a very good case to bring something like this forward. It would need to be clear cut and easy to sell or otherwise you run the risk of failure. Whether one should or shouldn't bring forward the case is not what I'm saying, but what I'm saying is this is going to be interesting to watch and it sends a chill down my spine. Damned if you do and damned if you don't! 

Wow! I don't envy the person who must make decision over this (However, their name and their decision will be a historical moment I'm sure.). Maybe it Should be a Supreme Court choice? I wonder if its possible to let the Supreme Court look at the evidence and decide if the case should go forward or should be dropped. There is a reason why have three branches of government the other two might have something to say about it (I doubt this is how that works and I'm not a political lawyer. I'm more of a philosopher and theorist. History can tell you what happens to philosophers for asking the right questions at the wrong time.😬 Yet history may also define this differently in the future then the way we see it today. Was it justice upheld or justice denied?)

Pericles by Perugina c. 1450-1523

Option 1: If you know someone committed a crime and walked from that crime for fear of political backlash it might damage the entire system and the perspective of people's trust in institutions (Essentially will people feel they/he walked and they/he were supported in that walk? Would it have an impact on the long term viability of the Republican Party and in turn the future Democrat party? Its a risk to think about.). 

Option 2: If you don't know 100% sure someone has committed a crime and the attempt fails there will likely be backlash and retaliation because the law is no longer a deterrent (It would either mean there was no crime or the bar so high to prosecute a crime that the law no longer is a deterrent against future crimes. It could also mean that prosecution can be, or seen as, politically motivated and such retaliation as "justified".). 

What I can say is that if I was supreme judge for a day and had to make a decision I would resent being put in this lose-lose situation and would want to flip the script somehow. What/which is more important, the elected body of people who pass and vote on laws, or the power of individuals that were supported through these legislative networks? Is it a party or country debate? (That is not an opinion on whether or not a crime has been committed or whether or not it should be prosecuted but pointing out some bigger questions that will likely make their way into the history books; either ours or others. I'm recognizing the difficult nature of the question...and not making a public opinion. I'm just outlining the debate.)

Time is the king of all men, he is their parent and their grave, and gives them what he will and not what they crave. Pericles

Read, "Republicans warn Justice Department probe of Trump would trigger political war"

Standing Under Waterfalls

 A couple of nice pictures you might be interested in. I took these hiking the other day. 

Three Major Approaches Fitness: Food, Weights, Cardio

Fitness is something that should be part everyone's life and leads to a healthy and balanced lifestyle. This becomes even more important for busy professionals that want to be in great shape and seek to maximize their time. I've met high performing individuals that really know how to go after the goals in work and fitness (They actually sort of work together.). Maximizing your time means understanding the fitness literature and avoiding the "fad" programs. 

First let us look at two quick studies.....

Study 1 Motivation with Changing Sequence: One study indicates that when we change the intensity from time-to-time there wasn't a huge differences in growth but there was in intrinsic motivation. "Varying exercise selection had a positive effect on enhancing motivation to train in resistance-trained men, while eliciting similar improvements in muscular adaptations." (Baz-Valle, et. al. 2019).

Study 2 Energy Cardio and Weight Training: Another study indicates that high intensity exercise and low intensity exercise led to similar weight loss as long as the amount of energy expenditure was similar. However, during the weight loss process including weight training reduced lean muscle mass loss (Bellica, 2021).

What we learn from these two studies is that the amount of energy expenditure is important. We also find that incorporating weight training reduces lean muscle loss during the loss process. 

There are three things I would consider in any fitness program in relation to maximizing results 1.) food and nutrition, 2.) weight training and 3.) cardio energy levels. All three of these will give you the best results. However, each person will be slightly different so you may need to consider your own personal habits and goals in meeting those objectives. 

I'm a certified fitness trainer and can conduct sessions via zoom (or other venue) to help you achieve your goals. Setting up a plan to reach your fitness goals within the first few sessions is helpful and then we can check back with each other a few weeks to see how you are doing. We can discuss any fitness related questions you may have. I only take a few clients here and there based on time availability. You may contact me via email. Email Trainer

Baz-Valle, E., et. al. (2019). The effects of exercise variation in muscle thickness, maximal strength and motivation in resistance trained men. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0226989

Bellicha, A. et. al. (2021) Effect of exercise training on weight loss, body composition changes, and weight maintenance in adults with overweight or obesity: An overview of 12 systematic reviews and 149 studies. Obesity Reviews, 22 (S4). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/obr.13256

Firefighters Battle Two Blazes in Florida: Places to Help!

2020 fires in the $billions
NFPA

Two fire blaze in Florida with 10K of acres destroyed and over a thousand homes evacuated. People have sort of sidelined firefighters over the years as non-essential but we have experienced increased fires that constitute national disasters and that makes them our new nature warriors (In many places firefighters are also first responders to accidents and other incidents.). There is so much damage that happens because of fires and they are becoming increasingly common (Global warming or not....its getting more common and often more destructive.). 

Its hard to watch on the sidelines as such fires rage and destroy people's lives. I wonder if they need volunteer firefighters to come to the area? (Sometimes I think it would be great to be independently wealthy and do such things. Life isn't like that unfortunately and most of the time we waste our money on frivolous interests.) I think that as weather patterns change such fires are likely to become more common. I looked around to see if they need additional help. If your not a firefighter you can still do something and donate.....

1. SUPPORT YOUR FLORIDA FIRE FIGHTER CHARITIES

2. FIREFIGHER CHARITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA

2. FLORIDA FIREFIGHTERS SAFETY AND HELATH COLLABORATIVE

3. RED CROSS

4. BAY COUNTY VOL FIREFIGHTERS NEEDED

5. REBUILD BAY COUNTY