Hyundai Builds $5.5 Billion EV Plant in Georgia: Great for U.S. But Michigan Should Attract EV Business

Georgia is gaining Hyundai's $5.5 Billion EV plant which will create 8,100 new jobs. While I am super happy the U.S. is attracting international EV manufacturing (something we must be doing to stay ahead) I'm a little sad they didn't choose Michigan. Having the pre-existing infrastructure and working together to reach out and attract investment is important. Awesome for Georgia and kind of sad for Michigan. At least its a big investment in the U.S. 

Hyundai to build $5.5 billion EV and battery plant in the US. Here’s where

Cooking Over an Open Fire in the Upper Peninsula

This seems like a fun little post but sometimes they are kind of educational. I have lots of down branches and brush from an old tree so I called my local DNR to determine if burning personal fires are ok and they said yes. You can check everyday at DNR Burn Restrictions. 

Threw some chicken with seasoning on and a pot of vegetables with an all metal pan and we are in business. Burning up some old brush, cooking supper and having a good time. 

Delta County Michigan is rural so you have a relatively small town covered by lots of woods. Its normal to have fires around here and cook hot dogs. I'm trying to get a little more into natural cooking with wood. Not as easy because it cooks uneven and the heat intensity changes. You also have to nurse it. 

Our ancestors may have been better at it. Apparently cooking on fire started like 2 Million Years Ago. I suspect wild boar or fish or something. Up here you are still connected to that nature in some ways.

Democracy Can Survive If? Those Who Fight for Democracy to Survive (Centralists Needed)

Saving democracy requires more than lip service and partisan politics. I reading an interesting article An author who studies diverse democracies shares what he sees as the future of the US. He discusses that there has been a lot of bad behavior but some hope and that in his studies he believes democracy can thrive and succeed in the modern world. We have to learn how to create a conception of how we can rally around certain values and intermingle as different peoples. To me that is the universalism of our American values and how that applies to everyone based on values and merit and not subject to differences of race and religion.

I've seen this attempt to split society through social networks and inappropriate use of a few law enforcement officials on a local level and the coordinated sacking of our capital on a national level. (...before you jump a conclusion I'm 100% in support of law enforcement and many rallied to a higher cause. Some did not.). The smirky selfishness of some exploited their social networks to carve up society and damage opportunities (i.e. a local college that said I was more than qualified and then retracted once they found out I was the "Muslim" guy that the members of their social group were targeting. This is what happens when you have HR departments with officials who are seeking to control institutions and retain/limit access to them. Your quality, character, history, and qualifications don't count. Doctors, veterans, etc...are all discounted. Only your perceived value to a certain group's racial and religious preferences becomes important. It may be illegal but is all to common and often not held to account by local officials. ). 

As we intermingle and interrelate we can create shared opportunities and shared perspectives. Some will seek to separate society in hopes of maintaining their distorted position and create power through manipulation of fear and hate. Others will fight to keep us a single people and jump across those gaps to avoid a major split in society (I can walk between the two worlds because I have lived long enough in both to understand their peoples.) 

The author is a light left Jewish and I'm a light right Muslim, Catholic, Jew (Meaning I'm a universalist with a cultural Catholic background that lived with Muslims for 20+ years. I adhere to all of them in some ways accepting what I believe is helpful in each.). We are both centralists that seek to create a better world and who have experienced the atrocities of hate. He has lost his grandparents during the Holocausts and me and my children were threatened through group targeting (That isn't the only account I have experienced.). 

We can keep our democracy intact and thriving if we can get our political leadership to pull together to work on solving problems versus serving only their political interests. It is us centralist that have the highest American values and yet as a people we often vote for the most radical of society. Biggest Threats, Fred Upton Receives Death Threats, U.S. Can Outperform China. 

Some of us fight for our country and people and some of us fight for only their social networks, race, religion and parties. Which are you?

Rapid Extraction Firefighting Training

I do some volunteer firefighting in the area. I'm not always here but when I am, I'm actively involved. Much of it is training but we do often get calls because of limited resources. Last week we did a Rapid Extraction Training. It was similar to the video below except when we did it we were blind (wax paper in mask), had our air tanks on, and had to stay along the wall. Thus, it wasn't as clean and easy as seen in this video. 

Yes....I dragged the victim (our live human dummy) but wasn’t allowed to stand up so I had to do it on my hands and knees. I could only pull like 6 inches each time but that was better than most. You can get worn out when your sweating like crazy.

If you ever had to pull a 200+lb person with gear along the ground in addition to your own gear you will know why you need to go to the gym. The biggest reason why firefighters die is heart attacks under pressure. I try and hit the gym regularly for many different reasons. 

If you want to donate please leave a comment or contact and I will connect you with the fire department. We need a grass truck like $100K

What to do with Highly Manipulative People? (Resolutions to Hate 05/20/22)

Highly manipulative people are hard to deal with in society. Sometimes they cause very big problems from their dishonesty. History is full of how manipulative behaviors have caused conflict, war, death and violence. In this case, the goal was to harm the target(s) as much as possible by spreading rumors, lying, encouraging violence, putting in false police complaints, embezzlement, ostracization, and encouraging a larger group of people to focus on damaging that individual to hide those behaviors. 

While the reasons and questioning of why is one issue it is the ability to effectively use those tools is another (i.e. indicating a functioning bully network). Lack of personal and legal accountability means that such behaviors appear to have been learned over the years and in many ways rewarded through legal failures (Indicating the possibility for a bigger problem in the local justice system. Without an in-depth investigation we can only say "indication"). Thus we can expect that there were other targets in other places which places subjective value on life (Not what our Constitution intended.).

Mental Health, Self Interest, and Hate

Let us pretend such behavior is true (Such behaviors may or may not exist under our current legal structure. There are differences between the actual behaviors and the legal definitions of such behaviors. This is why often caught blindsided by what appears to be new phenomenon. Often they are old issues that are so bad we become consciously aware of them). When mental health creates the perspective, there are opportunities for gain and an easily exploitable difference can expect highly manipulative personalities to exploit situations.

Supporters of Hate (Active and Passive):

Such distorted personalities manipulate their followers to engage in such behaviors because they know they do not hold the capacity to question that network or its values. Its says a lot about the quality of people that believe and act on such behaviors (Think about it. Is it normal to attack people who have been nothing but be polite because someone told you to do it? If true, what does that actually say about this group and their informal/formal leadership? What does it say about our society and legal structure? Its not a "I'm right" discussion. Its a fundamental discussion on where we want to go and be. It is also a discussion on how people can support behaviors that in hindsight we often find to be atrocities. For example, let us say that one of the member decides they have enough and pulls out a gun and decides to "get rid of the problem"? While the group didn't intend to do it they also encouraged bullying, devaluing, bigotry/racism until someone acted on it. There may have been signs but we ignored them because we were blinded by our lack of theoretical understanding. Perhaps we are also blinded by other factors such as what a false perception of "American". ) Some are active supporters that will act on false information and others will stand around and support yet both contribute to creating dangerous situations.

The Possibility They Can't be Resolved 

No one is going to wake up and say they did something wrong (When distorted personalities are involved most people will not be able to recognize their behaviors. Its a type of entitlement that criminal bent seems to have.) Once a problem like this sets in it would be difficult for such networks to change their beliefs about the target. The person, their quality, their actual behaviors don't factor into the quick emotional conclusions. The things they tell each other are designed to create a sense of higher then and lower than in society.

Chasing it Down Until it is Concluded (More Important than This Group)

Understanding these behaviors is important for society in an era of public displays of hate, group acts of violence, and highly controversial discussions on race, religion, and society. To help thwart such behaviors in other places we should investigate back to the root and then pull similarities so that we have a way of assessing and intervening in hate behaviors. Not assessing and investigating means society, and their targets, will continue to be dealing with these issues in the future and different times and places. Who should have the rights? Hate supporters or their targets?

Possible Prior History of Such Behaviors

For the most part people aren't born with instant knowledge. Few of us get into a conflict one time and know all of the answers and how to professionally escalate conflict. Such behaviors were developed over years of successful learning experiences where certain activities lead to pro gain outcomes.  Learned manipulation on one level leads to manipulation of an entire group: that includes law enforcement associates of the group.

Manipulation across Different Life Domains

When we are talking about grotesque displays of manipulation we might find other areas where such behaviors are being displayed. For example, we may have found prior monies disappear from inheritance or we may find isolation of family members to extract financial resources. Manipulation based in the outlook of a personality and likely reaches across different life domains. Those behaviors might indicate a general approach to others that don't blindly follow inappropriate or false information (Perhaps a sign of maturity, inner values, and self direction).

Truth May Not Be Enough with Social Networks

The truth may not be enough with such social networks. They believe what they want to believe because it is in their best interest to do so. People don't often come forward and admit they did something inappropriate or that they were so easily duped by false rumors (As long as they are not the targets there really is no incentive to get better or to change. Self interest in beliefs and self interest in activity. In such situations you may know you were wrong but don't want to go against the grain of your group. Often exhibiting cultish characteristics. Think Waco!). 

There is very little incentive to admit mistakes when one is seeking to avoid recognizing their deeper dysfunctions by placing those values on someone who rattles their distorted view of the world (i.e. they must harm what they fear might unravel their web of dishonesty. Its a classic narcissist way.) Without self accountability there should be legal accountability (Even if you encourage them to deal with their issues they may be so dysfunctional and supported by blind followership that there are no feedback loops for personal growth.)Without change in similar situations they are likely to do it again at some point in the future. Good friends tell you when you need to change while self interested friends follow the herd. There are differences between throwing a good kegger and having good friends.

We make choices and we stand by those choices. I don't mind being a target if something good comes out of it. However, when my kids were put in harms way and such people continue to engage in these poor behaviors there should be accountability. There are people who are being harmed in society and we often knew these behaviors were inappropriate, aggressive and could have led to violence but we failed to act. Where is the balance to act and when should we leave alone? We don't have a good theoretical understanding and until we do we will let extremism, group coordinated bullying, and extremism slip through our fingers. With that becomes major divisions in society and likely a very bumpy future ride for the nation. Everything is a choice that leads to outcomes. We own that together. Good Karma or Bad

10 People Shot In Chicago: We Need More Police and We Need Positive Reform (Hand in Hand)

There is an increase in mass shootings and it seems to be a growing trend. People feel that that having a gun allows them to use those guns against others they are in an argument with or those who they see as different. What you are noticing is more group coordinated shootings and increased targeting (not necessarily in this case). At the same time we know there is a need for some level of positive police reform and an increase in recruiting new officers (Many departments are loosing police and having a hard time finding new ones.). We do not want anyone becoming a type of street militia (gangs, criminals, groups and/or rogue officer clans) so we will need reform and enhancement.

We should look at the different pressures to find possible solutions (Internal and External). Some on the right political persuasion will say that policing is perfect and no changes should ever happen. Some on the left political persuasion are saying that we should ban police altogether. I continue to believe that with the right changes we can 1.) create more effective policing strategies (i.e. catch bad guys and save lives), 2.) improve the protections of civil liberties (Make sure policing is focused on its central purpose in society), 3.) improve on the catching of criminals (...some go to jail and some get mental health help depending on the situation.) and 4.) restore trust in our institutions (Polls show increased decline in institutional trust and that is a contributing factor to increase in violence. It may not seem like it but it influences the general context of perception.).

There are two upfront pressures 1.) better police protection and 2.) civil liberties/oversite and they indicate we have to universalize our police (like our institutions) to ensure that they gain the trust of society and in turn begin more recruitment of police from different backgrounds and skill sets. While it seems bizarre, public impression and recruitment (even the type of people that are recruited) are associated (It can also impact whether people will help and support police in catching bag guys/gals in a way that makes them more effective. Better tips and better catches.)  

Because the situation is becoming more heightened politicians should start thinking about long term solutions in the following arenas:

1.) Strengthen policing through research, tactics, and development (That includes new types of non lethal and group oriented weaponry/tactics for gangs). 

2.) Diversify/universalize police and encourage accountability (...removing and prosecuting officers that engage in criminal activities and intentionally violate core civil rights. While mistakes can be improved on, a bad apple should be dumped quickly by departments.)

3.) Launch a recruitment campaign to strengthen, replenish, and culturally adjust (if it is necessary) through new young cadets and leaders from different backgrounds (New blood, new cultures, new ideas.)

4.) Gain a better understanding of how to use jails for violent offenders and when to use mental health to detour and reform (For example, some are violent and some are manipulative to create context for violence. i.e. MI track and Code for extremism). 

5.) Think about the differences between hunting rifles, non-lethal guns, defensive guns with limited capacity, and aggressive/military grade guns. There should be different rules for each. Some may not even require a permit while others may require safety/legal training and a gun lock (We don't want these guns getting into criminal hands.)

If we can't agree on some basic approaches we are just going to debate this until the end. That is the best way at the moment (meaning I might change my ideas) on how to solve some of these problems while tying together the two various stakeholder perceptions into one. 

‘We are awash in guns’: Police superintendent addresses mass shooting on Near North Side and promises more police officers at ‘longstanding’ problem corner

Fishing in Escanaba: I'm Starting to Like Electric Motors but.....

Tracked down to the docks with my fishing pole the other day. I didn't catch the pike and did take the picture in Wells the night prior but its a beauty so I posted it. Anyway, the Escanaba area has lots of great fishing places you can cast a line form the shore such as Escanaba Harbor, Gladstone Harbor, Wells boat launch, Rapid River boat launch and Ford River boat launch. 

I just happen to be lucky enough to buy a $500 used boat, trailer and old Johnson motor. The guy swears the engine works! I believe him except I had to buy a new gas tank because he wanted his old one. Because of the age I just can't get it to fit right to draw the fuel so the engine is going on the horse in the garage to ensure the connectors are tight. (You can run an outboard in a large bucket or barrel.)

I can fix lots of things but it take me time to figure them out. In this case, I might need to zip tie or wire in the connector because of the way the old motor is designed it doesn't quit fit perfect with the new connectors. Very close but just not tight enough. 

That is why I'm using the electric lately and thinking about finding a more powerful electric motor (I don't think there are any but will need to look around). I'm not going fast but I am getting around. What I do like is that its super easy and almost no parts that can be broken or disconnected. It is also relatively cheap. I had one sitting in the garage with a boat battery. 

With electric just don't want to go too far out if I'm unsure how long the battery will last. A couple of few areas of improvement are 1.) power of motor, 2.) longevity of battery power, and 3.) quick recharge.