Memphis Fire Department Employees Relieved of Duty: When is Silence is the Wrong Thing?(Training Opp)

I have great respect for firefighters and police because they hold important roles in our society but that doesn't mean there is not room for improvement...and in this case significant improvement. So important a position that each situation presents an opportunity to learn and build a better overall governance system. The action of removing Memphis Fire Department employees because they failed to act to help the victim is an interesting issue that firefighters should incorporate into their training and department policies. There are legal, moral, and reporting line issues that have come forward in these crisis situations. Firefighters need to know what to do and where to report situations both at the time they are occurring and after the incident has occurred.

I'll tell you why I think its going to be an interesting policy shift throughout the country because we know that silence is "the wrong thing". There are different chains of command and that will intersect with the ability of fire departments to service the victim (I'm not saying that is what happened, what I am saying is that the group culture of other departments could have significant influence on firefighter abilities to make a decision not in alignment what the officers at the scene are doing. The more questionable the behaviors, the more top the structure, the more likely its going to influence choices ). So there will be a need to collaborate, but not necessarily fully integrated approach, on all command structures (official or unofficial) at a scene where other services risk default. Creating legal and moral hazards  (i.e. shared command methods that might allow for appropriate culture breaking and room for appropriate decision challenge at the scene. If people working together get too "buddy buddy" and it appears that there are complaints coming forward, we have multiple different departments present that can rotate people out of the "mix" of unofficial and official command structures.)

(As a key point, one might want to do that anyway from time to time to keep corruption down. I mean don't listen to me, its just an idea, I'm sure there are better ideas out there because mine would need to be vetted. I'm pretty sure some type of solutions are going to come forward. Waiting....waiting.....😳 Well, the problems are already here so its behind the ball and way to late. Ok...maybe we can also focus on fixing this for the future.)

This is why I don't advocate for silence here or in our hometowns because it may save small problems but kicks the can down the road where bigger problems occur (Think about how free passes are socializing others to accept such behaviors until you have a culture of corruption.). Public servants have responsibilities, and I know very well that most are good people, but they are often subject to pressures to go along and get along with others. Perhaps when these issues occur, and it appears that something questionable behavior is happening, there should be a reporting mechanism directly to the chief and/or outside investigator with no retaliation (Retaliation is often a risk when whistle blowing in top down, secretive, and power oriented organizations where reputations are everything. If you are considered "the other" the laws are often thrown out the window altogether. Fire Departments are often way more open and transparent then police departments so the catalyst that creates public risk is more likely in the closed system of some, not all, police departments. I think there is some research that supports that assertation as a broad based conception that doesn't specifically apply to police or anywhere else. Its not the main point today.). 

Below is one perspective that seems to be in the ball park but I think you can add more upward push to reform because the situation since 2016 has changed and people are much more broadly aware that the current path that has been unchanged due to ideological and governance immaturity is seen now as dangerous, unsustainable and in the long run could undermine democracy altogether. (The author looks very knowledgeable on these topics so it would be a good sources among many other sources. Read broadly and read from multiple perspectives.). 

"The only effective mechanism for addressing police brutality is top-down, systemic reform of the police organization itself. This includes introducing community policing; training officers in de-escalation skills and the use of non-lethal tactics; increasing the diversity of departments; improving data collection and public transparency; and enhancing the screening of police recruits." (Armacost, B, 2016, para 6).

Back to firefighting....This is where I sort of agree with at least temporarily removing the fire department members (no judgement made yet) until an investigation occurs (I also agree with returning them back if they did what they were expected to do or were reasonably not responsible.). I cannot say innocence or guilt one way or another, nor am I familiar with any particular facts. What I can say is that something within that environment, and likely others prior, hindered them from saving a life (innocent, criminal, Black, White, Muslim, Jew, Christian, etc.. etc.. etc...). It is not their place nor the place of those officers to decide the "worthiness" of help. 

I believe in investigation of the situation, not for people to necessarily lose their jobs (unless they deserved it through wrong doing), but for the problem to be fixed in a way that restores trust and long term shared perspective. I hope very much that we learn from this situation and we learn the risks of not acting prior to incidents such as this occurring. I'm a rational optimist. We got this! Just as soon as everyone agrees they want to get this! I think its important. Tug Tug on the sleeve of conscious!

The lesson firefighters might want to take from this situation is that if you need to intercede to help someone, then do so with tact because you may be at a criminal scene (Whether the person being arrested or the people arresting). If the situation feels dangerous, one might be required immediately call dispatch and get direction and support because your being restricted from your duty. (If you feel like you can't help, you still must try and help. If after multiple attempts you can't help then take note of that pressure and put in a written statement through appropriate channels so an investigation can be launched. CYA )

(At which point an independent investigation by an empowered and authorized internal affairs or outside investigator should begin. If that is not within the department, then go outside to state or federal officials. {Something that should be defined} Know that you report to a different chain of command and have a moral, legal, and professional responsibility to make reasonable attempts to help victims before judging them as less worthy for crimes they have not yet been yet committed to act. Another point being, is because you are unaware of the situation and the person it is necessary to help the victim regardless of other contextual factors so that we are acting in the most responsible way we can.). 

Furthermore if there are people regularly talking about hate and treating people like "others" of less value, then report those conversations through appropriate internal and external channels as silence creates risk to the public when these sentiments grow to infect an entire department. (In case we are confused by some of the terms, the public are the ultimate stakeholders). You just don't want to wait until someone taps you on the shoulder and you need to provide a could have, should have, and would have argument. Nations are built from many small choices (I suspect the reverse is true as well.). 

This article is designed to help you think. One can agree or disagree as there are many different ways to look at the same problem. If it gets you to think, whether you agree or disagree, then the process of change has already started.

Armacost, B. (August 19, 2023, para 6) The Organizational Reasons Police Departments Don’t Change. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/08/the-organizational-reasons-police-departments-dont-change

 

 

Report Indicates U.S. May Not Be Prepared for War With China. As Early as 2025?

 We have work to do in our military supply chain and innovative capacity. That requires a level of trying new ideas and thoughts. For example, developing economic clusters that are designed to quickly innovate our industry and impact through butterfly effects other industries in a positive way. Advanced military innovation is based on industry innovation. In this case, we might consider sparking multi benefits on the pin of the same needle through collaborative R&D and prototype generation through a cluster development framework (Its still a theory in work in progress but is supported in the literature).

As a nation we recently started jogging to speed up our pace and this is a good indication a race of development between the U.S. and China is well on its way. As a nation we will soon need to run and it is best to start resolving issues and giving up political-ideological immaturities that fail to help the nation as a whole early in the competitive process. Let us get practical, focused and make evidence based decisions with the longest term solutions in mind (Or maybe not? 🤷).

US defense industry unprepared for a China fight, says report

Deactivation of Scorpion Unit is Helpful But Is It Too Reactive and Not Proactive Enough?

Much of this blog is about national development and we don't shy away from difficult conversations when they have the chance to impact that development (That fear of saying too little and leaving the problems for the next generation seem to come forward). Let me say as a light Right Republican I have the ability to listen to my conservative and liberal friends with equal consideration. What I'm hearing from people is that it is great that leaders, judges, and prosecutors are now taking action once a video comes into the airwaves and there are no options to sugar coat what happened.

I'm 100% in support of police and 110% in support of civil rights (include religion and free speech) because ultimately all institutions must be subject to the general needs and will of society. Where I'm hearing some criticism, of which some of it I share, is that its a little late and the hindsight concern is nice but seems sort of well, "hindsight" when obvious foresight was needed. 

There is a perception, right or wrong, that some in positions of authority know things like this are going on but they take little or no action until it hits public awareness (i.e. meaning their inactivity becomes a risk and questionable.). If there are multiple serious complaints, no internal investigations, weak internal affairs, prior issues of recklessness, etc. and none of that was addressed we have a management issue beyond poor group culture (Not always. Sometimes the data doesn't look like a pattern and someone could say they didn't understand the types of behaviors that were going on. The other issue is if these issues were known and no one acted on them and that in turn put peoples lives at risk. The only way to really know is to take a good look to see what the general reputation of this group was, would superiors know that, and were there any documented investigations to protect the public.)

Let me say that in general I have a great amount of respect for police (The majority that are good officers serving the public in an honorable way.) and I can say we need to hold bad apples accountable before they get caught on camera and we act/feel shocked (The officers we have reasonable suspicion are violating the law and are at risk of being criminal themselves, cloaked in legitimacy, and in turn protected for such activities even though their highest priority is to enforce these laws fairly. The Blue Code being used as a code of concealment of bad behavior. I respect some of that code but obvious criminal behavior beyond normal working mistakes not ok.). I've seen free pass and how people, and some very basic assumptions, are often the last concern for people. It seems to be fashionable in hindsight to talk about the potential solutions.

I think that this problem can be resolved but it will require to think about issues from a more holistic proactive perspective. Free passes, even when we know these behaviors are wrong allow bad behaviors to push distorted logic/behaviors until situations like this occur. Its not that misuse of authority is new, as it partners with power, but that new technology forces us to be aware of that which in the past was hidden. 

Our freedoms and rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness is the highest duty and calling for police, judges, and the general civilian population. Each of us has a responsibility to protect that way of life and make reforms when it appears a group, department, institution may not be fulfilling their roles effectively. Change and updating regularly should be expected from a nimble first world nation trying to maintain civil and economic superiority.

We need the best and brightest to come forward in our society and take roles where they can ensure we are proactive on damaging behaviors like street vigilantism that erode the foundations of shared governance. Developing democracy comes with challenges for each generation. (Key point) Our generation must push democracy from its current state to a more universal and inclusive democracy that creates realizable human capital improvements through proper environmental prompting.

I do not believe I mince words or am intentionally confusing. Both sides of most arguments seem to come forward and it takes time to prune to the most reasonable explanations. I want to see good cops get promoted, I want cops to be respected by the community and I want the community to be safe from bad cops. That requires thinking about things from multiple perspectives (Trust me, seeing things from multiple perspectives and sharing that is a necessary part of developing society but it doesn't make you friends in some circles because everyone is "right". Are they still "right"? Will they continue to be "right" in the future? )

The way to create respect is by holding the will of the people and our shared principles as more important than the fear of departmental retaliation. We break those cultures where good officers cannot thrive or exist for fear of being subject to criminally oriented officers and ineffective department leadership. Internal affairs needs to be more than just a job title on a piece of paper and needs teeth in addition to outside department support. 

Unfortunately, in today's world you need to be somewhat of a risk taker to make movement toward loftier goals that lead to shared benefit. We should ask ourselves, "What usually happens to those who challenge poor behavior in poor cultures and why are we promoting people who don't have the moral aptitude to challenge poor behaviors when they see them?" 

The answers are not easy but they won't come by dividing communities further (A word to the wise for those actively trying to divide communities....our strength lies in our ability to hedge our different backgrounds and skills. Good people build bridges and toxic people destroy bridges. With many more good people than bad people and our nation will collapse in on itself. I understand you may disagree and of course are "right" but essentially I think people can agree that such behavior leads to more distrust. Consider growing public sentiment across society. There are many good articles out there. Here is one that is good by CNN. ) As an American people we can resolve this issue in a way where police are welcome members of our community and the communities and police see similarly on how to rid neighborhoods of crime. That can only come from working together, finding solutions, and enacting those solutions together.

 Its not Police vs. The People. A more reasonable viewpoint is America is growing to a higher level of civil development and changing the assumptions of policing (and society in general) is part of that developmental process. Whether we can change those assumptions in a healthy way for better national growth is dependent on the personalities involved. Let us tackle this issue as a single society, police and populace, working toward the same universal end. Ignore the sounds of ignorance that raise the risks to everyone where two forms of logic, two societies, and probably one opportunity in history to resolve this issue before two split collective conscious occur (From a theoretical and sociological perspective we need to view the possibility of rectification as attainable from a single perspective. If the felling from a large portion of society becomes "They don't care" and "They won't fix it" or "They won't let us fix it" the path become much more rocky and dangerous. So let us keep toxic voices and political immaturity  out of this, use civil conversation and roll our sleeves up and get to solving national problems while we have most flexibility. *   ).

*Unless your Congressman Santos who might have signed the Magna Carter and invented the term civil rights. I hear he might run for president and likely would make up a good enough story to get support. We need real leadership and real leaders that can help us solve problems. They are out there, they just haven't stood up to fulfill their oaths yet as it relates to policing and the public. Government is serious business with real consequences. I always encourage our governance to look over the horizon, act with integrity, and solve problems. That is pretty basic advice.

Rest and Recovery for Athletes: Knowing How Much and When?

Staying is shape is part of living a healthy lifestyle. It lets you be the best you can be in the physical realm (Don't forget the other parts and making sure those are also healthy). If you have been reading for a while you might be aware I engage in a number of sports, have a fitness trainers certificate, and a yoga certification. There are a few other things but the point being that I'm not new to the world of sports and I'm also interested in it and thus the reason why constant learning is important. 

This article is for those who want to perform at the best they can and maintain a healthy lifestyle. For those of us who work out regularly we often discount the value of recovery and push the limits. I have years of pushing the limits and it can lead to decreased performance.

Recovery seems to be important but knowing how much time is helpful. It is possible to not have days off but it would be difficult to have a routine that builds in that recovery within the program itself through augmentation. Still, I think its good to take a day off a week as a general rule. For those of us who know our bodies. we might be able to gauge our tiredness.

Two resources. Athlete Rest and Recover and the video below....

Protests for Tyre Nichols Takes Form Nationwide: We can solve this problem as a society!

We need a path through this but so far many of our leaders are bouncing back on their heels with similar worn out solutions to problems many of them don't understand. The black and white, this or that, type thinking that now makes its way into our decision making process based on party line blind button pressing isn't going to solve this issue (That does not take away from the many good leaders we do have. This is about those who are not focused on solving problems). So we may need to think beyond our current capacity to understand and move into the root importance and respect for life and our fundamental American values.

We as a developing society need to push for a peaceful transition to a higher platform of democracy where we can improve on making police more effective at catching bad guys as well as follow standards of excellence that lead to humane and peaceful public servants. There are cultural issues in some departments and few ways to break that dysfunctional culture in a way that leads to higher total group performance (New ways of measuring that culture and other feedback information that is becoming increasingly common are exposing prior dysfunctions and in turn will help us find solutions. This is not a new problem, this is just a problem we became more aware of because technology forced us to face it. i.e. body cams, video surveillance, etc.. Time to solve it. A Digital Era benefit. )

Let us not say that all police are bad. That IS NOT true at all! I know and have worked with many great police officers in one form or another throughout my life (That is why I always encourage peaceful protest because we are one community even though there are some that are trying to separate us. Police are part of the people and people are part of the police. It has been the separation that has caused many of the problems. Think about it for a second before you judge.). Its the bad apples and the inability of removing them, no matter their race or religion, that are causing the majority of the problems for everyone else (This is why we must remove bad apples and reform departments when they have repeated community complaints.💁) 

The culture is to stay silent and not intercede when justice demands a respect for life and would warrant intercession. The personalities we attract, the diversity of our police force, de-escalation methods and tactics training all lead to higher performance. No idea why this is so very complicated. If our individual officers don't feel empowered to act on behalf of life (their ultimate duty and honor when crimes are occurring), it means these departments are highly influenced by bullies/bigots and the misuse of power as a day-to-day tool. 

The sad reality is that they don't step forward because they are afraid of being ostracized, called names, pushed out of their departments, stonewalled, rejected, unprotected, etc.. etc.. because they broke the silence and acted in the best interest of society and human life (Ask yourself this question, "What consideration stopped them from stepping forward to stop their fellow officers? Most of the officers at this incident watching are likely normal people so they have been socialized to stay silent and not act. That is what needs to be fixed.).

The politics got to get out of practical solutions.....

The saddest thing about the video you can see where the victim is afraid and so stressed isn't sure what to do. At that point the narrative could have changed and a peaceful arrest might have occurred (You can't always say 100% but that is where one might have shifted to a softer more directive approach. It could have turned out differently and guilt or innocents can be determined by a court and not by street vigilantes. It is important to keep in mind that the police ultimately work for society and as we develop as a people we will put pressure as a collective whole on the justice institution to change to meet that development. This is how systems change. It is possible to do that peacefully and through dialogue and appropriate best use of pressure through our political process. That is democracy! Let us not step outside that lane with violence!)

What I can say is that I hope and pray everyone stays peaceful and our leaders start doing what we elected them for and solve problems....that's it....just solve problems.....the rest is useless drama and ideological immaturity. For related reading see Thoughtful Policing, Police Appreciation, MLK Universal Democracy The sad thing about this is, we know better, we knew better, we are better than this. Apparently, some of us are not and the rest of us stand around and watch (It says a lot about us doesn't it. If we fix this problem it also says something about us. To be honest, its not a guarantee people will do the right thing and that is why we are in this situation now. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Would we be benefit from a little more purposefulness in our thoughts and actions. Its a proof in pudding argument.).

"The good lawgiver should inquire how states and races of men and communities may participate in a good life, and in the happiness which is attainable by them."  Aristotle 

 

U.S. GDP Rises to 2.9% in Q4 2022: What is GDP and How to Calculate?

GDP expands to 2.9% in Q4 2022 and unemployment declines showing signs of economic resilience. In general this means the economy is growing and unused human capital is being brought back into the market (Putting pressure on technology to expand US. labor capacity). How much the U.S. is growing in comparison to other countries can be found when we compare world GDP rates (Explore World Bank Data). The BEA has a description of GDP in BEA GDP. You may also want to understand how GDP is broken down and how it is calculated in The Money Balance GDP. 

From a very generic standpoint the formula is.....

 GDP is Y = C + I + G + NX

GDP = Consumption + Investment + Government + Net Exports

Invest Escanaba: Billerud $200 Million Paper Mill Development Supplemental Passes State House and Senate

"The Hunt" in the Forest
by Paolo di Dono, called Uccello (1397–1475)

Billerud in Wells Township should be happy to hear that a supplemental bill for $200 million passed in the state house and senate. You can read the article in State legislature passes funding to upgrade Billerud mill in Delta County (TV6, 2023). What you will find in the article is the need to update infrastructure and while Delta County has existing infrastructure well suited for the logging (and a few others) it will need updates. There are lots of things that go into industrial design that most people don't think about so it take some time (i.e. rain water run off, energy needs, roads, rail, etc..). Those changes will likely lead to more investment interest (Think of FDI and how that is impacted by supply chains being rerouted back to the U.S. Remember that interest doesn't mean actual investment. However, it raises the possibility of further investment. See International Monetary Fund.)

The money is being allocated. See (US News U.P. Papermill Bill. Seriously, I can't find the actual bill! You always go down to the source when you can. I will check back in a few days. Maybe it wasn't uploaded yet.). All of that is good news! The town has been on a path of development and currently has a few other things going for it such as ship building/customization as well as a budding new tourism business. Matching those internal choices and behaviors with a more robust downtown and start-up culture opens the door to design and engineering firms that will then put Esky "on the map" as a digital and innovative "hot spot" at a time when the market demands it.

U.S. largest recipient of FDI
Source: IMF

I want you to think about how those infrastructure improvements make sense for other industries and residence in a small town of 10K +/- (I don't have time now to look the number up but feel free to explore if the topic interests you. Practitioner-Scholar). Would ship building, hotels, micro manufacturers, etc....all use those infrastructure improvements? How does improvement in hard infrastructure, including new Delta County digital infrastructure, create opportunities for lower transaction costs, higher innovation, and better growth opportunities for other businesses?

Consider what a Multi Cluster might look like from a theoretical standpoint. Keep in mind that a lot of research supports interactivity of business and that is hardly new. Doing it in a new way with an opportunity to repeat such behaviors in other places is pretty important in the long run. The industries can be adjusted based on market design and local resources but it was the model I was more iterested in and some of them made sense. Consider DC MultiClusters. Micro Manufacturing, Billerud Multi Applied Theory Feedback Master Plan, Start Up Esky, R&D Esky, U.S. to Out Perform China. 

TV6, (January 26th, 2023) State legislature passes funding to upgrade Billerud mill in Delta County https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2023/01/27/state-legislature-passes-1b-funding-upgrade-billerud-paper-mill/