The blog discusses current affairs and development of national economic and social health through unique idea generation. Consider the blog a type of thought experiment where ideas are generated to be pondered but should never be considered definitive as a final conclusion. It is just a pathway to understanding and one may equally reject as accept ideas as theoretical dribble. New perspectives, new opportunities, for a new generation. “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”—Thomas Jefferson
In my life I have seen people do good and I have seen people do bad. However, when it comes to hate and corruption there are sometimes little to no backstops for those behaviors. Each time the power of hate and corruption gains a footing it also erodes the official system (While I can find the short term logic I cannot find the long term logic of corruption). I'm a believer in moral conscious within governance and the transcendent power of truth over falsehood. As such I oppose corruption and believe the potential for corruption should be investigated and accounted for when it occurs.
While some may not officially make changes there are always undercurrents and consequences for leaders who fail to live up to their professed values and delve into the secret arts of corruption and hate. They are not obvious reasons at first but they do grow over time through a more natural order of life and the need for a healthy society. It might very well be that the need for good social governance supersedes the short term gains of corruption (See short and long term logically failures)
These are not obvious consequences as a direct 1 for 1 relation you might find in official systems (This is why we encourage transparency, accountability and strong decision making). When there is corruption the goals are often self benefit and/or benefit a group/clan. Of course in hidden form. That benefit comes in financial or social form that takes resources away from society as a whole. Where corruption gains, the society feels a decline and struggles. If we find this to be a regular occurrence we tip the scales from growing societies to weakening societies (Let's take a good look here at what actually is patriotic on a root level).
I have talked in the past about how unchecked corruption spreads and leaks to others places and venues where it eventually creates a shadow system. While all systems have shadows the strength and power of that shadow system to function without checks and balances is a sign of the health of the entire system. Where the official system beats out the corrupt system we have health where the other wins we have illness. Its a matter of extent. That is why integrity in all our decision making is necessary.
What this study indicates is that 1.) a structural analysis helps explain the interconnect nature of corruption, 2.) it is possible to measure the degeneracy of companies (I think this can be applied to any entity including governments and/or departments). 3.) hidden complexity where there is lack of information (hidden information found during an investigation), and 4.) corruption can create an emergent system (I talked in past about embedded networks).
Corruption is a system within a system. While individuals may have corrupted souls these are called crimes but when connected to a coordinated group where public resources are used it is called corruption. When we know these things are occurring and we do not act on them we have come to accept corruption as a normal state of affairs (Many countries work off of shadow systems. i.e. bribes, social connections, religious castes, ethnic groups, corrupt courts, etc. This isn't something new. The official and shadow co-exist). If issues are repeated enough they can be called a system failure based on systemic failures and lack of capacity to correct.
No matter the type of corruption we are talking about it is incumbent on people to stand up to it and report it. Those in official positions who hear about that corruption have an obligation to investigate and determine its validity. If they fail to do that or they do that in a way that is inherently inaccurate then we have bigger issues we have to deal with as a nation and as a people. An existing system of corruption (part or whole) and no mechanism with checks and balances is not a wise place to be in any form of governance. Thus integrity is needed (It doesn't apply to any specific place or incident but a general need for integrity across all systems in any place)
As such systems function and consume resources and create masses of victims it also begins to create its own objectives (Its own objectives not stated publicly). Despite the best attempts to hide corruption people become increasingly aware, they become more disdainful of that corruption, and those institution that are engaged in corruption begin to decline in institutional trust (This is becoming more common and I encourage avoiding this as much as possible. Words into the wind). Its a natural system outside the hands of any official. The natural system exists in every society and nation. People understand falsehood on a deeper level and they know intuitively what is right and what is wrong. They begin to act in subtle ways that continues to expose that corruption and thwart that corruption for the health of all of society. There is a subtle undercurrent of power of right over wrong that those who engage in and/or support do not always factor into their prospects (any level of system).
From a research perspective:
Sometimes you get to see two systems functioning and battling for official and unofficial dominance. We have the corrupt system (potential) and we have an official system (assumed). All types of interesting things are likely to be found in emerging corruption scandals such as who knew what, when did they know it, who acted with integrity and who shirked their responsibilities, who is protecting the public and who is harming the public, who was lying and who was telling the truth. etc, etc., etc.... If you get the rare chance of watching corruption unfold it is definitely worth learning from such situations. Sometimes societies make improvements and sometimes they just ignore it to their own detriment in the future. If I was a corruption researcher, or government official who believes in system integrity, I would be giddy about the opportunity to investigate corruption in live form. Its rare, so if an example comes along I think its beneficial to take a good look so as to improve the health and vitality of our nation through combating corruption (and indifference to corruption) in other places. The later being of fairly big concern. The difficulty our protective systems sometimes have in consistently standing up for certain central principles. Sometimes they do and sometimes they wait. That is why emerging issues tell us a lot as to who acts on their values, who is indifferent, which agencies have more integrity and which leaders walk the talk . It's a proof in pudding learning situation. Always check the assumptions. We dont know if corruption actually exists until we have the moral integrity and wisdom to stand for our shared American values and fulfill the duty to investigate. Useless philosophical drivel. Discard quickly please. Blah blah blah Soap box!
We are a social creatures and we constantly seek to find our worth to each other, to ourselves, to society. Some would say that it is built into us and others will say that it has been invented. There is research that indicates that social hierarchy may actually be hardwired into us. Somewhere deep in our brain we have the encoding that pushes our mental hardwiring to chronically compare ourselves to others. Consider, Human Brain Appears "Hard-Wired" for Hierarchy
I honestly don't believe you need to be a brain scientist to figure out that most animals have a pecking order and that humans also have one. Likewise, we probably could intuitively understand that there are some advantage and pleasure to winning over others. We might even go as far as to say it is based in our need for survival and pushing our species to adapt (Yes I know its way way out there!)
Throughout all of my experience and people I have met I do believe I understand what actually makes one better then another. It isn't the toys they have, the amount of friends they have, the hierarchy of their position, the accumulation of power or any such things. It has nothing to do with their religion or their professed values. It comes down to a concept called...
Character is the defining trait that cuts across our social system. Those who have it will act with honor and integrity and those who do not have character will fall back to maintaining or pushing their social position. The quest for character or the quest for status have been a raging debate for centuries. Where the pendulum swings determines the nature and social expectations of our society.
Character still counts as a contributing factor in subjective worth, in society I will say some others are more focus on the hierarchy side of things. Micro and macro. Encouraging character above superficial social perception is important least we manage to a floor benchmark. Building a great nation needs new ideas, new inventions, new ways of doing things and that doesn't typically just come from a sliver of society. Character comes from any background but often is found in increased frequency among those who had opportunities to build it.
Much of the world has overfished its population. We have done so within this country as well. According to 'Status of Stocks 2022' our fisheries improved. Who knows maybe someday I will have my part-time commercial fishing boat hobby idea. :)
Jogging is a great way to improve health and fitness. Jogging is cheap to do and is natural. Recently I started jogging again and am approaching the activity differently then I did in the past. Now it is about balance to maximize benefits between exercises. Some jogging, some biking, some boxing/martial arts, some surfing, some swimming, some yoga, some walking, etc.
Its the variety that maximizes the outcomes because each exercise uses different skills and abilities. For example, running is great for cardio, but should be balanced with yoga. Dance increased cardiovascular health, brain health, strength and range of motion and those same skills can be found in self-defense.
One could possibly create a plan with different activities to create total body health. I'm a fitness trainer but have not used it in any real capacity. So I will share some of my thoughts and ideas if they are helpful to you.
Try not to engage in the same activity over and over so as to ensure you are maximizing adaptation while avoiding injury. Overuse injuries are common when we get stuck on an activity and do it over and over without variety. Our bodies can become weaker and we can lose muscle tone. Mix it up.
According to the study below jogging at my own pace for 50 minutes a week would provide me with the most return for my effort. My goal is to jog 3 x per week at 40 minutes in each session to provide the health benefits and ensure recovery time in between. The added benefit of more calories burned. I do other stuff so I don't need to focus on one thing.
This is so sad. I do a lot of traveling and I would say that we drive too close almost all the time. I rarely drive over 60 miles an hour and I will say that without fail there is either a car or semitruck that would like to pass but instead gets within a car length or less of the back bumper. While this might be ok 99% of the time, besides coming off as an aggressive driver, it takes something like snow or dust to cause major accidents.
Hopefully, technology will give huge warning signals when they are too close to another car going over 50 miles an hour. That might annoy people enough to stay back from each other. We pray for the victims and families of the crash. More enforcement on aggressive driving might also help.
Pay particular attention to truck drivers who can't stop anywhere near as fast as a the cars. We would of course need to balance technology with new recruits to avoid these situations in the future.
In my opinion, we are reinventing the old car into the EV car so let us consider these spacing and speed distances.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent a letter to Honorable Kevin McCarthy the current House Speaker and other Congressional leadership on May 1st, 2023. She raised a few concerns about the time frames for potential debt-payment impasse around June 1 depending on tax receipts and other information (This basically gives notice that there could be an issue. I wonder if this happens regularly?)
Thinking about it because we are a little bit of a pickle. We can't really keep spending and we must also compete internationally. That means we need to use resources wisely in order to bump up the system. That often leads us to think about what is essential and what is not essential on a government level.
Of course we also need to allocate resources where they are needed and we can reasonably ensure that we are improving our bottom line. I think we need an overhaul of costs, focus, and practice. I'm thinking of how a change in economic and social fundamentals (remember that economics is actually social behavior) might also provide an opportunity to change our approach.
(In general, I'm an optimistic person who believes if we all put our heads together we could come up with a solution. That would require commitment to the health of the nation beyond the needs of any particular stakeholder or party.).
In general if we have time it might be helpful to consider the following....
(I'm well aware the devil is in the details and lots of people with lots of opinions. Just ideas...feel free to toss....).
1. Define what the big goals are. 1-3 principles both sides (make sure it is in alignment with the publics needs as a general societal collective. The collective perspective.) can agree with in principle (It develops focus in thinking).
2. Look at what is essential and what is not essential. Create a few categories that allow one to sort of break programs out into different categories.
3. Of what is essential focus on rethinking how it is done, its effectiveness, and its contribution to society. As you revamp effectiveness and efficiency should be on the forefront of our minds. (Sometimes we have existing research and sometimes we have to create new research to understand these bigger problems. Money well spent.).
4. Of those things that are not essential we would need to prioritize based on available left over budget. That should include effectiveness and efficiency. Some of these contribute to the general well being/life satisfaction growth environment and some of these contribute to the economic environment. They both are necessary for long term stability.
I guess one could go on and on and on about politics and money. The point is that these are complex issues but it might be possible to sort of figure out some way of looking at programs and thinking about the long term needs of the nation. We move the disagreements from just dollar amounts to an agreement that essentially if we can improve the system and take an honest look at where we want to go and what we need to be there we can find some lens to look at and improve our programs. Many times there is lots of fat, red tape, inefficient internal organizational/departmental information and resource paths, misappropriation, costly transactions and much more. blah blah blah
Let us say that this is a truly American meeting with all the debate, discussions, and decisions one would expect in an area that is becoming something anew. We are discussing everything from prayer in meetings, financial concerns, inappropriate texts and the search to restore artifacts. When I say that, I mean it in the sense that we can discuss just about anything in a small town microcosm. The same problems that plague the nation are also of concern in a nature oasis as well.
This influence of local to national and national to local concerns can be good or it can be bad. In this case, while national issues are important for environmental context we do not want to mimic or mirror national politics in our little town. This is why I say polite and truthful is the best bet forward for discussing issues.
We are also an area that is becoming something new and you can see that transition in the making. Older issues are being brought forward and discussed while new issues are emerging. Week after week, month after month, they are part of the process change. Resolving these issues successfully and expediently are helpful in the change process.
(This is also why I'm relatively neutral on most of these topics. I have opinions but they are based in long term strategies and/or moral sentiments. You can review 'Organizational Adaptation' study and one below which is in the process and unfinished designed around Escanaba and Delta County as model for other locations. I can explain why this is a unique place but that takes time. Theory of Innovative Transactional Clusters. Not that there is adaptability to the model but the model is built from the possibility of adaptation and where that could lead in terms of innovative hot spots and sparkers of greater community overall health. It delves into the economic and the social side of American communities. Its in process of being adjusted, written and constructs connected so don't judge prematurely. Lots of mixed up pieces but they are related/influencers and need to be written that way so the average person can understand. They call it a paper or work in process.)
A Few Points on Annexation
What I will say is that no matter if the community supports or doesn't support the annexation of parts of Escanaba Township to Cornell we can say that it should be done in a transparent way and one in which explores all of the options. It is a community decision and it is an important one to consider because there are some major benefits and there are some detractors. An informed public is the best, makes the decisions and lives by the positive or negative outcomes of a community choice. In other words, we should all share in the benefit and pain of our collective decisions.
A few thoughts and questions bubbled up. Do we need to split the townships? Could we make an agreement on the land in question and provide a type of shared service or is that too difficult? Could Billerud, the power farm and or other investors share in a first responder fund, support the most centralized fire department with more resources and/or do something else? The point being that by exploring all of the key concepts and talking about them we can better understand and find a strong path forward. Consider that all economics is based on time and choice. There are multiple developments in the area so first responder levels need to rise (Cross coordination between departments was another idea. Sorry I was slightly disrupted for a minute. I am still thinking about grants. Not everything I write is useless dribble; just some of it!)
Notes (I try and be accurate. I may be incorrect sometimes so please post a comment. Likewise, I don't need to write down everything but more focused on the important stuff. Like looking for patterns and potential opportunities. Understanding how rejuvenation works and operates on a local level.)
Annexation issue will not be discussed (Lots of conversations about this in the rumor mill).
-Conservation District (CD) and Delta County (DC) had 5 contracts of similar language since 2011 and charged fee versus exchange of office space. Instead they charged fee. 72K on top of cost appropriations 2022. 1 million+ cost. Concerns of inflated cost. Was this administrative fee or something else? Lack of accountability 1/2 million with no legal review. Questions process. Large clapping.
-Financial questions. $384 in addition for controller in addition of administrator salary.
-Concerned about open meetings act. MSP filing. Secular religion in board meetings complaint.
-Character discussion. Open Meeting Acts. 3rd Commissioner meeting attendance violates open meeting act after being brought to attention from county attorney.
-Another said the nature of comments were not in violation of opens meeting act.
-Call to prayer. Gentleman indicates that you can open with a prayer if it tradition. Cites 2014 Supreme Court Prayer.
-Second if the closed session and would like to witness if there are any closed sessions related to an attendance at a meeting.
-Court House. garage, heat, roof, etc... the local court house is getting an upgrade. Might need engineer drawings.
-Delta county issues for roads are being documented and no major concerns about river or roads.
-Job description for park manager seems ok.
-No issue of greenhouse.
-Stipend retroactive for airport manager. Some type of legal complaint and investigation. Tabled until May 2nd.
-Pay bills 30:30 1.3 mil to pay bills
-Marketing of our airport grant. (Maybe we could connect to Chicago and Detroit and increase the market value of the area as a start-up, vacation, and investment area.)
-Reenact 208
-Maintenance and department. Versatile to parks if needed. County and grounds
-Contract for Conservation District to be tabled and reviewed by prosecutor (Probably a good idea considering the controversies associated with the issues.)
-Countywide Boys and Girls Club. Talking to Packers and Lions. A steering committee. Likes the area.
-Closed session on open meetings access and legal counsel.
-Electric grid and solar system plan. Discussions on the Escanaba Twp. Some have raised concerned with property values, farm land, pollution. Didn't feel there are issues.
-Concerned about signatures. One commissioner may have extra interest. Doesn't like the idea. The fire department, town hall, and cemetery costs would need to be shouldered by 1/2 of twp.
-Question on benefits package for park manger. No benefits for district court admin position. Wants full time member. Concerned about private county attorney and lawsuits. Believes they are concerned lawsuits.
-Cornell trustee township. Doesn't believe Cornell Twp want it and Escanaba Township doesn't want it. Wants to have investigation of the board.
-Issues of ADA not yet resolved and concerned about free speech. A number of counties offers zoom meeting. Reinstate Zoom access.
-Compensation for airport manager was not added on committee of whole agenda. A raise of 5K was being discussed but it wasn't discussed at the appropriate meetings. Two qualified candidates but they withdrew because of concerns of board and politics. Felt one of the commissioners should recuse.
-Ex felt that one of the commissioners is doing a good job and that he has been unfairly treated. Was voted in and its what voters want. Stated some of the threats in messages. Ugly, physical threat, child r-pe, bullied, hung, etc. (I'm sort of embarrassed to repeat.I believe that no matter what some agrees or disagrees with, we should be polite and positive. Concerns should be voiced in a positive and constructive way. One thing we need to avoid as a nation is moving into the extremes on the far right or left where civil dialogue becomes challenging. We have freedom of speech but we don't have freedom to lie, intimidate or to bully. We must always seek to be as honest as we can and correct things if there are mistakes. If there is something more then we as a community can bring them forward for resolution.
However, it is not one's place to be intentionally disrespect or say things that would make a reasonable person concerned for safety. Its a democracy based no no and breaks down civil dialogue which is needed to adapt as a town and people. These are lessons in politicization we don't want to take from some of our national leaders. The benefits of small town life is that you know your neighbors so have some empathy and consideration over each other. On a national scale people often struggle with the consequences of their words. Let us not do the same and be good to each other.
Semi related here is a study on civility online and public trust. While the study does not conclusively show incivility changes trust it does show that civility can create additional trust. Low trust levels in government are common and we should consider how our behaviors signal others to trust or not trust in government. We are at this place in society where we need to get serious about building a great nation. As an initial study within a laboratory and not focused specifically on this phenomenon I believe follow ups would likely produce an incivility and lower trust statistically significant association. Causation might even be possible but that is hard to watch in a natural environment. 'Civility and trust in social media')
-Speaker discussed DAR monument in 1931 Pioneer Trail Park. Restoring plaque and other work. Here is something on the DAR of Michigan. (To go out and explore this artifact probably isn't as much fun as exploring the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull but I'm sure if you took the kids out there and went on a few hikes you might discover it or depending on how much fun and beverage consumption you have you may get lost on your way to the bathroom. Anyway, I think archeology, land marks, diving, museums, history, etc. are awesome. Your adventure starts with using the parks new online reservation system at 'Delta County Parks and Campgrounds.')
-Wants ADA in Zoom. Also is concerned that one of the commissioners should not be allowed to talk or vote on it. I think it is related to a potential conflict of interest.
-Child abuse prevention month. She discusses the use of drugs and lost parents. She mentions one general from one to the other. She talks about either under reported and/or is reported but nothing is done. Let us look at all the abuse and mental health. Would like the commissioners to prioritize the concerns for Delta County (DC). She is annoyed by the 2nd Amendment sanctuary when there are many other important issues to deal with. (Let me say that childhood abuse is disgusting and a total projection of one's distortion on the innocent and defenseless. It is often not seen as not particularly important in our society but those who are on the receiving end know very well that the only way to break from those patterns is to challenge them and not repeat them. Easier said then done when such things are embedded into the child at such a young age. It takes the exceptional person to ensure it ends in that generation. You want to know where strength comes from, deep in the human soul, as most people continue it from one generation to the next without intervention. As horrendous as it sounds, there are those who support child abuse as long as someone created a narrative of worthy of "blame". Yes, I also fight for children and the protection of children because they are our future. Not so easy when "the adults" want something. Much of what we do in this manner is ineffective and sometimes counter productive. We have a long way to go in this arena as a town, state, and nation. )
-29 families in Delta County lost children was stated. He called the court house and he said he couldn't get that information and that was private. So he was concerned about the conversation with a judge and/or the release of such information.
-States that if someone has a conflict of interest in land acquisition (see above) they shouldn't be involved in decision making. Also comment that no one should be harassing others but we can act within the law to curb these behaviors. (I was thinking about this saying, "Giving into hate is like salt water, the thirst only grows worse". Ron. I agree it all should be good Kharma. Love and peace Namaste. 🙏)
-One youth I would hope to do something fun. Boys and girls club is a good idea. Many kids are bored and there isn't a whole lot to do and hopes that the commissioners consider the idea. Is this the poet from one of the other meetings? I will need to go back and check. Something about social constructivism if I remember correctly.
-A commissioner indicates that he has some concerns. Doesn't know much about the land swap. MSU professor states that solar has a lot of information and he can talk about it with people via zoom or come up. He supports solar. Some are going to conference. Work on policy for public bullying. We should not be bullying so the policy would restrict. Humiliation, threats, aggression on email, etc. by some officials. (I was looking up stuff on solar panels. While its not related look at this roadway idea. Too bad we couldn't figure out a cheap way to make these things and use them on our main street. If we have a special event we could adjust the strips, etc. I would have to imagine this is super expensive but definitely something next gen. It would be interesting if somehow we drew prototype interest and companies could test their ideas for free in town. It would definitely bring in tourists and of course high tech interest. This is also why I like the proto-type start up ideas for town. We are sort of small enough to do that. Solar Frickin Roads. I think Edison tried out his experiments in towns. I would have to look this up to be sure. DC MultiCluster, DC Start Up, Smart City,Rejuvenation)
-Another commissioner said he liked zoom. He has video of the environmental meeting. Something about setting up stuff when he has information.
-One commissioner states a WWII comment, "If your not catching flak, your not over the target". The comment has to do with leadership, criticism and controversy. Taking Flak
-Public comment can be read in the meeting
-There was discussion by another commissioner on the ballet box is where you resolve issues, martial arts for many years, will have prayer, better things to argue about, looking for attorney. A recall effort has begun. Annexation came up and felt one of the commissioners should recuse himself. Indicates he knows him well and he would recuse himself. An apology to someone but I didn't catch who. Will not recuse himself from airport issue as it was an admission of doing (dipped out sound). There is an investigation but will not be involved in that. Support child abuse. Supports 2nd amendment. Likes Boys and Girls Club and steering committee. 'Effort on to annex part of Escanaba Township'
