Fishing in Escanaba Bay Photo

 There are few pleasures more than fishing in Escanaba. 

You may purchase a large print for home or office HERE

Are Increased Russian Missile Attacks on Ukraine A Switch in Strategy

 I believe the war has shifted somewhat and the superiority of troop numbers, constant bombardment by artillery, and some of the short and mid range advantages have been mitigated. While we must sort of watch how this unfolds it seems as though Russia has went further out in range and began to use missiles to make up for mid and short range challenges. It is basically the same strategy but with new equipment. We must also wonder how much equipment they actually have to sustain such attacks. 

Targeting civilian areas may have a few purposes from their side. #1 they are pushing the Ukrainian population out. They want the geography and capacities of the area but not necessarily the people. #2 even if they lose the war they want to show they will damage any nation that disagrees with them or holds their ground. Its a Russian power PR campaign as well. This is why post war investment will be important. 

What would like to see is the Ukrainians build in their advantages, utilize new equipment well, and force Russian troops to commit to the area. New tactics such as kill zones that include offensive and defensive areas that break up movements and push Russians to consider defensive tactics could be helpful. We will have to wait and see how the Ukrainians are doing on this front as well. 

Escanaba City Council Regular Meeting Thursday July 07, 2022

You can read the agenda here. Great town, lots of opportunities for investment. The downtown needs some work but plenty of storefront space. I may end up buying a building in the future at some point. I was thinking of putting short term rental apartments/condos on top, rent the store front, and make the back area a place to make mallets and polo gear among other equestrian stuff. https://www.escanabapolomallet.com/ 

Top GOP Senator To Milley: 'Answer The Questions, Come Clean With The American People'

To be honest. I think sometimes there are times when one can't follow immoral or unethical directives (What makes our U.S. military unique). From what I see on the surface....I think General Milley did the right thing. While more information may change my opinion I would say from what I understand he is a hero. There were long term assets that needed to be protected from misuse. 

This goes back to finding the right people to run our country beyond either party. We have selected and moved up the ranks "connected" people without thinking about who should should or should not actually be running our country. Our best should be at the top. We know that many of the lead people should not be in line for president (There are some good ones there too.) 

I advocate for allowing the best and brightest to move up the ranks and take positions where they can be the most help. While every society has a "connected" class, they have not shown themselves to be particular helpful over the past few years. We need new people, new ideas, and more stable approaches to solving our pressing problems.

Having good flow between the bottom and top of society helps to ensure that the right people are making it to the right positions. We can respect legacy advantages but only to a certain point. Modern democracies will be defined by the capacity of society as a whole (i.e. human capital) and not by a sliver from the top i.e. caste and wealth systems. (I know lots of people in the top and many are good people. Yet, we need more flow from different social classes based on merit and not priviledge.)

What does it have to do in this situation? Perhaps more thoughtful people should be candidates for president. From what I understand, General Milley did the right thing and maintained his cool under very difficult circumstances. He did his military duty even when it could have meant he could be personally punished for it (While we don't want that in 99% of cases for officials to question presidents but he took the risk and seemed to be right.). Maybe there is more to the story but that Is what I understand at the moment. 

New Laws Needed to Universalize Our System (Some Leaders Push for Two Societies and We Should Push for One)

 I've experienced uncontrolled hate and we are going need change if we seek to build a great nation.  People targeted me and my family and they walked from that without accountability (It looks that way on the surface). The laws can sometimes be so subjectively blind that they sort of are loosing public trust (Its written universally but applied in partisan and subjective ways. There are times when law should be adjusted for circumstances but that is based on merit and not on race/religion.) . Likely why protests, riots, and other nonsense of failed justice are apparent (I advocate for peaceful protests and restoration of law with wisdom.). 

My hope was that the perpetrators received help and the officers that engaged in corruption would be held to account. What is found is two societies have formed (I sort of didn't expect real justice as the group can easily influence locals when they highlight the "outsider" status. We actually have a genetic footprint in the area proceeding most of the others. The only difference is I have a Muslim sounding name and my kids are mixed race.). There is no difference between us and third world nations if the laws designed to harm half of society and ignore the violations of the other half (It damages the entire justice institution. Ask yourself where that leads in the future? Oh yaaa we solve problems in hindsight where they create the most problems and not foresight where we can easily maneuver them.). 

While I can't say what exactly happened definitively, I can say that it is a failure to turn ones head blindly away and if such behaviors are acceptable based on the "right" skin color, religion, or have the right social connections. That is why we didn't see the capital riots coming. Our cognitive models were misguided to the possibility that some are given a free hand in hate while others are already assumed to be the problem (Heuristic judgements at various points in the system).

So where do we go now? I'm not sure. Its not up to me. Its up to the moral conscious of those who are in positions of power. However, there are risks to doing the wrong thing consistently when it comes to minorities and giving free passes to those deemed more "worthy'. While we think we are so smart we can not outrun our histories or side step our futures. We will someday find ourselves back into the same problems as a result of miscued alignment of values. We are all Americans and we should be treated as valued members of society. Allowing some to hate on others is a violation of certain codes and values.

Me...I'm going to be polite and engaging but I won't sugar coat failures of society just because I have a Muslim sounding name (I know I know...we have little value and opinions discounted before we uttered a word.). I have seen hate and people walk from that hate (Remember the Tulsa Riots...its happens all the time and only in hindsight we wonder how grotesques and barbaric. Where were all those moral figures at that time when it most counted? I guess just like the riots...waiting to see what the general public sentiment was.). There is little moral anything I need worry about. The rest is up to the values of others. May God (Assuming we believe in intelligent design and/or the value of spirituality) bless them in their choices and their outcomes. 

Two different laws for two different people based on racial and religious differences is why we have societal rift (They don't see it because they have not had to experience it. Its different when you assume the risk but the one's who cause it walk with a smirk, nod and grin. Blind leading blind). Failure to see how hate functions and is given a free pass means those rifts don't disappear on their own (Like magic). I advocate universalism in law, its application, and the togetherness of people in one system through wisdom of application. Not two societies with different rules that has increasingly entered the conscious of those on the wrong side. 

Human life has more dignity than subjectivity of free walks and free passes for any behavior (as long as you are from the "right" society.). I'm a light right Republican that believes in the freedom of religion and the freedom that comes with liberty (Dirty words in some circles). We don't get to trample on those values just because someone has a racial and religious preference....and definitely not because of social connections. I'm within my rights to advocate for meaningful change that respects the rights of all Americans. (Oh yaaa I forgot....many of our leadership aren't working towards a stronger American as they are still based in partisan politics and subjective values that lead to throwing a wet blanket on our human capital and future prospects as a world leading nation.)

We might not evolved as much as we thought (Assuming you believe in evolution. You can argue either way.). Perhaps we just built a lot of stuff on top of the same primate brain. It seems like we constructed a larger social system on top of very root basic behaviors (See Biology and Society and Economics and Need Fulfillment). Let us try and bump up and not down. 🙈🙉🙊See Vervet Monkeys

We only think that we are very much removed from our roots and past. This is why its important to challenge our bias and ensure that laws are designed for public good and around the needs of modern society. We can create laws and write them with blade sharp prose but we must apply them with wisdom to ensure that certain behaviors are not being encourage. Laws are contracts with society and any societal discord is based on the belief that the contracts are either broken or misused. When you have large scale societal rifts it is because there is a portion of society that feels devalued through misapplication. The best thing we can do to achieve our future goals/challenges as a nation is to universalize our laws to apply to all Americans equally (People should advocate for justice, universalization, and peaceful improvement. Sometimes we don't find common sense changes to be worthwhile until after bigger problems occur and in the midst of chaos. i.e. riots on a national scale. Any group, business, institution or nation must continuously seek higher states of existence through meaningful reflection and persistent adjustment. or not? 🤷)

Shame if we can't, won't, or no longer have the moral authority to do the right thing. It doesn't bode well for where we will be going as a nation (FYI...I hope the perpetrators never spend one moment in jail but I do believe they should have mandatory mental health. What they did was dangerous, dishonest and could have led to injury. Without that our system has said that some people have the right to act in anyway they choose against other people. It highlights the differences in society.)

Replacing Logs on My Cabin

 Well.. Sometimes you have rotten logs and you have to replace them. In this case I went out and found a few cedar logs from a local saw mill, ripped out the rotted sections, hardened the good wood, cut these logs to section, industrial epoxied them in, put a few spikes, filled the cracks with wood filler and then painted. I will need to do the three above as well. I will do so next time I'm around.  Total is going to cost me around $400 versus the $4K I would likely have had to spend.

Photo Ocean Beach on a Cloudy Day

 Ocean Beach on a cloudy day photo I took a while back. :) 

If you like you can purchase HERE

Lost and Not Stolen Report by "Old Guard" Republicans

"Old Guard" Republicans are starting to reclaim their party in a coordinated manner.  It might not seem that way but what you find is them coming out definitely on certain values and beliefs. Let us be honest, it took a while. That is because no one wants to loose their job and people were targeting those who were not 100% falling in line with the more radical opinions. So this new report suggests a completely different shift from the past and is likely going to start impacting the party in big ways.  🤷

Anyway....read the report Lost Not Stolen in support of the older conservative values as they relate to the belief that the election was not stolen. Their essential values are "limited government, liberty, equality of opportunity, freedom of religion, a strong national defense, and the rule of law". RINO is a highly subjective term based on who is saying and who is receiving. It has been misused as a way to sort of siphon off of more traditional values and silence opposition within the party. The above mentioned concepts are more central to Republicanism (Executive Character). 

Either way....I may be Republican in values but I'm still going to struggle because of my name and not having the right connections (Why these values should be universal and not apply to some and not to others.).  I'm not sure I really want to be in politics. One side of me says its a duty for me to help because so many of our politicians are super smart but not qualified to make judgements about things (As shown in recent history). The other side says, I don't have the heart to listen to all bashing, arguing, and character damage. Whatever...whatever......turning pages in our lives...for now a passive observer.

Ships in the Bay Photo Black and White

Working on that online gallery. 
Ships in the Bay. Purchase Here.

 

Ukraine and Russia Agree to Allow Grain to Leave: Good Idea

Grain and food, just like medicine and life necessities, are essential to human life. When we can limit its restriction because of conflict we are all better off. This is also why I encourage lots of locally produced food and food mechanisms for emergency situations. Still lots of steps and hoops to go through. Too bad they couldn't truck them to other ports in the area.