President Joe Biden speaks at the National Education Association

Biden provides speech at National Educational Association. The audio on this channel sort of stinks but I couldn't find a better one. I do agree with one thing, work provides a level of pride for people, and having jobs helps. There is also a internal conflict between MAGA and Old Guard Republicans. I think that is start to switch back to the central stance as legal issues ramp up. 

As with all speeches there are things I agree with and things I disagree with. Very wealthy people don't count their pay checks in the same way as poor people. So help on one level could be valid and beyond that we need to fix the system in general. That would include increased opportunity for people and ensure that health insurance functions well is another. 

The devil is always in the details and it if was easy to solve it would have been solved a long time ago. Market forces should determine the price of drugs but at the same time an argument can be made that the pharmaceutical industry has responsibility to society and the community. 

Money and profits go far but community and resources goes much further. Invest in the American people through reduced cost on important drugs. The question is do you reduce drugs through competition in an imperfect market or do you simply say the retail price for these drugs should be lowered outside of market forces? 

Anyway....watch for yourself.

GOP Rolls Out Commitment to America: A Few Thoughts

There are some good ideas and comments in the GOP's Commitment to America. I have listened to President Biden's speech and have seen some of the recent changes in the GOP and let me say that they are more similar than both sides pretend to be (At least at their root.). At the end of the day they both want American to be strong and share some similarities in interest. I put my comments in in brackets below. Just in case you want to know I'm a light R and have no problem looking at things from different perspectives and angles. No one has to listen to me, or necessarily should, but certainly you should make up your own opinion regardless of what party you belong. Our nation is that important! I'm writing to understand myself. 

As an observation what I would say there isn't yet a lot of information in there so I would suspect its a developing agenda.

Taken GOP leaders roll out ‘Commitment to America 

-We will not allow it. The Commitment to America represents a new direction and better approach that will get our nation back on track. (New approaches are always welcome if they are thought out, supported, and have a high chance to succeed. Sometimes you just have to jump in both feet forward when there are lots of unknowns and no research to guide you. We are sort of half half with that now.)

-Because Americans are workers and builders, we commit to remove government-imposed obstacles to their success. Hardworking taxpayers should be valued, not punished. (In general, I agree that the more we remove road blocks, remove red tape to development, encourage investment and promote small business as an avenue of growth we are doing well. That being said there is room for some restrictions and rules when it comes to shared needs such as pollution and infrastructure.)

-Because no American should live in fear, we commit to reverse soft-on-crime policies that have caused violence in our communities. Public safety is a necessity, not a privilege. (People who commit serious crimes should be held to account. There are times where souls can be redeemed and we should always keep that in mind. Without an avenue of reform we don't really have a justice system or a reform system. We just have holding cells. It can be hard to find a balance. We should always seek to understand and use the right tools for people as individuals. Hard when hard is needed and soft when soft is wise. Its not always easy to judge a man's soul and we should always seek to enhance. Let us just make sure its fair and not giving some free passes and others not. Each on its own merit. It must be universalized.)

-Because Americans are learners and dreamers, we commit to advance excellence in education and respect for dedicated parents and teachers. Our future depends on it. (I agree. We need a robust education system all around. Without strong education and skilled trades we can't develop the human capital needed to truly build a modern innovative nation that others want to invest in. We need such skills to maintain growth and maintain strength.)

-And because Americans deserve fairness and real accountability, we commit to make Washington finally serve the needs of the people. We can no longer afford business as usual. We will work with anyone who shares these goals—as long as they put people before politics. (All of our politicians need to be more focused on the needs of the country versus themselves, their egos, their parties, and their pocketbooks. We need new blood so let us find the healthy balance between the stability of the "connected" and opening up the nation to the best and brightest. That allows for adaptability. Right now we have some stagnation in thought and ideas.).

(I struck through the part below because I like solutions more than rhetoric. I just sort of ignore these comments by both sides because they are not helpful. Extremism whether R or L is just destructive all the way around and creates group think. )

But the extreme ideology of this Democrat majority blinds them to the challenges of everyday Americans. They are simply too partisan and out-of-touch to correct course now. So be it. 

The National Importance of Local Judicial Integrity

The rule of law is important for order within society and its important for the development of our most important asset "The people". Sometimes law is misapplied in an avenue to protect certain races, religions, ethnic or social groups. When this occurs it needs to be corrected in order to maintain the integrity of the entire system as well as ensure such institutions stay in alignment with national values. 

What happens when institutions move outside of alignment with national values and/or engaged in corrupted behaviors?

If these behaviors are apparent then it might fall under the purview of US Public Corruption and Civil Rights Division. Such a division looks at cases where coordinated police, judicial, or and/or clan aggression appears to be in violation of some of our nation's most important/cherished values.

We are a nation in transition and there are still places that feel that their clan is more important than the national laws and that is why Federalism exists to ensure that people are treated fairly so as to maintain the internal stability of our democracy around shared principles (Try and sell that one to some of our politicians and you will find many confused as to what their actual roll is. Let me tell you it has nothing to do with helping themselves...they call it public service for a reason. Otherwise we would call it self service. 🤷)

Without that fairness we do run risks as certain groups and people have seen and come to accept the "normalization" of horrendous displays of bigotry and hate. For example, the group that started coordinated aggression did so based on their perceived power of 100+ blind supporters, coaching/connection/support of a few local officers (looks like up to 5 involved in other poor behaviors), and likely historical rulings of a pro-clan/"local" judge. 

All that power against a guy protecting his kids (and self) from manipulation, hate, pulling over, etc... Such weak groups only do so when they were given immunity before starting and have overwhelming power against individuals (i.e. smirky attitude with local police support by some officers) and when they do not expect to be held to account. Sounds like a well worn path for some of the members. 

To me it is more important to challenge these behaviors than to trash the Constitution that protects freedom of religion and freedom of speech. As a nation will we will have pressures to push our development into an enlightened society that moves into a universal democracy (that will likely gain support by many nations) and digital era where human capital is maximized. 

We also face risks we won't adapt and fall back into darker times where race, religion and Good Old Boy networks destroy our performance and options. Those that are engaged in minority targeting behaviors have become a risk to the rest of us and take on roles related to domestic extremism when opinion (especially intentionally manipulated opinion) is acted upon. 

Its a choice and its not my choice. The only thing I can choose is what I will do (They picked fights, intentionally insulted, yelled out to my kids "your father is a bitch", and told me why they were doing this because we were Muslim.). Protect my family, encourage integrity, be polite but not passive, encourage a system that corrects its behavior for the protection of the community and live by what I believe are my American/"American" values.

 Others will choose what they believe the values they hold in their hearts.  I use positive peaceful pressure to turn this into a learning situation because I now wholeheartedly believe it is possible its happening all across the nation as some groups feel frightened and threatened by a changing world and changing national demographic (I don't feel challenged. No matter anyone's race and religion we are all equals and our institutions should encourage that. We have positive things to teach this world.)

I know! I know! As someone with a Muslim sounding name and what these people call "Nigga Baby" kids we are the first to get targeted, the first to lose our rights, and the first to be retaliated against (At least on a local level). We are not seen by some as being full blooded and valuable Americans. Its a fundamental value system. I don't know what the right answer is but it seems like there is no remorse or accountability and that creates a pretty big problem for me, and people like me. 

To forgive is one thing but to forget when those risks are still present is another. It would be irresponsible of me. It wouldn't be fair to any past or future victims.  

Some doors open and some close, let us see what happens.....

Pictures of Casco Viejo, Panama

 A few pictures you might enjoy. 

Palace Views Casco Viejo, Panama 

Some of the revenue goes to fund charities such as orphans.

Spanish Street Models Casco Viejo, Panama. 

Some of the revenue goes to fund charities such as orphans.

Courtyard in Casco Viejo, Panama.

Some of the revenue goes to fund charities such as orphans.

College Readiness and Corporate Recruiting Practices Influences Human Capital Development

Human capital development is related to development of one's labor force and the capacity of people to move upwards and receive the rewards for their efforts. This is why I usually advocate for the benefits of training and development but also for the universalization of our institutions and opportunities. According to a publication the Brookings Institute entitled The contribution of human capital to economic growth employers should be hiring graduates based on their performance within universities, ability to conceptualize issues/problems, think clearly and originally on issues. 

College Preparedness and Company Hiring Practices

Ensuring graduates have the right skills is one things but the employers ability and willingness to hire and groom exceptional talent is another. My experience in the past indicates that most positions 70% are hired by people who know each other and that isn't always based on people's skills (I did a quick search to see if that was in the ball park Network Statistics 2022). That would create a problem for high performing students that aren't given a chance to succeed and must struggle to fully maximize their exceptional talent. 

Thus colleges can encourage these behaviors but employers but be willing to move outside of their social networks to recruit higher quality candidates. That is unlikely to happen unless we are forced through challenge to change existing patterns to find and promote the best, brightest, and most qualified. (I once created a variable course tract sequencing system that allows students to move through different courses based on their learning and interests in a way that tests and reinforces their knowledge through individualize competency development based on their natural abilities and interests. It was kind of a next stage on competency implementation.)

That leads us to 1.) Company hiring practices and 2.) College preparedness.

Its important to change how companies hire and how colleges prepare students because according to that publication the average contribution of labor productivity growth has been minimal for the U.S. at a stagnant .2% (Baily, Bosworth & Kennedy, 2020). Its an indication that we are not maximizing our national resources well and social nepotism is holding us back. (An argument for knowing someone's abilities through experience is one thing but not looking at qualified candidates because they are not within one's social circle is another thing. One must always be open to more qualified people from other networks and places to take a chance on the highest corporate/national performance.)

We learn that 3.) Social networking and nepotism could have a negative impact on human capital growth if exclusive.

Human Capital Calculations

Reading through the paper I also found an interesting human capital calculation that may be of benefit to someone who is concerned with how education and personal development are calculated. Remember that these are formulas and could easily be developed with different variations. They are not facts but just ways of understanding the components that allow for quantitative analysis. 

Mincer (1974) developed the Mincerian function ln Y= α +β‧S + g(A)

(Y is a measure of labor earnings, S is years of schooling, A is age or preferably years of work experience, and g is a higher order polynomial that reflects the concaveness of the age earnings) function.)

What we find is that education (I would include many forms of higher skilled trades) impact human capital development over a persons life in a way that improves the resources available to a country. Thus, education is so important for development that with the right infrastructure and investment environment could determine the economic path and resilience of an entire nation over time. 

It also brings up another important concept for countries that are aging in what we often see in developed nations. Education mixed with other forms of productivity enhancements (i.e. wearable tech, innovative clusters, etc.) could be a net positive when that education mixes with knowledge, experience, and pro growth policies to create real value and development opportunities. 

The work further discusses inventors, entrepreneurs and industrial research laboratories for maximization of benefits. 200 innovation. 4, 2010). I have advocated for economic clusters (i.e. Delta County Model) as places to improve upon human capital development because it puts the right inventors, investors, and entrepreneurs in the same location to enhance each other. It also allows for the creation of pools of cluster research that improves multiple industries at the same time (i.e. military, outdoor equipment, metals, auto-space, etc.). 

Suggestions and Recommendations

Based on the paper and my own research I would consider the need to ensure our schools are truly functioning at their best to improve on slow growth in human capital development. Likewise, education (and skilled trades) have become part of a life long learning opportunities that pays dividends for a nation and for the people who engage in them. That requires a level of easy access and mobility of education as seen in some of our transition to online schools and more inclusive educational frameworks.

Business and industry should always consider that they do not currently associate with the best candidates and are neglecting a huge untapped resource because they don't want to step out of their comfort zones. They should consider working with universities to design curriculum that enhances needed skills (i.e. competency model) and allow promising individuals (based on skill and not race, religion, or social network) to be selected for corporate grooming (mentoring would likely be helpful here). 

While hiring people we know may feel safe it also carries a long term risk for the highest performance levels needed in a global society because people with the highest skills (i.e. best and brightest) are not always considered. Often they are not part of those "connected" groups. To find such unexplored gems one must be willing to look at other markers and tools that lead to discovery, recruitment and enhancement.

Mixed with the right pro investment policies, clusters, and universalized institutions we can unlock our diverse human capital that is unique to the U.S. (each country will have their own mix) that will determine what skills and resources are available for their own industry development. I advocate for the U.S. to use its diverse background and abundant financial, natural, and political capital to place itself at the highest/valuable within the supply chain in a way that leads to maximizing of value for ourselves and our allies. 

Investments and maximization of returns is important for growth. Top down policies don't work unless they spark wider growth and greater return. Our economic system should consider methods of creating rapid innovation and investment value to help our nation push its development upwards into the Digital Era where maximum economic and social performance is possible in a way that sustains future capital.  See Foster New Discoveries, University-Industry Research, Delta County Invest. 

Baily, M., Bosworth, B & Kennedy, K. (September 2020)The contribution of human capital to economic growth: A cross-country comparison of Germany, Japan, and the United States. Brookings Institute. Retrieved September 19, 2022 from https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20210928_BailyBosworthKennedy_Returns_to_education_final.pdf

Mincer, Jacob (1974). Schooling, Experience and Earnings. New York: National Bureau of Economic Research.

Thomas Barrack Charged with Acting as a Foreign Agent. What is going on? More Loyalty to American Principles Needed

I'm saddened by what has been going on in my country. We are a great nation and unfortunately we have been going through some tough times in terms of the quality of our leadership. It is alleged Thomas Barrack a billionaire investment fund manager/owner was acting as an agent of UAE. That would be of concern considering we have multiple different entities potentially influencing our politics. 

What I can say is that loyalty to one's nation is needed by our leaders and independent of one's political leanings. There are great people who never get a chance to make billions, influence their government, or do good for their people. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty but its pretty smoky in this room.

Whether innocent or guilty what we can say we should not be in this place and this is a key point in the need for new people within our government to ensure that the flow of new ideas, thoughts, and concepts are pushing adaptability in a way that maintains focus on the development of our nation without alternative interest for foreign governments. 

Listening to our world stakeholders is very different then working for them. In an imaginary world if I was an imperfect leader of a large nation I would always be able to listen to the world's leaders but must make decisions in the best interest of my nation and for the world in general based on certain principles, oaths, and values. 

I have seen us water down our values and throw our principles in the trash when its convenient or helps our group. Someday we are going to have to commit ourselves to the higher principles of our nation as a the world's leading democracy. Its a sacred right and its a responsibility for our leaders. If they can't do it then let us consider voting in some new people. 

Lets politely ask our leaders (those that are selling out their national principles) that if they aren't going to take their oaths seriously if they would be willing to step down and let the next generation get a swing at the ball. Just saying. 

Now...let us vote for the first person who gives us a catchy jingle to remember such as, "The other party blah, blah, blah" without actually bringing forward workable solutions. I'm a Republican (Even if some see me as a Rino-Dino) that believes that loyalty to one's nation is important and the need to protect our Constitution such as 1. Freedom of Religion (All positive religions) and 2.) Freedom of Speech is important. 

Jury hears opening statements at NYC trial of Trump ally

Annexation of Ukrainian Territory and Calling Up 300K Reservists Shows Expected Escalation

Putin has certain characteristics that are likely to use the same tools of escalation to raise the stakes and costs of engaging in conflict. The latest move is to annex parts of Ukraine and call for reservists. Putin drafts up to 300,000 reservists, backs annexation amid war losses. Putin mentions NATO threats of nuclear use. I don't see that. It sort of stands in contrast to the overall intent and historical perspective. It seems to be a PR strategy to rally is home base.

From a strategic position I believe Putin is struggling with declining popularity. He likely is going to try and redefine he conflict as a defense of Russia and by annexing such lands he is legally (by Russian and not international standards) saying "These are Russian lands and Ukraine is attacking us!". I wouldn't believe he would find support, historically its likely to be rebuffed, but after what I have seen over the last 5 years it looks like you can sell salt water to the ocean.

This is why I say the Ukrainians and the West should be always mindful of the need to shift and adjust strategies if needed. Putin is not the type who takes losses and embarrassment lightly. He has a mind that always scans for options, openings, and ability to create leverage. He may be miscalculating the potential bigger risks that come from using the same/similar tools to solve a problem in the same way that it was created. This propensity to repeat strategies/approaches is based in personality, training, and experience.

I would also add I doubt he would use bulk mildly trained soldiers alone. This something Russia has historically done in their in the past with peasants. Having a route of a much larger force would spell the end of Russia through global condemnation and internal dissention. Thus the level k unknown factor could include new equipment from other areas, infused with more elite troops, and emerging equipment from China through ideological aligned allies. 

Thus maybe the time of increased global competitiveness likely has started. This is where our US leadership should consider putting down their petty grievances and start working on innovation and human capital development. My arguments for universalism of institutions are sometimes seen as silly and they are one in the same to our national development to the next economic stage and unlocking of human potential ("Just like us" is likely to become a major national risk. So I encourage proactivity and development of of our most precious resources.). How do we convince our leaders to look beyond party politics, self interest, ideological silliness and over the horizon to emerging problems? Let us see what happens....

We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. Einstein

When To Accept a System Is Unable to Correct Itself: What Does That Mean for the "Law of Land"?

There are times when we must come to accept the system is not ready to change and move to the next stage and that while laws are written universal they are not always applied that way. The power for change is not enough to overcome those who are against change. The Constitution and Bill of Rights are written on paper but have not been fully implemented within our communities and hometowns where racial, religious, and social networks often take precedence over abstract "laws of the land". Democracy is still shifting toward a higher state and while we have begun that transition we are at risk of further defaults.

I am not so arrogant to admit when I'm wrong and my greatest attribute is that I have been wrong a lot and know it. I believed whole heartedly we would overcome this challenge and do so within a way that was helpful to the deeper needs of the root causes of rage the perpetrators displayed. We should do so in a way that ensures the system adapts to become stronger. In many ways I overestimated the capacity of the system and did not factor in how deeply rooted such "just like us" biased beliefs lay and how they impact entire chains of legal, moral, and logic/truth thinking. 

Just like those who engaged/coordinated knew they were immune from account (based on their association and support for cleansing of some law enforcement officials) and confident in that immunity, I was hoping to create a level of helpful accountability in a way that doesn't harm and sets in place a stronger adaptable system more aligned to modern thinking and needs. Don't blame me for being skeptic because if you have Muslim sounding name and mixed race children you will realize throughout your life that what is stated officially (explicitly) and how things turns out (tacitly) are often different in a way that creates shared knowledge (implicit) among those deemed as having less value in society. This is also why social turmoil is happening at perceived or real injustice (Sometimes the calls are fair and sometimes they are biased but its hard to decipher the two. What is more true is there a general distrust of the decision making of those who are supposed to be supporting justice based on historical failures that continue on into the modern era.)

There is usually a silver lining to embedded hate and what we can learn from hometown extremism. What was a pleasant surprise was that most of the community has provided positive reinforcement that my kids do have value, that we are part of the same community, and that despite this highly aggressive group's behaviors their values haven't spread to everyone. There is still hope for democracy through the moral conscious rooted deeply into our human-to-human affairs. The power to pervert our institutions is often checked by the power of togetherness (I hope for everyone's sake I'm not mistaken again. I'm on a roll of misjudging the system's capacity but at least I can create a feedback loop for our leaders; not that they will listen to people outside their social groups. Chances are based on politics they will ignore it but someday it might be very important and I have an obligation to the next generation beyond blind politics to state what I see as the truth even when doing is likely to end in retaliatory justification.). 

Thus while some institutions run against the grain of the needs of the people and their stated missions they exist within a social context and in turn I believe will eventually be checked and brought into line through the power of our collective consciousness (People know when things are wrong and they know that short sighted pro clan decisions have serious long term consequences.). That would be natural as these local institutions are expected to be projections/mirrors of society as a whole and not the extensions of the wishes of a particular ethnic, racial, homogeneous sports group, or "just like us" good old boy network. 

Aristotle is Challenged.
Rights go through 
cultural transitions. 
Universalization is just another 
stage in democracies 
development. 
Culture versus Reality

Such distorted values have an impact on our youth and our nation as seen as a growing distrust of such institutions as we have seen as a trend in other nations that were pushed to radically adjust based on social, political, and economic necessity. For example, we see currently in the news that our military may threatened by obesity, drug use, and other problems our youth are facing. Yet when it comes to kids that are seen as minorities there are no/few protections when they are put in harm's way even though they are important for our futures. Instead of embracing one of our most sacred duties as a human species we allow the devaluing of kids simply because they are "not like us". Protecting your kids leads to all types of double down aggression by the initial group, their law enforcement supporters (Again just a minority of officers and what potentially appears to be a local judge. i.e. third defaulted institution. That does not apply to the many very good local offices who have a value system and follow the Constitution.) (Half of U.S. children are now minorities and it is important to ensure all of our most cherished human capital assets, highest calling of democracy, and very soul as a nation are protected. The problem with hate is it is irrational and destructive. "To cut off one's nose to spite one's face".)

On a deep intuitive level we know that we cannot serve two masters at the same time and the Constitution/Bill of Rights (Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech) and our moral conscious must be our guide (Free passes for hate and embedded bigotry do have long term national consequences even if they occur on a local level. I believe these problems are likely happening in a lot of place and just like this no accountability or safety mechanisms are in place to ensure accountability.). Universal laws must also be applied universally through universal institutions to ensure that we are solving the most problems in society through greater human capital development and alignment of natural law with societal law (i.e. the purpose of democracy).

When and where that large correction will happen I cannot say but I can say as a nation we have become increasingly aware of it and thus it is only a matter of a short time before the wrong circumstances present themselves. That is the danger of intentionally free passing hate at various places and times. Perhaps in the next 10 years as people consciously define these violations of Constitutional and moral guidance more clearly for mental consumption and understanding.  Thus one door will lead to national adaptation and the other will lead to dissolution similar to nations that break down into ethnic, racial, religious, and Good Old Boy strife.

My belief is and always has been that there are solutions to these problems and those that continue on in poor behaviors put the rest of us at risk through their selfish immaturity. Thus what happens on a local level impacts the health of our entire nation; especially if commonly experienced.  Thus I always encouraged our leaders to take on the position of positive engagement, looking over the horizon, forgiveness, positive pressure to change, polite but not passive, community engagement, and general ability to rectify problems at their lowest common denominator. Encouraging them to do the right thing of course doesn't always mean they will. Many times they wont because that may require them to be insightful and change.

Unfortunately, as a person with a Muslim sounding name and mixed race children I'm an "outsider" defined not by genetic longevity in the region but simply by superficial markers of those who engage in hate. History is full of people who have challenged poor behaviors, have been retaliated against for having a value system (I do not pretend I'm a perfect person but that I'm a good person) and in turn were proven correct in history (Consider the examples of our more well known preserved histories of philosophers and religious figures. I'm not that worthy to be put in that light but only that they are examples. How quickly we discard their lessons when they are inconvenient or don't flatter our sense of self. )

“I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character!” – Theodore Roosevelt

(As a side note. I will continue to support my community and help people where I can. I do not feel the local system is designed to protect what is seen as "outsiders". Unlike others, I can't say what happened was acceptable and appears to me to be deeply and inherently corrupt. In protest I will not call 911 if I am targeted again {unless something changes} because I do not believe it functions to protect me or my children. We are just too different than the local institutional decision makers. If my children are targeted again I will document such behaviors by making a call and doing what I can to protect them but cannot place my trust in that system. That does not take from my duties to help others nor the encouragement of the majority of good officers that are trying to do the right thing. The problem is that the proof is in the pudding and a free pass for any cleansing behavior is not acceptable and a sign that the top of that system is not making accurate decisions. So if we are going to give a free pass we should let that group know that I will no longer utilize the local system as a protection and as a deterrent. Personally, I believe the local system should be removed from having any decision making influence on the subject/situation. They have shown they do not cherish our American values. That does not take away from my responsibility to positively engage, help my community, volunteer, encourage healthy behaviors and do the very best I can to draw resources and opportunities. Yet I will not sugar coat the dangerous behaviors or the need for major overhaul of a defaulted local system that appears to seek to please its aggressive racially-religiously leaning Good Old Boy networks. Of course I could be wrong and likely there are many more things going on than I'm aware but at present it seems untrustworthy to me. At this point I'm not seeing where I could logically say what happened was ok or acceptable. No matter which way I slice the bread it seems dishonest, aggressive, racially-religiously charged, coordinated, self-enriching, and dangerous. Those institutions that intentionally defaulted should have been held to account and forced to improve their system to avoid such defaults in the future.)

So What Do We Do With Hated Oriented Sports Groups? Laws, Rules, or "Just Like Us"?

There are places in our country where the laws cease to function as expected and become oriented toward clan, identity, and Good Old Boy networks. While its easy for many judges and politicians to wink and nod hate it isn't the same for the majority of society that has seen this special treatment occur in many places and at different times. As a nation in development we must move to a higher platform that recognizes the value of all Americans beyond those "just like us". 

"Just like us" can really apply to any group of any particular racial or religious background and our current trend may show the folly. However, in this case a highly dysfunctional-aggressive sports group has been able to circumvented our laws and downed at least two (possible three) institutions without a level of necessary correction (It doesn't mean anyone has to be in trouble but without dealing with it they will likely feel embolden to act that way again when/if similar circumstances present themselves.). 

While they may not be currently engaged in active ethnic cleansing now the subtle forms of micro aggressions, ostracization, and rumor spreading continue (A smaller minority were engaged in active ethnic cleansing but their irrational and unsubstantiated hate was acceptable to their group indicating a level of poor values have been "normalized". Healthy group members would have challenged these aggressive behaviors that were not in line with our American values.). 

What shocks me most was the intentional effort to target a family that I'm not sure anyone can say has done anything to them. Further their close association as a Good Old Boy network has been able to take down 2 different institutions (1 department out of 4. We have also seen this at our capital where some law enforcement members engaged in hate based activities and don't feel there is anything wrong with that. This is an example of what could happen when laws don't apply to some because they are "just like us"). As a nation we can't blindly give people who started such issues a free pass and I suspect that is based on similar identity and perceived similarity. 

This is where state and federal law should step in to enforce the Constitution of the U.S. No one necessarily needs to be in trouble but there should be an attempt to ensure we are protecting Institution 1.) checks and balances between social/hate groups and law enforcement; and, Institution 2.) ensure local colleges don't reject candidates based on ethnic, social and religious affiliation (Its very third world!). 

However, this is just a walk the talk value system and in today's environment we don't often enforce our general legal rules thereby creating cultural splits that develop two functionally different societies of different expectations (Expectations are the most dangerous part when people believe deeply based on repeatability and experience that the rules only apply to some and not to others. This is where the damage really happens and where large groups will split for their own protection and safety. Its deeply rooted in self protection and need to feel safe and we can't change that with flowery words or quick sound bite politics. It takes genuine commitment to the health of the entire nation.). Half of Americans are not sure the institutions will uphold our cherished values and the other half (some of them) are emboldened that the laws do not apply to them through their perceive ethnocentric entitlement. We need to universalize the entire system.

Before you get excited I'm not a bleeding heart liberal. I'm a conservative that believes in our essential values of freedom as a nation and that there must be integrity in our systems. When local systems default it is necessary for state and federal systems to come in and enforce our national values. Without doing that we may have problems where local entities can carve out their own small nation states as indicated by the varying rules, laws, economic opportunities, and values (Not always defined by actually being local but by being connected to the Old Boy network) and non-local (Often defined by people who this group dislikes and people that are what we would historically be considered minority. One can be a local or non local depending on who this group is targeting and the institutions that blindly support that network.)

Of course we don't have to stand for our American values and could opt to stand for some other nations values. 🤷 We can allow illegal, immoral, and intentionally harmful behaviors to continue even if we discover them occurring in our hometowns. I suspect we could diminish the value of generations of people who strove to ensure we have rights in a way that makes the U.S. unique (I personally don't feel that is wise but some think its ok.). That should make some people super excited! No laws! No Constitution! No generation to generation striving! No Values! All in support of people "just like us"!

(If true we might have a situation where different laws, rules and application would mean that there are classes of people with some being "untouchables". Its not what we profess and is against our historic development but it would be indicative of a different sort of system forming within our current system. There is no free pass for hate. It just goes into the collective conscious and becomes juice for something else. We are a connected species and we are designed to share and empathize our experiences in a way that eventually creates group understandings, perspectives and beliefs. Are we one nation or two? That will determine how we handle such situations and how we approach a future national reckoning. My suggest has always been to have integrity, solve problems at their lowest common denominator, solve them early, look over the horizon for emerging problems, put down politics, and become a universalized learning nation. Others seem to feel being destructive and dishonest is the way forward. )

Before you (some of our leaders) get too excited about someone with a Muslim name calling out bad behavior consider I might be trying to avoid the future consequences that are not so yet obvious to those who are self involved and self focused (Time always answers these questions so if you disagree with a fair system then just wait and see if we overcome or not. No reason to be upset. Take a sociological perspective on universal laws applied subjectively based on ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds and see where that has led other nations from a historical perspective. We should learn from history and review our demographics and ensure people feel connected to and trust our institutions.). We won't effectively compete with two halves of society where the laws, rules, economy, and human values are dissimilar. It takes away the incentives for human development and replaces it with an undercurrent that will need to be corrected in the future. The problem is the longer we wait, the bigger the problem. (i.e. the fall and collapse of the Soviet Union was based on lost human capital and lack of incentives for personal development. We have an opportunity to not follow suit in our own way but that will require a level of national human capital development that can't lock out what is now the simple majority of society.) 

So who is the American/"American"? Those who pervert the laws and moral conscious or those who stand for our American values even when its not popular with the masses. If you think the answer has something to do with similarities to your race, religion, party, background and other false symbols you are on the wrong path and have become part of the problem. That problem is only beginning to surface in an era of digital media and I encourage our leadership to be a little more enlightened to the development of human capital in our nation (Success should be based on personality, character and skill but not on superficial differences.) 

Me, even after being targeted, I'm happy it was me versus someone else. I'm also happy I have a chance to contribute to our national development of moral conscious and national strength. I'm saddened by a mob of people and their supporters that are too frail and immature and shortsighted to stand up for their American values. I'm also saddened that we have accepted these different rules and don't seem to understand why we need a universal system. I know we will change because we likely will increasingly become aware of the difficulties associated with the awesome power and some challenges of managing a diverse nation (Its only a problem if the wrong people with the wrong values try and managed people they don't understand, respect, or can't effectively lead. If you only support one group and act in such a way you have to accept you can't lead the others who won't trust you. )

(As a side note. I see our current political situation and I see how we blindly hate the other side and vote for people that are better at selling sound bites than actually solving important problems. Its both Democrats and Republicans that must come to share the human capital national development vision and recognize the the necessity of removing roadblocks in a universal manner. If we continue to vote for short sales slogans vs logical arguments, connected insiders vs. the most qualified, and attractive faces vs. quality of character {Some of us don't have to worry about artificially inflated hallow effects as we have to earn every vote! 😅}we are going to struggle immensely when complex problems need real solutions.

Putin and Xi Meet: Does it Having Meaning? Opportunities and Challenges for the U.S.?

It looks like the recent meeting Russia and China is an attempt by Putin to deal with the current loss in Ukraine (Be aware of the Ukraine-Russia conflict not being over yet as Putin seems to have a personality that doesn't just give up and walk away based on a single loss. Things will likely move more into the covert domain where he feels most comfortable and allows issues to be out of the eyes of the public. We may even see more military activities and/or new equipment coming into the conflict and boarder. Maybe or maybe not? Let us wait and see but always be prepared! 🤷). There are political reasons why he is engaging with China as to show he is trying to strengthen Russia by partnering with ideological allies in a way that helps internal dissenters feel as though he is effectively dealing with the situation (i.e. from a PR standpoint he is going to blame people under him for not providing good intel. That is only likely partially true but as a leader for his military he should have known one way or another. He didn't create an atmosphere where people feel free to communicate. That is the danger of overly top down management where power dynamics are at play.). 

Ukraine was strategic for its ports and maintaining what Russia viewed within its sphere of Soviet influence. Being beaten into a military route exposed the weakness of the Russian military and lack of sophisticated equipment to counter adversaries (Innovation historically flourished under capitalism. We think that is because of hard economic points but its actually based on human capital and motivation. This is also why in the U.S. we don't want to over concentrate wealth and opportunities into the "connected" upper crust. It should be a best and brightest issue where anyone who is willing to climb can achieve great things if they can use their unique skills and abilities effectively. Race and religion shouldn't factor into that and if it does we are still stuck in an older framework with the wrong subconscious symbols.). China is building sophisticated equipment, while slightly behind the U.S., it is important to consider the risks of that innovating in parallel to our own (Why we will be forced to change and that may come with some reorienting our politics to solving problems and not blind party loyalty that does little but create yes men/women. Not something we need in a learning nation that is built from open mindedness. I would like to hear people's unique ideas from both parties.) 

Based on ideological similarities there is likely going to be increased trade between the two nations to ensure communism oriented perspectives maintain their regional supremacy. This is where the U.S. will need to think about winning in Ukraine doesn't mean we can let up in our national development. If anything it should have done the opposite and taught us the necessity of advantages. We should strive to see over the horizon and create those advantages where we can.

We will need to overcome some human capital legacy issues that have been slowing our full development to match skill to innovation. That also means we should think of new models that can launch both our military/space and manufacturing industries forward so that it attracts further investment interest to create a sustainable economy. (I know! I know! I have a Muslim sounding name! I'm not expected to know much or achieve much. 💩 Maybe we should encourage our leadership to open their minds to the possibility that democracy is in a state of development and we must get it over the hill to unleash its awesome potential on a new platform. Or we can just argue endlessly as opportunities slip through our fingers.)

Putin concedes China has ‘questions and concerns’ over Russia’s faltering invasion of Ukraine