Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Meeting Between President Biden and President XI: In the doorway to discussion

US President Biden's meeting with China's leader President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) underscored some fairly important topics that lead the day. While these topics are paramount interest it is a process of discussion and recognition that helps define future relationships. The topics are important but the walking away with fundamental understandings of the ability to discuss important issues in the future is perhaps more important (A fundamental question is "Has a sense of trust been created between the two parties?" i.e. summing up each others character. It goes down to the root of who we are as a species and it is still a big part of how we understand each other.).

So far this meeting appears to have been a success. People and nations may disagree about some topics but often these are based in culturally rooted assumptions. Sometimes, as in this case, there are a few very important issues that will require more frank conversation. The goal is usually to find things to agree and disagree with in the same discussion.

One puts forward a type of proposition/belief that leads into a discussion that further defines the problem and concern at hand through reciprocation of propositions/beliefs (Both sides walk away with additional clarity of knowledge and stance.). If you continue conversing and breaking out the possibilities you will eventually come to a shared understand of the truer needs of each of the participants.

(There are lots of issues here but mostly I'm concerned with the economic side of things. If you want to know more about how communication and logic work try reading Propositions and Arguments.

To me, if countries in general all adhere to the same international standards of conducting business with high ethical values then there will be more room for agreement than for conflict (I'm not talking about any other issues at the moment and why those could be issues.). The same standards apply to all companies engaged in international trade, investment, and general commerce. 

Yet there are other issues and you can read that in the Whitehouse briefing Readout of President Joe Biden’s Meeting with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China. The video is part of the post discussion briefing. 

Hate Leads to Manipulation and Divided Communities: Free Pass as Sanctioning of Poor Values

Hate is a powerful tool that is wholly destructive to the community in which it is yielded. Many of our politicians, leaders and local administrators don't really understand the roots of hate in much of the same way as they may not fully grasp the concept of political extremism (i.e. capital riots caught us off guard although many communities have complained of such behaviors for decades. As we may notice, the blind eye leads to much larger problems.). They often, not always, miss the signs when poor personal opinions move from distorted viewpoints into coordinated activities that risk the purpose and function of institutions and when values have infected the foundations of democracy. 

The risks to the community, the "targets" and the country are large and those within the "bubble" of thought have few to no anchor points outside of their personal and social perspectives. They are limited by their ethnocentric viewpoints and have not walked in another's shoes (someone different than themselves) in a way that would create any real insight into inappropriateness of action and the need for universal application of law (based on merits of case.)

The Set Up (Out of potentially 4 different Set Ups): 

Imagine a small group of people so willing to target someone they will lie, steal/take, attack, spread rumors/defamation of character, put in false/intentionally mislead police complaints to close associates in law enforcement, put targets life at risk, reckless endangerment of children and even put those officers at risk even though they might not understand why or how (Remember that while extremist often proclaim law and order they have no issues putting officers at risk or attacking them when it suits their purpose. This was a manipulation of our law enforcement system.). 

(Until the capital riots we would have said its 100% impossible and no such red blooded American would seek to harm their country, people in their community, and the very viability of society. i.e. towns and nation. We were wrong weren't we? We were all wrong but some have known these type of people existed for a long time. If we can't see the problem we can't fix it. Precisely why I'm forgoing my own safety to help ensure we protect our democracy and the rights of our citizens even when we don't have full understanding of events. Its bigger than our politics and its bigger than our limited perceptions.)

Let us reverse the role and you are the "worthy" target of hate. You don't really have a problem with any  one of these people until they create a problem. Much of it looks like racial and religious bigotry and self-enrichment. They were being overly aggressive, encouraging a larger network of people to assist them and involving kids to the point that you can see there is damage going on. You put your foot down and say something along the lines of, "No matter what you think there is a red line when it comes to kids and you MUST back off and not cross that line!" (Your thinking kids are important and special and they would want to protect those still developing. You know they have an issue with their skin color, their religion, and what they stand for. You know because it was "all the buzz"!)

What did this group do when told to respect your kids safety? They doubled down on the manipulation to show the targets they have "power" over them and can harm them in any way they can at any time they want to! You know they got their officer friends involved and you are seeing systems default around you in a dangerous way. There was a large mob of people upset and angry but none of them have had a problem with you nor do they know you well enough to make any real judgements about you or your family. 

As directed by their leader they also engaged in ostracism so no one is going to tell you why they hate you either. 🤷 It is helpful to keep in mind that cutting feedback lines of communication is part of the process of isolating targets through social exclusion so as to create a false context of extremism/radicalization (I came up with a deradicalization model on the fly during this set up. My thought was I know these officers don't understand so what If I insert specific information they must confirm/disprove before having any justification to continue to move down/solidify an inappropriate strategy. Failure to confirm/disconfirm that information before acting would be an obvious and flagrant misapplication of justice showing the full intent of those involved. 

Like I said, these were good officers and good people trying to do the right thing. hint hint for those who wonder if democracy will survive? It will survive if there are thoughtful and purposeful people with universal values that want an inclusive society where we all have opportunities to fulfill our potential and goals. Otherwise....roll the dice! Without purpose democracy becomes a big gamble!)

Money isn't that important to you and you have willingly gave it up to help a greater societal cause at different times and places (I very much believe if I was trying to financially gain off the perpetrators multiple lawsuits against a department (s), college, and group of participating individuals, and perhaps a few others would have been fruitful. Likely a plethora of legal violations across a large group of people with significant data to support such assertions. I would gain and the community would lose resources. Except in my "dirty Muslim mind" there are more important things than money and social flattery when one's personal truth/essence is often defined by our choices. Ok, sorry not in the political realm but in the "normal" world it does. 

I choose to be better than my aggressors and seek a higher path by forgoing personal gain in order to focus on helping the perpetrators, the community, and other stakeholders understand a growing problem of radicalization in our society. i.e. the biggest risk to our democracy. I never was motivated about money as I was about understanding. Don't get me wrong, money is important, its just not the most important.)

It might have only taken one civil rights organization that has a particular distaste for hate and racism to put their legal muscle into tearing down the puppeteer's curtain. There are perhaps just three strings to pull and it would be fairly obvious the situation is worthy of further investigation. I could have been a wealthy man and I'm sure I would have won most of them. i.e. the local college telling me I was more than qualified to teach labor law and then ghosted me based on false and bigoted rumors and an incessant need to please their social clan/group. Not the purpose of taxpayer money! 😠. Oh and what looks like an involved attorney that perhaps has been teaching their labor law classes for a while. Good job! 🤷

If one wanted too I supposed a researcher/investigator could map out and trace the chain of action, rumor passing and thought development throughout the entire network. 🤔 I have a little experience in that from my old days tracing rumors and have seen studies that have done that on a macro scale so all I would need to do is have the ability to interview people and/or access certain data to ensure the connections are statistically significant. I suppose any of the lawsuits would have started that discovery process but would have also ruined the lives of the perpetrators. Once that starts there is no way of going back, the chips will have to fall where they may and I hope to avoid turning a "learning opportunity" into a permanent outcome for some of those involved. {Side note: If I did bad stuff I might wonder how much information is actually out there and who/whom has it. How detrimental is it? If I did something bad I might wonder if under the wrong circumstances how that would change my life? As a strategy I would would consider never being involved in those types of issues again and making sure that I act in alignment with my deeper 'moral conscious'.  I wouldn't think of this as a negative but an opportunity to make a willful effort to learn.  See, I got kids and possibly someday grand kids who will visit, maybe, live, and who have family roots superseding most of those who engaged in psuedo-'cleansing', so I am optimistic I won't hear of anyone else being targeted at any point in the future. If I relied solely on the honor in other's words, promises, good judgement, and ability to think like a single community I believe there is a high chance I would be disappointed. 😢 We don't need facts we just need a change of heart. Facts tell you about the behaviors of the past but not 100% the future. That is our personal choice. ☝} If I'm correct in my informal systems analysis I could point to some good places that would likely have provided very little wiggle room for all the other arguments used to justify such behaviors.   

Perhaps one could test that network by creating a spark "juicy info" and seeing how it comes out in other places and how much the story has changed and through whose hands. We should all remember the rumor game that ends up with a very different story in the end. I used to do it when I taught orientation a long long time ago! Its a "lighting up of a network" by analyzing how the story changed, where the story changed, who changed it and why they might have changed it. I suppose one could do that by independently asking each of the members what they know and analyze those themes to determine some of the root assumptions.). 

When faced with unfair and dangerous situations you do what any parent would do once someone intentionally targets your family and kids. This is targeting that came from multiple community sources sharing similar ethnocentric, self entitled, mediocre sports playing background that became worse bigots and bullies when compared to when they were in highschool. We can't keep relishing in our past. News Flash! If you weren't recruited for a college scholarship, didn't make it to the pros, or anything else happened that was interesting then either you were not motivated or were not very good at it! i.e mediocre 💁 

(Most people in the community know how this group acts and it looks like there have been some community complaints about some members of the group that were not taken seriously. Those have nothing to do with me and are from different times and places. I can tell you from my recollection of their history most of these people are good people but are easily manipulated because of low boundaries and a high need to "fit in". They also jump in a lot to product their clan/group even when the targets have done nothing wrong. Mostly its just about acting like a jerk and showing they are supporting their friends. In this instance I believe the racial and religious divide allowed them to cross some pretty big grey areas.). 

The money is not important to you but you do need to help your kid so you contact someone you trust within their network to shed light on what going on (At this point you are very unsure of what is going on. There were earlier hints they were gearing up to have issues but when the wave of hate came I was still unsure of its causes or catalyst beyond saying "no". I suspected based on a few other set ups and something from the past it had to do with money and general hate.). 

I met with that person in a public place (...of their choosing. They were trying to create a set up) and during the discussion they continued to run back to the bathroom to get information from their leader as to what to say (I don't blame them for that.). The interesting answer they gave me for why they are targeting your family and children are "Because you are Muslim". What you are keenly aware of is that there were a number of undercover cops waiting in the background for you to react (I could see them out of the corner of my eye and let me tell you they had no real awareness of the 'moral conscious' violation that was occurring in front of their face. You can sort of just look at someone and know they are not part of this "game".)

Now imagine for a moment we are in the thick of things, People are putting you in dangerous situations, intentionally harming your kid, increased threatening/intimidating behavior by group members, telling you that they are trying to ethnic cleanse you and and standing a few feet away are a couple of officers standing next to an associate trying to coax into arresting you (Don't believe me? There is significant video and other evidence to support this and it wouldn't be difficult to get more.). It looks like from a first perspective that this group is not only violating everything our nation stands for but also that there are now officers engaged is quickly turning out to be an ethnic cleansing campaign (Wait before you judge! These are good officers so read below....). 

There is something the perpetrators didn't expect. They have discounted and dehumanized the targets (...a marker of hate historically. i.e. Nazi calling Jews snakes or all Muslims terrorists. Its an attempt to create less than human justification atrocities.). I can read faces and body language very well through years of dealing with people of different cultures and background and have faced corruption before....and was right about it! (A couple of times perhaps). You know they don't know why they are there, they are confused, and they don't have a problem with you or your family. They were duped and used as a narcissists tool to enforce the local "pecking order" and maintain a sense of control over a larger social group (If you actually listened to what this central group said about their friends and community and how they have become accustomed to putting people down and spreading rumors you know something is amiss.). 

What was the best thing to do and what was the best way to approach the issue? It was to NOT react so as no one has any more false narratives/justifications for committing any more crimes. You are protecting yourself, the officers, and even the very ignorant flying monkeys (Flying monkeys are people who become sometimes unwittingly or wittingly part of a triangulation scheme often used by those with dark triad personality traits. Its just that these officers and people problem don't understand how mental health works in crime. That is why I proposed Michigan Track and Solve mental health and the need to hold hate/extremism accountable. I know! I know! Dumb idea!)

This is what I think now:

Its not all bad. I do believe because of this homogenous lack of exposure and somewhat distorted sports culture (i.e. why I recommend local coaches and officials to ensure students are not bullying others no matter if they are minorities, handicapped, smaller, "better than", etc.... Kids model their parents and coaches and if we are engaged in those behaviors we should expect the kids to act in the same way. We have seen this in this situation as well where kids were pushed by their parents to act illegally.). There is this underlining Muslim and Black issue that seems to be an easy dividing line. Some of these people don't recognize that I'm more of a Muslim, Catholic, Jew then just a Muslim. Sounds weird but if you realize that I was in part raised by Franciscan Monks and my conception of God is a little more universal it might make sense. There are others who had this conception of religion and science (The insanity of those who dare to ask questions and come to the conclusion that we all have inherent worth no matter their race, religion or ethnicity!)

Some might ask that since some of the people (most I don't know) you knew decades ago acted on hate towards you and your family do you feel that you are still from them? I would say that I am half from them and my very early roots of understanding come from the same background as theirs. Each of us can overcome the limitations of our past and create new understandings about life and self. We can break the rhetoric and false logic that some (meaning a few) in the presence use to harm others so as to make themselves feel better. You can never truly walk in the shoes of another unless you have experience, wisdom, evidence, and critical thinking. Of course people are not Yahoos, I'm not Gulliver and this isn't Gulliver's Travels. 😏   We need to create a shared Truth to move society forward (As a light R, I believe it is something leaders on both sides of our political spectrum should think about as we try and create a pathway to a shared American identity! For now let's just call it an "idealists' dream that could be more important than any subjective reality those who hate can muster! )

 “To say of what is that it is, or of what is not that it is not, is true.” Aristotle.

(We still got three more incidents to discuss.....stay tuned......)

My Recommendations for a Win-Win Outcome:

The people who launched these behaviors did so to exploit existing bias within their local networks and institutions for self gain and enrichment. The easiest place for them to gain advantage was from minorities (people they see as less worthy) and some of the local institutions defaulted on that bigotry. So giving them a free pass is part of the problem and uncovers a bigger issue of how the justice stick is used in some places within our country. One could extend that discussion to say that certain actions and outcomes socialize others to our values. If there ever was a risk to our great nation and its ideals its not as much the competition from global competitors (i.e. China, Russia, or anyone else) as it is from hometown hate and the rot that erodes the foundations of our democratic institutions. 

My plan? To be polite, engaging, visible to others, try and generate opportunities for my community, forgiving not forgetful, and stand up against threats (as I promised in my oaths) whether they be foreign or domestic (Fulfillment of this oath can be done by teaching others what happened so that it lowers the likelihood it will be repeated at other times and place against fellow "Americans". In fulfilment of other promises.) .  At this time in our history our greatest risks are from ourselves and not from what we profess through lip service but by what we hold in our hearts. What I won't do is sugar coat what happened just to protect the inflated egos and sense of entitlement of others. Where we go from here isn't so much an issue of law its more of an issue of moral conscious (Law is a poor carbon copy of societal principles and values because it is a negotiated and agreed upon codification of our collective viewpoints. However, it is also the enforcement of such values and principles using evidence based decision making and logical analysis. Law follows morality but when/if morality follows law then we should be concerned about institutional integrity. ). 

(P.S. if what I wrote is confusing feel free to read again before passing judgement. All good kharma!)

What I suggest....

1.) Mandatory mental health for those who caused the problem. Their manipulative habits are a risk to themselves and the community.

2.) Review of financial incentives of hate and self-enrichment through the use of intimidating and suppression of others. 

3.) Investigation of community complaints in order to fulfill the oaths and duties of office while maintaining the integrity of local systems.

4.) Correcting local department deficiencies while strengthening internal controls. That might include policies that limit working on the behalf of a clan network than upholding duty bound loyalies. 

5.) Using this model to help other areas struggling with their essential American values. 

6.)  (This is a new one I added.) To learn the idea of "community" and how that isn't dependent on sports (Which most were not very good), race, religion, wealth, or good old boy networks.  




Sunday, November 13, 2022

Election Winners in Delta County MI 1st Congressional, House 108th, State 38th Districts (Congrats)

The elections are over and we have people moving into the winner's box. Others are likely to ponder new ways of attracting votes and capital. Each person we elect will have certain traits and characteristics we admire and perhaps some that we don't. What I like to see is when strong candidates like this are elected on their merit based not only on their past performance but also on their ability to get some things we need done (That is not against the other candidates and parties that ran.).

You can see the statewide results on the Secretary of States page at Michigan.gov. There is also TV 6's listing of winners by Mi. County.

Congressman Jack Bergman 

State Senator Ed McBroom

Representative Dave Preston Michigan District 108 

Delta County Winners: Delta County (DC) Prosecutor Lauren Wickman (R), DC Road Com. Dennis J. Stanek (R), DC Board 2nd District, DC Board 3rd District Steven Viau (R), DC Board Disctrict 4th District.

A Few Reasons Why: The candidates in our area are genuinely concerned with the health and wellbeing of residents. Because we are small communities (The way democracy started) anyone even remotely involved in politics can meet with them during their campaigns (I'm only remotely at this time involved in politics. That may change over time as I start to analyze certain policies for mental consumption before people vote. Because in many ways I feel I have a duty to give back and share what I have learned. At least in theory that is how passing knowledge from one generation to another is supposed to work. )

Life in rural places such as these rely on human-to-human connections on a very local level. Because of this familiarity people can create first hand knowledge of candidates beliefs and values. The more distant our politicians are from the people the more difficult it is for politicians to truly represent the granular needs of people. We don't want politics to become overly influenced by an increasingly narrow stakeholder group.

 (As an interesting side note I encourage people to focus on the essentials of a candidates message and the other cues they provide in terms of their belief in such professed values. Integrity and values are important. When you get good at it you can tell who believes and who doesn't believe in what they are saying.  Then you watch while some stick with their beliefs and some change them when the circumstances/environment changes. Because of this we always want to select people with values and who say what they believe and then follow up on that. Those that switch around their values based on "electability" I would consider untrustworthy in general and not really understanding the true importance of their duties that often leads to institutional devaluing later. It's ok to change if new facts come forward or if you become enlightened about a topic. Its not ok to change just because it gets votes and someone wants a career in politics. Parties should follow principles and principles should not follow parties. That is a party neutral statement and applies to any party. You may want to read this interesting study on Non-Verbal Cues and Politics

So why might these local politicians won while some many other Republicans may have lost? (Its just an semi unsupported perspective that could be food for thought. No facts here but just a trajectory of thought based on being a student of people!) I believe it is because they are serving the needs of their people in genuine ways and they are connected to those needs on a grass roots level. Each of these candidates are good people who are trying to do the right thing. They are not too far Right and they can see their responsibilities to everyone within the community (No matter the politics. I'm also sure there are many Democrats that would also be great at the job. We might disagree philosophically but there are many good people doing their best). They are balanced in thought and walk the talk on their values.

To me the best place to be when entering the political ring is when people think you are genuine, honest, competent and have people's best interests at heart. You can stick to your essential principles but can still compromise when it is necessary to solve looming problems. We use logic, reason and wisdom to make decisions and not get swept up into the rhetoric of the moment. One can step back and see the entire system and its political structure while still understanding the importance on a micro human-to-human connection of moving the entire system forward. (Lets you think about the bigger system and how it impacts individuals. Forest and trees.). 

(Congrats to all those who won no matter their party affiliation. Having good quality candidates come forward from both parties helps everyone be at their best and have their best ideas explored. Our nation needs good leaders now so people should always vote their conscious to make sure people they trust are winning. As a light R, democracy is at its strongest when we all agree to have civil, open, and positive public debate on what is in the best interest of our nation and our towns. The question that rolls around in my head is what can these candidates do for Delta County to maximize our future opportunities?

Its really the only video I can find on the topic. I'm not agreeing or endorsing anything within it but just saying its something you can watch that has an explanation of a perspective of why statewide losses might have occurred. I encourage you to read widely if you are interested in this topic (I should read more) and make your own decisions after viewing many different sources (i.e. an informed citizen applying their critical thinking skills. Never use one source for all your facts.). 

Saturday, November 12, 2022

Sights from the Cali Mountains-Methods of Durable Open Space Conservation

Purchase Into the Horizon Big Bear Mountain 
There are few things more beautiful than mountain ranges. Last weekend I was hiked around the peaks of the mountains near Big Bear, CA. I got some great photo shots and also got my exercise done at the same time. There is something magical about nature and we should ensure we protect and expand that nature as much as possible. The more we advance in technology in the Digital Era the more likely we will better use and renew our environment (Its just a technology and efficiency issue). 

Because we don't yet have all the technology and science available to reverse the impact of pollution we must conserve i.e. Conservation. I looked around to see if I could find something on conservation near mountains. Something from LA popped up on my screen. Considering my hiking trip and the report subject are not that far apart I thought it was interesting to include here. The authors feel that durable open spaces are helpful to preserve land where nature and human high density environments exist in the same space. They use the term Durable Open Spaces.

Durable open space conservation is something that was tried outside of LA with some success and the authors wrote it into a report to help researchers and administrators understand how that model functioned and its success. Researchers gathered 3,000 parcels of public open space and their acquisition dates and owners to determine roles and relationships of key stakeholders (Stakeholders are the different entities interested in preserving nature within metro areas. Typically that would be governments, non-profits and interested parties.)(Cooper, et. al, 2022) They encourage open space land acquisition within city limits to increase bio diversity. 

Cooper, et. al. (August 30th, 2022) Lessons from the Santa Monica Mountains: Continuing the cycle of conservation. Frontiers. Retrieved November 12th, 2022 from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsc.2022.923946/full

The Differences Between Civilized and Uncivilized Behaviors in Nation Building

In our society we know that we must have civilized behaviors in order to survive and maintain the core functions of society. There must be collaboration between the different elements of society. According to the Cambridge dictionary a civilized society is, "A civilized society or country has a well developed system of government, culture, and way of life and that treats the people who live there fairly"(Cambridge Dictionary, n.d.). It means our institutions and systems are in alignment with their stated purpose.

In any society there are civilized and uncivilized elements. When the uncivilized elements overcome the civilized elements we are out of balance and may begin to see things like civil defaults of institutions. Americans expect a civilized society and while we may have uproars from time to time (i.e. capital riots) we have shown thus far that we eventually settle into a shared understanding (i.e. civilized society).

That isn't always the case in every place as different values start to supersede national values (This usually happens when distorted values make their way into official positions so the natural checks and balances between the independence of institutions is unduly influenced by an embedded network who hold alternative/counter values. Embedded as a word is used more casually here to denote a group with an identity that has its own social structure and values that influences/distorts institutional purpose.) We have room for improvement and not recognizing that room for improvement means we compound our future problems (Small continuous adjustments today are easier than wide adjustments tomorrow. That becomes especially important in institutional management improvements toward national/philosophical goals. In other words, when we stay focused on working toward the central purpose of democracy's existence and its philosophical logical system we will be fulfilling that national purpose.). Keep in mind that people who challenge the system to be better are actually doing the right thing because they are protecting the system from itself (It lets us see areas where improvement should happen to keep the whole system from becoming sickly. Continuously improvement is necessary for business, for people, and for nations. If your not improving then your backsliding.)

Imagine for a moment a society (i.e. an isolated village) where unwritten rules, laws and codes supersede the official rules. Where clans and social networks have created social hierarchies much like we may find in rigid immobile societies where there are no movements between these different societal stratums. We would find other markers such as slack investment over a period of time, lost population, general decline in economic well being, etc. as secondary consequences to the micro choices derived rom those implicit values. If we researched places that are declining we may find higher levels of nepotism, corruption, or mismanagement. (Values that led to basic "trust" made Democracy and Capitalism build some of the strongest nations in the world. We now find our system challenged and should think about what we can do to make our society stronger, better, more able, and resilient. We can look on the economic side but we should also look on the civil side and its impact on human capital and national development.

The laws, rules and even morality change within this entity based upon being within a good old boys network. Where the rules of a mutually shared social contract (i.e. Constitution) have been discounted they are replaced by unwritten rules and codes (Its possible to go back and analyze value statements of those who adhere to those unwritten rules). For example one could justify aggression against those not in the network based on racial, religious, and ethnic differences as the rules would not apply (This is often called wink and nod.). 

That would be a village that nudged toward incivility based on the definition and would need to correct itself (either by itself or by outside intervention). Strong nations can bring and encourage those local systems tipping toward incivility back to the world of civility. That would require commitment by our politicians and institutional leaders to focus on building and pushing democracy to its next universal state of existence. All of our villages should point in the same direction if we hope to achieve our stated national goals.

This is my opinion. Democracy is a commitment and way of life. Much of the problems we face in terms of crime, competitiveness, etc. are often based in how we treat each other on a human to human exchange/"trust" level. It is based in our realized beliefs that transcend the differences between peoples. Civility is about building stronger universal societies where the rules apply fairly to everyone and in turn are rewarded through higher economic performance and social cohesion. (I can't really say apply the same to everyone but can say apply fairly to everyone. Each case has its own merits and therefore having the same approach to everything doesn't really work. Let us just think in terms of "rules apply fairly". i.e. moral conscious.)

Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). Civilized. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved November 12, 2022, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/civilized

Friday, November 11, 2022

Great Lakes Governors Launch '100% Whitefish' Initiative': Love the Smell of Fish!

If you would like to purchase picture
check out gallery HERE.
The '100% Whitish" Initiative is designed to bring back fishing through increasing the value of Whitefish for commercial use. According to the press release, "Campaign aims to demonstrate how commercially caught Great Lakes whitefish can be more fully used, raising per fish value toward $3,500" (Michigan Department of Natural Resources.)

The Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers got their minds together to ponder how to increase the value of whitefish in the Great Lakes. When we look at places like Iceland's fishing policies that have returned some of their commercial fishing industries. we should always implement best practices into the Great Lakes (It would be nice to not think as much about limiting catches but about how to increase total fish populations and manage the permits to that increase. Paying special attention to ensure a variety of different commercial fishing opportunities such as owner-operator boats to large commercial fleets. That would mean much of the tax revenue from fishing would go directly back into fish development and fish environment creation to increase populations. I'm assuming it doesn't now. 🤔) 

Great Lakes commercial fishing has been on the decline due to mismanagement, pollution, and misuse of resources. There are many interested stakeholders that would like to bring back commercial fishing with abundant renewable fish supplies. It takes regional stakeholders to create self-renewing large scale systems that can regenerate. You have to think from a wide angle lens perspective and have enough science to know the inputs and outputs, basic relationships between events, how to refunnel related tax revenue back into the industry, and how to improve the overall health of the system.

(Here are my initial thoughts. Good, good, good! We need a strong source of protein to serve a growing world population. If we took the Great Lakes as a macro ecological system that is mixed with our regional macro economic system we begin to see why it is so important to managed the environmental safety of the system as well as increase its total economic value. My dream of someday working a few days off of a fishing boat out of Escanaba might someday be realized. 😂 Ok....really.... just more of a future hobby I'm thinking about. Maybe if we can get a new classification of individual hobby local commercial fishing permits might work in keeping money in a community as well as offering fresh Great Lakes fish to local restaurants/stores. A local market! Who wouldn't want to be on the water every few days? I mean really. You can get satellite internet. 🎣 )

You might be interested in this documentary on commercial fishing in the Great Lakes. Since I like to learn how they do it the video provides some pretty solid advice. I don't c

Happy Veterans Day-Democracy will Persist!

Our veterans have seen the best and worst of mankind. They know all too well the risks to democracy and the sacrifices that are needed to maintain our freedoms. Most have first hand account and memories of what a lack of freedom and democracy looks like on all too vivid scale. They have visited places where race, religion, and ethnic differences were exploited to commit the worst humanitarian disasters (They also worked and fought in units where racial and religious differences didn't even cross their mind.). 

Many of our veterans know what it takes to uphold democracy and they know all too well what the world looks like when people are stripped of freedoms (or perhaps never had them). They are the ones who upheld our essential American values while the world collapsed around them. They stood tall as the ground turned cold. We raise our flag high on Veteran's Day.

Its more than that isn't it? We must live and honor those hard earned passed from generations of sacrifice in our home towns and in our institutions. When we fail to live by our ideals we must correct our course because even veterans can be targets of hate. The lessons veterans have learned about democracy cannot be easily disseminated to those who have not experienced the same breadth of life.

As an experienced people I encourage our veterans to be involved in their communities, their nation, and even in politics. I think they have something to say about how Democracy will Persist! 

(If you would like to see some of our veterans who are continuing to serve you can look at the Congressional Veteran's Caucus)