The blog discusses current affairs and development of national economic and social health through unique idea generation. Consider the blog a type of thought experiment where ideas are generated to be pondered but should never be considered definitive as a final conclusion. It is just a pathway to understanding and one may equally reject as accept ideas as theoretical dribble. New perspectives, new opportunities, for a new generation. “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”—Thomas Jefferson
We are at a stage that it is a make it or break it moment for the U.S.. We are at a spot that we have come out on top in the early stages of the Digital Era with energy and technology advances. We still have a human capital problem (It shouldn't be) but are starting to look at that seriously to fulfill the needs of a spearhead approach. The world is spinning and we are beginning to practice flapping our wings in preparation. American's should start seriously thinking about what it means to be an advanced society with the capacity to master its environmental channels.
I'm not going into details but I will say is that it is probably time for people to put down their petty differences and get serious about their philosophical beliefs of free societies and their deeper value associations {Adding Americans + "Americans"= AMERICANS-----The beefier and more enlightened version of America}.
There is an article on Russia Civil War but the possibility is still open to question. It would depend on the sentiments and international influence of wealthy Russian oligarchs and their influence over the military. If a civil war happens it will likely end the invasion of Ukraine (or serious hamper) and will also burn the tips of Chinese involvement in the war.
Review the chart to determine in general the ramping up of military spending.
Hate is such a destructive force and those who wield its hammer often do so for very dishonest and dark reasons. The environment that allows for such hate is more concerning then the hate itself. We know that there are distorted souls out there that use hate for self-enrichment, avoid responsibilities, and to create power over others. Yet its the clan around them that determines whether such behaviors are accepted, rejected, encouraged, coordinated, reported, etc. through natural social mechanisms. When these social networks do not correct it opens up risks. (The larger community system did eventually recognize the inappropriateness of the behavior and adjust to create pressure to extinguish the narrative brought forward through hate. That is testimony to the good natured people of the area, the other factors and the ability to come forward for what is right and just. It is the social side of democracy that is rooted into our core belief in the value of other human beings. Not all countries have that!)
When I say value association I'm not talking about the things people profess as I'm talking about the deeper shared values based on language patterns, buying habits, group comparisons to others, and the many other real things that determine a person's internal values. These are the things you cannot hide because once your aware of how a person's (group) actions are realized through everything they do based on their deepest value systems you cannot be unaware (behavioral markers). Everything in this life is a choice and every time we make a choice we come to define ourselves more (We also do this as a nation.).
One of the reasons why there was a break with this clan was because they were quickly escalating when they found an opportunity to exploit difference for self gain (It doesn't take long for people's essential values to come out. Most of the time we call this toxic but in some circles we call it "cool".). Its deeper and more truthful than just saying "No I didn't do that, I would never do that!". Their actions indicated a poor group/clan narrative as it relates to people they don't like or they feel they need to overpower with aggressive behaviors. (As far as I know, no one can say I or my kids did anything to them other then enforce boundaries for inappropriate and destructive behaviors. Space was needed but so was accountability.).
(I have used the term clan and I want to ensure that I'm sort of defining that appropriately. I'm thinking in terms of the a more sociological perspective when such coordinated clan based conflicts occur. While such clans often form to help and protect members they can switch to become toxic when vulnerable children {mixed race, early teens, wrong religion, surrounded by bigoted and self interested adults} are intentionally put in harm's way by what appears to be mental health distortions of the clan's leadership. When rejection for perceived "cultural violations" and the need for the self enrichment comes to define a groups values by exploiting people they feel are vulnerable {whoops 😬} then I suspect that would be an indication of a bigger problem {hidden behind the BS}. Failure to discourage such behaviors indicates we have reverted to uncivilized value system even our close cousins wouldn't consider acceptable for the long term health of their social system. We can learn a lot from a monkey! {Sorry my anthropology and zoology friends who might be more likely to call them Cercopithecus aethiops.🙇♂️)
Those factors might include a culture of racism/bigotry (through their words and the way they talk about others), exploiting kids (multiple times dumping on and involving children intentionally in a way that is harmful to multiple kids.), the need for wealth (large purchases, cars, clothes, etc. they can't afford but is needed psychologically to feel like they need to have to show their own value), constant comparison to others (A group habit of putting others down and artificially inflating their own self worth), aggressiveness (A history of bullying), mental health concerns (Strong indication of mental health issues), dishonesty and misuse of authority (A history of dishonestly and using social connections to damage others and enforce their distorted values and structure through intimidation.), etc..
While a couple of self interested people can coordinate hate based on the need to sort of cover past bad behavior, to sell that to a larger group means that the culture of hate already existed prior but needed the right targets to bring it out. This is the primary reason why we had a blow out because they were escalating, involving children, and damaging people without any concern for anything but what was going to be gained. There was a history of manipulation, conflict creation and misuse of networks. At the end of the day it appears that poor values, racism/bigotry (Black kids and Muslim names), a hidden potential prior crime, and perhaps even local corruption played a part in a large group attempted cleansing of minorities in "their town".
Let me be clear, while this clan has created their own environment with connections that allowed them to exploit their friends to get aggressive with a family, the wider community eventually rejected those values based on familiarity and more appropriate counter information (In different forms I suspect). The more they became familiar with me and my family, the more they rejected those values. As time goes on I suspect the rumors, designed to dehumanize "minorities" (...in a country of minorities. Take a good look America and ask yourself, "Is there a better way forward?"), and create a context for further violence (which almost broke a few times based on their group's aggressiveness) will be further debunked.
Imagine for just a moment that hate had a process that was repeated more or less in other places. Group bigotry, mixed with friends that can misuse authority, mixed with context of hate that devalues the group, mixed with blind eye affiliations, that result in the harm (maybe more) of those we don't like (Whatever that is...money, reduce psychological dissonance, raise prestige, etc.), and the list goes on. (I was going to include some studies but realized its supposed to be unscientific and unsupported dribble of ideas that likely have little value to anyone. As crazy as it sounds...)
At the day, I believe that much of the aggression has dissipated and there was a general sentiment that such behaviors are highly inappropriate and aggressive. That doesn't include everyone because they do have their blind supporters (Weaker personality people who won't break from hate support until its "unfashionable" to do so.). Yet in general, I can say that most of the hate problems have gone into the background and rejected by the community for the time being.
That doesn't mean its all over. It just means the initiators are afraid to act the way they did when they were given wink and nod immunity by a few clan affiliated local authorities (This does not reflect on the good officers and people doing good for their country and people.). This clan will likely continue to be a problem, and while they may not be so bold as before, I don't doubt we will be back here again in a few years based on their clan culture and default to the values of their leadership (Its interesting because their leader has amazing socials skills lacks in so many areas that functionally beyond rumor spreading and social bullying it is unlikely they would be able to accomplish much for their clan, community or country. Yet a group has bent their knee in their support with no questions asked even though that person struggled to understand deeper values much of their life.). They can't see themselves as doing anything wrong and based on that inability and how they rallied their wagons in support of intentionally destructive behavior means they for the most part can't be trusted because the clan narrative has not fundamentally changed.
(You have to change the narrative before you can change anything else. The fundamental way in which the symbolism of the group and how they view themselves in relation to the rest of the world is part of the intention marker. Consider that when we give lip service to values and the restraints are removed they will default back to their preexisting patterns. This is why I advocate for the reform of the department involved. Some of the officers misused their social connections to break some fairly important Constitutional guarantees for full citizens versus who they see as half citizens. The wider system has some different assumptions but some work is still needed in order to maintain long term trust with the soon to be majority of society. I think we can do it!)
It can be hard to fix the deeper psychological roots of hate, when they are in a group that socially supports such behaviors and feels they can do no wrong (A possible projection of the leadership's feeling of insecurity. The inability to see self and behaviors in the proper light Reflect back, reflect back, reflect back more appropriate and logical counter arguments to ensure the systems doesn't derail itself. It can in some circumstances, led to quick deradicalization of tertiary, but unwitting, actors of triangulation through forced implementation of more accurate information.). Usually, when a person is struggling with dark triad type mental health issues they would be best served by nicely encouraging them to take accountability for their actions and ensuring they recognize that such distorted behaviors harm others. However, if you view the others as low and "worthless" based on pre-existing bias then things get more difficult to subtly adjust.
As a society we might want to encourage universal application of values. What I say is out of a type of kindness to ensure such behaviors are not repeated, addresses the social side of issues, and with luck gives the perpetrators an opportunity to help themselves. I believe in positive, polite and good karma. Feel free to click off if you disagree. Of course if polite encouragement doesn't derail bad behaviors we have to increase the pressure to ensure they know there are lines that should not be crossed (like the one's I implemented). Such actions are protective in nature but doesn't necessarily solve the problem if there is no change in heart; ie soul searching (Something we should be doing collectively as a people.)
My current evaluation is still in flux. The wider system tries to do the right thing but has some struggles yet it is seeking practical justice (not necessarily essential). One department and certain aspect of the local system needs some corrective support. It isn't up to me to make that happen, but I can certainly create the momentum for pro-American reform. It is only within my oaths to make sure it's not given a wink and nod for the benefit of everyone with a particular focus on the needs of the young (Got that old geezers! Its not about us!). It just depends on how you define our values based on which networks and systems your discussing. Am I correct? Not necessarily, I'm just saying what I see based on my experience. A mostly positive but mixed with some bad that can be built on to create an outstanding high performing universal society that can meet our environmental challenges while preserving freedom for the next generation (If we can get out leaders to believe that the idea that America has value. Their choices will become more apparent as they wrestle for direction over this election cycle.)
A couple of things to consider...
1.) Help the perpetrators to get mental health help and live happy and free lives in better condition then when they started their aggressive behaviors.
2.) The wider group should be well aware that such behaviors are inappropriate and there are consequences to blindly supporting hate aggression (i.e. the smirkiness, mocking, lying, group aggression and complete failure to protect the needs of kids on both sides from the destructiveness of the parents. Its almost disgusting!)
3.) Fraternization rules and department reform would help to ensure that social connections and poor values no longer put minority or any other family at risk. When the targets are "worthy of hate" through the distorted values and narrative of the clan that should be an issue. Its not an issue in a 3rd world nation hoping to dissolve but it is a problem in a first world nation that needs its human capital to avoid being #2 in likely less than 10 years (I know! I Know! I have a Muslim sounding name and dark skinned kids aren't supposed to be part of America's future! I disagree and my line has been drawn. Reform is needed to improve that department's effectiveness, ensure they are trained well, have a healthy dose of respect for their fellow Americans, understand the agreements/social contract in the Constitution, and go through steps of continuous improvement to be better----unless that's not the essential goal. In this incident its only one department from what I can tell and the need to go through steps to improve is in the best interest of society when such behaviors occur. That doesn't reflect on the good officers within that department or other departments. Sometimes good officers are stuck in a poor departmental context emphasizing the values of their leadership through improper value expectation setting.)
(I want to make this point. I would rather protect the future then win some argument about the concept of authority and power. This isn't about jail time, this is about fixing problems. The long lost art of negotiation is used in the will to move past this so we can build a great town, county, and area that We the People can live or visit. Its not about punishing any officer or person, which is out of my control, as it relates more to reasonable guarantees of 1st world performance of the system versus bouncing along between 2nd and 1st. We are all in this boat together or we are not. When traversing a bouncing and often wild ocean it will be both the ship and the crew that will navigate into the squall. I used to be on a sailing team and see the similarities.)
4.) A review of the financial incentives of such hate. My personal belief is that this behavior is partly related to prior crimes that they wanted to distance and cover themselves from being brought to awareness. It was also context for a repeat pattern of self enrichment. At the end of the day, even if that money ends up going to charity then it is what it is and that is way better then rewarding bad behavior and teaching the rest of the clan and their watchers that such behaviors are rewarded and acceptable ( Money should have never been the primary concern. That should have been for the kids. To those who put stock into money as a the primary metric of their worth, they they should not be in leadership positions. This is an unscientific and unsupported article but if you have time look up internal versus external motivation and values. Maslow is a good thing to look up. Try "Maslow Hierarchy of Needs", "Internal and External Motivation" and "Sense of Belonging" It could be a contributing factor in how a huge percentage of society feels and wants to be fully involved in nation building but are often cut off by the poor values of leaders emphasizing tit for tat versus the needs of problem solving and in turn the needs of people. Press button blindly and discard any alternative explanation.)
5.) Let us throw some bonus concepts and knowledge into this article because you mad it this far down the page. What if we were able to solve this problem here and apply that problem nationally just like we are solving economic problems? We have struggled so long as a nation and need to start fixing issues like this so we can be a lean and high performing nation that ensures we continue to inspire many other nations with our pro-democracy walk-the-talk values all the way from the bottom to the top (Probably a dumb idea, discard quickly!)
*This article is written to help you think and grow as a person. A little philosophy mixed in to further our understanding of the world in which we live. If the article is able to spark thinking, agree or disagree, to start solving problems then its a good thing. If it makes you screaming angry about "those people" then I guess that is a round about way of better understanding the landscape and that in one way or another is a good thing. Positive proactive change happens through discussion and the ability to see different perspectives so that we are able to resolve them on a national level and move on over the horizon through strong human capital development. This blog is about national development and growth. Its just a story for you to consider the next time someone tells you something about someone else's perceived value not derived from evidence based thinking. Stop and think about what the rest of the things are they didn't tell you and where those values came from. Avoid quick reaction until you have considered the other possibilities. In many ways our future as a nation rests on understanding and sharing the deeper value systems embedded into the stories just like this. Can you find it? Can you "see" the doors that are open and how entering one versus another changes the sequence of all the doors of choices after it. We as a nation will need to pick one! I have already chosen a universal democracy where we are on the same team and embrace helpful diversity based on a truer metric of merit to rejuvenate our American spirit through a " can overcome approach" to our currently rising challenges. or not? 🤷 My path has not changed. Polite, focused on solutions, not sugar coating, challenging, engaging, willing to accept apologies and doing my very best to find common ground. That common ground doesn't include turning my face in the other direction when glaring problems are blinding our understanding. I put my 2 cents on the card table. Try to avoid the temptation to steel them! 😳)
I found this motivating video for those who came from nothing and want to know you can make through a goal, after goal, beyond a goal as long as you lean into the challenges, be creative, and reach to overcome. We all should have to earn our spot, especially when it comes to leadership. Mostly directed toward younger readers who are just starting the path. When your young, you get to make choices and that can lead to lifetime outcomes. The old already had their time. We need our youth in the game of creating something fabulous. We will need to get out of our own way.
Catching up on the news today and as I open my laptop, swirly my coffee and wipe out my glasses I come across this article by CNBC that indicates the Russian invasion of Ukraine may have switched the U.S. to a leading position in energy development. There was an unexpected impact Russia might not have thought about prior to the conflict and that included such things as switching supply lines, making Russia more dependent on China, and perhaps also led to a more stable energy supply chain.
{Keep in mind that when egos get involved in conflicts, critical, systemic, and moral thinking also goes out the window. Long term health of an organization declines when short term decisions are made. The environment shifts and adjust when long term conflicts break out leading to a revamping of the entire global system as a result of exhausting reserves and needing new supplies. Once those new business patterns are formed, they will often stay in tact and compete with older ones in a way that create a safer, multi source, redundant system.
Even if peace is reached many of those supply lines will not come back and that in turn puts Russian in a tough spot. Even if they win, they will lose. If Russia begins to lose on the battlefield, they will also lose negotiation ability. Likely, one reason why they asked China to come in and supply them. China coming in might put pressure on the supply lines to begin switching more to countries that are more ideological-business pattern similar thereby creating a supply and information curtain.}
Where one drops a ball the other gets to pick it up in the game of national development. Read Russian Oil Ban and Semi Conductor development and think about how the U.S. can capitalize on increasing energy production and semi conductor development. If done well it might place us in a position where we Americans/"Americans" would not only manage new energy supplies but also emerging technologies. Those are two important and primary ways that will draw the economic supply chain vines toward the U.S. as a net supplier of two important world products with high international demand.
We should be ecstatic if two sources of innovation and generation come together at this unique time in history to create a unique mix. A type of leap frogging from adversity in a way that is likely to encourage the foundations of advanced manufacturing. We are still missing a piece as it would be hard to run an advanced manufacturing digital era society if we are not producing leaders and skilled workers broadly across society to fulfill those roles and/or to innovate their environments.
That makes our next rung of national growth a human capital development "issue" {which should have never been an issue}that if resolved, can be part of a tripartite economic renaissance approach that will spearhead change from the Industrial platform to the digital platform. Structuralizing the renewable green energy {and oil/gas}industries, the core of tech development {innovation and digital economy}, and the human capital level {We are not doing that well in this arena as our difficulties in universalizing our democracy slow this progress. I grade us at C+ but that is just a splattered guess on the wall. Politics sort of get in the way of making sound decisions in this realm. Splatter Splatter 💦💁} I see these three factors as fundamental to coming out of this struggle on the top or bottom of the economic wheelhouse.
This blog is about national development and provides different concepts and ideas to ponder. So as a question might be, "Would managing energy development, root technology innovation, and human capital be enough to solve a number of problems through pushing us to a new platform? Kind of like the Industrial Revolution but instead of streamlining resources its is now through digitization of the transactional root structures? The next rung!. {Think of what has changed since computers were invented and were able to be bought. I had the Commodore 128 and my neighbor had the Commodore 64 and we were rocking as early coders back then. I gave up on coding when girls entered my life. 🤷}
Reading of Voltaire's tragedy of the Orphan of China
at the salon of Marie Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin
1755, by Lemonnier, c. 1812
The development of communities takes multiple approaches ranging from the business side of things all the way over the to socio-bio health of individuals. Strong systems draw in talent and business investments from things as simple as quality of life on one end and governance quality on the other. Delta County is in a unique spot to have the best of many worlds if strong management practices come forward. The balance between asking the right questions and giving the right answers. Its a total system that gets pushed upwards when governance meets new market "realities" through constructive problem resolution (i.e. creation of socio economic development. If you want some in-depth stuff with theories you can look at a publication by Cambridge Socio-Economic Development. I'm just saying if you look at the table of contents you see how our governance impacts our lives and quality of our lives in many arenas. Other reading. Human Instinct-Devel,Bio-Psycho Devel., Needy Econ. Human Caps).
Problems that are outside the normal scope of improving the lives of residents and their futures are problems that should not be in normal affairs of governance. They are distractions and they take away from the overall effectiveness of management. If we have a problem, lets deal with it sooner rather than latter. In my experience, it is generally best to assess a situation and take active steps on the issue to ensure it is resolved and put away for good. Then learn from it, and move on to the next societal problem to solve. You keep doing that over and over and no community will match the positive growth that will come from good governance (...again those are general comments on governance that can be applied broadly.)
Each organization seen as a 'knowledge authority' is going to have a slightly different take on what good governance looks like. As we sort of start accepting FDI its good to have a little more global exposure in our management. UN Good Governance (global stakeholder perspective) talks about general principles, McKinsie & Company has a Rural Rising Report (investor perspective) that discusses general initiatives and USDA has a Rural Priorities (govt. perspective) which helps provide further guidance.
After reading the articles and watching the video you will sort of have a better understanding of the type of governance that leads to growth. Make sure that you don't get bogged down in the emotional arguments unless collectively they mean something (there is a term for this and I can't think of it) or individually they have investigative value (a nugget to pick from the conversations). People talk but what counts is when there are teeth in arguments. Without that teeth no one can say for sure what is and what isn't beyond some general public upset resulting from a firing (You have to see all sides of an argument from many different perspectives to understand. If no evidence/teeth and/or specific information comes forward the options default to voting in who you want and who you don't want during the next election cycle. I don't pick sides here. That is how I see the process.)
You may also want to read something On Virtue Politics because sometimes studying the classics of philosophy and early democracies can give you insight in how to handle situations. In general this article advocates increased engagement for learning purposes. So bringing forward concerns of public governance in a public forum makes sense. Video transparency is good, and they are doing that. Be tactful, be honest, be helpful. There are people watching and perhaps learning about democracy from this very situation so let us be effective and mindful in action and word. (I would love to point to my hometown and say, "This is what democracy, growth, good governance, and opportunity look like. Sometimes its messy, but that is just because its getting better year after year, generation after generation, constantly in a state of development. People challenge, conversations happen, issues are resolved to higher levels of development." . We just need everyone to want to take that step. It helps everyone and creates trust in government and the decisions officials make. )
Notes (Quick Bullet Point Stuff): (I try and keep it accurate. If I'm wrong please let me know by posting a comment.)
-There was a comment that was made by one of the commissioners of pay without attendance of meeting and it was clarified that it happened. Down state, Mackinac Island, etc. were brought up as dates commissioners were paid to attend but were not at the conferences. In my experience conferences are sometimes like a paid perk where you learn and have fun. Its highly dependent on the conference. However, it wouldn't be impossible to determine if people attended. Typically, there are sign in sheets, grab bags that require initials, video publication of events, and other proofs of attendance. Its easy to figure out if you can pull the records. They were either paid and no proof of attendance, paid and attended, didn't pay and didn't attend, etc. You get the picture.
-Conflict of interest declaration.
-A few ideas on how to fund Delta Conservation District (DCD)
-Some calls for use of how the dollars are calculated for the grant of the Conservation District.
-Arguments that the DCD doesn't have a Forest Management Plan.
-Some names brought forward on who may be engaged in collusion.
-There was a letter that was brought to one of the commissioners and the Daily Press. There was a desire to have someone from the prosecutors office take a look at it.
-Duty bound to report to prosecutor.
-The guy from Esky is right....put the info on the agenda. :)
-Discussion on legal preparation.
-Wells water and sewer support. Escanaba water plant will be important for development.
-UPCC
-Tourists coming. 15 tour visits jump on and off.
-Electric inspection.
-No legal review of the contract.
-A mention that others say there is illegal activity and a suggestion to resolve the contract.
-Some board members are concerned about the contract and public opinion. Want a legal review. Forest parks, county properties, etc.
-Some push back on cancelling the contract. Some logic was brought up for a long term contract. That it would be difficult to manage and get park service for the same price. May 15th. Possible temporary contract.
(If you don't know about the Delta Conservation District you can find that HERE. You will notice Federal and State grants that will likely have some management criteria with them. I came up with an idea that if we manage our resources well we can consider using it as a tourist draw that impacts lifestyle and other benefits that would contribute to a net positive for the area. SME Adventure-Venture Tourism. We can use industry and tourism to help develop our natural assets through the revenue they generate. Its the era of global warming and environment damage. We can create environmental-industry-resident benefits by thinking with a more macro perspective of an entire system. How things get funded, how business improves and impacts the environment, how to improve those environments to increase lifestyle, how to maximize that as a selling point to attract more interest, how to preserve that value into the future, etc. etc. )
-New finance policy and purchasing.
-Paying bills.
-2022/23 HMEP grant. This is excellent stuff and such public service is needed. As we see new development it will require different types of services so we should be proactive on such issues. The Department of Labor provides 1910.120 and HAZWOPER for some guidance. I think a mobile Haz Mat team would make sense if we can get funding for it and can find a way to sustain it. (For those of you who own companies this is all good information. CEOs also need to have a basic understanding of response capacity so you can design your internal capacity. Insurance will also determine weather or not your teams can go off site. A discussion with insurance might be helpful to see if a local public managed team might reduce your insurance costs as well. I'm not the expert in this topic, but if you as a company can save money maybe there might be a way to contribute some of those insurance savings to a first responder fund for local response capacity building, maintenance, and training costs. We have a few mid size companies around here and will have more companies coming soon so thinking about options beforehand is helpful. In this case, creating capacity proactivity is a sign of our advanced strategic thinking within some of our local institutions.)
-Title 1 and Title 3 money to schools and township projects. Its good to hear that money is going to projects that include improving fire responses. 880 MHz Mobile radios, side by side and Masonville pumper. (I saw on a study last year says the U.P./Michigan is one of he best places for Global Warming. I should go back and find it.)
-Adjustment in bylaws. Would like these types of documents to be public? Part of the update was when commissioners were not showing up.
-Awesome job Brandon! He is doing a great job checking out the video options. Keep YouTube...seriously....it makes sense. I shared something because it was relevant to a project I'm working on so having easy access really does make a difference in sharing information. Investors and people want to see what is going on so they can make their own decisions. Most places would likely use Zoom during the meeting and then upload the entire video within a few days to YouTube. Sorry...that is just how I saw it in other places. Esky was doing it well. A Covid adaptation. :)
-$13 million left over and if we put in main water/sewage lines we may get some more development. I would like to know what a plan for that money would look like because infrastructure will make a big difference in other business development. You might be able to project what might grow but we don't know what will happen in the long run as different economic factors come into play. However, infrastructure development is generally a net positive. Wells sewer and water. Yes I believe District Rep. Preston and State Senator McBroom are likely to be encouraging these projects. 100+ housing units going into Wells Twp.
-There is some issue of how much to pay the controller, HR, and admin. position.
-Concerns on the elimination of ethics committee and different explanations of how ethics issues will be processed. I think that might be helpful to ensure that the ethics process and how it handles ethical issues is clear for residents. If it unclear for the board, unclear for the public, then it should be clarified and discussed.
-More concerns on Open Meeting Acts
-Concerns on bullying in the community. There has been some other complaints of bullying in another arena. Loose tertiary association but not unnoticed as to the possibility and probability. So let us just keep comments such as this in the sand box to review and let things unfold as they should. If you get some teeth into the argument with facts, or multiple complaints coming up, then it is something that becomes increasingly concerning (We don't need clans here. Its not the Game of Thrones! 😕).
-Discussion on bullying, individuals stalking others, etc. One person was concerned about hearing of a group bullying individuals so if that rumor is true and constitutes an attempt to intimidate its an issue. Its not game and if coordinated/directed then its potentially criminal (Potential is the word. It needs supporting of facts. Who, What, When, Where, Why). Its not the first time this has been said. Maybe something, maybe nothing? 🤷 One doesn't know until they dig into it. What I will say is, don't jump or have any conclusion. Just breath in the info and let things sort of percolate until clarity is found. As crazy as it sounds.....
(I just want to make note here. There are issues as it relates to mistakes of administrative management and processes. Mistakes are different then intentionality in behaviors. Making a distinction between good/bad performance and criminal behaviors. I'm only saying for some it can get all mixed up, and in some case it might be mixed up intentionally. i.e. neglect. So, that is not a comment specific to here or anywhere else. It is a general comment meant for a very general perspective. If you have concerns and believe you might have something substantial that creates of a case for a corruption investigation I might consider sending the State Attorney General and Local Prosecutor a note.)
-Some argument of having ethics as an upfront discussion.
-There are some comments on helping to explain things more openly to people. Yes, I can see the point as valid and it will get smoother as time goes on. The majority of people have little familiarity with contracts, deals, department performance, etc. When your in government you think in a type of bubble that the wider societal stakeholders don't work within. It is different being an admin when compared to being a user of such decisions.
-A person was bring positive words about the volunteer firefighters in the area and how awesome they are at bringing in younger firefighters. He was impressed by a young man at a local township meeting and wants more information on how beneficial local firefighters are; especially the volunteers (Who don't get paid, are constantly training, helping their communities and inspiring young minds. Maybe we will find them someday bucking the national trends and attractive to younger people concerned about their communities and environment but are not given the right avenues to develop. Departments do more than fight fires, they also train future leaders. These departments do more because everyone involved is doing good things for a good cause. That isn't always the case everywhere. Sorry...lets get back to the convo at hand....) .We always have room for more firefighters in this community. He wants more information on the cadet program with the fire department. (Maybe the county could do more to encourage young people to get involved in civic affairs. Probably more constructive. Limited cadet programs in the area. I found this one article when I searched Cadet, Firefighter, Training and Escanaba Boolean combos. Looks like two departments are where you can donate your time, effort and resources. HERE)
-A comment the Ethics Committee is not being scuttled.
-Openness to talk about issues over a cup of coffee. (If you take up on offer remember a cup of coffee is like $3.50 cents at the coffee shop and like $1.25 at the gas station. I suppose you would have to be in a coffee shop. So be nice and don't order a large Cappuccino, Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte or a Caramel Macchiato because those can get expensive. However, if you can squeeze it out and get one then more power to you!)
*The article is really just food for thought and how we manage conflict and governances. The goal is to prompt you to think as well and sort of see how these things work in real life scenarios. I present no facts, and I make no conclusions. "The only true wisdom is in knowing that you know nothing"-Socrates
There are different intelligence agencies that are looking at this and they feel as a collective that its the lab, market or something else. Basically there are still holes in the research and that may be intentional on China's part. It would be nice to just go in and find out what happen (I doubt this would happen but things change sometimes.). So its possible that it may have come from a lab, maybe more likely than a market, but not conclusively so. You need more data and need to keep placing each piece of data into your research theory buckets. The unknown bucket being one of the most important because that is where new ideas come (Connecting dots in different ways.).
For example, going to hunt for secret bat viruses (A theory that is proposed from somewhere else) and then bringing them to a lab to enhance them for inoculation benefits but also perhaps weaponize them as well (Lots of governments play with viruses. Kind of scary when you think of the long term possibility of someone finding the very wrong kind of mix we have no natural immunity and it morphs into something without a cure. So, I'm not a virus fan for extreme genetic manipulation. Yet, it is what it is! Humans are a species that toy with nature, so sometimes nature punches us in the gut to let us know the order of things.)
I'm betting 2 cents that it is more likely going to be the lab versus the market but we don't know that yet. That means I could be wrong and a fairly high probability that I am wrong. When the majority of the agencies get in alignment with their explanations we can say we have a general consensus. With novelty it takes a long time to figure it out because the info is classified, difficult to understand, and specialized to a smaller group of stakeholders.
We can add a fourth option.
1. Lab
2. Market/Natural (Its really more of argument of natural cause from animals)
3. Lab and Natural Combo. Meaning it was more or less likely to be in the earlier stages of manipulation/mutation and have close cousins in the natural world. Yet wouldn't have become that deadly unless specialized artificial environments were created in a lab. I wonder if one could sort of determine the mutation jumps to see how close they are to their natural cousins.
The leading theory is that Covid-19 started in a lab in China. I thought it was possible but I also thought it was equally possible to be from poorly kept animals on hormones/antibiotics that may have caused a mutation of some type. Of course, I'm not particularly knowledgeable about things things and am applying general knowledge. Either way, any way, we will someday figure it all out. Everything sort of takes time.
When Covid-19 started consuming lives people were under duress, grocery store shelves were empty, and no one knew what it all meant. Some of this is likely to happen as part of our general existence in the same space, time and location. However, the leap in destructiveness isn't often seen on this level. i.e. meaning we typically might not see breakouts that are so lethal because there is more time to cure them through natural emergence and slower spreading pace (A leap meaning it is possible it wasn't natural.)
Its the same concept with masks. We now know that masks may not have been as helpful as initially thought, but we also know that at the time we did not know. Its better to be safe then sorry. I used to tell people the best thing to do is have most people use masks but also a smaller percentage of people who did not use mask or take initial inoculations as we hedge our bets. In other words, put in place the legal structure that gets most of the people protected but have some caveat for those who want an exemption so that they are making a conscious choice not to mask. Also they assume risk. (I of course could have been wrong as well. I would still encourage people to wear masks if there is a next time because it is likely to have some impact even if we don't know specifically what level. Until its been invalidated its still likely based on our disease knowledge to be of benefit. There either are or will be studies coming out soon that will determine best practices. It takes a few years to get a literature base.).
Typically you want the riskier behavior to be a smaller percentage of people because based on evidence at the time, most people will be best helped by a vaccination and the harm from masking was annoying but minimal (I'm not talking about the political side of it.). As time goes on we get a better perspective. That doesn't mean that those who didn't mask had any more knowledge than those that did mask (There was little to no info to make effective conclusions.) but that they took a guess based on what they perceived to be an infringement of rights and in this case it sort of worked out.
A question is, "When we are dealing with dangerous unknowns what is "reasonable"?
As time goes on we will understand more. Lab or not.....it changed world culture. One possible explanation is that if China knew it was a lab experiment gone wrong (which we don't know for sure is true. Although you can track back the mutations I believe to their original source if you can get samples. ) might be that they locked down harder then other nations because they were more aware of its destructive power. It could also be that culture plays a part in how much rights government and people have that makes locking down possible on this level. However, if the risks of lockdown are superseding the risks of injury then we can say there is something else going on in the decision making.
