Old Escanaba MI 1920 Ludington Hotel and more

I was looking for something else and I came across this amazing 1920 video that shows Escanaba. Many of our relatives are here. I will further say that it was a happening place and I believe the Roaring 1920's are coming again. A few things going on....

1. New Investments in Industry and Infrastructure.

2. Tourism is significantly UP. 

3. People are much more into recreation. 

4. The downtown is ready for entrepreneurs if we can put together an investment packet and contacts to lure entrepreneurs, improve some of the investment buildings, and prepare the area for the major influx of 2K workers for Billerud. (Remember that this is a shot in the arm to the downtowns so we should maximize the housing and appeal of Escanaba downtown. Gladstone looks pretty good already.)

5. New House of Ludington Ownership and new Hampton coming in in the same spot. I heard through the rumor mill that another restaurant is coming in the same area. Something about wood pizza I think. (Shhhh its a secret but we should excited!)The area is going to attract some interest. 

Gladstone Beaches: Cabo Should be Jealous! Investments, Opportunities, and Beach Life

Ok sorry maybe its not exactly like Cabo but one might say that it is still pretty nice place. The advantage is that is affordable, good fishing, a little night life with the band at the Dew Drop and very nice groomed beaches. Both Escanaba and Gladstone have nice beeches that occasionally sport a food truck. It is a place to walk, exercise and ue the connected parks. 

There are also investment opportunities that when matched with the lifestyle can be a win win for entrepreneurs. Plenty of places downtown Escanaba that can be bought for $100K that include apartments upstairs and store front. I'm actually thinking of buying a place myself. 

Blinken Says U.S. and China Meet to Stabilize Ties (The Concept of Economic Decoupling)

Communication is key to any conflict resolution and an adversarial relationship between Secretary of the State Anothony Blinken and China appear to have had a positive result in improving frosty relationships. Of course we don't know until we wait and see but we should accept the general process of conflict resolution on this level. As this conflict continued we have seen the world become somewhat polarized economically through a concept called Economic Decoupling. 

Let us also add that the global economy works well when there is open global trade (There have been complaints that China was engaged in unfair trade practices.). Conflict has caused some chest beating and that is leading in some way to divergent economic actions. You can learn about this more in Destructive Decoupling (I don't have a full opinion on this yet other then to say that the ultimate goal is free and open trade.)

A very nice article by CNN. Blinken touts ‘progress’ made in highly-anticipated Beijing meetings

 

What is Juneteenth? Remembering the Struggles of the Past and Opportunities of the Future

Today is Juneteenth. Even though people were legally free/emancipated they were still enslaved in some states and places. We have come a long way as a people but could do more. There is a point and place where we are all seen as equals and valuable members of our society. While this celebration relates specifically to Black Americans and their soul wrenching plight, it also relates in some ways to true equality in society for everyone. 

It is a reminder that the intent of law and the actuality of law are sometimes different. At that time, Black Americans were legally free but still forced in chains by brutality. In other words, we can pass laws but then must enact and live by those laws even when there are people who don't want to. 

(Some of these struggles continue on today. One time an angry attorney insinuated that no one cared about Black people and Muslims in his city {It was a North South border state which has seen serious racial upheavals in recent times.} I found that conversation sad and full of venom. He was rich and his parents well connected into social circles. The struggle still continues in many ways on a social level. I retorted something along the lines, Good thing your side lost the Civil War and he got miffed and hung up. The Civil War was one of the most deadly wars in U.S. History and to mock its gains by someone who was given everything even though they didn't deserve it sort of stung my heart because I have multi racial children who were locked out of things by other's bigotries. They were even put in harm's way. {One is diagnosed as a genius and the other is likely a genius and an assessment said had very high IQ; not how high. They don't get any of those opportunities because we still have things to fix in our society. The best and brightest don't get the same opportunities as "the connected" so we as a total society suffer at a time we need everyone to compete.}. I'm proud to be the outlier when it comes to this stuff. There is no glory in it, but when the big Guy/Gal/Being/One upstairs comes to take me, I'm going with good conscious. Thats the goal of doing the right thing and treating people well.)

To me, the more inclusive a society we can build in which our perception of wholeness is based in our shared principles the more we can maximize the best and brightest from any background. African Americans have been part of this country since the beginning and have an honored place. 

We celebrate to remind us of the struggles of the past and the opportunities of the future. 

Flannery Fired Up: Pritzker urges swift action as Chicago Police Department Needs New Recruits

He makes a good point that we need to hire more officers and we need them to come from different backgrounds. We have some cultural issues in recent years as big data and greater awareness have exposed some long term needed reforms. Those reforms are underway but the PR of policing has taken a hit during this time. Likewise, in a tough job market we have issues as it relates to recruitment in general so change to reverse trends is likely.

Its not an impossible situation but there are some challenges we can't really ignore for much longer. What one might consider is to ensure reforms are complete and then begin to work on the image of policing by recruiting from as diverse backgrounds as possible (Its not about hiring a particular type of person but ensuring the culture is appropriate to the tasks at hand and your recruiting, training, and retaining broadly to master challenges.) . 

This isn't just about diversity alone, as it is also about mending communities and bringing them and police onto the same page (We all got kids and families so communities and police have responsibilities to work together and solve this problem. Its difficult to do that if our politicians hype up these differences, authority is misused or people refuse to positively engage when given opportunities. We are one people and need to solve this as one people.)

Sometimes change seems like its chaotic and weakens policing/institutions but that is not necessarily true when we reach forward to meeting opportunities that lay just over the horizon (There is a place where police and people can see eye-to-eye on developing peaceful thriving neighborhoods and opportunities. I call it the philosophical Axis Mundi. Its silly but basically when I use this term, I mean it as an answer that was not thought of before until people took steps to share their perspective and learn in a way that leads to wisdom, knowledge, and moral alignment. In other words, an essential insight into the deeper nature of things. Most cultures think of it as a place where heaven (s) and earth connect and I wasn't really going that far out. I was thinking just where things sort of make sense and it clear sight of a situation or problem. We study something and we come to understand things that would not have been possible without taking the right steps to gain insight. Its similar to "aha. I understand" that contributes to societal wisdom. Simplicity of answer is often more true then the complexity of the discussion. See the historical and not layman's term. The History of Axis Mundi). It all depends on how we handle situations like this.  (I support police 100% and civil rights 110%. We can create opportunities but that won't happen in shout down matches.) 

Universalizing our police and justice system can lead to greater buy in as the rules apply to everyone, are wise in their application and focused on helping others (Sometimes help is prison, sometimes its a scolding, sometimes its counseling, sometimes its a job, but it should always an opportunity to help. It should never be paramilitary or culturally ethnocentric. I mean, it should not be unless you want people to distrust it and abandon it as a supported institution of a free society) Impressions and political game playing often put protesters and police at odds with each other. This time we can really listen to each other and can adjust those things that are not working to make them stronger so let's not allow people exploit those differences (There is a difference between exploitation and reflecting back more accurate information. One leads to chaos as an end in and of itself while the other leads to greater performance through a more accurate well rounded perspective. Institutions sometimes don't collect the right kind of metrics and/or need to change their metrics to see a problem better.) 

It is a time for new policing ideas and I would love to see heartfelt contributions by marginalized groups that may have been distrustful of police to contribute their knowledge to improve the whole system. Improve it for the police and the people. An essential question is, "What would make you trust and engage?" Its a simple question but is somewhat profound in orientation of switching from adversarial to co-builder (Right now, despite the sour grapes everyone is looking for solutions; or at least should be. It is an opportunity for minorities to be concise and contribute. i.e. For example, a complaints button might be on the main department webpage and vetted by someone outside the department. Bad idea, good idea...that is a debate but its one way to raise feedback, increase transparency and lower retaliation.)  

At the end of the day, I believe everyone wants safe communities, responsive policing, and to raise the trust level of our institutions so they function with greater support and outcomes (i.e. a strong return on tax payer expenditures through shared goal focus and adaptable improvement). (We want our institutions to function well and have high trust through shared interest in their performance.)

Reflecting on the Long Term Subtle Impact of Hate, Rumors and Clans

Sure, I can accept a default in justice much like I can eventually accept a break in our community based on the bad behaviors of some. However, that doesn't mean I still don't have obligations to other people who may be caught in the same situation; especially in situations that were likely engaged in the past and have a high chance of being repeated by others in the future. Because these behaviors appear to be relatively common, supported by some in official positions, and they are aggressive and dangerous in nature I feel that I have more of an obligation to talk about them then I do to stay silent (Think of it as a societal development and moral issue. Certain behaviors should not be encouraged even if there is little will for justice.). The vast majority are exceptional and warm people. We are just talking about this central group and how their beliefs impact everything around them.

(These could all be fictitious hypotheticals. However, it is still a great story to learn and adapt from on how to build a stronger nation on a root social level. One would need to have a deep understanding of the micro and macro aspects of social interactions to understand how to fix problems like this on root social levels. I'm an advocate for positive social interaction and hedging our human capital through focus on shared principles and wholeness of conception. I call it universal American principles or a universal democracy.) 

The Dangerous Situation

These people yell out "Your father is a Bitch to my kids" and then go down a series of group/clan based events of pulling them over, involving them in dangerous situations, stalking the father, creating potentially violent situations, employment rejection (I don't care about it that much as I was just trying to be helpful but it is still a concern for others.) spreading rumors on and off line, manipulation of the elderly, encouraging illegal targeting and doing much more. It appears to be a total default on the system based in the distortion, bigotry and greed of a few people. 

(The people who started this are used to dominating their social network and I think there are many reasons why they would engage in this behavior from hate to finances. Its kind of obvious when you start digging into all of the actions and their goal directed behaviors.)

Can I truly expect that people are going to wake up one day and then say, "Wow, we really went after that guy and his family based on intentionally set rumors designed to enrich some and ensure that blacks, Muslims, and other minorities never feel welcome or safe in our community?".  Different people might adjust that to other things such as, "I hear all Muslims are violent and this is my country and I don't want people like this around. I will do my part to ensure that these dark subhumans don't come to destroy my community" (Just ignore all of the assumptions about "their town", historical roots, freedom of religion, etc. These are big discussions on cultural assumptions.  The Cultural Socialization Scale: Assessing Family and Peer Socialization toward Heritage and Mainstream Cultures

(Some of you may not know what implicit bias is. Implicit bias is when we take certain beliefs to be true even though they may be a reflection of a person's thoughts versus actual measurable data that can be observed in the environment. i.e. focuses on the one Black guy who stole something to represent the general values and beliefs of all Black people. One White extremist comes to represent all White people. I could go on to further say an implicit bias is putting kids in harms way because someone create a rumor to exploit those biases to harm, control, and profit off of hate. People lie to get stuff all the time. Lying in a group that lives in the rumor mill is a powerful tool of ostracization. When mixed with close friendships of fellow clan members in law enforcement it moves down a dangerous path. I think that is the leading explanation at the moment. )

A Simple and Subtle Example

Let me give you a subtle example beyond all of the more obvious examples presented prior. I see a guy who knows some people I know and we don't talk much. We don't because when I see him he tenses up, gets quite and out of the corner of his eye watches me like a hawk. Not yet fully sure why. but I believe him to be affiliated with "the clan" and the beliefs of the central clan members (One might say friend network and could even go as far as cult. I think clan is sort of the best reflection I can come up with at the moment because it is a highly socialized friends but also share other characteristics that are dysfunctional.)

I'm minding my own business and I looked over to listen to a conversation that was happening as a group discussion a few feet away. It wasn't a private conversation and was sort of open to the public but I was impressed by a good natured moment in which older people were sharing wisdom with younger people (See the beautiful side of communities. I encourage this engagement of young and old. Even more so across ethnic, racial, and religious lines to create wholeness.). I probably could have jumped into the conversation and that would have been acceptable in this circumstance.

Then I realized out of the corner of my eye this guy was staring at me and with serious dislike/concern. When I looked at him, he looked away, and then I went on doing my business. No more issues and it was a small issue with wider ramifications (I don't even think he was aware he was staring. I don't think he is a bad guy. He is naturally reacting to the stage set by others). However, I realized that this person must be hyped up on all types of rumors and information. Some of these people feel I'm a threat, that my kids are a threat, and that we should not be allowed to be in the same area. 

Some Reflection

I scratch my head and ponder my past and think while I'm not a perfect person I been a pretty good person. Never in my life have I hurt a person or even picked a fight as a kid. People who know me know I'm sort of passive in my nature (I'm the type if I lie you can read it on me so most of the time I just either say nothing or say my unvetted perspective and that causes problems as well.) However, these people view me as something dark and evil. I guess that is one of the signs of the subtle impact of hate, rumors and clans. They are in their own world with their own constructed reality that isn't reflecting reality. The danger comes from the rumors and the lack of diverse exposure to other people that makes people outside their clan sort of the embodiment of evil and "the other" (We can go into this on a sociological level of tight socialized groups around identity, distrust of outsiders, etc. ) 

One of the reasons why I had to draw some boundaries was for the health and safety of my children. These adults were pushing their distorted perceptions of Blacks and Muslims onto my children ( I have a laundry list of reasons I could cite) and that was beginning to impact the well being of my kids.  I felt the changes. They were not at first overt but it didn't take long before the signaling (as a implicit communication conception) became apparent and that would eventually damage my kids sense of identity. (I know they don't see it that way and I know they don't have the awareness to understand on that level. 60% of society understands it fairly clearly.) Raising “Antiracist Disruptors”: Illuminating Socialization Practices that Support Antiracism in Multiracial Households

I suspect there are a few thinking (Not specific to the example or the guy because I can't make that judgement without knowing him well.) but only a general observation of how certain toxic behaviors impact people's perceptions and in turn treatment of others. I do believe based on my understanding of the past and various repeated behaviors that something like this might be true for say 10% of the clan, "Well, if you don't like us treating you this way you should move! Don't expect me to make people who are like those ____fill in the blank________feel comfortable in my town. We don't need people like that who cause all the problems around here!" (We can look in history and science to give us some explanation on how fear mongering creates real dangers for people.)

I'm learning so we call can learn together. We may or may not see justice depending on the moral conscious of the system (It tries but its imperfect like we are imperfect.) but what we can say is that as a society we can learn about how to build a better nation and a brighter tomorrow. The battle is more over hears and minds that among my fellow Americans/"Americans" which I hope someday we will resolve so it leads to a more universal, "Our American Principles".💇😬💨 (BTW  one day I mentioned Our American Principles in my writing and some members of the group went berserk! Crazy stuff! It would appear there are some who don't want us to be one indivisible people and are very opposed to it and will break liberty and justice in order to clearly state even mentioning shared communities is opposed.). 

Are biased rumors dangerous or inappropriate? I guess it depends on who you ask. 🤔 I think in our society we should encourage good behaviors and discourage destructive behaviors. In a cultural transition we have to figure out which is which. Those with the gifted curse sometimes have insight into issues others might not have. In respect for my father, grand father, and great fathers who come from this area and fought to keep our nation free. We respect the great men in our lives and their sacrifices to our lives and to our society. Honoring them requires to honor their principles and generations of principles that went before, Our American Principles. May our fathers wisdom pass to this and the next generation (Today is father's day so give honor through the power of "being". Father's Day and Juneteenth. Our fathers pushed for freedom and through polite persistence we will do the same.).

Escanaba Marina Still has a Few Slips Open

The other day I went down and paid for my slip. Some of my plan is to do a lot more fishing and golfing this summer. Everything starts with getting the boat in the water. Without that you will be doing shore fishing which is perfectly fine. I wasn't around and I had ordered a new engine so all is ready now.  

The fantasy of a small commercial fishing boat is still alive! (For fun)