A quick discussion on rail infrastructure and a new landfill. There appears to be some interest in new technology that can reduce/eliminate the need for landfills. Trash is big business in today's world so it is something that can be considered as a revenue source. New technologies help fight climate change. Imagine if we could move to zero landfills someday. Solid Waste Management 2024
We have to wait to see how the discussion unfolds in future meetings.
While the jobs added was expected to be a little higher, and the unemployment rate was expected to decline to 3.8%, the world hasn't yet cracked asunder. It could be a sign of stability/homeostasis or even a sign of a small slow down in line with other numbers. These things can change quickly so as we look through the crystal ball of forecasting expect it to be hazy into the near future.
There is something called efficient unemployment rate that we can discuss. While unemployment is seen as economic waste, there is a place where it does help grease the wheels of job mobility what encourages economic adjustments to environmental factors. The ideal unemployment rate is 3-5% according to a study on Efficient Unemployment.
"Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 175,000 in April, and the unemployment rate changed little at 3.9 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in health care, in social assistance, and in transportation and warehousing" (Unemployment BEA, May 3, 2024, para 1). |
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It appears the Fed Reserve felt that the economy is still growing, unemployment is low, and job gains are strong so a rate change is not beneficial. Recently advanced estimates says that GDP was not particularly great so let's see what happens. We should keep that in perspective with other G7 nations.
Did you know being a golf caddy can be a pretty vigorous cardio affair? We walked a short course today. While it wasn't being a caddy you can see the point. Golf Caddy Cardio Study Next time someone asks what your doing? You can say your exercising first and second golfing.
Trust in the military has declined 60% and that saddens me because our military produced some of the finest people on the planet. They are fair, they treat people well, they raise the standard, they provide opportunities, they teach important values, and the military protects our nation and it's liberties.
What I think gets mixed up is the political aspects of those outside the military that shadow the important benefits our military provides for society. That can help us learn about co-mingling of different concepts and confounding variables.
There are two articles and two charts to ponder.
Confidence in U.S. Military Lowest in Over Two DecadesThere is a difference between our political views as a nation and the military itself and I would like people to differentiate that. Our military is diverse and it encourages people from any background to be the best they can be. It's a merit system. Politics has its own systems.
Politics can be good or bad but it is often driven by influencers who have a political stake in the game. The youth that join and serve our military have none of that...but they do have belief in our important values and are willing to support that with their lives. They are a cut above the rest.
We should understand that political leadership influences the perception of our institutions. It could be our military or any other institution in the nation. While political leadership can influence these institutions we should also ensure that we differentiate it with political movements, ideas, and activities.
Two charts highlight some of the findings of two polls. Like most Americans, I support the Military and Small Business. I wonder what everyone else supports? For that, you have to look at our political activities and how the average American views them. i.e. the stakeholders of such processes.
A few questions you want to ask yourself might be 1.) Is it a decline in trust in the military or is it actually a decline in the perceptions of another institution? 2.) How might perception of the military, political process, and other factors get comingled into polls?
Further research and investigation will help determine more closely what the factors are and what they are not. The second chart sort of helps put the different institutions in order of trust. Things could have changed since the last time the poll was concluded. It's a good poll for discussion.
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Hate groups mix morality with the extreme sense of dislike of their targets that leads them down all types of aggressive and immoral paths. When researchers reviewed hate groups online they found their perceived moral violations by the "out group" were much more frequent in their discussions. Thus, somewhere along the way they connected their negative view of others, with their own moral superiority or "rightness" The psychology of hate: Moral concerns differentiate hate from dislike
A few thoughts on hate and the bigger picture (They are meant to be free flowing and not conclusive. Could even be spelling and grammar errors. It is just a story for moral and mental consumption. A learning opportunity about hate and how it works.):
-Such groups have a history of mistreating others.
-They are open to rumors against people they dont like, spread them and act on them.
-Individuals within these groups seek to create conflict with the targets and engage in microaggressions to provoke larger conflicts (i.e. justifications for further hate crimes).
-There is lots of gamesmanship and lying.
-They exist in environments with lax oversight that are susceptible to corruption i.e. 'culture of corruption'.
-There are often different rights and laws for different people applied in different ways.
-Dehumanization is part of a process that lowers moral inhibitions of other crimes.
-Lax laws and misunderstanding of extremism allows these behaviors to continue.
-The personalities involved are often toxic and shallow.
-Some fields and occupations seem to draw more hate supporters than others. Most of the people are good people but unfortunately leadership can sometimes be lacking a culture forms where they cannot report wrong doing. I encourage restructuring of positions to ensure that good people can come forward and report wrong doing. It could have helped nip the problem fairly quickly but culturally its opposed. By logic there may be a reason why some oppose and it may have little to do with law abiding. Let us protect the institution and its important role in society by encouraging good public servants to move forward and in turn remove bad apples that do not respect our American values or the laws that come with it. Its not fair for these good public servants to deal with poor actors that make their jobs harder. I respect these institutions so much that I once thought of becoming one and helping them but I found a different way to serve. That doesn't change my opinion on the need for reform and change. I want these institutions to be the best they can be and the most effective in their roles; hard to ague with that. They will and they will act on that! Its where we are at this time in history. All systems must adapt and improve to ensure they are best fulfilling the needs of society.
-The perception is might over right and it becomes a numbers game of intimidation and social support.
-Because you are dealing with hierarchical perceptions of human value do not expect justice nor accountability where these behaviors have been normalized.
-It makes no difference if you are a good person, you help your community, you do the right things or where you have gone in your life. Even serving your nation means little to these groups. What matters most is who likes you, what race you are, what religion you practice and whether or not you bend a knee to partisan politics as a tool for hyping these groups. Herd animals with low values.
-In the example hate rumors blocked a part time local job and the same network of people are seeking to block any engagement in public service. Its segregation at work. Encourage a universal democracy with broad based capitalism where people are judged and get ahead on merit and not by superficial reasons. Some of these people and their supporters will do anything to block 60% of society and you can tell that by how they "help their own". It has nothing to do with freedom.
-Victims have no recourse in corrupted systems so you will sometimes also find large groups of defectors of the status quo. Good people will encourage positive reform and change. In other words, more and more people will want a higher functioning system. They know people are intentionally violating the laws and getting free passes for those violations.
-Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech exist on one level but do not exist on an actualized level. You are judged by your religion and you are judged on superficial things like race. If you don't say what such hate networks want to hear, there are no backstops. In this example, I am using a person who is religiously open and has basic adherence to Catholic-Muslim-Jewish perspectives. Such groups have been known to violate laws on religious holidays to ensure only certain religions feel safe practicing in the area. It has become practical legal corruption and practical lawlessness on a level that only further promotes corruption. Even though they don't respect these laws and rights you should respect them because our nation deserves law abiding people and they deserve laws that are applied fairly in the best interest of communities and the nation. The root of these laws are based in those freedoms; no matter if they are used well or misapplied to protect bad actors in application.
-Nothing has changed and we are not yet willing to universalize our values or our laws which shows a deep lack of respect for our nation and the freedoms many generations of our parents and grandparents struggled to promote. Have respect for the challenges of prior generations and those who lost their lives and freedoms for preserving our rights.
-In these systems expect to have no rights as there are people who will ensure that you have no rights. This is why they roll their eyes when you say things like, "People have a right to voice their opinion" or "This nation was built on civil rights.". They roll those eyes because they exist within networks that disrespect those rights and in some cases they work in occupations where they have the ability to do that with no checks and balances.
-Report hate crimes but expect no one to take action. Its not for this time but for the next generation to understand what this generation has gone through. Because the young grew up in diverse schools and locations they have a much better grasp of what it means to be an American and what freedom looks like. Their values will start to make its way onto the scene in coming years.
-Where laws are subjective, people talk openly of armed militias, where extreme bigotries reside, open acts of aggression or potential violence, free pass for any crime against "others", multiple community complaints with direct retaliation, and general brutal dishonesty one must accept the end game if you stand for your nation, its people, and the rights of a diverse new generation. These people hate fair treatment and will warp the intent of the laws for their own benefit. On an individual level they are afraid they can't compete when the playing field is level so they will do anything to maintain that unfairness.
-Also, accept that your reputation will be ruined, people are going to make up stories, expect that you will be ostracized, and accept that they will brag about the chaos they cause. To them being accepted by their social networks means being a jerk. The rudeness they display is trying to belittle you to raise their own inflated sense of existence-an underdeveloped mans/woman's game. All to common in groups of underdeveloped people who have become accustomed to bullying and belittling others. Despite that pressure stand tall because you didn't sell out your people, your community, or your country. These people never had those type of values. They compare themselves to you and come up short.
-Under all circumstance be positive, be polite, be peaceful and be helpful...its a long term game and where there are different rules for different people. Keep in mind they are trying to provoke conflict and local authorities have given them the right and ability to do that with immunity. If you react to their behaviors they will justify more hate and aggression. Let them be more of the cause and you can be more of the solution. Eventually it will change because most good people are aware these things exist and how destructive they are to society. They know how these networks work and who gives them a free pass. Just recognize, understand, and create an environment of change. We as a people of any race or religion will overcome. Its a natural course of our national development.
-On a deep, unfettered, no game level, this is part of who we are because if it wasn't it would have been discouraged. We can correct it because we know our nation has some of the best values through its social contracts the world has ever seen. Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, and Universal Human Suffrage. However, that doesn't mean all of the people believe in those central values or will make an effort to support those ideals. It is about 50/50 out there but the younger generation is 80/20 and its possible they will make a much bigger difference in the next 5 years. Never give up on the concept of freedom or liberty because our nation has gone so far and with a little more could make it to the goal post; no matter what these hate groups do.
One cannot be sure where we will go now as a nation but I encourage us to believe in "one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.". If we still believe in those things and whom it applies. Time answers all questions.....
To answer the question on why bullies and bigots are so rude? Bullying: Training for Adult Bigotry & Discrimination