Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Escanaba City Council Meeting (June 20, 2024) : Snake Alley, Trash, Budgets, Ice Skating

This meeting was relatively longer than most because there are concerns related to trash pick up (Not to be confused with the discussed updated landfill discussed at the county level). From my understanding there are elderly that do not want to move their garbage cans and there is a trash truck that has difficulty navigating snake alley. There is some brainstorming going on between residents and the city and when people work together they can solve these types of normal issues that arise. Electric Garbage Robot

Budgets are a constant discussion but the city seems to be doing better than most others and has been balancing its budget with some surpluses. Ice skating is coming to Ludington Park so that is going to change some of appeal during the winter. 

June 20th, 2024 City Council Meeting Minutes 

A Few Interesting Topics:

-Snake Alley

-Budgets

-Beer tent in  park for Labor Day

-Insurance

-New ice rink. Enhance Escanaba is donating it.

-Purchase of loader.

Monday, July 1, 2024

The Pictures of a Morning Walk: The Beach Assets of Escanaba (Social Media Marketing)

Days in Escanaba are long but the summers seem to pass by quickly. In the mornings the sun is tall, the breeze cool, just a person or two strolling the beach, the sounds of birds chirp in the background. One can walk with their feet in the Great Lakes, fish the fresh waters, jog the coastline, or lap swim the shore all from the same location. It is those little things that make Escanaba so great through the memories one creates and the experiences one gains. 

While you may be tempted to take a pricey vacation to Europe or perhaps some exotic South American destination you may find Escanaba to be affordable and closer to your backyard. Come for a few days, a week, or a month. Heck! if you have a business move up here full time (Our downtown is good for entrepreneurs and our fast Internet helpful for virtual businesses).

With free rental bikes at the harbor master's office, music in the 100+ year tradition bandshell, kids playground, fitness stations, ball diamond, tennis/pickle ball courts, disc golf, museums, marina, historic hotels, winery and more within walking distance of the the park your going to have fun. Hang out on the beach and walk a few blocks to main street where the action is  Escanaba is even adding a ice skating rink for those of you who love hot coco while enjoying the flaky snowfall. 

One of the wonderful assets they have is their beach, beach house, and lifeguards with a watchful eye over kids. This gem has increasing market value and the parking lot looks well utilized. Beach market size globally in 2023 was $153 billion and projected to expand to $263 by 2033 Beach Market Size. This is another opportunity for the area to maximize its natural appeal.

While the beach is not the only thing that draws people to the area it is important in conjunction with all the other benefits that range from digital nomad friendly establishments all the way over to fine dining in the House of Ludington, Fresh Water Tavern, or Stone House. If your the type who is a casual outdoorsman/woman you can rent cabins, throw your fishing line off the fishing piers, hike the forests and light a bon fire. Perhaps Herford & Hops or The Buck Inn is more to your liking. Different strokes for different folks!

As a passing thought, one way to increased market of the area on the cheap is to provide a few media pieces, badges, links (i.e. sharable media) for businesses to post on their social media. Its even possible to do this seasonally to keep it fresh and relevant for the families that want to vacation (Hey dads black socks and Bermuda shorts are out this year.) or the double breasted suit folks looking for places to invest (If your going double breasted go custom).

If you have a little time this week....

Don't forget the upcoming Polka in the Park, Farmers Market and Lunch on Ludington. Escanaba Downtown . You may also want to Visit Escanaba to look at some of the other offerings in the area.

This is what I did....

Today was just a normal morning in Escanaba where things get simple and you remember what it was like before you got busy. I was taking some pictures for my hobby gallery and while they are interesting they are not quite at the level of professional. But.....I try because it gives me something to do! The first picture I placed in my gallery the others the quality wasn't that great. Did some fishing and didn't catch anything and then walked the beach. The Wooded Pathway


Escanaba Ripples 24 Photo







Thursday, June 27, 2024

Presidential Debate 2024. Watch, Think, and Conclude (06/27/2024)

This is an important debate and I advocate for ideas and not sides so you have to watch and determine what is important to you. Take that knowledge of who resonates the most with your values and then go ahead and vote your conscious. Generally, ideas should supersede party so always use critical thinking and then come to your own conclusions. That is or is not an endorsement of any candidate but only the expectation that we Americans think about what we want to support because in a democracy your beliefs are votes. Use your votes wisely.

The Homogeneous Local Rumor Hate Based Hiring Method (A New and Biased Way to Hire!)

What is the Homogeneous Local Rumor Hate Based Hiring Method" HBHM? It's a method of hiring people seen as sharing similar demographic characteristics and labeling them "local". Geographic definition of local is very different when compared to the image of local that includes social networks and unconscious demographic perceptions. Locality is a method of determining candidates and it makes some sense to support local communities maximize employment opportunities for retention. In contrast, homogeneous socially construction concepts of  "local" isn't about geographic locality as much as it is about who is perceived to be a local (friend) and who is perceived to not be local (outsider).

Local can be further sub defined and categorized based on racial and religious considerations. For example, rejected candidates may live closer and have a longer genetic footprints than those considered local but still would not have the same local benefits because of these differences. A local focused hiring system could appropriately and/or inappropriately narrow the candidate pool based on how the term is used and applied in selecting eligible candidates. In such situations geographic and perceptive local are interchangeable depending on the user and is often applied differently in congruence with people's perceptions of how society should be, the social need to belong to an in-group, and employment or other goals.

The following is a hypothetical discussion for learning purposes only so one should take it with a grain of salt. Keep in mind that all behavior whether conscious or unconscious is still goal directed and often does influence its environment. Goal Direction and Unconscious Goals

The rumor part of the problem comes into play because some social networks act inappropriately towards members of society based on these rumors.  In this example, for one reason or another the in-group does not like or feel as though they, i.e. outgroup, should be allowed to live in "their town". Worse, have access to their opportunities! (The believe that one is more entitled than others. The Entitlement Factor) Some of these behaviors if gross or repeated could lead to a kind of pseudo cleansing that is often supported by sympathetic clan affiliated officials. 

Nevertheless, where such concepts of local are used perceptually versus geographically it could be an inappropriate hiring practice in violation of State and Federal guidelines. However some have argued for or against the idea that members of society could legitimately be seen as having lower perceptions of worthiness, a socially constructed second class citizenship not spelled out in law, and not seen of particular economic/social value thereby leaving them marginalized in a way that robs society of their contributions (the unwritten rules of hate. Different Kinds of Knowledge). 

The appropriateness of the HBHM can come into question with its influence on second class perceptions but that may depend on who is doing the judging and who are considered the stakeholders of such institutions (i.e. the admin, the clan, the customers, society, etc.). When decisions are anchored properly to institution goals that are aligned to national goals, we would have more efficient thought processes and decision choices that support long term outcomes that strengthen national health.

For example, let us say hiring decisions were influenced by intentionally set hate based rumors in an effort to damage targets through blocking opportunities and sharing social expectations on how people should treat and interact with minorities (out-groups). People learn from each other and that influences decisions within formal structures such as a hiring process. Long term use of this method could have big consequences for communities where homogeneous social groups become the equity beneficiaries of our tax expenditures and social efforts.

Let us kind of add to the mix a little to create some fun and include the idea that whether intentional or not HBHM might have a similar outcome. The HR manager was not initially qualified for the position in which he/she was hired but because he/she knew the right people she was promoted at the expense of other more qualified candidates him/herself. A knowledge deficiency of how personal beliefs impact how biased hiring decisions could create systemic problems as social expectations and reciprocal in-group advantages exclude some members of society.

The consequences?

Not much. The issue may have been going on for a long time and while the HR manager may not familiar with minorities the nature of the behavior could indicated a much bigger clan-social undo influence over local institutions. Yet when we are dealing with the needs of minorities that some encourage others to see as half citizens these rules sort become annoyances to be thrown in the trash and undermined. The consequences on the victims are dismissed just like the consequences to those who rely on such local institutions to strengthen our society.

(At this point you should be getting closer to understanding the potential uncalculated long tail costs of bigotry, racism, hate, and poor behaviors. There could be untold uncalculated costs.)

While it could be fixed in this hypothetical example there were no attempts to fix it so the targets must eat the costs of other's choices and failures which furthers apathy towards dysfunction. Likewise, the tax payers loose value, a chaos creating group is strengthened and general disrespect for the values of the institution encouraged. Because hiring practices are filtered through such decision makers the problem becomes pervasive on the entire organization and in many ways also the community. The customers of that institution don't get the benefit of the knowledge/skills learned from those seen socially as outsiders/undesirables. 

 (Examples like this help develop collective conscious awareness of poor group behaviors that create a framework for future victims in a way that helps better formulate their experiences. As a thought experiment it likewise helps explore potential solutions to long running problems. With higher values and a touch of integrity these types of situations would not persist.) 

If it was me, I might audit the hiring practices and ensure there is greater commitment to those values we all agree on. Not those values that some, not those values of these or those people but the values that are central to our future national health. i.e. basic social contracts rooted in our culture. It is beneficial to all of society to ensure that individuals and their social networks don't derail the needs of everyone else just to profit their social networks through exclusionary self-rewarding processes.

The other thing this institution might do is post on their webpage their hiring practices under Official and Unofficial practices. The Homogeneous Local Rumor Hate Based Hiring Method (HBHM) should be listed in the Unofficial Section and the legal practices in the Official Section. Therefore, when candidates are rejected, not based on skill or performance, they better understand why this is the case. It would likewise be helpful to the candidates for them to sort of realize that there may be different hiring rules and standards in this institution (or others) for employing out-group members that seek to work, volunteer, feed their families, participate, help, etc. (People who have experience of being recipients of hate and bigotry know how they must work 2 or 3X as hard to receive mediocre opportunities.) Research Discriminatory Hiring Trends

We also should consider reviewing the HBHM process to ensure it helps the institution and nation fulfill its goals and purpose. This can be especially true if hate narratives or false perceptions impact hiring and engagement in other local institutions. That might require comparing these Unofficial Hiring Practices to State and Federal guidelines to ensure that the wider stakeholders feel its a good way to manage their tax payer dollars. To me, all organizations should seek maximum outcome and performance to ensure they create a strength and health for a nation. Some might say, "If it ain't broken why fix it?" In this instance we might want to talk to many different stakeholders to see if HBHM is the best way to managed or does it seem to benefit some at the expense of others. OECD Human Capital and People Central Performance

Personally, I wouldn't advocate for the HBHM system because it would seem like it would not be helpful in the long run to these institutions, the stakeholders, and the competitive health of the rest of the nation. My opinion is usually sort of tossed out for wiser folks in society (We go back to that goal directed behavior idea). It could be just the socio hierarchical patterns who is and who isn't of particular value. Hopefully not, most likely not, but is it possible? In this long running example thought logic of discovery we just took the path less traveled...or we are just lost in the forest. Let your values be your guide out. 🤔 

A few questions:

1. If we have laws against hate does much of the bigotry and bias some members face more on a social level?

2. How might friendship nepotism impact the long term health of an organization or institution?

3. When hiring practices seem to differentiate on considerations not related to the position or its criteria should it be adjusted or changed? Are their moral implications for not changing if it is necessary?

4. How might anchoring of how we perceive social value in others considered out-group impact our daily choices and decisions without our conscious knowledge? 

5. What is unconscious bias and collective unconscious bias and how does that relate to this socially constructed symbolism of perceived social value? Could that have impact on society and its competitiveness as a whole?

6. Could unconscious bias impact the human capital in a nation and what might be the consequences of for future economic growth? Would that make a logical argument for hiring on merit, skill and character?

7. Can organizations outcomes be improved by hiring for skill and qualifications in alignment with their organizational missions and Federal and State law? How might an organization limit their adaptability and market relevance through nepotistic homogeneous hiring?

*This is just a hypothetical example for learning purposes only so take with a grain of sale. It is a type of thought experiment on freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Nothing is definitive and one must make their own conclusions of its value. Feel free to click off and enjoy your day. 

Sunday, June 23, 2024

Delta County (06/18/2024): Procedures, Airport, Trust Monies, Protecting Kids and Surveys

The Delta County Meeting appears to be moving a long just fine with lots of different things being discussed and tackled. Three of the five members are new so they are still finding their place and eventually will be in a groove. Generally, being in a groove means they understand the needs, mannerisms, and goals of each of the team members which allows for better crafting of ideas which then leads to decision outcomes. In any new social setting it creates some time to form the informal rules of a team that furthers symmetry (That is any new team). Here is something on Effective Management Teams

It would be nice if this new admin can reach out to Escanaba and Gladstone and see what type of projects they can do together, or pool resources, encourage investment/industry, entrepreneurship for the downtowns, tourism, and applying grant monies. Sometimes even coordinating services can help in reducing costs and improving outcomes. Not that it is fruitful always but the very nature of reaching out is a good will effort and more times than not likely to create positive returns and ideas.

-Complaint procedure revamped. A good idea especially if one has ideas or resources for the county that can be submitted in similar/same place. It creates a feedback loop with the community.

-Improving airport through larger planes and more volume. The point made about ports and airports makes sense as an avenue of attracting new business. i.e. distribution might be one. Also, we have underutilized rail in the area and possible industrial manufacturing capabilities. Not to mention entrepreneurial businesses and a small but possible to grow export market. 

-Michigan Trust Fund with monies available. I think entities in the area should use as much grants, investments, and other pools of money as possible. 

-Discussion on procedural rules. I guess there was a statement on a procedural mistake in removal of a person. It could happen, its a new board. 

-The community reaching out to vets for rentals, jobs and other things over the past few meetings. This is what we should be doing for our local vets. Votes come up for vets as well so we might consider supporting that as a community. 

-One of the commissioners visited a site that tries to help and protect children in the area. Child Advocacy Center. 200+ kids. Funded through grants and will be going away at some point. 

-A discussion on using surveys to see what the community wants. This is actually a pretty good idea. 

-Meeting with Billerud about plans for the future. It would be nice to have them further commit to the area and encouraged growth.

Saturday, June 22, 2024

Slavery was Bad for the Economy and so are Segregationists (A Commitment to Maximizing National Development)

I came across this article in the National Review that discusses slavery as bad for the economy and how removing it launched a 10-20% boom for the U.S. economy. Slavery Was Bad for the Economy In today's world most people look back on slavery and find that is was a horrendous act of false justifications for highly immoral and bankrupt ideology supported by corrupted souls. 

One could possibly further that argument because while slavery and official segregation has ended there are still segregationists still at work potentially restricting our economy from its full potential. History will likely look upon them as corrupted souls as well who misuse personal and ideological justifications to create social tiers of citizenship that holds the entire nation back. 

A reasonable argument might be that if we seek to maximize our human capital we have to do our best to ensure that all demographics are seen with equal rights and encourage them all to engage in as broad application of democracy and capitalism as possible. It is likely to occur within our lifetimes as a highly diverse generation begins to take leadership positions and push for greater national growth.

The young generation has the right values and skills and want to compete so we should remove the road blocks. 

The merit system with the understanding of the inequalities of life can ensure that those with skills are moving up the economic ladder and are not being dissuaded from full economic participation. The nation gets the best and brightest versus the most connected. Highly functional systems seek to maximize performance for the societal whole.

 Understanding poverty, discrimination, institutional reform, etc. are part of the process of ensuing people engage fully in social and economic life as possible. We should seek to truly reduce group think and develop access and avenues to full large scale national growth. New ideas bring innovation and adaptability (theoretically).

There are likely lots of people who disagree with that but it is a conversation; not a one sided one. I personally always ere on the side of fair and just treatment of everyone without an differentiations based on superficial characteristics that are not reflective of a persons soul, skills, and potentials. Segregationists in society, even when supported by groups, may be limiting our full national potential. 

What would the next potential boom look like if we fully universalized at a time when technology is coming online that creates whole economic platforms? What do you think? What leads to the highest competitive nation? Some of us love ideology and some of us love building great futures. What do you like and would like to see for our nation?

A Chapter on the Economies of Discrimination

*This article is designed to get you to think and is not definitive. 


Micro Aggressions, Gang Like Socialization to Minority Hate and a Pattern of Aggression Against Vulnerable Women (Update on Hate 06-22-24)

Over the past few days I came up with this narrative to sort of highlight a few concepts for an ongoing thought experiment seeking to find a logical path through important issues of the day (no conclusion has been drawn yet). This is just an example for learning purposes only so take with a grain of salt. A theoretical exploration flights of the mind. It is based on a hate group that navigates social and professional positions in order to target people in the community they do not like. That typically includes minorities, vulnerable women and people who disagree with poor treatment as out-group members. The new component to this example is multiple complaints of sexual aggressions against women and then silencing them through targeting as well as microaggressions against minorities in a coordinated attempt to remove them from public positions and public life. Let us contemplate the importance of integrity in our roles for a minute.

Off to the example....

A Hypothetical Example of Hate, Corruption and Sexual Aggression

This is an long running thought experiment example on how hate and criminal networks function in a practical manner. The hypothetical example included years long targeting against a racial and religious minority family (ies) (and others), community complaints, free passing/rewarding illegal behaviors, and concerns of not only civil rights violations but also sexual aggression against vulnerable women. Complaints by community members were shared and often retaliated against through street justice of aggression, potential violence, rumors, and constant harassment. 

Let's add a new component to this learning example to keep things lively! Overt aggressions stopped for a while and then came back into play with displays of dangerous aggressive posturing and microaggressions. The goal appears to be to continue to create personal and professional pressure/distress on the targets to remove them from public service through rudeness and mistreatment (other activities as well). Tracing back we find that each of the persons is connected to a similar group of people who may have been engaged in other illegal activities (socially, recreationally and professionally associated group.). It seems bizarre but history has shown its possible.

In the pressure to increase poor treatment of those who challenged poor behaviors there was an attempt to further hate narrative to belittle, embarrass and create social barriers for targets. Thus far in this example the general community has rejected hate but this group continues to do their best to further the hate divisions through dehumanizing narrative to gain followers. In hate there is a level of isolation that occurs so that eventually leads to even higher levels of aggression to violate civil rights to isolate social support. At this point the group in question engages in hate based behaviors on a micro level to avoid detention and being held to account.  These behaviors appear to be normalized and comingled with other potentially illegal behaviors. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

What makes this example more interesting is that there is also a type of sexual aggression in this hate network and risks of other types of corruption ranging from financial to legal. Some of these behaviors were reported prior, were known about for decades, and then came to light again once a number of victims collected evidence (These things should have been tackled a long time ago). Thus far in this example perpetrators have been relatively free to continue forward in their behaviors through a type of immunity. Likely, more issues and complaints will come forward that would show the folly of not standing by ones oaths, pledges, and Constitutional values. The difference between lip service in leadership and deeper values is based on what we do when we have to make a higher moral conscious choices. Preventing Hate Crimes in the Community and Process of Prejudice

Who are the Targets of Hate?

The targets can be any group that some members of society seek to marginalize and harm. In this example minorities  and vulnerable women were targeted. The bonus of exploiting power for sexual favors could be age related but potential learned from older group members. In this example racial, and religious minorities are the chosen targets but also concerns of coordinated sexual aggression against women in multiple incidents as indicated through rumor allegations of potential stalking of a young lady until she committed suicide. Other allegations by various female community members also came forward. Behaviors appeared to be well coordinated and knowledgeable in legal circumnavigation through a long history of what appears to be a lack of controls or checks-n-balances. Peer Sexual Aggressions Community complaints by various members were ignored, minimized, confidential complaint information shared to hate group members, and those who raised concerns targeted into silence, recipients of attempted violence and/or left the area. A type of culpability and negligence has formed. UN Who Are Targets of Hate? 

Why People Join Hate Groups?

A discussion wouldn't be complete without understanding what some of the potential reasons why they join these groups. People may join such nefarious groups for a lot of reasons but it could be socially encouraged through friend networks, gang/ corrupt network affiliations and even occupational misperceptions. It would appear that those who have joined these extreme networks have done so based on a difficult backgrounds and troubles navigating their own personal values. Others may have joined to fit in with the "in-group" members. I have seen people who have very difficult backgrounds and they do not join hate groups so there is likely social and personal influences on why people in this instance do join. In this case each new member appears to be socialized into a friend group based on their value in official positions (Its one explanation). They then begin to adapt the manners and aggressions toward the targets learned through this socialization process making them increasingly mixed between official behaviors and unofficial bigotries. Why People Join Hate Groups

Coordinated Hate and Hate Group Frequency: 

The amount  or size of hate groups in an area could have an impact on the health of local citizens and their potential to be valuable contributors to society or develop the skills they need to be successful in life. i.e. the women whom may have been traumatized or minorities that have been targeted. The psychological impact on these groups can be profound. The risks that such groups normalize such behaviors and apply them from other places, or visa versa, to target out group members and create undo stress/pressure/intimidation. Human capital would naturally be impacted the more people who feel social stress and are blocked from opportunities. The more hate groups (I would suspect also volume of hate behaviors) in concentration then the more people are marginalized and sideline leading to larger loss in economic and social engagement.  Hate Groups as a System

A Few Key Points:

-Hate groups are often social in nature and run around racial, religious, financial, and even sexual interests. 

-Official functions can be impacted by unofficial hate groups/gangs.

-There are few checks-n-balances to such groups. The needs of the community become secondary to the needs of corrupted officials. It would appear in this example senior leaders knew of the behaviors and gave a passing sign.

-Decades of complaints by various community may have been ignored indicating a systemic problem. It appears that not only did they potentially protect the criminal element but went further and fostered it leading to many more victims.

-There is a type of sexual aggression and violence in such groups who have access to power and feel free to misuse that institutional power for personal and group/gang benefit. 

-Social groups and official groups can sometimes coordinate to silence whistle blowers. Retaliation is common. Multiple publicly recorded complaints by numerous people appeared to be swept under the carpet for racial, religious, and political affiliations (That would be pretty bad if true but this is just a hypothetical example.). 

-There are waves of hate and in this thought experiment we are on the 4th wave. Thus far perpetrators have been considered immune despite the many witnesses, evidence, and complaints. A culture of corruption seems to have formed among some connected officials and they work actively to protect those networks and the benefits of being in such a network. 

-Vast majority of officials act with honor and integrity but the ongoing efforts of this group stain the honor of the occupation and lower institutional trust.

-Using official positions for unofficial actions seeking to remove minorities from public service through coordinated cleansings and exploit those positions for self and group gain.  More victims keep coming forward but their rights seem to be sidelined. 

-Aggressive and rude behaviors are designed to make the environment unwelcoming, toxic and seek to provoke conflict with targets and then use that as further excuses to ramp up pressure on targets. In this example the targets have been nothing but polite and professional to repeated insults and risky behaviors (perhaps even intentionally so). Some senior officials seem to be aware of the behaviors as a tool to justify illegal behaviors (not all but a few). 

-Members are socializing other members to group expectations on how to treat minorities, circumventing laws, avoiding detection, sexual beliefs towards vulnerable women, and how to view the larger general community that are not associated with the "in group" (i.e. better than thou).

-General disrespect for veterans and disdain for the spirit of laws. A type of lawlessness and disrespect toward what made this country great. Partially protected by outside stakeholders who hold similar views. 

-Sociologically in past failure to correct behaviors of rogue officials reflected negatively on all sympathetic associates and in extreme cases resulted in large scale public backlash and moral outcry. A wider implication of not orienting true north and aggressive attitude toward some Americans. i.e. second class citizens (This is just an example for learning purposes but it is important to note some historical ramifications and beliefs in the wider population of protecting human and civil rights. One need not agree or disagree to understand the risks of unchecked extremism, corruption and hate behaviors. In a reverse situation  the in group members become out group members when the lens gets wider.)

-A level of education and reform may be needed to protect the public and reorient the understanding and values of a few rogue elements. The public being of seemingly less concern than the perpetrators.

-No easy to use method of community members lodging complaints. A type of lack of recourse through government because the needs of the community seem to be secondary. An easy complaint form and independent review should be some of the first things thought of when improving an organization.

-Outside oversight may be necessary to stop further aggressions against minorities, women, those who lodged complaints, and targeted members of the community. Some of these local networks have shown they can't manage themselves in alignment with their stated purposes.

-There could be wider environmental content of dismissive unamerican attitude toward the Constitution, civil/human rights, and the intent of law.  Rolling eyes on rights and constant racially charged language in such networks.

*This is a hypothetical example for learning purposes only. It is a thought experiment on freedom of speech and religion so take with a grain of salt. You need not draw any conclusions and nothing is definitive because each person see what they want to see. It is about exploration of solutions only as development opportunities.