Annexation of Parts of Ukraine Has Longer Term Implications

Annexation of Ukraine is an important point in history and while it has been discounted by some it comes with its own long term significance.  Most historians are likely to say such annexation wasn't legitimate. They will also likely bring in certain aspects of a broader historical timeline into their discussion. In hindsight, current events are seen through the context of past in a way that sheds light on motivations and behaviors.

Russia is using false justification of self-defense which likely gives Putin some additional powers to lock down the decision making of the nation. During "war time" or in "defense of the homeland" puffery, one is likely to get more powers to increase control on the Russian population to fight off internal descent, more control over resources and create a level of perceptual support for his actions. 

Putin is a sly fox with experience in the dark arts of manipulation so he is all about creating false justifications and leverage. "Defending the homeland" gives him additional war powers that he can use to create that internal leverage. We should not expect him to just leave because his army becomes routed. He might ratchet up his efforts to create the Iron Curtain to isolate Russia more to allow for a level of nation building and internal industry protection. 

(However some of the fundamentals might not be there anymore so it will come with longer term risks of another collapse.)

I think he is the type who loved the Cold War and really doesn't like democracy or free markets very much. He likely blames such markets for the Soviet fall. However, that isn't true as from my understanding of history the USSR was collapsing already well before they reformed. Reform was born out of necessity and social pressure. Much of our generation remember watching the news when the country collapsed and with many had hopes Russia could be brought into the fold of positive international engagement. Right now that feels a long way off.

*adjusted 10/27/2023 to ensure the message is clearer. I got confused by reading my own writing. 

Why Forgiveness and Not Forgetfulness is Important in Hate (Essential American Values)

 We are still one nation but we do run risks in the future as Far Right extremists call for Civil War and local corruption violates peoples rights. I'm the type of person that fights for togetherness and I encourage people to work out their differences. There are so many people trying to "pull the wool" over each other's eyes seeking some advantage for their particular cause. 

Because of people's agendas the right thing doesn't always come through. When you do and say the most reasonable thing and it falls flat on its face your realize something is not right. 

This crowd of "super cools" put me and my family at risk, lied about a great many things to defame, had financial incentives for engaging in these behaviors, and could have really hurt someone (...my son being one of them. Who gave them the right to make choices over others? I didn't give it to them and I'm going to do my best to ensure the courts don't give it to them.) They were intentionally harmful and destructive! Simply, giving them a free pass based on their social connections, race-religion, or any other superficial difference is against everything I think is appropriate and in line with our American values.

(Not the values many of our politicians profess but the real one's that connect generation to generation.)

I have advocated for positive change in ways that help resolve the problem for the long term future. The people who started this likely have mental health issues (One was already diagnosed and the other two need to be evaluated) and their close police friends (not the 90% of good officers) that engaged in coordinated targeting crossed some important civil rights boundaries (...and truth boundaries). I have advocated for group learning, help for the perpetrators, and a correction of that department so as to protect the public from future defaults. 

The problem we face is that if a local judge views themselves as extensions of this group and wants to please only a small fraction of their stakeholders we have bigger issues that federal or state courts should intervene. Bias is when a local judge comes down to the same conclusion every time regardless of fact and events. In other words, they are potentially misusing the law to protect their "in-group" consciously or unconsciously (Whether that is some misperceived notion of "local"/social, race, religion, politics or other. In this case its likely social, race, and religion oriented. However, I'm never 100% sure and we have to wait to see how things ferret out. I could be wrong but I think there was a lot of bad things on in the background and a judge would be the person who could have held them to account. The initial chase stopped but it appeared this group had an "understanding" and moved into micro aggressions where the law has a hard time regulating. The problem was that some of the initial behavior almost caused violence more than once and further encouraged local corruption.).

I'm not sure how anyone else views it but we started this country based on freedom of religion because people suppressed our forefathers. After the American Revolution we created doctrines that protect religious freedom and freedom of speech. We are now in a spot where life (my families life), liberty (the right to not be attacked by bigots or their police extension), and pursuit of happiness (not to be harassed, have things stolen, or have names smeared by bigots) are either lived values or just hypothetical in orientation.

I hope that these words still mean something to the many people that have fought for them (That includes myself). Right now....I'm not sure that is the case. 😥  Me, I will continue to peacefully push for a stronger, better, and more functionable nation that has a higher purpose than extremism, hate, clan or even political loyalties. Our politicians and our judges will have to determine what is most important to them. It comes down to their essential value system on a deep neural level (i.e. what defines them). Before they jump to a quick conclusion remember what is most important in the long run for their stakeholders.  

"...the unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates.

Local Judicial, Law Enforcement and Hate Group Corruption: Ensuring Checks-n-Balances

If you have been targeted by a couple of local police officers, your underage children pulled over multiple times in an unmarked car, a police car parked outside your home, your children targeted for manipulation, a large group of people pick fights and spread rumors to damage you, lost opportunity that the local college said you were "more than qualified" for, there would be a serious break in the legal structure if such behaviors were given a free pass. Looks like a local prosecutor was muted in their investigation of this group (I cant say that 100% but there is some indication they left the area for that reason. Even if not true it detracts nothing from what I have seen.) Worse, as this group was trying to set you up by staging undercover police (These police figured out what they were being manipulated and stopped. They are the good police.) they came to you and said, "We are doing this to you because your family is Muslim" we have what would normally be considered hate crimes of the worst type. Serious Federal and International Law violations.  Lack of enforcement is different than being a violation.

Lack of respect for the Constitution (freedom of religion and speech), children's rights, and the very purpose of law enforcement. First, let me say I support 90% of our law enforcement officials who are doing the right thing. However, when law enforcement engages in criminal corruption with the support of a local judge and group of hate supporters that is a different story. These judges shame the bench, shame good officers, shame the sacrifices of others and lower the perceived value the entire legal institution (This is why corrupt judges should be removed). 

We are down to some very fundamental things as it relates to the purpose of our nation and democracy. We started this country because of the need of these freedoms (i.e. religious persecution in Europe), my family has sacrificed for those freedoms, I have sacrificed for those freedoms, and others have sacrificed for those freedoms. For a corrupt group of bigots to throw that away simply because they want to "protect their own" as "locals" (Not defined by our genetic longevity in the area which is longer than most of theirs.) is unconscionable! 

Its a break in inherent value because you can't get around it and you can't justify it. Outside Federal and State stakeholders must come in and enforce our Federal laws. Without that the risks to my family and to myself continue to rise. No matter which way you slice or dice the law the behaviors I have seen cannot be justified through evidence in any third world nation nor in any first world nation. They didn't align to the prior immunity and coaching before they started nor the free pass after they ended (Its not actually over. With a free pass they will be back at it again.)

While I will be polite, positive, engaging and walk boldly in the middle of this agressive clan network, I will continue to walk in ways that help my community I will not be silent in the face of dangerous corruption. I have no doubt that talking in ways that challenge embedded hate where people have already shown the propensity to abuse power will likely result in increased corruption and targeting. I suspect they will eventually succeed in constructing a reason to violate more laws and rules. However, what kind of nation would we be if we accept local corruption as legitimate?

I want my kids to live in a free nation as it was supposed be beyond the lip service of many of our politicians. I want other minorities and people that hate groups like this don't like (based on their own false perceptions of entitlement) to live free without coordinated aggression. There are other needs of the community for protection this judge and associated officers can no longer provide. The proof is in the pudding. We either a free nation or we are not a free nation? Placing politics and/or disparately applying the law to protect one's own ethnic, racial, religious, or political group sort of answers that question. We must be better then the lowest possible position.

I have no doubt in the long run that I will win over this hate but I will likely go through another period of targeting, aggression and potential violence. Not because I'm an optimist but because the behaviors were so egregious, so dishonest, so inherently dangerous that simply pretending they didn't happen is also dangerous. I believe the facts cant be hidden.  I'm doing the right thing by having the adult maturity and the appropriate understanding of the purpose of our Constitution to put my hand up again and say "No!" We must protect the rights of our citizens and people. That includes me even if this group hates Muslims (Just listen to them and you will find they hate anyone not like themselves but they are stuck in a dysfunctional group with inappropriate values.), hates me, and thinks my kids are "nigga babies". 

This is just a local judge helping his "local" buddies with no consideration for the valid application of law. When the perks of the job and the nice suits become more important than the very purpose of the job then wider stakeholders must step in and make a correction. You see how quickly systems break down when you devalue the lives of citizens because they are seen as "the other". They become nonfunctional and/or functionable only for certain people. What happened to the concepts of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness? It looks like in some place that is only for certain clan affiliates. 

(Side note. How this turns out should be of interest to politicians, government administrators, and the American populace.  If such behaviors are allowed it should send a shiver down your spine. It would mean something is seriously broken and we may need to think about how those laws might apply to coordinated hate against their own families. If it is acceptable in one place it can become acceptable in another. Americans need to stick together against the illegitimate legitimization of hate, corruption and extremism in public positions of authority where they put everyone at risk. We either are or we are not what we profess. It is a choice. My loyalties are to my oaths/country, my God, my family and my community.  

To many others their loyalties are to themselves and their social group often defined by racial, religious, social and political factors. Whether far R or far L there should be certain agreed upon principles. At present seems like there are no laws and no moral conscious in place. It does not bode well for the nation if corruption like this is happening across other small towns throughout America. It is what it is!  Doors close to justice but maybe others may open. I never thought selling out your values and your people was so fashionable! Nothing I say at the moment will make much difference but I will now likely say it for the rest of my life until this moral and legal failure is corrected. It is fundamental to our national values. This group has been sent a message that their behavior was acceptable as long as its against the "wrong" type of people. We should see this behavior rear its head again in the future due to lack of checks-n-balances. This would not have been here if the court would have done their job in the first place. 🤷‍♂️ Even though I have asked for a win-win that helps the perpetrators and the community those comments fall on deaf ears. There appears to be more effort in protecting one's clan than one's country or the universal understand of the laws people believe in.)

NSA Employee Arrested Trying to Pass Documents to Russia

So an NSA employee gets caught trying to sell documents to Russia. You can read the FBI charges. Ok first, it sort of sucks that people are selling out their country for Russia. Money is awesome and 85K is a lot of money but that money can go quick! Doesn't really seem like such an incentive for such a horrendous act....maybe there was more motivation.

I wonder if people who fall prey to temptation in a way that cancels their oaths have serious debt or other issues that make them sort of soft. For example, maybe they are gamblers or have lots of other debt. I wonder what drives someone to sort of take that low amount and then in turn sell out their country? No amount of money can be worth your integrity!

What concerns me most is that people are willing to sell out everything for another country's needs. Especially a country we are in conflict with! As we move into the neuroeconomic choice of benefit and risk are they not considering how selling out one's nation will fundamentally change them the rest of their lives? It will be a stain on how that person views themselves; assuming they have normal psychological needs.

Either way a few questions sort of popped up in my head...

1.) Are they connected to a more important network? It likely means someone else got caught somewhere. Who or Whom?

2.) What other information has the person already passed on to foreign agents at other times?

3.) What type of protections/trips can the NSA put in place to uncover/discover these networks and highlight them for exposure?

GDP Show US Staying Steady?

 Interesting....

Escanaba Special Council Meeting Sept. 26th, 2022: Waiting for Development

I would agree with one thing. If projects don't start happening soon it will become increasingly difficult to make them work out as planned. When the iron is hot, it should be struck to start other investments. If it cools then you may loose out on other future investments. They should be reasonable but move at a faster pace and cut as much red tape as possible.

What Corruption Does to the Trust in Law and Its Application?

Law enforcement has an important function in our lives and must maintain certain standards and rights to ensure public trust and public support. Sometimes because law enforcement associates with certain groups they run the risk of warping the law to help these friends and associates. Sometimes groups carry racial and religious bias and when they begin to do bad or illegal things there are very few protections in place to help the chosen targets. In worse case scenarios, it creates a type of cleansing we see in lesser developed nations that can have a serious impact on the future health and vibrancy of our communities. 

Cleansing is a concept that means if you are an "undesirable" based on superficial reasons you, your children, your rights, your property, your contributions and everything about you is discounted. When socially supported by a Good Old Boy network the risks become serious (Think of how war torn countries are carved up by these networks comprised of racial, religious, social, political or tribal affiliations). It creates physical and social risks based on group discounting of life. 

When someone's life is seen as having inherently less value because of these racial and religious considerations, problems begin to rise because natural limits are broken through group disbursement of responsibility. When a larger group of supporters begin to support that blind hate without critical thinking it can lead to all types of potential violence and corruption (The sad thing is that most of the members are good people but when in a large group, mixed with some aggressive personalities, they begin to accept what is unacceptable. While they don't recognize it, none of it has any real reflection or connection to the targets. It is the internal distorted conversation and logic the group uses to control their environment/community through public bullying and "judgey" disdain. The problem is they can't see the negative aspects of their behaviors and in turn are not able to self manage. So while group members may be our friends and relatives there are certain social characteristics that must change before their immature childishness get someone hurt.). 

What I have learned after having my family (both kids and myself) become targets of hate is that the laws break down quickly under certain circumstances. While mental health, racial, religious, financial, and "better than you" aspects initially launched the problem the rest of this 100+ group (including a couple of law enforcement officers) followed suit in aggression. 

If you were on the receiving end and have had your kids pulled over by police 2X (Not to mention the car parked outside my home, being followed home, having lights flashed and other issues), intentionally manipulated, people pick fights with you, publicly mock you, been rejected for jobs, and have not a single person within that group stand up against cleansing behaviors, you will gain a new perspective. You adapt, learn and grow. While most officers are awesome people you learn it only takes an embedded network, a local judge, and a large group of hate supporters to break a system. 

Even after the storm has cleared and their behavior is well known, the risks still reside with the targets (...and their lower perceived value). We run the risk that if my dark skinned kids come into the area again they may be targeted by hate sympathizers or extreme oriented law enforcement personal (This doesn't reflect on the 90%+ good officers that know the bigger purpose of their jobs. They are assets to the community and it is a good opportunity for them to learn how things are seen from different angles. This situation is a win-win for good officers but creates a more challenging situation for those who did not do "the right thing".) Likewise, I can't guarantee someone is not going to get drunk and pick yet another argument. So it doesn't end just because you have exposed, challenged and thwarted bad behaviors to help your community and protect your family from corruption. Intimidation will continue to be part of the game. So I walk boldly in the town, obvious, and easy to find....because mastering extremism is about mastering fear (A lesson some of our politicians should learn. You must stand on your principles and not on your networks.). 

Everything we learned about the Constitution, all the sacrifices my grandparents, myself, and the rest of society made to ensure we have basic rights mean nothing in these situations. The only thing that counts is the wishes of a few distorted souls and their very close group of hate supporters. If this is happening throughout our nation, and there are no checks and balances, I believe someday its going to cause a major split. A break that can't be mended because local systems (It seems like the national systems are sort of functioning) will occur based on necessities. 

You can't really go back to before the cleansing behaviors broke out. The hate supporters will say "hi" and you will say "hi" back but deep down you now have insight (Insight they don't have about themselves). You know who they are, and their potential, behind the fake smiles. They threw everything they could at you, got as many people angry as they could and you know they are still clueless as to why they hate you. Being bested doesn't change that for them. Without genuine learning they are still a risk to others unless there are checks and balances between law enforcement and these groups (If their friends in law enforcement would have done the right thing they would not have coached them on how to set someone up, would not have carried these distortions into the "legitimate" realm, and would have told them to be polite and mind your own business.). You know that under certain circumstances out of your control you could easily be here again in a few years if the socialized acceptance of hate again tries to touch your kids or future grand kids because they don't have the right skin color or religion (Not that this group even has a clue about my religion, my kids religion or the essentials of their own religion.). 

Ever after being targeted I will continue to support the awesome people in the community, be polite but not passive, open to reconciliation, but will not sugar coat what happened here. It is too too important for society and we must learn how systems default when there are few local protections against projected hate. It is also a reason why in Michigan and the nation needs to get a better handle on extremism, hate, and mental health (So far falling on deaf ears even though we have seen politicians, officials and others targeted. Guess its still not that important? 🤷) 

We have obligations to our society beyond ensuring we don't crack fragile egos or bend a knee to self interest and intimidation.