Policing - The Good & The Bad

Two more terrible incidents of black men being shot and there are many, too many more that happen on a pretty regular basis. Hands up, you get shot. When your handcuffed, you get shot. You get put on the ground with a foot on your neck and you get shot. What should black men do? What should parents tell their sons to do?

There are good cops and we all know it. There are great cops and we know it. But how can this continue to happen? What is the culture that allows it to happen? The other reality is that when people do speak up, or when they do protest, or when anger spills over onto the street, agitators and thugs get blamed. Protesters are marginalized and spoken down to by people in power.

I worked for many years supporting people with disabilities. When system problems occurred, regulators and government officials were quick to implement mandates. They ranged from training to reporting policies and procedures. They also became universal requirements for all providers. Some of this was good and needed and some of it was overkill and stupid. What strikes me though is that when we know we have a national problem of black men being shot and killed by those in authority, it seems like a national solution is necessary. I wonder why there isn't a push for every police agency in the country to immediately provide training and retraining on use of force and racial and minority interactions. Every police agency, within a reasonable period, needs to retrain current officers on these issues, tactics and relationships.

We have to pay attention to this. We have to do something. An approach mandating training/retraining could save some lives.

In Charlotte, NC, I listened today to the police chief state unequivocally that the victim in the police shooting had a gun and the officer who shoot him felt endangered. When pressed about videos of the incident, the police chief stated that the portions he had viewed did not show a gun but there was more to be reviewed. Where then did the facts come from? Witness and police accounts I would presume but can't he or the mayor understand the questions raised by such strong statements knowing that there is more video to be reviewed. In addition, a position is being taken that the video evidence can't or won't be released because it is part of an investigation. It is also an opportunity for transparency.

None of this started tonight. There is a long history that people have experienced. People are angry and frustrated and officials believe a show of force will quell the anger. Police and protesters confront each other and we all wait and hope for de-escalation. I have respect for all of them, the good police, trying to keep a city safe and keeping peace - and the protesters angry and hurting. People want justice, transparency and accountability.

It Is The Changing Economy Stupid!

There are lots of people focused on the presidential election and defeating Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. We will survive Trump and Clinton, but what will we do afterward? What will we do when manufacturing jobs never return, which is the unspoken reality? What do we do when the economic bleeding continues and more jobs are lost as computers begin to talk in real human voices and take over service jobs in the insurance and financial sectors? How do we cope with less people working and less income being shared? When will we realize that the whole college experience doesn't require bricks and mortar and many thousands of dollars every year to support that infrastructure? Why do we allow local and state governments to invest billions in economic development plans and marketing that don't recognize the new realities of markets, jobs and workforce challenges? These are all serious questions that honestly, we should be discussing during this election cycle, but we can't because the media is forced or perhaps chooses to cover goofs, blunders and lies. We also don't because we choose not to face many of these realities. We want to believe in the past and past successes.

The economy really is one of the most critical issues facing all of us. It is also the issue that has a large portion of the electorate angry and feeling taken advantage of and left out. Its really the majority of the anger we see at rallies and events. But who's dealing with it? It's hardly discussed or if it is, the hopes of past economies are brandished. We really need smart conversations about new economies, globalization, education, job preparation and shifting roles and new vocations. I don't see it happening soon enough. Most elected officials still believe in the past. Many educators still belief in traditional models of learning and teaching. But some day fairly soon, the reality is likely to hit us in the back of the head. Hopefully it won't be too late for the change that will be necessary.

The Economy of Seneca Lake

I've written before about Seneca Lake here in the Finger Lakes of New York State. I've written about her beauty, her depth, her recreational assets and her threats or stress.

I recently attended the annual meeting of the Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association where reports on the health of the lake were given and discussed. I've also been attending a number of meetings as a member of the public of the Seneca Lake Inter-Municipal Organization. The latter group is an attempt to bring all of the municipalities that share the waterfront of Seneca Lake together to work on cooperative actions relative to the protection and stewardship of the watershed. It's a great idea and effort but participation by the 40 or more municipal entities surrounding the lake has been difficult to organize between time constraints, meeting schedules and priority setting.

Seneca Lake, according to experts, is in a very slow recovery from an enormous amount of sodium that entered the water sometime in the mid sixties to the early seventies. The recovery is part of a natural flushing that will take years to complete. At the same time Seneca is being threatened by increased phosphorus levels primarily from agricultural expansion and practices on the land above the lake. These levels have lead to the threat and reality of increasing instances of blue green algae, a dangerous pea green slime that can cause serious health threats to animals and humans.

Few people really seem to grasp the economic impact of Seneca Lake on the region. This impact is broad and huge in scope - from tourism to scenic vistas, fisheries to wineries, hotels and restaurants. Yet one of the biggest economic drivers, real estate and real estate taxes from lakefront residences is hardly ever discussed. Elected officials, economic developers and Chambers of Commerce keep looking for that brass ring of more, more and more development. Sadly, they don't seem to realize that their biggest cash generator, property taxes on lake front properties, is or could be threatened by both green blue algae or another huge influx of sodium into the lake.

It really is about time for economic developers, Chamber presidents and lake experts to sit down in a room together and really learn about and discuss solutions to the problems that the lake faces. Everyone needs to work together on this and the sooner the better.

US Congress Lack of Accountability In Presidential Elections

It's pretty amazing that neither candidates, party officials, the media or the electorate are very vocal about the US Congress' responsibility for little action on lots of issues in our country. Both candidates rant and rave about how bad things are and what hasn't been done. The reality is that Congress has a huge role in helping to make things happen or in finding ways to obstruct. Presidents can lead or try to lead but whoever they are, they need willing partners in the governing process.

I think one of the biggest problems that our country faces, is that whoever wins this election, the healing, the negotiation, the compromise is going to continue to be missing. That will cause more of the same gridlock that we have all become so use to and so frustrated with.

Representative government does have its downside. There are finite numbers of Senators and House Members. These folks can work at getting along or as we have all seen, they can shut everything down both literally and figuratively. In that process, they do us all a disservice. They, the current Members of Congress, are more responsible for the current political environment then anyone else.

Frankly I'm surprised that more people aren't calling them out, including the candidates, party leadership and us, the voters.

I recently edited this entry to include this link to a long but good article that speaks to the issue above How Washington Blew Its Chance To Fix Immigration