mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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Stairway To Ethical Heaven
August 31, 2016
— 1 Comment
Fraud Triangle
There is an ethical ladder that ascends to the highest moral code. As children we should be taught how to climb that ladder by example. Unfortunately many children are witnesses to adult misbehavior that leads them to cling to a low rung on the ladder. As we go through life we respond to situations according to our ethical code. There is a sliding scale for moral fortitude, depending on the difficulty of the stand, or the popular opposition to the truth. It is obviously easier to go along with the crowd no matter what they do. People who stay down at that level just want to not make waves. They do not consider how they contribute to the morality of the entire world.
At the bottom of the ethical stairway is only one consideration:
- Will I get caught? This is where people in grade school reside.
If we mature we start to realize there could be more:
- How does my behavior effect others? This usually comes as a hard lesson.
As educated adults participating in a community we may start to notice:
- What would the world be like if everyone acted like this?
On which rung do you live most of your life, gentle reader? I encourage you to take the highest ground possible, not just for yourself, but for the entire world.
Compromise Triangle
Say It In Latin, Quid Pro Quo
August 23, 2016
a rose is a rose
The phrase quid pro quo literally means something for something in Latin. When it was first used in the English language it referred to substitution of one medicine for another. The apothecary who switched the patient’s remedy for another one may have acted out of ignorance, or may have done so intentionally. Fraud may be involved in a quid pro quo arrangement, but it is not necessarily mendacious or premeditated. It merely suggests an exchange. There are plenty of beneficial exchanges and trades, so why does this term sound so creepy and illicit?
The usage extended from the pharmacy into legal matters. In this case the exchange of one thing for another may be used for favors, appropriate or inappropriate. Now it is common to use this phrase when we suspect some kind of financial hanky panky that smells like an illegal deal. Ponzi schemes and predatory lending might fall into this category. The Clinton Foundation has been in the news recently for possibly giving favors for donations. The issue is in the intent of both givers. If they both intend to evade the law through the trade, they may be acting criminally. I am sure this is hard to prove in court, but it is done all the time, nonetheless.
In personal business we have quid pro quo understandings with bosses, landlords, colleagues, and clients. It is good to examine them carefully to be sure that you have not entered an agreement that you can’t or don’t want to fulfill. There are both written and unwritten contracts that bind people. Healthy happy something for something trades are good for the community. Can you think of both good and bad examples from your past? If you are a good judge of character (caveat emptor) and value you can make sure you get a fair deal. Pay attention to the deals you make, gentle reader, and what you accept in trade.
a rose is a rose
#TheTruthMatters Power and Authority
August 17, 2016
— 1 Comment
LBJ
I have been watching the HBO John Adams series about the American Revolution and the first American continental congress in Philly. It helps me see that our politicians are not in the worst situation in our history. Neither are they less favorably aligned than in the nation’s past. This congress we have today is about the same as all ruling bodies have always been, since the Roman Senate. The use of power by humans on earth has been punctuated with misery and cruelty. Conquest, political or military, has been imposed on nations, colonies, and entire continents. War and Peace have hung in the balance more times than we know, but always for the same reasons. War is an archetypal situation that repeats itself.
When we say history repeats itself we mean that archetypal events continue to occur. In the arch of recorded history we have seen the pendulum of power swing from feudalism to anarchy. Leaders have been both born and created in the struggle to survive. We think of those leaders as the representatives of the entire culture, but they may merely be the most famous. We know less about how the common person lived than we do about the fancy and well born. I know this very well from my study of my own ancestry. I learn more all the time about America by studying my ancestors’ lives. None of my forefathers was famous during the American Revolution, but many did fight in it. Power does flow through the events of man, but my religious ancestors would all say that fate is sealed by divine providence. Man is just a player on the eternal stage.
Being Authentic
August 16, 2016
— 8 Comments
I am hearing the same message from all the books and posts I read these days. In a world that conforms all too easily it is essential to be particularly true to one’s self. My teacher Chris Brogan just hit me this morning with some excellent thoughts on what is lost when one fits in with the crowd these days. Popularity and authenticity are not the same thing, and sometimes are completely opposed to each other. Our politics reflect a chaos and lack of discipline that runs through society. Mob mentality seems to be taking over our thinking in America.
I wonder if we can step back and take individual action to change the crazy status quo in our country. I wonder if we can stand up for law and order and for justice at the same time. We have reached a tipping point that demands we be awake and aware of the reality we are creating. What do you think, gentle reader? Obviously vote. What else can we do?
The Fine Line Between Culture and Cult
August 10, 2016
— 2 Comments
Originals by Adam Grant
I am listening to the book Originals by Adam Grant. This audio book is the second of my free treats in the 3 month Audible subscription I have initiated. I am employing Alexa in the Echo to read the book to me at home. When I go to the gym I switch to the iPod or iPad for a workout. The system knows how to bookmark my last page and start in that spot without a hitch. This is fun for now, but I don’t see myself keeping the membership for the extra $15 a month. You still have to purchase the audio books beyond that basic dues payment. I like it as a temporary novelty, but I still have some of my favorite books on audio CD, which is the only way I can listen in my car.
I love the theory as well as the writing in this book. The way originality develops and makes change possible in the world is a subject this author has studied from many perspectives. His many concrete examples of entrepreneurs who both fail and succeed to execute meaningful change help the reader understand how power and status quo operate. The common beliefs that great risk and speed are the keys to cultural change are disproven with real stories. Procrastination may well be the innovator’s best friend. By waiting for the first line to fail in various ways, the second line is an a much better position to correct mistakes while proving the need for the same innovations. “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives, and in his own household.” Mark 6:4
Birth order and other lifestyle factors are studied as possible catalysts for becoming a meaningful leader. Groupthink is the enemy of originality. When non-conformists are able to use influence to create a change in culture, in business or in politics, it is because the original has learned to open a cultural mentality, destroying the myth of the cult. Even in our fast-changing world with innovation running copiously toward individualization status quo is still the strongest force.
Leadership and Rotten Apples
July 28, 2016
— 1 Comment
badge
The theories used to administer law enforcement agencies have changed with the times. The current political climate demands a thorough examination of the criminal justice system from top to bottom. The DOJ’s 21st Century Guidelines are a step in the right idealistic direction. Much thought has been put into the basic “pillars” of law enforcement best practices. The country seems to be more divided each day on the subject of police relationships with the public. Some paint the entire force as rotten based on the criminal behavior now available for broadcast to the world. Others advocate for support for the cops no matter what they are doing. The second group always refers to a few rotten apples, but they never mention the rest of the proverb…a few rotten apples spoil the whole barrel. Staying with the fruit analogy, I think it is the responsibility of the administrators of cities to responsibly go through the barrels on a regular basis to assure that the law enforcement culture is not rotten.
The war on drugs has not only given us an opiate addicted society, but also great opportunity for the most common kinds of corruption to flourish. Arizona is a wild west state famous for “conservative” law enforcement, al estilo de Joe Arpaio. Indeed, Arizona has had some famous historical stand offs around law and order. The Gunfight at the OK Corral was exactly that. Doc and Wyatt are symbols of everything we love about Tombstone and the legends too tough to die. After the Earps and Doc shot the Clantons they high tailed it to Tucson, and the rest is history. The Arizona Rangers were founded in Tombstone during the Territory days, and still have a proud tradition, although today they are a volunteer organization. It is a serious challenge to maintain the proud traditions and, at the same time, be vigilant of corruption. It is not a black and white question.
How do you feel, gentle reader? Do you think there is a problem with individual cops, or with the leadership? Or do you feel everything is going well with the criminal justice system right now?
Ranger history
Doc and Wyatt
Resisting Evidence
July 23, 2016
— 3 Comments
babes of justice
What is the opposite of resisting arrest? The cops resisting citizens who want to present evidence to stop crime is that. I have spent almost a decade trying to stop the obvious crime in my immediate neighborhood. This has turned out to be an illusive dream because I could not manage to show the TPD the evidence. Once this had been going on for a few years, we were then subjected to a fake neighborhood watch for the sole purpose of willfully denying crime is crime. This proved the point that crime left to fester just get worse. Now we were forced to keep all the crime in place, and pay taxes to support a fraudulent neighborhood watch. Everything has gone in the opposite direction of justice. We have been forced to keep the crime we have (which is significant) by a completely clueless system designed to serve and protect us. You don’t have to be shot in the back by the cops to have your life ruined by their dishonesty.
Finally, about a month ago I physically took the evidence to the station for the captain to review. During the month nobody has contacted me or informed me at all. This week TPD sent 3 cops to my house to ask what is happening, as if this is the first time they have heard of this. I showed them the evidence I still had at the house and told this very long complicated story one more time. They did not understand and asked me to call 911 if the ongoing financial fraud continued. This is not a realistic way to stop financial fraud.
Still TPD is completely silent. I told them I am not at all comfortable leaving that evidence at the station since the captain is on vacation, and he is specifically the only one I can trust. Silence. I fully expect that evidence to disappear at the Midtown police station and the whole 10 years of obstruction of justice to be swept under the table. We hear about corruption in government, but I have lived through a decade of it at the most extreme levels. These people aren’t even in collusion. They are simply clueless, too clueless to even collude. This is the scariest discovery I have made. They don’t intend to prevaricate. They just have no contact with reality. This corrupt bubble must be broken for the safety of us all.
Wearing the Bulletproof Vest
July 10, 2016
— 1 Comment
Oakmont police force 1947
When I was growing up in a small suburb of Pittsburgh my town had a small police department. Oakmont was so small that neighborhood policing was natural, as well as the only option. Everyone knew everyone’s business and everyone’s children. The photo above of the 1947 Oakmont force with the mayor was only a few years before I took up residence in the town. This was taken, no doubt, on Memorial Day after the parade at the cemetery. This is probably all the motorcycle cops, with the mayor in the middle. None of the people in this picture could have imagined how much the role of the police would change in society.
motorcycle cops today
I had a frank discussion recently with Officer Marquis, who is a motorcycle cop at TPD. I asked him what it is like to wear the vest. His answers surprised me because he brought up an issue I had never considered. He told me how hot it makes him. OMG, you are out in Tucson in the summer wearing leather boots, and now you need to add a ceramic vest to protect your vital organs!!! How cruel and unusual can your job be? I was just thinking about the way the weight compresses the spine, but he made me see another way the vest has unintended consequences. The K9s are not allowed to wear their vests for too long because it will overheat and damage their organs and possibly their brains. Meanwhile, we are roasting our human cops. Officer Marquis wears a lighter style vest with ceramic inserts that he adds when he wears it. I think this eliminates a few ounces of the total burden..but then there is the physical mastery of the bike, which is heavy in itself. Tough job.
We talked about his bike and other interesting stuff. He seemed pretty happy about his job, despite the roasting factor. I asked him if he feels like a target (this was months before the world truly went barbaric). He said yes. On his motorcycle he is obviously less protected than the car cops. He was not complaining and I am absolutely sure he would not have brought the subject up had I not done so. I went on to ask a couple more cops that day if they felt like targets. The other two said no, but I wonder what they might answer now, after the the violent events of last week. All cops have to feel like victims now, because it is a very reasonable assessment of the situation that prevails.
The lady cop vests look particularly uncomfortable. I am not sure how they are fitted, but this lady told me hers was as long as possible (makes sense). She said she does not feel like a target. I was apparently the only person from the fashion police who had ever asked her about it. It does not flatter the female figure, to say the least. Even Jessica Rabbit would look like the Marshmallow guy from Ghostbusters in the lady cop vest. This lady cop wears hers well and does not mind wearing it, but one can only imagine how attractive she is in real life.
lady in vest
I have become obsessed with this vest question. It is symbolic as well as physical. It does compress their spine and add weight for their skeleton to carry, as well as keep them safe. It heats them up and makes it hard to cool down. The looney in Dallas wore one himself. In Tucson the cops have to pay for their own because city taxes are not set aside for that. I am shocked that the city can get away with that. In private industry I don’t think you can demand that workers risk their lives and BYO safety equipment. Can you think of an example of that, gentle reader?
I doubt that people here know that there is a charitable organization here with a purpose of providing the vests to the individual cops. Adopt-a-Cop is the program provide this necessary safety equipment to the force, since as taxpayers we are not even doing THAT. We need to step up to solve our civil unrest problems on all sides. This seems like a basic step to take, Tucson. Let’s buy them vests. Then let’s get some new politicians who will put the vests in the city’s budget.
Mind the Gap #NoJustice
July 8, 2016
— 5 Comments
There are gaps of understanding between the citizens and the police. This has always been the case. Today we face an ever growing divide that makes everyone in the United States vulnerable to senseless violence and hate crimes of all kinds.
We have a new police chief in Tucson who has come to teach us neighborhood policing. When he held up a hashtag sign in his former town of Richmond, California, he was criticized widely across the nation for betraying cops. The Police Union in Tucson soundly rejected his bid to become chief over this sign. Thank goodness they lost the battle and Chief Magnus has started the very serious task of bringing our cops together in unity not only with each other but, for the first time, with the community. He has reorganized the department, focusing on more stable local assignments so the cops learn more about the same area all the time. He has eliminated some of the “specialties”, as recommended by the DOJ’s 21st Century Guidelines for Policing, in order to make each cop more full service and user friendly. He knew he was moving to a much bigger city, but I don’t think he could have imagined how much we needed him down here in Tucson. This will be a very big job for him, but I am glad he has started it.
Chris Magnus
Welcome to Tucson, Chief Chris,”357″,Magnus. You are just what the doctor ordered.
John Mead, 8th Great-Grandfather
July 4, 2016
— 4 Comments
headstone
My 8th great-grandfather came to America as young boy with his parents and became a founder of Hartford, Connecticut.
John was born about 1628 in England and came to Connecticut with his parents as a young child. He married Hannah Potter, daughter (or possibly stepdaughter) of William Potter of Stamford. John and his brother Joseph moved from Stamford to Hempstead, Long Island, and returned to Connecticut by 1664. John died 5 Feb 1699, probably in Connecticut. John was one of seven original proprietors of Greenwich, CT, as described at http://www.rootsweb.com/~ctfairfi/pages/greenwich/greenwich_index.htm
“On February 5, 1664, the Seven Proprietors made a formal request to the General Assembly in Hartford to be allowed to separate from Stamford and to support its own minister and lay out its own lands. The Seven Proprietors were John MEAD, Jonathan RENALDS, John HOBBY, Joseph FERRIS, Joshua KNAPP, Angell HUSTED, and Jeffrey FERRIS.
On May 11, 1665, the General Assembly in Hartford declared Greenwich a separate township, and authorized funds for the hiring and support of an orthodox minister. In 1672, the so-called “27 Proprietors” bought land from the few remaining Indians to the west of the “Myanos River.” This land became known as “Horseneck” because of the neck of land now known as Field Point was the common HORSE PASTURE. ”
John signed all documents with a mark, but had several books in his estate inventory, so he could probably read but not write.
John and Hannah had eleven children:
John, b. abt 1658, married Ruth Hardey in 1681.
Joseph, b. 2 May 1660, married Mary.
Hannah, b. abt 1661, married John Scofield 12 Jul 1677.
Ebenezer, b. 1663, married Sarah Knapp in 1691.
JONATHAN, b. abt 1665, married Martha Finch.
David, b. abt 1665, married Abigail Leane 16 Dec 1707.
Benjamin, b. May 1666, married first Sarah Waterbury, second Rachel Brown.
Nathaniel, b. abt 1669, married Rachel.
Samuel, b. abt 1673, married Hannah.
Abigail, b. abt 1675. Fairfield Probate Records cited in The Ancestry of Elizabeth Barret Gillespie, “reveal that she was incompetent to manage her own affairs: ‘Whereas John Mead Sen’r, deceased, of Greenwich, haveing not made Satisfieing provision in his will for his daughter Abegaile Mead, She being not Capable of doing for her Self as may be desired by Reason, whearof Ebeneaz Mead of Greenwich dos hereby, in the presence of ye Prerogative Court, Engage to pay unto ye s’d Abegaile Mead, his sister, ye Sum of therty and five pounds, to be paid unto her According as he Shall Apprehend She Shall stand in Need of it for her Comfortable subsistence.”
Tomac Burying Ground
John Mead’s House
John Mead (1634 – 1699)
8th great-grandfather
Benjamin Daniel Mead (1667 – 1746)
son of John Mead
Mary Mead (1724 – 1787)
daughter of Benjamin Daniel Mead
Abner Mead (1749 – 1810)
son of Mary Mead
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
daughter of Abner Mead
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of Martha Mead
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse
The following anecdote, which has been preserved by tradition, shows his character: One day when he was quite an old man, as he was going for his grist on horseback to the mill at Dumpling Pond, before he reached the Mianus River he overtook and old Quaker jogging slowly along, loaded with a heavy budget. In a real spirit of kindness he offered to take the Quaker’s load upon his horse, and thus give him a lift on his journey. No,replied the Quaker, thee don’t get my bundle, for I can read men’s thoughts. Thee wants to get my bundle, and then thee’ll run off. Thee don’t get my bundle. Very well, was the simple reply, and so they went slowly on together. At last they came to the brink of the Mianus River. Here the Quaker was really in trouble. How to cross a river, two or three feet deep, dry shod, was quite a puzzle. But he gladly accepted a second offer of assistance from the horseman. The bundle was mounted in front, John in the middle, and the Quaker behind. Arriving at the centre of the river, in pretending to adjust his stirrup John caught the Quaker by the heel and gave him a gratuitous bath. Such treatment was too much, even for Quaker forbearance, and the victim, with his hands full of pebbles, would have taken summary vengeance, had not the other party threatened to put the bundle under a similar course of treatment. This threat, and the lecture following it, gradually cooled off the Quaker’s anger. John informed him that all had been done for his good, to teach him a lesson. And the lecturer said he hoped the stranger would never again profess to read men’s thoughts. For, said he, I asked you to ride, kindly in the first place, when you refused; but at the second time of asking, I really intended to do as I have just done. So saying, and tossing the bundle back, he rose on, leaving his companion to apply the moral as he thought best.
