Anyone know what you can do with a Shuttered Prison?

When I first read this, I thought:
Why not convert it into an office?
Then, I remembered, offices are losing traction because computers are taking over most office work functions.

Then, I thought:
Why not turn them into schools?
Well, I already proposed that vacant malls be schools because the conversion would cost less in the long run.  Besides, a prison as a school?  Most children already consider schools like they're prisons.

So, what do you do?

As this news story from the Las Vegas Review Journal indicates, there is not much interest in anyone acquiring a former prison.

So, that leaves me with the only suggestion that I think will work long term.

Tear it down.  And leave the vacant lot as a garden park.

The one potential bidder in the below story thinks turning it into a theme park would work.

Oh, well.

Shuttered Prisons

What would your thoughts on this be?

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Simply for the Benefit of Building a Hotel in Moscow

With the "surprise" results of the 2016 Presidential Election, I don't think - looking back -- anything would have changed,

Trump made promises that, at the time, I knew he wasn't going to keep.

"Make America Great Again!" Great slogan!

But his promises to the 'non college educated' will ring hollow.  Several news agencies who have had sit down talks with these former factory workers who voted for Trump simply because they felt he was "one of the union guys."  He is going to bring our jobs back, they say.

LOL!

Trump a union guy?  You have to be kidding me!  Bring jobs back?  My question to these former factory workers is: Are you that uninformed?

+/-60% of all jobs lost since 1979 have been to automation!  Those jobs are NOT returning to human workers!  Never, Ever.

And the guy who you think of as a 'Union Guy,' actually refused to pay the union workers when they did work on his bankrupt casinos!  I don't think of Trump as a union guy.  Never will!

So, don't get me started.

And, with the Trump White House calling the media the "enemy of the state" simply because the news media has dug up information revealing Trump (and/or members of his team) have had constant contact with Russian officials throughout the 2016 campaign, that actually bothers me more than it should.

Apparently, Trump is more than desperate to (allegedly) build a luxury hotel in Moscow.  This is the only thing I can think of that would make him as a patriotic American turn his back on his country, his countries allies, and destroy the America way of life as Trump seems to be (allegedly) doing.

This article is one of the best at explaining the Trump Putin connection situation.

Trump Ties to Russia

I will let you decide whether or not Trump is 'unpatriotic.'

But, wanting to build a hotel in Moscow must be worth more than we can imagine for Trump to put together such a diverse team who all have such close ties to Russia, Russian officials, and Putin.

For one thing, World War II should have taught us that if Europe is divided into individual Republics, it is easier for a more powerful nation to knock them down, one by one, like dominoes.  This is because the neighboring Republics don't want the more powerful nation attacking them.  But, as history has shown, the powerful nation usually attacks without provocation anyway.  (See Germany circa 1939)

But, as a union of united European nations, if the powerful nation attacks one; then, they have attack them all.

And, Putin understands this.  He is all for European Republics being separate nations.
This makes me think that Putin (allegedly) even wants the United States to be 50 individual nations.  You are capable of doing the math.

Also, it is reported that in order to do business in Russia, Putin (allegedly) demands a large portion of that business so he will allow you to do business in Russia.  And, (also allegedly) it has to be given to him.

Just ask any of the Russian Billionaires who refused Putin.  There are stories of them being thrown in prison until they agreed.  (And sadly, some stories say they have even have been killed.)

Its a sad, sad world we live in right now.  Enemies are pretending to be friends; a President is pretending he can lead, and the White House Staff is squirting out the fake news insult phrases when the media contradicts Trump.

I don't know about you, but I find this absolutely annoying.  All it is doing, is helping to divide the United States into the Confederate States once again.

If only the GOP controlled Congress would stand up to the bully at the pulpit.  They could nip this in the butt and right the ship.

So, I ask: Is Donald Trump truly that unpatriotic that he would lead Americans to their demise -- simply for the benefit of building a hotel in Moscow?

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Urban vs Rural; OR, Blue vs Red

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog about how 57 counties in the US of A are responsible for 2/3's of the nation's GNP; while 3,182 counties or there about only contribute to 1/3rd of that amount.

This got me thinking about an article I read a long time ago from a Princeton University Professor who said we didn't live in Democrat or Republican Societies; we actually live in Urban and Rural Societies.

I now know this to be more true than ever.

For the most part, Urban societies are about growth, working and living close to each other.  This actually requires Urban Society rules of courtesy and accommodation; whereas, Rural Societies are more about individual strength, living on your own, providing for yourself and family what the land gives.  They are more encouraged by self governing, and not worrying about whether your neighbor is making too much noise at 2 AM.  Rural Society feels that any government regulation is an intrusion upon their lifestyle.  So, they are not going to have any part of it.

Once, while talking to an Urban Planner, he remarked that Urban Society rules will work in a Rural Society Setting just as wells as in the city;  but, he continued, that, Rural Rules would never work in an Urban Society Setting at all.

And, I think that is the reason Rural Society doesn't like or fit into Urban Society -- especially when Urban Society moves too close to Rural -- think Oil and Water.

Let's take for example, this current news story from the Las Vegas Review Journal.  A lot of you will have no idea what or where Blue Diamond is -- except you might think that, that is the name of a Street here in Southern Nevada.

Blue Diamond Development

But, a local developer, who acquired +/-2,400 acres on a Mesa in the southwest of the Las Vegas Valley, wants to build single family homes on what was once a Gypsum Mine located on this Mesa; and, the good folks of Blue Diamond, being the proud members of a Rural Society, don't want the influx of traffic, the new homes, and especially -- the number of people who would be using this new development as their place of residence.

That's right.  The current residents of Blue Diamond don't want Urban Society invading (moving into) their Rural Society.

Which is sad, because, with the influx of the new homes, this Rural Society would see the increase the Blue Diamond's revenue, increase in retail spending, newer commercial development, and the ease of expanding their economic output.  Thus, in other words, increasing their profit potential from adding to the County's, State's, and the Countries GNP!

But, because of their 'back off!' attitude; which could easily translate into we don't want your kind, which is mistaken for racial prejudice -- regardless of Who actually moves into the new development, they would forgo the economic improvement to their lives because...well, their Rural Society Lifestyle would have to change -- for the most part.

Now, I am sure that the current residents of Blue Diamond are very, good God fearing, wonderful people.  But, unless they understand that the only way to improve themselves and to improve their lives is to embrace progress, their community will eventually die -- just as other counties in other states where they solely only want their old factory job to be returned to them that in reality is never, ever going to happen.

In an Urban Society, from what I can tell, progress is the way for an Society -- whether Urban or Rural -- to continue to look forward to the  horizon that is directly in front of you.

If you are just looking at what was, and not at what could be, this has and always will lead every Society to ruin.  Just take a look at the numerous ghost towns that failed to see what was coming.

Urban or Rural.  Progress keeps a Society active and economically growing.

Just my two cents.

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