Craig's Corner

The famous words to the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" are being sung by today by corporations. “Corporations are people” said GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney this summer. The Supreme Court started the idea a few years ago when it struck down provisions of the McCain–Feingold Act that prohibited all corporations, both for-profit and not-for-profit, and unions from broadcasting “electioneering communications.” The hat trick in personifying corporations is the Protect IP Act in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act in Congress. This legislation  allows the government to order service providers to block websites for infringing links posted by any users. It becomes a felony with a potential 5 year sentence to stream a copyrighted work that would cost more than $2,500 to license, even if you are a totally noncommercial user, e.g. singing a pop song on Facebook. Thousands of sites that are legal ...

Sex sells . (The sun also rises every day.) This marketing and journalistic mantra has infiltrated all elements of society. The outfits (or lack thereof) on many of the local news’ Weather and Traffic women leave little to the imagination. Suggestive models and seductive music are used to promote everything from hamburgers to insurance. Americans’ relationship with sex is complicated. On the one hand that sex entices people is good because it draws viewers, attention and dollars. But on the other hand there is a prurient attitude that suggests issues of sex, sexuality and sexual expression should not public. That inherent conflict is bound to cause problems. VIDEO SUMMARY Anybody who has had even the most remote interaction with children knows that there is a delicate balance between setting boundaries and creating an invitation to naughtiness. So it is not surprising that using the allure of sex is impactful – since it’s considered a no-no in polite society. ...

What a week! Earth welcomed its 7 billionth person.  (Hi to Danica May Camacho!) Global debt hit $40.6 trillion. (Putting millions, billions and trillions into context: the average person takes 672 million breaths in a lifetime.)  In the U.S. there are 300 million people and total debt just passed $15 trillion. That’s essentially $50,000 per person. Given that the average American household income per the U.S. Census Bureau  is $49,455 - each American basically owes one dollar for every dollar they earn in a year. But the really important number is that there are 350 shopping days until Election 2012.                                                             ...

I love Greece --- the country, though the 1970's musical is fun too. I enjoyed “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and even went to see the quasi-sequel “My Life in Ruins” that aptly describes what is happening there now. I was fortunate to visit the beautiful islands of Santorini and Mykanos a few years back. I’m not a big fan of their Salad, but I do appreciate how they do the dishes. The tradition of breaking of plates is considered a part of "kefi" - the irrepressible expression of emotion and joy. There has been little joy in Greece for some time. The financial crisis has been especially dramatic in Greece.   In 1974 Greeks, with the help of their Turkish neighbors, overthrew the military dictatorship that had ruled since 1967. Greek governments since then have run significant deficits in order to finance public sector jobs, pensions and other social benefits. Few people pay taxes. Since 1993 the country has had debt to GDP ratios in excess of 100% - me...