Craig's Corner

In High School I was a cynic. By college I was a realist. After sobriety I became an optimist. I certainly still have my moments of cynicism and realism – but in a world of difficulties and challenges I try to look for the good in things. Politics makes it very hard. Putting a good spin on bad news is something the Obama White House has mastered. The House of Representatives voted to sue the President over their belief that the Executive Branch hasn’t fulfilled its constitutional duties on the Affordable Care Act by providing waivers to components of the law. (Of course the irony is Congress has voted 37+ times to repeal the law they're suing the President to enforce.) The White House has spun this to be the first step towards impeachment, and the media has taken the story hook, line and sinker. It’s not all fantasy - there are many in Congress who have called for the President’s impeachment. Rep. Steve Stockman even handed out copies of Impeachable Offenses –The Case Fo...

Andrew Lloyd Weber was on the hunt to cast a Maria for a production of “Sound of Music” some years ago and ran the audition process via a reality show on ITV. It was a nice hybrid of singing competition and motivational work to find the right person. Adapting and shifting approaches is all part of the process. I’ve spent a good chunk of my professional life fixing things. For many years I came into organizations – for profit, not-for-profit, hybrids in-between – and worked with stakeholders to find solutions. I’d do a big fix and then I’d come back every few months to do a check-in/tune-up. It was a good business model for both of us. Something always needed tweaking. Situations are not stagnant -  they change. This basic tenant of life seems to be missing in the thinking at the White House these days. President Obama continued his spate of Executive actions this week issuing # 11246 that that prevents any business that contracts with the U.S. government to discrimina...

Groucho Marx resigned his membership in the Friar’s club, sending a wire that said: “I don’t want to belong to a club that would have me as a member.” On the other end of the spectrum American Express for years marketed their cards (which all carry hefty annual fees) with the tagline “membership has its privileges.” It was quite successful, getting millions of people to part with hundreds of dollars a year in order to get a piece of plastic that enables them spend even more money. In both of these instances there is a criteria, whether it be high or low, to participate or belong. U.S. immigration policy establishes the standards for entry to the country – and there’s millions who don’t follow it. Even for those who do work within the system, it is a hotly debated procedure with some 50,000 Central American youth flooding the southern U.S. border in recent weeks. The current influx of unaccompanied, undocumented minors is putting a strain on the system. It puts into question the...

I’m a romantic. One year for Valentines I had 200 flowers delivered to my sweetie. Even though there’s a flower dedicated to making sure your love remembers you – I went with the traditional red rose. (In a German legend, God named all the plants when a tiny unnamed one cried out, "Forget-me-not, O Lord!" God replied, "That shall be your name.") Being remembered is more than just for the lovelorn on a February day. We all want to make an impact, have an imprint on the world. It’s not limited to lame duck politicians looking to mark their legacy – it’s part of how individuals make sense of “existence.” That is now easier in Europe where you can now pick and choose what the world knows about you. The BBC reports: “The internet (almost) never forgets. Google - and other search engines - are extremely efficient at crawling the web to find and store data. Even if websites are taken offline, a cache is kept - meaning they can still be accessed.” A Spaniard, ...

I’m a musical theatre aficionado. It wasn’t always so. During my early years as a theatre student I looked down my nose at my MT brethren. I was focused on “serious” work. A few short years later – while still a student - I was directing and producing my first musical after realizing that performance halls only fill when audiences actually want to see something…and “important” and “serious” work isn’t so when nobody comes. “ Guys & Dolls ” is a classic American musical. The 1950 Tony-award winning show with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser was selected as the winner of the 1951 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Book writer Abe Burrows had troubles with the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) so the Trustees of Columbia University vetoed the selection, and no Pulitzer for Drama was awarded that year. In between two show stoppers in Act II (“Luck Be a Lady” and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat”) is a lovely song “Sue Me” where Miss Adelaide and Nathan verbally joust, resultin...