Craig's Corner

ABC airs a Canadian series “ Motive ” during the summer. “A feisty Vancouver homicide detective tracks down the most cunning of killers by trying to figure out the motive to the crime” reads the promo for the show. The third season has begun airing up north and is due to hit the Lower 48 this summer. It’s an interesting twist on the procedural where the who-dunnit is determined by the why-dunnit. The old “just the facts ma’am” don’t apply here...it's getting to a conclusion via the emotion. It’s not too dissimilar from what American politics has become – where the motive has trumped facts. Former New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani made international headlines on Feb. 18 2015 when he said that President Obama “doesn’t love America.” It is an asinine assertion and it has no place in the serious discourse of American public policy. As a freedom loving zealot I welcome the former mayor’s right to say stupid things. As a responsible citizen I am embarrassed that his remarks have (a)...

I tend to be proactive, planning things in advance. It wasn’t always so. In high school I’d wait until the last possible moment to complete assignments – procrastination became part of how I got through the first couple of years. A teacher called me out on why he thought I procrastinates. He pointed out that since I wait until the last minute if I only get a C I can always blame it on the lack of time, but if I was proactive and still had a C then that would mean I had more work to do. So I embraced the inevitability of my being a mediocre a student and began doing things in advance of deadlines.  I'm not sure that was the teacher's intended result! Washington DC is not known for being forward thinking, but the past few weeks show that the U.S. Government has now carefully planned for perpetual war. The U.S. Constitution outlines how War is to be declared. Article 1, Section 8 outlines all of the “do’s” and “don’ts” that govern the Republic. Congress is empowered to d...

May 5, 1987 flurries fell in Syracuse. I was done with Mother Nature and done with college. I headed west. Growing up in New England – New Hampshire, Connecticut and Massachusetts – I am not surprised to find January and February cold and snowy. It’s just what happens. Into my third year of living in metro Boston I’ve lived through Super Storm Sandy, the Blizzard of 2013 that closed the City and now the Winter of 2015 that seems to have stymied the most hearty New Englander. Three major storms/blizzards dropping some 76 inches of snow in downtown Boston and over 90 inches in other parts of the state over a few weeks (with more to come) shows the practical application of the role of Government. During major storms the public looks to Government to deliver basic services. Power is expected to be on, streets should be plowed and public transit needs to work. No matter one’s political belief in the role of Government – big or small – these expectations exist. When something doesn’t ...

I recently watched the History Channel’s mini-series “ Sons of Liberty .” It’s everything that we’ve come to expect from the cable channel: a good looking cast, some great battle scenes, fudging of key facts and 21 st century language put into 18 th century mouths. I doubt very much that Benjamin Franklin said of the idea of Independence: “Well, that’s an absolutely bat-shit crazy idea.” In this telling, the British referred to the Colonists as terrorists, though the word would not be coined for some thirty years. Historically accurate? No. Amusing diversion? Yes. Its timing was good as invoking the terrorist description has become the de-facto label for evil, even though much of what’s called that today isn’t. Al Jazeera English’s editor recently had an email leaked . The communication to reporters and editors at the news network (funded by the Qatar Government) reminded them to be more careful in the use of all wording, especially the terms ‘terrorist’ and ‘jihad.’ “One p...