Craig's Corner

It’s been several years since I had to file bankruptcy. It’s a very emotional and dispiriting process and is a frustrating and laborious. To succeed in bankruptcy court means that you have to prove that you’re unable to pay your debts. For most people who are not looking to scam the system that’s a startling thing to go through. The other side of Chapter 7 liquidation is the prospect of having a fresh slate to start anew. The consequences of having your debts dismissed is no access to credit for many years – literally having to live within your means. The Supreme Court on June 1 st just took away that fresh slate. According to the Wall Street Journal “All nine Supreme Court justices agreed that filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy protection doesn’t give homeowners the power to cancel a second mortgage when their properties aren’t even worth the value of the first mortgage.” Bankruptcy is not something new. According to Wikipedia debt bondage was common as far back as 600BC.

As I prepare to leave the US for a ten-day international business trip, I have been thinking about my own Ugly Americanisms. I only speak one language and while I appreciate other cultures and other ways of doing this, I do know what I like and how I like it. Writing this blog allows me to exercise one of my most passionate interests – freedom of expression. The right to say what I think, no matter how whacked out some may think it is, generally without fear or concern of consequence. That freedom is thanks to the freedoms enshrined in the U.S. Constitution that is a direct descendent of the Magna Carta – which happened to have a birthday this week. On Monday, June 15, 2015 the Magna Carta turned 800 . She doesn’t look a day over 700. According to CNN: “The catalyst for Magna Carta was the tyrannical rule of King John and, in particular, his imposition of arbitrary taxes upon the barons. The sealing of Magna Carta marked the first time that the notion that an unelected soverei

I’ve been known to use irony in order to mock and make a point. (Once or twice.) Would this blog even exist if it were not for sarcasm? I tend to use it as a way to make my point in a less than direct way or to open a challenging subject or event to diffuse tension. It’s often successful. There are situations where my teasing/sarcastic approach isn’t experienced as intended and the results aren’t always pretty. I like to think I’m astute enough to realize when somebody doesn’t ‘get it’ and then I shift my tactic/technique to accommodate the difference in communication styles. The government is trying to learn how to differentiate when people are seriously making a threat versus when they’re making a joke. The Washington Post reported that the Secret Service “is looking to buy software that can detect sarcasm on social media.” I guess it’s a positive thing that they recognize their own deficiency. The whole concept reminds me of the TSA after 9/11 when passengers were asked “Has

I’m a regular gym goer. Four to five times I week I rise before the roosters and put my body through its paces. The facility I use now is a great suburban club, meets my needs and hasn’t been updated in a generation. It is quite a difference from the brand new 24-Hour Fitness I used in Minnesota where everything was so shiny I worried about scuffing the dumbbells. The wide range of spiffy health clubs I belonged to in Los Angeles had every nifty new gizmo to take away the reality of exercise. These newer venues have the latest greatest equipment and have allocated precious space for a café. Before or after your work out you can get a latte and a snack. I was always amused to see the various cookies and cakes on display. From a business perspective it’s a great move – ancillary income plus by selling sugar laden goodies you guarantee that your clientele will continue to need to use your club to work off the calories. From a ‘health’ and ‘wellness’ perspective it’s counter intuitive.