Craig's Corner

In my fifth decade parts of my body remind me that I’m no longer in my second or third decade. Somewhere along the way I became that groaner – the one who expels a long breath/sigh after getting up. After a particularly long period of sitting at the desk I’ll rise and it’s like those old commercials for “Snap, Crackle and Pop.” I’m not complaining – I’m blessed with generally good health and most don’t think I’m anywhere near my actual age, which is always good for the ego if nothing else. Along the way, however, there are various things that have needed attention and as a result I take a couple of pills that those who are far brighter than I in such matters indicate that I need. Whether its my cynicism, bad luck or just the way the system works, it seems that the pills I’m on are always the ones that don’t have generic counterparts. My prescriptions therefore are quite pricey. I’m not alone. In September 2015 Martin Shkreli made significant news by raising the price of a drug...

I joined America On-line in 1995. My account “name” was a series of numbers – you couldn’t personalize yet. I had a whole series of local phone numbers that the modem would try to connect to. After busy signals, the worst thing was the dreaded blue progress bar. The best thing was “You’ve Got Mail” calling out to you when you were connected. When spamming began a few years later I would naively reply back to each email with a polite “no thank you” or “remove.” Today my various accounts attract some 1,000 spams a week. AOL was responsible for moving the United States forward onto the information superhighway - at one point in the late 1990's half of all American's on the Internet came via AOL. The company was part of the largest merger in American history that nearly toppled and destroyed its acquirer/partner Time Warner. A variety of sales have occurred since then, the latest being Verizon buying the company in May 2015 for $4.4 billion. Today 2.1 million Americans contin...

I am the son of educators. My parents spent their lives imparting wisdom to others - truly one of the most noble professions I know. The transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next is an incredible chain that ties the species together back to the beginning of time. Directly or indirectly my entire family is in the field – whether in the classroom or in my case working at a non-profit that enlightens in its own way. Before my current position I worked as a consultant where I would mentor and guide clients to be self-sufficient. That’s the benefit of training – giving others the ability to do for themselves. The U.S. has aspired to a similar goal but has had a long string of disappointments in this area especially in its foreign policy. The current deployments of American military personnel cover a wide spectrum of projects throughout the globe. It involves everything from energy and environmental projects to health, human interest and community relations.  Wikipedi...

I’m sorry. 7 letters that form 2 words with 1 apostrophe. It's an expression that  is a powerful communications tool and is laced with passion. I say it often – as much because I’ve flubbed something up and need to remedy things as to also defuse emotional situations. Acknowledging an upset through contrition is an incredible way to open up dialogue about other matters – whether they be with interpersonal relations or international relations. Is one apology enough? When is enough contrition justification to stop apologizing? If it’s not clear in our personal lives so it’s no surprise in world affairs that the art of the apology is as much about diplomacy as remorse. Pope Francis has apologized for a wide range of issues including to the victims of sexual abuse by priests, for the oppression of Latin America during the colonial era, for persecution of Pentecostals. He also apologized for 'grave sins' against native people of America. While it took 350 years, eventuall...

I spent part of the weekend at the National Zoo in Washington DC. I didn’t visit Congress – it was the actual animals in their faux habitat. Lions lounging, lizards slithering and elephants dancing – it’s an extraordinary thing to see these creatures. Unlike the First Lady earlier in the week, we weren’t able to see the Panda live, we got to see it on closed circuit television . (It could have been a replay for all I know, but that’s vestiges of my life in LA!) I’m well aware of the arguments for and against zoos – that’s not what got my attention. What struck me was that it was free . And packed – with locals, tourists and many people on a pleasant Saturday afternoon. Had we opted to, we could have visited a huge number of other Smithsonian sites at no cost. Free is relative, so what are the costs? The Smithsonian currently has 19 museums in all in the Washington DC area. The institution has additional 144 affiliates around the U.S. where their collections are on long-term qua...