Craig's Corner

American Jurisprudence is on full display this week.   The end of the Supreme Court’s session results in the more controversial case decisions being announced , parsed and debated.  While each case has its specific merits for discussion, I’m pondering how the idea of three “separate but equal” branches of government has become one over the others. The conceptual idea is that the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches operate in a way that checks and balances against the others so that one branch doesn’t hold disproportionate sway over the other.    It’s a nice idea and I remember learning about it in middle school and being oh so proud to be part of such a smart set up. The reality, however, is far from the ideal taught to schoolchildren.   The nine Supreme Court justices hold a disproportionate amount of power to the other branches.   And in a largely split Court, major policy decisions come down to one justice.   The Citizen’s United case   in 2010 is a good

Getting Blood from a turnip is a compliment I receive for my negotiating skills.   In my personal life it’s become much more accurate as well as I navigate through my own financial issues.   This week I had some challenging choices to make as to obligations that I have versus things that I get tremendous value out of versus investments that would yield long term benefits.   There's not enough money for all three.   My situation is not dire, I have the privilege of choice even though it often doesn’t feel that way.   I have friends who have had a much more difficult time, having to choose between rent, medicine or food.   Those decisions dictate survival and are severe. “Dramatic,” “Draconian,” “Austere” are some of the vocabulary words the media and politicians are using to describe the $1.5 trillion in cuts that will automatically kick in this December unless certain thresholds in deficit reduction are met.   This was the compromise agreed to last summer during the Debt Ceili

It’s Flag Day.   It’s a commemoration, not a holiday (unless you live in Pennsylvania.)   The Second Continental Congress resolved on June 14, 1777 to adopt the flag as a symbol for the emerging union and in 1917 Flag Day was created.   Flags are symbols of patriotism and symbolic of the ethos of the country they represent.   The United States of America represents freedom and justice and the stars and stripes are a potent reflection of those aspirations.   Today what’s being waved is not the symbol of freedom, but instead a construction flag.   Detour ahead. To kill or not to kill  wasn’t the question last week…why the people of the world were giving Barack Obama a pass on his kill list was.   Turns out that wasn’t the issue that riled the politicians, talking heads and blogosphere.   David Sanger, the New York Times reporter who has broken a number of stories on National Security – including the Kill List story and the U.S. Cyber War against Iran spoke on Reliable Sources

I’m a lists person.   I like having all of the things I need to do in one central location, preferably organized by priority and function.   Over time my lists have evolved from bits of paper to post-it notes to legal pages to digital manifestations in various calendars and reminder systems.   My thoughtful remembrance of a particular event for somebody has more to do with my electronic support system than a steel trap memory.   I’m not alone in my lists – I have a friend who makes a list of the lists he has to make!   President’s have their lists too…Nixon had his Enemies List .   Carter personally scheduled White Hosue tennis tee times .   And now Obama has his kill list . The President of the United States of America personally oversees the kill list – taking nominations from advisors to add to it.   Then he decides which one on the list will actually be eliminated.   “He is determined that he will make these decisions about how far and wide these operations will go,” said