Over the past several months, there have been numerous reports on declining support and approval for President Donald Trump. For example: In June, Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight reported, “There’s been a considerable decline in the number of Americans who strongly approve of Trump from a peak of around 30 percent in February to just 21 or 22 percent of the electorate now.” An August Wall Street Journal/NBC poll showed that since April, the number of … [Read more...]
Articles
Frank blogs regularly for the Huffington Post and writes occasional columns and articles for publications such as the International Business Times and The Economic Times of India.
Frank writes on a wide variety of topics that are critical to shaping the future of America and the American dream and to making the United States and the world a better place. These include: Business; education; poverty and inequality; politics and public policy; immigration; manufacturing; innovation; leadership; citizenship; and social commentary.
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Alternative Perspectives on Donald Trump’s IQ
In the news recently, it was widely reported that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had called President Trump a “moron” in July of this year. President Trump reacted to these reports by telling Forbes, “I think it’s fake news, but if he did that, I guess we’ll have to compare IQ tests. And, I can tell you who is going to win.” Given our opinions of the President’s IQ, we immediately thought Trump meant Tillerson would and that he was complimenting the Secretary … [Read more...]
Think Small Business To Help America’s Middle And Working Classes Win Big
In spite of a rebounding and more robust economy, many in the lower middle and working classes remain anxious and concerned about their futures. There has been low and slow wage growth and, as we discussed in our last blog, the changing nature of jobs, the middle class and the American Dream have pushed a large part of the workforce toward a gloomy perspective. There have been various proposals to make the economy work better for America’s workers. The Trump administration suggests that a … [Read more...]
The Changing And Challenging Nature Of Jobs, The Middle Class And The American Dream
Over the past few months, there have been several indicators that the American economy may be humming on all cylinders again. They include: A report from the Hamilton Project of the Brookings Institution showed that in July, nearly a decade after the start of the Great Recession, employment had recovered to its “demographically adjusted pre-recession level.” This means that more than 10 million jobs were added in that 10 year period. The Census Bureau’s annual report on Income and … [Read more...]
Free press a cornerstone of American Democracy: Islam
Washington, Sep 12 Free press has been a cornerstone of American democracy and also an essential contributor to the US belief in government confined by a system of checks and balances, an eminent Indian-American philanthropist has said. "The overriding responsibility of the media is to separate facts from fiction and is to hold governments and leaders, including the President, to the same standards," Frank Islam told a Washington audience this past week during the Alfred Friendly Press … [Read more...]
Fighting ‘Fake News’ Claims and What We Can Do About It
As an Indian American, I have had the privilege of living in the two largest democracies in the world. One of those democracies — the United States — came into being in part because of the free press. The other — India — was born essentially without a free press. I came to the United States at the age of 15 to study computer science at the University of Colorado in Boulder. I was awestruck by many things upon my arrival. One of the most striking was the potency and power of the free press … [Read more...]
The Continuing Eclipse Of The Organized Labor Movement
On Monday, August 21, there was a total eclipse of the sun. Americans across the nation from Oregon to South Carolina responded with awe and euphoria at the wonder of this spectacular event. Just two weeks later on this upcoming Monday, September 4, Americans across this nation will celebrate Labor Day. There will be little to no celebration in the organized labor movement, however, as the eclipse of its power and influence continues. That eclipse is not total. But, it is … [Read more...]
Remembering Our Immigrant Roots To Revitalize Our Immigrant Nation
There is no question that our current immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. It’s been that way for some time. During 2013, Congress spent a considerable amount of talent and energy trying to find an approach to immigration reform that was workable. The Senate managed to pass a bi-partisan bill but things ground to a halt in the House. Since then, there has been a lot of talk but no real action on immigration reform. Deportations of illegal immigrants … [Read more...]
Narendra Modi’s inclusive call: Need for religious leaders to build bridges.
As India celebrates its 71st Independence Day, it must remember the sacrifices made by leaders of the freedom movement. It was their vision, idealism, commitment to democracy, secularism and pluralism that made India an exceptional nation in the world. India's commitment to secularism and rule of law is unmatched and unparalleled. But, unfortunately, over the past several months, violent acts carried out by some members of right-wing groups posing themselves as cow vigilantes have … [Read more...]
Trump’s BS Before The Boy Scouts
President Trump’s campaign-rally type remarks were totally inappropriate for this audience. Donald Trump is a BSA and that does not stand for Boy Scouts of America. He proved that in spades when he spoke before the National Scout Jamboree in Glen Jean, West Virginia on Monday, July 25. Early in his speech, the President proclaimed, “I said, ‘Who the hell wants to speak about politics when I’m in front of the Boy Scouts.’ Right?” He then proceeded to spend the bulk of his … [Read more...]