Under Joe Biden, US-India relations in areas like trade and commerce, as well as defence and strategic ties, are likely to be strengthened. New Delhi will be a large part of the Biden administration’s Asia Pacific strategy. Now that the all-consuming debate on who will be better for New Delhi -- Donald Trump or Joe Biden -- is settled, India-watchers here have moved on to the next set of questions. They are: what will the Biden White House look like? Who will lead the two key … [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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Joe Biden’s victory brings positive winds of change
After months of trench warfare and 84 seemingly endless hours of counting votes, the verdict is finally in: Joseph R. Biden, Jr. is the president-elect of the United States. He will take office as the 46thPresident on January 20,2021. The quadrennial dance of democracy ended exactly the way many had feared: in a deeply divided country and a closer contest than some would have liked. Those who were hoping for a landslide Biden win, as several opinion polls had predicted, were … [Read more...]
America Lost. America Found.
They’ve all come to look for America. -Simon & Garfunkel O, let America be America again The land that never has been yet — – Langston Hughes America is a land of being and becoming. A democratic republic that has been in existence for 244 years. And a nation still in search of itself. The nature and results of this year’s presidential election prove this search will take years, and possibly decades, to reach the “more perfect union” envisioned by the founding fathers. Joe … [Read more...]
Biden victory: Plenty of positives for India, Indian Americans
Former Vice President Joe Biden has defeated President Donald Trump in a tightly contested American election held in the backdrop of the biggest health crisis in more than one hundred years. The election was followed closely in India for three reasons: the presence of a candidate of Indian origin on the Democratic ticket; the rising prominence of the Indian American community in US politics; and the foreign policy implications that every new administration presents. Let me address … [Read more...]
2020 marks the arrival of the Indian-American voter
The 2020 United States (US) election has seen the four-million-strong Indian-American community come of age politically and put them on the US’s political map. What will a great night for the community on November 3 look like? For Democrats all over the country, a Joe Biden-Kamala Harris victory, which would catapult one of their own to the second-most powerful position in the land, will make it truly historic. Victory for Senate-hopeful Sara Gideon in Maine, and two congressional … [Read more...]
Donald Trump Is Rigging The System
Donald Trump has gotten a lot of media coverage with his preposterous claims that the American presidential election system is rigged. What Trump really means is that unless he can manipulate that system to win or to his own advantage, then it must be rigged. Don’t take our word for it. Take Donald’s. During the Republican primaries, Trump referred to the primary process as a “rigged, disgusting dirty system.” In his first appearance at a rally in West Virginia after he won … [Read more...]
A ‘NREGA’ for artists is need of the hour
From folk musicians in the Manganiar and Langa communities in Rajasthan to the storytellers of Telangana's Kakipadagollu community, who have been practising their art forms since the 12th century, many are unable to put food on the table. Even in the best of times, a vast majority of India's artists have struggled to earn decent wages as they are largely in unorganized sectors of the economy. Their predicament is exacerbated by the fact that many of them don't have regular jobs and … [Read more...]
Needed: A Reform Agenda to Unpack the Court
On October 26, in the dark of the night, Republicans in the Senate confirmed the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett in order to pack the Supreme Court. In common terminology, “packing the Supreme Court” is used to refer to adding more seats to the Court. That is not our use of the phrase. For us, packing is not the number of judges on the Supreme Court. Packing is the nature of those judges and how they were appointed. Barrett was pushed through, in an aggressive and accelerated manner, … [Read more...]
The Mind of the Trump Supporter — 2020
Never mind! That would be the response of tens of millions of Donald Trump’s loyal supporters on what to do to counteract his egregious actions, tweets and statements. They would say that to others, as they themselves would always mind. They would embrace whatever Trump says and do whatever he asks. Why is that? Who are the Trump supporters? As we noted in an August 2016 blog before the presidential election that year, “Trump supporters are of two principal types: right wing … [Read more...]
A record number of Indian Americans look to expand influence in US administration
Much of the focus of the US election coverage in the Indian and Indian American media has been about how both presidential nominees, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, have been courting Indian American voters. A less written about the fact is there are dozens of Indian American candidates in this election cycle running for federal, state, and local offices. If Joe Biden defeats President Trump in November, Senator Kamala Harris will be leaving the Senate to … [Read more...]