India exists in many different centuries, it has been said. The brutal rape of a young woman in South Delhi, one of the more cosmopolitan parts of the capital, in mid-December, proves that it is hard to argue against that statement. The victim, a 23-old-old student, lost her nearly two-week long battle for life at a Singapore hospital just two days before the New Year's Eve. The nation reacted to the struggle for survival and the eventual death of the woman with a rare display of collective … [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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Don’t Fence Me in: The Need for Strategic Immigration Reform
Almost immediately after the national elections were concluded, immigration reform again became a topic for bipartisan political conversation and potential legislation. Illegal immigrants had been at the center of debates and much of the discussion during the Republican presidential primaries. With their hard-line, hard-headed and hard-hearted stances on things like building a fence to keep illegal immigrants out of the United States and deportation of those who are here currently, the … [Read more...]
From Cliff Dwelling to Mountain Climbing
A thumb-nail assessment of the fiscal cliff bill: Much sound. Some fury. Simplifying nothing. Nonetheless, those members of Congress who worked together in a bi-partisan fashion to construct and pass the "cliff deal" are to be commended. The major presenting short-term problem of the expiration of "middle class" tax cuts was addressed. Significantly and appropriately, tax rates for the "wealthy" were increased. In addition, the alternative minimum tax was corrected, expiring jobless benefits … [Read more...]
Save Our Children: A Christmas Wish and Prayer
This is not the time to take Christ out of Christmas but to put the child into Christmas -- not for presents but for prescience. Let us do that by celebrating the innocence of those who will not celebrate Christmas this year because of the Connecticut schoolhouse shootings. Let us do that by learning from this tragedy and dedicating ourselves to making this country a safer place for all of our children. Let us do that by praying to God, no matter what our religious persuasion, for peace and … [Read more...]
The Republicans’ League of Their Own: Reasons, Responses, Recommendations
If the national elections had been contested in the Republican's political version of a fantasy football league, Barack Obama would have received 47-plus percent of the vote. And, they would have picked up five seats in the Senate and eight seats in the House. Just the opposite occurred. This stunned many Republicans whose parallel universe view had them convinced that they would not only win but dominate in the presidential and congressional election battles. Why and how did they get this so … [Read more...]
Attention Deficit Disorder
The Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform ended its work not with a bang or a whimper, but, as Co-Chair Alan Simpson put it, by taking a "big banana and throwing it into the gorilla cage." Let's hope the gorilla doesn't slip on the peel and knock himself out before he can eat it. Seriously, the Commission and many other groups and individuals have brought much needed attention to the nation's budget deficit and debt. They have paid little or no attention, however, to a more important … [Read more...]
The Island States of America: A Threat to Our Representative Democracy
The secessionists have garnered a lot of attention lately with their petitions to leave the union after Barack Obama won the national election. While their appeals may be headline-grabbing and fabulous fodder for talk radio and cable TV, they are substantively and politically unimportant and impotent. The issues of true significance for the future of our representative democracy are (1) the structure of our federal congressional districts and the Senate and House districts within the states; … [Read more...]
Fiscal Cliff or Bunny Slope?
Superstorm Sandy was a disaster brought to us by Mother Nature. The fiscal cliff is being brought to us by human nature. Which will be worse? Time will tell. What we can tell right now is that Sandy was unavoidable. The cliff, on the other hand, was and is completely avoidable. We should not go over it, fall off of it, or even slip at all while working our way down it. If we do, the only reason will be the perversity and illogic of human nature. The only way the worst case scenario can occur … [Read more...]
Thanksgiving Thoughts on Freedom and America
Most of us are probably familiar with Norman Rockwell's famous Thanksgiving painting of a family at home around the dining room table with "mom" putting the platter of turkey on the table with a beaming "dad" standing behind her. Many of us probably don't know that this painting is titled "Freedom from Want." Few, we believe, realize that this "Freedom" painting --which was one of Rockwell's Four Freedom paintings created during WW II -- traces its inspiration to an address that President … [Read more...]
The Real Winner: American Exceptionalism Defeats Extremism
ne of the things that makes America exceptional is the genius, common sense and level-headedness of its people. They proved their mettle once again on this Election Day. Immediately after the election, much of the media characterized the results as an indication that the country was divided and as a vote for the status quo. For example, The Washington Post observed in a November 7 editorial, “The nation was starkly divided before, and it remains starkly divided today.” George Will, in his … [Read more...]