The Indian Panorama

Tag: American Politics

  • Indian American Aruna Miller wins Maryland 6th district straw poll

    Indian American Aruna Miller wins Maryland 6th district straw poll

    MARYLAND (TIP): Maryland Democrat Aruna Miller, who is running for Congress from the state’s open 6th district, won a straw poll held after the “Our Revolution” candidate forum on March 3.

    Miller, a Maryland statehouse delegate, thanked the party faithful who attended the forum. “It’s exciting to see so many people come out on a Saturday(March 3) afternoon to hear from candidates running in a Congressional primary,” she said. “It’s even more exciting to see that our message is resonating with these engaged voters.”

    “After a vigorous 3-hour debate involving six candidates, Delegate Miller won the post-debate straw poll,” the campaign said in a press release on March 6.

    The campaign also announced reaching the $1 million donations. It said the $1 million mark was reached as of February 28, 2018.

    The Miller campaign said more than 97 percent of the contributions have come from individuals and it  has “far outpaced her rivals in both the number of contributions (1,723) and individual donors (1,402).”

    “By comparison, in 2017, the other six Democrats in the CD6 race as a group only had raised approximately $600,000 in donations from 500 individual supporters and political action committees,” the campaign said.

    “Our campaign is continuing to gain momentum and strong support,” Miller said. “While the million-dollar milestone is notable, l am most excited about taking my issue-oriented message directly to the voters when the Maryland legislative session ends next month.”

    The campaign also cited a series of high-profile endorsement it received. Among the Democrats who endorsed Miller are Montgomery County Executive lke Leggett, former Maryland Democratic Party Chair Terry Lierman and Maryland House Speaker Michael Busch.

  • Indian American Sri Preston Kulkarni finishes first in Texas 22nd district

    Indian American Sri Preston Kulkarni finishes first in Texas 22nd district

    HOUSTON , TX (TIP): Indian American Sri Preston Kulkarni finished first in the Democratic primary in Texas’ 22nd congressional district with nearly 32 percent of the vote.

    He will now have to face fellow Democrat Letitia Plummer in the May 22 runoff to earn the right to take on the incumbent GOP Rep. Pete Olson.

    According to Texas election law, if a candidate doesn’t get more than 50 percent of the votes, there will be a runoff between the top two finishers.

    With all the 129 precincts reporting, Kulkarni received 9,466 votes, while Plummer got 7,230 votes (24.3 percent). Mark Gibson, the Democratic nominee in 2016, finished last in a field of five, with 3,046 votes (10.2 percent). The other two candidates in the race, Steve Brown and Margarita Johnson, received 6,246 (21 percent) and 3,767 (12.7 percent) votes, respectively.

    Olson, who has been representing the district since 2009, was the winner of the Republican primary, trouncing his nearest rival by nearly 65 percentage points.

    Kulkarni, a former US diplomat who served in Iraq and Russia, among other places, had expressed cautious optimism ahead of the primaries.

    But his acknowledgement, two weeks before the election, that he was arrested at the age of 18, in 1997, for possessing less than a gram of cocaine may have denied Kulkarni outright victory on March 6th  night.

    The charges were dropped after a two-year probation — which is usual for first-time drug offenders.

    Acknowledging the incident, the candidate said it was due to youthful indiscretion and he did it at a time when his father was terminally ill and he was going to through a difficult time.

    “We should not be stigmatizing our youth for the rest of their lives,” Kulkarni said.

    His father Venkatesh Kulkarni, a professor and novelist, died in 1998 after battling leukemia for a year. His mother Margaret Preston Kulkarni is from West Virginia.

    If elected, the biracial Kulkarni will become the first Indian American congressman from the state of Texas.

    He is one of the nearly two-dozen Indian Americans who are running for Congress this year.

  • Indian American Shampa Mukerji Running For Judge Seat In Texas

    Indian American Shampa Mukerji Running For Judge Seat In Texas

    HOUSTON (TIP): An Indian American attorney, Shampa Mukerji, is running for a judge seat in the US state of Texas.

    Ms. Mukerji launched her candidacy for the seat in the 269th Civil District Court of Harris County, Texas.

    The Democratic candidate said she is running for the seat because she believes she can make a great contribution to the civil courts in the county.

    “I will uphold the laws of the state of Texas and be fair and equitable to all parties that come before me,” she said on her campaign site.

    “I believe in the Seventh Amendment, the right to a trial by jury and access to the courts for all,” she said.

    Mukerji has received the endorsement from several people and organizations, including Harris County Labor Assembly COPE, AFL-CIO, and South Asia Bar Association.

    Mukerji said she is a believer in equality and wants “to make a difference in my community in the most effective way.”

    “I have always been a true believer that the Constitutions of the United States and Texas create an equal playing field for all individuals and entities. I believe the next step in my journey is to make a difference in my community in the most effective way I am able and bring a unique perspective to the local judiciary,” she said.

    Daughter of immigrant parents from India, Mukerji is a native Houstonian. For over a decade, she has successfully practiced in multiple areas of civil litigation representing individuals, corporations, small business owners, and other civil litigants. Mukerji has worked for the Mostyn Law Firm, where she focused on first party insurance litigation. Thereafter, she moved to the Mukerji Law Firm where she manages over 500 personal injury cases.

    “When Shampa told me she was running for Judge in Harris County, I immediately knew that the people of Harris County would have such a huge asset at the courthouse,” said Rene M. Sigman, Attorney, and Regional Litigation Manager, Merlin Law Group, P.A. “Shampa is the perfect fit for the job. I worked with Shampa for 6 years representing individuals and businesses in Harris County fighting to get them justice at the courthouse.”

    Mukerji attended Northwestern University in Illinois where she completed her bachelor’s degree in Communications in three years. She then returned home to Houston to attend the University of Houston Law Center. In law school, Mukerji served on the Houston Journal of Health Law & Policy as an Editor and as Chief Justice of the Honor Court.

  • Indian American Deep Sran is ending his campaign for the Democratic Party nomination

    Indian American Deep Sran is ending his campaign for the Democratic Party nomination

    MARYLAND (TIP): Indian American Deep Sran, who announced his candidature for the Virginia 10th Congressional District last summer, has announced that he is ending the campaign for the Democratic party nomination.

    In a press release posted on his official website, Sran thanked his supporters and family for helping him run the campaign.

    “I want to thank my wife, daughters, friends, staff, and community for all of their sacrifice and work. Together, we ran a campaign that was about listening to the people of the 10th District,” he said. “I was able to talk about vision and long-term solutions in a time of anxiety and division. And I had a chance to share how important a positive, shared vision is to the future of this country.”

    Sran, a teacher, technology entrepreneur and a lawyer, said the decision to run was made with a strong will and with a vision for the future and it is with the same optimism that he has decided to end the campaign.

    “I was able to talk about vision and long-term solutions in a time of anxiety and division. And I had a chance to share how important a positive, shared vision is to the future of this country,” he said.

    “I will continue to work for true education reform through innovation and greater equity, to prepare the next generation of leaders and to build a better world,” Sran said. “I will also continue to work for more representative government, so minority and marginalized communities are engaged and heard. I will build on the work we’ve done to show that politics must be about finding common ground to implement policies that leave our children and grandchildren a better world.”

    Sran was born and raised in Montgomery County, Maryland.

     

  • Indian American Hirsh Singh announces candidacy from New Jersey

    Indian American Hirsh Singh announces candidacy from New Jersey

    NEW JERSEY (TIP): Indian American businessman Hirsh Singh, who ran for the New Jersey governor last year, has announced his candidacy for the state’s open 2nd Congressional District.

    Singh, a Republican, has pledged to defend President Donald Trump’s agenda, while making the announcement.

    Rep. Frank LoBiondo, who has been representing the South Jersey district since 1992 unexpectedly announced his retirement on Election Day after serving 24 years in Congress.

    Trump carried the district in the last presidential election by more than 3 percentage points—only the second time a Republican won the district in the past seven presidential elections.

    “South Jersey deserves a conservative champion in Congress – someone who will defend the President’s agenda, fight to bring our fair share of tax dollars back to South Jersey, and stand up to Nancy Pelosi and the radical left,” he said. “The president’s agenda of slashing regulations, cutting taxes, and returning decision-making to state and local governments is working to grow the economy and must be supported.”

    Other candidates include former Atlantic County Freeholder Seth Grossman, Somers Point City Councilman James Toto, former FBI agent Robert Turkavage, defense and aerospace contractor Brian Fitzerhert and activist Mark McGovern.

    Last year, Singh had finished third in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

    He has also pledged to challenge House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), if elected to Congress.

    Singh holds a degree in engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He has worked with several top government organizations such as NASA, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Pentagon, and the United States military.

    “In the coming weeks, I look forward to meeting with the residents of the 2nd Congressional District, listening to their concerns and sharing my vision for a stronger and more prosperous South Jersey,” he said in a statement. “We need a new voice in Washington who will fight for all of the residents of South Jersey.”

     

  • New York banking regulator seeks Kushner Cos loan details

    New York banking regulator seeks Kushner Cos loan details

    NEW YORK (TIP): New York state has asked three banks to supply information about their relationships with the real estate business of Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, a source said on Thursday, March 1.

    Maria Vullo, Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), sent letters last week to Deutsche Bank, Signature Bank and New York Community Bank asking for details on their financial arrangements as well as loans made to or sought by Kushner Companies, the source told AFP.

    The lenders were given until March 5 to respond.

    The DFS has refused to comment on the matter, as has Deutsche Bank.

    But Kushner Companies said the inquiries were politically motivated and amounted to harassment.

    “We have not received a copy of any letter from the New York State Department of Financial Services,” a spokesman said.

    “Our company is a multi-billion enterprise that is extremely financially strong. Prior to our CEO voluntarily resigning to serve our country, we never had any type of inquiries.

    “These types of inquiries appear to be harassment solely for political reasons.”  Also, The New York Times reported Kushner Companies received major loans from Apollo Global Management, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, and Citigroup, shortly after Kushner held White House meetings with representatives from the two companies.

    The paper quoted Don Fox, the former acting director of the Office of Government Ethics during the Obama administration, as saying the loans raised questions about the appearance of conflicts of interest.

    Kushner met Joshua Harris, a founder of Apollo, multiple times over the course of 2017 and even discussed a potential White House position which never materialized, the paper said.

    In November 2017, the firm loaned Kushner Companies USD 184 million—triple the size of its average property loan.

    He also met Citigroup’s chief executive in the spring of 2017, Michael L Corbat, shortly before Kushner Companies received a USD 325 million loan from the firm, the Times reported.

    The White House referred questions to Kushner’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, whom the paper said did not dispute that the meetings took place but denied any impropriety.

    Kushner, who is married to the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump, has been a key figure in the administration of his father-in-law, entrusted among other things with finding a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.

    A Harvard graduate with a law degree from New York University, Kushner took the reins of his family business before announcing in January 2017 — just ahead of his appointment to the Trump administration—that he was stepping down from his management role.

    While Jared Kushner voluntarily left high-level positions in more than 200 entities related to his family’s real estate empire, he still retains shares in most of these companies from which he is likely able to derive income, according to documents published by the White House in April 2017.

    It is not the first time Kushner’s business interests, which include real estate assets in the states of New York and New Jersey, have been in the spotlight.

    In May 2017, the company was forced to apologize for mentioning Jared Kushner during a presentation of one of its projects to a group of Chinese investors, in a possible breach of conflict of interest rules.

    (Source AFP)

  • Jared Kushner loses “Top Secret” security clearance: report

    Jared Kushner loses “Top Secret” security clearance: report

    The new security clearance level will restrict Kushner’s access to top secret intelligence

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Jared Kushner, son-in-law to President Donald Trump, is one of the many White House aides to have his security clearance downgraded, according to Politico. Kushner, along with other aides, received the news via a memo on Friday, Feb 23. The downgraded security clearance level will restrict access to highly classified intelligence, in contrast to the access Kushner enjoyed while operating under the highest interim security clearance – Top Secret/SCI-level.

    Concerns around interim security clearances surfaced after White House aide Rob Porter resigned due to domestic abuse allegations. Porter was also operating under an interim security clearance.

    Many insiders and pundits scratched their heads as to the reasoning behind Kushner receiving top secret security clearance in the first place. Indeed, Kushner’s background is in real estate and business; he has no previous government nor foreign policy experience. Democrats spoke of suspending his clearance back in 2017, after news leaked that Kushner omitted details of his meetings with Russians on his security clearance application.

    On Feb. 16, Chief of Staff John Kelly wrote a five-page memo addressing ongoing security clearance concerns regarding White House staff, in addition to ordering actions that would impact those operating under interim security clearances. In this memo, Kelly decreed that those with interim security clearances whose background investigations had been ongoing since June 1 should see those clearances revoked on Feb. 23. However, it was unclear how this would impact Kushner — especially since his father-in-law, President Donald Trump, had the power to grant Kushner a permanent clearance.

    Many suspected that the notoriously clannish president would intervene on behalf of his son-in-law. Yet Trump told reporters on Friday, according to Politico, that he would leave the fate of Kushner’s security clearance in the hands of Kelly.

    “I will let General Kelly make that decision,” Trump said. “I have no doubt he’ll make the right decision.”

    While Kelly did not sign the memo that was released on Friday that informed aides about the security clearance downgrades, Kelly’s previous memo from Feb. 16 was likely the trigger for the downgrades.

    The White House has declined to comment on Kushner’s security clearance; White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders brushed past the issue when speaking to reporters on Tuesday.

    “We actually haven’t commented on Jared’s issue indicated, but we have commented on his ability to do his job. Which, he’s a valued member of the team and he will continue to do the important work that he’s been doing since he’s started in the administration,” she told reporters.

    Kushner’s attorney Abbe Lowell told Politico in a statement the changes would “not affect Mr. Kushner’s ability to continue to do the very important work he has been assigned by the president.”

    However, others saw that as wishful thinking. Quoting exclusive sources, CNN reported:

    “Republican sources close to the White House said the clearance downgrade could undercut Kushner’s ability to influence policy decision-making in the West Wing. Without a top-level clearance, Kushner will be unable to attend meetings where the most sensitive national secrets are discussed.”

    Since Porter’s dismissal, Kushner’s security clearance has been scrutinized — even by some Trump loyalists.

    Fox News host Shepard Smith told viewers last week that there was “a Kushner problem at the White House.”

    “Jared Kushner submitted his application – his ‘SF-86’ as they call it – and did not include 100 contacts with foreigners, and then later had to go back and include them. But then later he did not include the meeting at Trump Tower with the Russian lawyer and the Russian translator. He didn’t include that. So that was another amendment to this thing,” Smith explained. “And that took this past June.”

    Officials can be imprisoned for omissions on a security clearance, as Salon previously reported.

    Kushner has not been able to receive a full clearance in part because of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into the dealings of Trump and his associates.

    (Source: Salon)

  • President’s longest-serving and closest aide Hope Hicks quits as WH communications chief

    President’s longest-serving and closest aide Hope Hicks quits as WH communications chief

    Hope Hicks’s first association with the Trump family was working with President Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka, on her personal apparel and licensing brand about six years ago.
     Hicks had no political experience when she joined Trump’s tumultuous campaign for the White House. She initially served as a press secretary within the White House, before taking on the role of communications director
    Hicks led strategic messaging for administration priorities such as the historic passage of tax reform and worked with Press Secretary Sarah Sanders to stabilize the press and communications teams after initial phases of transition

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Hope Hicks, one of Donald Trump’s longest-serving and trusted aides, on March 1, announced her resignation as the powerful communications director, in a major blow to the US President and the embattled White House amidst the intensifying inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

    The 29-year-old former model, though considered a political novice, was known as one of the few aides of Trump who understood his style and could influence his views. Her surprise resignation came a day after she testified before the House Intelligence Committee she testified for eight hours on allegations related to the Russian interference during the presidential campaign.

    During her testimony, Hicks told the panel that in her job, she had occasionally been required to tell white lies but had never lied about anything connected to the investigation into Russia’s interference in the election, US media reported.

    Although Hicks maintained an unusually low profile over the past three years, she recently attracted scrutiny after Special Counsel Robert Mueller escalated his probe into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

    She is leaving the White House after serving Trump for three years in various capacities. This included being his campaign spokesperson and Director of Strategic Communication when Trump was sworn in as the President.

    “There are no words to adequately express my gratitude to President Trump,” Hicks said in a statement. President Trump praised Hicks for her outstanding work. The White House did not announce the exact day of her departure but said it could be sometime in the next few weeks.

    In a little over 13 months of the Trump administration, Hicks is the fourth individual to resign as the White House Director of Communications. The other three being Sean Spicer, Mike Dubke and Anthony Scaramucci.

    (With inputs from PTI)

  • Trump calls for a comprehensive approach to Gun Laws

    Trump calls for a comprehensive approach to Gun Laws

    Republicans and Democrats alike taken by surprise

    WASHINGTON (TIP): President Donald Trump called for speedy and substantial changes to the nation’s gun laws, criticizing lawmakers in a White House meeting for being too fearful of the National Rifle Association to take action.

    In a freewheeling, televised session on Wednesday, February 28, that stretched for an hour, Trump rejected both his party’s incremental approach and its legislative strategy that has stalled action in Congress. Giving hope to Democrats, he said he favored a “comprehensive” approach to addressing violence like the shooting at Florida school earlier this month, although he offered no specific details.

    Instead, Trump appeared to support expanded background checks. He endorsed increased school security and mental health resources, and he reaffirmed his support for raising the age to 21 for purchasing some firearms.

    Trump also mentioned arming teachers, and said his administration, not Congress, would ban bump-stock devices that enable guns to fire like automatic weapons.

    “We can’t wait and play games, and nothing gets done,” Trump said as he opened the session with 17 House and Senate lawmakers.

    “We want to stop the problems.”

    The president has previously backed ideas popular with Democrats, only to back away when faced with opposition from his conservative base and his GOP (Grand Old Party) allies in Congress. It was not clear whether he would continue to push for swift and significant changes to gun laws, when confronted with the inevitable resistance from his party.

    Still, the televised discussion allowed Trump to play the role of potential dealmaker, a favorite for the president. Democratic lawmakers made a point of appealing to the president to use his political power to persuade his party to take action.

    “It is going to have to be you,” Senator Chris Murphy told Trump.

    Trump’s call for stronger background checks, which are popular among Americans, has been resisted by Republicans in Congress and the NRA.

    Republicans have instead been leaning toward modest legislation designed to improve the background system already in place. Trump made clear he was looking for more and accused lawmakers of being “petrified” of the gun lobby.

    “Hey, I’m the biggest fan of the Second Amendment,” Trump said, adding that he told NRA officials it’s time to act.

    “We have to stop this nonsense.”

    The White House meeting came amid fresh public debate over gun laws, fueled by student survivors of the massacre at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, who have been meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The school reopened yesterday for the first time since a Valentine’s Day assault killed 17.

    Gun legislation has lost momentum in Congress as Republican leaders showed little interest in pursuing stricter gun control laws.

    Democrats said they were concerned Trump’s interest may fade quickly. After the meeting, Murphy, D-Conn., told reporters: “I’m worried that this was the beginning and the end of the president’s advocacy on this issue. The White House has to put some meat on the bones. The White House has to send a proposal to Congress.” The White House is expected to reveal more on the president’s plans for school safety this week, though it has not announced any plans.

    That announcement will likely include goals for background checks and bump stocks, though whether age restrictions will be specifically addressed remains unclear, according to an administration official who sought anonymity to discuss private conversations.

    Trump rejected the way Republican leaders in Congress have framed the debate, saying the House-backed bill linking a background check measure with a bill to expand gun rights by allowing gun owners to carry concealed weapons across state lines was not the right approach.

    The concealed carry measure is the gun lobby’s top legislative priority. But “you’ll never get it passed,” Trump told lawmakers, reminding them that Democratic senators, including some in the room, strongly oppose it.

    Instead, he suggested Republicans should focus on the background check bill, then load it up with other gun control and safety measures.

    Ever the marketer, Trump suggested that the leading bill adjusting the National Instant Criminal Background Check System—now known as “Fix NICS”—could use a new name. “Maybe you change the title, all right? The US Background Check Bill, or whatever,” Trump said.

    The hour-long meeting with lawmakers was reminiscent of one in January on immigration, when he told lawmakers to come up with a good bill and he would take the “heat” from critics.

    That effort, however, ended in failure in Congress amid Trump’s shifting views and priorities in the debate.

    Among those at the White House yesterday were Sens. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who are pushing their bill—which failed twice in the Senate after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting—to broaden background checks to include pre-purchase reviews at online and gun show sales.

    Trump asked Toomey if his plan to expand background checks included raising the minimum age for young people to buy an assault weapon. Toomey told the president it did not.

    “You know why,” Trump scoffed.

    “Because you’re afraid of the NRA.”

    The meeting came after one major retailer, Dick’s Sporting Goods, announced it was halting sales of assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines at all of its stores and banning the sale.

    Meanwhile, US retail giant Walmart announced on Thursday that it was raising to 21 its minimum age to buy firearms and ammunition, the latest US company to recalibrate its stance on weapons after a deadly Florida school shooting.

    “In light of recent events, we’ve taken an opportunity to review our policy on firearm sales. Going forward, we are raising the age restriction for purchase of firearms and ammunition to 21 years of age,” it said in a statement.

    (Source: AFP)

     

     

  • Indian American Dr. Hiral Tipirneni wins Democratic Primary Election for the 8th Congressional District of Arizona

    Indian American Dr. Hiral Tipirneni wins Democratic Primary Election for the 8th Congressional District of Arizona

    ARIZONA (TIP) : Indian American Dr. Hiral Tipirneni has won the special Democratic primary election for the 8th Congressional District of Arizona, defeating her only rival Brianna Westbrook. Tipirneni will face Debbie Lesko, who won the Republican primary by beating 11 candidates, in the April 24 special general election.

    The seat became vacant after GOP incumbent Rep. Trent Franks resigned following a sexual misconduct allegation. He represented the 8th district for 14 years before resigning on December 8, 2017.

    “I think we won because our message was really connecting with voters, resonating,” Tipirneni told The Arizona Republic after the Associated Press called the race in her favor. “I think they are looking for someone who brings something like my skill set to the table, somebody who is ready to work with people from all backgrounds and really focus on solving the problems at hand.”

    Tipirneni, an emergency room physician by profession, gives the Democrats a ray of hope in the Congressional District which has been a stronghold of the Republicans for a long time.

    While the Democratic primary was essentially a two-candidate race, on the Republican side there were a dozen candidates.

    Tipirneni is considered to be the strongest nominee the Democrats have fielded in years. Franks did not have a Democratic challenger in the last two election cycles.

    Tipirneni runs on the issues of affordable healthcare, strengthening the economy, retirement security, quality education, and government accountability. She also endorses “ an accountable immigration system providing a clear, affordable path to citizenship for those who qualify and have earned it.”

    She officially announced her candidacy on July 19, months before the staunch conservative Franks was practically pushed out of Congress by the House leadership following revelations that he had asked two female congressional staffers to bear his children as surrogate mothers.

    The Indian American said she is running because she wanted to take on special interests in Washington. “I believe in solving problems and improving lives, which is all about people, not partisanship,” Tipirneni said while announcing her candidacy. “That’s what I did in the emergency room, and I’m running for Congress to do the same.”

    Tipirneni came to America from India with her family at the age of three. According to her campaign website, she earned her medical degree through an accelerated, competitive program at Northeast Ohio Medical University. Hiral chose to pursue emergency medicine because of the wide variety of challenges it presented, and it allowed her to be the first point of contact for patients.

    She has served the Phoenix area for more than 20 years as an emergency room physician, cancer research advocate and, most recently, on the board of directors of the Maricopa Health Foundation, which supports the county’s public health care delivery system.

     

     

  • Dr. Urmilesh Arya Inaugurated as AIA National President

    Dr. Urmilesh Arya Inaugurated as AIA National President

    Congressman Tom Suozzi wows Indian Heritage, culture and Indian American community

    HICKSVILLE, NY (TIP): 50- year old Association of Indians in America­­­­ organized an impressive Inauguration ceremony for National President Dr. Urmilesh Arya on February 25th, 2018 at Auntuns by Minar in Hicksville. The AIA has plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of AIA under the presidentship of Dr. Arya on October 20, 2018.

    Speaking on the occasion, Congressman Tom Suozzi praised Dr. Yashpal Arya and Dr. Urmilesh Arya for their promotion of Indian heritage and culture and their valuable contribution to community. He said he was deeply impressed with the vibrant Indian community. He had a word of appreciation for the rich Indian heritage and culture and advised the gathering that it was “very important that you must maintain heritage and culture and must stand for your rights.  Though it is the tough job, but it can be done with your strenuous work”.

    Congressman said he was all set to visit India in the first week of April where he would learn firsthand about India’s heritage and culture and interact with various sections of society. He spoke of the strong bonds of friendship between the “oldest democracy of the world and the largest democracy of the world” and said this friendship needed to be strengthened further.

    Dr. Urmilesh Arya said she would do her best to take the 50-year-old representative organization of Indian Americans in the US to greater heights. She said that her vision is to bring all Asian Indian community together and give the torch of AIA to younger generation to maintain our heritage and culture for future generations.

    Dr. Arya ended her speech with “Do not expect from your Association, see what you can do for it”.

    Earlier, Dr. Narinder Kukar, the senior community leader who is associated with a number of community organizations and was president of AIA a long time ago, introduced Dr. Urmilesh Arya as a person who has always been passionate about preserving Indian heritage and culture even as she championed the cause of the Indian community on political level. He said there could not be a better choice than Dr. Urmilesh Arya to lead the celebrated Association of Indians in America.

    The outgoing President Dr. Shashi Shah handed over the gavel to Dr. Urmilesh Arya, signifying passing on the authority to the new president.

    The Committee. L-R Nalini Shah, Neelam Modi, Usha Bhansal, Sunil Modi, Indu Jaiswal, Shashi Shah, Urmilesh Arya, Tom Suozzi, Sunil Mehra, Sushma Kotahwala, Ram Khanna, Ravi Bhooplapur, Buddhdev Manwar, Dr. Gilja, Indu Gajwani

    The Committee for 2018-2019 was introduced by Elected President Dr Urmilesh Arya.  Here is the list of office bearers. Vice Presidents: Dr. Naresh Bhasin (FL) Nalini Shah (NJ), Ram Khanna (NY) Dr. Sunil Mehra (NY); Treasurer: Mrs. Neelam Modi (NY), Gen, Secretary:  Nilima Madan (NY), Members at Large: Hansa Ashar (CA), Dr. Farita Ahmed (FL), Nishi Mallik (FL), Dr. Shobha Gupta (FL), Mr. Akshay Patel (IL), Ashish Sen (IL), Lucy Pandey (IL), Salil Mishra (IL), Santosh Pandey (IL), Dr. Suresh Gupta (MD), Ravi Mehrotra (NJ), Roopam Jain (NJ), Arish Sahani (NY), Dr. Asha Nayak (NY), Dr. Babu Jasty (NY), Dr. Bal Gilja (NY), Dr. Deepak Nandi (NY), Dr. Himanshu Patel (NY), Indu Jaiswal (NY), Ravi Bhooplapur(NY), Dr. Sai Veeracmachani (NY), Sunil Modi (NY), Sushma Kotahwala (NY), Dr. Usha Bhansal (NY) , Kamlesh Saini (WI), Indu Gajwani (NY).

    Bobby Kalotee, on behalf of County Executive Laura Curran, presented citations to the outgoing President Dr. Shashi Shah and the new President Dr. Urmilesh Arya.

    AIA presented gifts to Congressman Tom Suozzi.

    The Inauguration was attended by around 150 persons.  Prominent among them were Congressman Mr. Tom Souzzi and community leaders Boby Kalotee, Kamlesh Mehta, Narender Kukar, Nirmal Matoo, Prof. Shridhar, Dr. Manwar, Virender Bhalla, Mr. Satnam Parhar, Gobind Munjal, Gunjan Rastogi, Neerja Kashu, Dr. Ajay Jain, Dr.  Ajay Lodha, Dr. Jagdish Gupta, Dr. Vinod Bhansal, and Prof. Indrajit S Saluja, Publisher and Editor of The Indian Panorama.

    The program got off to a start with national anthems of the two countries being sung by ­Hema Sardana and Veena Sardana. Invocation by Geeta Sethia, dance by Miss India Riya Kaur, songs by Mohan Wanchoo, with 10-year-old Manav on Tabla, and songs on Karaoke sung by Jyoti Gupta, Indu Gajwani, Roopam Maini and Ratna Bhalla, were star attractions of the celebrations.

     

  • Billy Graham: The Most Influential Spiritual Leader of the Modern World

    Billy Graham: The Most Influential Spiritual Leader of the Modern World

    By Rev. Wilson Jose

    Billy Graham played multiple roles on the world stage as a spiritual leader. He was the most admired religious leader in the world. He was considered to be America’s pastor and a pastor to US presidents.

    When the Rev. Billy Graham passed on to eternity on Wednesday, February 21, 2018 one of the most influential spiritual leaders of the twentieth century left the world scene. There are not many parallels to the spiritual legacy that he leaves behind. William Franklin Graham Jr. was on November 7, 1918 in Charlotte, North Carolina to parents who were farmers.

    Billy Graham rose to prominence through his successful large indoor and outdoor rallies which were broadcast through radio and television. He became the pioneer tele-evangelist proclaiming the Gospel to a global audience. Graham preached to live audiences of nearly 250 million people in more than 185 countries through his evangelistic campaigns. He also reached hundreds of millions more through television, video, film and webcasts. Billy Graham’s life time audience is estimated to be over 2.5 billion.

    Graham’s message of peace, reconciliation and hope was mainly based on the Bible verse found in the Gospel of John Chapter 3:16 “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. His messages were simple, clear, direct and passionate. They brought hope for a fallen sinful humanity to find peace and reconciliation with their creator through Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

    Billy Graham was a spiritual counselor to US presidents from Harry Truman to Donald Trump. During major personal, national and international crisis they turned to him for advice and prayer. Political leaders belonging to both Democratic and Republican parties held him in high esteem. He repudiated segregation and was instrumental in bringing Christians of all backgrounds together for humanitarian purposes and evangelism. World leaders sought his counsel and prayer.

    Graham’s first visit to India was in 1956 and he maintained a very close relationship with the Christian leadership in India. He had a heart for the Indian sub-continent and had personal friendship with many political and religious leaders in India.

    Billy Graham played multiple roles on the world stage as a spiritual leader. He was the most admired religious leader in the world. He was considered to be America’s pastor and a pastor to US presidents.

    Graham was married to his Wheaton classmate Ruth Bell on August 13, 1943. Ruth Graham went to her eternal rest on June 14, 2007 at the age of 87. Graham and his wife had five children. His son Franklin Graham is the president of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and he is also the president of the international relief organization, Samaritan Purse.

    Billy Graham will be remembered as a preacher who brought hope to millions around the world and as a spiritual icon who touched the lives of those who lived in palaces as well as in huts!

    May his Soul Rest in Peace!

     

     

     

  • Indian American Vandana Jhingan removed from Illinois Republican primary ballot in Illinois

    Indian American Vandana Jhingan removed from Illinois Republican primary ballot in Illinois

    Illinois (TIP): Indian American Vandana Jhingan, the Republican Hindu Coalition-backed candidate , has been removed from the official list of Republican primary ballot in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District.

    Jhingan was one of the two Indian American Republicans vying for the GOP nomination to run against the incumbent Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi in the November election.

    Jhingan was disqualified after a constituent, Steven Anderson, filed a complaint that many signatories to her nomination were not residents of the district.

    Nonresidents, who are not registered voters, cannot be considered as signatories while filing the nomination.

    According to election general counsel, Ken Menzel who spoke to the local Daily Herald, a second complaint was also filed against the Jhingan alleging improper circulation of the petition.

    The paper said she lacked enough signatures and thus failed to make it to the official ballot.

    Jhingan, a Chicago-based journalist, is the Midwest Bureau Chief of the Indian American cable network TV Asia.

    Another Indian American candidate Jitendra Digavker is on the ballot in the Republican primary. He is a businessman and runs a successful credit card process firm based in Schaumburg, which provides processing services to all types of businesses.

    Krishnamoorthi, an attorney-turned-businessman, was elected to the US House of Representatives from the district in November 2016, defeating Republican Peter DiCianni.

  • Indian American Sanjay Patel to run for US Congress from Florida District

    Indian American Sanjay Patel to run for US Congress from Florida District

    HOUSTON (TIP): Indian American , Sanjay Patel has announced that he will run for the US House of Representatives from Florida district. He will run against incumbent Republican Bill Posey.

    Patel, a resident of Satellite Beach, announced his candidacy this week at a meeting in Viera of the Brevard County Democratic Executive Committee that was attended by about 400 people.

    On his campaign website, Patel is described as “an activist, change-maker and organizational transformation consultant”.

    He says he believes in economic justice for all.

    If elected, Patel promises to work to build prosperity for communities on the Space and Treasure Coasts by supporting policies that ensure large companies pay employees fairly, and that help small businesses launch, compete fairly and thrive.

    “I will work to build prosperity for Florida’s families; guarantee health care for all Americans; protect our land, air and our water; and reform our immigration policy to reflect America’s deepest values,” Patel wrote on his campaign website.

    “I am the American Dream, a first-generation immigrant, the son of parents who have barely a high school education, a graduate of UCLA with a degree in economics who has built a small business and a nonprofit, and led transformative efforts in business, philanthropy and politics,” Patel said.

    He said he’d take his skills and experiences to “transform our collective sadness and outrage into justice for all”.

    “I believe it’s time to cultivate a real conversation on the Space and Treasure coasts about economic, social and environmental justice for all people,” Patel said.

    A graduate of UCLA with a degree in economics, Patel began his career in technology, with strategy and consulting roles at Deloitte, Genentech and the Santa Clara County Social Services Agency.

    He then launched a small consulting business in San Francisco; and subsequently co-founded a nonprofit, Epic Change, that used social media to raise funds for change-makers across the globe, according to his campaign site.

    Patel was one-year-old when his family arrived in America. His father worked at a 7-11 and his vegetarian mother worked at a McDonald’s, while raising four children, including Sanjay.

    “My parents’ hard work for other companies earned little wealth for our family, and even less for our community,” he said on his campaign site.

    Patel is half of a Brevard Democratic Party power couple. His wife, Stacey Patel, chairs the Brevard County Democratic Executive Committee. Both were elected Bernie Sanders delegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

     

  • Indian American statehouse delegate running for Congress from Maryland’s sixth district gets Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett’s endorsement

    Indian American statehouse delegate running for Congress from Maryland’s sixth district gets Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett’s endorsement

    Maryland (TIP): Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett has endorsed Indian American Democrat Aruna Miller, who is running for Congress from Maryland’s 6th congressional district.

    “I am proud to endorse Aruna Miller to be the next Congresswoman from Maryland,” he said. “In the years that I have known her, she has had an exemplary commitment to the people of Montgomery County and has dedicated herself to serving every individual she represents. Her record of votes and constituent services demonstrate that she is the right person for the job. We will all benefit having Aruna Miller in Congress.”

    Thanking Leggett, Miller, who is a Maryland statehouse delegate, said, “County Executive Leggett is a legend here in Montgomery County but also across the state. Every day he has made our state and our region a vibrant, thriving place to call home. His work will benefit generations of Marylanders and I am lucky enough not only to have him as my County Executive but also as a mentor, my former boss and as my friend. Ike’s leadership has inspired me in my own public service career.”

    According to the Miller campaign, the Indian American has received endorsements from Maryland statehouse Speaker Michael Busch and Chairwoman Maggie McIntosh, in addition to many of her colleagues in the Maryland House of Delegates. “I am so fortunate to work with leaders like Ike Leggett who exemplify government service at its best,” Miller said in a press release.

    Leggett, a Vietnam War veteran who served as the chairman of Maryland Democratic Party, is retiring as the county executive later this year.

    Miller moved to the US from India in 1972 following her parents and lived for a while in Poughkeepsie, New York, then moved to St. Louis, Missouri with family. She went to engineering school in Missouri University and is a civil engineer — a transportation engineer.

    She married her college sweetheart and moved to Montgomery County, Maryland in the 1990s. The couple has three daughters. Two of them have graduated and they are working in New York City. And the youngest is a freshman in University of Maryland, College Park.

     

  • Indian American Aftab Pureval announces his candidacy from Ohio

    Indian American Aftab Pureval announces his candidacy from Ohio

    Aftab Pureval is one amongst the twenty Indian Americans who are running for Congress this year.

    Ohio (TIP): Indian American Aftab Pureval, a rising politician in Ohio, has emerged as one of Democratic Party’s best hopes flipping a congressional seat in the Buckeye State.

    Pureval, who became the first Democrat to get elected as the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts in more than 100 years, is running from Ohio’s first congressional district. If he wins the primary, he will take on incumbent Steve Chabot, a Republican.

    He became the 20th Indian American to run for Congress this year. Puravel’s father was from India and his mother was a Tibetan refugee living in India before they both moved to the United States.

    “This wasn’t an easy decision and I never planned to do it, but these are extraordinary times,” Puravel said while announcing his candidacy on social media recently. “If we don’t like the direction of our country, then it’s on us to change it.”

    So far two other Democrats have also announced their candidacy: Robert Barr and Laura Ann Weaver.

    Many believe that Pureval is the strongest of the three, who can take down Chabot, who has been representing the Republican leaning district for more than 20 years.

    Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley is one of them.“He is the right kind of moderate that I think fits the district and can help move the political center of gravity back to the middle from its right-wing trajectory in Washington,” he told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

    “Even Ohio Supreme Court Justice Maureen O’Connor, a Republican, called Pureval ‘refreshing’ and “a perfect example of somebody who could have gone in a lot of different directions and decided to become a public servant.”

    During his period as the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, Pureval is credited with ending nepotism and making the office more professional.

    Born and brought up in southwest Ohio, Pureval went to public schools. He received a bachelor’s in political science from the Ohio State University in 2005. There he served as a student body president. During his tenure, he pushed the Ohio state legislature for increased funding for higher education.

    After college, Pureval went to University of Cincinnati College of Law. There he worked in the Domestic Violence Clinic representing women who were victims of violence. Later he moved to Washington, D.C., to join White & Case LLP, one of the largest law firms in the country.

    Four years later, he returned to Hamilton County where he worked as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Dept. of Justice.

    Puravel’s father worked his way up from bagging groceries to becoming a manager at Lockheed Martin. The candidate says it was his father who taught him the importance of hard work and devotion to family.

     

  • Indian American Himesh Gandhi is seeking a fourth and final term

    Indian American Himesh Gandhi is seeking a fourth and final term

    Gandhi, a longtime community leader, promised to continue his focus on improving the lives of residents in the thriving community.

    Sugar Land TX  (TIP): Indian American Himesh Gandhi has filed for re-election to a city council in the US state of Texas.

    He is a three-term incumbent of the At-Large Position 1 post on the Sugar Land, Texas, City Council and is seeking a fourth and final term in the May 5 election.

    Gandhi, a longtime community leader, promised to continue his focus on improving the lives of residents in the thriving community.

    “Sugar Land has been my home for most of my adult life. It is a diverse, growing city where we are successfully merging cultures, ideas and values,” Gandhi told PTI.

    “I am committed to maintaining quality development and robust city services while following smart spending practices,” he said.

    Himesh, first elected in 2012 at the age of 35, was the youngest councilman to be elected in a citywide vote. He has served on numerous City Council committees and was also a member of the task force that spearheaded development of the Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land—an iconic concert and performance hall that opened last year.

    Other successes and projects launched by the city during his previous term include the successful annexations of Greatwood and New Territory, the acquisition of a former prison site for re-development, the completion of drainage projects and the return to normal operations after the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey.

    “As a member of City Council, I will continue to listen to my constituents and work with my fellow council members and the city staff to ensure that Sugar Land remains a premier city with a solid vision for the future,” Gandhi said.

    “Together, with our forward-looking residents, we can accomplish even more great things for this city,” he said.

    Gandhi is an attorney and shareholder with the law firm ‘Roberts Markel Weinberg Butler Hailey PC’. He is board certified in commercial real estate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He has served leading roles in numerous community organizations.

    In 2015, he was honored by the Houston Business Journal as one of the region’s 40 Under-40 young leaders.

  • Indian American first Sikh mayor of New Jersey reminds all to take security seriously post receiving death threats

    Indian American first Sikh mayor of New Jersey reminds all to take security seriously post receiving death threats

    HOUSTON, US (TIP) : Indian American Ravinder Bhalla, who became the first Sikh mayor of New Jersey’s Hoboken city, agrees to receiving death threats against him and his family recently.

    In a statement issued February 16th  afternoon following a security breach at City Hall, Mr. Bhalla said the city is working with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force to improve security at City Hall.

    “This incident, along with death threats to me and my family, is an unfortunate reminder that we need to take security seriously,” Ravinder Bhalla said, without elaborating on the threats.

    “The Joint Terrorism Task Force has evaluated City Hall, and we have been working to implement their recommendations for physical and procedural changes to improve security for all employees in the building,” he said.

    According to city spokesman Juan Melli, a man entered City Hall and told security he needed to use the restroom after going through the metal detectors.

    While Mr. Bhalla was not in his office at the time, his deputy chief of staff, Jason Freeman, observed the man throw a bag with an object in it towards the administrative assistant’s desk before running out of the office, Mr. Melli said in a statement.

    Hoboken Police Chief Kenneth Ferrante added that the department takes these matters very seriously.

    “We take incidents like these incredibly seriously and will continue working to ensure the security of the mayor and everyone who visits City Hall,” he said.

    Ravinder Bhalla became the first ever Sikh to hold office in New Jersey after stiff competition that turned ugly when he was called a “terrorist” on Twitter by a known supporter of Donald Trump.

  • Indian American Danny Gaekwad appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to University of Central Florida Board of Trustees

    Indian American Danny Gaekwad appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to University of Central Florida Board of Trustees

    Florida (TIP):  Indian American Danny Gaekwad has been appointed by Governor Rick Scott  to the University of Central Florida Board of Trustees. Gaekwad has been appointed for a five-year term starting February 2, 2018, through January 6, 2023. Scott announced Gaekwad’s new position with 11 other appointments on February 2.

    The twelve appointments to state boards announced by the Governor include 7 reappointments.

    Ocala, Florida,-based Digvijay “Danny” Gaekwad is a first-generation Indian American businessman. A serial entrepreneur with more than three decades of experience in setting up successful businesses, Gaekwad is the founder and CEO of NDS USA Information Technology, an IT firm, and Danny G Management that runs a chain of restaurants and hotels across Florida. He has founded businesses in diverse fields such as convenience stores, real estate, hospitality and information technology.

    Born in Baroda, Gujarat, Gaekwad has served on several boards including Enterprise Florida, Inc., Visit Florida, Florida Chamber of Commerce, Marion County Visitor and Convention Bureau, Marion County Tourism Development Council, Marion County Planning and Zoning Commissioner, Space Florida, Independence National Bank, and Taylor, Bean & Whitaker.

    A graduate in political science from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India, Gaekwad has several accolades to his credit. Among these are Asian American Hotel Owners Association Chairman’s Award, ‘One Million Jobs’ certificate, Lion of the Year Award, Leaders Leader Award and Glorious India Chairman’s Award.

    Gaekwad lives in Ocala with his wife Manisha Gaekwad, and two sons Karan Gaekwad and Kunal Gaekwad.

  • Appeals court declares Trump travel ban unconstitutional

    Appeals court declares Trump travel ban unconstitutional

    4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond concluded that it ‘second-guesses our nation’s dedication to religious freedom and tolerance’

    RICHMOND (TIP): President Donald Trump’s latest travel ban on travelers from six largely Muslim countries is “unconstitutionally tainted with animus toward Islam,” a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday, Feb 15, delivering another blow to the policy.

    In a 9-4 vote, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond said it examined statements made by Mr. Trump and other administration officials, as well as the presidential proclamation imposing the ban, and concluded that it “second-guesses our nation’s dedication to religious freedom and tolerance”.

    The 4th Circuit is the second federal appeals court to rule against the ban. In December, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Mr. Trump exceeded the scope of his authority with the latest ban.

    The 4th Circuit court upheld a ruling by a federal judge in Maryland who issued an injunction barring enforcement of the ban against people from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen who have bona fide relationships with people in the U.S.

    The U.S. Supreme Court has already agreed to hear the travel ban case in April. In December, the high court said the ban could be fully enforced while appeals made their way through the courts.

    In its ruling, the 4th Circuit said the ban has a “much broader deleterious effect” than banning certain foreign nationals. The ban, the court said, “denies the possibility of a complete, intact family to tens of thousands of Americans”.

    “On a fundamental level, the Proclamation second-guesses our nation’s dedication to religious freedom and tolerance,” Chief Justice Roger Gregory wrote for the court in the majority opinion.

    American Civil Liberties Union Deputy Legal Director Cecillia Wang, who argued the case before the court, said she was not surprised by the ruling.

    “The Constitution prohibits government actions hostile to a religion,” Ms. Wang said.

    The International Refugee Assistance Project, one of the groups challenging the ban, said the policy has had a “devastating impact” on U.S. families waiting to reunite with their family members and foreign students seeking educational opportunities in the U.S.

    “Today’s ruling affirms that they are being unjustly targeted by this ban,” said Mariko Hirose, the group’s litigation director.

    The administration has said the ban is a legitimate measure to protect national security.

    During a hearing before the 4th Circuit in December, Deputy U.S. Assistant Attorney General Hashim Mooppan told the judges that the President has broad authority to bar foreign nationals he believes would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. He said the latest restrictions were the product of a global, multiagency review that found the specified countries do not share enough security-related information with the U.S. He said the ban is designed to protect the nation from terrorism and other threats.

    In a dissenting opinion, Judge Paul Niemeyer said the 4th Circuit’s ruling was an attempt to “second-guess U.S. foreign policy, in particular, the president’s discretionary decisions on immigration, implicating matters of national security”.

    Mr. Niemeyer said the majority should have based its decision on the text of the presidential proclamation alone and not considered statements Trump made on the campaign trial and after he became president.

    “At bottom, the danger of this new rule is that it will enable a court to justify its decision to strike down any executive action with which it disagrees. It need only find one statement that contradicts the official reasons given for a subsequent executive action and thereby pronounce that the official reasons were a pretext,” Mr. Niemeyer wrote.

    The ruling was the second time the 4th Circuit has rejected a travel ban. In May, the court cited Mr. Trump’s remarks on Muslim travelers while rejecting an earlier version of the ban, finding it “drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination”.

    Mr. Trump announced his initial travel ban on citizens of certain Muslim-majority nations shortly after taking office in January, bringing havoc and protests to airports around the United States. A federal judge in Seattle soon blocked it, and courts since then have wrestled with the restrictions as the administration has rewritten them.

    The latest version blocks travelers from the listed countries to varying degrees, allowing for students from some, while blocking other business travelers and tourists, and allowing for admissions on a case-by-case basis.

    (Source: AP)

  • National Congress of American Indians surprised by Elizabeth Warren

    National Congress of American Indians surprised by Elizabeth Warren

    WASHINGTON (TIP) :  Sen. Elizabeth Warren on February 14th said that President Donald Trump is disrespecting Native Americans by referring to her as ‘‘Pocahontas,’’ and that while she does not claim membership in any tribe, she has never used her ancestry ‘‘to get a break’’ or advance her career.

    In a surprise appearance before the National Congress of American Indians, the Massachusetts Democrat said her mother’s family was part Native American and her father’s parents ‘‘were bitterly opposed to their relationship.’’ Her mother was born in Oklahoma in 1912 and married her father in 1932, Warren said.

    ‘‘The story they lived will always be a part of me. And no one — not even the president of the United States — will ever take that part of me away,’’ she said.

    Warren, 68, is running for re-election to the Senate and is widely considered a possible 2020 presidential contender. She frequently has sparred with Trump, who derisively refers to Warren as ‘‘Pocahontas’’ to mock her claim about being part Native American.

    Pocahontas was a native woman who lived in present-day Virginia in the 1600s and agreed to marry an English colonist to help ensure peace and protect her people.

    Warren said she understands why Trump and other political opponents ‘‘think there’s hay to be made here.’’ She added: ‘‘The joke, I guess, is supposed to be on me.’’

    In her most expansive public remarks on her ancestry, Warren told the Native American group that she respects the distinction between Native American heritage and membership in a tribe.

    ‘‘I understand that tribal membership is determined by tribes — and only by tribes,’’ she said.

    But contrary to claims by opponents, ‘‘I never used my family tree to get a break or get ahead,’’ Warren said. ‘‘I never used it to advance my career.’’

    Questions about Warren’s ancestry first surfaced during her 2012 Senate run, when she ousted Republican Sen. Scott Brown to claim the seat once held by the late Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy.

    During the campaign, law school directories from the Association of American Law Schools from 1986 to 1995 surfaced that put Warren on the association’s list of ‘‘minority law teachers’’ when she was teaching at the University of Texas and the University of Pennsylvania. Warren said she listed herself with Native American heritage because she hoped to meet people with similar roots.

    Jefferson Keel, president of the tribal congress, said his group was ‘‘deeply honored by the courage’’ Warren showed in addressing a topic that has vexed her for nearly six years.

    ‘‘We appreciate her candor, humility and honesty and look forward to working with her as a champion for Indian Country,’’ Keel said.

    But Mike Reed, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said Warren ‘‘failed to apologize to the actual Native Americans in the audience and continued to insist that she really is a Native American, despite the long list of evidence that indicates otherwise.’’

    If Warren believed she deserved Native American status when she started checking the minority box in 1986, ‘‘why did she stop claiming minority status once she made it to the Ivy League in the 1990s?’’ Reed asked.

    In a 2012 interview with The Associated Press, Warren, then a Harvard Law School professor, said she and her brothers were told of the family’s heritage by their parents.

    Warren, who was raised in Oklahoma, said her father’s parents objected to her parents’ marriage because her mother ‘‘was part Cherokee and part Delaware.’’

    The family dispute was ‘‘something my brothers and I grew up with. We always understood the difference, between our father’s family and our mother’s family,’’ she told the AP.

    Warren repeated much of that family history on Wednesday, although she did not mention any specific tribes in referring to her mother.

    Warren told the Native American group that Trump’s taunts had led her to a decision: ‘‘Every time someone brings up my family’s story, I’m going to use it to lift up the story of your families and your communities.’’

    She said the story of Pocahontas has long ‘‘been taken away by powerful people who twisted it to serve their own purposes.’’

    While Pocahontas played a key role in mediating relations between the tribes ruled by her father and early white settlers, she later was abducted, imprisoned and held captive and died at about age 21, Warren said.

    Warren called it ‘‘deeply offensive’’ that Trump keeps a portrait of President Andrew Jackson hanging in the Oval Office, ‘‘honoring a man who did his best to wipe out Native people.’’

    The type of violence Jackson and his allies perpetrated on Indian tribes ‘‘remains part of life today’’ for Native Americans on and off Indian reservations, Warren said, noting that more than half of Native American women have experienced sexual violence.

     

  • Lawmaker slams Republicans over security clearances amid Porter scandal

    Lawmaker slams Republicans over security clearances amid Porter scandal

    WASHINGTON DC (TIP): A Democratic lawmaker is taking aim at his Republican colleagues following reports that White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter was able to continue to work in the West Wing despite being denied a permanent security clearance due to domestic abuse allegations made against him.

    In a letter released on Thursday, February 8, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, slammed Republicans for stonewalling his efforts to obtain information about the security clearance process at the White House.

    “If you had agreed to any of our previous requests for information on these matters, the White House would have been required to answer key questions about why Mr. Porter was denied a final security clearance, who at the White House was aware of this information, and how Mr. Porter was allowed to remain in his position,” Cummings wrote in his letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-South Carolina.

    “In this and many, many other areas, it appears that the Oversight Committee has constructed a wall around the White House in order to prevent any credible oversight whatsoever,” he wrote.

    A spokesperson for Gowdy declined to comment on Cummings’ letter.

    Porter, who as White House Staff Secretary controlled access to the president and the flow of information into the Oval Office, resigned Wednesday after his two ex-wives went public with multiple allegations of domestic violence.

    According to reports, Porter served in the White House without a full security clearance. Sources tell ABC News that senior White House officials were aware of the allegations against Porter while he worked in the Oval Office.

    Cummings has repeatedly pressed Gowdy to subpoena the White House – and asked the White House directly – for information regarding the security clearances Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser. He and other Democratic leaders have asked the administration to explain the status of Kushner’s clearance given reported omissions on his security clearance questionnaire.

    Cummings recently revealed that the Department of Defense approved 165 interim security clearances over a three-year period, giving access to the government’s sensitive and secret information to people who later failed background checks.

    Cummings is not alone in calling for a congressional inquiry into questions about Porter’s security clearance. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-New York, who served as President Bill Clinton’s White House staff secretary and as a deputy staff secretary, wrote to Gowdy on Wednesday asking for an investigation.

    “Mr. Porter’s history made him a primary target for blackmail while serving in the role,” he wrote. “Allowing him to handle sensitive national security documents without conducting a background check is cause for bipartisan concern.”

    (Source: ABC)

     

  • Indian Americans Voice Out Their Opinions Against President Trump’s Immigration Policies

    Indian Americans Voice Out Their Opinions Against President Trump’s Immigration Policies

    WASHINGTON DC (TIP)  : Democratic National Committee  Vice Chair Grace Meng, Washington State Senator Manka Dhingra, and DACA recipient Parthiv Patel held a press call to discuss President Trump’s immigration policies and the destructive effects they have on Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities.

    “I’m the daughter of immigrants. The first one in my family to come to the US was my grandmother,” said Meng. “ She worked for years as a nanny and was eventually able to sponsor my mom.”

    She said that without family-sponsored immigration, she would not have been able to be here today representing communities and the country in Congress.

    “Contrary to what this administration says, (Dreamers are) the hardest working Americans that you will see,” she said.

    Washington State Senator Dhingra said that she has been involved in addressing hate crimes in King County since after 9/11.

    “The area that I represent—45th LD is home to many tech employees—some of whom are here on a H1B visa—it is taking them decades to convert that visa into a green card.  Decades,” said Dhingra. “The question that people forget to ask, is what happens to their children when they turn 18.  These kids come here at a young age with their parents, but when they become adults, they suddenly have no legal status.  We are a country of immigrants.  Immigrants enrich and contribute to the success of America every single day.”

    DACA recipient Patel, the first DREAMER admitted to the Pennsylvania and New Jersey State bars, said he did not what to do.

    “All I thought was – was all of my hard work for nothing? Was I ever going to be admitted to the bar? Was I ever going to be able to fulfill my dreams of becoming an attorney? But I decided to do what Dreamers do best; I decided to preserve,” Patel said. “I was never really big about speaking out and showcasing my status. But that kind of changed for me over the course of the last six months. Realizing that Dreamers have a lot on the line. There are nights where Dreamers toss and turn in bed not knowing what’s going to happen.”

    Patel said that he felt like this was a time where Dreamers who can lend their voice, and  speak out.

    “That’s why I began to speak out. Also, another reason that I began to speak out was because I realized that especially in the Asian community, there is this notion that nobody speaks about their status,” Patel said. “I think it’s important that we begin to speak out, because this is not just a Latino issue… this is a global issue.”

     

  • Indian American Raj Shah answers immigration, other issues in historic White House Press briefing

    Indian American Raj Shah answers immigration, other issues in historic White House Press briefing

    WASHINGTON DC (TIP): Indian American, Raj Shah, 32, began his temporary stint at the press briefing Feb. 8, to fill the shoes of Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders who is away on a well-earned vacation. He was bombarded by questions on a senior White House advisor’s sudden exit. Shah faced the press in what is considered a grueling position, in the midst of a tumultuous few days at the White House when President Trump’s staff secretary, Rob Porter, resigned Feb. 7, after spousal abuse allegations surfaced.

    But Shah was thrown a question by an Indian journalist, about the president’s thoughts concerning legal immigration as it affects Indian immigrants, and those applying for Green Cards through the normal route, and on lifting the country quotas for legal immigration

    “The President wants to see legal immigration reforms. He wants to see us move from a process currently existing in law, of extended family chain migration toward merit-based legal immigration reform,” Shah said.” We want to ensure that people coming in the country are the best and the brightest regardless of nationality, creed, religion or anything else in-between,” Shah added.

    “We want to look at educational backgrounds, ability to contribute to the workforce in a way that helps American workers,” Shah said, adding, “The President wants reforms that improve America’s economy.”

    The administration has consistently referred to family-reunification provisions in the U.S. Immigration Act, as “chain migration,” a term that some have said, gives a derogatory connotation to a clause that is held in high regard by Indian-Americans who have fought over decades to protect the right to bring in their immediate family members to this country.

    The press briefing came on the heels of stories revealing Shah’s own scathing remarks about President Trump’s candidacy in 2016 emails with colleagues. However, reporters preferred focusing on the latest scandal to hit the White House.

    The New Yorker magazine in an article earlier this week, unearthed emails Shah sent while at the Republican National Committee, where he is known to have crafted the White Paper on how to defeat Hillary Clinton.

    When President Trump’s “Access Hollywood” tape surfaced where he talked about being able to grope women because of his celebrity status, Shah, sent the following email to a colleague, as reported by New Yorker – “U wanna hear something a little f–ked up?” adding, “I’m kinda enjoying this, some justice. I honestly don’t think it’s the worst thing he’s done but he somehow got passes for the other acts.”

    But Shah is not the first nor only staffer, neither is he the first Indian American in the Trump administration, to have made negative comments about Trump during the Republican presidential primaries. These appear not to have influenced the president’s choice about hiring them.

    The prime example is former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who is now the only Indian-American to hold a cabinet-level position in the Trump administration as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, opposed Trump strongly during the campaign.

    Haley openly backed Florida Senator Marco Rubio and then Texas Senator Ted Cruz, before finally endorsing Trump as the presidential candidate. She also demanded Trump release his tax returns, castigating him for using strong divisive rhetoric, and also opposing his singling out of Muslims for an immigration ban.

    In response Trump described her as “very weak” on immigration, and tweeted, “The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!” on March 1, 2016.

  • Comptroller Stringer Launches 2018 M/WBE University to Increase Access to Citywide Opportunities

    Comptroller Stringer Launches 2018 M/WBE University to Increase Access to Citywide Opportunities

    Year-Long Workshop Series to Help M/WBEs Find Opportunities for Growth Through the City. The initiative, M/WBE University, will train and support M/WBEs in an effort to help small businesses grow.

    NEW YORK CITY (TIP):  Comptroller Stringer has announced a 2018 initiative to help minority and women-owned business enterprises – known as M/WBEs – gain access to City contracts. Known as “M/WBE University,” the year-long series of workshops is designed to help M/WBEs get certified with the City, navigate the procurement process, and gain access to government business.

    While City agencies are making important strides in delivering contracts to M/WBEs, major gaps remain. Last year, the City awarded just over $1 billion in contracts to M/WBEs, which represent only 4.9 percent of all awards.

    “Four years ago, we did something no one had before. We started analyzing and holding agencies accountable for how – and to whom – it delivers contracts. We saw deep inequities, and a playing field that was far from level. With M/WBE University, we’re building on our office’s work and helping business owners navigate the City procurement process. This is about fairness,” Comptroller Stringer said. “M/WBE University is so important because these companies help to build real, local wealth across all of our communities. That’s why we need to work with these businesses closely. If we’re going to have a true five-borough economy where everyone has a fair shot, we have to make sure our M/WBEs are successful.”

    The year-long series of workshops will, for the first time, bring in representatives from major companies like IBM, CDW, and Ricoh Partner, as well as other businesses that contract with the City for legal, construction, and accounting services. Along with opening the doors to City contracting, M/WBE University will provide businesses with opportunities in contracting directly with the Comptroller’s office.

    The list of workshops include:

    February 23

    Doing Business with NYC as an IBM, CDW, or Ricoh Partner

    https://MWBEUnivIT2018.eventbrite.com

    March 23

    Become a Prequalified NYC Auditor

    https://MWBEUnivCPAs.eventbrite.com

    May 25

    Capital, Bonds, & Tax Breaks for Businesses Impacting NYC

    https://MWBEUnivEconDev.eventbrite.com

    July 13

    Doing Business with the Comptroller

    https://MWBEUnivComptroller.eventbrite.com

    August 17

    Prevailing Wage: What Your Business Needs to Know

    https://MWBEUnivPrevailingWage.eventbrite.com

    December 14

    The Future of M/WBEs in NYC

    https://MWBEUnivFuture.eventbrite.com

    Since taking office, Comptroller Stringer has launched several initiatives to increase transparency and improve access to City contracting by M/WBEs. Those include his “Making the Grade” report, which assessed each City agency’s actual spending with M/WBEs compared to citywide procurement goals established by Local Law 1 of 2013 and a Red Tape Commission that pinpointed roadblocks for small businesses.

    M/WBE data from the most recent Making the Grade report shows:

    Since the letter grade report started in 2014, annual spending with M/WBEs increased by $208 million to $554 million in FY 2017.

    More agencies receiving “A” and “B” grades than ever before and compared to FY 2016, grades increased at 13 agencies in FY 2017. Overall, 42 percent of agencies saw their grade increase in FY 2017.

    In FY 2017, the City awarded $21 billion total in goods and services to outside vendors. Of all contracts, just over $1 billion was awarded to M/WBEs. That represents 4.9 percent of all awards – an uptick from 4.8 percent a year ago and a rise from 3.9 percent in FY 2014.

    To read the full “Making the Grade” report, click here.

    To see the schedule of M/WBE University events, click here.

    https://comptroller.nyc.gov/event/comptrollers-mwbe-university/