Author Archives: Kartik Krishnaiyer
Book Review: Grand Old Party – The History of the Republican Party
Purchase Grand Old Party: A History of the Republicans from Amazon.com Professor Lewis Gould wrote this concise history of The Republican Party right in the middle of the Bush Administration as the US was embroiled in two wars of choice in the Middle East. Gould’s work takes the party from its inception as a vehicle […]
The Handshake that shook Miami
How different is Miami than the rest of the country? Only in Miami could a simple handshake between world leaders at a funeral become a scandalous moment. President Obama’s handshake with Cuban President Raul Castro has sent shock-waves through southeast Florida. Of course I speak in jest as it was not just the Cuban-American political […]
The View from Abroad: The new earth, the new man
My grandfather a retired Indian Supreme Court Justice turned 98 last month. Even in his advanced age he continues to give political opinions. Today in the Hindu, one of India’s most respected English-language dailies he has articulated his views on the leadership crisis in today’s India where corruption and rampant, unchecked capitalism has taken hold […]
Florida GOP tax breaks do not always add up
Yesterday, the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald ran an earth shattering investigation into Governor Rick Scott’s failure to bring more jobs to the state of Florida. As we’ve noted regularly on this site, the type of middle-wage and high-wage professional jobs that Florida needs have tended to not transpire under the leadership of our […]
Americanism, Conservatism, Humanism and the Mandela Legacy
As a long-time student of history and someone who followed the debates of the 1980s I have found the domestic discussions after Nelson Mandela’s passing both fascinating and worrying. Much discussion has arisen as it inevitably would about Nelson Mandela’s connections to communists. As I wrote on Thursday, local government in Miami and Dade County […]
The shameful Miami snub of Mandela
In 1990 when Nelson Mandela was released from prison it was a time of great joy throughout the planet as east and west alike united in praise of the man. However that summer when Mandela came to the US he got a heroes welcome everywhere but one spot in the country- Miami. In what was […]
The Crist Files: Crist The Closet Democrat?
From the Crist files A Palm Beach Post Editorial from February 2007: Crist “Has Given Democrats More Than They Could Have Gotten” On Their Own In a February 2007 article analyzing Crist’s decision to use an Executive Order to restore all federal rights to felons after they have served their sentences, the Palm Beach Post […]
On President Obama, Socialism and Economic Reality
Some (note I said some and not all) Republicans like to claim the United States under President Obama is on its way to socialism. Yet we have not seen nationalization of any industry, and many of the national standards for education and health care conservatives complain about were actually suggested by Republicans prior to Obama […]
Left vs. Right, Florida vs. India, Corruption and Political Symmetry across the globe
After having spent sometime in India this month I have some observations on the similarities between the politics of the nation and the state of Florida. India and Florida share a somewhat similar climate but culturally are worlds apart. Yet the politics of both places are becoming eerily similar. First some background on India before […]
Charlie Crist: Making the right enemy in Big Sugar
Sometimes you can judge the quality of a candidate or campaign in the enemies they attract. For me Charlie Crist’s stock went up when I read veteran reporter Gary Fineout’s piece about the amount of money Big Sugar, the enemy of much of Florida’s precious and fragile ecosystem is pumping into Rick Soctt’s 527 “reelection” […]
The Florida Squeeze 