 By Samir Shukla
The punishment is too much to bear. When you breathe music, you can only hold your breath so long when the music has been silenced. One of my prime enjoyments in life is live music. Yes, we can listen to music anytime, especially in the contemporary era where phones also serve as music players. Music enhances life. Music is not the only thing that can do this, of course, but it is the only true universal language.  By Samir Shukla
Convention Junction. What's Your Function? The organizers for both Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention are gearing up for their upcoming extravaganzas. The matter of a little pandemic is being seen by both parties in different lights. Democrats are thinking they may have to do a smaller convention or possibly even a virtual one. The Republicans are going full steam ahead to hold a convention with thousands of participants. Both conventions are now slated for August, DNC in Milwaukee and RNC in my hometown Charlotte. I will be covering both, either virtually or in person. Let's see what pans out. More on this as it develops. Dear Libertarians Stop it. Please. Stop fielding candidates for president. You are not going to win the office anytime soon. Maybe forget the Senate as well. Put all your marbles, money, and political infrastructure into the House of Representatives. Create a block of Libertarian representatives and then forge a power voice. Also, fine tune your message. It is overtly individualistic and just sounds kooky to the average voter. It simply doesn't resonate with lots of people. Your message of fiscal and military spending responsibility and progressive social agenda fits with most Americans' thinking. But you are lousy in propagating this message. If there is ever going to be a major third party, you can be it, but not the way you currently do things.  By Samir Shukla
Sunny Jain Wild Wild East (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings) Sunny Jain, bandleader of Red Baraat, recently released his new solo album, Wild Wild East. Jain is a Brooklyn-based rock and jazz drummer, composer and a master dhol player, ably straddling jazz, bhangra, Punjabi folk and Indian rhythms. His new recording is a mix of instrumentals, dissonant hip hop tracks and spirituals, touched with reflections on immigrants and minority communities. In the liner notes he writes about his visits to India, Jain was born to Indian American parents in Rochester, NY, and recalls his heritage while tapping into the current immigration ethos of America, as well as larger global community.  By Samir Shukla
So, the race is now official between presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and the incumbent Donald Trump, and the invisible candidate, the Virus. The voters in the two camps are set, and the battle is on to get the votes out and persuade a few of the folks on the fence to vote for a particular candidate. The virus will stalk us with its own agenda throughout the year. This will now be the strangest presidential election season in history. The large crowds and rallies have been relegated to virtual appearances. Trump is appearing daily talking about the bug and what may come next. He is itching to hold live rallies again. Biden would also love to talk in front of crowds. Things just aren't the same this time around.  By Samir Shukla
Can we open up the window just a little bit? Open the country softly, but carry a big bottle of sanitizer (apologies to Teddy Roosevelt). And, of course, wear a mask when outside your home and around other people. Debates are raging around the country on when to start opening the economy. All sides have a point in this debate and there are no easy answers. We can't open things up and jump back into our pre-virus routines too quickly and possibly risk massive infections and forcing a second round of stay at home orders. We also can't hide out in our homes for an indefinite period and watch the already decimated economy just melt away. Businesses and livelihoods that were built over years, even lifetimes, are teetering on bankruptcy and closures in a matter of weeks. |
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