I have an opinion

Hillary Wins West Virginia on Faith

2008-05-13T21:58:00.000-07:00

"Its faith that got me West Virginia" said Hillary in her victory speech tonight. She climbed a mountain, but there are more to climb. There is all this talk about Obama nearing the finish line, the delegate lead, the 30% of popular vote he needs to cross. The pundits have declared him an almost winner again. Some super delegates have switched sides and deserted her. Can her faith get past Obama. I think so. Strong faith no matter what faith it is can bring tremendous positivity into ones life. I think if Hillary continues to put her heart above her head and continues to have strong faith - she can climb the next few mountains and she can beat Obama and McCain. All the faith to you Hillary - keep fighting.

Hillary's first Oregon Ad - Vote Hillary

2008-05-02T18:46:00.001-07:00

I was just posting a comment on Blue Oregon and realized it made sense to post it here. It was about who really is best to be president.

Its great to make lofty speeches. They are powerful, compelling and inspiring especially when spoken from the heart. It shows that the person's heart is above their head or close to their head. That is what you need in a great President. That is how you build the warm courage to make bold decisions. Hillary has shown a lot of courage during those challenging years at the white house and through out her support of Bill. She sacrificed her career for Bill Clinton and now is ready to build a future for our country. Who else but her is the best to lead this nation. She has her heart above her head!

The campaign is in full swing. Here is the first ad from her in Oregon. With less than 3 weeks to primary and the ballots received in the mail.

VOTE HILLARY!

Fundraiser for Jeff Merkeley

2008-04-30T06:58:00.000-07:00

Support Jeff Merkely for US Senate.

Steve Novick Democratic Candidate for Senate - NOT

2008-04-16T01:21:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting play by the Jeff Merkely candidate on the Willamete Week Interview of all the democratic potentials for Senate. Novick has out-done himself and this jeapordy style video is not only funny but very telling and seals it for me on who really is the best democratic candidate - Jeff Merkley. Enjoy the video.

Novick in Jeopardy from wweek.video on Vimeo.

Hillary Clinton's campaign in Oregon - Starts with a BANG!

2008-04-09T23:07:00.000-07:00

This monday morning I received a pleasant surprise. A call from Hillary's campaign in LA inviting me to attend the opening of her headquarters in downtown Portland. FINALLY! I was bummed to miss her rally last Saturday 4 miles from my house. 4000 attended and there was renewed energy. The Oregonian wrote a front page article on Hillary arriving in Oregon. Arrive she did with her campaign team. Thank you Susan my blogger pal / commentor/Hillary die hard on Blue Oregon for your email and finally meeting me with a hug on Monday.

So at 6 pm the doors opened on NW 5th and Couch in the Pearl District. There must be a few hundred people young and old. I wish I had brought my girls with me. It was great to see a whole team of young staffers all shipped from accross the country. Finally we all feel united for a cause, for Hillary Clinton. The office is open 9 am to 9 pm. Volunteers needed for making calls. I wish I could but I am off to India for 3 weeks, but when I return, I will be available. In the meantime I will blog. I have been quiet, but now its time get back on the Hillary track. She has come to Oregon in full force. I was amazed at the speed with which this campaign machine works.

Lets kick some ass!

Jeff Merkley for US Senate

2008-03-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

Jeff Merkley is running for the democratic nomination for the US Senate. I support him and endorse. I met Jeff last last year and was impressed with his vision and experience. He is a uniter and he has my endorsement amongst many other important endorsements he has received so far.

Children need both parents - joint custody and shared parenting

2008-03-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

Joint custody and shared parenting is the right of every child who is torn between two parents in a divorce. This is a systemic problem, especially severe in the state of Oregon - where one parent abuses the system by marginalizing the other. In majority of cases fathers are impacted. Please click on this button and vote for a change that is long overdue. Its in the best interest of the young silent voices who cry but can't speak and influence. Its time to end this insanity. PLEASE SUPPORT THIS ENDEAVOR.

Going Green - The new hoopla for economic growth

2008-03-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

I just read Leslie Carlson's post on Blue Oregon titled -A green economy leaves no one behind. I cannot help but be cynical and glum about the statements made by these visionaries that include politicians, writers, press and environmentalists who have taken the idea of going green as the next big economic revolution. I agree and support the idea of using renewable energy and reducing pollution around the world. But this vision that somehow it will uplift the economically disadvantaged is flawed and reckless distraction from the very real and important issue of Education.

Lets face it, without a good education system, that generates highly educated and skilled labor force, without a well funded school and university system, that keeps the best and brightest in the state, Oregon will continue to handout tax breaks to attract industry and continue to damage its education system. It will churn out more economically disadvantaged people who love the environment, but live paycheck to paycheck.

What does going green have anything to do with being a minority in the Portland metro area or any area for the matter. Does the minority emit any more pollution or live in worse polluted area? I am a "minority" with severe asthma and live in one of those "low" asthma case neighborhoods. My asthma has nothing to do with any more or any less pollution.

I agree, going solar will be an amazing transformation. But going solar in this country is too darn expensive. So its going to take some time to get costs down and wider presence. I was looking at the small solar setup at my kids school in west hills. It serves a small portion of their power needs, but it was expensive to setup.

This vision that going green is going to somehow create this massive uplift in the "economically disadvantaged" group of minorities is flawed. Better education is going to drive the economically disadvantaged to a better living - whether they are white, black, brown blue, green or any combination of races, colors creed. I don't care for these percentages. I can point to remote regions in the south and Midwest that are predominantly white, with no economic advantage other than limited government handouts that thrive on drugs. Putting solar panels on their roof-tops will not create economic advantage. Its not going to bring the revolution that's necessary to make a significant impact. Our dependence on oil is not going to subside that easily. Get the economically disadvantage access to the same education that is available to advantaged and you will see real transformation.

So all you politicians, advocates and activists - think for a moment what really got you where you are today. Think about the root cause of economic disadvantage and look at areas that are economically advantaged and how they got there in the first place. Its education stupid! PLEASE PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOU MOUTH IS!

An open letter to Hillary Clinton's Oregon Campaign

2008-03-12T11:32:00.000-07:00

Immediately after Hillary's successful comeback on Super Tuesday II, Josh Kardon posted an inspiring post on Blue Oregon to Hillary's supporters to join in helping her win in Oregon. He posted an email address. I posted a comment applauding him and sent an email immediately offering my help. Its been several days - I am still waiting for a reply or someone to contact. One would have expected a quick reponse.

Its going to be a dog fight for Hillary to win in Oregon and she needs all the help she she can get between now and the Democratic primaries. If her campaign is going to show this sort of response, all bets are off. Obama will crush her. He already leads in the polls in Oregon. Am I wasting my time and energy on someone "who is going to lose!" because the people working for her are losers!

Kanwal Rekhi - Godfather of TIE and entreprenuers in Silcon Valley

2008-03-11T23:04:00.000-07:00

Kanwal Rekhi came to the United States as a student from India in 1967. In 1982 he founded Excelan, one of the first high tech startups in Silicon Valley, that made TCP/IP network cards. One of the first startups founded by an engineer of Indian origin in Silicon Valley. I remember Excelan when I moved to the valley in 1987. One of my close friends worked and would describe how Indian the company was. Kanwal is an amazing story - he broke the glass cieling and became President of Excelan and paved the way for many of us to shine. He sold Excelan to Novell in 1989 and became a board member of Novell. He was one of the founders of TIE (The Indus Entreprenuer) in 1992, which became a raging success and now is the largest enterprenuer backed organization in the world, open to anyone. Here is podcast where he talks about TIE.

http://www.podtech.net/home/2014/kanwal-rekhi-on-entrepreneurship-and-founding-of-tie#

Viral Entrepreneurship - Its what we need in Oregon

2008-03-06T22:38:00.000-08:00

I am on the board of a recently formed organization called TIE Oregon. TIE stands for "The Indus Entrepreneurs". It was founded in the early 1990s in silicon valley by engineers and budding entrepreneurs who represented a region called Indus or the Indian subcontinent. TIE spawned many successful startups in the silicon valley, including hotmail.com, junglee.com and Exodus. Many of these companies have changed the landscape of user experience on the internet and some of the founders like Ram Sriram have helped form giants like Google. The founders of these successful companies have in turn bankrolled other companies creating a viral frenzy.

This evening we organized an entrepreneurship event in Hillsboro where two entrepreneurs were invited to talk about their experience to a group of Indian and non Indian wanna be entrepreneurs. They included Manish Chandra, CEO of Kaboodle based in Sunnyvale, in the heart of Silicon valley, and Caroline Cummings , CEO of OsoEco, a Eugene based company focused on building an online community of "green" solutions including products, services and living. OsoEco recently won an award at the Angel Oregon conference in the sustainability track. It has raised $370,000 in private capital and received $60,000 from Angel Oregon.

Both these founders had an interesting and inspiring story to tell. OsoEco is a nascent startup still beta testing its website. Kaboodle is barely 3 years old. Kaboodle was formed sometime in 2005. By early 2007 it had raised and burnt $5 million in its "Series A" funding. It had a 2 million a month unique visitors presence on its website. The funds were exclusively raised from high net worth Angel-Capitalists, some of who like Ashish Gupta and Kanwal Rekhi were members of TIE in silicon valley. Their investment caused others like Ron Conway and Garage.com to invest. One investor according to Manish invested $600,000 because he had made $600 million on a $600,000 investment in another "Chandra", who founded Exodus.

While raising money from angels, Manish struggled for nearly a year to raise capital from traditional Venture Capitalists in silicon valley - a must for success. When he finally did find a firm from the east coast interested in investing, Ron Conway, an early investor in Google and Facebook, made a few phone calls and within a week Hearst Corporation purchased Kaboodle for a rumored $40 million from right under the VC's nose. That is an 8 times return in less than 24 months! Kaboodle bucked the trend and now is considered a poster child for startups that can succeed and get significant returns without traditional Venture Capital. Not $600 million but I am sure the $5 million or so was a great return for the "Chandra" investor in a very short period of time.

Kaboodle is now helping Hearst figure out how to make online advertising more effective for its customersi in the online world. Social networking is the next revolution in e-commerce and online shopping. Manish is a classic silicon valley success story. He came to the US from India as a student. He decided to stay back in the silicon valley on an H1 visa to work for a large technology firm like Intel as an engineer. He likely worked long and hard and finally broke the glass ceiling by getting an MBA and working his way up into management. He then tried his hands at a few startups till one day when he got inspired by an idea and finally took the plunge.

The difference? Unlike the past he had TIE Silicon Valley on his side as a catalyst. Other entreprenuers who had a tougher struggle in the 80s and 90s were now available to him as mentors and investors to guide and support him. I call it viral entreprenuership. Success breeding success at a much larger scale. I am sure there are hundreds if not thousands of success stories like Manish in silicon valley who have achieved rapid success through mentorship and access to capital.

Both these companies strived to attract a community of users on their website by using social networking around niche interests to attracts advertisers for revenue. The contrast is that one is in silicon valley and one in willamette valley. Its heartening to see OsoEco charging ahead with two bright young women as founders. Caroline is charasmatic, a true entreprenuer with a great presence and witty humor. She has made some success by raising a small amount of capital.

In contrast Manish used his TIE connections in silicon valley to take a niche idea and converted it rapidly into success story by getting decent investment capital to build a business. He was able to get an 8X return for his investors in two years. Can OsoEco replicate this success story as a startup based in Oregon? I think its possible if we could replicate the viral enterprenuership that exists in silicon valley.

As the chair-person of its mentorship program I think TIE Oregon can be a key catalyst for such a viral entreprenuership. All of us who are involved in this local chapter want this to happen in silicon forest.

So if you are an Oregonian, or wanna be Oregonian, an entreprenuer or wanna be entreprenuer - if you have an idea that can be brought to market, please visit us at TIE Oregon and become a member. We are open to all colors, culture and background, though are roots are Indian or Indus. Attend our events and become part of this viral movement. Join the mentorship program and let us help you in your success and breed future success!

Obama-maniacs eat your heart out - Hillary resurges

2008-03-04T21:20:00.000-08:00

Hillary backers have the house tonight. She has resurged in Ohio and has a shot in the arm to get the well deserved nomination to run for President. All "rhetoric" aside, she has what it takes, she is a fighter and she has shown that despite these huge waves of Obama she is the "Mama" and no one messes with "Mama" Clinton. The bitch is still the new black, and her bite is bigger than her bark. All the black poodle can do is yap!

Obama-maniacs eat your heart out! It was real manic while it lasted. Lets get back to the real-world - age and experience matters... its been REAL!

Obama losing steam in OH and TX - Is he really a muslim?

2008-03-04T10:11:00.000-08:00

Politico.com reports that Obama is losing his roaring edge in both OH and TX. Southern OH voters are searching the web about Obama's background using keywords like "Is Obama a muslim". He was defending himself in a 60 minute interview past Sunday with Steve Kroft. Does it matter whether he is muslim or christian or agnostic for the matter. There is some uncertainty in people's mind, but really folks, it should be his experience, or lack there of that should bring this uncertainty. Hillary has built a 6 point lead in OH and building one in TX. Today is Super Tuesday II. I am anxiously holding my breath to see the outcome.... either way history is on its way to be made in November 2008.

What does it cost to feed 59 million kids?

2008-03-03T16:24:00.000-08:00

Did you know that 59 million kids go without eating every day? Wow! And I am worried about not getting my next $3.00 latte kick in time. World Food Program, A UN agency that runs a feed the school children program worldwide just got $1 million in donation from actress Drew Barrymore, who spent time in Kenya with this program. Visit http://wfp.org for more information. According to the director of this program $3 Billion would solve the hunger problem of these kids worldwide. Isn't that a war worth fighting?

Bitch is the new black - Tina Fey for Hillary Clinton on SNL

2008-02-25T17:54:00.000-08:00

Darn it! I missed the SNL this past weekend. Tina Fey was back doing her usual humor on weekend update with Amy Poeler, with a special womens update. She went for the jugular for support for Hillary, by making this really outrageous and Hillary-ous comment 'Bitch is the new black!". SNL saw a surge in ratings this weekend, after being off for sometime because of writers strike. Here is the episode and I too hope she comes back in OH and TX.

Whats in the best interest of the children? -- Both Parents!

2008-02-23T20:06:00.001-08:00

There is an important kids issue that is begging attention in this country. Thousands of young children in Oregon other states with out-dated family law system suffer the loss of one parent in a divorce because the it favors one parent (usually mother who is in general the primary care giver) in case that parent disagrees to equally share custody (both legal and physical) of the children. It has become a systemic problem and the system encourages mothers to refuse to share custody even though the father is willing and available.

Mothers in that case typically get sole custody and majority of parenting time and the father is marginalized to a weekend dad with little mid-week time. Kids in such situations get caught up in the middle of expensive high conflict legal battles and get hurt. Studies have shown that kids fair best when there is shared custody which gives both parent equal opportunity to be involved in their upbringing. It reduces conflict between divorcing parents.

Oregon is one of the few states where joint custody is not a rebuttable presumption and family courts are reluctant to grant equal time to both parents. The silent sufferers - the kids! Most kids in the juvenile system are from single family homes where one parent is missing. Past efforts to change this law have been thwarted by special interest lobby serving the divorce industry.

With new laws on domestic partnership in Oregon, the lines between "mom" and "dad" are even more blurried... how long will these kids suffer... Some food for thought! Its about time to change these out-dates laws and make it even and fair for both parents and keep both of them equally in their lives. Kids need a voice too and they need both parents equally involved.

Hillary - Obama CNN debate

2008-02-23T13:08:00.000-08:00

Hillary continues her valiant fight to stay in, but her emotional comments at the end were conciliatory and showed she was willing to take the high road if he continues his winning streak and bow to the wish of the voters. I think "Change that can be xeroxed" comment was not in the best taste. She has been locked into to a defensive stand of experience as a way to distinguish herself, when she had so many moments where she could have shown her charisma. I think she could have defended her decision to vote for the war on Iraq as a decision that most of the country at that time was in support for. She had no choice - we all were foolish to buy into a foolish president. I am still voting for her. Lets see how the fight in Texas turns out. Good luck Hillary. may the force be with you.

Chris Matthews Humiliates State Senator Kirk Watson on MSNBC - Huffington Post

2008-02-20T14:19:00.000-08:00

As reported last night on Huffington Post -

"Texas State Senator Kirk Watson (D-TX) learned a lesson in preparedness Tuesday night when he was humiliated on MSNBC. Watson was on to talk about his support of Senator Obama alongside Representative Stephanie Tubbs (D-OH), who backs Senator Clinton. Watson has endorsed Obama and writes glowingly of all the things Obama will do for the country, if elected. But he was unable to answer Chris Matthews most basic demand: "Name some of his legislative accomplishments... name any..."

Read and watch more..

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/19/chris-matthews-humiliates_n_87493.html

Obama wins Wisconsin and WA

2008-02-19T22:24:00.000-08:00

I was absorbed in fighting my own battles of daily life today, so had no time to check results of the super mini tuesday till just a few minutes ago. I caught the tail end of Larry King live and then on to Anderson 360 with his panel. He asked Paul Begala - "what is Hillary doing wrong". Paul came up with this really funny and poignant reply "She is losing". Yes, she is losing and she gotta fight back!

Another big night for Barak Obama according to Anderson. He won 58-41 in Wisconsin, and the 50-47 in WA. In total he is ahead by 60 delegates. Democrat strategists like Donna Barrize and David Gergen are saying she needs to change her speech writer, find her voice and feel she can still fight back. Clinton campaign needs to fight hard. She needs to exploit any weaknesses she can find and kick Obama's ass in the debate this Thursday and compete for votes. Is it too late - IT IS NEVER TOO LATE! According to Gergen and Donna, she cannot take anything for granted, she needs to come back to the country in a more emotional way, with a new message and inspire supporters she may have taken for granted to stay with her or come back to her. She is a fighter and tough and she really needs to get going on it. Paul Begala tells Larry King she needs to take Edward's message and draw it as a battering ram and differentiate from Obama.

On a final note, my thanks to Dan for posting a comment on the Obama's psychological profile piece. I have replied with a follow up. Please readers, I would really like some comments, opinions and conversations. There is much to be said and much to be written. I may come accross as a Hillary fanatic, but I do plan to support whoever is nominated from the democratic party. The battle has only started for the change from GWB.

And for those who feel my posts are goofy, yes they are meant to be goofy, controversial, opinionated, and provocative. We are all entitled to our opinions and I use this blog to expresss mine. I welcome comments on here about my posts.

Obama-mania, Hillary-mania -- lets all calm down and relax!

2008-02-19T07:39:00.000-08:00

Before the next round of blood bath, on this mini super tuesday of the presidential primaries, or lets say the democratic nomination for the President, lets all take a few deep breaths, gently close our eyes, sit on the floor in a cross legged position, lift our chest and spine, roll our shoulders back, and relax and simply observe our breath as we inhale pure oxygen and exhale impure air. Now we fold our hands in a Namaste pose and then after a deep inhalation at the next exhalation, chant OM three times... OOOOHM.... OOOOHM...OOOOHM... Now place your hands on your thighs, and gently open your eyes and watch the following videos and enjoy the moment...

A psychological profile on Obama

2008-02-18T14:46:00.000-08:00

As I immerse myself in the lefty blogosphere of Hillary and Obama blogs my head started spinning reading the poll data, the pro and con arguments for and against them, the red vs blue conversion rates, whose bite is stronger than whose bark. Ultimately boiled down to this one very simple point -- Who are these people really? and does their personality support what I would want in a president.

I had an interesting discussion with my 7 year old the other day. She like her dad has now become interested in this Hillary vs Obama race. Her entire elementary class of 120 kids (grades 1 thru 6) voted for Hillary and sent a letter to her campaign recently announcing their support and endorsement for her. She asked me point blank -- "Daddy why dont you want to vote for Obama?". I really had to think hard. I have got to know Hillary as a person for the last 16 years as a public figure. I didn't know much about Obama. How do we get to know someone like him in just a few months?

In many ways we define ourselves by our historical perspective, our educational background, principles, parents, our upbringing etc. I only recently found out that Obama's middle name was Hussain. Hillary is so commonly and casually refered to as HRC - Hillary Rodham Clinton. After I heard this, which came a surprise, I felt Obama had not truly defined himself and his identity. According to reports I have read, he has denied he his muslim, a religion from his father. I really oppose people who do that. You have two parents and you are products of their genes and heritage. My kids follow two religions, their mother and their father's. I know religion is a personal choice, but I find it hard to believe that Obama was not exposed to his father's religion.

I feel we should be proud of our heritage and what our parents represent. These are values I teach my kids. Yes, we are all american but we all came from somewhere else. Denial of that heritage is like not fully defining yourself. I told my kid that one of the things I didn't care about Obama was that he doesn't use his middle name "Hussain". He comes accross as hiding it and I don't care about that in a person. Obama calls himself black, but does he represent all that is black about him? I am not really sure about that.
That speaks volumes for me when I make an assesment of a person.

Today, in my exploration of the lefty blogosphere I found a comment with the followiing link that describes a psychological profile of Obama. It made an interesting lunch time reading and was eye opening and resonated with feelings deep inside I have for why Obama never got me as excited as Hillary Clinton. I know many polls show Obama will blow McCain out of the water. Well folks, don't under-estimate these conservatives. They will have lots of dirt to dig out to slam him.

Peace Out!

http://www.contrariancommentary.com/community/Home/tabid/36/mid/363/newsid363/79/Default.aspx

Danes are the happiest people on earth -- 60 minutes tonight

2008-02-17T19:27:00.000-08:00

Morley Safer is doing a segment on Danish people. Recent research shows they are the most content people. Education and healthcare is free, there is no pressure in college, they are paid for parenting, subsidized child care and elderly care. They say they have "realistic expectations", 6 weeks of vacation, they love their beer and fish, but they pay 50% in taxes. Ben Shahar from Harvard University says we here in America feel that more is better, so we want it all. Over 90% of college students in the US are depressed and stressed. We are more stressed, overworked and unhappy. Americans could learn from the Danish on what happiness means, which is to be happy and have a lot of time with the family and less focus on money. Expectations folks reduces joy! Balance and realistic goals lead to more happiness. Add some yoga along with it and you have a winner.. Visit The Yogi'n Me to follow the journey of a Yogi's quest to achieve balance and happiness in his life.

Peace Out!

Click here to watch the 60 minutes segment.

Rock the Vote -- Yet another Poll, Hillary, Obama or McCain

2008-02-17T16:02:00.000-08:00

Lets just settle this for once and all. Please look to the right and vote for the candidate of your choice Hillary, Obama or McCain....

Peace Out!

"Words do matter" -- Barak Obama

2008-02-17T11:13:00.000-08:00

"Dont tell me words don't matter" he says in his speech in Milwaukee at a Democrat dinner last night. Yes Barak words do matter, but you have no idea what you are signing up for. Solutions, actions and experience do make a difference. One attendee stood up and applauded for Barak, but later told a CNN reporter "I liked his speech but I am voting for Clinton". Wake up Barak and partner with Hillary for a Clinton/Obama ticket which is guarenteed to win and change this nation. Actions are still louder than "words"!

Peace out!

Bobby Jindal -- A hope for the future

2008-02-17T09:18:00.001-08:00

I am watching this 36 year old governor of Louisana being interviewed by Wolf Blitzer on CNN. A life long Republican and son of Indian immigrants he parallels Obama as a hope for the future. Bobby was in the Senate prior to be elected governor of Louisana. He has a huge challenge in front of him with New Orleans. He says he has a historic opportunity to bring changes in the state of Louisana. Right on! He has chosen the right path to get more experience and he maybe in the future he could pursue an effort to be the first Indian-American President of the United States. Experience will count and go a long way for him....

Peace!