My thoughts on American Constitutionalism

Beej's Sunday Video Blog - Sunday, March 13, 2016 (North Andover, MA)

I discuss Donald J. Trump, my father Dr. Mukti L. Das, the Republican National Committee, Senator Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton, Senator Ted Cruz, Georgia, Jeb Bush the United States Constitution, my college friend Dan Haley and his former boss Mitt Romney, growing up in Massachusetts and other such topics. The first Sunday edition of my Video Blog is here for your consideration. I found inspiration from John Legend's very public discussion with his classmate at UPenn, Donald Trump Jr., in which he called Trump's father and many of his supporters racist. While I have not formally done the same, I feel Trump's danger emanates from an equally pernicious place. Let me know what your thoughts are.

A Call for a More Perfect Political Union

Today's Senate passing of a bill to end the fiscal impasse delivers a stinging defeat for hard liners in Congress. While the opportunity to come together and work as a proper legislative body was lost long ago, I continue to fear that the idiocy of the far right will continue in to the next budget discussion only months away.  How members of a legislative body can be elected and serve with such destructive political philosophies continues to bewilder me. Creation of consensus from wide ranging viewpoints, not the perpetuation of poles, is the true sign of leadership. I call upon my friends from all political leanings to pledge to form a new political class which does just that. I suspect that history will not judge kindly this epoch and the errant cowboys who held our Federal government hostage for two weeks; let history also note that this low point served as a foundation for a better and more sound political union. For now, I am thankful that this ugly episode has passed. God bless America and guide her to that more stable place. 

Democratic National Convention - First Night Recap

I spent part of my evening watching the DNC's convention being held in Charlotte. The speech of the evening belonged to Governor Deval Patrick, from my home state of Massachusetts, who gave the audience the gem that Mitt Romney, as governor, was "more interested in having the job than doing the job."

I thought Governor Martin O'Malley, who was Mayor of Baltimore when I was a law clerk at the Federal Court there, was good, on point, and got his message across that America should move "forward, not back," a message that was reinforced by convention goers wielding placards.

The keynote was delivered by San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who was the first Latino keynote speaker at a Democratic National Convention and was introduced to the convention by his twin brother who is running for US Congress.  His performance, with a touching tribute to his immigrant grandmother and mother wasn't as strong as I had expected. While his focus on investments in education as a necessary condition for future economic growth in America is on point, he didn't have the depth to really move the convention. That said, he was better than many of the speakers at least week's RNC convention in terms of audience response.

The last big speech of the evening belonged to First Lady Michelle Obama, who spoke passionately about the President and her role as a mother and First Lady. I thought she humanized both the President and the basis of his decision making, suggesting that his was a personal cause not a political one. Her tribute to her father and her emphasis on her roll as "mother in chief" as she called it, was moving.

I agree with CNN analyst and former advisor to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton, David Gergen, that the Democrats showed up ready for prime time and are on track to handily beat the impact of last week's RNC convention if their performances continue at the current pace.  Not hard to agree with Gergen given how bad some of the RNC speeches were, including the bizarre one from Academy Award winner Clint Eastwood.

Stay tuned.

Elizabeth Warren for US Senate

I like Scott Brown.

He seems like a nice guy. But, in this age of national and global turbulence, I believe Massachusetts deserves better than nice.

Economic reform. Healthcare. Abortion. The Supreme Court. Welfare. Our basic liberties.

Nice is good. We deserve the best.

I'm with Elizabeth Warren.

Indique - Washington, DC

3512 -14 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 244-6600
http://www.indique.com/

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There was a time that you could walk into this Cleveland Park Indian spot and get a table and a great Indian meal without a reservation or long wait. Unfortunately, much has changed in a few years time. Fortunately, however, it's only the "no reservations needed" bit that's changed. The food and, to a very slightly lesser extent, the service, is still strong.

Indique bills itself as the restaurant that offers "Unique Indian Flavors." While unique is perhaps a lofty aspiration, Indique delivers most of what it promises. To start, the physical layout of the restaurant is nifty. No matter where I seem to be seated, there's always seems to be a decent amount to see around and yet a bit of serenity that allows me to enjoy the company I'm with. I first went to Indique shortly after it opened. My girlfriend at the time used to live in the neighborhood and she mentioned a spot she had wanted to try. So we went, and soon we had become big Indique fans. I lived in Boston -- so she quickly became a regular while I remained a fan from afar. At the time, and for a bit thereafter, we thought we had discovered our little secret -- an undiscovered spot with tasty and well prepared food at reasonable prices. Apparently, the secret's now out of the bag.

On this particular trip, a few weeks ago, I went to Indique with my parents. We drove from Frederick, Maryland, where my dad has now relocated to. Having driven there, we were quite happy with the presence of the valet service, which was reasonably priced and quite prompt. We arrived late at the restaurant and were told that our reservations were just about to be canceled. Luckily, they were not.

We skipped the appetizers because mom, dad, and I had eaten a fairly large lunch only a few hours before. Indique's entrees, unlike many Indian restaurants, are not served family style for sharing. They are served on large square plates with large individual portions of food with rice, lentils, and other accompaniments, which can vary by dish. We decided to be difficult and attempt to share each dish. The size of the dishes were less than cooperative, but the waiters did their best to make everything fit.


As our first dish, mom ordered the Chicken Chettinad (shown above). The menu proudly states that this chicken is "not for the faint hearted" and that it is an "authentic preparation with toasted telecherry peppercorns, served with grilled tomato and lemon rice." While I am quite sure the dish did not rise to a level sufficient to alarm those who are faint of heart, the Chettinad was quite flavorful and aromatic. We all enjoyed it.

Our second dish, which has been described by several Indique fans as "crack" (without any implication that crack is actually good, tasty or otherwise) was the Baingan Bhartha which, is roasted eggplant cooked with onions and tomatoes. The eggplant, or baingun (which in Bengali literally translates to "without anything good or nutritional"), was, as advertised, excellent.

We rounded out our dinner with a Chicken Tikka Makhani (literally translated as butter chicken). The tikka makhani has become somewhat ubiquitous in Indian restaurants. Indique's version was flavorful and tasty. Indian diners dining at Indian restaurants -- especially those of an earlier generation (like my parents) can be very hard critics to please (always asking, "could we have done better at home?"). Despite the rigor of the inspection, my parents and I agreed that the overall dining experience at Indique was splendid. From distinct dishes to attentive service, Indique is a must visit in the Cleveland Park area. Let me know what you think if you are ever there!