DISCUSSING PUBLIC POLICY, POLITICS, CREATIVE WRITING AND LITERATURE
Over the last several weeks, I finished reading The Adventures of Tintin comic book series. I felt as if I was traveling back to my childhood days. As I stated in an earlier post, The Adventures of Tintin played an important role in my childhood. I spent countless hours, turning the pages of the Tintin…
I have a growing YouTube channel, where I have posted over 130 videos (mostly short videos, known as YouTube Shorts) about food. It is amazing to see the kinds of reactions I get from my audience regarding the dishes I prepare. Cooking is my passion. Not only do I like cooking, but I also enjoy…
(The following piece of writing was posted by my mother, Hena Anam, on her Facebook account on October 25, 2023) A few days ago, I posted a writing on social media, before my son’s birthday. I wrote a tribute for my son, Tawsif Anam. This was not my first writing about him, as I had…
It is my understanding that human beings do not tend to speak about their suffering. However, that is changing, as it should. We must be vocal, so we do not suffer alone. There is pain and suffering all around us. Economic uncertainty, toxic environment, growing social unrest, and global turmoil—all of these affect us. As…
Observatory Drive brings back memories. My days in Madison as an undergraduate student, and later as a graduate student, flash before my eyes. It was on Observatory Drive in Madison that I had the opportunity to walk again. Much older, much more experienced, bruised by the challenges in life and gifted with hope—I once again…
This blog post contains writings by my mother–one written in 2015, and the other written in 2023. She posted these on Facebook. The writings appear in this post, starting with the one from 2023, and then the writing from 2015. The following has been written by my mother. She posted this on Facebook on October…
I am fortunate to have access to reliable automobiles, but there are many people in the Madison area who cannot afford a car for work or personal travel. Therefore, Madison needs better bus routes to provide people with access to safe transportation services. I remember, when I was in college and lived closer to UW…
Madison is facing public safety problems, as evident from the recent report of a brutal attack against a University of Wisconsin – Madison student. It is time to prioritize public safety and to make Madison safe again. I made Madison my home many years ago, after coming to the United States as an immigrant. It…
Last month, I was happy to get a new library card at Madison Public Library. Our city’s libraries have excellent resources for people of all ages. Years ago, when I was a student attending classes at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, I used to take advantage of the excellent collections at Madison Public Library,…
There seems to be frequent news, from around the country, about aggressive dogs attacking humans. It is time to strengthen laws to hold dog owners responsible in the event of a dog attack. The safety of human beings, from children to senior citizens, must be the highest priority. It is shocking to hear about reported…
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. We must all take cybersecurity seriously to help combat cyber threats and to protect individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. We live in the day and age of the internet. Technology is evolving every day. New electronic devices are reaching the hands of consumers to improve lives and…
For the past few weeks, I have been—during the scarce moments of leisure—picking up a few hardcover volumes that contain The Adventures of Tintin. Hergé, the creator of the Tintin comic book series, presented to us the marvelous characters who brighten up the minds of the readers. For me, the last few weeks have been…
There is growing unrest in Bangladesh—a country with an estimated population of 167 million people. Having been born and raised in Bangladesh, I am quite knowledgeable about the political landscape of this South Asian country, and I want to draw people’s attention to the need for security of U.S. Embassy officials there. The safety and…
It is quite despicable when public officials engage in the practice of nepotism and hand out special privileges to party members and abuse their power, disregarding the integrity of a body such as the United States Congress. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s action to relax the United States Senate’s dress code, to allow Senator John…
Donald Trump’s mugshot will help increase his popularity even further and may ensure his re-election, as many believe. Former President Donald Trump was processed at and released from Fulton County Jail on Thursday, August 24, 2023. Soon afterwards, his mugshot was released. The image started circulating on social media. Many left-wing politicians thought that a…
The first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle is scheduled to take place tonight in Milwaukee., Wisconsin. As the GOP presidential candidates get ready to debate, they must remember that Americans want a leader who can find policy solutions for the numerous challenges that our country is facing. The Republican field of primary…
We know President Joe Biden is running for re-election. We do not know who the Republican presidential nominee will be, yet. And then, there may be candidates running as independents. The November 2024 presidential election is full of uncertainties. Political surprises and shocks are possible, and quite likely, as we head towards next year’s presidential…
To have the seeds of envy in one’s heart is the greatest of all curses. To be envious of someone else is to rebel against the will of God. Envy only leads to pain. Humans are not perfect, but it is perfection that we must seek. We are in this world with a purpose. We…
A short story is a reminder that while human life is finite, our thoughts can still traverse the universe in a few moments or less. The greatest challenge a writer faces is the limitation of time. A writer is a thousand or million-year-old being, held captive in a young body that is subject to gravity….
The human mind is infinitely complex. And the human heart, glorified by lovers and poets, can be as complex as it is delicate. Whether we think with our minds or with our hearts, we seem to have a strong craving for the past. The present is perpetually becoming the past. The moments we live in…
Some people write words on crisp, clean pages–forming a journal. Every day, perhaps at dawn or right around sunset, or maybe before retiring to bed or at any opportune moment in the schedule, they write down an account of the activities of the day and the lessons learned from the progression of life. I never…
The world throws at us, every day, a multitude of reasons to make us excited, angry, worried, or sad. There are reasons to be happy as well. The most important thing to remember is that we must try to remain calm, regardless of what challenges and opportunities we encounter. The calmness of mind is what…
One of the most important things in life is to appreciate all that God has granted us. We must be grateful. In the haste and hurry of life, it is easy to forget the blessings that fill our lives. The days present many needs and wants, and people work towards pursuing those desires and fulfilling…
We are never alone because we are always with our mother. Mothers give birth and bring us to life, and to Mother Earth we return. Because mothers are the reason why we exist, we should celebrate mothers every day. And yet, society compels us to choose a date for the exchange of gifts, cards, flowers…
This week, I received notification from my podcast publishing platform that I have reached a milestone. That milestone is the release of the 100th episode of my podcast—Explore and Engage with Anam! I started podcasting in 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. As many people were staying inside their homes that year and in-person interactions were…
It was shocking to learn, from the information released by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, that history scores of American students have dropped over the course of the coronavirus pandemic. Without learning about the past, it is not possible to have a successful future. Therefore, students must have a strong focus on history. There…
The sun rises and sets, but the prices of goods and services in this economy only keep rising. Since the start of the Biden administration, people have experienced inflation. Initially, some called the inflation transitory, suggesting that prices would soon fall and things would go back to normal. But that has not happened. All the…
When I was a young boy, my mother told me the stories of Gulliver. Now, after all these years, I am revisiting the stories of Gulliver. I am reading Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels again. As a young reader, I spent time turning pages and reading abridged versions of many famous novels–Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, Robinson…
At a time when people want peace and harmony, the world is seeing a rising number of conflicts. Literature is the way to heal the world and to restore stability. There are armed conflicts in various parts of the world. Even in countries that are not ravaged by war, social and political conflicts are leading…
Banning gas-powered engines and vehicles is an act of government overreach and must not be allowed. Wisconsin State Legislature must outlaw any state and local government ban on gas-powered engines. I want to applaud the Wisconsin State Assembly for passing bills that would outlaw local gas engine bans. In California, politicians approved a measure to…
People pursue happiness. They want to be happy. We all want to be happy. But is happiness truly what we must hope to get, or should we focus primarily on trying to achieve peace? Happiness means different things to different people. For some, happiness might be a new luxury vehicle. For others, happiness could be…
Freedom-loving Americans should be able to buy whatever kinds of vehicles they want. But the current administration is favoring electric vehicles and working to implement burdensome standards to push gas-powered vehicles out of the market. These standards will hurt the trucking industry. Consumers have the freedom to choose whether to drive electric vehicles or those…
A feeling of dissatisfaction, combined with a deep sense of gratitude, is a gift that serves a person well. Without a lack of satisfaction, determination is impossible. Without a sense of gratitude, achievement would be beyond one’s reach. No matter who we are and what our background may be, we always lack something that we…
As I woke up this morning, before sunrise, I decided to write down the first thing that came to mind. I thought about time–the passage of time. During an awards ceremony, several years ago. I stood on stage and said that twenty-four hours in a day are not enough for me to do everything that…
I was asked to describe a positive change in my life. And so, I will try to describe a change I made that I believe has improved my daily life. Life is all about continuous improvement. Every day, we must try to find ways to make our lives better by making our own selves more…
There is nothing that improves a community more than recognizing the power of truth. Truth is what helps communities, and in fact civilization, become stronger. Truth and falsehood will always be opposing forces. Lies can try to stop the spread of truth, while truth tries to uproot lies. However, truth will always be the strongest…
The COVID-19 pandemic brought changes to people’s lives all over the world. The viral outbreak, and all the things that happened as a result of it, brought changes to my life as well. Sadly, many people died as a result of the pandemic. But it wasn’t just the virus that hurt people. Government policies, since…
Wisconsinites are at a crossroads. The outcome of the spring election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court will determine whether the rule of law will prevail in the state, or not. Voting for judicial candidate Janet Protasiewicz will result in the installation of a liberal-backed activist judge to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Electing Daniel Kelly—a former…
Small things often help us understand big things. Let me explain. Yesterday, I had dinner outside. It was fish fry Friday. Before departing the restaurant, I ordered two pieces of fried cod to be put in a box for me to take home. In spite of having had a nice dinner at the restaurant, I…
Some say humans are prisoners of time. Time is something we cannot control. But we can try to make the best use of time. It appears, however, that a lot of our time is being wasted in the prison of social media. Getting up in the morning, many people feel compelled to check their social…