Two Turntables

I bought myself a couple of early Christmas presents

I got an original Abbey Road album and more modern selections

The sound of vinyl is amazing.

A Word on Cheap Umbrellas

It was raining heavily here the last few days and the NPR made off with my only umbrella so I had to nip down to the pharmacy and buy a new one....along with a small bottle of Tequila (to cure my chest cold.)

They had a selection of small black umbrellas for $9.99 and I bought one.

The cheapest umbrella I've ever bought was in China and it lasted a few days before the fabric separated from metal bits and it started turning itself inside out at the slightest breeze.

This new cheap umbrella was particularly insidious because it inspired a certain confidence in its rain keeping-off capabilities and lulled one into a false sense of security.

There is a seasonal ice rink that opens each year in town and I like to get there early so I can have the ice to myself before other people come out.

In an act of true dedication, I made my way through the dripping city to buy a season pass. It was there that I first experienced the unpleasantness of getting rained on whilst standing under an umbrella.

My umbrella was apparently designed to soak water through to its underside and allow the moisture to collect in large drops that then fall on the unsuspecting user.

After a brief skate on the barely-solid ice I decided to head home. I stopped by a corner market on the way home and pondered dumping my useless umbrella for a new one.

Instead, I bought another small bottle of Tequila (for medicinal purposes) and sulked home in a soaked wool sweater.

Lesson leaned: Cheap umbrellas are worthless. 

The Resume

I thought I would apply for a journalism fellowship being offered by National Public Radio.

One problem keeping me from moving forward with this is the need to update my resume.

As it stands my resume is heavy in two areas: journalism (good) and military action (weird).

A casual perusal would leave one with the impression that I am extremely skilled at shooting at things and writing stories.

With very little stretch of the imagination one might even conclude that I am the perfect candidate to shoot at things and then write a story about it.

I'm sure Guns and Ammo Magazine will be ringing me up any day now....

It's Late and I'm Cynical

I'm writing two research papers on NAFTA at the moment.

One is about the increase in illegal migration from Mexico as a result of the treaty and another is on the economic damages it caused in Mexico, especially to the agricultural sector.

Even after living in Mexico where NAFTA and the word for "Satan" are interchangeable, my knowledge of the treaty was not what it should have been and I am now taking action to change that.

My inspiration came from a huge and very public row I had with my International Econ professor at grad school.

The professor stated that NAFTA wasn't all that bad and that dismissing it as such was irresponsible.

This led me to raise my hand and say that it might not have been that bad for the U.S. but that things had turned out very differently in Mexico.

I stated that I had lived in Mexico during the time when a spike in the price of corn had caused the price of tortillas to skyrocket with devastating results for thousands of poor Mexicans.

I also added that maquiladoras weren't some wonderful cure-all for Mexicans because they were labor intensive and those who couldn't keep up with demand or were injured could be fired and easily replaced. I also pointed out that they had no social safety net to protect them when this happened. (Not to mention that their wages don't provide some sort of stepping stone to a better life).

She answered me by saying, "let me debunk that.." at which point I lost my proverbial shit and replied, "you can't debunk the truth."

Then she decided to throw some Latin at me. "There's a term called ceteris paribus," she began.

"Ceteris paribus," I said, Latin for 'all things being considered equal,' only between Mexico and the U.S. things have never been equal."

She went on to say that without NAFTA, Mexico would have been worse off and suffered from more poverty and that, "Things in Mexico are better now."

At that point I realized that it was futile to stay in the class and that doing so carried the risk of my saying something I might regret later. So I walked out.

This was not the first time I had listened to this particular professor gloss over ugly economic realities.

When I spoke of a town where I used to live that had been devastated by competition from China she dismissed my story by saying there were government programs to help the unemployed.

Only things didn't happen that way and government assistance programs are not a long-term fix.

Her complete unwillingness to accept criticism on economic policies always seemed suspect but her attempt to "debunk" what I had seen first-hand was the final straw.

I marched over to my adviser's officer and spoke with both her and the dean of my school. I told them I was dropping my Econ class and that I refused to take any other classes with someone who was so biased and ignorant. I likened her teaching credibility to someone who claims that the earth is flat. For good measure I threw in a "how dare she" when referencing her attempts to nullify my personal experiences in Mexico.

After my soul-baring experience in that office, I sought out my favorite professor who happens to be Mexican and to have worked with the Mexican government during the drafting and revision of NAFTA.

The results of that conversation were extremely vindicating.

I have written before about the willingness of some of my classmates to accept awful policies and economic practices in the name of "development" or "Capitalism" but I am particularly horrified by this practice in recognized authorities such as economics professors. Especially professors who are teaching future policy makers.

A friend of mine who graduated from Yale law school told me he had seen countless econ students take up the teachings of their econ idols and act as if they were sacred and infallible.

I have seen various economists state over and over again that NAFTA "isn't bad but..."

What is it about this treaty that makes economists first point out its failings and then back peddle like mad to defend it?

I started out writing my  paper on NAFTA-induced migration with an unfurrowed brow and a sense of benign curiosity.

Then something dreadful happened on page four.

After reading a NYT article in which no less than three economist essentially said, "NAFTA isn't bad but..." something in me snapped and the following paragraph was formed:

I am surprised by economists’ repeated defense of NAFTA even while saying things like “NAFTA isn’t bad but… (Insert shortcoming here).” If a trade agreement is being crafted between nations without due diligence then, in my book, it's a bad agreement. I often think there must be some secret pact between economists to never admit to NAFTA failure for fear that it would somehow draw attention to the fact that many of them are nothing more than fortune tellers working with improper assumptions, faulty math, and a complete blindness to human suffering caused in the name of Capitalism. 

Perhaps this sudden nastiness has to do with the lateness of the hour or perhaps the seeds of discontent were sown months ago when a certain economics professor decided to "debunk" the suffering of thousands of Mexicans. 

Who can say really? All I know is that I'm leaving off the paper writing until I've had a good night's sleep.

Post Election Sigh of Relief

So my ovaries have begun to relax again and Operation "Flee to Canada" has been postponed indefinitely.

I did my usual Thursday night gig yesterday but the torrential rains kept some of the more delicate lounge lizards away.

There were two belly dancers performing before I got set up and I was hypnotized by their moves and made sleepy by their undulations.

Lucky for me, I get paid in Chai. Four glass fulls saw me up 'til 3 a.m.

Tonight my school is hosting the final social hour of the semester and an after-party will follow at the same venue as last night. I might drop in. The in-house DJ has become somewhat of a mentor.