As someone who both grew up in Compton and attends UCSD, I feel compelled to comment on the recent race relation issues UCSD is having. As most of you have probably already heard, the whole thing started when UCSD students, outside the campus, had a “Compton Cookout”, where participants were to wear “chains, rapper-style urban […]
Archive for the 'Personal' Category
Mar3rd2010
The Effort To Keep Ethnic Studies Professors Employed
Published by in DayToDay, General and Personal. 1 CommentFeb10th2010
I admit it, I get uneasy feelings when people congratulate Obama for increasing Pell Grants. I don’t see it as the universal positive that many others do. For three reasons.
First, Pell grants are politically cheap. Increasing funding for Pell grants takes little courage and comes with no political cost. Who disagrees with more funding for […]
Jan8th2010
Marginal Difference
Published by in Chicanoism, Hispanics (Minority Issues) and Personal. 7 CommentsRelated to yesterdays post, I have previously tried to explain the concept of marginal return and why, because of the already overwhelming flow of educated minorities going into social services fields, the hard sciences may be the place to make the biggest impact - if that is your end goal.
I wrote:
Second, it is inefficient. Minorities […]
Jan7th2010
More On Majors And Why Chicano Studies Is Garbage
Published by in Chicanoism, General, Hispanics (Minority Issues) and Personal. 15 CommentsA frequent topic of discussion in my family is what university, what major and the return to investment my sister should pursue after finishing high school. My dad is a man of modest means and is the only bread winner in a family of five - 3 children of which, have yet to pursue a […]
Jul27th2009
Limited Governments Best Friend: The CBO
Published by in (modern day) Liberalism, Economics, Fiscal Stimulus, General, HealthCare, ModernPolitics and Personal. 2 CommentsRemember the Democrats claim that by empowering a new panel (the Independent Medicare Advisory Council) to recommend future spending reductions we could save several billions of dollars in healthcare costs? If this was before the creation of the CBO (1974, according to Wiki), such claims would be nearly impossible to disprove. Democrats could get away […]
Jun5th2009
The Clinton Years vs The Bush Years - A Pet Peeve I have
Published by in (modern day) Liberalism, Economics, General, ModernPolitics, Myths and Personal. 5 CommentsCasey B. Mulligan, professor of economics at the University of Chicago, made a comment that he should know is disingenuous, he wrote:
the “big spending Democrat” stereotype is incorrect — government spending / GDP fell under Clinton and increased under Bush.
This comparison, used to argue that when it comes to spending there is no difference between […]
May26th2009
The Cultural Argument Against Gay Marriage
Published by in Gay Marriage, General and Personal. 12 CommentsOf all the arguments against gay marriage, the religious liberties argument, the reductio absurdum argument, the better safe than sorry argument, and others, the one people have the most difficulty understanding, atleast from my experience in discussing it, is the cultural argument against gay marriage, yet it is one of the ones I find most […]
May23rd2009
Me and my now five month old baby boy:
Picture was taken in front of the Birch Aquarium in La Jolla, California.
More pictures here.
May22nd2009
The Invisible Hand vs Charity
Published by in Capitalism, Chicanoism, Economics, Hispanics (Minority Issues), Personal and Poverty. 3 CommentsOne of the major problems I have with Chicano Studies is its overemphasis on altruistic ventures as opposed to “personal gain”. Becoming a community organizer, for example, is more encouraged than becoming an engineer. This was particularly important to me last year when my sister, being in her junior year of high school, was applying […]
May6th2009
Newsweek makes much of the fact that President Obama invited two vocal critics of his administration over to dinner, Paul Krugman and Joe Stiglitz. Newsweek writes:
Mindful of his predecessor, Barack Obama seems to be trying harder to make sure he hears all sides. On the night of April 27, for instance, the president invited to […]
Mar30th2009
Alot better, says Newsweek:
For nearly a decade, the entrance to the city of Compton, Calif., just off the 91 Freeway, was a huge, vacant lot, overgrown by weeds. Surrounded by an eight-foot steel gate, the once-bustling auto dealership had become a haven for the homeless; a place where people dumped trash, loitered, caused trouble….
By the […]
Mar11th2009
I leave to Monterrey, Mexico in a few hours. I should be back on Monday. See you then.
Feb20th2009
For those who want to get a deeper understanding of the financial markets, Yale University provides Yale economics professor Robert Shiller’s (one of the leading authorities on financial markets) course for free, as part of its Open Course list.
The video for the courses along with syllabus and homework material can be found here.
Jan5th2009
Obama Watch - President Elect Version
Published by in General, ModernPolitics and Personal. 1 CommentI am going to periodically give my thoughts on Obama’s actions, appointments, and anything else I may find interesting, with an overall rating on his performance. Today, I give you the President Elect Version.
Obama’s decision to invite Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration has been much talked about. Some people call it […]
Oct31st2008
Though most of my family was born and raised in a small town in Guerrero, Mexico, I personally have never been. As a child my dad would make fun of me saying that I would never survive more than a couple days. Where he grew up they still didn’t have electricity, hot water, or most […]
Oct2nd2008
No analysis here because I was not able to watch it. I was at a breastfeeding class for my soon to be newborn son (my first kid).
I’ll find it on youtube and write about anything that catches my attention.
