Ciao!

Venting after a long day

A pretty good, but long day. 105 went well; things are picking up. I gave them a required assignment: find any five political blogs & write a brief description of them. Should be interesting.

Sitting in on 640 is slowly improving. I still wonder how people don't seem to "get" the readings; it's a bit frustrating. I don't understand the need to answer questions about the readings w/ "well, I guess ..." when you either know what an author argued, or you don't. You shouldn't have to guess what an author says about X, Y, or Z, if you read the material. Right?

Enough venting. Off to end Monday w/ a review of Brazil for tomorrow's 345. And I've to remember to wake up early enough to do laundry. Or else, trouble.

Posted by Miguel at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Day 3

Yet another update at dBlog.

Only seven paras, but I did wake up very late (Sophie & Annie very patiently/quietly waited for breakfast until 2pm) & took most of the afternoon to clean my kitchen. I probably won't get much more written, since I'm happy enough w/ the current 15 pages. But I'll at least write up a semi-polished version of the methodological section, since that's completely different the last version discussed w/ my dissertation committee. They'll wanna see that.

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UPDATE: I've decided that rather than start the week tired, I'm gonna go to bed at a normal time, even if I'm not really much further along than 15 pages of my draft. But it's certainly enough to hand a tangible "something" to my committee, right? And it means I start the week on the right foot, rested & ready.

Posted by Miguel at 09:22 PM | Permalink

Day 2

By the end of this evening, I've finished the bulk of the section on democratic theory (12 paras worth, twice what I wrote yesterday). It's up at dBlog.

Posted by Miguel at 07:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Day 1

A good deal of progress today after just two hours, w/ a 5-paragraph intro to Chapter 1. If this continues, the rest of Chapter 1 should go pretty smoothly.

Posted by Miguel at 09:08 PM | Permalink

Happy Birthday, Mom

Realized last night that I'm about the age Mom was when she taught me to read. I still remember those yellow I Am Sam & Matt the Bat books. Before I entered school, I could already read. In English. But I guess I was destined to enjoy books & libraries, w/ a live-in English teacher. Not to mention that I was named after her favorite Newberry award winner.

Posted by Miguel at 01:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Kafka would be so proud

Sometimes the insanity of bureaucracy astonishes me. Truly. I check my office mail today to find a hefty fine from the university library for replacement fees of two books I checked out last semester. Thing is, I not only checked the books back in, I placed them on 2-hour course reserve (for 345). I checked; the books are indeed on the shelf. Promises of "we'll take care of this" as I walk away. But. How did this happen in the first place? I mean. There is a computer database, right? They do track LOC catalog numbers & inventory & shelving, right?

I also got a mass email about an upcoming faculty union vote (I'm on the list, don't ask why). Of course the "no" vote (to terminate the union) will fail miserably. Because everyone knows poor, underpaid, university profs need a union very desperately to prevent "the man" from keeping this overly exploited section of the nation's proletariat down.

Bolivia News: Mesa, who can only make his mind up about changing his mind, agreed to let Santa Cruz (and other departments) elect their prefects (since Santa Cruz plans to do that, anyhow). But w/ elections (which I agree is good), rather than public "acclamations" (which I agree is not good). (Speaking of the Santa Cruz cabildo. I keep hearing it's Friday, where a crowd will "acclaim" a new prefect, but no word on who the candidate/s is/are.) In anticipation, the current (president-appointed) prefect, Carlos Hugo Molina (a nice guy, btw), resigned, washing his hands of the mess. Magically, Santa Cruz protest managed the impossible: Convince El Alto's FEJUVE & COR, gremialistas & cocaleros, the public university in La Paz (even UMSA?!), and others to demand Mesa stay in power until 2007.

All-night writing sessions next three days. That means: Sleeping from noon to mid-afternoon. Free after 6ish for time w/ friends. Writing from about midnight to early morning, then relaxing/eating/sleeping much of the morning. Just FYI.

The goal? Beyond the 6-page outline, finish the (estimated final length) 25-page Chapter 1 draft, and a 1-2 page outline of the structural/methodological changes (as yet another "brief intro") for my dissertation committee. All before Monday 2pm, when I head off to teach 105, then home at 4pm to (as the kids say) "crash".

Posted by Miguel at 04:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Activism as "ritual"?

I've posted a link to this Winds of Change post on activism as "ritual" for my 105 students to discuss. But it's a good post worthy of some thought. While he focuses on left activism, Katzman makes it clear that the right (especially the religious right) certainly isn't immune. He considers how this happened, what the implications are, and whether we can do anything to change it (that is, to make political discourse not about personal catharsis, but about engaging each other in the public sphere).

You can't comment on the 105 blog unless you're in my class. But you can leave comments here, or at the original post itself (if you'd like to engage in discussion w/ a broader audience).

Posted by Miguel at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Little joys/ironies

Actually had visitors to my office hours today, which is always nice. And it wasn't just the Thomson publishing rep who comes by once in a blue moon, calling me "Professor Centellas" (which always sounds funny), pushing his books.

Felt like 105 went much better today, and I think they enjoyed the little "find the thesis" question on the quiz. Here it is. Can YOU find the thesis?

Posted by Miguel at 08:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The use of images & dialect

I just learned you can watch Santa Cruz TV (Megavisión) as an online live feed.

Posted by Miguel at 06:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

And now, Tarija

Following the declaration of autonomy from Santa Cruz, Tarija has followed suit. The Santa Cruz cabildo will meet this Friday. That same day, another cabildo will meet in Tarija regarding that region's autonomy. While the Tarijeño movement seeks its own autonomy, leaders have admitted they'll coordinate w/ Santa Cruz.

Still limited reaction from La Paz, although some are starting to call for a crackdown in the context of anti-sedition laws. Why prosecuting people like Mallku or Evo or Solares for similar acts of "sedition" (e.g. public speeches inciting violence against the state, attacking government installations, calling for a popular invasion of parliament to string up legislators from lamp posts in the streets, etc.) was never seriously considered, while it is for cruceño leaders is, of course, an interesting & valid question.

But the hunger strike's been lifted, as various Santa Cruz civic leaders prepare for the assembly convoked by the Comite Cívico. The cabildo abierto ("open assembly") is set to meet outside, on the city's second ring, near the giant Jesus monument. The overall agenda's to set up a regional constitution & elect a governor. Still not entirely secession, but it's pretty close. Since government & military officials in La Paz state they won't recognize any officials not sanctioned by Mesa's government.

There's a bit of a stir already about the first (possible) defection by a high ranking officer. Freddy Soruco, a police general from Santa Cruz, visited the Comite Cívico to express his "friendship" w/ the civic leaders. The director of the National Police subsequently announced legal proceedings against Soruco.

The conventional wisdom coming out of Mesa's government is that regional autonomies should be discussed at the national constitutional assembly. Although no one's quite sure when this assembly'll meet. Nor is anyone shore how members to the assembly'll be elected. At the core, is a debate over whether regional autonomy should be agreed upon by the entire body politic, or by the individual regions — which might be seeking different kinds of autonomy. The question's a prickly one. Especially now since at least two of Bolivia's nine departments seem to prefer the route of autonomy before a national constituent assembly, and they're no longer arguing hypothetically.

Posted by Miguel at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I feel lost at sea

I'm not sure exactly what's happening, but I don't think my 105 class is going anywhere. At least, I don't think the students are interested (for the most part). It's so frustrating. There's 55 of them, and only a tiny handful (meaning, I can count them w/ the fingers of one hand) seem engaged at all. It's mostly a sea of blank faces. What's going on?

Posted by Miguel at 04:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Bitácora

Another fellow Bolivian blogger found this, and passed it on. Not only do I get mentioned as a Bolivian bloggers (along w/ many I didn't even know existed) — I learned the Spanish word for weblog: bitácora.

Time to update my list of Bolivian blogs.

Posted by Miguel at 08:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sunshine in January

It's currently a sunny & warm 9^o F (-12^o C) in Kalamazoo. Tomorrow might even hit 30^o F (that's almost 0^o C). This is what we call a January "heat wave". But there's still a good 3 feet of snow in the drifts.

Posted by Miguel at 01:50 PM | Permalink

In personal news

Last night's excursion to Grand Rapids was pleasanter than anticipated. A nice Indian dinner, followed by The House of Flying Daggers, the latest film by Zhang Yimou. Like his previous films, it's beautiful cinematography, coupled w/ unbelievable martial arts scenes, set to a delicate soundtrack, w/ long parts of boring story. Still, the set-up, semi-blind, double date was enjoyable. W/ even a non-set-up, non-blind, second date set for Sunday to see I ♥ Huckabees.

The evening ended on a bit of a sour note, after encountering a sudden snow storm on the way back from Grand Rapids, which ended w/ us abandoning Dan's car in the drift just inside Kalamazoo.

Posted by Miguel at 04:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

They finally did it

At a large outdoor rally, Ruben Costas, the president of the Comite Cívico, declared a cabildo (a convention meeting) to draw up an autonomous government that would go into function "immediately". While not a specific declaration that Santa Cruz is seceding from Bolivia, it's a de facto secession if the national government doesn't recognize the new self-defined autonomous regional government.

Posted by Miguel at 04:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A solution to Santa Cruz?

Santa Cruz won't back down on their demands, despite Mesa's agreement to partially reduce the price of diesel (one of the original cruceño demands). But now regional leaders are highlighting what was, I believe, always the primary motive: political autonomy. I don't think Mesa can much longer avoid dealing w/ the issue directly. Sure, he's come out in favor of autonomy. But cruceños no longer seem willing to wait.

Posted by Miguel at 02:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Protests & flags

One night, while I was in La Paz, some fellow Fulbrighters (all anthropologists) commented on what they found most interesting about Bolivian protests: the use of flags. In the American context, the flag is rarely seen or used so visibly in anti-government protests. In fact, some anti-government protests involve flag burning, the antithesis of flag waving. So. They found it interesting that no Bolivian protest would go on w/o a flag, usually several flags (or banners) carried throughout the procession.

They chalked it up to a different sense of patriotism or political self-identity. And I think they're right. Protesters use the flag, in part, because they claim to be the legitimate voice of the pueblo. Which doesn't quite translate properly into "people" (a plural individual noun), but more like "nation" (a singular community noun).

Still, there are two important caveats to the Bolivian flag-waving protesters meme. One, is that many protesters in the Andean altiplano prefer to wave the whiphala instead. Those who self-identify as members of an "indigenous" community often protest w/ the multi-colored whiphala flag rather than the Bolivian national flag. Still, the national flag usually flies alongside, or at least w/ decent representation.

The second is for protesters in Santa Cruz. Here, you'll notice a different set of flags altogether. No whiphalas, but few national flags either. Instead, protesters will deliberately carry & wave the green-white-green flags of Santa Cruz. The usage, I believe, is significant.

Flags, in truth, are meaningless. They're just strips of colored cloth w/ no independent, objective value. The entire value of a flag is the value given to it by each individual. For some, a flag can mean the best of virtues. For another, that same flag can mean the worst of vices, a symbol of oppression or tyranny. That's the basic principle of subjective value.

But when protesters decide to use a flag, a banner, to wave for their cause (whether it's a red "socialist" flag or a national flag or whatever), these things matter. Because flags do matter.

And here's what I see troubling — and fascinating — about recent Bolivian politics. The Bolivian flag is now rarely used (if at all) in Santa Cruz. When protesting against the state, cruceños are no longer waving Bolivian flags, stating their place as legitimate members of the Bolivian pueblo. No. They're carrying cruceño flags while challenging a president who sits beneath a Bolivian flag. This is no longer a debate between a "we", but an argument between "us" and "them". A few months ago, an estimated 100,000 marched in Santa Cruz. A newspaper's aerial photograph showed at least several tens of thousands, waving green-white-green flags. I counted two Bolivian flags in the sea of people. Two.

The same is happening throughout parts of the altiplano, perhaps even in the Chapare. But, I'd argue, to a lesser extent. There, the national flag's still prominently displayed, and carried throughout protest marches.

But what's happening in Santa Cruz? The airport was, it seems, taken by protesters there. A photograph showed a green-white-green banner draped across a cargo truck barring the entrance to Viru Viru International Airport. In who's name was the airport taken? For what pueblo, for what "political community" are the cruceño protesters speaking?

Posted by Miguel at 03:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Feeling better

I think. But still went down to Sindecuse for a doctor's opinion. Seem's I just have a flu & fatigue, but ran some blood & throat tests, just in case. Took in a hearty lunch, before heading off to give my 345 students their general history quiz. I'll try to catch up on some reading/writing this afternoon.

Posted by Miguel at 01:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sick-at-home day

I feel like such a slacker. But I decided to cancel today's class, and make myself a doctor's appointment for tomorrow. Today I'm not leaving my apartment, I'm hunkering down in bed w/ my cats (Sophie's also sneezing), and that's that. Plus, Bay's my hero for offering to bring me NyQuil (and Nick kind enough to deliver it).

Until the drugs addle my brain, I'll try to take advantage to do a bit of reading/work.

Posted by Miguel at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's freezing out there

Have I turned into a wuss? After almost two years w/o "winter" (because anything other than Michigan winter doesn't really count), I'm bowled over by the cold. It's not gone over 10 degrees today. That's well, well below freezing. The 12 mph lake-effect winds freeze all exposed skin after minutes outside. And, of course, I'm now on my third sick since mid-December. I've decided to go to Tylenol Flu, rather than Day/NyQuil cocktails. What a miserable feeling.

I hope to be in my warm bed, tucked away for the night, sometime before 8pm. W/ serious consideration to just canceling my 105 class. Maybe even having a proctor administer Thursday's 345 quiz? I probably won't; I'll end up dragging myself out of bed to watch a dozen students fall asleep in front of me. But one can dream, non?

Some interesting non-Bolivia news: the first guilty verdict in the UN-sponsored oil-for-food scandal just came down in a plea bargain. The New York Times apparently never heard of Iraqi bloggers until some days ago, but assumes they must be CIA plants — even names them publicly, so anyone who, you know, wants to, can find them back in Iraq. Of course, Jeff Jarvis is pissed. And the first black female Secretary of State nominee is facing an all-white panel of senators on Capitol Hill.

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UPDATE: Bay took me out to dinner & comics. Some Chinese chicken noodle soup later, and I've crawled into bed w/ my recently-delivered LOFR:ROTK at 7:30pm. I plan to sleep until 11am, when I'll decide whether I go to campus at all, or stay home in bed. And the temperature just hit below zero.

CORRECTION: Having been used to an all-white senate for so long, I didn't realize that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (which reviews Secretary of State nominees) actually has two non-white members: Barack Obama (D-Illinois) & Mel Martinez (R-Florida). Also, the committee voted to approve Rice 16-2 — the "no" votes were from John Kerry (payback, eh?) & Barbara Boxer (who was very, very snarky).

Posted by Miguel at 05:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Oh, the ironies

So far Bolivia's back to relative normality (for Bolivia), meaning everything's in crisis but there's no tanks in the streets. Some interesting wrap ups to the last few days:

El Alto protesters convinced the government to rescind the French-owned Aguas del Illimani contract for water treatment in the city. So a huge victory, it seems, for protesters. Of course, the foreign contractor will likely sue the government for reparations (estimated at $60 million). Where will that money come from? And now El Alto's water will likely be treated by the state-run SEMAPA (who's bungling inefficiency led to privatization in the first place) at an unknown public cost. Also, and just for good measure, several more El Alto industries are abandoning the city in the protest's wake (heading to Santa Cruz or overseas) because they see little economic stability or government protection for property rights.

So. El Alto gets to continue having bad drinking water, it loses hundreds (if not thousands) of jobs, and Bolivia's government picks up the tab. Wonderful. Of course, the IMF, World Bank, European Union, and other lenders already warned they might cut off aid to Bolivia (which made up 59% of gross capital formation & 29% of import earnings in 2002 according to the World Bank) if the government entertained nationalization or rescinding contracts.

Talk about Pyrrhic victories.

In other news: Evo Morales thinks he should be president. Several of his own party's senators think otherwise. And Venezuela (along w/ some other countries) have invited him to one-year study-abroad programs for "capacitation" training. No, I'm not making this up.

Santa Cruz is still upset about everything, sticking to their deadline for a national referendum on regional autonomies. Mesa's first meeting will be w/ the cruceño business sector, which mostly just wants some of the stability businessmen always look for.

And because he's felt ignored in the last few weeks, Felipe Quispe (not sure if he's still Mallku, since the title's under dispute) has decided to start bloqueos around the altiplano, threatening to choke off La Paz again.

I guess that's about it.

Well, I'm off to enjoy the rest of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Either by working on hypotheses re-structuring, or shooting pool. One of the two. Perhaps both?

Posted by Miguel at 03:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My productive Sunday

Bellow's my (surprisingly) productive Sunday afternoon. Now the snow's falling, and I think I'll pack up Kaneda & head home to feed my girls before it gets too deep. Also, there's an intriguing semi-blind date prospect on the horizon — if I can tear myself away from Friday night's Battlestar Galactica (which you should all be watching, btw).

Posted by Miguel at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Mixed news from Bolivia

President Mesa's authorized the military to use lethal force "if necessary". He still insists on negotiation, and the army's only to use force if attacked, under direct authority from the president (i.e. not discretional authority).

This is good. At some point the fact that even a democratic state is still a state (defined as holding the legitimate monopoly over the means of coercion), and must enforce some basic sense of authority. This isn't necessarily indicative of any "repressive" measures by Mesa — who's shown himself more than reluctant to enforce public order. Rather, it's a sign that Mesa's hit his breaking point, and that repeated calls that the government can't continue to show weakness, and simply cave in to every demand — since it merely encourages other groups to radicalize & make their own demands — have finally hit home.

Barrio Flores has more, including news of an emerging "patriotic alliance" of legislators who're trying to find common ground, to defend Mesa's presidency, and democratic government. So perhaps a center's reforming?

More good news? Santa Cruz didn't vote for secession. Yet. They gave the government a one month deadline to approve a referendum on regional autonomies. They also reiterated opposition to eliminating of oil subsidies.

Also good. It means that Santa Cruz leaders are still willing to work w/in the framework of a unified, democratic state. It also means that they're primary concern now isn't secession, but the demand that a central authority restore some semblance of stability & order. Secession, after all, wouldn't bring stability — certainly not in the short term.

Some bad news? This email from La Paz:

Something major was going on last night at 4:30-5 am. Sounded like troops running in formation through Sopocachi with someone yelling out commands and them responding. After they passed by, several booms/loud explosions (dynamite or loud firecrackers), followed by several planes flying low overhead.

No official reports, so it could be nothing. But Sopocachi (a residential, middle-class neighborhood in downtown La Paz) houses several important buildings, including the Defense Ministry, the Government Ministry, and Naval HQ (the current head of the armed forces is an admiral).

Posted by Miguel at 06:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Update

Sorry I haven't really posted anything profound or interesting or amuzing lately. I've been rushed, from one task to the next. And watching a country I care about commit a slow, drawn-out suicide really does little to cheer me up. And I've a flu.

But I'm looking forward to three-day weekend (thanks MLK Jr. Day!) of staying in, proofing drafts, preparing two quizes & a study guide, and catching up on some data crunching. Perhaps also killing computer-generated Nazis on Saturday afternoon. That's always fun, killing Nazis.

Also pleased to report that Annie & Sophie are adjusting well to their new canned-food-only diet. It costs the same as dry food. And Annie's friskier than usual (which is good).

Posted by Miguel at 08:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Santa Cruz decides tonight

From Santa Cruz newspaper, El Nuevo Día:

Exitoso y contundente. Así fue el paro cívico de los cruceños contra el dieselazo. Ahora, Santa Cruz le lanza un ultimátum al gobierno de Carlos Mesa: encabeza un gran acuerdo nacional con todas las partes, sus demandas y sin exclusiones para salvar el país, o de aquí en más los cruceños tomarán sus propias decisiones.

The president of the Comité pro Santa Cruz, Robén Costas, led a speech ending the department's 48-hour strike, and preparing for tonight's Asamblea de la Cruceñidad, a 200+ member regional assembly to decide what next steps to take. But Costas has already taken a clear, hard line: Mesa governs the country inclusively (meaning, attending to Santa Cruz interests), or "cruceños will make their own decisions".

The problem's partially fueled by Mesa's (apparent) willingness to more quickly resolve some demands over others. Protests in El Alto led to a cancellation of the Aguas del Illimani contract, after the French-owned company was accused of mismanaging the city's water infrastructure. Similarly, Mesa & his ministers frequently make concessions w/ cocaleros, MST dirigentes, and others who use force to make demands. Leaders in Santa Cruz see this as centralist favoritism towards some groups over others. Mostly, they criticize Mesa's inability to govern, to project as sense of a state's basic authority.

The slow radicalization of Bolivian politics is (perhaps) nearing a final extreme. Leaders in La Paz need to turn their attention to Santa Cruz, quickly, and w/o the prejudice that secession is impossible. It is, and always was, a possibility. And tonight's Santa Cruz congress might just be the one that votes for secession.

In two hours, I give my 345 students a lecture on democratic consolidation. Oh, the irony!

Posted by Miguel at 11:18 AM | Permalink

Now officially important

After more than a week, I guess Bolivia's second political meltdown in 15 months finally deserves international attention. From zero mentions of the anti-government protests, tonight there's numerous mentions on Google News. Great.

The lead story (still) is that Bolivia's national fútbol (soccer) coach, Ramiro Blacut, stepped down after his 9-month stint. He took over when the previous coach was forced to step down amidst protests of poorly managing the team. So. Is this deja vu all over again?

Tomorrow, the Asamblea de la Crucrñidad decides what to do. Always one step closer to secession, or something like it. Wonderful.

I'm off to bed, w/ a slight overdose of NyQuil to fend of the inevitable.

Posted by Miguel at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Barcelona

My last days in Europe where spent in Barcelona (28-29 December). I stayed on La Rambla, the main prado or promenade sidewalk of downtown, and spent the days wandering the streets of the city. Barcelona's a brilliant mix of old & new, a city proud of its 2,000 years of history, but simultaneously looking to the future.

Posted by Miguel at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Writing, grudgingly

After a sad (and lengthy) hiatus, I've finally updated dBlog. I took a jumbled draft w/ me to Europe, and managed to find a few hours to make various margin notes. Some of them were larger elements that weren't "correction" or "comments" but rather "I must adds". So I've posted those.

Writing my dissertation gives me mixed feelings. Things are so dynamic right now, and the last year made me realize that I missed something really big. Since, you know, I entered the dissertation w/ the idea of studying Bolivia's two decades of remarkable stability. And now, well, I'm faced w/ (most likely) watching the second president fall in 15 months. Some stability, eh?

Sure, if I hurry, I can probably get this published. Because if Mesa falls, or (the chances continually increase) there's a military "intervention" or a serious attempt at secession (from the eastern departments), then Bolivia's once more "interesting" to a wider audience. I guess that's my little self-serving silver lining, eh?

So my focus now's on the literature review. I don't really want to deal w/ outlining the history of Bolivian politics just yet. Especially w/ the end-point so up-in-the-air. I'll focus instead on getting the lit review just right, and on crunching the electoral data figures for my MPSA paper.

Oh, and Mesa? If you're reading this: Answering calls from a growing number of sectors of Bolivian society for your resignation, by threatening to resign as president, just doesn't seem like a good strategy.

And on a totally unrelated note, I will post pictures/notes from Barcelona by tomorrow.

Posted by Miguel at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Kirk, Spock, & Bones

I'm so happy w/ the little mimetic device I came up w/ for 105 today, that I thought I'd share. It's a way to think about the three types of rhetorical arguments outlined by Aristotle — ethos, pathos, and logos — by way of Star Trek.

Logos, of course, is related to Spock. He's (seemingly) immune to emotional arguments, and relies almost exclusively on purely logical/rational arguments.

Ethos is related most strongly to Dr. McCoy. He's not too fond of Spock's reliance on pure logic, but sees most issues along ethical/moral dimensions.

Pathos seems to be Captain Kirk's forté. He's the most emotional, passionate member of the crew, and tends to react on impulse, usually checked by Spock and/or Bones.

Since neither's the "bad guy" in the crew (they're the show's three main "heroes"), we can see that all three types of argumentation can be good (I, of course, much prefer the Spock variety). Either way, I like the little analogy as simplistically illustrating the three basic types of arguments in the discipline of rhetoric.

The sad news? When asked, only one of 55 students ever saw a Star Trek episode.

Posted by Miguel at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

New rule

Don't send packages to the office, if at all possible. Since our illustrious president decided on budget cuts — including the oh-so-wise decision to cut our university's track & field program (what? yes) — it now takes longer for mail to work its way through campus than to it.

Amazon.com, for example, that model of private sector logistical proficiency, can deliver a package across the continental US to my campus in less than two days. It's now 25 days later (at least 14 "business days" if we discount holidays & weekends), but my package still isn't in my office.

This isn't the first time in recent months this has happened. I called shipping/receiving, was told they'd "look into it", but that budget cuts generally mean one week delays for packages. Reason? Budget cuts. How do people think this is OK?

Thanks, university, for yet another valuable lesson in the advantages of private over public bureaucracies.

Posted by Miguel at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Work & personal news

Made it through my first week of classes, after a bit of a bumpy start.

In 345, we've already covered the colonial period. It's done; we're moving on. I'm sure there's some disappointment that we won't spend more time discussing the intricate details of the Spaniards' entirely brutal & savage conquista of the wholesomely egalitarian & peace-loving Amerindian empires (please note the slight sarcasm). But this is a political science class on "modern Latin America" and, frankly, I'm not interested in teaching a class on history, anthropology, sociology, or whatever. So. We're moving on to post-independence case studies of specific countries, before looking at democratization in the last two decades.

Posted by Miguel at 08:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Bolivia's Fujimori moment?

Online w/ K8, who's filling me in on radio/TV news from La Paz. Not good. But it looks like Mesa's taking a second path out of this mess.

He recently opted against meeting w/ his cabinet, to meet w/ his personal advisors. That is, those loyal to him — personally — rather than people tied to political parties or other interest groups. And now there's a decreto supremo (presidential decree) that gives the military the ability to responsibility to ensure the supply of diesel — and other supplies (to be determined later, I'm sure) — in the face of social unrest. Which means the military's now called into domestic policy/technical matters. Not the police; the military.

I've often wondered whether Mesa would pursue (for whatever reason) a "Fujimori option" (a military-backed civilian government) in the face of political crisis.

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ADDENDUM 1: Due to time constraints, I'm barely able to keep up w/ the latest in Bolivia. For much better coverage, see Barrio Flores & MABB.

ADDENDUM 2: Most of what I hear "on the ground" is from K8, still in La Paz. From little things she notices — such as two dozen ranking military officers, in dress blues (air force & navy), walking up Av. 20 de Octubre (on a Saturday afternoon) — I get an eerie feeling.

ADDENDUM 3: Next week'll be crucial. Monday's kicks of a nation-wide strike. There's an Asamblea de la Cruceñidad set for Thursday. Mesa now lacks public support from any significant social sector (including the middle class). Except for the military, which seems to still stand by its decisions to enforce the "constitutional" order. The one thing I've no idea how the military would respond to, is outright secession by the gas-rich departments of the east. After all, elite military regiments (the Rangers) are drawn from the camba countryside — except for the Ranger combat engineer battalions (drawn from Tarija).

Posted by Miguel at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Bolivia's Allende moment?

I'm trying to get a handle on what's going on in Bolivia the last 3 weeks. Protests, more protests, antagonistic political discourse — from all sides. All the while, I'm re-reading Arturo Valenzuela's The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Chile (for the graduate seminar I'm sitting in on). The parallels are, well, scary.

Posted by Miguel at 01:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Oops

A quick check to my email, then deleting a series of comment spams, and I accidentally deleted a bunch of recent comments (perhaps 20?). Sorry. Nothing personal, just a mistake. Blame it on the spammers.

OK. Back to reading about the breakdown of Chilean democracy.

Posted by Miguel at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

FYI

Holy crap. This'll be the busiest semester I've had in years. And I mean years. Like back when I started grad school & I had no social life. Well, a few of my cohort went out for pints at The Roadhouse on Thursday nights. But that was it. This semester's gonna be like that.

Posted by Miguel at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Holy See

Posted by Miguel at 08:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Scramble, scramble

Despite my having made sure to write both class syllabi before leaving for my European holiday, I was suddenly forced to correct glaring errors:

My 345 class meets Tue/Thur, yet all the dates on the syllabus where for Mon/Wed — I, apparently, forgot to change from the 105 template I built first. I caught it just as I was preparing to hand the syllabus out, rather than yesterday when I went over it in my office. Apologia all around, and corrections on the class website.

My 105 class does indeed meet Mon/Wed, but the first day of class is tomorrow, not Monday. That one I did catch w/ enough time to correct, but only if I can get 55 copies out of the Friedmann Hall copy department early tomorrow. Corrections, of course, on the class website.

W/ that, I hope, I'm finally ready for the start of the semester.

I'm also sitting in on a graduate seminar on Democratization & Institutional Design, which I'm pretty excited about. It's a special topics 640 class — on a topic that wasn't offered when I was taking my coursework, but that's the context of my dissertation. So I'm fairly familiar w/ the literature, but it's always good to pick up things I've read years ago, or perhaps never carefully enough.

But. Mainly. I'm excited to get to spend one night a week listening to other people talk about literature I'm currently wrestling w/. Because. Let's face it. Dissertation writing is an extremely lonely, lonely experience.

It's also a great incentive to finish both my MPSA conference paper and some substantive chapter drafts. Since I'm scheduled to give a presentation on 28 March on MMP electoral systems & regional cleavages in new democracies.

Also, tonight was Megan's going away party at Bilbo's. She's moving to London for several months to study fashion design. A pretty fun evening, w/ some deliberately insane conversation.

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ADDENDUM: I've no idea what's happened w/ campus classroom assignments. But last semester I was in Moore Hall, a former applied engineering building. This semester, my 345's in McCracken Hall, in an ancient chemistry classroom. It doesn't even have a chalkboard. Huh?

Posted by Miguel at 12:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Roma

My days in Rome (18, 24-27 December) were spent in a few blitzkrieg tourist expeditions, and relaxing around cafés or puttering about the house. Rome certainly had its charm (despite the grey skies & sticky rain), but it's not a city I could live in. My biggest impression of Rome was frenzied chaos & grime. And, then, you suddenly walk into a stirring Renaissance church or gaze at two-thousand-year-old remnants of the glory that was Rome.

Posted by Miguel at 07:26 PM | Permalink

Doh?

Overslept, stumbling out of bed at 9:30. Feed the cats, shower, dress, out the door by 10:15. Bought a Rocket Star thermos, filled it w/ coffee, and headed to the office.

Posted by Miguel at 04:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Hello, new semester

I start my busiest semester tomorrow, teaching four afternoons a week, Mon-Thur. Both syllabi were ready almost three weeks ago. But I've not really thought much about anything for two weeks. So. Yeah. I'm a bit nervous.

Posted by Miguel at 09:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Lombardia

After Florence, Kathira & I took a train north, to Lombardy. We we stayed w/ her friend, Marco, in the sleepy little village of Sannazzaro for three days (21-23 December). From there, we took day trips out to Milan & Pavia. By then, I was my sickest — my London flu finally taking its toll after a week of walking about in winter rains. But I was happy to get a chance to see different faces of Italy, beyond the touristy — I adored the tiny village of Sannazzaro (pop. 5,796) & could easily live in a college town like Pavia (pop. 71,074).

Posted by Miguel at 08:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Word usage & meaning

I'm a big fan of clear language. And, yes, I realize that what follows only makes me seem absolutely insane. But.

Posted by Miguel at 02:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Firenze

The following's a synopsis of my two days in Florence (19-20 December) w/ my cousin Kathira. I landed in Rome late Friday night, took a brief spin through the city on Saturday, before heading out north early Sunday, w/ Trenitalia. The thing that most impressed me about Italy was that one could easily travel from any little town to anywhere else, by train.

Posted by Miguel at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Starting the new year

Mom & Dad paid a brief visit in Kalamazoo. Went out to Damon's for lunch, served by an extremely fidgety/nervous waiter. Then, coffee drinks at Rocket Star to look over holiday pictures. A fun, brief little visit.

Also, I've decided that one of my New Year's resolutions is: Don't go to parties unless you really, really want to. I've never enjoyed parties; and I find them less & less enjoyable as years go by. Mostly, I attend the few I do out of a feeling of social obligation to my friends. But the obnoxious combination of 20-something testosterone/estrogen & alcohol isn't fun, it's just sad. I hope I was never that young & foolish. But I'm certainly too old to be amused by it.

Other resolutions include:

1. Finish a substantive draft of my dissertation.
   
2. Move into a nicer apartment.
   
3. Plan trip to Athens, the Peloponnese, and Sicily.
   
4. Buy a couch.
   
5. Help Annie lose 2 lbs.
   

Posted by Miguel at 04:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)