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Showing posts from December, 2006

"Our Founding Illegals"

"Our Founding Illegals" by William Hogeland New York Times, December 26, 2006 [not only are we a nation of immigrants - we are a nation of illegal immigrants. undocumented workers. including our "greatest" european ancestors.] America’s pioneer values developed in a distinctly illegal context. In 1763, George III drew a line on a map stretching from modern-day Maine to modern-day Georgia, along the crest of the Appalachians. He declared it illegal to claim or settle land west of the line, all of which he reserved for Native Americans. George Washington, a young colonel in the Virginia militia, instructed his land-buying agents in the many ways of getting around the law. Although Washington was not alone in acquiring forbidden tracts, few were as energetic in the illegal acquisition of western land... Washington harbored no fond feeling for breakers of laws that he too had recently flouted. “It is hard upon me,” he lamented without irony, “to have property which has ...

thesis

The Alamo 2004: Everybody in Texas is Going my master's thesis has been bound and shelved. it is in the University of Texas at San Antonio library. you know, in case anyone might want to read it. here is the global cataloging link: worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/75182820?tab=details it has my abstract. which is, i hope, easy enough to understand. i tried to avoid jargon and theory crap (difficult with this sort of topic, but i think most people know most of these words). ABSTRACT The Alamo narrative tells Texas’ creation myth, and has in the past been a symbol of unity for “Americans” by displacing San Antonio’s Mexican/Tejano origin. After September 11th, Disney’s The Alamo was conceived as a blockbuster epic to reshape history. It would unite all Texans, justify and glorify war, and entertain families. Though a dozen films of the Alamo have succeeded, Disney’s 2004 version flopped. This thesis examines Tejano marginalization, bicultural society, anti-Mexican stereotypes, and Ameri...