I called the Houston Chronicle a whore. My AI research mule objected.
I called the Houston Chronicle a whore. Santiago, my AI research mule, objected. Naturally. I wasn’t accusing anyone at the newspaper of taking an envelope of cash and changing an
1927 – killing and forcing “Mexicans” to work was common in some counties in South Texas.
In South Texas in the 1920s, a Mexican laborer looking for work could find himself picking cotton for a farmer he had never agreed to work for. The mechanism was
Santiago & Meme School of Chuco Words — Lesson 1
Tonight’s lesson: We didn’t speak bad Spanish. We spoke our Spanish. Our parents gave us the words they knew. Some came from old Spanish, some from Mexico, some from Caló
The Venegas Family – Mexican American History
In 1927, Miguel Venegas left behind a life that, by most standards, had been a good one. He had a wife, Dolores, four young sons, a successful store, ranch property,
Pinky and the Brain Go to Austin
Back in the 1990s, I had an idea. I tried to convince some people I considered pretty smart that we needed a permanent organization whose job was to study government
Brown & Proud – wanting to be a Marine
I know how to take tests. I have taken hundreds of them during my lifetime. I know when I have done well, and I know when I have walked out
They Beat Them for the Clothes. They Couldn’t Kill the Culture. Pachuco Boogie
In South Texas, Mexican Americans created a sound built around the accordion and bajo sexto. It became conjunto, Tejano, and norteño music. In California, something different happened. “Vamos a Bailar”
Immigrants Are Still Chasing the American Dream. Too Many Americans Have Quit.
Decades ago, I met a young Mexican woman in Houston. She had come to the United States illegally. She had children, and somewhere along the way the man in her
The world’s richest man asks the poorest in Texas to give him money to the tune of almost $2 billion
I started with a Houston Chronicle story about Tesla considering a $10.1 billion solar manufacturing plant in Fort Bend County. The story told us about the investment. It told us
Qualifications for a Republican wanting to run for president. – Donald Trump
Donald Trump Shows You How to Qualify
8.16.2026 – news Americans are reading
Yesterday I realized that when I ask the AI to find the most-read news, it tends to tilt toward what I like to read, so I told it to do
Sunday Comics – 8.16.2026
During the week, I’ve been frustrated working with an AI assistant named Santiago. I did not choose that name for him. I asked him; I know Santiago is a he
He Told His Mother “No Tears.” Seventy-Five Years Later, the Mexican-American Soldier Finally Came Home
Three days before one of the worst battles of the Korean War, 19-year-old Celestino Chavez Jr. wrote home to his mother in Gallup, New Mexico. His letter ended with nine
Colorado Said Mexicans Were White — While Sending Their Children to a Separate “Mexican School” – one of the earliest lawsuits challenging segregation.
Colorado school officials had an interesting argument in 1914. They were not segregating Mexican-American children by race. Why? Because Mexicans were white. There was just one problem with that defense.
Too Mexican, too Catholic, too different to belong: New Mexico
Congress Thought New Mexico Was Too Mexican to Become a State When the United States took control of New Mexico after the Mexican-American War, the people living there did not
Arizona said we can’t have the “ignorant Mexican vote.”
Arizona Became a State — Then It Found a Way to Keep Mexican Americans From Voting Arizona became the 48th state on February 14, 1912. It did not take long
California Said Mexicans Were Too Dirty to Use the Public Swimming Pool
In San Bernardino, California, Mexican Americans helped pay for the city’s public swimming pool with their taxes. But they were not allowed to use it like everyone else. During the
If you want to increase your chances of being murdered, move to a Republican state with very few immigrants.
Massachusetts is a high-immigrant state controlled by Democrats. Republicans have spent years warning Americans that immigrants are bringing crime. So, naturally, I decided to follow the numbers. We divided the