An Anglo Lawyer in Texas writes, in response to my previous item:

I would like to recommend that you read The Texas Rangers by Walter Prescott Webb which he wrote in 1938 while some of the Rangers who were active in the fight against Mexican raiders were still alive. I have been reading this book lately and I now realize this border stuff is nothing new. The inaction of the Feds is nothing new. In the 1800's and 1900's, the Mexicans were coming across to raid, murder and pillage. They were supported by the Mexican military. They were also supported by some of the Mexicans on this side of the Rio Grande. Reconquista was alive then and it's alive now. What you say about the Spanish-surnamed city officials in Laredo is nothing new. For example,it is rare for the top lawfirms in Texas to send Anglo (or Scots-Irish descendant) lawyers to Laredo or the Valley for trial—unless they speak fluent Spanish. Courtroom lore is rife with examples of judges allowing everyone in the courtroom to speak Spanish in those courtrooms to the disadvantage of the American non-Spanish speakers. I have always had a Spanish-speaking lawyer lined up to help me with clients in South Texas and Laredo because of this. A review of history will again prove that there is truly nothing new under the sun.