The historical trajectory of immigration law in the United States represents a complex intersection of economic necessity, racial ideology, and the progressive centralization of federal authority. Far from being a consistent narrative of welcoming the “huddled masses,” the legal framework governing entry into the American polity has functioned as a sophisticated mechanism of demographic and social engineering. Since the pre-colonial era, the movement of people—whether voluntary, coerced, or entirely forced—has been regulated to serve the shifting requirements of a burgeoning agrarian society, an industrializing power, and eventually a modern security state. This analysis explores the legal and enforcement mechanisms that defined American identity from the arrival of the first European settlers and enslaved Africans to the contemporary era of biometric surveillance and mass deportation operations, emphasizing the enduring link between labor exploitation and racial hierarchy.
(more…)Author: schwegler
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Sovereignty of the Body: A Jurisprudential and Sociopolitical History of Reproductive Rights in the United States
The Foundation of Bodily Autonomy in Early American Governance
The history of reproductive rights in the United States is not a linear progression toward liberalization, but rather a complex cycle of autonomy, institutional criminalization, federal protection, and eventual fragmentation. In the earliest periods of American history, spanning from the colonial era through the mid-nineteenth century, the regulation of reproduction was governed by English common law traditions that prioritized a pragmatic understanding of gestation. During this period, abortion was generally legal until the point of “quickening”—the moment a pregnant individual first perceived fetal movement, typically occurring between the sixteenth and twentieth weeks of pregnancy.1 This threshold reflected a social and legal consensus that life was a progressive development rather than an instantaneous event.
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On E-Governance
By: Raquisha Givens, Hussain Punjani, Andrew Schwegler, Savannah Viar
Originally published: November 21, 2013It has been overwhelming stated that our world is becoming smaller with the use of technology. With the click of a mouse we can connect to people on the other side of the world. Technology has allowed the Earth community as a whole to become intertwined in ways that could never have been imagined a mere twenty years ago. With these ever increasing connections amongst people, governments throughout the world have taken note and have begun to use these connections in order to increase government interactivity amongst its citizens. This process is known as e-governance.
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Let’s Taco ’Bout It
Every good project starts with a craving. Sometimes it’s for meaning, sometimes it’s for connection, and sometimes it’s just… tacos. For this one, it’s a little bit of all three.
Welcome to tacobout.online, a new blog built on the belief that the internet should still be a place where people get to say things—messy things, thoughtful things, chaotic things, occasionally spicy things. If you’ve ever wished there were more spaces online that felt like late-night diner conversations, you’re in the right place.
This is not a niche blog. We’re not limiting ourselves to productivity hacks or movie rankings or tech explainers. Instead, think of this space as a plate with room for whatever sounds good that day.
Some days, that’ll be personal essays—little stories, experiments, reflections, and probably a few rants that have been sitting in the drafts folder for months.
Other days, it’ll be media and pop culture: what we’re watching, reading, listening to, or doom-scrolling. Expect reviews, rewatches, strong opinions, and maybe the occasional unhinged theory about a character who deserved better.
And because the world is always breaking and reinventing itself, there will definitely be takes on tech and current events—curiosity-driven, mildly skeptical, and written with the assumption that humans still matter more than algorithms.
In short: it’s a mixed bag. A curated chaos. A place to think out loud without taking ourselves too seriously.
So thanks for stopping by. Pull up a chair, grab a taco, and stay awhile.
There’s a lot to taco ’bout, and we’re just getting started.
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Streaming Service Ad Load Showdown
I’ve been doing some totally unscientific research on streaming service ad loads lately, and honestly, the results are both fascinating and infuriating.
As someone who’s had to go ad-supported on pretty much every service to save money, I’ve become intimately familiar with just how wildly different the advertising experience can be from platform to platform. What started as casual observation during my recent Buffy rewatch has turned into a full-blown comparison project.
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Phases: Intro
Every song is a breadcrumb on the tangled path back to who I’ve been. In this series, I let shuffle decide which memories resurface, giving each musical phase its turn in the spotlight—and seeing what stories wake up with the sound.
I lack the ability to actively recall memories, for the most part. I have no clue why, and I’ve never really had the kind of consistent insurance coverage that would’ve let me explore that area—or any of the similar weirdness, like how I just drop into a black void when I fall asleep and wake up with zero recollection of dreams, if there were any at all.
Context drags memories out of me whether I want it to or not, though. And nothing has a more powerful ability to do this than music.
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This cast is so fucking frustrating, but at least it’s entertaining. #BB27
I say as my blood pressure rises.
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Weekending BB27 Rankings
my week-ending 17 August #BB27 rankings
(based solely on how much I like seeing them on my little screen)- Rachel (HOH)
- Ava
- Keanu (⬆ 1)
- Kelley (⬆ 3)
- Lauren (⬆ 4) (VETO)
- Katherine (⬆ 2)
- Will (⬇ 4)
- Vince (⬇ 3) (NOM)
- Ashley (⬇ 4)
- Morgan (NOM)
- Rylie
- Mickey (NOM)
Keanu continues to be messy, but in an entertaining way. Whenever I think I’m gonna drop Ava down a few notches, she pops up to spit straight facts. More solo Katherine time on feeds always endears me to her. Kelley not having a filter continues to be amazing. Will needs to wake the fuck up and play. Ashley needs to shut the fuck up and play less. The bump Vince had for wearing an egg suit last week has also faded and in his desperation, his pressure campaign on Lauren to use the veto has been Gross.
last week
- Rachel
- Ava
- Will
- Keanu
- Vince (egg bump)
- Ashley
- Kelley
- Katherine
- Lauren
- Zach
- Morgan
- Rylie
- Mickey
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Sunday Feelings Dump
I’m getting over COVID.
It’s been quite the fucking journey, I’ll tell you what.
And the timing? Truly could not have been worse—and I still have a nagging sore throat that just won’t quit combined with absolutely no energy. I keep having to spend money I don’t have thanks to being forced into taking out a predatory loan a few weeks ago when my alternator failed in my car.
My stress level has been high and my bank account is constantly overdrawn. I don’t really see a way out for at least the next six months–I’ll just have to keep juggling cash advances and overdraft fees. Even my pending raise at work was delayed once again. Yay.
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