Senate Passes Bill Making English the Official Language

[Frodo]

Senate Passes a Bill That Favors English

By CARL HULSE
Published: May 19, 2006

WASHINGTON, May 18 — The Senate voted on Thursday to designate English as the national language. In a charged debate, Republican backers of the proposal, which was added to the Senate's immigration measure on a 63-to-34 vote, said that it was equivalent to establishing a formal national anthem or motto and that it would simply affirm the pre-eminence of English without overturning laws or rules on bilingualism.

"We're free to say what we want, speak what we want, but it is our national language," said Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee. The amendment was proposed by Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma.

It is not clear, though, that the measure will be included in any final bill after negotiations with the House. Shortly after the Inhofe amendment was approved, the Senate also approved a weaker, less-binding alternative declaring English the "common and unifying" language of the nation, on a 58-to-39 vote. The question of which version survives would be decided in negotiations with the House.

[riceowl]

cool.

[Moooooo]

THERE IS A GOD!

[Virginian87]

All I can say is:

IT'S ABOUT F'ING TIME!!!! 

Try putting up signs in Spanish, now!  Thanks to this great revelation by the Senate, we have no reason to help the illegals and others propagate the Spanish language in this country.  Now they have to learn English if they want to succeed here.

[MasterJedi]

All I can say is:

IT'S ABOUT F'ING TIME!!!! 

Try putting up signs in Spanish, now!  Thanks to this great revelation by the Senate, we have no reason to help the illegals and others propagate the Spanish language in this country.  Now they have to learn English if they want to succeed here.

^^^^^^

[afleitch]

Good.

[Alcon]

Thank God that, with our booming deficit, crumbling foreign policy, floods of illegal immigrants, and middling economy, the Senate had the courage to pass a symbolic, publically hyperpopular bill that pretty much does nothing whatsoever.  Three cheers for the good ol' Senate!

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

Good.

[agcatter]

Didn't Harry Reid say on the floor that "this is a racist amendment"?

He said it was obvious because it was obviously directed at Hispanics.

Duh

[MODU]

Ditto to all.  About time.  Of course, they screwed the pooch by following it with a second vote calling English the "common language."  Just when you are about to give Congress some credit, they go and prove they don't deserve it.

[Alcon]

Am I seriously the only one who finds this a colossal waste of time and really a pat-yourself-on-the-back-fest for the Senate?  Not only does this bill do very little, but we really have better things to do right now.

[Downwinder]

Am I seriously the only one who finds this a colossal waste of time and really a pat-yourself-on-the-back-fest for the Senate?  Not only does this bill do very little, but we really have better things to do right now.

No, you are not the only one who sees this as a huge waste of time while we have much, much more pressing issues to attend to.  I find this so transparently political--the Republican majority is jumping back to hot-button issues to appease their base and try to win back some support and excitement for the 2006 elections.  Next up.....the Federal Marriage Amendment.  Maybe they can declare Teri Schiavo a martyr after that.

I'm nearly to the point where I would vote for ANY non-incumbent, in any state, to clear these ass-clowns out.

[Nym90]

Am I seriously the only one who finds this a colossal waste of time and really a pat-yourself-on-the-back-fest for the Senate?  Not only does this bill do very little, but we really have better things to do right now.

Agreed. I'm not necessarily opposed to it on the face of it, but I can't see what it really accomplishes. It's not like English wasn't already the defacto national language.

If I started seeing street signs in Spanish only, I might reconsider my position.

[jerusalemcar5]

This was unecessary, pointless, and offensive.  Granted, we operate in English. That is recognized.  But by officially declaring in the United States, the land of freedom, the one true language is English, it denies the significance of Spanish, Chinese, German, French, Japanese and a host of other languages and cultures that were imperative to this nation.  People are different, especially in the USA, we should be trying to elevate one over another.  Why am I not surprised Inhofe sponsored this?  Conservative SOB.  I appalud the few good senators who voted no.

[Speed of Sound]

This was unecessary, pointless, and offensive.  Granted, we operate in English. That is recognized.  But by officially declaring in the United States, the land of freedom, the one true language is English, it denies the significance of Spanish, Chinese, German, French, Japanese and a host of other languages and cultures that were imperative to this nation.  People are different, especially in the USA, we should be trying to elevate one over another.

You are correct in so many ways. Who does the senate think it is? This country was founded on many diferent beliefs, not one. I will again make the argument that I should not be confined to an area because of how I was taught to speak, just like we should not make certain pieces of land an arena for only one way of communication. We are showing our ridiculous side, like we tend to like to do.

[dazzleman]

All I can say is:

IT'S ABOUT F'ING TIME!!!! 

Try putting up signs in Spanish, now!  Thanks to this great revelation by the Senate, we have no reason to help the illegals and others propagate the Spanish language in this country.  Now they have to learn English if they want to succeed here.

^^^^^^^^^
It's absurd that people come here illegally, then think they can force us to talk to them in a foreign language.

And this is exactly what has been happening.  Liberal 'rights' groups force tax money to be used to provide all sorts of 'services' to people in foreign languages, usually but not always Spanish.

The worst is the situation in the schools with 'bi-lingual' education.  Young children are at the prime age to learn a new language easily, yet we waste those years teaching them in a foreign language, and making only a token attempt to teach them English.  I have even heard horror stories about kids who come from homes speaking languages other than English or Spanish being placed in SPANISH bi-lingual programs.  This is typical of what happens when we follow the dictates of nonsensical and brainless liberalism.

I think it should be understood that if we attempt to reach out to people in a language other than English, it is an ACCOMODATION, and not something that we are required to do.  The minute people start to say it's required, I start to have a big problem.

[phk]

IIRC: Three US states are officially bilingual.

[MasterJedi]

IIRC: Three US states are officially bilingual.

That's unfortunate.

[David S]

Anyone been through the Miami airport lately? Most of the announcements on the PA system are in Spanish. Fortunately signs are in English as well as Spanish.

[MODU]

IIRC: Three US states are officially bilingual.

Fortunately, a national standard can change that.

[jerusalemcar5]

IIRC: Three US states are officially bilingual.

That's unfortunate.

It is.  They should never have instated official languages.  Official languages will always be offensive.  What are people afraid of?  That English, the ugliest and most difficult to grammatically understand might not be as powerful as it was?  English is a sign of our oppression from our former British rulers.

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

IIRC: Three US states are officially bilingual.

That's unfortunate.

Agree

IIRC: Three US states are officially bilingual.

That's unfortunate.

It is.  They should never have instated official languages.  Official languages will always be offensive.  What are people afraid of?  That English, the ugliest and most difficult to grammatically understand might not be as powerful as it was?  English is a sign of our oppression from our former British rulers.

What are you smoking? I want some of that stuff.

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

Please stop endorsting the less evil of the 2 statist parties please.

[HardRCafé]

Anyone been through the Miami airport lately? Most of the announcements on the PA system are in Spanish.

Tampa, too.  Try finding an employee who speaks English.

[TheresNoMoney]

I definitely would have voted for this bill.