Say it in Spanish. Say it with pride

[fatman]

Ya know, France was doing the same thing a few years ago and I think some factions in Japan (where the people are as fascinated by things American as our people are by things Japanese) were considering similar measures.

I think Hugo Chavez is a moron, and while I do not condone Pat Robertson's "final solution" in principle, I wouldn't cry if HC took an accelerated path to the worm farm.  But in this case, I don't really have a problem with his attempts.  I think English should be the official language in the US.  I think Spanish should be the official language in Venezuela.  I wouldn't go so far as suggesting that any foreign words should be weeded out of our language.  To do so would basically decimate our language, given our propensity for adapting and assimilating words from other cultures.  But if Hugo-a-go-go wants to isolate the Venezuelan people from the evils of spoken English, more power to him. 

Language is an important part of culture, and I see no problem with the French speaking French or Venezuelans speaking Spanish.  It wouldn't hurt to know English though, anymore than it would hurt Americans to learn French or Spanish or any other foreign language.  But each culture usually has a definitive language (or possibly two, as in Canada).  It is somewhat frightening to me to see the driver's instruction manual in my state translated into umpteen languages.  I can only what it must be like for a cop trying to give a ticket to someone who doesn't speak English but speaks a language that he doesn't.  There is a legitimate point in expecting someone residing in America to learn English, and someone in France to learn French.

[Stray Pooch]

Thanks for bringing up a good quote Pooch, I haven't read the book but I may have to now.

Actually, my son got it from his college library and I have started to read it.  He's a pretty good writer.  I've only gone a chapter or so into the book, but I have to say if his actions match his rhetoric, it would be a good thing for America.

Unfortunately, if you look a little beyond the well-written prose, you can see that he is definitely a partisan Dem, and he unapologetically points out that he is going to be so.

Actually, I think I'll start a new thread.  This book is revealing a lot to me about Barack's philosophy, and I think it might be worth pointing out.

[Xavier_Onassis]

That's why I figured Rudy Giulliani didn't stand a chance. Or Huckabee ... too weird. We like people with simple, anglo-saxon WASPy type names. Not excotic Italian, Russian, or Arabian name. We like Bush, Clinton, Nixon, Reagan, Kennedy, Adams, Ford, Johnson ... you get the picture.
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I trust everyone will recall my saying that the GOP would never nominate Giulani because of this. Americans are remarkably suspicious of anything that sounds foreign.

I can't see Lipshitz ever getting elected even VP. Maybe Shultz, but not a Czolgz, which is the Czech spelling, I think.

I observe that he failed to mention simple Anglo Saxon names like Carter, Clinton. 

I further observe that he omitted Dole. I suspect he thinks it's Hawaiian. The Republicans are not particularly fond of the Irish, not the real Republicans.

Kennedy is not an Anglo-Saxon name: it's Irish.

The Republicans are a lot more anti-foreign name than the Democrats. Smalltown Republicans still blackball furriners from country clubs.