Thursday, July 10, 2008
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This Is "Unity"?
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Posted by:
Carol Platt Liebau at
3:31 PM
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It's not just that Barack is telling us to "make sure your child can speak Spanish."
He's also been expressing embarrassment that Americans can't speak French when they go to Europe.
When it comes to the latter, set aside the obvious elitism in his assumption that regular Americans have lots of either the time or money requried to do the transcontinental travel that he, apparently, is so familiar with.
Listen instead to the audience in the background -- the laughter as Barack critiques Americans' linguistic shortcomings. It's not self-deprecating, certainly on the candidate's part (he speaks more than one language). Nor, it seems, on the audience's.
Instead, the laughter is derisive . . . a frequent default posture of the left, enjoying a contemptuous laugh at the expense of the hicks and the rubes who "embarrass" sophisticates with their monolingualism, their proud pro-Americanism, their religiosity, their lapel flags and the like.
It's remarkable to me that anyone can find anything "unifying" about this kind of discourse. Encouraging Americans to look down on and laugh at their fellow citizens -- not in a particularly kind way -- is hardly the signifier of unity.
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Obama speaks more than one language like I speak French and Spanish ... studied both ... can tell you when someone is speaking Spanish or French (usually) but could'nt order a ticket to a bullfight or order a crossiant ... a neither can Obama .... |
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Why did they get to pick both major party candidates this time around? |
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The dems did not pick John McCain. The GOP primary voters did. You are so fixated on your obsession with Mexicans that everything you fear will likely come true when Obama becomes President.
But you will vote for Bob Barr, even though he is not for building a border fence. Please spare us on your adherence to principal. |
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Illegal aliens, regardless of where they are from, are detrimental to this country. |
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If we were really serious about our children's future, we would demand intense k-12 language training in either Spanish, Mandrian Chinese or one of the Indian languages.
Of course, the last thing Republicans want is a well educated populace. Smart people ask too many questions. Stupid people believe whatever they are told. |
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...to come straight out and prove Carol's point about the way the left always feel the need to look down on the rest of us. You preach hope, change and unity and display none of them.
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The difference is the right wants an educated populace, the left wants an indoctrinated one.
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Travelling aboard? I learned english in grade school, I've lived aboard in Saudia Arbia, where I have seen signs in arabic underscored in english, I've seen the same thing in Japan, Germany, Austria, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, and I know it is the same in many other countries of the world, signs in the countries host laungage underscored with english which is the international laungage of the world. Even pilots of international airlines have to know english, But nowhere have I been Have i seen spanish underscored, I Think I'll stick to english!!! BY the way I ahve picked up alittle arabic, japanese and german and spanish While travelling. |
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I have been to numerous countries from the orient to Europe. When I was young the high school I went to required you take a foriegn language. Now many barely speak english when they graduate. When last in Germany billboards had German mixed with english. On TV when speaking the Germans would throw a few German words in. Many countries are requireing english in schools. As you say it is fast becomming a international language. My wife is German and had to go before a judge many years ago to be a citizen. She had to not only speak and understand english, she also had to answer many questions about our country. I thing that should (if not now) a requirement. Many people want to come here and must live by our laws as we do theirs. Don't get arrested in Mexico |
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I agree with Akennas and Lerxst. Kimber has got to be a troll planted to stimulate the dialogue... no one in their right mind (no pun intended) could actually have the viewpoints expressed under that name. !Tanto izquierda!
BTW I am bilingual - No soy hispanico pero estudiado el espanol en la escuela por muchos anos [tilde (~) over the n].
Best way to learn spanish is to watch & listen to "Sabado Gigante" en la television... the babes are smokin'!
Obama puede besa mi ****. |
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"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.' -Theodore Roosevelt, 1907 |
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I will come over to your side if Obama (the man who tells me to learn Spanish) gives his entire speech in German while on his upcoming visit to Berlin. No teleprompter. If not he's just a hypocrite. Deal? |
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Like it or not, Obama is right. If our children can't compete in the global marketplace (and that means a working knowledge of at least one foreign language) they are doomed to McJobs.
At first, I was voting for Obama only because of my concern about the Supreme Court. Seems like the more Obama talks, however, the more reasons he gives me to vote for him. This is a brilliant idea. |
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What is really wrong is that the left wing liberals feel that we have to kiss up to the world, that our image on the world is tainted espacially in the middle east, look at france fo example, they were a left wing country sucking up to thet for years they had numerous problems from muslim immagrantss. They just recently voted in a conservative body to there government,They got smart and found out being liberal is not all that great. I have a question for you are you bi-lingual?? IF SO WHAT LAGUAGE??? |
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My husband is from South America. Spanish speaking. He speaks Spanish, English, Italian and Portguese. Some of my children are from Mexico. They all (all 8) speak Spanish and English. I am from a Russian- German-American family. I speak English, German some Russian and learned French in college. No one forced us into these languagues. They come naturally in this family. My family also 'speaks' ASL, as I have a deaf brother and one of my children is deaf.
Obama does not speak Spanish. JSM does. Romney speaks fluent French and English. The language of business is...English. Were you aware that every airling pilot in the world MUST be fluent in English, as EVERY tower gives instructions in ENGLISH? That's how your plane lands safely in Russia. So, I agree we all should have a second languague, it's not for the same reason you want. I learned languages to speak to family and to read books. I'm just thankful that airline pilots speak my language to land the planes! |
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As far as
dumbing down' goes, You don't think the NEA has any part in that? Every december, my African American daughter is asked to give little talk on Kwanza. I call the teacher, and explain that Kwanza is a 'holiday' not from Africa, but from a professor at UCLA. We celebrate Christmas in our home, and do not feed into the NEA crap and Kwanza is not honored or celebrated in our home.
We'll talk Education, when the NEA is out of the picture. K? |
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I know you did not google the word, like Kimberly said. She's the googlephile! I wonder how she accounts for those of us who choose to learn other languages, not because of the NEA, but in SPITE of them? My 14 yr old is not allowed to take Spanish (although we speak it at home) because the school said she needs to be an honor student to do so. BUT, in the last years, I had to fight the school NOT to teach my kids in Spanish, but in English. Our last name is hispanic. My husbnds first language is Spanish. I get calls from the school asking if I needs a translator! I get notes I need to send back, or have my husband translate to me - in Spanish. But, when I want my daughter to learn and get credit for the language? nope.
Your NEA needs a brain cell adjustment. |
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