Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Oklahoma has a measure on 'English is the official state language'

coming up, probably next year, for vote. And, surprise!, the feds are bitching and threatening:
The Oklahoma congressional delegation wants U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to explain why the Justice Department got involved in a debate by the Oklahoma Legislature this year over making English the state’s official language.

The delegation sent a letter to Holder on Tuesday questioning why his Civil Rights division sent a letter to Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson in the midst of the English-only debate reminding him that state entities receiving federal funds have to observe certain laws regarding people with limited proficiency in English.

The letter, sent by all seven members of the delegation, asks Holder to explain his department’s "overreach” and explain further what funding might be in jeopardy if Oklahoma voters approve an English-only amendment next year
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There've been problems for years over giving the driving test in Spanish(which is bullshit; if you can't read/understand English enough for road signs, directions and the test, no license for you); last year, as I recall, a married couple demanded to be given the test in Farsi("You give it in Spanish, so you have to give it in Farsi as well!"). For anyone except the 'PC at any cost' crowd the problems are obvious and many, so this is coming up for a vote; and now Holder the 'race cowards' speechmaker, is threatening.

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, said Tuesday, "I support the state’s effort to pass a constitutional amendment making English the official language of the state because it ultimately facilitates better communication across the many lines of diversity within our state.

"It is entirely unacceptable for the federal government to try to strong-arm the state by threatening to remove federal funding. I look forward to hearing the Justice Department’s explanation for such behavior,” Inhofe said
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Since what this amounts to is the Feds taking money out of the state in taxes and then letting us have some of it back- with strings- my first thought would be "Tell you what, we'll just keep that money here in the first place and not beg and plead for 'federal' funds for these projects." Because an awful lot of this has turned into, bluntly, a blackmail program: "You don't do what we want, we keep your money."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

English is the OFFICIAL COUNTRY'S LANGUAGE!! This shit is getting ridiculous.

Mattexian said...

I'd think that the Okies ought to be bilingual, in English and Cherokee (ok, I know they're not the only tribe, but I think they're one of the bigger ones, if not the biggest).