Belgium, a bilingual country where part of the population speaks French and the other part Dutch, has seen its government collapse due to the fact that the nation is not united by language.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jz9mB2UhguIDcWPxPjYqcRJPr3ugD91UCLTG1
Below is a link to a recent AP article concerning the importance for truck drivers to read and speak English.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5heXu0lGoMzeUdAXkFGn45kpIUphwD91VJ11G0
On July 11, 2008 CNN anchor Lou Dobbs reacted to Obama’s “speak Spanish” comment. ProEnglish was mentioned during the report.
http://www.immigrationwatchdog.com/?p=6924
A June 2007 national telephone survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports shows that 83% of likely voters place a higher priority on encouraging immigrants to speak English as their primary language. Only 26% share Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s view that it is more important for Americans to learn other languages. Broken down along party lines, 79% of Republicans and 59% of Democrats reject the idea that all Americans should know multiple languages. Among unaffiliated voters, 68% say their fellow citizens do not need to know a language other than English.
Yesterday, in Powder Springs, Georgia, Sen. Barack Obama told Americans that they should not be worried about adopting English as the official language of the United States. “Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English, because they will learn English, you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish,” he said.
Nashville Metro Councilman Eric Crafton launched an initiative campaign to make English the official language of Nashville’s government. He will need 10,103 signatures by August 15th to put official English on the ballot this November for approval in a county-wide referendum. If he succeeds and voters approve it, Nashville will become the largest city in the country to adopt official English.
Yesterday by a vote of 54-42, the Ohio State House of Representatives passed State Rep. Robert Mecklenborg’s (R-30) bill, H.B. 477 that would make English the official language of Ohio.
H.B. 477 is expected to come to the floor of the State Senate sometime this fall. If it passes the legislature, Ohio could join the 30-state majority of states that have already declared English their official language.
Four Hispanic families in Wichita, Kansas filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against St. Anne Catholic School over its policy requiring students to speak English during the school day. The complaint claims the English policy discriminates against the students on the basis of their “national origin,” which is barred by federal law.
The school says it adopted the English policy to stop alleged bullying and harassment by Spanish-speaking students. The plaintiffs claim the initial reason the school gave was not to prevent bullying, but to immerse students in English. The plaintiffs have asked the court to issue an injunction barring all Catholic schools in St. Anne’s diocese from adopting similar language policies until the case is decided.
The Ohio State House’s State Government and Elections Committee passed H.B. 477 today by a vote of 11-2. Introduced by State Rep. Robert Mecklenborg (R-30) the bill would make English the official language of state government operations, and is expected to come to the House floor for a vote as early as next week.
A Mason-Dixon poll last fall found 77 percent of Ohioans in favor of making English the official language.
Democrats in the Oklahoma State Senate killed a referendum that would have given voters a chance to vote on making English the official language of Oklahoma. Twenty-four (24) Democratic Senators joined lone Republican State Senator Harry Coates and voted to kill Senate Bill 163, by substituting a Democratic version that would have protected government bureaucrats providing services in foreign languages. Except for Coates, all Republican State Senators present voted against the Democratic substitute.
Led by Oklahoma State Representative Randy Terrill, the Oklahoma State House earlier voted to pass S.B. 163 by a vote of 70-28.
A January 2008 poll by the Tulsa World and KOTV-Channel 6 found that 88 percent of Oklahomans support making English the official language of the state, including 93 percent of Republicans and 84 percent of Democrats. The poll of 757 registered voters had a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.
