Posted on 12/08/2007 2:19:34 PM PST by Earthdweller
December 9, 2007 - Miami, Florida
Univision, the nation’s largest Spanish-speaking television network, will be sponsoring a Republican debate hosted by the University of Miami on December 9, 2007. The candidates in attendance will be Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, Ron Paul, John McCain, Duncan Hunter, and Mike Huckabee.
But for millions of people who might want to view the debate, there could be a slight problem, to check the Univison website for air times you need to speak Spanish.
The explaination for a Spanish only site at first glance might be that there is a problem with inserting translation code into the website, but the webmaster clearly has the ability to add the translation software. While an English translation button is absent from Univison’s TV programming site, their English version Corporate site has a predominate Spanish translation button at the very top of the home page.
In addition, on the same Spanish only Univison TV programming site, there is a link to a bilingual site similar to My Space that appears to be a major concession to those Spanish speakers who want to hook up with American dates.
Now, I'm an English only speaker and with a serious thing like a Presidential debate airing tomorrow, I’m in too much of a hurry to hook up or even to wait for someone to put me on their Spanish “My Space” buddies list. I also need plenty of time to figure out how to activate the closed caption on my TV so I can read what people are saying. I figure it's the least I can do so I won't miss out on one of the most important debates of the 2008 election.
So with all this extra work I'm doing, I’m beginning to get a bit frustrated and I’m checking in my Webster’s English to Spanish dictionary to see if there is a Spanish equivalent to the word ‘ironic’.
It's true, I do try hard to be flexible in our ever increasingly PC world. I only moan for a second or two every time I have to push one for English, but I will have to admit that doing so is such an ever increasingly huge daily nuisance and I’ve have never even so much as gotten a thank you note from that machine voice on the other end of my phone.
Considering how much of my time I spend accommodating Univison's usual viewer-ship, it seems to me that Univison could at least offer me an English translation button so I can view their website.
But then again, accommodation is a two way street..in a perfect world.
The problem on Univision is that the Spanish is so loud you can not hear anything the candidates answer in English! Makes me sick! They could at least have English subtitles going across the screen, couldn’t they? Debates should be televised for the majority, which means they should be in ENGLISH!
Fred Thompson just got applause for something.
"I declined the invitation to participate in the Spanish-language Republican presidential debate on Sunday because I do not want to endorse the further Balkanization of American political life.
The debate is being sponsored by Univisión, the country's largest Spanish-language network, and the candidates' answers will be translated into Spanish. Spanish-language news broadcasts and public-affairs programming is an expression of our First Amendment freedoms. I have given many interviews to Univisión as well as local Spanish-language stations. However, a Spanish-language presidential debate is a different animal altogether.
The question of bilingualism is not new to American politics. A former Republican president, Theodore Roosevelt, once spoke about the importance of new immigrants giving up their old languages and allegiances in order to become equal partners in American democracy:
``We freely extend the hand of welcome and of good fellowship to every man, no matter what his creed or birthplace, who comes here honestly intent on becoming a good United States citizen like the rest of us. . . . Americanism is a question of spirit, conviction and purpose, not of creed or birthplace. The politician who bids for the Irish or German vote, or the Irishman or German who votes as an Irishman or German, is despicable, for all citizens of this commonwealth should vote solely as Americans.''
Can anyone imagine Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft having a Republican primary debate in German or Italian in 1912? Of course not. Indeed, I believe Teddy Roosevelt's admonition applies today. I do not believe it is proper to appeal to the ‘‘Hispanic vote'' or the "Asian vote'' or the "Black vote." I believe we must appeal only for American votes.
Any political debate is aimed at citizens. It is about issues of concern to the entire community, not a segment of the community. It is vital that all political debates and discussions take place in the public square, not in separate enclaves. Our democracy does not need different messages broadcast to different audiences in different languages that are not heard or understood by other groups.
Our children learn in school that all registered voters are either native-born citizens or naturalized citizens, and all applicants for citizenship must pass an English-proficiency test. This test is included in the naturalization exam for a good reason.
Conducting political debates in any language other than English, whether Korean, French, Farsi or Spanish, is telling new immigrants that they need not take that particular requirement for naturalization seriously. The United States has a special need to have a common language because of the very diversity of its immigrants. Our parents and ancestors who were immigrants spoke many different languages on arrival. But they came here to become Americans, and as Americans, we conduct our political affairs in English.
Is it not a little bit insulting to our new citizens who were born in Cuba or Mexico or Peru to suggest that political debates need to be translated into Spanish for them to understand what is going on? Is it smart for the Republican Party to implicitly endorse the notion that newly naturalized citizens are not able -- or do not desire -- to understand speeches and debates spoken in English? If this is so, should we go to Westminster, Calif., and have a debate broadcast in Vietnamese and to the Russian Orthodox community in West Sacramento and have a debate broadcast in Russian?
The graduation exercises at the University of Miami, the site of Sunday's Republican debate, are conducted in English. The business of the Florida Legislature is conducted in English and the oath of office for a new president of the United States will be administered in English. It is not a good idea to encourage people to think that they can participate in American politics without knowing how to understand and speak English. Doing so offends not only citizens old and new; it offends the spirit of democracy and especially our heritage of equal justice under law."
U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., is a candidate for his party's presidential nomination. God Bless Tancredo!
Mitt up. Slick as usual. Question is still, “why dont you favor legalizing “undocumented”. Getting applause now.
On February 13, the American Conservative Union issued ratings for potential presidential candidates for the 2008 election.[79] Tancredo took first with a lifetime ranking of 99 out of 100.
This is interesting. We are being prevented from knowing what our candidates are saying in English, in our own English-speaking country.
I foresee Spanish-only on the horizon.
The audience seems to be giving applause to most every answer so far. Some a little more vigorous than others but respectful it seems.....
Cable tv has it on live on one of the Spanish stations but with the over dub you can’t hear the candidates in English.
Hunter said the illegals must go home. Thompson said something similar. Huckabee wants them to go home for a few days or weeks and then reenter. He sees it as a paperwork and processing problem.
PS Fred said something that generated some controversy just now. I believe it is on the 14th Ammendment.
So THAT is why Huckabee got the greater applause over Hunter and Thompson. FIGURES!!
Duncan Hunter stayed true to his no illegal immigration stance and got a decent applause for it!
Hmmmmmmmm.....delicious quotes!! I knew it.
With the great influx of Vietnamise to California, following the end of that war, the State Sec of Ed was asked the best approach to incorporate these new citizens.
(I think it was Bill Honag (sp?))
“Total immersion!” was the instant response.
Never mind that he continued to support bilingual education for the Hispanic immigrants!?!?!?!
Agendas are often more important the heartfelt beliefs.
Huckabee said the same thing this morning on Fox News.
Thate Huckabee approach is indeed very stupid. That is what the GOP Congressman in the Midwest tried to bring up as a “compromise” last year. It, too, amounted to Amnesty. Sucks.
This just fries my gourd, that English-speaking Americans are being kept from knowing what they are saying!!!
Right. The Mike Pence charade.
As expected, Huckabee's immigration plan that he announced this week was a lying crock of frijoles.
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