Posted on 05/20/2006 12:33:39 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
HOUSTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush has long opposed making English the country's national language, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said on Friday, a day after the Senate voted to do so, but the White House said later Gonzales had got caught in a "linguistic snare."
The Senate vote came in an amendment to proposed legislation overhauling U.S. immigration law and directed the government to "preserve and enhance" the role of English. Opponents said it could affect the status of some multilingual services offered by government organizations.
Adding to the confusion, the Senate also adopted a softer amendment calling English the "unifying language" of the United States. Senators take both versions into negotiations over a final bill with the U.S. House of Representatives.
Gonzales did not directly address Bush's position on the controversial amendment because the Senate has not yet voted on the whole bill. But he said that Bush has in the past rejected such efforts.
"The president has never supported making English the national language," Gonzales said after meeting with state and local officials in Texas to discuss cooperation on enforcement of immigration laws.
He said Bush has instead long supported a concept called "English-Plus," believing that it was good to be proficient in more than one language.
Later on Friday, the White House weighed in to clarify Gonzales' remarks, saying the president does not believe in English as an "official" language.
"The attorney general got caught in a linguistic snare. He took 'national' language to mean what we describe as 'official' language.
"We have no problem in identifying English, our common linguistic currency as a national language; we also view it more expansively as the "common and unifying language," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.
Gubamint, as is English, is so confusing these days.
FRom yesterday..
Bush opposes English as national language: Gonzales (AG says Bush supports 'English-Plus' concept) ^
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1635152/posts
According to an AP article on the Senate voting for the amendment making English both "national language" and the other amendment making English "common and unifying"
"White House spokesman Tony Snow said Friday that President Bush supports both measures"
"We have no problem in identifying English, our common linguistic currency as a national language; we also view it more expansively as the "common and unifying language," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.
Better headline:
Alberto Gonzalez says President Prefers Spanglish as National Language
Gonzales only looks OK when compared to Reno. His record on illegal alien prosecution is deplorable.
This, I guess, is the ultimate in contracting out your jobs ~ having it done in a foreign language!!!
What about Esperanto?
like a spermatozoa heading for an oocyte:
President of the Houston Hispanic Bar Association from 1990 to 1991
member of delegations sent by the American Council of Young Political Leaders to Mexico in 1996
2003 Gonzales was inducted into the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Alumni Hall of Fame
Good Neighbor Award from the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce,
President's Awards from the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the League of United Latin American Citizens.
Latino Lawyer of the Year by the Hispanic National Bar Association
Presidential Citation from the State Bar of Texas in 1997 for his dedication to addressing basic legal needs of the indigent
received the Hispanic Salute Award in 1989
Gonzales served in the United States Air Force between 1973 and 1975, and attended the United States Air Force Academy between 1975 and 1977
http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/gonzales-bio.html
(HOW, PRAYTELL, does one serve 2 years in tha AF, and THEN receive 3 years education at the AF Acadeny with no subsequent service????)
Are we going to have a German version, a French version, a Polish version, an Italian version, etc.?
There are already multi-lingual versions of rock and roll music. On the other hand there are no recent "English language" versions of that genre. Doesn't mean it's dead though, and the groups doing rock in Spanglish do an excellent job.
Ya, so??? Bush doesn't support a lot if things I support...Big deal...
What was Jorge thinking when he named this guy AG?
I guess it depends on what the meaning of "is," is.
I can't believe what all the modern-day pathetic attempts to avoid accountability are doing to the English language. "Linguistic snare" ranks right up there with "wardrobe malfunction".
English has been the "official" language of California since 1986, when voters passed Proposition 63.You'd barely know it.
The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters prints ballots in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese and Tagalog. California drivers can take the written license exam in 31 languages, from Amharic, which is spoken in Ethiopia, to Thai. You can view the state's online Megan's Law database of registered sex offenders in Portuguese or Punjabi.
In other words,mVOTERS BE DAMNED
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