Posted by
Defend America on Tuesday, March 09, 2010 6:40:46 PM
March 8, 2010 4:00 A.M.
A Spanish 51st State?
Puerto Rico draws closer to statehood.
Imagine
that New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, citing his state’s “unique
linguistic and cultural heritage,” signed into law a bill with the
following provisions:
1) English
and Spanish are the co-official languages of New Mexico, but government
agencies, courts, and the legislature will operate in Spanish, with
English translations available only upon request.
2) English
will be taught in New Mexico’s schools as a foreign language, with
students receiving a mandatory 50 minutes of instruction per day in
English.
3) New Mexico will seek an exemption from the provisions of federal law
that require students with limited English proficiency to be given standardized tests in English within three years.
Governor Richardson is a colorful character, but not that colorful. As a presidential candidate
in 2004, he passionately argued that Spanish should not be a
co-official language with English, let alone be given “first language”
status.
Remarkably, Nancy Pelosi will soon bring to the floor
a bill that would allow Puerto Rico to become the 51st U.S. state
without changing policies that are identical to those in our
hypothetical New Mexico. It is rumored that the Puerto Rico Democracy
Act (H.R. 2499) will be placed on the rarely used “suspension
calendar,” barring any floor amendments and suggesting that the measure
is less about democracy than about Democratic electoral power.
Puerto
Rico’s political status is complex, and the Act counts 58 Republicans
among its 181 co-sponsors, including thoughtful conservatives like
Indiana’s Mike Pence. Whatever the complexities, though, thoughtful
people should agree that no state in the Union legally treats English
as its “second” language, let alone as a foreign language, and a Puerto
Rican state should not be an exception.
http://article.nationalreview.com/426926/a-spanish-51st-state/tim-schultz