"This is Alabama; we speak English."

[Mendoza Line]

Awesome.

Amid a national debate over Arizona's tough new immigration law, Republican Alabama gubernatorial candidate Tim James (and son of previous Gov. Fob James) vows in a new campaign ad that if he's elected, he'll give the state driver's license exam only in English, as a cost-saving measure.

"This is Alabama; we speak English," he says in the ad. "If you want to live here, learn it."




It's not clear how James thinks the change would save the state money. Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic says Alabama could actually lose billions of dollars in federal funding if it enacts the measure, and he points to an Alabama political blog that runs down the legal history for why the exams are in multiple languages.

James says he's been attacked by the left for the ad, singling out MSNBC host Rachel Maddow. A writer on her blog called the ad "just plain mean" and argued it was simply pandering to the candidate's conservative base.

"I have come under attack and under assault by a very interesting group of far-left reporters," he said Monday, according to the Birmingham News. He said English exams are a public safety issue, to ensure drivers can read signs. Exams are currently given in Arabic, Chinese, English, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese, according to AOL News.

[Mendoza Line]

Seriously, that took some balls.

There had to be advisors pleading with him to not say that!

Sure won't ever be able to run for a national office, though.

[iggs111]

I'd vote for the man!

[westcoastO]

if you live in a big city where you seriously cant even order food or go to the bank or any other simple task BECAUSE you speak english, you'll understand this.

utterly disgustingly annoying.

[Mendoza Line]

Originally Posted by westcoastO

if you live in a big city where you seriously cant even order food or go to the bank or any other simple task BECAUSE you speak english, you'll understand this.

utterly disgustingly annoying.

Bro, I'm with you.

We have our share of illegals here. Where my wife works as a blackjack dealer, most employees speak both. She gets illegals (or legal immigrants who would rather be Mexican, just not in Mexico) on her table all the time that start speaking spanish to her. She tells them she doesn't speak spanish, and they get all offended, insisting she should know it. She always goes off on them about how "this is America" and they generally get pretty riled up.

Most casinos in this country have rules against speaking other languages at the tables, to prevent cheating when the dealer/pit boss can't understand what's being said. Not here. Like 75% of the dealers and pit bosses are Mexican.

My wife says they dominate the break room TV, and every hour you've got to sit there for 20 minutes with one of the spanish-language channels blaring.

[iggs111]

They just put up a Polish & Slavic Credit Union a block from my house. Wtf is this shit? So if I'm not slavic or a polock, I can't get a loan? Is that discrimination?

[BLBisinnocent]

I can think of a prominent former member of the Alabama National Guard who might not be able to take the test because of his poor English.......

Just sayin......

[BLBisinnocent]

and for that matter, how about the rest of the backwoods bumpkins in that state.....

There is very little "English" being spoken in the state, and it is not an immigrant problem, it is an educational problem......

[iggs111]

Originally Posted by BLBisinnocent

and for that matter, how about the rest of the backwoods bumpkins in that state.....

There is very little "English" being spoken in the state, and it is not an immigrant problem, it is an educational problem......

I think you are missing the point.
It's still English that they are speaking though. Might have a little hillbilly slang in it but it's still English. People come to our country and expect us to know their language. Which is unacceptable in my eyes.

[Mendoza Line]

Fine, BLB.

Languages can be learned, though.

Around here, they send these Mormon Missionaries all over the world. There's a school for them down in Provo where they send them for a couple of months. They load them up with straight schooling in whichever language applies to the country to which they're going. They live in that country for a year or two, speaking only that language, and when they come back the speak fluent Spanish, French, Japanese, whatever.

In the days of mostly legal immigration, people learned Engish when they came here, and were proud to be Americans. Think Arnold Schwarzenegger.

These days, because illegals don't exactly have to take that test and learn the Pledge of Allegiance to get here, some people have been here a decade or more and can't speak English.

[westcoastO]

there are some people who let their political affiliations make up their minds for them unfortunately

[PHILLYBIRDS20]

did u ever get that gatorad from that alien in the gas station WCO?

[Mendoza Line]

Nobody get me wrong. Not a racist in any way.

Welcome to all tourists and legal immigrants! Be proud of your cultural heritage, but be at least as proud to be American.

If you want to be Mexican, there is already a country for that. If you want to be an American, get in line.

Every time I see these rallies with 10,000 Mexicans marching for amnesty, I would feel a little more sympathy if they were carrying American flags and chanting in English instead of carrying Mexican flags and chanting, "Si se puede!"

[Mendoza Line]

Originally Posted by westcoastO

there are some people who let their political affiliations make up their minds for them unfortunately

tru dat

[Ron Mexico]

Need that guy to come to California. So sick of the non english speaking here.