If Okla. Makes English the Official Language, Feds Threaten Funding Cuts

Originally posted by mnemeth1
The Federal Government has no right to dictate to the states what they can and can not do.

The STATES dictate to the Feds what the Feds can and can not do.

What the Federal Government has done is LOOT the states of wealth through federal taxes, then held the States hostage with their own tax payers money.

Total tyranny.

Ehh... Yes and no. The Federal Government can dictate to the States specific guidelines laid out in the Constitution and granting these people their Civil Rights is something that the Federal Government could interfere with in a situation like this. They can, with the help of the Judicial Branch, interpret the Constitution and help protect peoples liberties. That is why I mentioned before the possibility of an ACLU lawsuit potentially happening to the state of Oklahoma, which would be bad news for everyone.

-Sliadon

Why are they picking on Okla????

Coud it have anything to do with the fact that Oklahoma is the redddest state in the union? Not a SINGLE county went blue.
Could it be they are screaming for State sovereignty, demanding that the Fed cease and desist immediately?
Could it be that all the State's representatives in DC are standing against the administration?...even the lone okla Democrat calls Obama a liability.

Naw, cant be.

This amendment will go to the vote of the people and will pass by a huge margin.
This is just a common sense move. It simply means that all state government docs and tests will be in English. It will save lots of red tape and money. It has nothing to do with loacl business, etc. Personally, I like it...thats just the humble onpinion of the son of a first gen immigrant.

Hell there is a complaint against the state because an Iranian couple were not given a DL test in Farsi a few years back!! Come on!!!


[edit on 3-8-2009 by Daytomann]

reply to post by FlyersFan


And it cuts down on voter fraud when you do not print ballots in Spanish. It is already law that you must know English to pass the citizenship exam. And you must be a citizen to vote. So no need for Spanish ballots except for non-citizens who are cheating.

I'm calling the FED's bluff out on this one.

They actually think they can get away with that are they stupid? In all reality if they did, even though it sounds like a stupid bill to argue about a huge number of US citizens would side with OK.

Fed wouldn't have a chance to cut funding number one. Number 2 if they did everyone can then move to OK and not pay taxes. After all you can't take taxes and then turn around and say no one or program gets any benefit to paying govt. taxes in OK. That seems to be a bit tad illegal called "theft" to put it nicely. You don't want me to say what the govt. word is for "theft" in this situation as it's too outlandish of an idea.

Heck I agree with it. We had a guy move in from California, he lived in Cali for 17 years and had moved there from Ethiopia for a better life. Hey that's great and all but 17 years later he came to work for us and you know what? He can't speak, read or write English. How the heck does that happen? Now we got him speaking and writing a little bit but his reports in Microsoft word look like a Christmas tree with all the red and green underlines. It's actually quite comical at least.

Fed is bluffing IMO.

Something needs to be done about this quickly. I went to renew my license the other day and since I had a GA liscense and now live in KS I had to read a piece of paper for some reason or another and I flipped it over and what do you know, it was all in spanish.

I questioned the lady as to why this was done and she said it was for the non english speaking customers. This confused me a little and I asked her if they have a written exam for them also and she said yes they do and they also have a spanish speaking instructor for the driving exam.

I asked her why they do this since every road side is in English and that a person needs to be able to understand our signs in order to drive. She shrugged her shoulders and said this is what they were told to do.

It boggles my mind that a valid liscense is given to people who cannot even understand our road signs.

This article makes me even prouder to be from Oklahoma. Now we just need other states to follow suit.

I do believe I smell one of those 'Constitutional crises' coming down the lane...

The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not place any limits on how the states can be taxed, so funding could essentially be cut off and taxes still demanded - legally. Now, knowing the good Sooners as I do, having sent many an hour sitting in truck stops talking to the locals, that's not going to go over very well, nor will it ease the worries of the good citizens in other so-called 'red states'. The last time something akin to this was tried, it found its way into our history books under the heading "The Civil War" (or, as some people prefer to call it, "The War Of Northern Aggression").

Regardless of what you call it, the result was the same. Untold masses of people from both sides killed, many women and children raped and tortured, vast swatches of our great country burned to the ground or pillaged into ruin, and hatred and dissent that still echoes today.

This is sadly but one fuse of many that are rapidly burning their way toward a powderkeg of civil uprising. The ongoing melee that originated as Prop 8 in California, the states' budget crises, the crumbling economy, a continuing flow of unfunded mandates to the states and the citizenry, continued pressure to accept the NAU agenda, foreign trade agreements that leave us out in the cold, and now demand for sovereignty form the states in return for cash make up only a partial list.

Oklahoma was at the forefront of the pressure from several states to stop the North American Highway System that was recently put on indefinite hold. I see this as a payback for interference with the plans of the NAU. Oklahoma has also tightened down drastically on illegal immigration, which places the Federal Government in a sticky situation. Their foreign trade agreements (most of which were never ratified by the Senate and are therefore worthless... of course, Mexico doesn't see it that way) demand more open borders, and the actions of one state are threatening that agreement (did I mention I love OK? ).

As to the English as our official language, it is a travesty IMHO that we never specified such. Perhaps it was because we really are a nation of immigrants, the first country to open its borders to those oppressed peoples from anywhere else. I am glad we are a nation of diversity, but at the same time, it is foolhardy and absolutely ridiculous to expect the citizenry of a country to make excessive allowances for someone new. These allowances I speak of?

• Being forced to learn a new language in our own country.
  
  
• Being ridiculed by immigrants because of our lifestyle and customs (including our language). You asked to come here; we didn't ask you to come here.
  
  
• Being forced to spend more on documentation to allow for someone else who wasn't a citizen 6 months ago (and many who are not now) and is tpoo lazy and shiftless to learn the language.
  
  
• Being threatened with actual legislation which makes SPANISH the official language! (Yes, that has been introduced, although it died quickly before it got inside the committee room door good... thankfully.)
  
  
• Being faced with the likelihood of having those not even here legally nor citizens voting for our leaders. Do I get to vote in Mexican elections? No.......
  
  
• Being forced to pay higher and higher taxation to allow people who are not even a citizen and many who have already broken the law by coming here illegally to receive financial aid when they have never paid a dime into the system they now turn to for support.
  
  
• Being threatened physically by illegal immigrants who are crossing the border.
  
  
• Being beset with higher crime rates by illegal immigrants who are illegal because their record won't allow them to be legal.
  
  
• Having our towns and neighborhoods infiltrated by drugs and the shady characters that deal them, all of whom are apparently immune to the same laws we are required to obey by virtue of their illegal immigrant status.
  
  
• Being subjected to higher and higher scrutiny, in large part due to the concern that OTM (Other Than Mexican) immigrants can cross as easily as illegal Mexican immigrants.
  
  
• Losing our jobs and our livelihoods to those illegal workers who will shortcut the Minimum Wage laws and work illegally for less than we need to live legally and work under illegal conditions we are forbidden by law to work under.
  
  
• Being called racist because we want a level playing field.

Now if saying all that makes me an evil person, then so be it. As I once told a fellow trucker during a similar debate: "You can't level a table by placing it on its edge."

English is MY declared 'official' language. Federal bureaucracy be damned!

Originally posted by DrMattMaddix
All of those titles like...

. African-American
. Mexican-American
. Polish-American
. British-American
. Italian-American
. Redneck-American
. Etc. ad nausium... should be thrown out as well.

Agreed, but I had to point out: I am a Redneck. I am an American. I am most definitely NOT a Redneck-American.

TheRedneck

English should be declared the sole official national language IMO. If the colonials don't like it then they can go their seperate ways and stop freeloading off the rest of us.


States with English as official language:
* Alabama (1990)
* Alaska (1998)
* Arizona (2006)
* Arkansas (1987)
* California (1986)
* Colorado (1988)
* Florida (1988)
* Georgia (1986, 1996)
* Hawaii (1978)
* Idaho (2007)
* Illinois (1969)
* Indiana (1984)
* Iowa (2002)
* Kansas (2007)
* Kentucky (1984)
* Louisiana (1807)
* Massachusetts (1975)
* Mississippi (1987)
* Missouri (1998)
* Montana (1995)
* Nebraska (1920)
* New Hampshire (1995)
* North Carolina (1987)
* North Dakota (1987)
* South Carolina (1987)
* South Dakota (1987)
* Tennessee (1984)
* Utah (2000)
* Virginia (1981, 1996)
* Wyoming (1996)

States without an official language:

* Connecticut
* Delaware*
* Maine
* Maryland*
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Nevada
* New Jersey*
* New Mexico
* New York
* Ohio*
* Oklahoma*
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania*
* Rhode Island*
* Texas*
* Vermont
* Washington*
* West Virginia*
* Wisconsin*

* Official English Legislation has been introduced in the current legislative session.

Multilingual States:
* Hawaii (English and Hawaiian) (1978)
* Louisiana (English and French legally recognized, although there is no official language) (1974)
* New Mexico (English and de facto Spanish)
* Maine (English and French both de facto)
* American Samoa (Samoan and English)
* Guam (Chamorro and English)
* Northern Mariana Islands (English, Chamorro, and Carolinian)
* Puerto Rico (Spanish and English) (1993)

NOTE: English is the predominant language in all of the above except Puerto Rico. In Guam, American Samoa, etc the native language is RARELY spoken in public.

en.wikipedia.org...




[edit on 3-8-2009 by ChrisF231]

reply to post by ChrisF231


I was surprised to see Louisiana, and then I noticed that you have it listed twice. English official, and then Bilingual with the note (Nothing is Official). I guess they can't decide down there.

Great list, but it goes to show how little good declaring an official language does! Florida has English as official, but in much of Miami you won't hear any English, and you won't be able to do any commerce in many neighborhoods that are Spanish-speaking only!

reply to post by ChrisF231
Excellent post! It makes me a believer that individual states should set the official language for themselves, based on a few of your specifics:

• Louisiana has a strong French background; indeed much of the Cajun dialect is taken from the French language.
  
  
• Maine is right across the river from Quebec Canada, where English is not just unofficial, but frowned upon.
  
  
• New Mexico has a very large Mexican background population (as it's name implies).
  
  
• Hawaii is, well, of Hawaiian ancestry.

After all, the United states was always intended to be 50 sovereign countries bound together by a common document only, the U.S. Constitution. Not a single country with 50 communities residing within it.

Here, have a star.

TheRedneck

reply to post by Daytomann




My husband said almost the exact same thing you wrote when I posted this thread. Excellent post. The main point you made that sticks out with me is the fact the Obama didn't carry one single county in the state of Oklahoma. That's gotta sting a little and the conclusion I came to was that that fact had to play at least a minor role in issuing this threat.

Like I said in a previous post, many other states have English-only amendments and I don't recall any of them being threatened. Why Oklahoma?

reply to post by TheRedneck


Redneck, excellent post also. Thanks for pointing out the NAU being squashed by Oklahoma. Or at the very least, put on indefenite hiatus.

There are many reasons I can think of as to why Oklahoma makes the feds uncomfortable.

-We were a forerunner in declaring our sovereignty
-HB 1804 enforcing tougher illegal immigration laws
-the fact that we're red to the core
-English-only amendment

To name but a few. They also know that we love our guns.

I'm still looking forward to the DOJ's response. If they ever give us one.

reply to post by ChrisF231


Thanks for the list Chris. That puts this whole thing in perspective. I cannot think of one single reason why this proposal would be a problem for the feds.

Well, I can think of a few reasons, but they make the Obama administration look awfully petty. Most of them were pointed out by Daytomann and The Redneck.

What really burns my ass, and it really doesn't matter what the particular action by a state is, but this MONEY did not originate from the Federal Government.

The Federal Government HAS NO MONEY.

It's provided by the citizens. All of it.

How in hell can they withhold money from a state when that state's citizens provided the money in the first place?

Were I an Oklahoma legislator, I'd in turn pass legislation that Oklahoma citizens no longer will be required to send their money to the IRS, but to Oklahoma.

And when the Fed gives Oklahoma a flat tax rate per citizen, they'll be happy to send the money to Washington.

BUT, that flat tax rate better be paid equally by all Americans, and not be a number someone pulls out of their butts.

Ridiculous. If I go to Russia, I'd better be able to speak Russian. Italy or France the same.

Since the majority of citizens speak English in America, it isn't a far-off, incredible notion of declaring it the official language in any of the states.

IMO, the reason they haven't in all these years is to further keep people segregated and uncommunicative.

In a world where TPTB are manipulating people to think and speak the same (think political correctness), they wouldn't care about endorsing such individual methods concerning different cultures if it didn't somehow fit into their agenda.

In this case, I believe it's to keep people separate, constantly reminding them of their differences by endorsing the divide between the easiest form of communication - speech.

reply to post by dooper

How in hell can they withhold money from a state when that state's citizens provided the money in the first place?

Good question. But we all know that they'll slither around that somehow if given the chance. They always have.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the time has come for the federal government to be put in its place. And I hope Oklahoma is in the lead in this endeavor.

All other cultures have learned our language. Why cater to the spanish speaking community? I'm so sick of having to 'dial one for english'!!!! You go get 'em Oklahoma! Stick to your guns! It is a shame that people have to literally fight for their language here. Don't even get me going on the illegals. LOL

reply to post by Night Star


All other cultures have learned our language because they choose to assimilate to our way of life. Hispanics apparently don't feel the need to because they are catered to for the sake of a vote. They also know they can scream racism and have people licking their boots to appease them.

I'm pretty sure this is going to go through, threat or no threat. Anyone that doesn't like it always has the option of moving. Or learning English.