GreekChat.com Forums  

Go Back   GreekChat.com Forums > General Chat Topics > News & Politics

» GC Stats
Members: 329,702
Threads: 115,665
Posts: 2,204,908
Welcome to our newest member, atylergooletoz3
» Online Users: 1,970
1 members and 1,969 guests
Cookiez17
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 01-23-2009, 06:56 AM
DaemonSeid DaemonSeid is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: In a house.
Posts: 9,564
English only measure defeated

CNN) -- Voters in Nashville, Tennessee -- a city that has seen a dramatic increase in its immigrant population -- rejected a measure Thursday that would have made English the only language used for government business in its metropolitan area.


Nearly 57 percent of those who cast ballots Thursday in Nashville, Tennessee, voted against the measure.

With all 173 precincts reporting, 41,752 voters, or nearly 57 percent, voted against the proposed amendment, with 32,144 voters supporting it, according to unofficial results posted on the Nashville city government Web site.

"No person shall have a right to government services in any other language," the proposal read.

The measure would have included government meetings.

The Metropolitan Council, which submitted the measure, could have mandated exceptions to protect public health and safety.

Elise Shore, southeast director of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said her regional office in Atlanta, Georgia, was monitoring the Nashville balloting.

"We just elected our first black president. There are the forces of globalization and conducting business around the world ... in the face of this, we see these measures?" Shore asked.

The proposal "sends a strong message ... this is a negative message. In fact, it invites discrimination," she said.

In a newspaper editorial published Thursday, The Tennessean urged voters to defeat the proposal.

"This amendment would exclude and marginalize those residents and visitors to Nashville simply because English is not their native tongue," the editorial said.

The polls opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 7 p.m.

Before the measure was defeated, a spokesman for U.S. English Inc., an action group that supports English-only laws nationwide, said the Nashville proposal was a good one.

"Government programs are aimed at helping people reach self-sufficiency and success," Rob Toonkel said. "Allowing use of a second language doesn't encourage them to learn English."

"The key word [of the amendment] is 'actions that bind the government,' " Toonkel said, which would cover transactions such as getting a city contract.

If a non-English speaker needs help filling out a form, and someone in that agency speaks their language, they should be helped, he said. "But you shouldn't be able to come in, pick up a form [in another language] and leave."


http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/...l?iref=24hours
__________________
Law and Order: Gotham - “In the Criminal Justice System of Gotham City the people are represented by three separate, yet equally important groups. The police who investigate crime, the District Attorneys who prosecute the offenders, and the Batman. These are their stories.”
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 01-23-2009, 10:22 AM
Fleur de Lis Fleur de Lis is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 607
I'm very proud of Nashville for this. We had a great voter turnout (almost 20%) and of course I'm happy because I voted against the amendment. :P
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 01-23-2009, 10:33 AM
RU OX Alum RU OX Alum is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Greater New York
Posts: 4,537
I'm glad too. What about the Native peoples of that region? Surely they have a right to government documents in their own language.
__________________
Love Conquers All
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 01-23-2009, 07:46 PM
Kevin Kevin is offline
Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Posts: 18,668
Quote:
Originally Posted by RU OX Alum View Post
I'm glad too. What about the Native peoples of that region? Surely they have a right to government documents in their own language.
Tribes are sovereign entities. It doesn't matter what the Nashville City Code says. How did you even think this measure could ever possibly affect tribal government?
__________________
SN -SINCE 1869-
"EXCELLING WITH HONOR"
S N E T T
Mu Tau 5, Central Oklahoma
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 01-23-2009, 09:16 PM
PM_Mama00 PM_Mama00 is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Michigan
Posts: 5,807
Send a message via AIM to PM_Mama00 Send a message via Yahoo to PM_Mama00
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin View Post
Tribes are sovereign entities. It doesn't matter what the Nashville City Code says. How did you even think this measure could ever possibly affect tribal government?
Off topic but I've been wondering. Do Native Americans vote in presidential or other elections? I know that they usually have their own governing body and police but I always wondered about voting.
__________________
Proud to be a Macon Magnolia!

KLTC
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 01-23-2009, 10:26 PM
Kevin Kevin is offline
Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Posts: 18,668
Yes they do. They're citizens of their own nations as well as of the U.S.
__________________
SN -SINCE 1869-
"EXCELLING WITH HONOR"
S N E T T
Mu Tau 5, Central Oklahoma
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 01-23-2009, 10:59 PM
moe.ron moe.ron is offline
Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Southeast Asia
Posts: 9,026
Send a message via AIM to moe.ron
Another off topic question:

Let say that there is a draft, are the Native Americans obliged to answear them or can they go into their sovereign land and not answear the draft?
__________________
Spambot Killer
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 01-24-2009, 10:35 AM
RU OX Alum RU OX Alum is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Greater New York
Posts: 4,537
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin View Post
Tribes are sovereign entities. It doesn't matter what the Nashville City Code says. How did you even think this measure could ever possibly affect tribal government?
They are not confined to the reservation. Could get a speeding ticket. If the ticket is only English, that could cause problems.

It doesn't affect tribal government, it affects tribal interactions with the city
__________________
Love Conquers All
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 01-24-2009, 11:14 AM
Kevin Kevin is offline
Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Posts: 18,668
Quote:
Originally Posted by RU OX Alum View Post
They are not confined to the reservation. Could get a speeding ticket. If the ticket is only English, that could cause problems.

It doesn't affect tribal government, it affects tribal interactions with the city
I know a LOT of N.A.s. the number of folks who only speak the tribal languages are either so few in number as to be an insignificant category or they simply don't exist. Many moons ago, the great white father mandated that Indian children be placed in government schools and forbidden from learning or speaking their native tongues. This resulted in a massive decline in the number of people who knew the tribal languages. Some still managed to learn it on the down low -- something which was very useful to us in WWII if you recall.

At any rate, no, troopers don't have to carry around a traffic violation pad in every local Native language. It'd be no different than giving a traffic ticket to a non-English speaking Persian person.

As far as other tribal interactions with the city, the tribes are sovereigns. They don't really interact much with municipalities. Most interactions go through the Bureau of Indian Affairs I would think.
__________________
SN -SINCE 1869-
"EXCELLING WITH HONOR"
S N E T T
Mu Tau 5, Central Oklahoma
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 01-24-2009, 12:20 PM
PiKA2001 PiKA2001 is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: TX
Posts: 3,760
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin View Post

At any rate, no, troopers don't have to carry around a traffic violation pad in every local Native language. It'd be no different than giving a traffic ticket to a non-English speaking Persian person.
LOL. Wouldn't that be something? " Shit, the one day I leave my Swahili citation pad at home....."
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 01-24-2009, 05:33 PM
RU OX Alum RU OX Alum is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Greater New York
Posts: 4,537
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin View Post
I know a LOT of N.A.s. the number of folks who only speak the tribal languages are either so few in number as to be an insignificant category or they simply don't exist. Many moons ago, the great white father mandated that Indian children be placed in government schools and forbidden from learning or speaking their native tongues. This resulted in a massive decline in the number of people who knew the tribal languages. Some still managed to learn it on the down low -- something which was very useful to us in WWII if you recall.

At any rate, no, troopers don't have to carry around a traffic violation pad in every local Native language. It'd be no different than giving a traffic ticket to a non-English speaking Persian person.

As far as other tribal interactions with the city, the tribes are sovereigns. They don't really interact much with municipalities. Most interactions go through the Bureau of Indian Affairs I would think.

cool, and it's a moot point since it failed. But some one could claim to only speak their tirbabl language or prefer to have it in their tribal language.
__________________
Love Conquers All
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 01-26-2009, 10:26 AM
Kevin Kevin is offline
Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Posts: 18,668
Quote:
Originally Posted by RU OX Alum View Post
cool, and it's a moot point since it failed. But some one could claim to only speak their tirbabl language or prefer to have it in their tribal language.
No.
__________________
SN -SINCE 1869-
"EXCELLING WITH HONOR"
S N E T T
Mu Tau 5, Central Oklahoma
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 01-26-2009, 02:02 PM
jwright25 jwright25 is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 507
What is the law regarding reading Miranda rights to someone who doesn't understand English?
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 01-26-2009, 02:09 PM
Kevin Kevin is offline
Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Posts: 18,668
Quote:
Originally Posted by jwright25 View Post
What is the law regarding reading Miranda rights to someone who doesn't understand English?
They'd probably be fairly irrelevant since officers arresting someone who (for example) spoke Swahili wouldn't be able to interrogate that person anyhow.

But yes, non-English speakers have to be Mirandized as far as I know. I know that with Spanish speakers, often the officer will read the statement in Spanish from a card or give the suspect a card to read.

From what I understand, the issue isn't really all that clear, and there can be further complicating factors, e.g., the officer reads the Spanish card to the suspect but the suspect doesn't understand because the suspect speaks a different dialect of Spanish.
__________________
SN -SINCE 1869-
"EXCELLING WITH HONOR"
S N E T T
Mu Tau 5, Central Oklahoma
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Martin Liberals defeated in vote of non-confidence... Taualumna News & Politics 17 01-11-2006 01:05 AM
English Minor Dionysus Chit Chat 12 07-21-2003 12:00 PM
English 101 33girl Chit Chat 6 07-14-2003 12:43 AM
How do you measure success? Wealth or Happiness? sweet26 Alpha Kappa Alpha 0 04-04-2003 03:01 PM
Bob Barr defeated! The1calledTKE News & Politics 4 08-25-2002 06:26 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:07 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions Inc.