so the morans want english as the "official" language (and many of them

[niyad]

also belong to that wonderful "english only" group that clutters up MY local political landscape). quite apart from all the other drawbacks to this incredibly stupid idea is this one--how many people in this country can actually speak, read and write the language properly? certainly that prancing poseur squatting in the oval office cannot. a good many of the people I hear on a daily basis cannot. and a good many of the people apparently cannot write it, either. so many people apparently do not know the difference between "they're", "there" and "their", or "to" and "too", or "who's" and "whose", who cannot manage subject/verb agreement, who cannot spell, or punctuate, who use "would of" instead of "would have" (the first time I saw this in a book, I just had to shake my head). this doesn't just apply to the average person. one of the many reasons I don't bother with the local hate-rag is that their copy editors are completely illiterate idiots.

so, until the vast majority of the native-born in this country can actually use the language properly, this is nothing more than arrogant hypocricy.

[EFerrari]

1. I'm waiting for freep heads to explode when they realize Adam

and Eve didn't speak English and, God didn't write the Ten Commandments in English or the Bible.

:rofl:

[niyad]

2. but, but. . . you mean god DIDN't write the bible in english? I thought

that was why the kjv was THE version. was I wrong??? then, . . you mean, moses didn't speak english either? I am crushed, crushed, I tell you.

[EFerrari]

3. Dead Sea Scrolls -- liberal propaganda.

lol

[treestar]

4. Oh I agree they claim to place so much value on it but really

don't care about it.

[tirechewer]

5. It is a conundrum...

that the people who scream the loudest for English only are the people who are barely articulate in English, even though they were born and raised here.

Maybe they are more comfortable rolling around on the floors of revival tents and speaking in tongues. ;) Either that or they don't get much practice speaking English while biting the heads off of snakes.

[emulatorloo]

6. Who Cares - this is a Fake Repug Distraction Issue - Life Goes On n/t

[C_U_L8R]

7. Republican... sure sounds foreign to me

And it sure is foreign... originally Res Publica
in that dirty old dead language Latin.
Hey Freeps.. why don't you speak English...
Errr .. I mean American !!!

(especially cause most of you have no idea what Res Publica even means)

[mim]

8. Learning English--a very good idea

Despite the worst intentions of the Republicans, when GWB says immigrants should learn English, he shows that a stopped clock is right twice a day. I'm reminded of that when I go on jury duty, as I did this past week. New York City is a magnet for immigrants, and so many of those who are summoned can't do this important work of citizenship because they don't understand the language in which trials are conducted.

A dear friend of mine (now dead of AIDS) joined US English with great regret, because he knew he'd be making common cause with bigots. But he considered having a common language to be very important (he was an ESL instructor in Queens). I can see why. That doesn't mean I'm against posting signs and printing instructions in foreign languages; they help people get on in life and even save lives. But the goal should be to help people participate fully in the life of this country, and here that still means knowing English, our common language. Yes, I know that Belgium and Switzerland have more than one language in their public life, and if I lived in Quebec I would have to know French in order to participate fully in public life there. But here the language is English. If you don't believe me, go to a courthouse and observe a trial.

The problem with many newspapers today is not illiterate copy editors but no copy editors. Copy editors don't help the bottom line much.

And niyad, a moron is a feeble-minded person. A moran is a Masai warrior.

And the word is hypocrisy, not hypocricy.

[blondeatlast]

10. So apparently slang is not okay by you?

"A moran is a Masai warrior."

Not on DU, it isn't, but you can do your own research if you've ponied up the cash for the search feature--it's a sneer directed at our foes.

And we don't correct others' spelling, either--even though I'm an ex-English teacher and a professional editor. This is a conversation, Mim--not a Master's thesis.

It's this kind of attitude that speaks volumes about why the Senate needs to soothe the bumps of some Americans with trivial pursuits such as the "National Language" Bill.

God forbid you should learn about people before you go off on them.

:eyes:

[mim]

11. Ordinarily I don't correct other people's spelling

But Niyad's post was partly about spelling and the sad state of it.

And a moran is a Masai warrior. Up in the stickies there is a picture of a demonstrator with the misspelled word. If this is a word that progressives are going to put on their signs in public demonstrations, they'd better not look like illiterates.

[blondeatlast]

12. Sheesh--that ISN'T a progressive. Hence the DU slang reference.

Perhaps you missed the mullet?

:eyes:

[mim]

13. So I'm supposed to know this?

So I see this sticky that says "Get a brain, morans," and I recognize the sentiment as a common one on progressive boards. I also know that "moran" is a common misspelling for "moron." I also figure that a DU sticky would be more likely to picture a like-minded demonstrator. Moreover, here's a post that complains about rampant illiteracy, including inability to spell, and which itself shows an inability to spell. Finally, if the demonstrator in the picture is indeed demonstrating for a progressive cause, doesn't it hurt the progressive cause to be shown up as illiterate?

And how am I to know that an apparent failure to meet one's own standards is actually a DU slang term? It's not as tho you're shown a primer on the slang when you register for DU.

Aren't you assuming too much when you say I don't approve of slang on the board?

And what about the substantive stuff I said about the need for a common language, as it was brought home to me by jury service?

[Solon]

14. You really don't understand...

OK, the picture in question, which is right here, is of a FREEPER, we use MORAN as a way to make fun of those idiots.



BTW: This is my hometown, where Boeing builds bombs, and to be fair to it, this was a counter demonstration AGAINST a peace demonstration that happened the day before.

[jimshoes]

9. Does that mean we will have to

purge all foreign words from the english language like "entrepreneur", "coup d'etat", "nom de plume", "nolo contendre"??? These pubs certainly have a way to stir up the masses with trivialities while their pockets are being picked clean by their government and corporate masters.