"Regarding the pole..."

Russell Pearce is a state representative here in AZ who is testing the primary waters for a possible run against fellow Republican Jeff Flake. Apparently (and apparently he can’t spell apparently), GOPUSA put a poll (please note the spelling of poll Russ) on its web site and Russell – R (the R might stand for Republican, but here it just as easily could stand for Racist) was behind Flake in its internet poll (again, please note the spelling Russ).

He is very upset that his supporters aren't voting multiple times.

Here is loveable Russ’s email from today’s Arizona Republic.

http://www.azcentral.com/...

"I am behind in the poll" written in the subject line. This is what he wrote: "Regarding the pole. (sic) Just got an e-mail that someone or several people are voting several times according to the GOPUSA person that e-mailed me. Apparentally (sic) here is how to do it if you don't already know (I was just told how): First vote once, click the back button on your browser a couple of times Go to 'tools' 'internet options...' delete cookies and files.

"This clears the browser memory so you can return to the vote page and it does not know you already voted. We need a lot of people to do this to catch up. Pass this to people you trust."

So my open letter to Russell Pearce -

Please, Russ I know you are a major proponent of English only and English as the official language type of legislation so maybe you actually meant pole. "Regarding the pole," pole dancing, polecat, pole vaulting – which type of pole are we to regard? And thank you for teaching us that crazy gadget "The Internet" on how to vote multiple times by deleting our cookies (whatever the hell that is) and files. Thanks a bunch Russ!

http://mesa18.com/...

Let’s give him some helpful pointers about ENGLISH and about that internet thingy.

[e-mail]

Russell Pearce background:
Here he is sending out email where he copied portions from a white separatist group:
http://migramatters.blogspot.com/...

And here he calls for bringing back "Operation Wetback"
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/...

East Valley lawmaker Russell Pearce angered the Hispanic community this week when he called for the reinstatement of a pre-civil rights era program that called for the mass deportation of illegal immigrants.

Rep. Pearce, R-Mesa, said during an interview on "Morning Edition" on KJZZ (91.5 FM) that he would support bringing back a controversial federal program dubbed "Operation Wetback," which was designed to apprehend and deport illegal Mexican immigrants in the mid-1950s.

•  Very funny, but...

  ...actually, I am coming around to a similar position on English.

  For years, people came from around the world to live in the United States, the great melting pot.  They worked hard to build lives for themselves and their families, and they assimilated into society, adding their own cultural uniqueness to our own.  A big part of that was learning English.  In many immigrant communities (Italian, Polish, German) it wasn't unusual that first-generation Americans didn't even speak their parents' language anymore.  While that may be going too far (I think everyone should speak a second language), it contributed tremendously to a feeling of being American.

  Now, immigrants -- particularly illegal immigrants -- live in communities where only their native language (and, let's not beat around the bush here, we're usually talking about Spanish) is spoken.  This only contributes to the feeling, both among the immigrants and Americans, that these people are somehow outsiders.  This only makes integration more difficult.  The fact is that immigrants add enormously to our society and our economy, and we should be encouraging them.

  But we should also be encouraging them to learn English.  "Official" or not, English is the language of the majority.  If I were to move to Germany, I would expect to have to learn German.  It not only makes my life easier, but it's just the right thing to do.  Why should I expect people in their own country to speak my language?

  I work in a hospital that treats a lot of patients from Latin America.  I cannot count the number of times that someone has called the hospital after hours (when there is no interpreter) speaking Spanish, and gotten annoyed when nobody on the unit was able to understand them.  To me that is the height of arrogance.  Yes, sometimes there is a nurse or doctor available who can speak Spanish.  But not always.  I would never call a hospital in Peru and expect the floor staff to speak English.  The irony is that it wouldn't be an unreasonable assumption to make, given that nurses and doctors are highly educated people, and many educated people around the world do, in fact, learn English.  Still, I would never just take it for granted, and I would make some effort to learn how to say what I needed to say, as well as the likely response, before I called.

  Like I said, I believe that the United States should be welcoming immigrants.  But I also believe that it is the immigrant's job to adapt to his new country, not the other way around.

  by Jon Stafford on Sun Sep 09, 2007 at 02:15:46 PM PDT

•  As evidenced by the writings of this

  racist, until the whites in this country can write and spell correctly, we need to lay off the people for whom English is a second language.

  I have come to the conclusion that, on the whole, people who learn English as a second language tend to know more about the correct usage of English than a whole lot of Americans, especially, it seems, white Republicans.

  by Village expects idiot home soon on Sun Sep 09, 2007 at 02:25:06 PM PDT