Jesus H. Christ...Sweet Home Alabama...

[AUChizad]

Why would you say that?  

I'm for minimal government.  I'm for lowered taxes. I'm for personal accountability.  I'm for people making their own way.  

All libertarian.  I'm probably less libertarian when it comes to some social issues, but much more so when it comes to economic ones.

Not a republican.  Definitely not a demolist.

Please tell me what makes you "not a republican".

I agree with you on fiscal issues. But if you're an economic conservative AND a social conservative, you're just a conservative. You're far right on social issues, whether you acknowledge it or not.

[AWK]

Political douchebaggery...  I agree, but I would say that his little clip only appeals to one issue out of many.  You also don't have to be "White/Southern Baptist/Christian/Conservatives..." or whatever to agree with the single-sided position.  In fact, I know of many outside of your limited demographic pool who would agree with the position.  There's nothing that makes this "White/Southern Baptist/Christian/Conservatives..."

As a side conversation, it's amazing how you guys find nothing wrong with throwing stereotypes of Christians and Conservatives around, but when anybody else does it about homosexuals or some other demographic-of-the-moment, your panties get sucked up all the way up your anus.  Oprah has taught you well. 

In all fairness, I'm not the one stereotyping, Mr. James is by his ad.  I am somewhat smart enough to know that all people in those groups don't think the same way.

[Kaos]

You are also for gays=bad. Immigrants=get the fuck out. And also "my way or the highway, and if no one else agrees with me then you are all wrong". I am pretty sure those aren't libertarian...

Not exactly.

Gays = bad, yes.  Keep it to themselves, however and  I don't care.  Not my problem. The insistence on pushing it as "mainstream" and "acceptable alternative" is where I lose it. I don't care if you're raping baby kittens in the privacy of your own home.  But if you insist on walking around the street with a kitty attached to your cock, then I take offense.

Immigrants = No problem at all.  We're all immigrants essentially, except for me due to my American Indian heritage.  I have ZERO problem with immigrants who come here with the objective of assimilating into our culture. Some of the best programmers I've ever worked with are first-gen Russian immigrants. I love those guys.  They don't demand that I speak Russian, though.  The problem I have with immigration is two-fold:

1) Illegals.  If you want to come here, do it the right way.  If you're here illegally, you have no rights, should be afforded no protection and should have your ass shipped back to whereever you come from with a RIF tag embedded in your skin so that alerts go off if you get within 50 miles of the border again.
2) Non-assimilators.  I wouldn't move to France and demand that the French adapt to my American customs and behavioral patterns.  I expect the people who move here to become a part of this society and not demand that THEIR society (which worked so well that they fled it to come here) remain intact.  I don't like the fact that traditional American traditions -- Christmas, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July -- have to be sanitized and removed of Judeo/Christian reference to appease people of other faiths.  Fuck that.  

"If no one else agrees with me" = Yes, you are all wrong.  That's how I roll.

[GarMan]

In all fairness, I'm not the one stereotyping, Mr. James is by his ad.  I am somewhat smart enough to know that all people in those groups don't think the same way. 

Actually, to be completely honest and legitimately fair, you were the one who brought up "White/Southern Baptist/Christian/Conservatives..."  You should also be "smart enough" to realize that all of the stereotyping in this thread was initiated by you.  It's sort of like the Democrats accusing those who disagree with Obama's policies are being racist.  Race or whatever demographic-of-the-moment that you want to recognize usually has nothing to do with it. 

[Kaos]

Please tell me what makes you "not a republican".

I agree with you on fiscal issues. But if you're an economic conservative AND a social conservative, you're just a conservative. You're far right on social issues, whether you acknowledge it or not.

No, Chizad you're just so far left that anybody remotely centrist appears to be the lunatic right to you.  

I'm not a social conservative except in my own personal behavior.  My stance toward the political side of it runs to "keep it to yourself and it's not my problem"   That's not far right.  I know some far right people and I guarantee you I'm nothing like that.

[AUChizad]

No, Chizad you're just so far left that anybody remotely centrist appears to be the lunatic right to you.  

I'm not a social conservative except in my own personal behavior.  My stance toward the political side of it runs to "keep it to yourself and it's not my problem"   That's not far right.  I know some far right people and I guarantee you I'm nothing like that.

I know some far left people, and I guarantee you, I'm nothing like that.

[Jumbo]

To the left, to the left. To the right, to the right. Now slide, slide.

[Kaos]

I know some far left people, and I guarantee you, I'm nothing like that.

You seem like them to me. 

[AWK]

You seem like them to me. 

You stereotype!@#@!#

[War Eagle!!!]

You stereotype!@#@!#

That offends me...

[GarMan]

That offends me...

Call Oprah!  Quick!!! 

[GarMan]

http://stopthewussification.com/

[Iwannaplay]

I think the commercial is dumb and the whole stance is dumb because the United States of America does not have an official language.  It's also a dumb stance considering we are a nation of immigrants.  However, since there is a law in Alabama as well as 27 other states that was adopted in Alabama in 1990 that made English the official language of the state then all state documents should be in English.  Since the issuing of DL's falls under the police power of the state then they should only be in English until the law is changed in Alabama.

PS- The whole argument that if you come here you better learn the language is dumb especially since English is actually the newest major language spoken in this territory after Native American languages, Spanish, and French.

[GarMan]

I think the commercial is dumb and the whole stance is dumb because the United States of America does not have an official language.  It's also a dumb stance considering we are a nation of immigrants.  However, since there is a law in Alabama as well as 27 other states that was adopted in Alabama in 1990 that made English the official language of the state then all state documents should be in English.  Since the issuing of DL's falls under the police power of the state then they should only be in English until the law is changed in Alabama.

PS- The whole argument that if you come here you better learn the language is dumb especially since English is actually the newest major language spoken in this territory after Native American languages, Spanish, and French.

This argument has been ongoing for years.  I lived through the uproar down in Miami back in the 70's when it was an issue.  This is nothing new.  There's nothing wrong with establishing an official language, as many, if not most, countries and even territories within countries have done so. 

[Iwannaplay]

This argument has been ongoing for years.  I lived through the uproar down in Miami back in the 70's when it was an issue.  This is nothing new.  There's nothing wrong with establishing an official language, as many, if not most, countries and even territories within countries have done so. 

So you want us to be more like those socialist European coutries?

[GarMan]

So you want us to be more like those socialist European coutries?  

Nah...  I'm just sick and tired of our society always catering to the underclass, deadbeats and nonconformist outliers.  The problem with our society is that we've grown to despise traditional American values and virtues to favor this leftist multiculturalism.  If it was so great in their country of origin, why come to that God-awful United States? 

Back in Miami, I remember when they actually passed a law forcing all of us to attend Spanish class in elementary school.  It caused a considerable uproar at the time. 

[DnATL]

Seems pretty damn straightforward to me.  All road signs and markings are in English - the test should be in English.  If you cannot read English, then you should be treated the same as someone who cannot read - no license for you.  Operating a motor vehicle on public right-of-way is a privilege, not a right - the requirements regulating that privilege are pretty damn basic and simple.  Lack of fluency in English is not some handicap that can't be helped or overcome.

What language are all legal documents written in?  Aside from the obvious such as the pesky old Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, etc., how about bills in Congress?  AWK, would they allow you to submit a brief or argue a case in any language other than English?

Why stop at only 11 or 12 languages for the test - what if I want it in Swahili or Klingon (or is that already one of the 12)?  What if someone gets offended because they consider Spanish to be the language of their European oppressors - maybe it should be written in Nahuatl or Maya script?

After seeing how much my partners and I are spending for H1b/green card stuff for one of our engineers who grew up in Asia (doing it the right way, legally), I have no interest in going out of the way to accommodate someone who is in this country illegally.  Italians, Germans, etc. knew when they came (legally) through Ellis Island that they needed to learn English to assimilate into the existing American society and commerce.

You make an exception for one non-standard language in Spanish, then there really is a discriminatory distinction relative to the next largest groups like Portuguese or Russian or whatever.  English-only is a matter of standardization and practicality, not discriminatory.

Bottom line - if you can't read English you can't drive, so stay your ass in the back of the pickup

[Townhallsavoy]

My apologies if this has already been brought up as I have missed most of this thread. 

Are road signs primarily to be seen as symbols as opposed to words? 

If so, I think it's fine to give the driver's test in multiple languages as the test taker is learning the symbols as opposed to the words.  Also, many immigrants can learn the meaning of the words "stop" and "yield."  How many other road signs have words?  I know deer crossing is just pictures.  Warnings of sharp curves are just symbols.  How many words need to be learned to drive on the road?  So the issue with immigrants driving is based on whether or not they can read the questions on the test and NOT whether or not they can determine the meaning of road signs. 

Also, immigrants attempting to gain citizenship have to reside in the U.S. for five years.  So what's a person to do during that time?  Call a taxi?  Hitch a ride with an English speaking person? 

We want to give immigrants an incentive to gain citizenship legally.  Instead, we're debating passing a law just to spite the illegals. 

Maybe we should be speaking out for an official language of the United States since, you know, we don't have one yet.  Technically, all you need to know is basic words and phrases of English.  That's not a concrete definition of how much English, so a person is allowed to go on speaking their Spanish or Russian or German and be just fine when it comes to legality. 

[GarMan]

Seems pretty damn straightforward to me... 

This post might get deleted.  Some in here would find your post to be offensive and racist, especially when using their enlightened, feminated, Oprah-meter.  Watch out! 

[wreckingball]

My apologies if this has already been brought up as I have missed most of this thread. 

Are road signs primarily to be seen as symbols as opposed to words? 

If so, I think it's fine to give the driver's test in multiple languages as the test taker is learning the symbols as opposed to the words.  Also, many immigrants can learn the meaning of the words "stop" and "yield."  How many other road signs have words?  I know deer crossing is just pictures.  Warnings of sharp curves are just symbols.  How many words need to be learned to drive on the road?  So the issue with immigrants driving is based on whether or not they can read the questions on the test and NOT whether or not they can determine the meaning of road signs. 

Also, immigrants attempting to gain citizenship have to reside in the U.S. for five years.  So what's a person to do during that time?  Call a taxi?  Hitch a ride with an English speaking person? 

We want to give immigrants an incentive to gain citizenship legally.  Instead, we're debating passing a law just to spite the illegals. 

Maybe we should be speaking out for an official language of the United States since, you know, we don't have one yet.  Technically, all you need to know is basic words and phrases of English.  That's not a concrete definition of how much English, so a person is allowed to go on speaking their Spanish or Russian or German and be just fine when it comes to legality. 

Tim James is just pandering to his redneck constituency. Illegal immigration is not a huge issue in our state. More than likely, we administer these exams for the legal immigrants that move over here for our blossoming auto industry or for educational purposes. Illegal immigrants typically avoid getting licenses and insurance in the first place so by only administering the test in English will not really affect them illegals. I doubt that the cost of administering these exams is a significant expenditure and the benefit of offering it probably out ways the cost in the first place. What Tim James needs to focus on is real issues in our state if he wants to get elected. Pick a side on the bingo issue, take a stance on education, or something else that actually matters. I'm sure that running on the drivers license exam language platform will not get you elected even in a state as redneck as Alabama.