Thursday, January 22, 2009
40 Jealous Whores / Politics / Woods Hell Yeah! No Votes Crush 'English Only'
Posted by Jeff Woods on Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 9:15 PM
Comments (47)
Showing 1-47 of 47
I think its ironic that you bitch & moan about the cons of English only.
In English.
Only.
like
dislike
"In fact, had English Only been on the ballot for a regular election, it would have passed overwhelmingly. Let's admit it. It went down only because this was a low turnout special election."
Horseshit.
Every Free Republic/Valentine jackass who reflexively voted for this would have turned out in November.
The disproportionate increase in turnout in November was in black neighborhoods. Are you saying that black folks would have voted against English-Only in large numbers? Because that's the only way your assertion makes sense.
Until you come back with numbers, I'm taking this as idiot snark.
For Sick Irony
I think it is ironic that you use the moniker "Sick Irony", yet you understand the meaning of the word "ironic".
me wants talk americanese only. me hating not english.
ya'll dig.
ps. idiot snark is wayyyyyy better than sega snark
-louis loaf
Good for Nashville! I am happy to know my old home town is not filled with bigots.
The reality is, this country will be bilingual within 20 years. Start taking Spanish classes now Bubbas.
Progressive? Nashville? To you "elite types" why not change all the street signs at random to one of ten (a progressive number) languages and really become a cosmopolitan community?
Yeah, then you could raise taxes again for, er, education!
Schmugrrsessive? Eliteshes? Wha?
Far right troll guys, align yourself with something other than extreme crackpotism. There are actually things you could advocate that don't make you look completely stupid, you know.
Let's not "be hatin'" as they say. This is a win in my book! We are moving in a progressive direction. Sure, there is work to be done. Sure, we have miles to go before we sleep. BUT, this is a step in the right direction. THIS is a statement. We are right behind you, Mr. President. We will be there when you get there. We are coming.
dam. i was about too brake out the arbor mist the cammel crush,an the funoins. to bad. al have to drink these margherietas @ my english only fiesta mi solo!!
pss cinco at crafton's is soooooo canceled
-lou
dam. i was about too brake out the arbor mist the cammel crush,an the funoins. to bad. al have to drink these margherietas @ my english only fiesta mi solo!!
pss cinco at crafton's is soooooo canceled
-lou
Good riddance Eric Crafton. If you did anything worthy of mentioning, it would only be that you mobilized Nashville progressives and made us that much stronger.
You lost, and you make us look great!
THANK YOU, GRACIAS, DANKE, SHUKRAN, DOMO ARIGATO, MAHADSANID, SIPAS DIKIM!
"English Only was defeated with a resounding 57 percent of the vote."
57% is "resounding"?
Nope.
It would take at least 99.99% to qualify for that category
Woods,
Need to hear more about how this victory will help Dean with Council. Especially in light of the fact that he spends more time with members who held Bob Clement For Mayor signs high and proud in 2007 while ignoring members who canvassed against amendment 1 and 2 this winter.
Yes, Gilberto, in any election across this country 57-43 is a pretty resounding margin. 99.99% is Cuba.
Pinhead.
Gilbero, so you can have an idea of what you are, you may want to look up in a dictionary the English word for "payaso."
DG,
It isn't far fetched that Black people would have voted for English Only in significant numbers unless the community was properly, actively engaged. I think opponents of English Only learned from the Prop 8 outcome and did the job of making sure everyone knew what Crafton was really on about.
Since Mr. Woods has nothing but his opinion to back up his contention that this measure would have passed "overwhelmingly" in November, I'll offer my non-supported opinion too. A county that went strongly for Barack Obama in November was not going to pass this then either. The right-wingnuts (notice I didn't say Republicans because there was significant opposition to this from many GOP-aligned community leaders not named Jon Crisp) are usually pretty good about voting in low-turnout elections around these parts. It's the rest of us who often fail to turn up. I think they had a better chance of passage now than then. Bottom line, though, it doesn't matter whether Mr. Woods or I have the soundest opinion. The measure was voted on and it failed. Good riddance!
I'm a little new at this voting stuff at least in the minutiae of council members.
How do they get elected and when can we vote this this pendejo out of office. Or can we?
57% is NOT resounding and nothing YOU - YOU COMMUNIST LIBERALS - say can prove otherwise!
Very good point, Jeff. I bust on the Scene so much in these comments that it's only fair to point out when you hit the nail on the head, and you certainly do here.
"Gilbero, so you can have an idea of what you are, you may want to look up in a dictionary the English word for "payaso."
I already know what I am - your superior.
Thus it well ever be.
It's amazing how quiet Suzy, the super-hater who led the right-wing charge in yesterday's comments, is now. Sometimes silence really is golden.
Sometimes silence really is golden.
It is, but so are English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Amharic, Swedish, Finnish and Russian, among others. :)
Yay Nashville.
This result is really heartening. Won't make as good a story for all my non-Nashville friends as road kill and Bonerisms, but we have struck a blow for common decency and mutual respect here, and that's better than a hilarious story of idiocy any day.
Suzy is probably taking her children to their private school which also probably requires them to take a foreign language.
It was a hard fought fight and one which educated everyone more on the subject. Voting is a very special right and maybe Americans are waking up to its power and importance.
I'm proud to be a Nashvillian today even though I can only speak English.
Wow, 69 comments on the other English Only posting. That was more like a Tennessean comment board after an English Only story.
I still wish Crafton would run for another office, maybe U.S. rep or Mayor. Hey, he would lose 65-35, but at least he would presumably be out of his council seat. He could probably move to Williamson and take over for Marcia when she runs for Governor.
Let me explain why I think English Only would have won in a regular election. Yesterday, because it was a special election, voters had to be at least a little bit educated on the issue or they wouldn't have known to go vote. In a regular election, all kinds of yahoos go to the polls not knowing squat. They'd look at the ballot, see this thing making the government do business in English only and it would be a no brainer for them (pun intended.)
A Crafton comment in one of today's papers was that he will not run for office again. His mother and wife don't want him to. But he seems to like the limelight so we'll see. He probably could do Juvenile Court Clerk pretty well and at least be as entertaining as Vic Lineweaver.
Regarding Howard Gentry, I think every election he sits around his house waiting to find out who's going to win. Then he rushes to the victory celebration and claims credit for it.
Jeff you are totally right and that's why California is in such a mess. Folks tell me that it can take a long time to vote because you have to read all the referendums. So instead of voters really deciding, it's more like special interest groups who rally their supporters imposing a narrow perspective on the whole. I especially like that the voters here seemed to really understand the significance of Amendment 2 even though it was not as emphasized as 1. "Just 'cause we talk slow doesn't mean we aren't paying attention."
Yes, government through referendum is a terrible idea. I'm just as happy amendment 2 was defeated. Even though Gray Davis was a terrible governor, I hate the idea of just because a leader, be they mayor or governor, does some unpopular things, he can be recalled through a recall election. And it hurts California's tax structure also. We elect representatives to take care of our business. If we don't like what they are doing, we can vote for someone else when the time comes. That's what we pay them to do. I try to stay educated on the issues of the day, but I have a day job, as well as family responsibilities, and can't tend all my attention to the technicalities of various bills being offered. Therefore, direct democracy in that form is bad government, in my opinion.
"The disproportionate increase in turnout in November was in black neighborhoods. Are you saying that black folks would have voted against English-Only in large numbers? Because that's the only way your assertion makes sense."
No, black folks would have voted English only in, it is the immigrants that have taken the jobs normally held by them. You betcha there is resentment there.
Superhater??? Yes, my children are learning French. I was actually born there. Without people like me whom you call narrow-minded haters (which I believe is a bit like calling the kettle black--you hate people like me who don't think like you) everyone would think the same. Let me tell you what, maybe YOU are the bigoted, racist people who cannot even listen to another person's point of view without attacking the person. I live in America, I am entitled to my opinion, it is a free country last time I looked. Without people of differing opinions, we are all just a cookie-cutter "gray" society who are all of one opinion. You call me a hater because you think I hate people different from me, well take a look in the mirror friends, because the hatred could possibly start with you.
I actually got some people to READ the amendment instead of listening to the press who by the way was totally BIASED in this (something new--no!). They were saying "I just don't want everyone to think we are rednecks"--I urged them to actually read what they are voting for, I may not have changed their opinion, but perhaps they formed their OWN opinion. I don't think there is anything wrong with helping people become more informed.
Frankly I was very well informed yesterday by the people who stated their opinion without calling me a hater or a right wing, blah, blah or unchristian. I applaud those people, you are what makes me proud to be an American. You are well informed and can state your opinion without making a personal attack. I do apologize for jumping into the mud with "the haters," but would you expect less from a Nashville redneck, unchristian, wingnut hater?
This is total bullshit:
"Let's admit it. It went down only because this was a low turnout special election. That fact alone gave the English Only foes a fighting chance, elevating the importance of their ability to mobilize a small segment of voters. They turned out 41,000 voters for their side, and that was enough when only 73,000 of the county's 330,000 registered voters went to the polls."
This was Dean's mentality, too. There is no joy today. Rather than trust the voters of Davidson County, he used every machination he could to thwart a vote.
Even many of us who saw this charter amendment as the ridiculous (and near-meaningless) stunt it was are put out with the mayor's attitude. Frankly, I've lost all respect for him. I would have expected this from Ronnie Steine and sleazeballs of his ilk, but not from the mayor. If only he had shown trust, there wouldn't be the degree of anger at him that is right under the surface.
My experience yesterday was that black, white, young, old, Asian, all understood the danger of these amendments and were working actively to defeat them. I think you will find some of the distribution of for and against votes related to income and education, not race.
I'm not a "progressive" but I voted against the silly bill. Not everything is either/or.
Agreed, sueyyyy. As down as I have been on Dean for his ill-advised attempt to thwart a vote, he did try to explain this measure had nothing to do with immigration, illegal or otherwise. Unfortunately, he was rare among opponents who relied too heavily on emtion. Blacks and working class whites, who tend to be in competition with illegal immigrants for some jobs, probably conflated the issues.
I think Jeff is right that this would have lost--big--in a general election. The issue seems to break along the same lines as votes on things like gay marriage. Though the left in this case picked up a lot of business votes, it would have lost far more among the working people faction that usually backs lefty causes. There are just a lot of people who resent the Mexicans for reasons they can't even articulate. Don't ask me why.
What's the word on the financial backing for English Only? Was it ever disclosed?
Sorry if this is a stupid question. Part of my decision to vote against English Only was based on this issue, since it sounded SO slimy.
You caught me, Sueyyy, but it hurts my head to think about it. The Mexicans always seem like such nice, polite, hard working family people, I never understood why people have a beef with them. And there's something unmanly about picking on people with no clout. Reminds me of gay marriage, bravely picking out the smallest guy in the bar to step outside.
I see you couldn't resist a shot at Howard Gentry, who has opposed English Only the past two years and make several public statements to that effect. Of course, since you smeared him with the rescue mission story that only had one source and turned out to be utter rubbish, I guess you despise someone you've wronged. Who cares when he helped with the robocalls? The fact is he did it the day before the election when help still mattered, not the day after. He did more than you did to stop this stupid amendment. And he's always opposed it even if you'd like to pretend otherwise.
Affiliate Networks Have the benefits of a new company. Virtual World Entertainment has exploded on to the marked with a amazing new affiliate program. Being able to promote multiple sites in a network using I-Frames, Banners, or text links and a high conversion is what its all about and they have it!! for any other questions about them find out more
