← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Brooke
Thread ID: 16574 | Posts: 16 | Started: 2005-02-04
2005-02-04 02:51 | User Profile
I didn't see this posted yet. . .
[url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/02/03/MNGIHB4KOK1.DTL ]Lawmaker makes history: speaking Spanish in Senate[/url]
Martinez pays tribute to attorney general nominee Gonzales
Judy Holland, Hearst Newspapers
Thursday, February 3, 2005
Washington -- **Freshman Sen. Mel Martinez, a Cuban immigrant, [u]shattered a 216-year tradition of the U.S. Senate[/u] on Wednesday when he used the ceremonial occasion of his first floor speech to speak three sentences in Spanish.
In his eight-minute bilingual address, the Florida Republican touted his support for his friend and fellow Latino, Alberto Gonzales of Texas, President Bush's nominee to be U.S. attorney general. Martinez said Gonzales' confirmation by the Senate would "resonate" among Latinos.**
The so-called maiden speech of a new senator is an important moment for a newcomer and is often used to define his or her priorities. When Martinez broke into Spanish, followed by his own English translation, the stunned Senate stenographer looked up quizzically and just typed: "speaking Spanish."
Using his native language, Martinez addressed those who came to America to make a better life for themselves, telling them: "Gonzales is one of us" -- "uno de nosotros."
Martinez said Gonzales represented "all of our hopes and dreams for our children" -- "todos nuestros sueños y esperanzas para nuestros hijos." He said we "cannot allow petty politics to deny us this moment" that makes us all proud -- "No podemos permitir que la politiquerÃÂa nos quite este momento que nos enorgullece a todos."
A transcript of the senator's remarks in English and Spanish will be included in the Congressional Record, said Kerry Feehery, a spokeswoman for Martinez.
After his speech, Martinez, a former mayor of Orlando and the 12th secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said the chance to speak Spanish and emblazon it permanently on the Congressional Record was unique.
"I'm someone who has spoken in many places at many times -- in the United Nations, I've spoken in the Cabinet Room, and this was my first time to speak on the Senate floor," said Martinez, the first Latino immigrant to be elected to the Senate. "It was very, very special. But it added a tremendous measure of pressure to do it in Spanish, because I feel a great sense of responsibility as a break-through-barrier sort of a person."
Martinez said he had been careful to deliver his Spanish remarks "in a measured way," limiting them to a few sentences so it would "enhance and expand" and not be viewed as negative.
"It's for the purpose of nominating and confirming this man, it's not for making a linguistic statement," he said.
Martinez said he hoped his Spanish remarks would instill a sense of pride among young Latinos who feel embarrassed when struggling with English.
A Senate historian, Don Ritchie, said there was no record of a senator giving a speech in a language other than English, though it apparently happened. In 1983, Rep. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., addressed the House of Representatives in Spanish, but the words later appeared in the official record in English. Richardson later became President Bill Clinton's energy secretary.
2005-02-04 03:05 | User Profile
[QUOTE]Martinez said he hoped his Spanish remarks would instill a sense of pride among young Latinos who feel embarrassed when struggling with English.[/QUOTE]
This sure as hell isn't the way to go about it. This is exactly the opposite thing he should be doing.
2005-02-04 03:09 | User Profile
I'm waiting for a Senator like David Duke to come into office who can "resonate" with White Americans.
As for the Spanish-speaking incident in the Senate, I have two reactions. The first is one of yet another sad recognition that the alien grip upon America is tightening. The second is one of hope--it's totally out in the open now that America's traditional demographic identity is being consciously altered in a manner that radically breaks with our history.
Liberals and Kosher Conservatives love to condemn racialists and nationalists as "radical extremists," when in fact it is they who are the dangerous radicals that have been engaging in an unprecedented "alchemical" experiment with the nation's population since 1965. Every time one of these "milestones" is reached, like the Senator speaking Spanish--and I know soon we'll be seeing that "First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice"--the direction and results of this radical experiment become more visible and tangible to White Americans.
Where racial consciousness has been trained out of Whites in a gradual process over the last few decades, having this multiculti stuff thrown in their faces can only reignite that consciousness. How long will Whites endure going to the ATM and getting a laundry list of languages to have to tread through before they can make their transaction. I know it throws me off every time--I'm always ready to type in my 4 digit PIN code, and right when I think that screen is coming up, I instead get the "Please choose your language..." screen instead. I'm hoping that experience is but one of many that will induce Whites to ask themselves, "Why are we putting up with this again?"
Lots of average Whites out there who work for a living know the real deal. Talk about the job market, and it's inevitable that you'll hear someone in the conversation mention "Mexicans." Everyone nods in agreement, even though someone is always careful to give some disclaimer about "Now, I have nothing against anybody, but..." I'm betting "historic events" like the ones in this article will help erode the tendency of Whites to issue these "disclaimers" before they tread on un-PC ground.
2005-02-04 03:12 | User Profile
Perhaps one day they will make yiddish the official language of Wall Street.
2005-02-04 03:16 | User Profile
As a Cuban I don't like what he did this is America and the language is English, even if my English is pretty bad.
Neither do I like the so called biligual schools and once again this is America and the language is English.
But of course is to late to do anything about it, sorry to say.
2005-02-04 03:24 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Ponce]As a Cuban I don't like what he did this is America and the language is English, even if my English is pretty bad.
Neither do I like the so called biligual schools and once again this is America and the language is English.
But of course is to late to do anything about it, sorry to say.[/QUOTE]
Sure something can be done, amigo. And it could begin with you.
Load up every fellow Cuban you can find and start paddling.
2005-02-04 03:28 | User Profile
I'm waiting for a Senator like David Duke to come into office who can "resonate" with White Americans. Well that would be "hateful", you know. > The second is one of hope--it's totally out in the open now that America's traditional demographic identity is being consciously altered in a manner that radically breaks with our history.
I'm betting "historic events" like the ones in this article will help erode the tendency of Whites to issue these "disclaimers" before they tread on un-PC ground. I sure hope so.
I know soon we'll be seeing that "First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice" Funny you should mention that. In the June 2003 issue of "[u]Texas Monthly[/u]", there is an article about Gonzales, and a discussion of his potential to be a Supreme Court Justice nominee. I have the hard copy, but not a subscription to TM online, so can't provide a link. Apparently he's been tagged for a position of prime importance for a while.
2005-02-04 03:36 | User Profile
[QUOTE=weisbrot]Load up every fellow Cuban you can find and start paddling.[/QUOTE]
I just might do that myself, start paddling away from here, and I'm not even Cuban.
2005-02-04 07:57 | User Profile
I agree with PaleoconAvatar's second reaction in that, this is actually good news. You can bet thousands more lemmings have been knocked off the fence by this, and thousands more have felt a little more of a push towards an understanding that something is fundamentally wrong with this scoiety no matter what we're told by the mainstream media.
So let us celebrate...ariba ariba...
2005-02-04 13:36 | User Profile
[QUOTE]....this is actually good news. You can bet thousands more lemmings have been knocked off the fence by this, and thousands more have felt a little more of a push towards an understanding that something is fundamentally wrong with this scoiety no matter what we're told by the mainstream media.[/QUOTE]
How?
If I hadn't seen this story [I]here[/I], I'd've missed it altogether. And I'd make book 90% of my countrymen either
-aren't aware of this story, or
-could've sworn they've [I]already [/I] been talking Spanish in the Senate for years now
Anyway what would it matter? All stories re [I]the Frito-Laying of America [/I] are always always [B]always [/B] treated as Glad Tidings; landmarks of the fruits of a Proposition Nation and our Elastic, if not Gummi Bear, Constitution.
[I]How [/I] is the American public - now defined as the shirtless fat guy who paints himself blue at football games to cheer on his squad of hired mercenaries - supposed to tell [I]something is bad [/I] if 11,000 cookie-cutter commentators don't tell him so repeatedly from every media outlet extant?
2005-02-04 19:42 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Brooke] Using his native language, Martinez addressed those who came to America to make a better life for themselves, telling them: "Gonzales is one of us" -- "uno de nosotros."[/QUOTE] I feel quite certain that the 'us' to which Gonzales refers in Spanish is not the 'us' to which I refer in English. 'When the people are one, the language is one' -- Joseph de Maistre
2005-02-04 21:14 | User Profile
I feel quite certain that the 'us' to which Gonzales refers in Spanish is not the 'us' to which I refer in English. Indeed.
2005-02-04 22:47 | User Profile
[QUOTE=JAT]I agree with PaleoconAvatar's second reaction in that, this is actually good news. You can bet thousands more lemmings have been knocked off the fence by this, and thousands more have felt a little more of a push towards an understanding that something is fundamentally wrong with this scoiety no matter what we're told by the mainstream media.
So let us celebrate...ariba ariba...[/QUOTE] I suspect most won't know or won't care. And it would probably be "racist" to see anything wrong with somone speaking Spanish in the English speaking United states senate. :mad:
2005-02-04 22:52 | User Profile
[QUOTE=weisbrot]Sure something can be done, amigo. And it could begin with you.
Load up every fellow Cuban you can find and start paddling.[/QUOTE]
That wasent very nice weisbrot, however, I did try to go back to Cuba and Castro himself who is a good friend of my dad told him that I was to "Americanise" to return back.
Castro dosen't know it but I'll be a Cuban till the day I die even if I am a half breed, my mother was a gringa.
Last time I went to Cuba I brought back some dirt from my favorite spot and when I die I want that dirt in my hand when I am burried.
You can take Ponce out of Cuba but you cannot take Cuba out of Ponce.
2005-02-04 22:59 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Ponce]That wasent very nice weisbrot, however, I did try to go back to Cuba and Castro himself who is a good friend of my dad told him that I was to "Americanise" to return back.
Castro dosen't know it but I'll be a Cuban till the day I die even if I am a half breed, my mother was a gringa.
Last time I went to Cuba I brought back some dirt from my favorite spot and when I die I want that dirt in my hand when I am burried.
You can take Ponce out of Cuba but you cannot take Cuba out of Ponce.[/QUOTE]
I can sympathize. I'll be a Virginian until death, no matter where I'm living or planted in this "voluntary union". I also will be a Southerner, and, finally and currently somewhat reluctantly, an American.
You claim to be none of those, amigo. I'll be happy to finance the sunscreen, Gatorade and fishing line you might need. Might even go for a box or two of bullets if that would come in handy.
Paddle.
2005-02-05 08:46 | User Profile
Ragno and Starr, have a look:
[url="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22Mel+Martinez%22+spanish+senate"]http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22Mel+Martinez%22+spanish+senate[/url]
This story has made its rounds. You'll even see that CNN carried it, somewhat:
[url="http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/02/senate.gonzales.ap/"]http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/02/senate.gonzales.ap/[/url]
[QUOTE]Martinez, the former Housing and Urban Development secretary who broke with Senate tradition by giving part of his floor speech praising Gonzales in Spanish, said the confirmation would mean a lot to young Hispanics who have never seen one of their own in the top four Cabinet positions: secretary of state, defense secretary, treasury secretary or attorney general. [/QUOTE]So there you go. Thank you and buenos nachos.