Mississippi Bill Changes Name of 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America'.

Mississippi Bill Changes Name of 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America'

Written By Elizabeth Llorente
Published February 09, 2012
Fox News Latino

If a Mississippi lawmaker gets his way, the Gulf of Mexico will become the “Gulf of America.”

Mississippi State Rep. Steve Holland, a Democrat, has introduced a bill calling for the part of the Gulf of Mexico that is bordered by Mississippi to be renamed the “Gulf of America.”

The measure, known as HB 150 and introduced to the state House Marine Resources Committee, says the body of water will have its new name beginning July 1.

The proposed name change has drawn criticism from various groups, including a Latino GOP organization known as Café Con Leche, which sent Holland a letter demanding that he withdraw the bill and calling HB 150 anti-Mexican.

If this bill passes the legislature and is signed into law, perhaps it is time to rename the Mississippi River.

- Bob Quasius, President of Latino GOP group Café Con Leche

“If this bill passes the legislature and is signed into law, perhaps it is time to rename the Mississippi River,” wrote Bob Quasius, Café Con Leche’s president, in the letter. “After all, sharing a name with a state that wants to rewrite maps out of disdain for Mexicans would be a disgrace to the rest of the nation.”

“The Lincoln River would be a suitable substitute name, in honor of a great man, don’t you think?” the letter continued. “We call on you to withdraw your bill and spare us all further embarrassment.”

Real Housewives Busted Buying Guns for Cartels

A New Orleans website quipped: “Riding upon a chariot of Hummers driven by bald eagles, Mississippi Rep. Steve Holland filed a guns blazing cowboy steak of a bill, proudly waving our nation’s red, white and God-fearing blue to protect our American coastal waters.”

The Gulf is bordered by the United States to the north (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas), five Mexican states to the west (Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan), and the island of Cuba to the southeast.

Follow Elizabeth Llorente on Twitter: @Liz_Llorente

Elizabeth Llorente can be reached elizabeth.llorente@foxnewslatino.com

Mississippi Bill Changes Name of 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America' | Fox News Latino

I like it!

Now all we gotta do is find America!!

"Real Housewives Busted Buying Guns for Cartels"

Wow. I thought this was from "The Onion". lol!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SicNTiredInSoCal

"Real Housewives Busted Buying Guns for Cartels"

Wow. I thought this was from "The Onion". lol!

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'Gulf of America' bill was a joke, Mississippi lawmaker says

ACKSON, Miss. -- All the people outraged about the Mississippi bill to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America" have missed its satirical intent, the sponsor said Thursday. State Rep. Steve Holland, a populist Democrat known for over-the-top gestures, said he was tickled that his provocation had rocketed across the Internet.

Holland said the measure is meant to mock other bills that would crack down on illegal immigration. At least six such bills have already been assigned for committee consideration in the state's current legislative session, and more could be on the way.

"It seems the people of Mississippi have elected a majority group to govern that wants to slam all minorities and especially Hispanic," Holland said, adding that he thought such legislation is un-Christian.

Newly elected Gov. Phil Bryant, a Republican, is a longtime supporter of tougher restrictions on illegal immigration. Such bills had died in a Democratic-controlled Mississippi House in previous years, but Republicans won control of the chamber last November.

Holland's current House Bill 150 manages to avoid even saying the word Mexico. It refers to "the body of water located directly south of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties," saying it will be renamed as the Gulf of America for "official purposes within the state of Mississippi."

The longtime legislator is known for his sense of humor. Holland is a funeral director, and his funeral home gives out insulated beverage sleeves that say "We'll be the last to let you down."

News of the bill spread across the Internet Wednesday after it was noticed by the website of the alternative weekly newspaper in New Orleans called the Gambit. Many websites and commenters took the bill at face value, slamming Holland as a stereotypical Mississippi bigot.

Holland, from the north Mississippi town of Plantersville, said he was getting lots of calls from national news outlets about the proposal, but was limiting interviews to Mississippi reporters.

Café Con Leche Republicans, a Minnesota-based group that promotes a pro-immigrant and pro-Hispanic stance within the Republican Party called on Holland to withdraw the bill. The group suggests renaming the Mississippi River as the Lincoln River so it wouldn't share a name "with a state that wants to rewrite maps out of disdain for Mexicans."

"Apparently you don't take your responsibilities seriously," wrote Bob Quasius, president of the GOP group. "Surely the State of Mississippi has more pressing matters to attend to than this. Did you stop to think of the expense of rewriting textbooks or changing maps?"

When reached by The Associated Press, Quasius said that even if the bill was meant as a joke, Holland should still withdraw it and apologize, saying Holland was wasting taxpayers' money. "It's in rather poor taste and we don't pay legislators to make jokes."

Quasius said race, immigration and ethnicity were issues too sensitive for satire.

"It's not the time and place for satire," Quasius said. "A leader should be sensitive and in tune with how a proposal they make will be taken."

Comedian and satirist Stephen Colbert joked on his show in 2010, during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, that the body of water should be renamed as the Gulf of America.

"I don't think we can call it the Gulf of Mexico anymore," Colbert said in announcing a charitable fund to help people affected by the spill. "We broke it, we bought it."

A spokeswoman for Colbert said he was unavailable for comment Thursday.

By Jeff Amy, Associated Press

'Gulf of America' bill was a joke, Mississippi lawmaker says - Mocks Immigration Bill

:D
Sounded fishy!