Thread: Why Nashvillians Are Voting AGAINST English Only

This vote will take place on Jan 22. The forces against the English Only vote are many and the dollars are many as well. It is disappointing to see Tom Oreck of Oreck Vacuums urging defeat of this English Only measure.

Please comment at this video if you desire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBxtUfIH ... annel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bL0l5WJhRA

(quote)


January 16, 2009

English-only opponents raise $300,000

By Chris Echegaray
THE TENNESSEAN

English-only campaign financial disclosure statements filed Thursday show opponents raising nearly $300,000 to fight the measure, which goes to Metro Nashville voters Jan. 22 in a special election.

Supporters of the measure face a fine for not turning in their statements by the 4:30 p.m. Thursday deadline. The penalty is $25 for each day Nashville English First doesn't disclose its campaign finances after a certified letter is sent out, Davidson County Election Administrator Ray Barrett said. If the group delays beyond 30 days, the state steps in and can assess a fine of up to $10,000. The proposed charter amendment, which goes to voters Jan. 22, would force all Metro Nashville government business to be done in English, with the council given power to grant exceptions. Early voting ends on Saturday.

Jon Crisp with Nashville English First didn't return calls seeking comment by late Thursday. Metro Councilman Eric Crafton, who is spearheading the English-only effort, said he isn't in charge of the daily operations or the financial statement.

Past fundraising disclosure forms from Nashville English First showed nearly all funding coming from ProEnglish, a national group aimed at getting similar measures passed. ProEnglish has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center because its founder has links to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which was labeled a hate group.

VU opposes measure

Nashville For All of Us, the measure's main opposition group, filed statements showing Vanderbilt University donated $10,000. With international recruitment of diverse faculty, students and staff, Vanderbilt wants Nashville to be open and welcoming, and the measure wouldn't reflect that, said vice chancellor for public affairs Beth Fortune.

"We are the largest private employer in Middle Tennessee with 22,000 employees," she said. "This English-only initiative sends the wrong message. As you know, Chancellor (Nicholas) Zeppos and other university presidents have come out against this."

Among the largest contributors to the $286,025 campaign chest against the charter amendment were: Steve Turner, a Gulch developer with Market Street Management, $50,000; HCA Inc., $50,000; Caterpillar Financial, $25,000; Ben Rechter, president of Rogers Group Investments, $25,000; Gaylord Entertainment, $10,000; Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau, $5,000.

There are no contribution limits for measures, so individuals and corporations can donate whatever they want, said the state's executive director of registry of election finance Drew Rawlins.

(quote)
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090 ... /901160343


Some of the groups working against English Only. These same groups lobby against any legislation to stop illegal immigration.


Coalition Members
Coalition for Education about Immigration (CEI)
Faith Leaders for All of Us
Nashville Community Organizers (NCO)
Nashville’s Moment Is Now

People of faith
Catholic Charities
Clergy for Tolerance
The Community Relations Committee of Nashville Jewish Federation
Interdenominational Ministerial Fellowship
Islamic Center of Nashville
The Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee Justice For Our Neighbors
Pastoral Counseling Centers of Tennessee, Inc.
The Social Justice Committee of the First Unitarian-Universalist Church of Nashville

Business leaders
Bone McAllester Norton PLLC
Duthie Learning
GML, LLC
Greater Nashville Hotel and Lodging Association
Harrington Law Office
Hispanic Marketing Group
Jones Law Group
Latin Market Communications
Mario Ramos, PLLC
McNeely Pigott & Fox
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau
Nashville Business Coalition
North, Pursell, Ramos & Jameson PLC
P&L Translations
Realtor Pat Skow
Tennessee Business Coalition
Tennessee Chinese Chamber of Commerce
Tennessee Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
The Law Offices of David Randolph Smith & Edmund J. Schmidt III
Tim McFadden Management
Tinney Contemporary
United Steelworkers of America - District 9
Ming Wang, M.D., Ph.D.

Immigrants
Kurdish American Youth Organization
Somali Community Center
Sudanese Community and Women’s Service Center
Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC)

Educators
Metropolitan Nashville Education Association
The Heart of Learning

Media
Hispanic Nashville Notebook
La Campana - Newspaper
La Noticia Newspaper
Latino News
Liberadio(!) with Mary Mancini & Freddie O’Connell
Solo Nashville-Telefutura

Political
Davidson County Democratic Executive Committee
Davidson County Democratic Women
Davidson County Young Democrats
Democracy for Tennessee
ElectBlue
Green Party of Middle Tennessee
League of Women Voters of Nashville
Libertarian Party of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County
Middle Tennessee Hispanic Democrats
Nashville Women’s Political Caucus
Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition

Advocates
ACLU of Tennessee
Community Nashville
Conexion Americas
Hispanic Organization for Progress and Education (H.O.P.E.)
League for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing/Ear Foundation Executive Committee
Middle Tennessee Jobs with Justice
Nashville Femme
National Association of Social Workers -Tennessee Chapter
Nashville Peace and Justice Center
OutCentral.org
Phil Michal Thomas Advocacy in Action
Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee
Stand for Children
Tennessee Equality Project
Tennessee Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
The Welcoming Tennessee Initiative (WTI)

Arts
Green Room Projects/Naked Stages
Visnulimited dba Curatorial Mangement System

Sports
Nashville Metros

http://www.nashvilleforallofus.org/About.html

http://coalition.nashvilleforallofus.org/

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[quote]Why Nashville should defeat English-Only

The proposed Metro Charter amendment reads:

“English is the official language of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County,
Tennessee.
Official actions which bind or commit the government shall be taken only in the English language, and all official government communications and publications shall be in English
No person shall have a right to government services in any other language.
All meetings of the Metro Council,
Boards and Commissions of the Metropolitan Government shall be conducted in English.
The Metro Council may make specific exceptions to protect public health and safety. Nothing in this measure shall
be interpreted to conflict with federal or state law.â€

(quote)
English Only hurts
Nashville’s values of
stewardship,
safety, and hospitality,
and
it doesn’t help English
one lick.

English
Right off the bat, let’s all agree on one thing: English.
Nashville is learning, and Nashville is teaching
English is acquired through learning, and demand for classes is high. Waiting lists abound all over the city. In regard to the Latino population alone, research from the Migration Policy Institute indicates that 98% of Latinos think it is “essentialâ€

Nashville is becoming a Tower of Babel. How in the world can you service people speaking hundreds of languages? If the refugee and illegal immigrant communities, foreign corporations, politicians pandering to big business and to a sense of globalism, ACLU, special interest groups, churches seeking members, and open borders continue to have their way, Nashville will be nothing but a memory of its past. They speak of attempts to learn English, but what about the costs and what about the reality that many never make the effort to learn English, because they can live and hide in separate communities within Nashville, enabled by business and others to keep their language and to get taxpayers to pick up the tab for any special services.

And, if they are for legal immigration, why do they work to defeat every bill that would go against illegal immigration?

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An organization working actively to PASS English Only in Nashville is ProEnglish. I'm sure any and all financial support possible would be appreciated!

ProEnglish
1601 N. Kent St.
Suite 1100
Arlington, VA 22209
http://www.proenglish.org

My husband grew up in Nashville, and we were transferred to NC in 'the 90's. We went back last month for a visit and decided to move his parents here immediately, as his childhood home had gone from a nice neighborhood to Hispanic heaven. No one spoke English, cars up on blocks, homes in disrepair. Illegal immigrants renting across the street. The folks were out talking to one Hispanic neighbor and the illegal walked up and spoke to the neighbor in Spanish. Made the folks feel very uncomfortable. They don't know if they're being talked about (what if they're talking about robbing the folks? or if nothing else, they are being disrespected. )SO we're getting the folks to move near us. Not that NC is all great either, when it comes to illegals (I dont speak enough Spanish to shop at WalMart). But when in Nashville, we went to Cool Springs and thug looking men that didnt speak English were everywhere. So I had to go all the way to Green Hills. All of the signs on Nolensville Rd are in Spanish, and while at one store, I had to go through 5 store employees to fond one that could speak English. We had plans to retire to Nashville but not now. I hope I never have to go there again.

Thanks for the link Texas2Step. There is also another organization call
Englishfirst
http://www.englishfirst.org/

Here is an article from ProEnglish newsletter. So far, 30 states have English as their official language. I think with groups like this, pushing for English state by state, we will eventually get English installed as our National language.

Obama Administration certain to oppose official English

There is little doubt the Obama Administration will oppose any attempt to pass official English in the 111th Congress. The real question in the minds of observers is how far the new administration will go to appease ethnic separatist groups by pursuing a policy aimed at undermining assimilation and America’s melting pot society.

As the junior Senator from Illinois, president-elect Barack Obama voted against amendments declaring English our national language on four occasions, voting instead for meaningless Democratic alternatives declaring English the nation’s “common language.â€

Originally Posted by ronny

My husband grew up in Nashville, and we were transferred to NC in 'the 90's. We went back last month for a visit and decided to move his parents here immediately, as his childhood home had gone from a nice neighborhood to Hispanic heaven. No one spoke English, cars up on blocks, homes in disrepair. Illegal immigrants renting across the street. The folks were out talking to one Hispanic neighbor and the illegal walked up and spoke to the neighbor in Spanish. Made the folks feel very uncomfortable. They don't know if they're being talked about (what if they're talking about robbing the folks? or if nothing else, they are being disrespected. )SO we're getting the folks to move near us. Not that NC is all great either, when it comes to illegals (I dont speak enough Spanish to shop at WalMart). But when in Nashville, we went to Cool Springs and thug looking men that didnt speak English were everywhere. So I had to go all the way to Green Hills. All of the signs on Nolensville Rd are in Spanish, and while at one store, I had to go through 5 store employees to fond one that could speak English. We had plans to retire to Nashville but not now. I hope I never have to go there again.

Ronny, that is so sad. A friend of mine who is a big into rock and roll went there in the 90's and said Nashville was a great place. I like country music and always thought it would be a neat place to visit. Guess I can cross this visit off my bucket list.

You're welcome, CCUSA. I should have specified that ProEnglish is actively involved in trying to pass the English Only initiative in Nashville, and probably would especially welcome donations at this time - especially considering all the large interest groups allied against it!

A third group working to make English the official language of the United States is U.S. English. Below is a statement from their website about the English Only initiative:


Nashville English Iniative: Setting the Record Straight

Official English Legislation and Foreign Investment

Opponents of official English legislation often claim that the legislation will discourage foreign investments in the state. Nothing could be further from the truth. Overseas businesses looking to build manufacturing facilities in the United States are lured by economic opportunities, tax incentives and the availability of workers. Given that more than 90 percent of the world’s nations have an official language, foreign business leaders are hardly surprised by official language laws in other countries.

Nashville English Initiative: Setting the Record Straight
The Constitutionality of Official English

Recently, several elected officials have voiced their concern that the initiative to make English the official language of Nashville would be declared unconstitutional. While the freedoms allowed to us by the Constitution allow individuals to voice their opinion on any legislative matter, the prevailing legal opinion by actual judges at the local, state and federal level is that official English legislation is constitutionally sound.

U.S. English
http://www.us-english.org/

Eric Crafton is the Council Member backing this vote for English Only. Please contact him through phone or email and ask what you can do and offer your support. He and those trying to preserve our English language and taxpayer dollars from the onslaught of those seeking accommodation at every level need our help.

Eric Crafton
7557 Oakhaven Trace
Nashville, TN 37209

Home Phone: (615) 352-7808

eric.crafton@nashville.gov

Metropolitan Council Office
One Public Square, Suite 204
P. O. Box 196300
Nashville, Tennessee 37219-6300



http://www.nashville.gov/council/feedback.aspx

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