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21 January 2009 @ 06:04 pm
Nashville: Vote NO on English Only  
Tomorrow is the day to vote! I doubt it will pass, but you never know. Here's an email I got today:

If you haven't voted AGAINST the English Only referendum, the last day to do so is THURSDAY, January 22nd.

With apologies to David Lettermen, here are the Top Ten Reasons to vote AGAINST the English Only measure:

10. A NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT. Nashville will become a laughingstock as the only major city to pass one of these measures. We will make national news and provide unflattering fodder for Leno, Letterman and Conan.

9. PEOPLE COULD DIE: A non-English speaking legal immigrant who calls 911 for an emergency may NOT get access to a bilingual operator when they call. This law might forbid it. That’s not just dumb, it’s dangerous.

8. IT'S REDUNDANT. English is already the official language of Tennessee. We all agree English is important that’s why it’s already on the books as our official language.

7. IT WILL HURT OUR ECONOMY. Nashville will lose countless jobs and millions in economic investment in an already horrible economic time because companies from around the country and around the world will choose NOT to re-locate and invest here.

6. HURTING TOURISM. Nashville has been voted one of the friendliest cities in the world. This will send a message around the globe that we do not welcome outsiders.

5. WASTE OF TAX MONEY: The law is not constitutional and will be challenged. There may be millions of tax dollars spent in court trying to reverse the law.

4. WASTE OF TAX MONEY, PART 2. This special election is costing us hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars. Send a message about frivolous ballot measures like this one that are designed to promote demagogue politicians like Eric Crafton and not designed to help the city. By voting AGAINST the SECOND measure on the ballot you will stop an effort from some to make it even easier to put these senseless measures on the ballot and waste HUNDREDS of thousands of tax dollars. So vote AGAINST both ballot measures Thursday

3. WWB? What would Barak Obama do? He would vote AGAINST English Only.

2. NASHVILLE'S HISTORY OF TOLERANCE. Nashville was one of the few cities in the south to be largely spared ugly racial violence in the 1960's. Nashville had political leadership that was forward-looking on civil rights. On this English Only, WE have to provide the forward-looking political leadership since it is a vote of the people, not the politicians.

1. IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. This bill is NOT about sound public policy. It is about bigotry and demagoguery of a couple politicians. We are better than this.
Sarahgem77 on January 22nd, 2009 03:53 am (UTC)
I agree on #3!

Just an email forward...