Liberty is Doubleplusungood

In case anyone of a conservative bent hasn't realized it yet, liberty is fading in America. Progressive liberals are winning and pressing their advantage. Don't pretend to be shocked when you wake up one morning and find that you're in a fascist Nanny State.

The Arizona Supreme Court is on the verge of banning certain terms from all Arizona State courts. What terms, you ask? Surely they must be crude, vulgar terms that have no place in a court of law, correct? Not quite. Here is the list of potentially outlawed words:

Aliens
Illegal aliens
Resident or non-resident aliens
Illegal immigrants
Illegal immigration
Illegals
Immigration epidemic
Immigration crisis
Immigrant invasion
Pro-illegal immigration activists
Open borders advocates
Anchor babies
Proponents for amnesty

Now we can discuss the horrible implications this policy would have for American security if it were adopted broadly, but I think we're facing something much more sinister, and idea that goes beyond the immigration debate. This isn't about winning a debate, this is about stopping a debate. Elements of the liberal movement are literally banning language that is opposed to their ideology. The Newspeak of Orwell's dystopia was largely created by culling the language of politically incorrect words and phrases. How is this any different? If one political group or ideology control the language, how do you argue against them? How do you debate an idea when you're forced to concede the language of your argument at the outset?

Americans and conservatives in particular need to come to a realization and fast: An increasing proportion of the American left are becoming openly fascistic. "Fascist" itself has been coopted by the left. No longer does fascist refer to a Statist who sees totalitarian limits on freedom of speech, the press, and association, among other civil liberties, as preferable in a well run progressive/socialist state. Now days, of course, "fascist" refers to any conservative who happens to have drawn the ire of liberalism. I'm pained to admit that most Americans don't realize that fascism is an offshoot of progressivism, and it doesn't always come with jack boots and patriotic songs. It does however, come with less freedom and more State control over as many aspects of a citizen's life as possible. Controls, for example, like words you may or may not use to refer to undocumented persons who have broken Federal law to enter this country and the issues related to them.

The right had better wake up and prepare for a fight. Otherwise one day when they do choose to stand and fight, they'll find that words have literally no meaning to the left or the American public we'll need to persuade.

Can You Detect His Upper West Side Accent?

Obama sticks his foot in his mouth again, here's the video at Right Wing News and here's the transcript courtesy of Rachel Lucas:

“I, I don’t understand, when people are going around worrying about, ‘we need to have English only.’ They, they wanna pass a law, ‘we want just, uh, we want English only.’ No, I agree that immigrants should learn English. I agree with that.

But. But. Understand this. Instead of worrying about whether, uh, immigrants can learn English. They’ll learn English. You need to make sure your child can speak Spanish! You should be thinking about how can your child become bilingual. We should have every child speaking more than one language.

“You know, it’s embarrassing, it’s embarrassing when, when, uh, when Europeans come over here. They all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe. All we can say is merci beaucoup. Right?”

Did it ever occur to Mr. Obama that there may be a reason a lot of people choose to learn English? Obama is so nuanced and intelligent, so he must have a firm grasp of history, correct? He must know that for, oh, say the past 500 years, English speaking Anglo-Saxon countries have dominated cultural, economic, and political thought? Why is English overwhelmingly used on the internet? Because America invented it. Why do so many people in foreign lands learn English? Because it makes their lives easier. They can trade with us. They can understand the new American or British pop hit. They can watch Star Wars without voices dubbed over. People learn English because it is practical for them to do so seeing as Britain and then America have been the driving force of history for so long.

Its not usually practical for Americans to learn a second language once they're out of school. I'd love to read the original text Voltaire wrote in French, or the Aeneid in Latin, but the time I'd have to put in makes the cost prohibitive. For someone who wants to enjoy American culture, or make money through international trade with the English speaking world, the costs may not be prohibitive. They may be a worthwhile investment.

I think Obama scolding soccer moms for not taking time out of their busy day to teach their kids Spanish is incredibly condescending. Calling them "embarrassing" reveals a conceited elite who doesn't think much of the ordinary Americans whose vote he seeks.