The 1st Amendment: Foreign language to politicians?

Sign o' the times

For the record, I want those of you who think I'm a curmudgeon to know this:

I never wake up in the morning and say to myself, "Hmm, I feel like RANTING today." Believe it or not, I'm ordinarily a very happy person. And despite my tone in a lot of these dispatches, I'm a natural optimist (it's true, I swear!). Besides that, I have a lot to smile about: Good health, a great family, a beautiful young wife, and a fine hound dog. Oh, and loyal readers like yourself…

Where do the rants come from, you're asking? It's from just two things: The state we're in, and the direction we're headed. The daily news that signals the steady deterioration of BOTH these things invariably rains on my inner parade and puts me in a foul humor. And since I don't believe in shrinks, it's YOU who gets to be my sounding board about the way things really are - because the way things really are is pretty gol-durned screwed up!

And guess what: Today's a "rant day." What's sticking in my craw today?

The English language - specifically, how it's bordering on a crime to speak it anymore.

As you may remember, in June I unloaded a three-part series on the illegal immigration quagmire that's ruining our criminal justice, healthcare, and tax systems. In that series, I gave special mention to the fact that a lot of U.S. politicians are resisting the overwhelming groundswell of public support for legislation stipulating that English be named the official language of the U.S.

Well, not only are our elected (and supposedly representative, remember) government officials ignoring our wishes on this issue, they're apparently actively cleansing their ranks of anyone who dares to agree with their constituents!

Case in point: According to the local Denver-area affiliate of CBS News, the politically correct powers that be in Arapaho County, Colorado, are threatening to fire one of their Public Works employees over alleged discrimination, harassment, and offensive conduct toward Hispanics in the public workforce…

The 16-year veteran employee's job (and pension, no doubt) is in jeopardy - not because he shouted racial epithets at migrant workers on his public works crew; it's not because he told derogatory ethnic jokes while on the clock; nor is it for anything as egregious as a bumper-sticker reading "Build the Fence!" It's because he also runs a lawn-maintenance business that caters to clients who want to be able to communicate with those who are doing their mulching, raking, trimming, and grass-cutting without having to take four years of Spanish! Keep reading…

As inconceivable as it may be (to liberals, politicians, and the media), there's a growing market for lawn care performed by English speakers, at least in the Denver area. And this 50-year-old's unspeakable crime was simply advertising the fact that he's an American who speaks English! A sign on the man's lawn equipment trailer reads:

"Lawn services done with pride by an English-speaking American."

Yes, you read that correctly: For exercising his rights to both free-market capitalism and freedom of speech - and by displaying a slogan that in NO WAY denigrates anyone, but simply defines his market niche - this working man is being threatened with the loss of his day job serving the government that's supposed to be upholding these very same rights!

How absurd is this PC crap? If this guy had had a sign on his trailer stating, "Lawn work proudly performed by itinerant illegal immigrants disenfranchised by America's imperialist trade practices," he'd have probably gotten a promotion!

To paraphrase liberal propagandist Michael Moore, "Dude, where's my country?"

If ever there were grounds for a lawsuit against the government worthy of argument before the Supreme Court, this is it. And indeed, the Colorado father of two has retained council - and refused to remove or cover up his sign. A battle royal is shaping up, and you'd better believe I'll keep you posted on how this shakes out…

Lamenting the language barrier - to liberty,

William Campbell Douglass II, MD

P.S. The day my Daily Dose column starts to read like a daily affirmation, it means only one of two things: Either politicians really have stopped lying to us about everything and decided to act in our best interests (FYI: pigs would be flying at this point), or it's time to call the men in the white jackets and tell them to put me down.