That's friggin sweet.  It was also ruled that Geno's Cheesesteaks can leave up their sign: "This is America, Speak English"

 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080327/ap_on_re_us/english_or_jail

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - A judge known for creative sentencing has ordered three Spanish-speaking men to learn English or go to jail.

The men, who faced prison for criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, can remain on parole if they learn to read and write English, earn their GEDs and get full-time jobs, Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. said.

The men, Luis Reyes, Ricardo Dominguez and Rafael Guzman-Mateo, plus a fourth defendant, Kelvin Reyes-Rosario, all needed translators when they pleaded guilty Tuesday.

"Do you think we are going to supply you with a translator all of your life?" the judge asked them.

The four, ranging in age from 17 to 22, were in a group that police said accosted two men on a street in May. The two said they were asked if they had marijuana, told to empty their pockets, struck on the head, threatened with a gun and told to stay off the block.

Attorneys for the men said they were studying the legality of the ruling and had not decided whether to appeal. One of the attorneys, Ferris Webby, suggested that the ruling was good for his client, Guzman-Mateo.

"My client is happy," Webby said. "I think it's going to help him."

 Eh, it's a hick state. *** like this doesn't surprise me.

What an enlightened comment, Rastven. No doubt you would rather just throw them in jail, while at the same time patting yourself on the back for your compassion and political correctness in not forcing them to adapt to the language and culture of the country they moved to.

This is an idiotic move in the part of the judge. You can't force an immigrant to assimilate as much as you wish that would could.

Parole shouldn't be conditional on cultural conformity, it is their choice to not speak english or get an education.

Their parole should be conditional on such things as not associating with each other or other criminals, meeting with their PO, staying out of trouble etc, etc.

If their criminal history, flight risk and/or ICE status dictates that they be held in prison then they should be, otherwise they should be released on bail/bond or ROR'd (released on their own recognizance (I'm assuming you don't speak prosecutor so I've explained the acronym for you) like every other person.

Oh and Geno is a douche and I'd never buy a cheesesteak for his racist, guinea ass.


 

This isn't about racism. The thing you are obviously not stopping to think about is that EVERY SINGLE country that has split languages has their unity split over it. Look at Canada, where Quebec periodically has a serious move to succeed. Look at Chekoslovakia, peaceful people, but they had to split back into their language groups. Look at Yuogslavia. Look at genocide in Africa, along racial lines (which usually follow language lines, though I do not know if that is always the case there).

Folks that want Americans to speak English aren't being racist. They just want this country strong and unified, and English IS the default language. So let folks come on in--just let them assimilate. Otherwise, the long term health of the country suffers.

Murrog isn't Barrabas?  Wtf?   Who's that then? 

I thought Barabbas was Grumpy Black.

 Most Americans are too fukkin lazy to learn a second language.  That is a big part of it.   Europe has a diffent language if you go a hundred miles in most any direction, and they seem to do OK.    Better than us, anyway.

yeah, but last time i checked "europe" was no single country 

Right, and a bunch of my examples of nations splitting over language were-- in Europe.

And that's great but A JUDGE CAN"T MANDATE THAT YOUR PAROLE IS TIED TO YOU LEARNING ENGLISH.

In fact given that this country doesn't have federally mandated official language and PA doesn't have an official language at the State level he has even less authority to do this.

The united under one language is a strawman argument, a number of countries such as New Zealand, India, Switzerland, Ireland, and Portugal have multiple official languages and no real civil strife because of it.
 

yeah, but those countries all suck ass.  

Judge can do whatever the fizzuck he wants. I guess he could have just kicked them to jail.

sephi.roth:

yeah, but last time i checked "europe" was no single country 

    Europe is becoming a single economic unit in many respects.  

    European countries also are "old growth" countries, essentially descended, for the most part, from the tribal groups that populated the area in more primitive times, as altered by the occasional barbarian horde.   America is a nation of recent transplants from varous places thrown together into what you might call a "melting pot."   It has consumer culture but little in the way of an organic american culture.  

Xskball:

yeah, but those countries all suck ass.  

 

Is this a serious argument? The fact is that they can hold more than one official language, so how do they "suck ass"? \

 take a look at them.

I am born in Pakistan but all of my ancestors are pretty much from India (they used to be one country). So I take offense to that.

 Seriously you argue like a fucking 2 year old. I am through with this thread.

 yawn