In direct contravention of my wife's explicit instructions, herewith I inaugurate my first blog. Long may it prosper.

For some reason, I think I have something to say to you. You think you have something to say to me? Email me at: gideonsblogger -at- yahoo -dot- com

 
I haven't blogged on this topic in a while, but the lattest missive from anti-bilingual activist UnzColumn got me thinking about it again. I'll be brief 'cause it's Friday afternoon.

I never cease to wonder at the fact that the conservative movement doesn't make ending bi-lingual education more of an issue. This has got to be one of the easiest ways to improve American education, and one of the easiest fights to win in the culture war. It is a lot cleaner - and more important - fight than vouchers, because bi-lingualism is an affront to common citizenship and equality of opportunity perpetrated by the state, the closest thing we have today to legally mandated segregation, and with the same awful consequences. But conservatives are routinely terrified to take on the issue; in fact, the most vocal supporters have been Republican liberals like Richard Riordan and Mitt Romney. Why is that? Why has the conservative movement spent more energy trying to prevent any state from adopting some form of marriage for gay couples (to take an example from the title of Unz's piece) and so little trying to end bi-lingual education? Somebody's priorities aren't in order, and I don't think it's Ron Unz's.
posted by Noah at 5:00 PM