The Library of Congress Presents

Crazy que no?  The United States of America's own Library of Congress has a copy of the National Anthem  that was translated into Espanol.  The translation was commissioned by the US Bureau of Education in 1919 (Now I know why Republicans are so hell bent on getting rid of the Department of Education) and as Atrios noted today:

        National Anthem Sung In Spanish At First Bush Inaugural             

            

Pop star Jon Secada sang the national anthem in English and Spanish.

Apparently, Secada singing the anthem in Spanish was a regular feature of the Bush campaign. From the 8/3/00 Miami Herald:

The nominee, his wife Laura, erstwhile rival John McCain and his wife Cindy joined Bush on a platform where children sang the national anthem - in “Spanglish,” Secada explained.

 

So, to follow up and answer my question yesterday, What's the Hum bud, Bud, there is no hum bud, it's all manufactured to distract Americans from the issues that are really affecting us.

As Maggie wrote so eloquently earlier...

By now most Americans realize that the recent embroilment over illegal immigration was created as a media diversion to take our eyes off of the Bush Administration's completely failed Iraq policies.

Right on Maggie, I like Maggie, she's no punk, she knows what's up.  My dad emailed me what he thought of this faux debate (my word, my dad would never use a French word, although he would roll his eyes after i used it and accuse me of trying to be better but that's for another time.)

My Dad writes,

The hubbub on issues like the Spanish anthem  is just to keep our minds off the real issues IRAQ, THE DEFICIT, LOSS OF INSURANCE BY RETIRED WORKERS, THE LACK OF INSURANCE FOR CURRENT WORKERS, THE LACK OF SUITABLE WAGES FOR THE LOCALS WHO DO NOT WANT TO WORK FOR WHAT THE IMMIGRANTS ARE WILLING TO WORK FOR, ETC.

Eso Dad!  Se puso un poquito caliente alli toward the end but he knows too.  My dad no punk either, he's a retired federal employee, veteran, businessman, rancher, and farmer and he's seen first hand on this current crop of republicans have worked hard to dismantle a government and programs that help people.  Specifically VETERANS.

These are only a handful of the issues that Congress should be working on but instead the media/industrial complex chooses to ignore whats really going on so that they always come out on top and benefit from a distracted citizenry.

It's three card Monty and we're all the suckers.

Like James Moore and Wayne Slater noted in their book, Bush's Brain, detailing karl rove's success, his expertise was all about creating wedges and magnets.

Find the wedge issue, manufacture outrage, and then create magnets that the manufactured culturally disaffected people can rally around.  Groups like Ranch Rescue or politicians like Tom Tancredo prey on the hurt and frustration that republicans have caused and the very same people whose lives, rights, health, privacy, and earnings are being exploited by are leading the charge against everything that is American.

I wish (speaking as a Tejano here) we had deported bush back to Connecticut back in the day.

So what's the answer?  Yo no lo se but I do know that we're all in this together.  Here are some suggestions, participate in groups like Move On, Think Progress and the Progressive Legislative Action Network, run for office, or just volunteer for your favorite cause or organization.

I like to believe that our greatest days are ahead of us not behind us ( I wish I knew where I heard that) and together we can do better.