Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

According to the LA Times, "English would be declared the 'national language' of the United States under a measure approved by the Senate today, a largely symbolic move that supporters said would promote unity and ensure assimilation by immigrants." The Senate "passed two amendments, one Democratic and one Republican. The Democratic version is more specific on protecting translation and bilingual services."

Senator James Inhofe has "led the attempt to declare English the national language, a campaign he said began more than a century ago." Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said of the amendment, "I really believe this amendment is racist. I think it's directed basically to people who speak Spanish."

Senator Ken Salazar, "one of three Hispanic senators, whose family settled in Colorado before it became a state, asserted that the Inhofe amendment threatened a return 'to the dark days of American history' when Hispanic children were punished for speaking Spanish in school, sometimes by having soap thrust in their mouths."

In a further immigration roundup:

The Senate by 58 to 35, "killed an amendment that would have blocked eventual citizenship for future immigrants who arrive under a temporary work permit."

And...

In a seemingly antithetic move, "The Senate voted yesterday to allow illegal aliens to collect Social Security benefits based on past illegal employment -- even if the job was obtained through forged or stolen documents."