ThoughtPolice's blog

With all of the bipartisan focus on how well Sarah and Bristol can be mothers, and all of the activism involved with Kickapoo State Park, I'm surprised how little outrage there's been over the announced cuts to DCFS.

Blagojevich used his line item veto to cut $70m from DCFS. Among the impacts:

I'm a lifelong outdoorsman, an avid backpacker, a fisherman, and a cyclist. I love Kickapoo - I spent much of my youth there. I hate the idea of closing it.

But I'm really stunned by how little people have discussed the cuts to DCFS, a state service far more essential than DNR. There's no doubt in my mind that these cuts will adversely affect more children than Palin's candidacy.

Reading through Language Log today, I came across this story. It tells of an increasing number of previously Spanish-only churches beginning to provide services in English, to reach out to "meet the demands of second- and third-generation Hispanics, keep families together and reach non-Latinos." This story continues the tradition of new immigrant groups adopting American customs and language in the second and third generations (e.g., the Italians, the Irish, the Germans, the Chinese, the Japanese). It also removes the cultural arguments of a national language (e.g., "preserve English"). Of course, it doesn't remove the fiscal benefits of a national language - reducing the costs of translating all government documents into multiple languages.