Spinning the National Anthem

(Keywords: politics, racism, media, let's all freak out immediately )

Man, when something gets the right going, they get extremely crazy. News that the Star Spangled Banner has been recorded in spanish has them absolutely frothing. All the news networks are asking, "O Say Can You Si?" Ignoring the fact that "O Say Can You Yes?" is a nonsense question.

Michelle Malkin is predictably crazy with a post titled, "Whose National Anthem?" - which disproves the old adage that the only stupid question is one you didn't ask. She just asked the other one. It's the nation's; Jimi Hendrix proved what you do with it is pretty much up for grabs.

Malkin also takes the opportunity to get bent out of shape over the fact that the White House has a spanish language website. Not everyone who speaks spanish is an illegal alien, Shelly. But what's really funny is that she put up screenshots of the site - like she's afraid the administration would scrub the site after she reported about it, busily erasing all evidence of a 'secret' that should surprise no one. And she asks, "Who's assimilating whom?".

You tell me, Borg Queen. As long as we're asking all these questions, I have a couple. So what? Is something going to happen to you (besides blowing a gasket) if you happen to hear it?

I guess it's like the freakin' Quran - you can only deliver it in the language in which it was written. If someone showed up at a baseball game, put their hand over their heart, and started singing in spanish, what would be the reaction? Would everyone say, "Hey kids, he's singing in spanish! Let's all hate him - GRRRRR!" Somehow, I doubt it. There's an underlying racism in the immigration debate and the right, ever vigilant for any way to exploit people's baser instincts, is diving on it like a lion on a wounded impala.

That's because this is really about Bush saying something that most people agree with for once. Asked about the spanish language anthem, Bush said, "I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English and they ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English". Real deep thinker, that fella. But just because most people would agree, it doesn't mean they think it's the most important thing in the freakin' world.

The cartoony image they're trying to get into everyone's head is a mexican guy in a sombrero and bandoleers playing a guitar and wrecking the national anthem. They need to stop and ask themselves, is that going to last until November?

Let me answer that. It'll last until the next time they pull up to the pump.

--Wisco