Jan Brewer's Arizona:Arizona Candidate Challenged Over English Skills

[mfcorey1]

snip

“I admire Ms. Cabrera for her courage and ambition, and wish her well,” Professor Eggington wrote. “However, in my studied opinion, based upon the results of the range of tests and analyses described above, she does not yet have sufficient English language proficiency to function adequately as an elected City Council member.”

But Mrs. Cabrera said the fact that Professor Eggington was from Australia led to at least one misunderstanding during the assessment. He asked her about “summer,” which she said he pronounced “summa.” That is the nickname for the community of Somerton, prompting her to be utterly confused.

The linguistic dispute is taking place in this small southwestern Arizona city, where more than 90 percent of the population is Mexican-American and Spanish is widely used. In 1993, Cesar Chavez, the Latino civil rights leader, died in San Luis, which used to be a community of farm workers.

At a local pizzeria, the orders are taken in Spanish, although the waitress switched to English while asking about thick or thin crust. On the beat, police officers, some of whom come from the Mexican town of San Luis just across the border, say they communicate over the radio in English but interact with residents in Spanish.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/us/arizona-candidates-english-under-challenge.html?_r=1&hp

[lunatica]

1. I challenge teabaggers over their English language skills too

Especially Sarah and her word salad.

And Jan Brewer? I think she's a bag of bones and sinew and gristle and mean all wrapped up in bitter.