Arnold and The Bilingual Edge!

[Maggie Ronkin]

06-14) 16:29 PDT San Jose, Calif. (AP) --

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told a gathering of Hispanic journalists that 
immigrants should avoid Spanish-language media if they want to learn English 
quickly.


"You've got to turn off the Spanish television set" and avoid 
Spanish-language television, books and newspapers, the Republican governor 
said Wednesday night at the annual convention of the National Association of 
Hispanic Journalists.


"You're just forced to speak English, and that just makes you learn the 
language faster," Schwarzenegger said.


"I know this sounds odd and this is the politically incorrect thing to say, 
and I'm going to get myself in trouble," he said, noting that he rarely 
spoke German and was forced to learn English when he emigrated from Austria.


Schwarzenegger was responding to a question about how Hispanic students can 
improve academically. Many journalists for Spanish-language organizations in 
the audience were surprised by the remarks.


"I'm sitting shaking my head not believing that someone would be so naive 
and out of it that he would say something like that," said Alex Nogales, 
president and chief executive of the National Hispanic Media Coalition.


Hispanic immigrants need Spanish-language media to stay informed and 
"function in this society," Nogales said.


Schwarzenegger has garnered more Hispanic support than most Republican 
governors in the past two elections, despite some seemingly anti-immigration 
blunders — such as praising the Minutemen border militia group on a talk 
radio show.


Schwarzenegger also lauded President Bush's push for immigration reform, 
saying the country has its first opportunity for change in decades.


But he also said the Senate's current immigration reform proposal, which 
failed last week, still needs more fine tuning so it can be enforced.


http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/06/14/national/a162328D73.DTL

_________________________________________________________________
Who's that on the Red Carpet? Play & win glamorous prizes. 
http://club.live.com/red_carpet_reveal.aspx?icid=REDCARPET_hotmailtextlink3