Western English Butt Shooting In Congress

One is to recognize the importance of Western civilization, and another is to establish English as the official language of the United States.

Then there’s the resolution to have Congress encourage the pardoning of two Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a Mexican citizen in the buttocks.

Guess who?Those are a few resolutions that Colo. Rep. Tom Tancredo has sponsored in the 110th session of Congress this year, along with a measures to encourage divestment with Sudan and to spruce up relations with Taiwan.

The recap:

  • H.CON.RES.36

    Would encourage “local school boards, state education officials, and educators to ensure that all young people gain an understanding and appreciation of the values, contributions, and accomplishments of Western civilization.

    Status: sent to House Committee on Education and Labor.

  • H.CON.RES.37

    Resolution “expressing the sense of Congress with regard to pardoning Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.

    Compean and Ramos were border agents convicted of shooting a Mexican citizen in the buttocks while he was crossing the Texas-Mexico border. The man was reportedly an “admitted drug smuggler,” and the agents were sentenced to 11 and 12 years.

    Status: sent to House Committee on the Judiciary.

  • H.CON.RES.73

    Asks that “the President should begin the process of resuming normal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

    Status: sent to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

  • H.RES.164

    Encourages governments and businesses to “to divest from companies that do business with Sudan.

    Status: sent to House Committee on Financial Services.

  • H.J.RES.19

    Joint resolution “proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to establish English as the official language of the United States.

    Status: sent to subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.

According to the Library of Congress’s database, Tancredo has sponsored eight bills total.

Erin Rosa was born in Spain and raised in Colorado Springs. She is a freelance writer currently living in Denver. Rosa's work has been featured in a variety of news outlets including the Huffington Post, Democracy Now!, and the Rocky Mountain Chronicle, an alternative-weekly in Northern Colorado where she worked as a columnist covering the state legislature. Rosa has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for her reporting on lobbying and woman's health issues. She was also tapped with a rare honorable mention award by the Newspaper Guild-CWA's David S. Barr Award in 2008--only the second such honor conferred in its nine-year history--for her investigative series covering the federal government's Supermax prison in the state. Rosa covers the labor community, corrections, immigration and government transparency matters. She can be reached at erosa@www.coloradoindependent.com.