I usually put Catherine to sleep by singing along to whatever dedicated songs happen to be selected that evening by Delilah, the leading mistress of nighttime love songs (on 92.9 FM). This is largely out of necessity, since I only know the words to two lullabies. I go through “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” every night, but that only gets you so far. And, I refuse to sing a lullaby that ends with a baby falling out of a tree along with her cradle. (For the record, the 3:00am feeding is accompained by the gentle voices on Fox Sports Radio and no singing … we have a system and it works for us.)

I was forced to switch the dial away from Delilah this evening because she started playing something by Cher. Seeking talk radio as my alternative, I caught some of the “Demagnetization Rally” hosted by Phil Valentine and broadcast on 99.7 FM today. I am wondering if the contradiction between the following statements was caught:

Statement One: “These people need to learn English if they expect to live in our country!”

Statement Two: “Metro schools paid $12 million last year in ESOL classes” (followed by loud boos and hisses)

Ummm … if we want immigrants to learn English, then shouldn’t ESOL courses be an important part of the curriculum for the schools in which such instruction is needed. I am sorry that the parents didn’t deem it necessary, or were unable, to teach English to their children. However, doesn’t it benefit the assimilation process and the cries for “English only” to make sure the children learn to speak good ol’ American?