[767Jockey]

Priceless. I for one REFUSE to press one for English. If I hear that I hang up and send my business elsewhere. The worst had to be last year when I went to vote, and there were Spanish signs in the voting hall. Let me think this through - In order to vote, you have to be a citizen of the United States, correct? In order to be a citizen, you have to prove your ability to read, speak and understand the English language, correct? So WHO do we have these signs up for, and WHY? What a mess - I welcome immigration, all I ask is three simple things:

1- Come to this country legally. Don't break our laws the instant you set foot on our land. That's disrespectful to us, and tells me that you really don't want nor do you deserve to be here.

2- Become a productive member of our society. That means vote, pay your taxes, and perhaps most important of all, reinvest your money in OUR community. If you earn money and spend it in the local market, dry cleaner, repair shop, etc..., that's how our community grows and thrives. If you send all your money out of our country back to your OLD country, you're now a leech, and we neither need nor want you. If your money needs to go "home", you should go with it, as soon as possible.

3- Please make every attempt to assimilate to us, and don't ask us to assimilate to you. If I want to learn to speak Spanish or some other language, I'll take a class. Also, I don't want to hear you talk about "Your Country" unless you're talking about the USA. If you refer to another country as "Your Country" you should carry a passport for that country and go home when your short, legal visit is over. Thanks for stopping by "My Country".

I guess the above makes me a "hater", as tossing that name around is much easier these day than fixing the problem. My Grandparents (all 4 of them) came to this country in the early 20th century from Italy. They refused to allow my parents to speak Italian in the home, as they were smart enough to understand that in order to succeed in their new country they would all need to speak English. They all carried a deep love of America in their hearts, and fought for our country in wars to defend their new adopted homeland. My Grandparents all learned to speak English, three of them flawlessly, one with fluency but an accented delivery. All their children became successful in life, and their Grandchildren even more so. By "accommodating" our new neighbors by allowing them to continue along with signs, newspapers and TV channels in their native tongue, and teaching them in our schools in their native tongue, we are condemning them to a life of isolation from the majority of their neighbors, and most likely denying them the success that my family and so many millions of similar families have enjoyed. My non educated Immigrant Grandparents understood this clearly. Why can't our college educated politicians see it?