I'm pretty sure a good percentage of Police officers in AZ are of Hispanic descent.

On that I can agree. We recently had a new roof put on our house. It was done through SEARS contractors. I was assured and given proof that all the proper documentation was in place for the workers and insurance proof. Yada, yada, yada. Five men showed up - only one spoke English. I never saw anyone work as hard as they did. They got the job done in two days, and it's a big ranch house. Worked solid from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. We had to beg them to stop to eat lunch or drink a bottle of water, and they each apologized profusely for having to use the bathroom.

Still, illegal is illegal. Issue time stamped work passes, but how the heck does the U. S. government have the resources to monitor something like that?!~

I guess the answer would be to just deport the ones that are found and let the states do what they can to stop further illegal immigration.

I don't think the Feds really care.

Nope - the suits and skirts in DC want to keep as many votes as they can. And, that's precisely why that states are getting involved. No one should be against immigration. That's what this country was founded on. But illegal immigration is unfair to those who are trying to do it the right way and held in a hold pattern for years on end.

But, as the old saying goes, "Tiz easier to gain forgiveness than it is to obtain approval."

They do care!
http://d.yimg.com/kq/groups/17260182...e/ftc-vi26.wmv

As I said, the suits and skirts want to keep votes. POS, indeed!

The one thing I dont understand is white American people who always get their panties in a bunch over the English language. "IF YOU DONT SPEAK ENGLISH YOU SHOULDNT BE IN AMERICA" crap. Like its a fault of somebody if they only speak Spanish. such hogwash.

There should be more pride in being bilingual. I mean, this is America right! A lot of people speak English and a LOT of people speak Spanish! Why are the English speaking folks "better" than Spanish speaking people? I'm embarrassed that I'm not fluent in Spanish. When I meet someone who speaks spanish & broken English, I dont think "oh.. well that guy needs to speak English if he wants to be in my country".. i feel embarrassed that I only know one language when most of the civilized world is bilingual!

If I went to live in France, Italy, or whatever country, I'd make an effort to learn the language. But, that's me!

People in those countries make the effort to learn TWO languages. I just think this country should be the same.

And what two languages would that be? English and....

Other countries learn English as their second language because so many people in their countries speak English.

Since we're a melting pot of all nations, just how many languages and what languages should we have to learn in order to be PC?

I know a wee bit of french. How much good has that done me here in the USA?

:rolleyes: take a wild guess what's by far the 2nd most useful language in America. It ain't French.

And take a wild guess at how non-English speaking Mexicans in this country don't speak Spanish?

I believe this country is enabling people NOT to learn English. I'm saying that out of respect for the country where you live, you should learn the language.

of course that other language would be Spanish. I didnt think I'd have to spell it out. and its not about being PC, its just right. Learning french in school makes no sense. You can actually speak Spanish in this country to a high percentage of people.

there was NEVER a national language in this country until Bush 2 attached it to some bill in the past 5 years. There are TONS of hispanics in this country. I'm not saying people shouldnt know English, I'm saying people should know both.

When white people say things like "I'M in AMERICA and I have to PRESS 1 to hear such and such in English".. just makes them sound so darn ignorant.

EXACTLY!!!!

I'll re-phrase your sentence. "Americans should learn Spanish as their second language because so many people in this country speak Spanish"

Case in point. I have a friend who is an assistant trainer. He speaks Italian and Spanish. But his Spanish did him little good because the workers speak Chicano, and they don't speak Spanish or understand it very well. They made no effort to learn English or Spanish, so my friend had to learn their dialect in order to understand and be understood.

Kind of a double standard, I'd say. We've become a country of enablers and apologizers. I'm not ashamed that I speak English. I find it grating to go into a rest stop on a major U.S. highway, and the person behind the counter doesn't understand one word I'm saying.

But, hey, that's me - totally unapologetic and not embarrassed.

And, I'm saying that that sword cuts both ways.

English is the de facto national language of the United States, with 82% of the population claiming it as a mother tongue, and some 96% claiming to speak it "well" or "very well".

I'm supposed to cater to 4% of the population. - many of whom who do not speak English wouldn't understand Spanish if a gun were held to their head.

People coming to American should learn English the same as Americans going to other countries should learn their language.

Its not about catering to Spanish people. not at all. eventhough thats how white people take it.. and then they go learn French :rolleyes:

There are lots of things we can learn from other countries, learning two languages while growing up is one of those things.

Back in the time (the stone age) that I learned French in high school, it was a popular language to learn. There was French, German, Spanish, and Latin, and they were all considered (at that time) valuable languages to learn. I spoke, read, and wrote fluent French when I graduated. I'm lucky I understand a word or two here and there any more.

And, that's the reason why Americans don't speak a second language - they have little need to do so. Languages are something that have to be spoken on a regular basis in order to remember them.

see that is what I disagree with. At least 60% of my friends (white, black, hispanic or purple) speak spanish. I'm embarrased that I dont. My hispanic friends all speak English perfectly, yet I cant speak their language much at all. I bet if you knew Spanish you would find situations DAILY where that language would come in handy. Thats why I think it is important to know that language above all the others like French, German, Arabic, etc.

I really need to get the Rosetta Stone thing.

OK - now we;re getting somewhere. 100% of my friends don't speak Spanish - or maybe they do and I just don't know about it.

I would agree with you that if your friends speak Spanish and you feel guilty because you don't, Rosetta Stone would be the way to go.

The difference between us is that I don't feel guilty not knowing how to speak Spanish because I don't have the occasion to use it and I don't see a need (no matter how hard I try) to learn it. On the highways at fast food rest stops, I find pointing to an object or a picture USUALLY gets me what I want when the person waiting on me doesn't understand English. Should I learn Spanish just for that instance? Don't think so, and with my luck - they wouldn't understand Spanish anyway.

back in the day, people used to know multiple languages. i envy those who are multi-lingual.
i think we don't put a premium on it because we're lazy.

I, too, remember the day when people spoke another language besides English - mostly from their parents who immigrated to this country. But, their parents spoke English but taught their children their native tongue.

I don't know whether it's so much laziness. I learned a 2nd language in high school. But, like anything else, you use it or you lose it.

At this stage of the game, I don't consider myself lazy not to relearn or learn another language without a really good reason to do so - like using it regularly so I don't lose it.

no, i'm talking long before we were thought of...hell, back in the middle ages, knowing five or six languages for the educated was nothing to brag about it. now, we're supposedly more advanced, yet many can't even speak english properly, and it's their only language!

LOL - at some English speaking people who can't speak English properly. How true, how true.

I think Europeans still tend to speak more languages because their countries are small and they travel a lot between them.

You know, it is for me. I don't like the local government intrusion. I don't want the local government to expand it's powers. I don't want big government, even locally. They aren't the feds. It's none of their business. The local cops have no business determining my citizenship any more than they have business determining if my federal taxes have been paid, or having anything to do with my social security payments.

I don't like, as an American citizen, being questioned as to whether I am, by people whose job it is not to determine that. They are free to run me for wants & warrants.

There is no guarantee whatsoever as to the quality of local cops or sheriffs, and it varies alot by local. Some are simply scary. That's not such a problem with Immigration, Federal Marshals, FBI, etc. I've been through the usual checkpoints in Arizona and NM and had my car searched, been questioned, etc. I don't have a problem with that.

As a small aside, for identity theft, no, I wouldn't leave a copy of my birth certificate or a passport in a car glove box.

National I.D cards issued by the feds would solve alot of issues , I dont have a problem with showing any officer of the law that I am a legal U.S. resident.
Even easier dont issue drivers liscence's to anyone who deosnt have a working visa or a green card . Dont issue social security cards to non citizens( which the feds do) I mean what the hell is up with that ?
I know its to collect tax money from them while they are working here but really they should be able to figure out some other way than giving someone a S.S. number.

i don't see how issuing national i.d. cards will solve anything. i think drivers licenses were treated as such, til states started issuing them to non-citizens. as for broadening police powers-people are in a huff because they think a cop will pull over someone to make sure they aren't here illegally, yet cops can pull you over for suspecting you're not wearing a seatbelt! i think the broadening of powers began years ago, with laws such as that. illegal search and seizure laws ignored for kids at school, etc, etc. is arizonas law misguided? maybe. do i understand why they're making the attempt? absolutely. tax revenue is down, many states are in the worst financial shape imaginable. when you look at the drain on states, you can see why some are attempting to make sure they're paying money on citizens. then there's the crime, drug smuggling and resultant violence...it's easy to crack jokes and such, but there really is a serious problem there. but i don't know that they have struck on the right solution.
it doesn't help tho when the feds attack az's attempt, without offering a solution of their own. if the feds are supposed to protect our borders, and take care of immigration issues, they should start working on this problem.

sorry if this has already been suggested
 

I believe Arizona, Texas, etc have a solution to the problem. They just start busing all the illegals to San Fransissyco

I do know multiple languages, but they are all computer languages... :D

I think it's unfair to call uni-linguists lazy, especially for those of us who have pursued a technical education. It takes a lot just to keep up, and studying skills not directly related to our work is often not an option.

You are so right. When Obama attacks the law as "misguided" (did he say "irresponsible"?) I get the impression that he doesn't realize there are Federal Laws on the books that are almost the same. I also realize he has little or no respect for the laws of this country in general or the Constitution in particular.

i only know one language, so i was certainly lumping myself in that category-altho i have to say, i'm far from lazy. i think we're plenty motivated about a lot of stuff, but not when it comes to communication with others. we just assume everyone else knows english.

actually, you're ahead of me-i really don't know much about computer languages! :D

The only time O'Dumbass cares about a law is when it benefits him.

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Gerardo Parra was pulled out of the batter's box during his first plate appearance last night after several Arizona fans reported to stadium police that Parra looked suspiciously Mexican. "Under the new state law, we have to follow up on these things," said a stadium security spokesman. "And it's good we did. He didn't have the required paperwork." Parra told police he is from Venezuela, not Mexico, but had no official identification on him at the plate. "His wristbands had his name on them, but that's not good enough," said arresting office Lt. Michael Dellesardo. "It's pretty easy to get fake wristbands these days." Parra was arrested on the field and is now awaiting a deportation hearing. Arizona manager AJ Hinch replaced Parra in the lineup with Cole Gillespie. "Cole is our fourth outfielder and has great potential," said Hinch. "Because he's white."

If it was in Philly, they would have tazed him

If you ain't white, you ain't right!!

wait, wait..

If your not white, your not right!!

Your tazed and confused - it's tased.

The Democratic Party in a nut shell.

"If you're illegal, broke or a criminal; we'll take care of you.

If you're legal, working and an upstanding citizen; we'll f' with you"

Who f'in cares Queen....Just because you are 100 years old doesn't mean you have the right to be a condescending a-hole

:eek: