tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post7376775433629881748..comments2023-11-03T06:16:11.862-04:00Comments on insidious truth: Why I will not be voting, againlaughinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11999190808736700318noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post-7583242729118787532008-03-05T15:56:00.000-05:002008-03-05T15:56:00.000-05:00@DmarksWith any language the first words I always ...@Dmarks<BR/><BR/>With any language the first words I always learn are please and thank you. Those were the first 3 Chinese words I learned.<BR/><BR/>I can order massive amounts of food in Chinese and I can also say "fat man" and point to myself which always gets great gales of laughter.Wavemancalihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13271232599101899281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post-49765602127179453372008-03-05T15:04:00.000-05:002008-03-05T15:04:00.000-05:00(I'm interested in what those 3 or 4 words are.)I ...(I'm interested in what those 3 or 4 words are.)<BR/><BR/>I did a little looking up, and McDonald's apparently requires English speaking at its "Corporate restaurants" but not at its franchises.dmarkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07269773990064736457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post-49524580233757595742008-03-05T14:42:00.000-05:002008-03-05T14:42:00.000-05:00I understand what was happening.I maintain that if...I understand what was happening.<BR/><BR/>I maintain that if people like yourself stopped patronizing the businesses like this that allowed such poor service to English speaking patrons the service would change.<BR/><BR/>Putting up with bad service enables bad service. Either complain to the management every single time or go elsewhere. That's the only way to get the service to change.<BR/><BR/>It's essentially the same with everything else in life. If you don't do anything about the behavior it's not going to change. People who stay with a spouse or significant other that cheat on them should expect more of the same because the significant other learns I got away with it, there are no consequences to my actions.<BR/><BR/>Once is too many in many circumstances, such as abuse or philandering in my opinion. For lesser crap like poor service I find I'll complain the first time and if the situation is never remedied, they have lost my business for good.<BR/><BR/>When I go into a what I consider the best Chinese restaurants, only the manager usually speaks English. I'm going there because I want the authentic Chinese food and I love seeing the staff eyes light up when I make an effort at the 3 or 4 words of Chinese I know.<BR/><BR/>In more conventional places like fast food restaurants, you should most definitely complain to a manager because you received poor service.Wavemancalihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13271232599101899281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post-47953523393404555172008-03-05T13:53:00.000-05:002008-03-05T13:53:00.000-05:00I don't agree even with that. First, most of thes...I don't agree even with that. First, most of these kids are citizens, just no one is making people learn English if they were born here.<BR/><BR/>And while I would prefer that all employees speak English, it should at least be required for people who work with the public. And these weren't Spanish speaking kids talking to a mostly Spanish speaking customer base or just their buddies who also speak Spanish. These were kids speaking Spanish to each other and then either not able or not wanting to switch to English to speak to the white and black English speaking customers. So no one understood what they were saying.<BR/><BR/>It's annoying enough to go to one of their family run restaurants (and there are a lot of them here, mostly with really good food or we wouldn't go) and having a 50/50 chance of getting an understandable waitress. This was just a plain old McDonald's.laughinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11999190808736700318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post-58706306044577098172008-03-05T13:33:00.000-05:002008-03-05T13:33:00.000-05:00I don't agree with you on the language thing.I thi...I don't agree with you on the language thing.<BR/><BR/>I think any business should be able to do what it wants and that market forces will dictate if the business survives.<BR/><BR/>If you don't like a store that lets the employees speak Spanish, don't shop there. Companies that cater to a Spanish clientèle should be able to freely do so.<BR/><BR/>It is only people who become US citizens that are required to learn English. Temporary workers and green card holders such as myself are in no way obligated to do so, although it does make us more employable.<BR/><BR/>It seems that you live in an area where the majority of people are Spanish speakers. Why should the majority be controlled by a minority?<BR/><BR/>Just to make it clear I am completely against illegal immigration. They are line jumping assholes that jumped ahead of people like me doing it legally. But I think legal immigrants not going for citizenship have every right in the world to maintain their language.Wavemancalihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13271232599101899281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post-24553443201762870902008-03-05T09:38:00.000-05:002008-03-05T09:38:00.000-05:00"Tres" was one I knew. I quickly Googled in someth..."Tres" was one I knew. I quickly Googled in something like "twenty-four" into their translator, but for some reason I did not trust the results. <BR/><BR/>The language thing does not bother me personally, but that is likely because I hardly ever hear a langauge other than English spoken.<BR/><BR/>I have never been selected for jury duty, either.<BR/><BR/>Where it does annoy me is those automated phone systems. They are already wordy and slow anyway, the the unnecessary Spanish stuff they toss in the beginning of the instructions/disclaimers only increases my impatience.dmarkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07269773990064736457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post-17294075228734807302008-03-05T08:41:00.000-05:002008-03-05T08:41:00.000-05:00Okay Dmarks, let's try this again.The kid did not ...Okay Dmarks, let's try this again.<BR/><BR/>The kid did not go to the microphone and say tres. There were a bunch of kids working there speaking Spanish, and they shouldn't be allowed to do that in the work place, but since most of them speak Spanish they do it anyway. So the kid said something in Spanish, and we just thought he was still talking to the other kids. And it's not like you ever get the number three anyway. So it wasn't tres, it was Spanish for one hundred ninety-four or two thousand six hundred thirty-seven or whatever. I can maybe follow someone counting to nine in Spanish, but I have no idea what any higher number sounds like. So the kid walks by and says something in Spanish, and no one knows what he said, and he left. And the lady got mad. And I'm with her, I would be mad too, but that didn't happen to me because I never left the counter area while I was waiting.<BR/><BR/>Someday there will be something on the news about a riot over dumb kids not speaking English at McDonald's. We have already had a riot when some little old white woman went to the movie theater and asked to buy a ticket for "The Colored People."laughinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11999190808736700318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post-60501056540446316462008-03-05T08:31:00.000-05:002008-03-05T08:31:00.000-05:00AbsurdistThere is a part on the juror form where y...Absurdist<BR/><BR/>There is a part on the juror form where you have to swear to be of sound mind and good moral character. A judge once told my dad that he would dismiss any juror who claimed NOT to be of sound mind and good moral character. But apparently answering NO to that question doesn't get you out of jury duty anymore. There are just too many people who try that.<BR/><BR/>Depending on what the trial is about, you might be asked how you fell about stuff like the death penalty. If you say that you are strongly in favor of that then the defense won't want you. Though that's not a given that it would get you out, because everyone else might write that too.<BR/><BR/>There's also a part where they ask your general likes and dislikes, what you watch on TV and such. I can truthfully say that my favorite show is Star Trek. Unless one of the lawyers or the judge is a serious Trekkie, they don't like to hear that so much after that woman wore her uniform to court. For my next favorite TV show, I usually pick something like Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Again, this is true that I like the show, but I think that a lawyer would view me as someone who wouldn't be serious or smart enough to follow the trial and not want me on the jury.laughinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11999190808736700318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post-25732028507129074962008-03-05T08:19:00.000-05:002008-03-05T08:19:00.000-05:00I have never been selected for jury duty (of cours...I have never been selected for jury duty (of course, having said that, now I will).<BR/><BR/>I have always decided that, unless the trial is interesting, during voir dire I would tell them that I am either:<BR/><BR/>1. In favor of legalizing drugs<BR/>2. I think that sex with children should be legalized.<BR/>3. I believe that only insane people should be put to death.<BR/>4. I believe in Satan only.The Absurdisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13171099941563571979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post-30191802076926812062008-03-04T20:30:00.000-05:002008-03-04T20:30:00.000-05:00Damn. No response means I won't be adding another ...Damn. No response means I won't be adding another comment on this post. Oh wait...dmarkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07269773990064736457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post-2068141034288472022008-03-04T18:51:00.000-05:002008-03-04T18:51:00.000-05:00Craze,I felt that way about it when I was a teenag...Craze,<BR/><BR/>I felt that way about it when I was a teenager and when I first got to vote and then for about four or five years after that. And then sometimes I thought maybe it was just better to admit I didn't know which side was right. Now it's like voting, "none of the above." I don't know if we still have write-in ballots here, or maybe I could do that.<BR/><BR/>But I don't think I'll be voting when I can't even find someone who agrees with me on the two things that bother me the most right now. And then if I were going to vote I'd have to decide about all the other stuff and find someone who agrees with me on most of that stuff too. Do I want the troops out of Iraq? Do I really want to do away with all elective abortions or just ones in the third trimester? What do I think should be done about Social Security? What do I want done about Unemployment Benefits? What should be done about Food Stamps and Welfare and such? I have thoughts on all that stuff, but some things I have really strong feelings about, and other things are more vague. But if I'm going to vote for someone I need to give it more thought, and then I'd have to hear that the candidate actually has a plan to do something, not just that they don't like the situation either.<BR/><BR/>If the alcohol thing comes back around, I'll be voting on that one for sure. Even if it costs us our "Quality Restaurants."laughinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11999190808736700318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post-47335659575677131252008-03-04T18:34:00.000-05:002008-03-04T18:34:00.000-05:00Mark,Jericho was brought back for the people, by t...Mark,<BR/><BR/>Jericho was brought back for the people, by the people, etc....<BR/><BR/>Last I heard, Journeyman was not so lucky.laughinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11999190808736700318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post-14945253569336420882008-03-04T18:33:00.000-05:002008-03-04T18:33:00.000-05:00Damn. I had this whole reply to Dmarks typed out,...Damn. I had this whole reply to Dmarks typed out, but it didn't publish. I don't think I want to write it again.laughinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11999190808736700318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post-1424585548185264932008-03-04T16:18:00.000-05:002008-03-04T16:18:00.000-05:00I wish I could talk you into voting. It's an Ame...I wish I could talk you into voting. It's an American right! Not many years ago women weren't even allowed to vote, it's for that reason I'm compelled to. I do agree with you and the issues. Sorry to go all political on you! :)MEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04121865529773663081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post-3374364861250871992008-03-04T10:18:00.000-05:002008-03-04T10:18:00.000-05:00(Incidentally, I'm hooked on Jericho too...)(Incidentally, I'm hooked on <I>Jericho</I> too...)Mark J Danielshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11168238025228346641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877723.post-63690961379694507122008-03-04T09:29:00.000-05:002008-03-04T09:29:00.000-05:00"The kid who called her number read it in Spanish,..."The kid who called her number read it in Spanish, so most of us didn't know what had been said or even that a number had been called"<BR/><BR/>I can just imagine: <I>"Tres..... Tres.... TRES!!!!"</I>.<BR/>---<BR/>We were on the Perot bandwagon. Ferengi jokes easily ensued. He lost us (along with most of his movement) when he wigged out and claimed that George H. W. Bush was trying to sabotage his family BBQ or something like that. <BR/><BR/>I know about votes canceling out. It happened in the last primary.dmarkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07269773990064736457noreply@blogger.com