Applying For A Job By Eddy Dio

Any time I went to apply for a job, I would go into the place of business and take 10 or 15 minutes to fill out an application. I would either get an interview right then and there or waited until if and when they called me. Some businesses still have that policy of applying for a job. Mostly big corporations have you do it electronically online/on a computer. Now that seems even better doesn't it? Wrong. First you have to register with the companies website with a valid email address. I guess it is for them to spam you in case you don't get the job. If you do not do it right or answer any/all of the questions they ask you you do not pass go. So you could be there for an hour on one question. It usually takes about an hour total to fill one of theses stupid things out. They Pretty much ask you for your life story. It does not stop there. They ask you personal questions. "Have you ever used drugs or alcohol?" Yeah, Ok. Like I might answer that one truthfully. It is none of your business . Another question is: "Were you or any family member ever on welfare or government assistance?" Again. None of your business. Someone told me the reason they ask that question is the government gives the business a kick back if they hire someone who was on government assistance. "Did you ever steal?" Like someone would say yes . "Were you ever depressed/suffer from depression?" I think my doctor should be the only one who has the authority to ask that question not some idiot management team who is playing psychologist. You will go through many screens with many more stupid questions, ones that are not on any paper application I ever filled out and ones that do not pertain to the job. They will also do a credit check and if you have bad credit they will not hire you. What bad credit has to do with anything job related is beyond me. To me that is discrimination and should be illegal. I can't get a part time job scrubbing toilets because my credit is shot. Are they afraid I might steal the toilet or the shit that's in it? I could see if I was applying to work at Fort Knox but some shitty retail job? Give me a break. You want someone with experience or someone who is a good worker but you won't hire them because there credit sucks. We are in a recession, someones credit is going to suck more then ever before. Maybe if they judged someone on their experience and work ethic and not on their financial status maybe the economy would be just that much better.




Now comes the interview. One of the questions they ask you is how much are you looking to make? You tell them one price and they tell you another. I worked with someone who said do this. "If you pay me minimum wage you get the minimum wage job performance, if you pay me 12 dollars you get the 12 dollar an hour job performance." I think that is a great idea. You probably won't get the job but at least you will leave with your dignity and self respect in tact. It always seems to me, that the back breaking grunt jobs pay the least, the labor that make the company millions/billions of dollars. Even secretaries, who answer phones,don't have to ruin their clothes/can wear nice clothes, sit on their asses and make coffee get paid more. What's wrong with that scenario? The physical labor jobs, such as warehouse/factory should be making at least 30 an hour. They risk their health/injury, exposed to unsatisfactory working conditions, such as dangerous chemicals, no heat/air in the appropriate weather and a lot of times no benefits/health insurance. Instead of paying managers and higher ups, who walk around, drink coffee and bark orders/abuse their power, high 5 to 6 figure salaries, give it the workers, who break their ass, making these companies filthy rich. Pay the managers less then what they're making because they do the least amount of physical work.



Manager Mentality. It seems that managers become instant assholes when they get the power of authority. There motto is. "Do as I say , not as I do." They are supposed to be setting examples but as we know, they abuse their power. They can leave early, come in late, take days off when they want and they still have their jobs but if a regular employee does that we are on the unemployment line. They always like to threaten you with your job."it's tough out there, there are a lot of other people who would be happy with this job." They should ad the word shitty before the word job. A good example is. I worked in a major retailer and they just hired a new maintenance manager. He was building walls around where his office was. The story I heard was that someone questioned why he was putting up walls and he said "to make it more like an office." So they said ok and left him alone. They had put a camera in his office. He was stealing Vcr's, stereos, etc.. So they confronted him. They made a deal with him. He had until noon of that day or the next to bring all the stolen goods back or they were going to call the police and press charges. Anyone of the regular employees who stole anything was cuffed and stuffed with no questions asked. Why is a manager above the law and not anyone else? Same place. A manager was going to be let go. They told him. They gave him a week or two to find another job. Again , anyone else would have been gone immediately.



Now you have cheap companies. Any company with big money is always cheap when it comes to their employees. I worked for another big retailer. They created overtime but did not pay for it. So they gave us extended lunches for a week and a half to take away the overtime. In the state of New Jersey, it is a law, if you are working overnight and are locked in/not allowed to leave for lunch your employer has to pay you for it. So when this same retailer found out they had to pay for lunches they disbanded the overnight shift.



I found this on Yahoo.com. 8 things employers are not allowed to ask you. Here is the link but I will copy and paste them here. I knew they were not allowed to ask certain questions by law. I think there is even a book about what employers cannot ask. Some of these things I have found listed are on the online applications when you apply to companies.



http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/110601/8-things-employers-arent-allowed-to-ask-you



1. How old are you?

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), protects individuals who are 40 or older from being discriminated against in the workplace in favor of younger employees. There is no federal protection in place to protect workers younger than 40 from age discrimination. To determine if you are legally eligible to perform a job, employers are allowed to ask if you are over the age of 18.



2. Are you married?

Questions about marital status are prohibited. Employers might be tempted to ask this question to find out if your relationship could have a negative impact on your work. For example, if you are married you might be more likely to leave the company if your spouse gets a job transferred to a different city. Even a question as seemingly innocent as "Do you wish to be addressed as Mrs., Miss, or Ms.?" is not allowed.



3. Are you a U.S. citizen?

Citizenship and immigration status cannot be used against a potential employee during the hiring process according to The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). Employers must wait until after a job offer had been extended to require a worker to complete the Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9) Form and submit documentation that proves identity and employment authorization. It is lawful for an employer to ask an interviewee if they are authorized to work in the US.



4. Do you have any disabilities?

This question might seem necessary to determine if a job applicant can perform the required duties, but it is illegal to ask under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Employers cannot discount anyone from a job because of a physical or mental disability. In fact, the law requires that they accommodate disabilities unless they can prove it would cause significant difficulty or expense to do so. Employers also cannot ask you if you have had any past illnesses or operations.



5. Do you take drugs, smoke or drink?

Concerns about drug, alcohol or nicotine addictions are valid as they can impact an employee's quality of work and the rates of a company's health insurance coverage. However, an employer might find themselves in legal trouble if they don't frame questions about these potential problems in a careful manner. They are allowed to ask if you have ever been disciplined for violating company policies about the use of alcohol and tobacco products. They can also ask directly if you use illegal drugs, but an employer can't inquire about your use of prescription medications.



6. What religion do you practice?

Inquires about religious beliefs are a sensitive issue. An interviewer might be curious for scheduling reasons such as holidays that an employee might need off, or if the candidate will be unavailable to work on weekends because of religious obligations. It is illegal to intentionally discriminate against an employee or harass them based on their religious beliefs. Employers are required to accommodate an employee's religious beliefs or practices in regards to things such as dress and grooming policy and flexible scheduling.



7. What is your race?

There is no situation in which questions about an employee's race or skin color should be use to determine their eligibility for a job. This protection is granted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Employers are permitted to ask an employee to reveal their race on a voluntary basis for affirmative action purposes.




8. Are you pregnant?

Questions about family status tend to affect women the most, but they can also pertain to men in certain situations. Employers might have concerns about an employee taking time off work for pregnancy leave or not having child care arrangements during work hours. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act states that an employer cannot refuse to hire a pregnant woman because of her pregnancy, because of a pregnancy-related condition, or because of the prejudices of co-workers, clients or customers.



It is, however, lawful for employers to ease their nerves about an employee's availability or commitment to a position by asking about long-term career goals or the ability for an employee to work overtime and travel.



The Bottom Line
It is important to know your rights as an employee. Unlawful questions are not acceptable on applications, during the interview process or in the workplace. Although improper questions by employers might be simple mistakes, they could also be intentional cases of discrimination that should be reported.

Why Are We Here ? by Eddy Dio

I ask myself that from time to time, do you? Yes we are here, physically
because our parents created us and we did not have a choice in the matter. I mean why are we here on earth and what is our purpose here and for what reason?

The Bible is supposedly the book of life but I am sure it does not say
why we are here. Is what we do here in life going to affect us to wherever it is we go to if there is someplace after life? We know we are just passing through and that death is a given but why is death so final from life and reality? Maybe this is all just a dream. So why should we care if we make a ton of money or live in the street? Why should we care if we want to engage in illicit sex, illegal drugs, drown our liver in alcohol, eat foods that are high in fat, salt and cholesterol or to live a healthy life? So you have the triple bypass or liver cancer later on, who cares? Why should we further our education? Why should we have kids? Why help save the environment? Why pay bills? If people in other countries want to kill each other why should we care? Why do some of us want to become great people so we are remembered when we are no longer here? So we can rub it in the faces of people who thought of us as losers? Again who cares and what difference does it make? As the corny cliché goes. "Life is what you make of it." Yes that is true but why make the best of it? Why don't we know if there really is a god and a heaven so we can get these answers and maybe understand why we are here?

We all know one thing that is true. Life is short and dead maybe forever.
Why?

The Artist Way by Eddy Dio

I'm a writer. I write everything that encompasses fiction to opinion essays. I
have been published many times and have been told I write well. The only
thing is I have never been paid for anything that I have written that has been
published. I have a friend who always asks, “Are you getting paid for it."
And I say “No. I'm not." And he says "Then why do you do it?" To answer
his and possibly your question is because if I always held out for money I
may have never had anything published. It's called "Paying your dues."
(Working for free). And you need to build up a portfolio and this is the way
to do it. A lot of places may not take a chance on seeing your work without
being published. Most publications ask for a query letter with published
clips (a letter informing them of you, what you write and what you are
sending them along with samples of your published writings). It is also
called Exposure and without exposure you may not become established.
Exposure is just as important as getting paid. Yes, we artists would like to
make some kind of living from our art but hopefully the money will come
later.


I also do Character and Cartoon voices. Again people
have told me I am good but that and a quarter still won't buy me a cup of
coffee. Some people have given me a chance and that's another thing we
artists need, someone to believe in us to give us that chance, any chance to
get ourselves out there. If not then we may never get discovered.
From gallery owners to other fellow artists themselves, most of them are
clicky. If you are not a friend of the gallery owner and/or not in their little
circle they pretty much won't give you the time of day, much less a show in
their gallery. It seems that they usually will give their friends a show over
someone who is not a friend but I could be wrong about that. Some gallery
owners don't care about the artists and their art but only how much money
they can make off of them. From the percentage they take if you sell
something to the entrance fees to enter a show, it still costs the artists more
money then they already have and then you have to price accordingly to try
and make your expenses back. You are lucky if you break even. Now it gets even more expensive. They want you to send slides of your artwork you are entering in their show. More money to get slides made. Now you can use cd/dvd. I think that it is very unfair to ask for all of this and then take a high percentage of what they sell of yours and some galleries make the artists pay either half or all for their own reception. Now I know why some artists are discouraged from being artists. It doesn't pay.


A lot of artists look at other artists as "amateurs" which I learned is not an
obscene word but still has the negative stigma attached to it. We all have to
be a nobody before we can become a somebody and we all have to start
somewhere. So instead of looking down on your fellow up and coming
artists who are starting out just like you did why not help them out with
positive words of encouragement? Maybe they will want to continue to
pursue their artistic endeavors instead of 1etting your insecurities get to you
as if they were going to take your job away from you.

Art centers, galleries and even art supply stores are not very supportive of
other artists and their events. I was at an art school in N.J. and I had fliers
out for a figure drawing marathon I was doing. I had the fliers where the life
drawing class was going on. The lady who was in charge asked me whose
fliers they were and I told her they were mine. She took them away anyway
instead of leaving them there, where I needed them, so other artists could see
them. I am sure you know of other places that have done this and it is sad
when other artists don't even care about other artists enough to support them
and their creative endeavors.

I am listed with the New Jersey Film Commission as a P.A. (production
Assistant). A production assistant is a glorified gofer, go for this, go for that.
etc,... You are hired to do all the grunt work such as getting coffee and
lunch to lugging all the equipment as well as using your own car. I would
have liked to make some kind of living that way but what they pay is a joke.
I got a call for a company that did the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City
and the gig was for about a week to two weeks. I was going to be traveling
two to two and half hours there, working 12 or more hours a day and then
driving back home another two to two and a half hours for a week to two
weeks and all I was going to be paid was a hundred bucks a day and not even a hotel room. What's wrong with this picture? These multithousand, million, billion dollar
production companies have all this money and they want you to jump
through hoops for more work then what they are willing to pay you. Sorry, I
am worth more then that especially the mileage and the wear and tear on my
car alone. I did P.A. on one movie where the pay was lousy. It was supposed
to be 50 bucks for the whole weekend but was upped to 75 after it was
finished but it was 10 minutes away from my house, I was fed well and I met
and worked with different types of interesting people. That wasn't bad. I
would not mind doing gigs like that part time but not when the money is less
then the time to have to put in it.

I support the arts by putting on art events that I think, would be very much
needed and welcomed such as my figure model marathons and open studio
Life drawing workshops. I am looking to start an independent monthly film
series as well. Great ideas are just that but if no one gives you a chance,
there's that word again, then no one is going to know about it and that is sad.
We all need an outlet for artistic expression and sometimes we do need the
help of others in order for that expression to visualize. We need to support and encourage creativity not stifle or discourage it. We also need to drop the attitudes and egos. One thing is for certain. Just because you’re an artist doesn’t mean you are open-minded but I am sure you knew that already.

Why Be One Dimentional? by Eddy Dio

Most people, who have read my writing, have said that I write very well and my character/cartoon voices are top notch. So why not do them all? I have found that when an artist is good at one thing they have talents in other areas as well. Look at singer Tony Bennett. You know him as musician but he is also an artist as in painting/drawing/ sketching and look at actor Paul Sorvino. He is a poet, painter and sculptor. I did not know he was multi talented until I saw him interviewed on of those entertainment shows. Jennifer Lopez is an actress, dancer, and singer. Actor Jack Black from such movies as Shallow Hal and Orange County is also the singer of the rock band Tenacious D. Why not do something else you are talented in? Yes there is something you want to be known in and established as but we only go around once so why not try everything you feel you're good at? It seems artists get pigeonholed into these titles and if they do more then one type of art they are not taken seriously at other types of art because they are established in that medium and would like to do something else. I am sure they love what they do but after a while it does become a job so maybe this is fun for them after a grueling day at their acting job. It may be an artistic stress release or maybe it was something they always wanted to do or were just inspired somehow from the movie they were working on. Then you hear “He’s an actor who wants to be a musician" and vice versa and then no one takes you/them seriously. You also hear "Why don't they just stick to one thing?" Some of these actors and actresses got their start in art, I am sure, and then went into pursuing other avenues such as acting and music. I am sure there are commercial artists and cartoonists who are doing that type of art so they can make a living. They would maybe rather be doing fine art, which is their life and passion, but they need to pay the bills so they are doing that to just make a living. Yes it is a "double edged sword" to use the cliché. So what do you do? Do you not take a chance on what you have a passion and interest in never knowing what could become of it because you are known for and established in something else? Or do you take those chances and see what happens because I always say, "You never know until you try. If you don't try then you will never know." And it is so true. I leave you with this quote from actor Paul Sorvino from that same entertainment show I saw him interviewed on and I am sure his quote rings true with most, if not all, of us artists. "I am not happy unless I am creating."

Did you Ever Notice? by Eddy Dio

Did you ever notice things that don't make sense but are anyway?
Did you ever notice that when you open a bag of potato chips it
smells like someone farted in the bag yet we eat them anyway?
Why is that? Maybe that air is due to someone actually farting in
the bag and not due to contents settling due to shipping as they
claim. The same goes for coleslaw. It smells nasty but we eat it
anyway.

Did you ever notice that most vegetarians are fat? Why is that? Is it
because that since they do not eat meat anymore they compensate
for it by eating cakes and ice cream and anything else that never
moved? Or is it because they don't eat meat they do not have the
energy and mindset to exercise and be all they can be?

Did you ever notice that fat women wear stretch pants? Why is
that? Is it because nothing else fits them? I mean they barely get them up all the way to their waist anyway. It's like trying to put a condom on a watermelon. It
just doesn't go together.


Did you ever notice that when you talk to
a woman who has had child children they blame their weight gain
on having children and then you ask how old their child is?
"He/She is five years old? You could not lose weight within
five years? And for five years you have been blaming being
pregnant for gaining weight? Why is that?

Did you ever notice that when you ask someone how old their
baby is they say something like "18 months." 18 months huh? Why
is that? Wouldn't the correct answer be "a year and a half ?" One
year is 12 months and 6 months is half a year so the correct answer
should be a year and a half. Are you saying it in months because
maybe you can't count or it's the politically correct thing to say or
maybe you are saying it because everyone else is doing it?


Did you ever Notice in the Hair replacement commercials the
hair replacements have no bangs? Why is that? Is it because bangs
cost more or maybe the extra weight in the front will keep the glue
and tape from sticking to your head and it will fall off or maybe
instead of just looking like you have a dead rat on top of your head
it will look like a dead rat with a tail.

Did you ever notice how "Spiritual" people are frequent/habitual
users of drugs and alcohol? Why is that? Is it because they need
them to "expand" their minds to see and feel what us sober people
can't see and feel or is it just an excuse to use drugs and alcohol.

Did you ever notice how some "smokers" don't inhale? Why is
that? Is it because they are trying to fit in with everyone else or is it
that no one has ever showed them how to inhale? To me that's a
waste of time, money and cancer.

Did you ever notice the previews when you go to/rent a movie that
the previews say," this preview has been approved for general
audiences and the movie is rated R? 'Why is that? R means
restricted and not approved for everyone so is this ploy by under
age kids to get their parents to let them/take them to see these
movies as well as boost attendance.


Did you ever notice that nose hair is thicker then any other hair on
your body? Why is that? Is it because maybe if you are
shipwrecked on a deserted island you could maybe tie it together if
you had enough and use it as fishing line to catch fish to eat so you
wouldn't starve?

Did you ever notice that gay women go out with other women that
look like men? Why is that? Is it because they are attracted to a
"Father Figure" and since they don't like men this is the closest
thing they are going to get to that or maybe they are looking for
someone who wears the pants in the family. They don't like men
and want nothing to do with men and yet they go out with women
who look like they have the biggest set of balls and want to let
everyone know that you do.


Did you ever notice that most women who shave their bikini lines
shave everything off except for that little racing stripe of pubic
hair? Why is that? Is it an underwear marker to tell the woman how
high or low to wear her under wear/panties? Is it a pull-tab for
when she wants to take them off she knows where to grab? Is it a
Velcro strip so she can velcro her underwear/panties to herself so
they won't fall down or ride up her ass?

Did you ever notice that when sitcoms first come out they usually
play the whole entire theme song and then as the years go by,
especially in syndication, they shorten it? Why is that? Is it
because they are too cheap to pay for that much more airtime
especially in syndication? Is it because they are behind schedule
and have to make up for lost time? Did you also ever notice that
when they change the theme song and change cast members the
show sucks, why is that? Is it because it's on life support already
and they are grasping for straws so they take anyone off the street
and ask them if they want to be in a TV show and they end up
sucking so they make the show suck as well? Is it because the
ratings suck anyway so making the show that much more horrible
won't make a difference and maybe no one would notice it?

Did you ever notice ?

Going Green but Why Not Our Food? by Eddy Dio

It seems we are going green with energy saving light bulbs, solar panels, which, by the way, was being used probably 20 years ago but now since global warming and the high cost of energy we are looking for better alternatives for that. We cannot forget wind turbines which are windmills, again, something they probably used way back when. When it comes to food though it seems we are not getting our knickers in a knot over the way it is made. Yes we have organic food, which, by definition according to Wikipedia is "Organic foods are made in a way that limits or excludes the use of synthetic materials during production." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_food. Yet we still use sugar, which is processed, in our foods to sweeten them. Processed foods have a high cause of cancer rate. I was reading that sugar can cause heart disease. http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/sugar.htm. Sugar is also addictive and the term "sugar blues." is right on. I had to give up sugar because I was addicted to it and it made me ill. I was tested for diabetes and did not have it but people tell me that I may be hypoglycemic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoglycemia. When I gave up sugar I dropped 10 pounds in two weeks and eventually my cholesterol went down below 200. It was always over 200. Now I read labels on food items. I was reading about high fructose corn syrup and how bad it is supposedly for you but according to this website. It is equal to sugar in a way. http://www.sweetsurprise.com/ they put high fructose corn syrup in almost everything. Why do we have to use artificial sweeteners and preservatives in everything? Way back when, when your grandmothers were growing up, they did not use any of this artificial sweeteners or preservatives, they baked it themselves, from scratch, and it tasted great but was not meant to last for two weeks either unless maybe it was put in the freezer. It was meant to be eaten within 5 days or so. Homemade tastes better anyway. Always keep theses 3 things in mind as far as taste and in the same order. 1. Homemade 2.Bakery. 3. Store bought. Even bread from the bakery will get stale within a few days because, I believe, no preservatives are used. Segue here. I read on orange juice and apple juice containers that parts of the juice come from other countries. There is an asterisk on the orange juice container that says. "Components are not found in regular orange juice." Are they found in irregular orange juice? And that it comes from Brazil. The apple juice comes from the United States, china and other countries. With all the contaminated products from china we have food come from there? Why can't we make it here in the U.S at the plant? Are we too cheap and lazy we have to outsource it? It probably costs more to have it sent and shipped back here. I hear that components of honey come from china? What is wrong with this picture? White bread supposedly has not nutritional value. You should eat other types of bread other then white bread. Someone once told me that a certain brand of white bread has components of Formaldehyde in it. I believe it. That is why I go to the bakery sometimes and buy from there. I have to get sugar free items, if they have them. I mean just about everything has sugar in it from bread to pasta. I can have 5 grams of sugar and be ok but higher then that I get ill. Why don't we start using honey, molasses, agave nectar and maple syrup as sweeteners? They are all natural and do taste good. I put honey on my cereal every morning, with raw oatmeal, raisins, wheat germ and unsweetened coconut. It tastes good and is healthy for you. No, eating healthy does not mean it has to taste bad. I am living proof of that.

British Petroleum by Eddy Dio

Big Pricks is more like it. First England releases the Libyan terrorist who blew up one of our planes over Scotland .http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100815/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_lockerbie. Now this Oil leaking fiasco. Did you see that one dude from BP.? I think his name was Tony Bagadonuts. He was on the press conferences in the news when this first happened. He looks like Piers Morgan, the judge on Americas Got Talent, except he did not vote yes or no; he just stood there and didn't really say much. I hope the democrats lift the liability cap on these companies and go for broke. It seems the Republicans and lobbyists would say no to that because their pockets are being maligned with gold. Anything for big business and money no matter what the cost is what they are all about. This time though they might agree with the democrats. I don't understand why we even have to have these companies in our spaces especially other countries. It seems the Exxon Valdez tragedy was something we should have learned and planned to restructure so it would not repeat itself. Did we learn? I am not sure but this time it is going to take years to recover from if we can recover at all. All the wildlife and the ecosystem that is going to suffer now and in the future and all the businesses that will have to probably file for bankruptcy since they make there living from the sea or tourism. All this oil may travel around the world eventually and cause devastation. Eventually it will affect us but equally future generations. The next time you go to a seafood restaurant and they ask you what type of seafood you want they may have two choices to choose from. The 10w30 and 10w40. Mercury is already in our waters and therefore in our fish and too much consumption can cause Mercury poisoning. All this from the waste dumping of businesses that dump their waste into the waters. Air Pollution is still going on. I still see factories releasing clouds of waste into the sky. I hope this offshore oil drilling talk will cease. We built the Alaskan pipeline in the 70's because of the gas shortage. Why don't we use the oil from there? We get oil from Texas and other states so why aren't we using them? Maybe gas would be under 2 dollars a gallon again. We have to stop buying from foreign countries, especially oil. I think now is the time to start looking for ways to make alternative fuel ones that are not harmful and put them into use. It would not put the gas companies out of business they would just have to switch over to the new fuel. They are now making fuel from corn but that would deplete our supply of corn for consumption and raise the prices but maybe it is better then using expensive, harmful, foreign producing gasoline. Maybe if BP had millions of gallons of corn oil fuel spew into the gulf, instead of gasoline, it may have not been so bad. Now lets all join in the protest of BP gas.

Immigration Reform by Eddy Dio

I am not racist. I like all types of people and cultures and I have friends of different ethnic backgrounds. The new Arizona law maybe is a tough one to swallow for some but I think it is time to do something about the influx of Illegal immigrants to this country. I was going to say "Illegal Aliens" but to me that conjures up visions of little green men who came here from another planet without permission. Don't get me wrong, they come here illegally by plane as well but it seems Arizona and maybe other western states have more of an influx from Mexico which is next to our western borders. I have no problem with anyone coming over here, from another country, to better themselves and become a part of the American Dream but do it the right way. If you are only staying here on a visa then get the proper paperwork. If you are coming to stay here permanently then, again, get the proper paperwork to obtain your green card. You must speak English. If you don't comply then we ship you back home to whatever country you came from, especially if you have a criminal record, then you should not be allowed here period. We cater too much to people of other countries by having everything from billboard signs to ATM machines in English and then in there language. I think I went to a few ATM machines and had to choose from several different languages. What's up with that? A friend of mine said. “If I went to France they wouldn't bend over to kiss my ass and help me out with everything in French because I didn't want to learn the language but we do it for everyone in the US who doesn't speak English." He is right. He also told me. “Leave the country for a while and then come back here illegally. You'll get a free ride." Then you have companies hiring them as day laborers. Now I think it is a law or going to be one that if you hire someone illegal then you will be fined. I think that is a good idea. They pay them cheap and maybe they send money home to their country to help out. They make more money here then they do in their country and the companies are paying them below minimum wage. Then I hear on the news about companies treating them like animals, which I think is wrong, because they know they are afraid to speak up because they are not here legally. They are taking our jobs away because we know it takes a lot of money to live here in the U.S. I couldn't get welfare or free health care and I am born here but every illegal can. I believe in helping people in need but let’s not take advantage. You or I could not do that in another country if we went to live there. It is time we take back America to the way it was. Now maybe if I change my name to something foreign I could obtain the American Dream.