And not only that, they are copyright thieves; the image on the poster was originally the poster for the movie "Cloverfield."

> Wake up, sleeping world

It's not that you're wrong, it's just that saying "wake up" is too cute to tolerate. There's got, got to be a better way to express it. Please hear me on this: You know I love to blow snot. I'm just sayin'. Our problem isn't a slogan, and it isn't an accusatory taunt, and it's not happening because other people are simply not paying attention.

At work, I have a friend from, um, an Asian nation. He's raising a family here in Southern California. He's a blessing to everyone he encounters, including his company. His work is an indisputable asset to the American economy. And furthermore, on several occasions I've seen him roll through American social customs which are thought of as vulgar and offensive in his own culture. A thick accent is fading quickly, and has never been discourteous or disruptive.

So he gets it, OK? He understands that assimilation isn't pleasant, and that the bulk of that unpleasantness will be his to deal with.

But when I visit his work room when he's between projects, he's looking at Youtube clips from the old country, in the old language, and staying entirely current on the "you look mahvelous!"/Saturday Night Live – style catchphrase and sensibilities of his circle back home.

This excellent podcast is a few years old, but covers some important points about how travel and communications technology work against the classical American melting pot.

I don't get your point Crid. My wife, now a citizen, has lived here more than half her life. She still prefers to read for pleasure in Japanese, and we both like to watch Japanese TV shows.

Her English will never be totally accent free. I don't think we need to worry too much about her, though. Japan is still, last time I checked, an ally. There aren't enough Japanese speakers in this county to fill the convention center, so you don't need to worry about seeing incomprehensible writing or TV shows.

There's nothing in the oath of citizenship that says you have to forget your native language.

For the record, we both support making English the official language of the US. Despite the difficulty, she insisted on taking her driver's test in English. Ethnically and culturally, she can never be "not Japanese", but she's as much an American citizen as I am.

Here's the difference Mark:

Your wife cared enough to become an American. The muslim immigrants in Europe not only don't want to become members of the societies they've moved in to, they want to change those societies into the ones they left.

We see these kinds of enclaves here in America, and they never turn out well until the people in them decide to become "American".