The working people in this country were lulled to sleep by their eight-hour days, their vacations every year, their medical insurance and other benefits. You’re like lobsters placed in a pot of cold water, but now the water is heating up. If you don’t wake up soon, you will be cooked and devoured. The benefits you had were not given to you out of the generosity of the corporate heart. They were paid for with blood, sweat and tears. If you have knowledge of the past, you will have some concept of what your future has in store. Read about the Republic steel strike in 1947. On Memorial Day the strikers were in a field across from the plant. They brought their wives and children with picnic lunches and carried flags. The police in front of the plant began shooting in the air. The people started running, and they shot into the crowd. A dozen people were killed and over 100 injured, including women and children. Read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. These are examples of working conditions in the early 20th century in America before we had unions. People in China who work for American corporations have such deplorable conditions that they are jumping off of buildings. This is a harbinger of what is coming to this country. Do you really believe these people won’t exploit you because you live in America? Everything’s for sale. Please, American people, wake up. Thank you.

Hello. Uh, very recently when I was walking my dog on a street in my neighborhood I stopped almost a half a block away upon seeing two dogs that a woman had on those retractable leashes. It was two Dachshunds. I tried to scope out the situation and yelled, “My dog’s not friendly so don’t come down here. Give me a chance to cross the street and tie my dog up or something.” But she started digging in her handbag and dropped one leash. It has, you know, a big plastic handle, and pretty soon she dropped both leashes. Both Dachshunds came barreling down the street at my dog, which cowered between my legs. I am carrying a big stick to fend these dogs off. One runs into the street, and a car nearly hits it. Someone hears the commotion and comes out and tries to help this woman round up her two stray dogs, and meanwhile I manage to keep my dog from biting either of them. See what I had to do? Not only did I have to defend my dog, I had to keep my dog from hurting their dog. Why do I have that responsibility? Because that woman’s an idiot. Dogs on retractable leashes, they are not controllable. Yet when they finally got these two dogs collected and I’m still there with my dog cowering and I’m having a heart attack and I’m yelling, “You don’t deserve to have a dog if you can’t control them.” They’re standing there looking at me like I caused the problem. What is wrong with the people in this city? I received an advertisement from (caller states name of hearing company). It states, “Your hearing aid benefits for ADOA State of Arizona employees and retirees have changed for 2011. You are now eligible to receive two hearing aids per year with no co-pay.” I was never a state employee, and I just paid $3,000 for mine and hope they will last several years as I can’t afford new ones every year. I am a veteran and applied to the VA for help and was refused. Is this the way Arizona will cut spending and reduce our huge deficit? It doesn’t seem right to me, and I am angry. How do you feel? I think we should form a union for the rest of us. – Harold Dripps

Editor’s Note: Thank you for the post, Mr. Dripps. As a policy at The Times, we do not include the names of businesses, which by the nature of this column cannot defend themselves against reader complaints. I think your point, however, still gets across despite the company name redacted. Hi, I’d like to thank this paper for your Sound Off column because it offers people a voice if they only have a phone. Some of us are visually disabled and have had to retire because they can’t use a computer anymore. Some of us don’t have computers. Increasingly we have this problem where even if you’re trying to get information on the phone, you’re referred to a website. I’m calling Sound Off today to complain about the fact that my health insurance will only serve me if I can go to a website. I can’t get hard copies of anything. I can’t get the same access to information and help that a person with a computer can. I know not everyone has a computer, but people who work may have access to one at work. In every case you cannot say that everyone in the United States now has a computer. You can’t discriminate against people who don’t have a computer. I’m left out of a number of things like surveys etcetera because I don’t have a computer. I just got a call from my utility. They called and asked if I want to go paperless. I can’t go paperless, and now I have to call them and make sure they’re not going to put me on paperless. But until it’s a law that you have to have a computer, we have the right to get information even without a computer. Hi. I love your paper. I love the Sound Off feature, but I’d like to suggest that for people who call in a Sound Off to record, you really should have a playback option because people can self-edit what they’re leaving on the line, and believe me they might totally erase the comment and not even call in when they hear just how stupid they sound. I mean, that applies to me as well. But it does help because it would make for better-worded articles or just would read better in the paper. Spoken language is different than what appears in print. I’m just used to being able to playback, and if I say something ambiguous, I re-record. I don’t understand why you don’t have it. Other than that, I love the paper. I love the Sound Off column. I really just love everything in it, and I pick it up all the time. Thank you. Yes, this in response to the Sound Off about riding a bicycle in the city and people not using turn signals. The one I love is when you’re sitting there at the light and they make eye contact with you and they still turn right in front of you. I ride a bike in the city every single day, and that’s the biggest problem we have. So people, please, when you see us, watch out for us. Thank you. My name is Paul, and I live in the north Valley. My name is Stanley (leaves phone number). I’ve been trying to do something with the courts. The sheriff put me in jail for three years. They had nothing on me, no proof, no nothing. They kept me there. They took my home. I lost everything. I lost my wife. I lost my clothing, everything I own. I ended up with cancer over this whole thing. Still I can’t do anything. I can’t get an attorney to take it to court. I read in your paper about how this guy got out of jail after he was charged with murder. These courts are a bunch of ripoffs. The sheriff beat me. They did everything to me. They caused me to lose my teeth, everything. So if you know anybody who can help me I’d appreciate it. Thank you. Bye. Hi, I’m responding to John, who describes himself as a severe NRA lifelong member gun nut. John, you know where you’re needed is in the police reserve. You’ll get a phenomenal education on how guns are used by both criminals and the police and, uh, you’ll at least understand where people need guns besides just, you know, the fantasy you live in at home that since you have a gun you’re protected against everything. Even if everyone were armed, some of us are better shots than others. How’d you like to get hit by a mistake and somebody who can’t shoot straight? In what fantasy world do you live? The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I get behind the wheel of a car everyday and pray to God that someone doesn’t run me off the road. All I can do is control my driving. There is an element of fate with guns as well. I suggest you get in touch with your creator about this and stop living in a fantasy world. The idea of the moral responsibility of America’s need to rescue the world gives us many more heroes – dead heroes. It also means to mind your own business, Washington politicians. Thank you. Thank God and greyhound they’re gone. Yesterday I went shopping at my local Fry’s and actually got to the entrance without being run over. The aisles weren’t congested with persons unwilling to move and give you a dirty look when you said excuse me. I didn’t get banged by carts. The 15 or less check out was actually being used by persons with 15 or less, and no one yelled at the cashiers if a product was out. No one was lifting USA Today as they were leaving the store as I have seen people do. I even heard snowbirds outside complaining about other snowbirds. I was happy and stayed instead of going shopping elsewhere. Who are these people? Maybe Phoenix will be named second most unfriendly city after L.A., and then they’ll go to Florida. E.T. Brewer is my name. Yeah, I sure would like to know why we keep letting Chuck Ryan, who is a total moron, run the Department of Corrections along with his henchmen who don’t care about the security of the yards anymore and who don’t care about watching inmates anymore. It’s all about what can we do to screw staff. It’s 601 this and it’s 601 that. These new ones coming in are totally worthless, but anything that happens at DOC, Chuck Ryan that idiot, he blames the staff for that. It’s not the inmates’ fault. Oh no, it’s the staff’s fault. Well, you know what, Chuck Ryan? Why don’t you take you and your raise and your henchmen and take a hike and get out of Arizona because you’re screwing the taxpayers by how you spend your money. You people are idiots. Have a nice day. With all the paraphernalia on Arizona license plates, the following would be more appropriate in light of all you boneheads who can’t see the long-term effects. You won’t legislate against texting while driving, not wearing motorcycle helmets, not taking guns into universities, not restricting excess gun sales, not helping transplant patients, etc. Well, how about a license plate that says, “Arizona: We Just Don’t Get It.”