Many people around here can tell you that misuse of the subjunctive or failure to use the subjunctive is a major pet peeve of mine. A sad commentary on the state of education is that the hypercorrection of "me" to "I" has supplanted the subjunctive misuse as the thing that most irritates me, linguistically, in my native language. I've heard people say, "Well, between you and me...sorry, between you and I ... ". I usually tell them they're wrong unless they're paying clients, in which case they can say whatever they want to. Even then, if I know them well and know they won't be offended I would correct a client.

I do not have a problem with the evolution of languages. The way that predicate pronouns somehow end up being in oblique cases in English and French - "it's me" or "c'est moi" - is not something that gets me outraged. However, any time nuances of speech are lost I get irritated.

I don't like the increasing loss of the genitive in German. I fight it when I say things in German. I make a point of using the genitive. Of course, I also support using the words that make Germans uncomfortable, like Volk and Reich and Führer. There's nothing wrong with the words just because one asshole using the name decided to start the bloodiest war in history and gas about 8 million people to death (I'm using the more conservative and proven number there). It's even more absurd than the way the Harry Potter people can't say "Voldemort". I would draw the line if someone started talking about defending Blut und Boden.

But to get back to your points, I have no problems if Algerians and Lebanese move to France to live the cosmopolitan French life and accept the French culture. The problem is when people from traditional Muslim families think they can beat their wives and force their daughters to wear the hijab or, worse, think that honor killing is okay. The latter group tends to also not learn the language, be it French, Dutch, German, Danish, Swedish or whatever.

Oh, and I bought that book from amazon.de along with Remarque (Im Westen Nichts Neues) and Mann (Der Zauberberg, which I read in English and Buddenbrooks).

Finally, I am personally glad that the American voter, for whatever other failings he may have, understands that the government paying for something means, essentially, that his taxes go up.

Sorry. That wasn't my final point. My final point is that I want to bring back "thou" in English because it has a valid function. I think it is particularly important because too many Americans, especially in the Facebook age, have a very poor ability to distinguish real friends from acquaintances.