The Ubiquitous Grammar Cop

A couple of friends of mine have sent me an email that counts as one of those viral email that espouse falsehoods and misinterpretations of history in order to prove a point the email's authors wish to make. Below is the text of that email (author unknown) with big, bold-faced bullet points highlighting the more egregious assertions I disagree with. THE LAW IS THE LAW So if the US government determines that it is against the law for the words 'Under God' 1 to be on our money, then, so be it. And if that same government decides that the 'Ten Commandments' are not to be used in or on a government installation, then, so be it. I say, 'so be it,' because I would like to be a law abiding US citizen. I say, 'so be it,' because I would like to think that smarter people than I are in positions to make good decisions. I would like to think that those people have the American public's best interests at heart. BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I'D LIKE? Since we...

A friend of mine posted a blog on her MySpace page, voicing her displeasure about Senator Obama's vice presidential pick of Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware. This is what she had to say: Hillary, Thank you for doing your best and showing exactly how far a woman could get. Your courage and tenacity has inspired me and I hope future generations of woman. I supported you til the end. I know some will say I only supported you because you were a woman, (of course those are the people who ultimately allowed for your downfall) But I supported you because you were the best candidate for the positon[sic] and I know I don't stand alone in that voicing that sentiment. I know it must puzzle you to think that so many out there ultimatly[sic] feared you and your stengths[sic] and convictions and therfore[sic] could'nt[sic] bring themselves to support you. I'm sure it is made worse when those "many" turn out to be women. I wish you the best of luck and know ...

What is the point of transparent wrapping paper?

I work in retail in order to pay my bills. It's not my first choice of vocation (I am presently working to get into my preferred choice of work: academia). Invariably every Monday and Tuesday my coworkers and I in the Big Blue Box (IKEA) will put away unopened and unused merchandise returned to our store after the customers purchased these items during their frenzied shopping on Saturday and Sunday. They will return these items for different reasons: the color didn't go with their existing decor, it didn't Glade well, the eight foot wardrobe couldn't fit into the back of the Honda Civic, whatever. I posit the true reason behind a sizable portion of these ill-conceived purchases returning to us come from the fact that some people simply could not afford to make a large furniture purchase on a whim. The economic situation that many of us find ourselves in does not warrant us to make snap decisions about large purchases that take up, in some cases, an entire pay period...

Why do people who profess to dislike government (and everything that it its supposed to do) choose to work in government? I thought about this based on two quotes by President Ronald Reagan I heard recently: "Government isn't the solution to our problems; government is the problem." "The nine most terrifying words in the English Language are. 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" Have at it...