The Ubiquitous Grammar Cop

Someone once said, “A good compromise leaves everyone angry.” Most people who believe in the free market system argue that capitalism works best when companies compete with one another to keep prices down and to weed out the companies who charge more for inadequate products and services. I have no problem with this. If there are several organizations that do provide things the public needs for the lowest possible cost, good for them. This will force out companies that want to maximize their return with the minimal amount of investment. If the government needs to get into the act in providing a service the private sector has a stranglehold on in order to A) make sure the services provided reaches the largest pool of consumers, and B) keeps the cost of those services down, they should do so. I’ve mentioned before how the government already does this in a way that most people take it for granted. The federal government through the United States Postal Service provides a courier service fo...

If your stubbornness to acquire a material thing prompts a call to the authorities, you're doing it wrong.

I've heard that some people do this in their personal lives, but this is simply stupid.

Like most people who shopped online in the past, I receive an abundance of specialty catalogues in my mailbox. Most of the catalogues have something interesting in them so I give them a cursory once-over before I chuck them in the recycling bin. I received one recently with items in it so offensive and obscene I could not believe my eyes. The catalogue comes from a company called Foods Across America . They market and sell specialty foods from places all over the United States in an Alton Brown fashion collected from famous eateries and regional favorites: Chicago-style hot dogs, Philadelphia cheesesteak, beignets from New Orleans, and so forth. This is a rather clever idea. If you’re from Cincinnati (but live in San Francisco) and you have a Jones for Chili Five-Way, Foods Across America is the place to go if you want to order Skyline® chili. The trouble is you will have to pay $7.50 a can for it, not including the shipping charges. The prices they justify charging for these items are...