Rupert Murdoch is offended by allegations of hacking

Rupert Murdoch is offended by allegations of hacking

July 6, 2011 Style and usage

Rupert Murdoch is in hot water. The British public is calling for blood after revelations that his tabloid, News of the World, used illegal and unethical means — hacking a missing teen’s cell phone and paying cops for information — to obtain material for stories.  Murdoch has responded by issuing a statement that purportedly condemns [...]

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Declaration of Independence: Beauty and brains

Declaration of Independence: Beauty and brains

July 5, 2011 Legalese

I hope you had a wonderful holiday and are experiencing a painless reentry. And why not take some writing inspiration from the document whose signing we just celebrated? The second sentence of the Declaration of Independence has been called “one of the best-known sentences in the English language.” (Stephen E. Lucas, Justifying America). That sounds [...]

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The mother of all fireworks shows

The mother of all fireworks shows

July 4, 2011 Punctuation

I spent the weekend in Margate. (For those unfamiliar, we’re talkin’ Jersey Shore, and also the home of my girlhood days.) This poster for Fourth of July fireworks was plastered all over town: I’m confused. Who are these Margate Mothers, and do they own the fireworks? Are they omnipotent and omniscient, as I have always suspected? [...]

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If the Oxford comma could speak...

If the Oxford comma could speak…

June 30, 2011 Punctuation

Surely it would be invoking the famous Mark Twain line right about now: The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. Twitter was aflutter this week with rumors that the Oxford comma, aka the serial comma, has been abandoned by the very institution that gave it its name: Oxford University Press. Here’s how the Economist’s [...]

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Jersey girls don't pump gas but they sure can hyphenate.

Jersey girls don’t pump gas but they sure can hyphenate.

June 23, 2011 Punctuation

On my way to the beach today, I stopped at the rest stop for a healthy treat Doritos for the kids. Imagine my delight upon seeing this perfectly punctuated t-shirt for sale: They even got the tricky totally cool right — no hyphen after words ending in -ly.  I didn’t buy it. But there’s always the ride [...]

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Every woman for herself: Supreme Court smacks down class action against Wal-Mart

Every woman for herself: Supreme Court smacks down class action against Wal-Mart

June 21, 2011 Grammar

Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled that the discrimination action brought by female WalMart employees from various states could not proceed as one overarching class action. From the NYTimes.com, here’s an explanation of the challenge the plaintiffs will face in proceeding outside the class action context: In the Wal-Mart case, there is abundant evidence that women [...]

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Happy Father's Day. Watch out for swinging fish.

Happy Father’s Day. Watch out for swinging fish.

June 18, 2011 Just funny

Thanks to the Cliffster for sharing this gem.

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A writing Rorschach test: where do you come out?

A writing Rorschach test: where do you come out?

June 17, 2011 Just wrong

Earlier this week, when the Weiner-fest was still in its final death spiral, I came across this sentence in AM New York (one of those mini-papers that people hand out in the city): As high-profile Democrats called for Rep. Anthony Weiner to resign with the release of even more scandalous photos Sunday, one top pol is [...]

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Obama joins the Weiner roast

Obama joins the Weiner roast

June 15, 2011 Pop culture

You probably heard that President Obama has gone on record suggesting that Anthony Weiner should resign. But you may not realize that in doing so, Obama inadvertently raised the possibility that it was Obama himself, not Weiner, who had tweeted inappropriate pictures of himself. Whaaaaat? Let me explain. As the Wall Street Journal reports, here’s [...]

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From the "only in DC" files.

From the “only in DC” files.

June 6, 2011 Only in...

I’m in DC for a nano-second to give a summer associate workshop. Walking down E street after my workshop ended, I saw a woman panhandling. The sign around her neck read: Please help. Unemployed whistleblower. All I can say is, only in DC. (I didn’t have the heart to ask her if I could take [...]

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