As Election Day Looms

Thoughts on punctuation, dogs, car-shopping, and undecided voters

First off, about that apostrophe:

So, Joe Biden’s spinmeisters are arguing that the placement of an apostrophe in the transcribed version of Biden’s “garbage” remark changes the meaning. And it does. Punctuation, like spelling, grammar and syntax, can significantly alter the meaning of a sentence. There’s a difference between “I can’t just go” and “I just can’t go.” There’s a difference between “My dog Buick” and “My dog, Buick.”

[Note: With all due respect to the five other dogs with which I’ve been blessed (including my current dog, Kojak), my dog Buick was the best dog I’ve ever had. He’s the only dog I raised from a wee pup; I got him when he was 12 weeks old.]

Did Biden say, of Trump, "The only garbage I see floating out there, is his supporters,” or did he say, “The only garbage I see floating out there, is his supporter’s,” referring to a remark by so-called comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally. Was Biden condemning all of Trump’s supporters or just that one? And who’s to say whether that comma was called for?

Suddenly we’re concerned about the proper placement of apostrophes, something I learned in Fifth Grade (if not earlier), but which is apparently no longer being taught and about which too many Americans no longer have a clue. Gratuitous apostrophes are a particular peeve of mine; how many quasi-literates seem to believe that apostrophes have something to do with pluralization? Only in rare cases is an apostrophe needed to pluralize, but how many times have we seen the Clintons or the Obamas referred to as “the Clinton’s” or “the Obama’s”? Or even “It’s like comparing apple’s and orange’s!”

Anyway, arguing over where the apostrophe belongs (if at all) in Biden’s “garbage” remark reminds me of Bill Clinton arguing before a grand jury over what the meaning of “is” is.

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The transmission is starting to fail on the van I drive to work (Yes, at 76, having not planned very well for my “golden years,” I still have a job to which I must commute 3 days a week), so I’ve been shopping for a replacement vehicle.

How cynical have I become? To help separate truth from lies when dealing with folks offering used vehicles for sale, I’m thinking of asking them who they’re voting for. If they say “Harris,” I’ll say, “Well, forget it, then, because I know that you’re an idiot and that I can’t believe a single word you say.”

[The visuals below are from Andrea Widburg’s Bookworm Room.]

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If you are still struggling with who to vote for, WTF is wrong with you? And if you disagree with the premise expressed above, especially if you are Jewish, then kindly tell me just WTF about the Biden/Harris or the Harris/Walz regime has been, is, or will be “good for the Jews.”

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Vermont’s Sen. Bernie Sanders announced the other day that a victory for Kamala Harris would bring about a drastic change in U.S. policy toward Israel. Sanders supports limits to America supplying weapons to Israel, a cease-fire, humanitarian aid for Gaza and the rebuilding of its infrastructure.

The Left uses the very same rhetoric against Israeli PM Netanyahu that it uses against Trump. And Bernie Sanders is almost as Left as can be; the only one with a more Leftist voting record than Sanders is — Wait for it! — Kamala Harris!

Sanders has repeatedly characterized Netanyahu and his administration as “extremist right-wing,” just as he has characterized Donald Trump, and warns that another Trump presidency could deepen alliances between the two, to the detriment of causes like “climate change” and women’s rights (as well as to the poor, oppressed “Palestinians”) The irony of the contrast in women’s rights between Israel and its avowed enemies is lost on Sanders and his ilk.

Even if you leave the future of U.S. - Israel relations out of the equation, here’s the bottom line for those who are still unsure of how to cast their votes (although I doubt it will resonate with those who have already “drunk the Kool-aid”):

ST