It seems that one David Brown is running for the mayor of Solvang, a small town in Central California.

I took this photo of one of his campaign signs today, as I noticed that it contains a grammatical error that I intend to call to his attention shortly.

“Traditional values” is a plural subject and thus requires the plural verb, “meet” rather than “meets.”  What he has here is equivalent to saying, “The boys meets the girls.”

Now, Solvang isn’t Palo Alto, home to Stanford, nor is it Cambridge, Massachusetts, but there are plenty of people around here who grew up learning standard English.  They deserve better than being forced to drive by this.

Oops.  I just began the process of contacting Mr. Brown via his website.  He’s a local mortgage broker, dad, and sports coach–all those good things that make him qualified for local politics.

The headline on his site reads:  We Put Our Client’s Needs First.  Presumedly, he has more than one client, thus this should be “clients’.”

Given all this, does it really seem like a good idea to correct his grammar?  He actually seems like a nice and fairly successful guy.  God speed.

Again, this isn’t New York City.

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A reader comments:   Unless Taylor Swift is paying for your gas and groceries, you shouldn’t care who(m) she endorses. Nor should you care who(m) any celebrity endorses. They are not keeping my lights on, my kids safe or my family fed.  No one cares who(m) you endorse. You live in fantasy land. Your job is to entertain me. Stay in your lane.
We’ve all heard this argument, though ironically, it usually comes from free speech advocates, who generally are loath to tell anyone what they can and cannot say.
I’m a progressive, but I’m OK with celebrities who support Donald Trump expressing their political viewpoints.  If you’re Kid Rock, Kayne West, or Elon Musk, go for it.
I remain impressed with Voltaire’s statement (attribution disputed), “I may disagree with what you say, though I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
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One might think that all Americans, even the most profoundly uneducated part of Trump’s base, would have some level of respect for the opinions of our country’s top admirals and generals.

Yet that doesn’t seem to be the case.  I know plenty of people who served, and many of them all Trumpers.

If it weren’t an obnoxious question, I’d love to ask why they’re not swayed by the viewpoints of the people at the very top of the armed forces.

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In this short video, Liz Cheney explains why, for the first time in her life, she’s voting for a Democrat.

Hint: It’s not that she favors universal healthcare or better pay for our teachers.

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In November, tens of millions of people will go to the polls and vote for Trump, and plenty of them will agree with Stephen King in that the former president is a “genuinely nasty man.”

The most pathetic part of this is that these voters think that Trump, in all his nastiness, is exactly what this country needs.  Sure, he’s a pathological liar, a conman, and a career criminal, but he’s “making American great again.”

We live among them.

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A meme for people who neither have nor desire an understanding of this subject.

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As shown at left, a reader wants my input on the word “cringy.”

Elements of language like these are constantly changing. I’ve never hear of “cringy,” but it wouldn’t upset me to hear my young daughter use it.  Even “cringworthy” itself is only a decade or so old.

I just hope she doesn’t say, “I should have went….”

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Question:  Primatologist Jane Goodall asserts three reasons for her optimism about the ultimate disposition of our planet’s health.  One is shown at left, i.e., all we need to do is stop poisoning and otherwise harming our Earth, and it will repair itself.

What are the other two?

Answer: Can be found at Clean Energy Answers.

 

 

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From the Story of Stuff:
If you’ve followed our work, you know how we feel about Coca-Cola‘s sustainability claims (if you don’t, watch our video “EXPOSED: The Truth Behind Coca-Cola’s Advertising,” which we linked in our bio.)
And it’s not just us. The Coca-Cola Company is now facing a lawsuit challenging its sustainability claims. The suit alleges that Coca-Cola’s advertising misled consumers by portraying the company as environmentally friendly while continuing to be one of the largest plastic polluters globally. This legal battle highlights the much-needed growing scrutiny of corporate #Greenwashing and the need for genuine accountability.
Let’s not believe the greenwashing. Keep pushing for companies to commit to real change.
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Unfortunately, the fact that Trump is insane is not costing him the support of his base.

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