“Look at Jewish history. Unrelieved lamenting would be intolerable. So for every ten Jews beating their breasts, God designated one to be crazy and amuse the breast-beaters. By the time I was five I knew I was that one.” ― Mel Brooks
Nothing whips grammar purists into a frothing frenzy more than supposed errors in the use of “less” and “fewer.” The rule is pretty simple: use “less” with non-count nouns: less sugar; use “fewer: with count nouns: fewer cups of sugar. But little complications crop up. One can have many countable problems—who doesn’t?—but suppose one of … More Less/Fewer
So would you say that, during your lifetime, humanity has progressed in the construction of a somewhat more just society? “There have been enormous changes. Just look here at MIT. Take a walk down the hall and take a look at the nature of the student body: it’s about half women, a third minorities, informally … More Quote of the Day
“There can be no moral equivalence between the violence of a powerful occupier and the violence of its powerless victim.”–Henry Siegman http://www.thenation.com/article/violence-moral-equivalence-and-the-end-of-a-two-state-solution-in-israel-palestine/
“Few are guilty, but all are responsible.” ― Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Prophets
Political extremists of all stripes are prone to conspiracy theories, witness the so-called 9/11 Truthers. The 9/11 Truthers are left-wing and right-wing activists—I am tempted to say lunatics– who believe, with precious little evidence, that the attacks of 9/11 were an inside job. They see any attempt to point out the lack of credible evidence … More My Conspiracy Theory
“Israel has, in effect, knowingly moved further toward a full-fledged apartheid system. Those who don’t like the word can suggest another one for what I see each week in the territories and more and more inside the Green Line.”—David Shulman “Israel: The Stark Truth” http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2015/mar/21/israel-elections-ugly-truth/
CORELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS Choose the correct sentence: a. Martha was studying either philosophy or welding. Martha was either studying philosophy, or she was studying welding. a. We have neither the money nor the desire to own a giraffe. We have neither the money, nor do we have the desire to own a giraffe. a. Good grammar … More What Conjunctions Can Join
“Hanlon’s Razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” ― Steven Pinker, The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
No Harm Spilt 