Grammar Police Have No Authority

Speaking of misplaced apostrophes, check out the latest piece of John McCain memorabilia from an independent online retailer GOPTrunk.com. If you look real close, it reads, "Student's For McCain." Apostrophes do not just denote possession or contractions anymore; they are slowly taking over plural nouns as well.

Here's the link: http://www.goptrunk.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=PNR2879&Redirected=Y

I found this article on msnbc.com about two grammar "vigilantes" (yes, the writer actually compared them to gun-toting civillians) who removed an apostrophe and inserted a comma in a seventy-year-old sign at the Desert View Watchtower in Grand Canyon National Park. If anyone knows what the sign originally said and what the corrections were, please let us know.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26351328/

This just further proves one of the unwritten rules of grammar: the older it is, the more correct, or should we say "acceptable," it is.

**UPDATE** Thanks to Joe in Albuquerque for the link to a picture of the sign courtesy of the The Daily Telegraph online (see above). No word yet on what exactly was changed.

Link to the picture: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2615741/Grammar-vandals-fined-for-altering-historic-sign.html