15 Comments

This boomer was a progressive back in the 60’s and has only moved left over the years. I am embarrassed by many in my age group

Expand full comment

Ditto

Expand full comment

Thank you for gaming this out. I’m a 69 year old boomer and lifelong Democrat. We have much to atone for, that’s for sure. The energy is here and I believe Americans are not going to abandon our country.

Expand full comment

Justin this is one of the best closing arguments I have read to date. I am in agreement with all that you have detailed and laid out. The end of the Republican Party has been and continues to be a central goal in my life. It is time to crush conservative oppression out of existence.

Expand full comment

Boomer here too, who’s voted Dem even when registered as a Nonpartisan in my youth. I may not live to see a President Buttigieg, but I can shuffle off knowing my kids will always vote for the good of all.

Expand full comment

I love this piece. Thank you for giving me optimism on an extremely nerve wracking day!

Expand full comment

Loved this article! Just what I needed to read today. I love thinking about these long-term ramifications.

Expand full comment

I truly - from the bottom of my heart - hope you're correct! But people still have to GET OUT AND VOTE! It won't happen if this doesn't happen!

Expand full comment

That's an excellent post. Yes, we will have to wait until 2028 before a stake is driven into the heart of the cancer.

Now, if you'll permit me to be a noodge: "Harris' history" and "Harris' second term" should be "Harris's history" and "Harris's second term." To see more on what I've said about this, go look for my Medium essay titled "Kamala Harris and the Apostrophe S."

Expand full comment

My favorite line from that AP article: “The rule is simple: If you say the S, spell the S." Exactly.

If you happen to have a copy of Benjamin Dreyer's excellent book, "Dreyer's English," take a look at what he has to say on the subject (pages 36–39). (Dreyer, now retired, was the copy chief at Random House for many years.)

Oh, and keep this in mind: An editor at the AP got back to me to say that she agreed with me but that she's in no position to change the AP's "style" on this matter. *sigh*

[minutes later]

This email just arrived from ScreenRant: "10 Years of John Wick: A Deep Dive Into The Past and Future of Keanu Reeves' Iconic Assassin."

No, ScreenRant! That should be "Keanu Reeves's Iconic Assassin"! *groan*

What a world.

Expand full comment

That's interesting. I think I'm right in saying, in UK English either are acceptable. Are US grammar rules more specific on this?

Expand full comment

It's an odd tic. Some publications do it, others do not. There is no "style" in dropping the s. The world should think this through: There's a rule for how the singular possessive case should be handled. This rule is intended for all 26 letters. Why exempt one letter from the rule simply because of sibilance or for how it looks? It's madness.

Assuming The Banter folks don't mind, here's a free link to my piece. I believe my "-izz" argument is solid and irrefutable. Here you go (I wrote this four years ago; I updated it recently): https://medium.com/swlh/kamala-harris-and-the-apostrophe-s-ac65564bda1?sk=1d8843e06a45fe0049a408bb690ebc17

Expand full comment

Fabulous column! Love every word…just have to ask, since I’m a boomer and lived through everything from JFK’s murder to now, what happened to us? Why did we abandon our planet, our ideals? How did hate and greed take over? We were the flower children, right?

Expand full comment

I LOVE your take!

Expand full comment