[general_re]

One of the problems with the proliferation of media is that way too much writing goes out without any editing.

Amen to that. One of the first things I realized, way back when, when I first got online, is how really bad most people are at writing. I still expect more from someone who is, at least in theory, a semi-professional writer. Obviously, even that might be too much to expect any more ;)

[Tax-chick]

Writers, and readers, sacrifice quality for speed, I think. We seem to use, "Well, you know what he meant to say!" as an excuse, as you mentioned above.

I sometimes get a little sloppy myself, when I'm just FReepin', but I spent several years editing nuclear weapons manuals for the Navy. The exact usage of words (and commas) DOES matter :-).

I don't think Thomas Sowell ever makes a mistake; he's from a generation that cared about correctness. Or maybe he just has a sharp editor!