Pompeo Cracks down on Improper Use of Commas at the State Department: CNN (yes,this is real)

[Stuart G]

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/19/politics/pompeo-commas-state-department/index.html

This is about the current Secretary of State ..Mike Pompeo
By Michelle Kosinski and Jennifer Hansler, CNN
Updated 2:25 PM ET, Wed September 19, 2018
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Iran, North Korea, Syria and ... commas. While Mike Pompeo is focused on a number of key geopolitical concerns, an email obtained by CNN suggests that the secretary of state also appears to have had it, up to, here, with, the rampant, improper use of commas by State Department staff.

In the last few months, two emails have gone out from Pompeo's top staff to employees throughout the State Department giving careful, meticulous instructions on comma usage.

The latest email, sent in early September and obtained by CNN, gives "updated guidance ... regarding correct use of commas in paper for Department principals."

"The Secretary has underscored the need for appropriate use of commas in his paper (both their inclusion and omission)," the email declares. It also notes that Pompeo prefers adherence to the Chicago Manual of Style, which states "effective use of the comma involves good judgment, with the goal being ease of reading."

The email includes a long string of examples, including many from the Chicago Manual of Style, outlining when a comma should be added and when it should be excluded, and providing detailed explanations for both -- along with color-coded highlighting.
(rest is at link)
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comment: Well, I have watched politics for many years. I cannot recall a grammar enthusiast in charge of any department...Not only grammar, but particular class of grammar: commas. ...When you think you have seen it all, there is always more. (I forgot the period but this has been corrected..) see below

[PJMcK]

1. Your last sentence needs a period

(wink)

[Stuart G]

5. Well, well, and well..that has been corrected. oh my!..say it ain't so, Shoeless Joe.....

[WhiteTara]

10. Well, Well, Well?

Three holes in the ground.

[underpants]

2. Dumb, ass

[C_U_L8R]

3. Apparently, he has nothing better to do

[politicaljunkie41910]

16. I'm sure some here on DU are of the belief that you can't have too many commas.

Signed by those of us who have heard from the DU Comma Police.

[dumbcat]

4. I wonder what is his stance on the

Oxford comma?

[Stuart G]

6. Very hard to know...but there is indeed, more than one grammar expert around.

I guess they are specialists. Some are into commas, and some more are interested in periods. (.) You never really know what you will learn right here at Democratic Underground.

[qazplm135]

7. Comma, comma, comma, comma, chameleon...

They come and gooooooo, they come and goooo-oo-oo-ooo.

[CatMor]

8. Did he by any chance send the email to trump

[lapfog_1]

9. It has long been rumored that the State Department is a hotbed of comma-uism.

Bracketed by the facts, department members brace themselves for an onslaught of parenthetical rules on proper punctuation, period. But they question the outcome of such exclamations by the Secretary.

[ProudLib72]

13. And yet prolixity abounds

As do tautologies and pleonasms.

[DavidDvorkin]

15. I have here, in my hands, a list of 50 comma-unists.

[unc70]

11. Article implies he is pro Oxford comma

[SharonClark]

12. This is the only positive thing Pompeo has done.

[smirkymonkey]

14. I'm glad he's keeping his laser-like focus on what's really important.

[Sneederbunk]

17. Didn't Joe McCarthy say there were too many commas in the State Department?

[Marthe48]

21. Have you no sense of decency, sir?

good one, Sneederbunk

[Takket]

18. w,t,f,?

[Blue_playwright]

19. As a writer, I find I appreciate this...

... May very well be the only thing he ever does that I agree with on principle.

[Marthe48]

20. "You are a horse's ass,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"

Said America

(Thank you H.Allen Smith for another perfect quote)

[mahatmakanejeeves]

22. I don't have a problem with this.

I work at {some other place}. When we got a new boss, she let people know what sort of punctuation and grammar style she expected.

I have two editions of the Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual and, even better, a copy of The Little, Brown Handbook from 1980 in my cubicle. I can call up the GPO Style Manual online.

Every agency and department wants its paperwork to show consistency.

[Revanchist]

23. Screw Chicago, I'm an APA man

Oxford (serial) commas for life!

[edhopper]

24. I wonder, at times when I am reading these posts,

that strict grammarians, though I am sure they have many positive characteristics as well, often overlook the substance of what is written and concentrate too much on the style.

As Emerson said, foolish consistency...and all that.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

25. Obvious errors in grammar, and spelling, can divert attention from the author's purpose.

If I don't notice any error, the comprehension is improved.

Maybe thats just me.



Apostrophe hawks should be circling ...

[redstatebluegirl]

26. We have got to look into his businesses and how they are making money off us.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

27. So

we have an actual "Grammar Nazi" in the WH?

[struggle4progress]

28. comma into los angeles, bringin inna coupla keys

[fantase56]

29. Grammar lesson for the day.....

Let's eat grandma.
Let's eat, grandma.
........
Commas save lives!