For Want of a Comma, Etc.

I get a Monday through Friday (free) post called NowIKnow.com.  The posts are almost always interesting, and they're about things you didn't know.  (But Now, You Do!)  Today's post was about a case from Maine, where there had been a state law requiring payment of time and a half for overtime, except in some employment situations.  Those situations were listed, and one exception was "packing for shipping or distribution" of various things, including perishables.  One group of employees who were excluded from the required time and a half compensation for overtime were truckers who delivered milk.  They were distributing perishables, so their employer didn't pay them the time and a half for overtime.  But they argued, eventually successfully, that there was no comma separating "packing for shipping" and "distribution," so since they were distributing, but not packing, then their work, and their overtime, should not have been excepted.  It's a very fine point, of course, and it would take lawyers who wanted a large piece of the $10M for which the drivers filed suit to take a case like this, but they did agree to a $5M settlement.  After that, a little more punctuation was added to the law, so people like those drivers would in fact be exempted from the overtime extra pay.  So, why am I telling you this seemingly completely irrelevant story?  Because I just watched and listened to a taping of Ron DeSantis' victory lap, to which FoxNews added commentary.

DeSantis patted himself on the back, of course, and he and the FoxNews people concluded that he had such an overwhelming victory because of things like low taxes in Florida, and the dominance of "science" over "superstition," and the freedom to teach openly in the schools, and other dribble.  Remember that missing comma?

What DeSantis carefully didn't mention was the real cost to real people, and education, and the environment, of underfunding the state.  He was standing on a stage, and confetti was flowing while he crowed, so no one could ask him what he considered science, and what he considered "superstition," and how he decided which was which.  As best I know, DeSantis is not a medical doctor, so when, during a worldwide pandemic, he declares masks silly and unnecessary, it's unclear how he draws this conclusion.  (And let's not forget that when he was pressed to reveal whether or not he was vaccinated, he dodged the question.  And if he did get vaccinated, does that mean he pumps out his chest whining about "superstition," but he doesn't really believe one bit that it's superstition?  Do we add that to the list of Ron DeSantis' dishonesties?)  No one could ask him which things teachers might teach that he would consider wrong indoctrination, and how "Don't Say Gay" is in any way related to teaching openly in the schools.  (Telling schools what they can't talk about is exactly the opposite of teaching openly in the schools, right?)  He has already declared it unacceptable to teach "Critical Race Theory" in the schools, even though CRT is not taught at any level below law school.  And even if he meant law school, who is he to determine acceptable law school curriculum?

Once you get glib about carelessness with things like punctuation, or anything to do with logic, you can say any dumb thing you want.  And if the voters are also dumb enough, they'll believe you, and even be swept off their feet.  Of note, the Maine milk delivery drivers lost their case at first, but they won on appeal.  When the dairies made their case to someone who thought more carefully about it, they didn't have as much success.