This cracked me up today. It came from an article on the Washington State Bar Association website about grammar pet peeves:
Comma errors: The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar (do a Web search for these folks and start reading them regularly) recently noted a startling example of what a difference a comma can make: “The state Board of Elections decided today to adopt a ban on clothing, including buttons and hats that directly endorse a candidate or issue.” Without a comma after “hats,” the Board is not banning the wearing of things that promote political causes but is banning apparel altogether.
Here’s the link to the whole article.
I turned on the TV intending to switch to one of the classical music channels, but Dirty Dancing is on and I got sidetracked. What a great movie. I believe every minute of it.
Jessica
Oooh, I’ll check that out. It sounds like my kind of association.
Also, it should be endorses, shouldn’t it? “…a ban on clothing, including buttons and hats, that directly endorses a candidate or issue.” Because if you took out “including buttons and hats,” it would then read “…a ban on clothing that directly endorses a candidate or issue.”
Zannah
I think you’re right. Clothing is a collective term, like group. I treat it that way, anyway.