Elmo has been Axed

[Moksha]

Despite rumors that Elmo has been given the priesthood, Trump is canceling PBS. Why buy those British murder mysteries when they could show the Mar-a-Lago golf tournament and highlight the winner?

[Some Schmo]

Trump doesn't value public education, because heaven forbid kids know more than he does.

Sesame Street, with its emphasis on education, sharing and humanity is antithetical to MAGA.

[Gunnar]

Trump doesn't value public education, because heaven forbid kids know more than he does.

Sesame Street, with its emphasis on education, sharing and humanity is antithetical to MAGA.

I honestly don't see how any intelligent, fair-minded and at least moderately well-informed person can any longer avoid coming to the conclusion that Trump is deliberately trying to dumb down the American populace so he can more easily delude us in order to further enrich and empower himself. He really doesn't even try to hide that fact. If anything, he seems to boast of it, as if it is a genius strategy. PBS is unexcelled in providing honest, well-informed commentary on almost anything they cover, especially on scientific reality. My favorite programs are their Nova and Nature series. If Trump succeeds in cancelling PBS, we will all have lost a precious treasure!

[Moksha]

I absolutely love the British murder mysteries on PBS Sunday nights.

I hate seeing Trump destroy so much goodness.

[Dr. Shades]

PBS is unexcelled in providing honest, well-informed commentary on almost anything they cover, especially on scientific reality.

??? I thought PBS does excel in all those things.

[Physics Guy]

“Excel” can be intransitive, meaning to do well, but it can also be transitive. To excel someone is to do better than they do. If you are unexcelled at something, no-one does it better than you.

[Gunnar]

“Excel” can be intransitive, meaning to do well, but it can also be transitive. To excel someone is to do better than they do. If you are unexcelled at something, no-one does it better than you.

Right! I am surprised that Shades, of all people, could have been confused about that.

[Gunnar]

PBS is unexcelled in providing honest, well-informed commentary on almost anything they cover, especially on scientific reality.

??? I thought PBS does excel in all those things.

That's essentially what I just said! How could you have misinterpreted what I said to mean the opposite of that? Was it because I used the word "in" instead of "at", which is probably the better word I should have used?

[Dr. Shades]

“Excel” can be intransitive, meaning to do well, but it can also be transitive. To excel someone is to do better than they do. If you are unexcelled at something, no-one does it better than you.

Well I'll be damned; I didn't know it could be a transitive verb.

That's essentially what I just said! How could you have misinterpreted what I said to mean the opposite of that? Was it because I used the word "in" instead of "at", which is probably the better word I should have used?

Because up until now I didn't know that "excel" could be a transitive verb.

[Gunnar]

“Excel” can be intransitive, meaning to do well, but it can also be transitive. To excel someone is to do better than they do. If you are unexcelled at something, no-one does it better than you.

Well I'll be damned; I didn't know it could be a transitive verb.

That's essentially what I just said! How could you have misinterpreted what I said to mean the opposite of that? Was it because I used the word "in" instead of "at", which is probably the better word I should have used?

Because up until now I didn't know that "excel" could be a transitive verb.

I have always admired your grammatical acumen, that's why I was surprised by how you misread my remark. I have found over the time I have known you, that you are one of the least likely among us to make grammatical errors. If anything, I have more often needed grammatical correction by you than the other way around. I also admire how you tend to readily and humbly accept correction, without rancor, on the rare occasions when you are demonstrably mistaken grammatically or on word definitions. And I can't remember you ever misspelling a word, other than an obviously inadvertent typo, which can happen to any of us.