The Importance of Punctuation
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Thursday, 10.1.15 ON THE WEB: www.yankton.net views VIEWS PAGE: [email protected] PAGE 4 PRESS&DAKOTAN The Press Dakotan THE DAKOTAS’ OLDEST NEWSPAPER | FOUndED 1861 Yankton Media, Inc., 319 Walnut St., Yankton, SD 57078 CONTACT US OPINION OTHER VIEWS PHONE: (605) 665-7811 (800) 743-2968 NEWS FAX: The Arctic Isn’t (605) 665-1721 ADVERTISING FAX: (605) 665-0288 WEBSITE: Saved Just Yet www.yankton.net LOS ANGELES TIMES (Sept. 29): It’s tempting to think of the lat- ––––– est oil-drilling news as a victory: Royal Dutch Shell PLC announced SUBSCRIPTIONS/ that it was ending its barely begun operations in the Arctic seas off CIRCULATION Alaska because its first exploration showed disappointing stores Extension 104 of oil in an area that had been considered one of the most promis- [email protected] ing. The withdrawal from the Beaufort and Chukchi seas follows CLASSIFIED ADS similarly abandoned plans by Exxon and Chevron in other parts of Extension 116 the Arctic. [email protected] Certainly, Shell’s withdrawal is a victory — although perhaps a NEWS DEPT. temporary one — for the environment. Drilling in the seas off Alaska Extension 114 is particularly risky because of stormy waters and unpredictable Thomas E. Simmons [email protected] ice. The area is also home to important marine species, especially SPORTS DEPT. walrus, which could be endangered by spills, among other things. Extension 106 Because no one believed there was enough oil in the Arctic to [email protected] power the United States for more than four years, drilling opera- ADVERTISING DEPT. The Importance tions in the area were never worth the risk. Now, with an even more Extension 122 disappointing show of oil under the seafloor and oil prices crashing, [email protected] Shell decided that, at least for the foreseeable future, it was indeed BUSINESS OFFICE not worth the risk. Extension 119 But in terms of policy, the environment has not won. Shell’s [email protected] Of Punctuation decision was based in large part on the current price of oil, as was NEW MEDIA: Chevron’s. Exxon held off on its exploration plans in the Russian Extension 136 BY THOMAS E. SIMMONS Last year, a student at Yale Law School Arctic because of a political dispute between the United States and University of South Dakota wrote an article on the frequency with which [email protected] Russia — a consortium that included Exxon abandoned plans in COMPOSING DEPT. courts employ dictionaries to make decisions. the Canadian Arctic, saying it could not complete the necessary Last week, two events took place at or un- When a statute uses a word without supply- Extension 129 work before its lease would expire. But if any of a number of factors [email protected] der the auspices of the USD Law School. The ing a statutory definition, the word’s ordinary change — the price of oil rises, a somewhat more bountiful supply first was a celebration of Pierre lawyer Charlie meaning is presumed. What better place to * * * is found in the seas, political disagreements are resolved — oil Thompson; the second was the law students’ assess a word’s ordinary meaning than an MANAGERS companies will be flocking back. The environment wasn’t part of the celebration (or, perhaps more ac- ordinary dictionary? Gary L. Wood consideration here. curately, observation) of National In the United States Supreme Publisher To be sure, Shell officials took a swipe at federal regulators, Punctuation Day. Court’s decision titled Taniguchi v. calling the regulatory climate difficult and unpredictable after the I attended the dinner in Pierre Kan Pacific Saipan (2012), the jus- Michele Schievelbein Interior Department imposed added requirements for renewed honoring Charlie Thompson, an tices scanned several dictionaries for Advertising Director drilling. (The company had been forced to halt earlier efforts after excellent lawyer with many lawyer definitions of the word “interpreter.” Jim Gevens serious mishaps at sea.) That could well be, but it’s the govern- friends. One of the individuals with At issue was whether the Court Inter- Circulation Director ment’s job to protect the environment by whatever requirements whom I spoke was the son of another preters Act covered not only the cost are necessary, and most of the limits imposed on Shell had been superb South Dakota lawyer; I won’t of oral translation services, but also Tonya Schild name that lawyer, but his name is rec- the translation of print. Business Manager worked out with the company over the last several years. It’s true that late in the game, the Interior Department imposed additional ognizable. He is an estates attorney of The Court Interpreters Act was Tera Schmidt rules barring Shell from drilling two wells at the same time within whom his clients might say – as was Thomas E. passed by Congress in 1978, and so Classified Manager a short distance of each other, but that was to protect the area’s said of the great fictional attorney At- SIMMONS the court sought out dictionaries Kelly Hertz walrus population. ticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird”: which were published in 1978. The Editor In the end, Shell decided that for now, the costs were not worth “He can make somebody’s will so American Heritage Dictionary defined the benefits. But the oil company is talking about the economic airtight you can’t break it.” the term as “one who translates James D. Cimburek costs, while the bigger concern should be the environmental risks. Neither the attorney’s son nor his sibling orally from one language into another.” The Sports Editor This is an opportunity for the federal government, which never had gone on to become lawyers themselves. Oxford English Dictionary defined interpreter Beth Rye should have allowed the Shell project to go forward, to reevalu- Perhaps he could have been a lawyer, the as “one who translates languages.” Digital Media Director ate its policies in the still-pristine waters off Alaska. At this point, young man speculated, since he liked to argue. “Based on our survey of the relevant the nation’s energy efforts should be focused on cleaner sources The way in which the young man expressed dictionaries,” the majority concluded, “the Kathy Larson himself exhibited a sensitivity to language, a ordinary or common meaning of ‘interpreter’ Composing Manager that don’t contribute to global warming, thus protecting the Arctic from both drilling and from the already troubling effects of climate care with words, diction, and emphasis. does not include those who translate writings. change. “I disagree,” I told him. “I think you would Instead, we find that an interpreter is normally make a fine lawyer. Not because you have understood as one who translates orally from argumentative skills but because you are a one language to another.” * * * wordsmith. You think about using the right The importance of words and punctuation DAILY STAFF words.” is seldom lost on a skilled attorney. Humorists Reilly Biel If mathematics is the language of science, also rely on a sensitivity to language. Perhaps Cassandra Brockmoller IN HISTORY then language is the language of law. We struc- you’ve seen the T-shirts that proclaim: “Punc- Brandi Bue ture our society and our relationships with tuation saves lives” followed by two contrast- Rob Buckingham Caryn Chappelear By The Associated Press Ten years ago: Three suicide bomb- others with laws. The rule of law is composed ing examples: “Let’s eat, grandma!” And then: Today is Thursday, October 1, the ers struck three restaurants in Bali, Indo- in language and so ultimately it is language “Let’s eat grandma!” The comma — and its Randy Dockendorf 274th day of 2015. There are 91 days left nesia, killing 20 victims. U.S. millionaire Jeannine Economy in the year. scientist Gregory Olsen and an American- which structures our world in very important placement — makes a difference. Rachel Frederick Today’s Highlight in History: On Russian crew blasted off from Kazakhstan ways. Words and punctuation in statutes matter Jeremy Hoeck October 1, 1940, the first section of the on a journey to the international space According to the Internet, punctuation because that is how the law is written; not by Nicole Myers Pennsylvania Turnpike — described as station. once saved a man’s life. The Czar of Russia had arbitrary fiat or with gut reactions, but with Robert Nielsen America’s first superhighway — opened Five years ago: White House Chief Diana Smallwood to the public, stretching 160 miles from of Staff Rahm Emanuel, planning an ul- handed down a death sentence to an accused language. David Stephenson Carlisle to Irwin. timately successful Chicago mayoral run, man. To the man’s jailer, the Czar wrote: “Par- Cathy Sudbeck On this date: In 1890, Congress relinquished his post to Pete Rouse. CNN don Impossible. To be executed.” Thomas E. Simmons is an assistant professor passed the McKinley Tariff Act, which fired anchor Rick Sanchez a day after he JoAnn Wiebelhaus raised tariffs to a record level. called Jon Stewart a bigot during a radio The jailer sympathized with the condemned at the University of South Dakota School of Law Brenda Willcuts In 1908, Henry Ford introduced his interview in which he also questioned man and transposed the Czar’s writ by manipu- in Vermillion. Simmons’ views are his own and Alissa Woockman Model T automobile to the market. whether Jews should be considered a lating its punctuation: “Pardon. Impossible to not those of USD. In 1932, Babe Ruth of the New York minority. Georgy Arbatov, 87, a foreign be executed.” The man’s life was spared. Yankees made his supposed called shot, policy adviser to Soviet presidents and * * * hitting a home run against Chicago’s the Kremlin’s top America watcher, died Published Daily Charlie Root in the fifth inning of Game 3 in Moscow.