Write as Rain

Your LakeCountyEye was surfing the Internets this week ...

Rein of Error

And trolled up some stories from the Daily Herald ...

• "We've got to reign in the spending that's going on in Washington," Dold said.
  Congressional hopeful Bob Dold tours Arlington Hts.
• "I am honored and humbled by Governor Edgar's endorsement," said Coulson. "We need to send a fiscal conservative to Congress with the policy knowledge and legislative experience to reign in runaway federal spending."
  Coulson lands Edgar nod
• "And 2010 will be an exceedingly hard year. Nonetheless it will be our commitment to reign expenditures in line so that we balance the budget."
  Aurora promises a balanced budget despite shortfall

SharpEyed Operatives may notice it is not clear whether the sources quoted by the Herald meant rein, reign or possibly rain. Of course answers can be obtained by anyone with the inclination to make the phonecalls -- and your LakeCountyEye brooks no peer when it comes to the pursuit of scientific research. With that in mind, your LakeCountyEye is pleased to issue a challenge to Operatives: How often, between now and the November election, can someone be grammatically misquoted by the Daily Herald and other local print media?

The rules of the challenge are simple. Make a statement to a newspaper, one that is grammatically incorrect when committed to the printed page. This is not to be confused with being out-and-out misquoted in print -- an ability which requires no special effort or skill. You are being challenged to make a statement that will be grammatically misrepresented in print. Some suggested statements ...

• "We need to rein in out-of-control government spending."
• "We cannot give free rein to out-of-control government spending."
• "We have to tighten the reins on out-of-control government spending."
• "We must end the reign of out-of-control government spending."
• "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the out-of-control government spending."

Simply make your statement to a reporter. Then wait and see what gets printed. Nothing else is required of you, other than make sure they spell your name correctly. Please do not contact your LakeCountyEye on how to get quoted in print. If you do not know, you are automatically not eligible to enter the contest. Only LakeCountyEye Operatives with the necessary media savvy or political clout need apply -- which by definition encompasses all LakeCountyEye Operatives.

Please do not to submit your entries here. Your LakeCountyEye will be monitoring the print media for your statements. Eligible print outlets include, but are not limited to: the Tribune, the Sun-Times, the News-Sun, the Daily Herald, the NorthWest Herald, the Lake County Journal. Your LakeCountyEye will not be monitoring blogs. The only time a blogger pays any attention to their grammar is when they pay her a visit to pick up their birthday check.

Only orally made statements are eligible for consideration. Statements submitted to the media electronically or on paper defeat the purpose of the challenge. In addition, you may be contacted in instances where it appears you were accurately quoted. The use of profanity is not encouraged by your LakeCountyEye. However, any cuss words that do appear in print are to be given honorable mention. All judges's decisions are final.

The LakeCountyEye 2010 Election Challenge will remain open through the period of this year's general election. The following LakeCountyEye Honors will be awarded based on scores tallied, as of midnight Nov 3:

LakeCountyEye 2010 Election Challenge
Misquotes		Honor
	1	Rein Man
	2	Reign Maker
	3 or More	Raining Monarch

Act now -- there is no time too loose when government spending is out-of-control!