[21twelve]

“...the women of the Senate, Senators Dianne Feinstein and Lindsey Graham.”

I just learned about that very special comma on Free Republic that should ALWAYS go before the word “and” in a list like this. It is called the Oxford comma.

“...the women of the Senate, Senators Dianne Feinstein, and Lindsey Graham.”

Although one never knows with Ginsburg - maybe she had just awoke from a nap and was still a bit out of it. Of course then she would have needed to add the title Senator Lindsey Graham. Perhaps a period after “..the women of the Senate” and then wait for applause?

[Clutch Martin]

In APA style the comma is used before the and. I’m not sure about MLA, or the old journalistic style called Chicago Tribune. The only writing guides I’ve kept over the years are my original Habrace along with my ABA.

I will say this... autocorrect, poor eyesight, fat fingers, and an android screws up just about everything I write on this device. Not having an edit feature is also a contributing factor. Having said that... If I was home I could open up a word document, craft a response, proof read it, have associates chop on it and submit it through the proper channels.

Additionally I should also cite that over the last 20+ years my writing has been greatly (if not negatively) influenced by the vernacular stylistic approaches employed by the likes of Hemingway, Twain, Grizzard, Zora Hurston (at el), and texting. ;)

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

[Mr. Douglas]

“...the women of the Senate, Senators Dianne Feinstein, and Lindsey Graham.”

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That is an incorrect interpretation of what was said. The word before “dianne” is plural. If it was singular, your meaning would be correct and the oxford comma would not be necessary. But plural means the word “senators” IS referring to Feinstein and Graham. Now, if after Graham, she said, “and my therapist”, with no comma, then she would be talking about three “groups”,
1. The women of the senate
2. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Lindsey Graham
3. My therapist.

Frankly, that is probably what she was doing, since Linda and Diane are only a subset of the “women of the senate”. :)