# Three Things

Three things:

1\. A state election was held today. The Bracks government was re-elected
with an increased majority, which is somewhat surprising given that
their election material is ungrammatical. Voters in Richmond got a
letter starting:

> Remember three years ago the opinion pollsters predicted Jeff Kennett
> and the Liberals were going to win a third term in power. Instead, I’m
> writing to you today as the Labor Premier of Victoria.

(Writing as Premier of Victoria instead of _what_? What might have
happened? Instead of Jeff Kennett and the Liberals winning a third term
in power? They’re not parallel forms! The last sentence should start
_Instead,_ Labor won*, and I’m writing to you …*. The first sentence
also needs a question mark—and it should probably start with _Remember
how …_.)

Voters in Prahran got:

> I’m writing to you because Saturday’s election is a very important
> choice for all Victorians. It’s about who you can rely on to deliver
> the services we all need.

(_Saturday’s election_ is not a choice. One gets to _make_ a choice, but
that’s not the same thing. _Whether or not to vote Labor_ would be a
choice. Or, the verb could be changed so that the election _represents_
a choice. There’s also some dodginess surrounding the antecedent of
_It_. _What_’s about who I can rely on? The election might be about who
_can be relied upon_ but it’s not about who _I can rely on_.)

Well, maybe it’s because the Liberals’ material isn’t much better. Their
Prahran letter starts:

> Most people agree that some governments only start to be active when
> they’re under pressure to do so. That’s what we’ve been seeing in
> Victoria since the election was called—a flurry of election-related
> activity.

(What’s the antecedent of _that_? What have we been seeing? That most
people agree? That governments only start to be active when they’re
under pressure?)

2\. [Norman](http://www.norm74.com/) got married in a fine wedding. I’m
not very interested in most markers of adulthood—marriage, homes and
babies, say—but I am interested in weddings. In particular, I’d like to
know if it’s at all possible for a secular wedding to be as rich in
symbolism and emotion as a religious wedding.

3\. (My grandmother and I were wondering about this.) When a woman
marries, she is (traditionally) known by her husband’s full name (_Mrs
C. Stillwell_). If she is widowed, she keeps this name. However, if she
is divorced, she gets her own given name back (_Mrs M. Stillwell_).