Letter to the Editor of Time Magazine

I just wrote a letter to the Editor of Time Magazine. This is my favorite publication of all time on the planet. They almost never let a typo slip through or make grammatical errors of any sort. It's one of the things I like best about the magazine. Well, in a recent issue the let TWO of the same error make it into print. I know I'm being very knit-picky, but I want them to continue to maintain the adherence to pristine English.

Here is the text of the letter:

Dear Time:

I have been a subscriber to Time Magazine for 34 years. That’s pretty scary, but true. Over a dozen addresses in five states, Time has been a constant in my entire adult life.

One of the things I admire most about the publication is dedication to upholding the integrity of the English language. You adhere to the finest standards of spelling, grammar and style, which always makes the publication a pleasure to read. I can count on one hand the number of typos or errors I have encountered in more than three decades of reading the magazine.

So you can imagine my disappointment when I found two glaring errors in the otherwise outstanding article on The Strange Case of Haji Bashar Noorzai in the February 19^th issue. On page 29 in the first paragraph of the story, Mr. Powell writes, “…who is a well-known ally of Osama bin Laden’s, says he had been invited…”

An ally of Osama bin Laden’s what?

This double possessive is grammatically incorrect and the type of error one would expect to see in a middle-school writing class. Then, on page 32, Mr. Powell does it again. “…and a second cousin of President Hamid Karzai’s.”

Even if the author of this excellent piece doesn’t know better, I’m surprised his contributors, an editor or a proofreader allowed this to remain in the final draft. Please don’t distract me from the important information and opinions conveyed in the pages of Time with any more grammatical gaffs of this nature!

Thank you for 34 years of excellent reading!

I don't know if I'll receive a reply, but if I do, you will be able to read it here.