If “The Smith’s” is supposed to be an abbreviated form of the “The Smiths live here,“ the apostrophe would be unnecessary and incorrect. If the complete message is intended to be, “This is the Smiths’ home,“ then the family name should be in the plural form, followed by the apostrophe. I can think of only a couple of instances where “The Smith’s” would be grammatically correct. The first is when the lone inhabitant of the dwelling is someone named “The Smith,“ and we seldom see any of those. The second is when the occupant is a person whose first name is “Smith” and who is trying to equate himself with “The Donald” Trump—and, unfortunately, we don’t see many of these, either.John B. Browning. Charlottesville.

If there is anything more dispiriting than the monomania of terrorists bent on the destruction of Israel, it is the perspective of those in the West who behave as though some moral equivalence existed between the two sides.

When you cross the border into Maryland on Route 15, a sign welcomes you to the state and informs you that a guy by the name of Gov. Martin O’Malley runs the place. It seems like a bit of a waste, doesn’t it? The people who live in Maryland already know; if they don’t know, then they don’t care; and the people who don’t live in Maryland probably don’t care, either.

Terry McAuliffe’s remarks at the annual AP Day for state-capital reporters seemed to suggest that a lack of experience in state government might be a qualification for leading state government.