Note, Jeremy, "US troops", "US Navy", "US elections", and "US border", all refer to the Federal Government of the United States, just as I stated before.

Likewise, this is true for the US Air Force, the US Army, the US Coast Guard, and the US Marine Corps. No state of the United States is allowed to have its own Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, or Marine Corps, because that is strictly forbidden by the Consitution.

If one is ever granted (by the Governor) a commission as something like Captain in the Alabama Navy or Colonel in the Kansas Army, it needs to be understood that those are strictly honorary things, and those commissions are worth exactly the same as it cost for the paper and ink to print them with.

To: Jeremy Wheeler
Once again, you go flying off on tangents. Where is the logic in that?
What is the point of it?

Now, I have to tell you what the New Zealanders were really writing about.
It took a good deal of effort to find out, but that boy landed in a PARKING LOT.
The correct term in North America, yes, because PARKING LOT is the name for the darned thing in the United States, and in Canada, and in the part of Mexico where lots of people speak English as their second language.

That PARKING LOT in New Zealand had a canvas covering suspended over part of it, and fortunately the boy crashed into (and through) that canvas, which saved his life. All of this happened near Wellington, but still the boy was hurt badly enough that he had to be put into a helicopter and flown to the large hospital in Auckland that is quipped to care for victims with serious injuries.

PARKING LOT, PARKING LOT, PARKING LOT. The editor in the United States could have clarified things for everyone here on this continent by simply putting this term into the article.
D.A.W.

Furthermore, when we say something like, "Let elephants trample them underneath their feet," you really need to understand that this is just a colorful metaphor for it. Don't go off on tangents by taking colorful metaphors literally.
That just insures that you do not capture their real meanings, and it makes you sound foolish, too.
DAW

The notion that elephants are terrified by mice (or by any other such small creatures) has been shown, long ago, to be pure MYTHOLOGY.

"Actually elephants are very careful not to do any such thing. They are terrified of mice, in case they trample on them."

Stay away from that kind of mythology...
Also, when you hear it or read it, doubt it deeply.
D.A.W.

Correction: replace "not" with "nor".

"goooofy says:
"The idea that we should consider how things work in other languages when we are talking about how English works sounds very much like the etymological fallacy to me."
D.A.W.replies, "complaints, complaints, complaints!" Naturally, you have never tried it, and not have you read about what linguists with Ph.D.s do.

Perfect Pedant, I agree completely:
The whole expression "In regards to ...", with or without the comma, REEKS of both laziness and wordiness. It REEKS !
D.A.W.

Not so! Words that are both nouns and adjectives are really quite uncommon.
Let's stamp them out.
You want to use England rather than English; France rather than French; Germany rather than German; Mexico rather than Mexican; Canada rather than Canadian; Japan rather than Japanese; China rather than Chinese; Russia rather than Russian.
As for those lazy dog writers who do this anyway, let's stamp them out like elephants.
We might not get all of them, but ---
"Man's reach must exceed his grasp, else what's a heaven for?"
quoted from Robert Browning.
D.A.W.

So, "English is full of exceptions."?
Well, let's endeavor to stamp out as many of them as we can, just like elephants do with their feet. We will never get all of the exceptions, but:

"Man's reach must exceed his grasp, else what's a heaven for?"
D..A.W.

Jaspar, et al, When it comes to our language, this certainly applies;

"Man's reach must exceed his grasp, else what's a heaven for?"
quoted from Robert Browning.

So many of you are definitely apologists for the concept of not trying very hard.
D.A.W.