then-than less-fewer I-me

OK, OK! I have to post this once again! It is driving me crazy!

I wondered if it wasn’t a really bad Cleveland Accent [1], but apparently this is not a regional issue.  Let's learn the difference between "then" and "than".

Here's the entry from Wikihow on then and than [2]. Why am I roused about this? Here you go...

[missing cartoon which uses then where they meant than]

This is from The New Yorker! Oh my God! I thought they had fact checkers and grammar checkers at that magazine! Jesus! Is no place safe from lack of enforcement of the rules of usage? We know the president can't speak English (which is why we are so surprised that he gets behind the "English is the language in the US" border wars business), but GOOD GOD, The New Yorker!?!

While we're at it can we learn the difference between less and fewer? Here's the lesson [3] on less and fewer.

We have strayed from the language far too often in my humble opinion. Maybe I am too formal, but it is jarring to hear, "there's times when..." Ahem! "There are times [3] when..."

These examples are not colloquial [4], nor are they (apparently) region-speak or dialect [5]. These are just the rules of grammar. Let's think about them.

Please, oh, please correct me when necessary. Fix my typos please and please let me know what you know about the language.

Don't get me started in the me and I confusion [6]... Oy!