Literacy Test

What's w/ Boston's public officials? Can they read? To us (a real American, w/ no accent at all) it's as if they think the word "saw" is spelled "sawr," for example, adding an "r" to the end, yet many of them seem unable to see/read/pronounce the "r" in "guard" (as in National Guard) or the final "r" in "year." What the hell? Someone teach them to read English & how it is pronounced, please.