The Smithian

May 12th, 2013

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[Martin] O’Malley, who is fifty and handsome in a Kennedy sort of way, has made a career out of all the politician stuff, chomping his way up the political food chain like a man hungry for more than a deli sandwich. After serving as a Baltimore city councilman in the 1990s, he was elected mayor of Baltimore in 1999 and then governor of Maryland seven years later, where he’ll remain until 2015. Because of term limits, he can’t run again. Every pundit in America has predicted he’s going to run for president in 2016, and O’Malley has done everything he can to encourage that speculation, short of outright admitting it’s true.

more.

[Martin] O’Malley, who is fifty and handsome in a Kennedy sort of way, has made a career out of all the politician stuff, chomping his way up the political food chain like a man hungry for more than a deli sandwich. After serving as a Baltimore city councilman in the 1990s, he was elected mayor of Baltimore in 1999 and then governor of Maryland seven years later, where he’ll remain until 2015. Because of term limits, he can’t run again. Every pundit in America has predicted he’s going to run for president in 2016, and O’Malley has done everything he can to encourage that speculation, short of outright admitting it’s true.

more.

May 7th, 2013

thesmithian

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“Our climate is changing, the weather is becoming more intense…It’s going to cost a lot of money and a lot of lives…The big issue (is) how do we adapt…because it doesn’t look like the people who are in charge are going to do what it takes to really slow down this climate change, so we are going to have to adapt. And adapting is going to be very, very expensive.”

— California Governor Jerry Brown

…in an airplane hangar filled with trucks, airplanes and helicopters used by the state to fight fires.

“Our climate is changing, the weather is becoming more intense…It’s going to cost a lot of money and a lot of lives…The big issue (is) how do we adapt…because it doesn’t look like the people who are in charge are going to do what it takes to really slow down this climate change, so we are going to have to adapt. And adapting is going to be very, very expensive.”

— California Governor Jerry Brown

…in an airplane hangar filled with trucks, airplanes and helicopters used by the state to fight fires.

May 7th, 2013

thesmithian

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey…underwent secret weight-loss surgery three months ago…

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April 22nd, 2013

thesmithian

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…the governor’s decision to shut down an entire city will undeniably influence how the next mayor or governor will respond to a major threat. To lock down or not to lock down is now the yardstick against which the public will measure their leaders in a crisis.

more.

…the governor’s decision to shut down an entire city will undeniably influence how the next mayor or governor will respond to a major threat. To lock down or not to lock down is now the yardstick against which the public will measure their leaders in a crisis.

more.

April 17th, 2013

thesmithian

[meaningful glance]

April 17th, 2013

thesmithian

New York.

April 7th, 2013

thesmithian

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[Bobby] Jindal was re-elected to a second term [as Governor of Louisiana] with two-thirds of the vote in 2011. But his Louisiana approval rating was down to 38 percent in a recent poll…voters think he is spending more time traveling outside the state and burnishing his credentials for a possible White House run than tending to local matters. As the Louisiana Legislature prepares to kick off its two-month session on Monday, Jindal’s signature proposal to eliminate the state income tax is facing resistance.

more.

[Bobby] Jindal was re-elected to a second term [as Governor of Louisiana] with two-thirds of the vote in 2011. But his Louisiana approval rating was down to 38 percent in a recent poll…voters think he is spending more time traveling outside the state and burnishing his credentials for a possible White House run than tending to local matters. As the Louisiana Legislature prepares to kick off its two-month session on Monday, Jindal’s signature proposal to eliminate the state income tax is facing resistance.

more.

April 2nd, 2013

thesmithian

I am an expatriate Kansan…Since moving away I have been asked to account for the assassination of Dr. George Tiller, the abolition of the Kansas Arts Commission, and the ongoing nastiness of Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church. The long struggle over the place of evolution in the state education curriculum followed me into my undergraduate years. Recently in the news we have witnessed the political success of the conservative faction of the state Republican Party: a first step toward eliminating the income tax; the privatization of Medicaid; and the introduction of a package of restrictive, even cruel anti-abortion legislation. Meanwhile, the most damaging conservative activity—the gradual dissolution of the state government—has garnered little national attention. The unmaking of the state has accelerated in the two years since Governor Sam Brownback took office, and during this legislative session is being pursued with redoubled fervor. Kansas wasn’t always this way.

Ben Merriman

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February 27th, 2013

thesmithian

'The elimination of Section V will gut the effective protections of the Voting Rights Act, and you will be amazed at how quickly Republicans legislatures and Republican governors will rush to place new barriers in front of the voters they'd rather not see casting ballots. People will affect surprise. After all, this is the 21st century. We're past all that. There will be a general amazement because, in this country, it is never about race, but it is always about race, over and over again.'

February 25th, 2013

thesmithian

[meaningful glance]

February 22nd, 2013

thesmithian

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February 2nd, 2013

thesmithian

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The great gerrymander of 2012 came 200 years after the first use of this curious word, which comes from the salamander-shaped districts signed into law by Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts. Gov. Gerry’s party engineered its electoral coup using paper maps and ink. But the advent of inexpensive computing and free software has placed the tools for fighting politicians who draw absurd districts…Politicians, especially Republicans facing demographic and ideological changes in the electorate, use redistricting to cling to power. It’s up to us to take control of the process, slay the gerrymander, and put the people back in charge of what is, after all, our House.

more.

The great gerrymander of 2012 came 200 years after the first use of this curious word, which comes from the salamander-shaped districts signed into law by Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts. Gov. Gerry’s party engineered its electoral coup using paper maps and ink. But the advent of inexpensive computing and free software has placed the tools for fighting politicians who draw absurd districts…Politicians, especially Republicans facing demographic and ideological changes in the electorate, use redistricting to cling to power. It’s up to us to take control of the process, slay the gerrymander, and put the people back in charge of what is, after all, our House.

more.

January 25th, 2013

thesmithian

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…rhetorical faux boldness with his same-old-GOP policies as Louisiana’s governor.

…rhetorical faux boldness with his same-old-GOP policies as Louisiana’s governor.

January 23rd, 2013

thesmithian

There is no one who doesn’t have health care in America. No one. Now, they may end up going to the emergency room.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, in an interview with Kaiser Health News. TP is righteously flabbergasted, and provides context. Because how is the above a real statement.