Blue States

WASHINGTON - As President Bush lays the groundwork for a possible overhaul of the U.S. tax code, one option under consideration would deal its biggest financial blow to citizens of "blue" states such as California and New York. Some conservative activists are urging the administration to scrap the federal deduction for state and local taxes as part of a broader plan to revamp the nation's tax system. Although the proposal would hurt some taxpayers in nearly every state, it would hit hardest in states with higher-than-average income levels and bigger-than-average state and local tax burdens.

Journalist and gay activist Dan Savage often writes about the urban archipelago -- the American cities that are comfortable, safe islands for gays and lesbians set amid a vast sea of countryside where being openly homosexual remains a chancy, even dangerous, proposition. However, after an election in which three more states approved same-sex marriage and a fourth rejected a constitutional amendment ot ban it, perhaps that sea is receding. In fact, the map of states that now allow men to marry men and women to marry women is beginning to resemble the now familiar chart of red and blue states.

I THOUGHT THAT, in today's column, I would heal the nation. The nation suffered a wound during the recent presidential election as a result of the rift between the red states -- defined as "states where 'foreign cuisine' pretty much means Pizza Hut" -- and the blue states, defined as "states that believe they are smarter than the red states, despite the fact that it takes the average blue-state resident 15 minutes to order one cup of coffee." Some blue-state residents are so upset about the election that they're talking about moving to Canada, which is technically a foreign nation.

The vitriol is worse than I ever recall. Worse than the Palin-induced smarm of 2008. Worse than the Swift-boat lies of 2004. Worse, even, than the anything-goes craziness of 2000 and its ensuing bitterness. It's almost a civil war. I know families in which close relatives are no longer speaking. A dating service says Democrats won't even consider going out with Republicans, and vice versa. My email and Twitter feeds contain messages from strangers I wouldn't share with my granddaughter.

President Obama will make what could turn out to be his only Maryland campaign stop June 12 when he visits Baltimore for a fund-raising event, Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Monday night. Obama is expected to attend a fund-raiser at a private home and a reception at a local hotel, a source familiar with the plans said. O'Malley announced the plan at the Maryland Democratic Party's annual gala dinner in Greenbelt, an event attended by many of the state's most prominent elected officials.

In 1995, Barack Obama released "Dreams From My Father," a compelling memoir full of stories about his life that -- though often not exactly true -- persuaded many people that this young man had a great political future ahead of him. Nearly a decade later, Mr. Obama introduced himself to the country with a stirring speech at the 2004 Democratic convention in which he conceded, "I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story...

The vitriol is worse than I ever recall. Worse than the Palin-induced smarm of 2008. Worse than the Swift-boat lies of 2004. Worse, even, than the anything-goes craziness of 2000 and its ensuing bitterness. It's almost a civil war. I know families in which close relatives are no longer speaking. A dating service says Democrats won't even consider going out with Republicans, and vice versa. My email and Twitter feeds contain messages from strangers I wouldn't share with my granddaughter.

Journalist and gay activist Dan Savage often writes about the urban archipelago -- the American cities that are comfortable, safe islands for gays and lesbians set amid a vast sea of countryside where being openly homosexual remains a chancy, even dangerous, proposition. However, after an election in which three more states approved same-sex marriage and a fourth rejected a constitutional amendment ot ban it, perhaps that sea is receding. In fact, the map of states that now allow men to marry men and women to marry women is beginning to resemble the now familiar chart of red and blue states.

BOSTON -- A superstar is born. It is difficult for many of us to contain our enthusiasm for Barack Obama, yet we must try. We owe that to him. We should not reward his blockbuster performance last week at the Democratic National Convention by loading his shoulders with the fate of the nation. Not yet, anyway. That can wait, perhaps until, say, his 2012 presidential campaign? For now, Illinois' self-described "skinny guy from the South Side of Chicago with the funny name" offers an inspiring glimpse of what America's next generation of black leadership could look like -- a leadership that is not for blacks only.

At a recent supper party in the foothills West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, a fisherman had just returned from Kent Narrows with a bushel of Maryland Blue Crabs. The crabs, rest their souls, made wonderful emissaries. The light conversation that punctuated the picking would have fit right in around tables in Salisbury or Solomons Island: The size of the crabs, their habits, their tastes in bait and, more generally, the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay. A hundred or more miles from its sparkling, reedy inlets, the bay is still very much in the psyche of people throughout its watershed.

At a recent supper party in the foothills West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, a fisherman had just returned from Kent Narrows with a bushel of Maryland Blue Crabs. The crabs, rest their souls, made wonderful emissaries. The light conversation that punctuated the picking would have fit right in around tables in Salisbury or Solomons Island: The size of the crabs, their habits, their tastes in bait and, more generally, the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay. A hundred or more miles from its sparkling, reedy inlets, the bay is still very much in the psyche of people throughout its watershed.

In 1995, Barack Obama released "Dreams From My Father," a compelling memoir full of stories about his life that -- though often not exactly true -- persuaded many people that this young man had a great political future ahead of him. Nearly a decade later, Mr. Obama introduced himself to the country with a stirring speech at the 2004 Democratic convention in which he conceded, "I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story...

ColumnistRobert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s recent commentary on taxes supposedly provided a lesson in Economics 101 ("When taxes go up, taxpayers go elsewhere," July 1). Unfortunately, he told only part of the story. His first example, concerning the supposed exodus of millionaires from Maryland, paraphrased data that first appeared in the Wall Street Journal. But he chose not to cite the very next sentence in that article: "No doubt the majority of that loss in millionaire filings results from the recession.

President Obama will make what could turn out to be his only Maryland campaign stop June 12 when he visits Baltimore for a fund-raising event, Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Monday night. Obama is expected to attend a fund-raiser at a private home and a reception at a local hotel, a source familiar with the plans said. O'Malley announced the plan at the Maryland Democratic Party's annual gala dinner in Greenbelt, an event attended by many of the state's most prominent elected officials.

Is your Maryland crab cake true blue? Only a small number of restaurants in Maryland reliably make their crab cakes from local crabmeat, and the state does not require restaurants to identify the specific source of the meat in crab cakes. True Blue, a new  labeling and promotion initiative from The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), hopes to give restaurants that do use Maryland crabmeat a claw up on those that fill their crab cakes with inexpensive imported meat from Indonesia and Venezuela.

The protracted battle for the Republican presidential nomination is about to thrust Maryland's GOP voters into the unusual position of having a voice in a national political contest even though they live in one of the country's most reliably blue states. With less than two weeks to go before the April 3 primary, Republican operatives in Maryland say they are scrambling to bring the presidential campaigns to the state. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will be the first, arriving today — hours after winning the Illinois contest — to lead a town hall meeting at an American Legion post in Arbutus.

ColumnistRobert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s recent commentary on taxes supposedly provided a lesson in Economics 101 ("When taxes go up, taxpayers go elsewhere," July 1). Unfortunately, he told only part of the story. His first example, concerning the supposed exodus of millionaires from Maryland, paraphrased data that first appeared in the Wall Street Journal. But he chose not to cite the very next sentence in that article: "No doubt the majority of that loss in millionaire filings results from the recession.

I HAVE LIVED all my years in states that are now called "blue" by the guardians of the democratic process. The first candidate I ever voted for was Dwight D. Eisenhower, and the only Democrat was John F. Kennedy. Lately, I have passed up recent elections because the deep blueness of my state guarantees that all electoral votes will go to the Democrats, as will almost all local offices. It seems the only way to effectively participate in the democratic process is to move to one of those battleground states.

Times are tough right now for national Democrats. The Republicans recaptured the U.S. House in 2010 after just four years of Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Next year, Democrats will have to defend their huge 2006 Senate class. And, with approval ratings south of the critical 50 percent threshold, President Barack Obama's re-election in 2012 is no sure bet. As if the Democrats needed more reason to be glum, the 2010 election results gave the Republicans the upper hand in the decennial redistricting process in most states.

Loyola attackman Collin Finnerty best summed up the Greyhounds' frustrations in facing Johns Hopkins goalie Pierce Bassett after Saturday's game. "We tested all of our offenses out there. We had some good looks, and we couldn't bury them," Finnerty said. The only thing that might have been buried in front of a crowd of nearly 3,000 at Ridley Athletic Complex was No.14 Loyola's playoff hopes. Paced by Bassett's 20 saves, No. 20 Johns Hopkins kept its postseason aspirations alive with a resounding 9-6 win over the Greyhounds.