Mike Miller

Sure, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. You are the only one smart enough to know what is wrong with the state finances and roads. Where is money that is supposed to be in the transportation fund? Why is it necessary to raise taxes to raise more money to divert to other purposes? Yes, there is Neanderthal thinking here but it is not on the Republican side. Finton Cordell Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

Wow! Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller was unhappy that his hero, President Barack Obama, did not bother to pay a visit to his loyal Maryland government adulators ("Miller laments not seeing president," Feb. 7). Well, Mike, the election is over and he's in his final term. You can't do much more for him. Draw your own conclusions so I won't have to write another letter of further explanation. F. Cordell Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

The state of Maryland requires me to get a license to go fishing in the Patapsco River or crabbing off Booby Point or hunting at Elk Neck. To drive a car, I am required to have a license - and the first time, I needed to pass a test to get one. I must register with my local board of elections to vote. But requiring me to get a license to purchase a gun is asking too much? Requiring me to undergo a background check, provide my fingerprints and take a gun-safety course would "trample on" my Second Amendment rights?

Following yet another tax increase shoved down our throats by the spend-then-tax trio of the Gov.Martin O'Malley, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House SpeakerMichael E. Busch("General Assembly raises income tax on top 14 percent," May 17), there is one positive aspect: At least they didn't scurry about in the middle of the night like cockroaches as they did when passing a record tax hike in 2007. When will Maryland voters learn? Gary Sulin, Forest Hill

Now that the tax catastrophe is over, many photos will be snapped of Gov.Martin O'Malley, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House SpeakerMichael E. Buschgloating over their "accomplishments. " Frankly. I don't know how these three can sleep at night. F. Cordell, Lutherville

Be proud, Marylanders. After a 90-day session, our one-party state government could not agree on a budget. Now, after meeting in secret, Gov.Martin O'Malley, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, and House SpeakerMichael E. Buschannounce that they have an agreement to raise taxes. The Sun agrees that this is a "fairer solution" ("A balanced solution," May 10). I question how any arrangement can be fair that is agreed upon out of the public eye. M. Link, Baltimore

I'll tell you what annoys me: the buy-one-get-one-free deal on strawberries at the supermarket. First of all, you must have the store's bonus card to get the deal. Plus, they really don't want you to know the price of the first item, so they print it so small on a card so far across the produce bin that you need a drone with advanced optics to fly over and read it. Since we're on the subject, I'll tell you what else annoys me: •Seven dollars for a medium-size bag of popcorn at the movies in Hunt Valley.

To be Mike Miller, it seems, is to be misunderstood. The Senate president and Annapolis institution has been getting most of the blame (including from this editorial page) for the failure of key budget and tax bills at the end of the General Assembly session last week. The general impression had been that he was holding up consideration of the budget as leverage to get what he really wanted: a referendum to allow a casino inPrince George's County, and, as part of the bargain, table games at all of Maryland's slots parlors.

In a letter to Maryland senators, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller says there's been "tremendous misinformation" circulating about the final day of the General Assembly session and insisted that he did not hold up a bill to raise income taxes over legislation to expand gambling. "It has been alleged that the impasse was somehow connected to gaming," Miller said in the letter the state's 46 other senators. "That is patently untrue. " The statement appears to contradict what Miller said the day after the session ended, when he told reporters that he and House Speaker Michael E. Busch had "made an agreement we were going to pass the gambling bill.

As they get older and feel the press of time, some men need to condense into a short span all that they feel they've missed before it's too late; they worry about their legacy and what the eulogist might say of them. Others are more relaxed about the whole thing; they fear neither time nor public opinion. They realize they can't change the world and look around with wonderment at those who do. Take Mike Miller - please. He's the president of the Maryland Senate who, with a great mane of white hair, looks in profile like a founding father, or perhaps an early 19th Century politician in the spirit of Clay and Calhoun, names he uttered in the State House last week after the 2012 General Assembly ended badly, without a budget compromise.