• It is important not to take 50 sheriffs off the beat, particularly when the world of finance can be the Wild West.
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Nation   |   December 20, 2012
• North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, discussing the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's claim that states do not have authority to regulate the practices of national banks.

• In this day and age, justice delayed is justice denied.
• Source: McClatchy/GOVERNING   |   Georgia   |   December 19, 2012
• Chuck Beaudrot, the judge of Georgia's new tax court, which convenes for the first time Jan. 2 and was created to more quickly settle tax disputes that often takes months or years to resolve.

• No single piece of legislation, no single solution, will fully address the problem.
• Source: The Hill   |   Nation   |   December 18, 2012
• White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, referring to gun violence in the wake of the mass shooting of 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school last week. He declined to outline specific measures President Barack Obama could take to prevent gun violence.

• We’ve got bigger fish to fry.
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Nation   |   December 17, 2012
• President Barack Obama talking to Barbara Walters about marijuana legalization in an interview last week. In his first comments on the issue, Obama said that prosecuting pot smokers in Colorado and Washington -- where the drug is now legal -- should not be a “top priority” of the federal government.

• When do you stop the man hug? It's hard.
• Source: Politico   |   New Jersey   |   December 14, 2012
• New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, talking to "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart about hugging Bruce Springsteen.

• Though I have never liked the Affordable Care Act ... I am forced to accept it as today's reality and I have decided to expand Nevada's Medicaid coverage.
• Source: McClatchy/GOVERNING   |   Nevada   |   December 13, 2012
• Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, who announced that he's choosing to expand Medicaid to provide health insurance for more low-income Nevadans under the federal health-care reform law. Sandoval was named one of Governing's 2012 Public Officials of the Year.

• It's naive or brilliant. Who knows?
• Source: McClatchy/GOVERNING   |   Washington state   |   December 12, 2012
• Dave Freiboth, leader of the King County, Wash., Labor Council, referring to the unprecedented proposal to eliminate the Washington state Senate Republican Caucus and replace it with a bipartisan legislative coalition composed of all 23 Republicans and two Democratic lawmakers.

• Marijuana is going to be the gay marriage of the next five years.
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Nation   |   December 11, 2012
• Jill Hanauer, president of the Democratic-leaning political research firm Project New America. She said young voters view marijuana through the same lens as same-sex marriage -- as a justice and fairness issue.

• I don't think we are going to arrest our way out of our violence problems.
• Source: Chicago Tribune   |   Chicago   |   December 10, 2012
• Cook County, Ill., Board President Toni Preckwinkle, after criticizing the Chicago mayor and police chief's crime-fighting strategy. Preckwinkle was named one of GOVERNING's 2012 Public Officials of the Year.

• The police department believes that, under state law, you may responsibly get baked, order some pizzas and enjoy a 'Lord of the Rings' marathon in the privacy of your own home, if you want to.
• Source: AP/Seattle Times   |   Washington state   |   December 7, 2012
• Jonah Spangenthal-Lee, the spokesman for the Seattle Police Department, which has told its officers to give only verbal warnings to people caught using marijuana in public -- a practice that's illegal even though the recreational use of the drug is now legal in Washington state.

• I want that rape victim to be absolutely secure that if she waves down an officer in a car that she will be protected … and not fear that she's waving down an immigration officer.
• Source: Los Angeles Times   |   California   |   December 6, 2012
• California Attorney General Kamala Harris, explaining why she is not requiring local law enforcement agencies to comply with the federal deportation program Secure Communities. Some say it makes illegal immigrants fearful of cooperating with police, even when they are the victims.

• Instead of lobbying Congress, cities should lobby their states to offset local aid cuts by granting them additional authority to address their ongoing budget problems.
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Nation   |   December 5, 2012
• Stephen Eide of the Manhattan Institute, on what cities should do in anticipation of the sequestration cuts that are set to take effect in January. For full coverage of the fiscal cliff's impact on states and localities, click here.
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• I’ve been keeping my own naughty and nice list in Washington.
• Source: Washington Examiner   |   Nation   |   December 4, 2012
• President Barack Obama, speaking at a toy factory in Pennsylvania.

• What kind of man preys on underage girls?
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Milwaukee   |   December 3, 2012
• The words on a billboard ad in Milwaukee that shows a teen girl with a boa constrictor around her. The ad is part of a larger public education campaign that's helped cut the city's high teen birth rate by a third in recent years.

• Last week The Onion said I was going to become a male stripper. That was my secret plan B if we lost the election.
• Source: Politico   |   Nation   |   November 30, 2012
• Education Secretary Arne Duncan, joking that he's more likely to become a stripper -- which the satirical newspaper The Onion suggested -- than secretary of state after New York Times columnist Tom Friedman said he would be a good replacement for Hillary Clinton.