* “The Fed isn’t just the U.S.’s central bank. It’s the world’s central bank.”–Mark Frey, chief strategist at the Cambridge Mercantile Group.
* “If things are worse, we will do more. If things are better, we will do less.”–Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke.
* “Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s justice will be in the next world, but for his brother, accountability will begin right here in the district of Massachusetts.”–Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley.
* “We don’t have time for a meeting of the flat-earth society.”–President Barack Obama in urging sweeping steps to battle climate change.
* “Mr. Snowden’s claim that he is focused on supporting transparency, freedom of the press and protection of individual rights and democracy is belied by the protectors he has potentially chosen: China, Russia, Ecuador, as we’ve seen. His failure to criticize these regimes suggests that his true motive throughout has been to injure the national security of the United States, not to advance Internet freedom and free speech.”–White House spokesman Jay Carney.
* “Today the dominant distinction defining socioeconomic class is between those with and without college degrees. Graduates earn 70 percent more than those with only high school diplomas. Soon the crucial distinction will be between those with meaningful and those with worthless college degrees.”–George F. Will, Washington Post.
* “I want to encourage you to reject the cynics who say technology is flattening your experience of the world. … Technology is just a tool. It’s a powerful tool, but it’s just a tool. Deep human connection is very different. It’s not a tool. It’s not a means to an end. It is the end.”–Melinda Gates, commencement speaker at Duke University.
* “Florida will be slow on the uptake to implement a policy that concentrates on moving away from carbon. We remain mired in the lack of policy.”–Scott McIntyre, president of the Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy.
* “…I do not believe there exists a federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage. …”–Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio.
* “The Supreme Court said the Constitution prohibits discrimination of lawfully wedded same-sex couples. I support this decision.”–Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.
* “We firmly believe that marriage is, and can only be, the union of one man and one woman.”–Bishop Robert Lynch of the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg.
* “Society has moved and is not becoming just tolerant, but rather accepting of what I think most people feel–live and let live. What business is it of governments to tell people who they should love or who they should marry?”–Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.
* “Florida leaders should embrace this decision and address the outdated and discriminatory Article 1, Section 27 of the Florida Constitution that bars many Florida married couples from equal rights and treatment even after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling.”–U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa.
* “We’re one community, and we do better when we recognize that.”–Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn at the St. Pete Pride parade.
* “We like your market. We’re buying there every week. … This is a long game, and we’re still in the early innings.”–Justin Chang, CEO of Colony American Homes, among the major investors buying Tampa Bay area homes to renovate for a burgeoning renters’ market.
* “He’s the simplest complex person I’ve ever met in my entire life.”–Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor at U.S. Attorney Robert O’Neill’s farewell party.
* “It’s too big. You can’t get a decent return on investment, and you can’t get a company to come in and take that kind of risk.”–Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill in expressing skepticism about possible plans to reconstruct the Friendship TrailBridge through a public-private partnership.
* “Every aspect of our lives is touched in this community through the port. It is the economic foundation of this community.”–Port of Tampa CEO Paul Anderson.
* “He will always be a champion for children with cancer–especially those being treated in the All-Children’s center that bears his name.”–Sylvia Ameen, vice president of the All-Children’s Hospital Foundation, on the legacy of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Vinny Lecavalier.
* “He’s like Longoria, and in due time they’re hoping he turns out like him, the same mold. They’re guys that’ll be the face of an organization because they’re class guys and talented.”–Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons on Rays’ heralded rookie outfielder Wil Myers.