* “This is the moment of truth for Russia.”–Secretary of State John Kerry.
* “If President (Vladimir) Putin does not change his approach to Ukraine, then Europe and the West must fundamentally change our approach to Russia.”–British Prime Minister David Cameron.
* “Hamas is not as corrupt as the Palestinian Authority, but it is far more repressive, and my impression from my visits to Gaza is that it’s also unpopular at home. Hamas sometimes seems to have more support on certain college campuses in America or Europe than within Gaza.“–Nicholas Kristof, New York Times.
* “Never before has Mexico announced a state policy on the (Guatamalan) border, and now it has. It is absolute control of the southern border.”–Mexican Interior Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong.
* “Either the lawsuit or an impeachment–or both–can hurt the Republicans by making it look like they are playing Mickey Mouse politics during an election year.”–Thomas Sowell, Hoover Institution senior fellow.
* “As second-term critics circle like sharks, it’s natural for a president to surround himself with admirers and defenders. But what a president needs are people who will challenge his thinking and, when necessary, tell him news he would rather not hear.”–Fred Hiatt, Washington Post.
* “When the history of this era is written, it will recount how so-called conservatives gave aid, comfort and intellectual cover to the ugliest of human impulses under the guise of political debate.”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.
* “Widening and deepening inequality is not driven by immutable economic laws, but by laws we have written ourselves.”–Joseph E. Stiglitz, Noel laureate in economics and former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist for the World Bank.
* “There’s no question that Silicon Valley feels different than it felt 28years ago when I moved here. Something has happened. We used to be a Valley full of techies living middle class lives, and now we’re a Valley of the uber-rich carrying toy poodles around with them.”–Russell Hancock, president of Joint Venture Silicon Valley.
* “If Cuba is trapped in the 1950s, the Internet of Cuba is trapped in the 1990s.”–Google co-founder Eric Schmidt.
* “(Crist) needs the black community to turn out Obama-style. If that happens, he runs away with the election.–State Sen. Minority Leader Chris Smith, an African-American from Fort Lauderdale.
* “I didn’t think this guy (Rick Scott) would win. I don’t think anybody did. But he did. And I didn’t also think, if he did, he would be this bad. But he is this bad.”–Charlie Crist.
* “With many similar cases pending throughout the entire country, finality on this constitutional issue must come from the U.S. Supreme Court.”–Attorney General Pam Bondi in her appeal of Chief Circuit Judge Luis M. Garcia’s ruling allowing same-sex marriage in Monroe County.
* “I really think she sees herself as the governor’s lawyer, not the people’s lawyer.”–Attorney General Democratic candidate George Sheldon’s reference to incumbent AG Pam Bondi.
* “Obviously, if we didn’t put any houses there, we wouldn’t have any erosion problems. The sand would just move around.”–USF coastal geology professor Ping Wang on beach renourishment.
* “The new Miami … has gone from a place defined by Cuban-Americans to one increasingly turbocharged by a surge of well-educated, well-off South Americans in the last decade.”–Lizette Alvarez, New York Times.
* “This institution (Florida Polytechnic University) is unique and different, and that’s why it was created. Except for New College, all the rest (of the state universities) are University of Florida wanna-bes.”–Former Republican state Sen. JD Alexander.
* “The construction gains are real, and the (Florida) recovery has legs.”–PNC economist Mekael Teshome.
* “This park is transformative for historic Tampa Heights and our urban core but also for our entire city.”–Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn on the opening next month of Water Works Park north of downtown.
* “For a community surrounded by water not to have water-based connectivity doesn’t make sense.”–St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman.
* “It would be fantastic. This could help us financially by sending a strong message about our state.”–Jeffrey Abbaticchio, director of public relations at Loews Don CeSar Hotel on St. Pete Beach, on the impact of legalized same-sex marriage in Florida.