* “Too often President Putin has promised peace and delivered tanks, troops and weapons.”–Vice President Joe Biden.
* “The purpose of terrorism is to strike fear into the hearts of opponents in order to win political concession. As the shock value wears off and the Western world becomes immunized to any particular tactic, terrorists develop new ones in order to maximize shock and the press reaction upon which they thrive.”–Middle East Quarterly.
* “Hijacked airliners gave way to suicide bombings. Suicide bombings gave way to decapitations and crucifixions and, now, immolations. It’s disturbingly new, but also tragically familiar.”–Terrence McCoy, Washington Post.
* “We are determined to wipe out this terrorist organization.”–Royal Jordanian Air Force Maj. Gen. Mansour Jboor.
* “The opportunity gap is the defining issue of our time.”–Jeb Bush.
* “I think the temptation to grandstand in front of a camera is so huge. … I am moving more closely to saying I think it might be a bad idea.”–U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, on allowing video cameras at the Supreme Court.
* “The gun lobby simply won, you know?”–Attorney General Eric Holder on the inability to enact new gun safety laws after Sandy Hook.
* “The ‘one-and-dones’ don’t go to college, they represent a college.”–John Feinstein, Washington Post, on the rule that allows basketball players to leave school for the NBA after just one year.
* “We never thought we would be talking about measles in 2015, and the reality is we’re in this position because there’s a good tool that’s not being used. And that tool is vaccination.”–Florida Surgeon General John Armstrong.
* “Our attorney general is a total enabler of this governor. … It’s an embarrassment.”–Alex Sink.
* “Clearly, once again, the governor has failed to have a post-election honeymoon. His relations with the Florida press haven’t improved. I don’t know whether it’s a staff failure or an abiding antipathy against him.”–Veteran political operative J.M. “Mac” Stipanovich, chief of staff to former Gov. Bob Martinez.
* “You don’t smoke medicine.”–Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who opposes smokable marijuana.
* “We applaud Sen. Jeff Brandes for his recent proposal to expand access to medical marijuana to those most deserving.”–Karen Basha Egozi, president of the Epilepsy Foundation of Florida.
* “Politicians, celebrities, models, comedians and talk show hosts should not be consulted in matters of your health and the health of your community.”–Dr. Mona V. Mangat, immunologist and allergist at Bay Area Allergy & Asthma.
* “The present generation of young people, thank God, are sick of subdivision life. The cities are humanizing and third places (other than home or work ) are certainly helping to humanize them.”–Ray Oldenburg, University of West Florida sociology professor emeritus.
* “For $25 million, you don’t do cold calls.”–Joel Momberg, USF’s senior vice president for advancement, who is leading USF fundraising efforts for a new medical school downtown.
* “In 62 of the 100 largest cities, the biggest employer is either a hospital or university. Nothing brings a neighborhood or city back to life like having lots of young people downtown.”–Ed McMahon, Urban Land Institute senior fellow.
* “Can you stand perfectly still and hold this moment open?”–The words of local poet Silvia Curbelo, whose phrase will be featured in the “Uplit” exhibit of illuminated art along the Riverwalk.
* “The mayor and Mr. Auld discussed the development rights issue and the spirit of the discussion, as it has always been, was positive. We look forward to having an agreement that Council can approve before Opening Day.”–Ben Kirby, spokesman for St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, in characterizing the meeting between Kriseman and Rays President Brian Auld.
* “We’ve always felt it was a privilege to live here since 1970 and we had financial success in the community. We feel like we should put some of that treasure back into the community.”–Frank Morsani, after he and his wife Carol received the 2014 “Citizens of the Year” award during the Governor’s Luncheon at the Florida State Fairgrounds.
* “Model homes always sell faster than vacant homes. Everybody wants to buy the model because they’re decorated beautifully. They move themselves in emotionally and that becomes your purchaser.”–Carol Ackerman, who owns the Pinellas and Pasco franchises of Showhomes, a nationwide staging company.
* “If you don’t feel comfortable saying (FSU’s Jameis) Winston is the face of the franchise, I don’t think the difference is enough to sit there and say you don’t take (Oregon’s Marcus) Mariota.”–Former Buccaneer general manager Mark Dominik’s take on the Bucs’ use of the first pick in the upcoming NFL draft.