* “Those who live in America, or visit it, might do best to regard (mass shootings) the way one regards air pollution in China: an endemic local health hazard which, for deep-rooted cultural, social, economic and political reasons, the country is incapable of addressing.”–The Economist.
* “When Americans think about deaths from guns, we tend to focus on homicides. But the problem of gun suicide is inescapable: More than 60 percent of people in this country who die from guns die from suicide.”–Margot Sanger-Katz, New York Times.
* “The real goal of gun control supporters is gun confiscation.”–Chris Cox, the NRA’s chief lobbyist.
* “Shut up talking about things that you don’t know anything about. And unless you’re on the committee, you have no idea what we have done, why we have done it and what new facts we have found.”–Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., chairman of the House Benghazi committee.
* “We can’t look backward–we have to move forward. And to stand in the way of TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) is to do nothing but preserve the long-term status quo for American workers and make it even harder for them to succeed. And if we don’t write the rules in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific, countries that don’t share our values will write those rules instead.”–President Barack Obama.
* “North Korea this weekend held a military parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of their communist party. People who attended the parade called it ‘amazing’ and ‘mandatory.'”–Seth Meyers.
* “They are in the same establishment bracket and there’s no front-runner. I know they each say it’s a big party and a big field is welcome, but it doesn’t help Bush or Rubio to have the other one in.”–Jennifer Duffy, Cook Political Report.
* “Candidates are like sports teams: They are either improving or getting worse, never static. As the campaign unfolds, watch your favorite candidate for signs of improvement, and if you don’t see it, you’re probably pulling for a loser.”–Stuart Stevens, chief campaign strategist for Mitt Romney in 2012.
* “Clinton won the debate because it didn’t change the dynamic. It froze the race, and she’s far in the lead.”–Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post.
* “I think everybody on that stage at the debate affirmed what I have said in the past, which is we agree on 95 percent of stuff and on the basic vision of a country.”–President Barack Obama.
* “At the federal level, the Republican-led Congress has imploded. It’s very chaotic. They’ve failed to get a budget agreement and now do not have a leader.”–U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa.
* “The NRA and gun rights advocates have rooted gun ownership in the Bible, Constitution and the flag. Those who seek more significant gun regulation may not persuade those who have fixed ideological and fixed quasi-mythic commitments to guns.”–David Frank, professor of rhetoric at the University of Oregon.
* “Nobody will ever win the battle of the sexes. There’s just too much fraternizing with the enemy.”–Henry Kissinger.
* “It’s primed and pumped, but it hasn’t been road-tested yet.”–Neuroscientist-author Frances Jensen analogizing the adolescent brain to a newly minted Ferrari.
* “We believe there is tremendous pent-up demand in the marketplace to visit this extraordinary country–particularly in the U.S. where travelers are eager to experience Cuba–so we wanted to share as much of the country as possible.”–Tara Russell, president of Fathom, a new brand of Carnival Corp., the first company to receive U.S. approval to sail from Miami to Cuba–with stops in Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba.
* “You have to be exceptionally cautious. Who you are and the way you comport yourself on Twitter also becomes who you are. If you’re a jackass on Twitter, people are going to think you’re a jackass.”–Democratic consultant Steve Schale.
* “The threat to access to a fair and impartial judicial system in the United States … is driven by economic disparity. Simply put, those who can afford it will have access to civil justice; those who cannot afford it will not.”–Florida Chief Justice Jorge Labarga.
* “You have 40 self-interested actors now, all with seats at the table, all with leadership ambitions, all with their political careers on the line.”–State Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, on the inherent challenge involved as lawmakers convene to re-draw the Senate map.
* “Obviously, if you can have computer language skills, you can communicate with people all over the world. Technology is the great equalizer.”–State Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate, who has filed a bill to allow high school students to replace their two-year foreign language graduation requirement with two years of computer coding courses.
* “It’s a risky game. But there is a reward to it if a show is successful.”–Tampa Sports Authority Executive Director Eric Hart, on the TSA’s strategy of promoting its own concerts–such as the upcoming one with Taylor Swift.
* “If those who are so captured by the green-eyed monster spent more time on their businesses and less time envying me, they would have more successful businesses.”–Beth Leytham.
* “It’s the truest form of philanthropy. It lives on.”–Wayne Atherholt, director of St. Petersburg’s office of cultural affairs, in response to Mayor Rick Kriseman’s proposal to use $1 million from the $6.5 million BP settlement for an arts endowment.