Quoteworthy

* “This is an attack not just on Paris … this is an attack on all of humanity.”–President Barack Obama on the terrorist mass shootings.

* “These terrorists want to make us afraid and seize us with fear. … This is a nation that defends itself.”–French President Francois Hollande.

* “We understand very well that it’s only possible to deal with the terror threat and help millions of people who lost their homes by combining efforts of the entire global community.”–Russian President Vladimir Putin.

* “You’re going to see several things. Tighter border controls, more intensive surveillance in the U.S. and more outreach to local communities in the hope that extremists will be fingered by their friends and family. And a tightening of already intimate cooperation with European intelligence agencies.”–Steven Simon, former Middle East advisor to President Obama.

* “This election is not only about electing a president, it’s also about choosing our next commander in chief. All of the other issues we want to deal with depend upon us being secure and strong.”–Hillary Clinton.

* “We are revolted by this heinous and despicable attack on civilian populations. (ISIS) does not represent Muslims.”–Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

* “They are trying to liquidate the unity of a nation with more than five centuries of history.”–Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, in blasting the Catalan independence movement.

* “There are people who are diehard and want to maintain the faith, but I don’t see another (Cuban) generation accepting the sacrifice for the project as a basis for continuing austerity.”–Lisandro Perez, professor of Latin American studies at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York

* “It would be naive in the extreme to conclude that activities on the scale discovered could have occurred without the explicit or tacit approval of Russian governmental authorities.”–World Anti-Doping Agency commission on reports of Russian athletes using banned drugs to enhance performance.

* “It’s extraordinarily important that the Republican Party reclaim the reputation that we’ve had for most of my life–that we are the go-to guys on national security and defense.”–Former Vice President Dick Cheney.

* “Florida appealed to us because of the taxes. But having moved here, it’s such a pleasant place, it’s such a beautiful place. I don’t know why everybody doesn’t live here.”–Ben Carson, on why he moved to West Palm Beach several years ago.

* “Violent criminal? Or pathological liar? We don’t need either as president.”–Online video from the Trump campaign criticizing Ben Carson.

* “If anyone tells you they embrace Washington, run the other way. People up there fear me because I bring change.”–Sen. Ted Cruz, at last weekend’s Sunshine Summit.

* “The demographics of this country are changing. This will be the last presidential election  cycle in which the GOP, in its current form, has even a shot at winning the White House.”–David Brooks, New York Times.

* “I think it’s very possible that she (Hillary Clinton) wins the Iowa caucuses. I think she’s well-organized there and she’s poised to win … . If she wins the Iowa caucuses, I think the race is effectively over.”–Democratic operative David Axelrod.

* “The true media elites are in talk radio and right-wing television–multimillionaire gasbags from Rush Limbaugh to Sean Hannity.”–Timothy Egan, New York Times.

* “It is imperative to hear from all students and do everything we can to make them comfortable and safe in our community.”–Michael Middleton, recently named interim president of the University of Missouri.

* “It appears to me that we just don’t have enough time left to engage in any process (i.e., bringing in an outside expert) other than the one we’re currently on.”–Leon County Circuit Judge George Reynolds III, in rejecting a Florida Senate request for an outside expert to redraw the Senate’s 40 voting districts.

* “For me, it’s a lose-lose proposition. If I vote against it, I’m the guy who killed the plan. If I vote for it, I’m the guy who moved the bad plan forward.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist, the swing vote on the Go Hillsborough transit plan.

* “Whether we like it or not, it is part of the process. Competing with states that are far more aggressive about their dollars, we’ve got to be in that game.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn, in supporting Gov. Rick Scott’s call for $250 million in business-relocation incentives.

*Buildings do not create a successful district. What creates a successful district is what happens on street level, and that’s the experiences and the stores and the culture and the galleries.”–Jeff Vinik.

* “We don’t believe in speed limits, but we do believe that speed kills. The fast always eat the slow. That’s why we say fast is as slow as we go.”–Gary Friedman, CEO of Restoration Hardware, which recently opened its long-awaited design gallery at International Plaza.

* “Tampa is a great market and a lot of investors are interested, so we just thought this was a good time to sell.”–Nik Sachdev, managing director of Convergent Capital Partners, after Convergent sold downtown’s Aloft Hotel to a North Carolina hospitality company for $30 million.

* “We’re trying to strike a balance between not making things inconvenient or a fortress, and doing all we can to maintain safety and security.”–TPD spokesman Stephen Hagerty.

* “Colleges and university campuses have a special role in society as the very place where the ideals of equality, inclusion, acceptance and free discourse are encouraged to thrive.”–USF President Judy Genshaft.

* “It is important that our vigilance doesn’t turn into vigilantism against any religion or culture.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner.

* “I believe that Tampa-St. Pete is a viable major-league market with the right facility.”–Rob Manfred, commissioner of Major League Baseball.

* “We live our lives in thirds. We learn, we earn and then we return.”–Philanthropist Frank Morsani.

* “Clearwater Beach was always the blue-collar vacation area, and that is slowly but surely changing. Once you get a lot more of those fine-type hotels, you’ll get a lot more high-end tourists who will buy properties and drive prices up.”–Realtor Alex Jansen, CEO of Coastal Properties Group.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *