* “When you see a populist, you always see a demagogue. Societies no longer need demagogues; they need pedagogues–people that can tell a country, ‘Where is it that we want to go, how is it that we want to make it happen, and what is it that everybody has to put in the basket to achieve those goals?'”–Colombian President Ivan Duque.
* “If you really want to reduce a trade deficit, the way to do it is to bring down spending relative to production, not to demonize trading partners around the world.”–N. Gregory Mankiw, Harvard economics professor and the author of “Principles of Economics.”
* “I applaud and congratulate the U.S. Senate for confirming our GREAT NOMINEE, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, to the United States Supreme Court.”–President Donald Trump.
* “What we saw in these (Supreme Court) hearings was the unvarnished tribalization of national life.”–David Brooks, New York Times.
* “Part of the Court’s strength and part of the Court’s legitimacy depends on people not seeing the Court in the way that people see the rest of the governing structure of this country now.”–Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.
* “Most women tell the truth, but not all do.”–NBC’s Megyn Kelly.
* “If I am guilty of harassment, then every employee who stole a pencil is guilty of embezzlement.”–Garrison Keillor.
* “Mr. Trump inherited an empire built on tax evasion. Perhaps we cannot recoup all the taxes he and his family owed. But we can use their example as a call to restructure our tax system so it taxes people who work for their money less heavily–not more–than those born with a golden spoon in their mouth.”–NYU law professor Lily Batchelder, former majority chief counsel for the Senate Finance Committee.
* “If the U.S. has someone whom historians will look back on as the gravedigger of American democracy, it is Mitch McConnell.”–Holocaust historian Christopher Brown.
* “This (partisanship) feels worse than the divisions over Vietnam and civil rights because there were three huge forces holding us together back then that are missing today: a growing middle class, the Cold War and a sane Republican Party.”–Thomas Friedman, New York Times.
* “I remember when we were doing all those crazy shows back in the day and people said, ‘This is the beginning of the end of Western civilization.’ I thought it was sort of a joke, but it turns out they were right.”–Mike Feiss, the creator of “The Bachelor” and “Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?”
* “Most fake news on Twitter links to a few established conspiracy and propaganda sites, and coordinated campaigns play a crucial role in spreading fake news.”–From a report by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which supports research in journalism.
* “We’ve got our work cut out with Gillum, there’s no question about it.”–Bill Bunting, Republican state committeeman in Pasco County.
* “(Andrew Gillum) is exciting for Americans, because I think the vast bulk of people in Florida, and the vast bulk of people across the country, think democracy has been hijacked by rich corporations. And that the elected officials don’t put the interests of their constituents first.”–Billionaire Democratic activist and mega-donor Tom Steyer.
* “Our organizations have long supported improvements in transportation in our community, and we proudly support the All for Transportation plan, which will reduce congestion, increase safety and expand transportation options for our fans and the citizens of the region.”–From a joint statement issued by the Bucs, Rays and Lightning.
* “We are going to contribute more than makes business sense for us. That reflects my strong desire to have MLB in Tampa Bay for generations to come.”–Rays owner Stu Sternberg on the proposed Ybor City Rays stadium.
* “Eight years ago, Florida missed an opportunity to connect Tampa and Orlando with a high-speed rail system. We cannot afford to make the same mistake again. … Our growth in Tampa must include higher-speed rail, and we need to keep Tampa’s future on the right track.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.
* “I fully acknowledge the districts funding issues are not our responsibilities. However, I cannot sit back and ignore the issues facing hundreds of thousands of our children.”– Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan, on how the county can help the school district tackle its air-conditioning crisis and other critical maintenance priorities.
* “If it passes there, I think it helps us talk about it here again.”–St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, on the ramifications of Hillsborough County passing a transportation sales tax next month.
* “The best time to get vaccinated is in October. It takes two weeks for the body to produce antibodies to fight the flu. You don’t want to get it too late.”–Dr. John Morrison, Florida Hospital family medicine physician.