Quoteworthy

  • “Our fraying world needs international cooperation more than ever, but simply saying it will not make it happen. Let’s face it: We have no time to lose.”—UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
  • “I am making a very serious statement that we don’t want to engage in a military confrontation. But we won’t blink to defend our territory.”—Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
  • “You know, (Trump) drives me crazy. But it is fascinating to watch.”—Former British Prime Minister David Cameron.
  • “Darkening your face, regardless of the context of the circumstances, is always unacceptable because of the racist history of blackface.”—Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
  • “In fact, my views on Venezuela, and especially Cuba, were far stronger than those of John Bolton. He was holding me back.”—President Donald Trump.
  • “Why doesn’t the president simply release the transcript of the (Ukrainian) call?”—House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
  • “They are going to bring back anybody, as much as they have to, to find something, anything to keep impeachment alive.”—Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas.
  • “Liberal democracy has historically required at least two competing parties committed to playing the democratic game, including one that typically represents conservative interests. But the commitment of America’s conservative party to this system is wavering, threatening our political system as a whole. Until Republicans learn to compete fairly in a diverse society, our democratic institutions will be imperiled.”—Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, co-authors of “How Democracies Die.”
  • “The Federal Reserve’s policy decisions are guided solely by its congressional mandate to maintain price stability and maximum employment. Political considerations play absolutely no role.”—Fed spokeswoman Michelle Smith.
  • “Instead of uniting and binding us together, digital has atomized, fragmented and enervated us.”—John Daniel Davidson, the Federalist.
  • “(Black) pain cannot be healed by payments to their descendants any more than dead slave owners can be punished by taxes on their progeny.”—Mona Charen, the National Review.
  • “Florida isn’t ready to be campaigned for yet. But it’s a very rich donor state. Florida has a lot of money to be tapped into.”—Attorney John Morgan, who has raised money for Joe Biden.
  • “This bill will be a huge boost to our state’s economy.”—Sen. Marco Rubio, who along with Sen. Rick Scott, recently introduced the Canadian Snowbirds Act. This would allow Canadian citizens to spend up to eight months in Florida as long as they are older than 50 and own or rent a residence here.
  • “This is the dumb, backwards stuff that we do here.”—State Sen. Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens, in response to learning that Florida does not keep track of how many teachers have chosen to carry guns in classrooms.
  • “This jobs report reaffirms that the state’s labor market is in good shape.”—UCF economist Sean Snaith, on statistics showing an additional 22,500 people were employed in August compared to July. The unemployment rate remains near an historic low of 3.3 per cent.
  • “It’s time for conservatives to lead on energy policy, offer solutions that encourage innovation, stimulate economic development and enhance the growth of clean energy sources. … Energy should no longer be treated as a partisan issue.”—Kendall Kelley, State Director of Conservatives for Clean Energy.
  • “Tampa’s 2020 fiscal year budget is the first to start in the black since the beginning of the Great Recession. Thanks to the foresight of prior city leaders, we ended (fiscal year) 2019 with both a surplus and a great credit rating.”—Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.
  • “One of the most important things in 21st Century modern law enforcement is to have public trust, and to build public trust you need to have relationships. So, this goes a long way toward building those relationships.”—Elias Vazquez, TPD assistant chief, on Tampa receiving a Department of Justice grant to expand the use of body cameras for police officers.
  • “I’ve gone to Church, I’ve prayed. My prayers aren’t working.”—Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos, on why he called on his fellow Clearwater City Council members to ask Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, embrace universal background checks and pass a national red flag law.
  • “The city of Tampa has one of the largest tree canopies in the world, and arborists and developers should not take that for granted.”—Mayor Jane Castor.

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