* “This is a full-fledged cold war that risks turning hot with a single mistake.”–Ali Vaez, Iran program director at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, in reference to the long-running, covert conflict between Iran and Israel.
* “Our commitment to Israel is enduring and ironclad.”–Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
* “We need a George Kennan-like (containment) ‘Long Telegram’ on China, followed by a broad strategic decision.”–Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal.
* “There will be times when we must again play the role of the world’s reluctant sheriff. This will not change—nor should it.”–Barack Obama, “Audacity of Hope.”
* “It’s important that we upgrade our definition of infrastructure, one that meets the needs of the 21st century.”–Cecilia Rouse, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
* “When they vote en masse to screw people over, it’s hard to be all warm and fuzzy.”–Sen. Mazzie Hirono, D-Hawaii, on relating with Senate Republicans.
* “If Republicans want a lower corporate tax rate than Biden has proposed or no corporate tax hike at all, they must spell out how they want to pay for the bill or make clear that they really no longer care about deficits.”–Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post.
* “Government intervention is needed to complement an efficient and dynamic free-market economy if you do not want a vast number of people mired in poverty.”–USF finance professor Murad Antia.
* “Republicans’ response to their party’s failures at the ballot box in 2018 and 2020 is to find an issue they believe paints Democrats as convention-smashing libertines and themselves as the defenders of innocent children and a moral order. … The issue is trans equality. The monsters are trans people.”–Frank Bruni, New York Times.
* “Everybody has a shelf life, and Donald Trump has lost a bit of his shelf life. (But) he’ll still be the most significant figure in the party in November 2022.”–Al Cardenas, former Florida Republican Party chairman.
* “We stand for diversity and inclusion in Georgia above all else, and that’s why we came to the table on this issue.”-–Coca-Cola Chief Executive James Quincey, on why Coke weighed in on voting rights.
* “Small wonder the church is shrinking. … It reached its … nadir when the religious right made common cause with the 45th president. He broke commandments like glass, but they didn’t care. He was a biblical illiterate, but they didn’t notice.”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.
* “I’m built for the battle, and I’m not going anywhere. … I won’t be intimidated by a lying media.”–Rep. Matt Gaetz.
* “When Marjory Stoneman Douglas coined ‘River of Grass,’ she helped us understand that the Everglades was no longer a swamp to be tamed, but rather a one-of-its kind ecosystem, a crown jewel deserving our pride and our steadfast commitment to restoration. … Let’s go big for the Everglades.”–Rep. Charlie Crist, D-St. Petersburg.
* “We cannot stand idly by while this environmental hazard is dealt with. The funds that we’re appropriating will start us on a pathway to cleaning up what has been recognized as a true mess.”–State Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, on state senators assigning $3 million to start cleaning the Piney Point phosphate plant.
* “To be surrounded by water and to not use water as a transit option, I think is short-sighted.”–St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, on renewing Cross Bay Ferry service.