* “What a great day! Maybe the most important day for my country after independence.”–Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko, on signing a free-trade deal with the European Union.
* “Other than the Kurds, we have no friends in this fight. Neither Sunni nor Shiite leaders spearheading the war in Iraq today share our values.”–Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times.
* “There are all kinds of al-Qaeda documents in which its operatives say things along the lines of ‘the Americans are evil, the secular tyrants are evil, the Israelis are evil–and the Shiites are worse than all of them.'”–Daniel Benjamin, former counterterrorism coordinator for the U.S. State Department.
* “The embedded reporter program, which continues in Afghanistan and wherever the United States sends troops, is deeply informed by the military’s experience of how media coverage shifted public opinion during the Vietnam War. The gatekeepers in public affairs have too much power: Reporters naturally fear having their access terminated, so they tend to avoid controversial reporting that could raise red flags.”–Chelsea Manning, former U.S. Army intelligence analyst now serving a sentence of 35 years in prison for disclosing classified information.
* “What did the president know, and when did he know it?”–The late Sen. Howard Baker, R-Tenn.
* “What’s happened to the Republican Party in the last decade and a half is we’ve become a more blue collar, populist party. What used to be the country-club wing is now the truck-driver wing.”–Tom Davis, former Republican congressman from Virginia.
* “Conservatives generally believe that capitalism is a machine that cures itself. Therefore, people on the right have been slow to recognize the deep structural problems that are making life harder in the new economy–that are leading to stagnant social mobility, widening inequality and pervasive insecurity.”–David Brooks, New York Times.
* “In the last few years, we have seen the fracturing of the American dream. The question for all of us is, should we accept that, or should we try to do something about it?”–Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.
* “We decided to focus less on the competition and more about the co-workers.”–Rob Olson, acting president of Ikea’s U.S. division, in announcing minimum-wage hikes for retail workers based on the cost of living in each location.
* “We cannot deny that our decision today will have an impact on the ability of law enforcement to combat crime. … Privacy comes at a cost.”–John Roberts, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, on the Court’s unanimous ruling that police officers need warrants to search the cellphones of those they arrest.
* “Florida has been very good to me and to Hillary. I love Florida.”–Former President Bill Clinton.
* “Rick Scott made it very clear a year ago he intended to run a nasty personal campaign and, for once, he’s been true to his word.”–Charlie Crist campaign manager Omar Khan.
* “Elect folks that strongly support moving Hillsborough forward with transportation.”–Advice proffered by Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch at an Emerge Tampa Bay-hosted transit panel.
* “I look at public money as seed money that will bring private capital to the table.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.
* “Nothing is more Tampa than the Newman cigar factory. I’m not going to stand for this, and I think we have a good chance to win.”–U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, on stopping the FDA from enacting new regulations that would undermine the cigar industry.
* “If you try to change even one thing, you open up the whole can of worms of whether fireworks should be legal or illegal in Florida. And no one wants to open that can.”–State Rep. Mark Danish, D-Tampa.
* “This is one of the few times you encounter a project that’s good for everybody. … We’ve been blessed with being accepted, and we’ve taken that very seriously. And that’s why we’re trying to build something very special.”–Jack Ross, director of the Tampa Jewish Community Center & Federation that is preparing to renovate and repurpose the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory.
* “I’ve said we need a change in leadership style or a change in leadership. (Hillsborough County Superintendent of Schools) MaryEllen (Elia) can alter her leadership style. She needs to listen more. She needs to treat people with respect.”–School Board member April Griffin.
* “For me, it was an easy decision. This is an event that really represents our community as one, which I believe we are.”–Rick Kriseman, who became the first sitting mayor of St. Petersburg to march in the St. Pete Pride Parade.