* “Not only is it not necessary, we don’t want them. We won’t allow them. Full stop.”–Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, in ruling out the stationing of troops from America or other nations in Iraq.
* “They (ISIS) will only be defeated or destroyed once they’re rejected by the populations in which they hide. … And, therefore, the way forward seems to me to run clearly through a coalition of Arab and Muslim partners and not through the ownership of the United States in this issue.”–Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.
* “Say this for Russian President Vladimir Putin: He has ended NATO’s decades-old existential crisis.”–Bloomberg View.
* “The past is never dead. It isn’t even past.”–William Faulkner.
* “Our American partners realize Liberia cannot defeat Ebola alone.”–Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
* “We have chosen unity over division.”–Alistair Darling, head of the No campaign, on Scotland’s vote to remain part of the UK.
* “When the world is threatened, when the world needs help, it calls on America. Even the countries that complain about America, when they need help, who do they call? They call us, and then America calls on you.”–President Barack Obama, in his speech to troops at MacDill Air Force Base.
* “Not being as bad as someone else is hardly the same as being good. Obama can rise far above Bush and still fall short. … You’re judged by how well you respond to the unique circumstances of your time and place–by your ability to clean up the mess, not whether you made it.”–Frank Bruni, New York Times.
* “This is totally and wholly unacceptable. … How safe is the president if this can happen?”–Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee, commenting on the armed intruder who hopped the White House fence and made it inside before being apprehended.
* “We call on all of the NFL’s sponsors to take a stand against domestic violence by withdrawing their support for the NFL until (Commissioner Roger) Goodell is out of office.”–Nita Chaudhary, a founder of UltraViolet, a women’s rights advocacy group.
* “This is about pot clinics potentially opening all over the state and children being able to get cards for medical marijuana for simply having a stubbed toe.”–Attorney General Pam Bondi.
* “You’re seeing a very pronounced shift toward voting by mail like you’ve never seen before.”–Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley.
* “There’s no getting around that a lot of the jobs we’ve added in the past five years are in leisure/hospitality and in the retail trade, and they tend to pay lower wages.”–Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wells Fargo, on median household income in Tampa Bay statistically lower than it was in 2010.
* “With Greenlight Pinellas and MyRide/MyRoads in Polk on the ballot this November, we have a historic window of opportunity in Tampa Bay to accomplish a real transformation in how we get around our communities. Allowing that window to close would be a mistake that would jeopardize our economic future.”–Stuart Rogel, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Partnership.
* “I know that there are some efforts to create a bold transit vision here in the area, and you have to come together as a community to get that done.”–U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx.
* “Developing a modern multi-modal transportation system for public use is the single most significant action that a local government can take to reduce the effects of carbon pollution. Of course, the high-speed ferry by itself is not going to save planet Earth, but it’s a very important first step toward creating a viable transportation system here in Hillsborough County.”–Tampa Bay Sierra Club President Chairman Kent Bailey.
* “We’ve had our eye on Tampa for a while. … It’s doing particularly well right now coming out of the recession. That’s a good, stable economic base, and we see the momentum coming back into downtown.”–Conor McNally, chief development officer for Carter & Associates, an Atlanta-based real estate developer with plans to turn downtown’s “Grant block” into a 23-story, residential tower.
* “What’s really, really cool is that finally, I think our authenticity is becoming a driver.”–Visit Tampa Bay CEO Santiago Corrada, on the role a new branding campaign has had on a record year for county bed tax collections.
* “Neither of us can do anything about the past, but we can do something about the future.”–Tampa General Hospital CEO Jim Burkhart, in emphasizing the collaboration necessary between TGH and the USF medical school.
* “It’s not something I would subscribe to. First of all, it’s a horrible optic. And the chances of needing it are very, very small. That’s just me.”–John Newman, Hillsborough’s school police chief, commenting on the Pinellas County School District’s discount purchase of 28 M-16 assault rifles from the federal government.
* “Hospitals need it to provide the best care, and our companies need it to attract the best and brightest people they can get.”–Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Bob Rohrlack, speaking to the Hillsborough County Commission on behalf of a domestic partnership registry.