* “Pretending that Putin has a certain strategic interest that can be shared, it’s wrong. I don’t see any real strategic issue where his interest could be common with Europe.”–Garry Kasparov, Russian chess master and political activist.
* “They live in a place where it is very dangerous to be honest.”–National Book Award winner for non-fiction Evan Osnos, the author of Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth and Faith in the New China.
* “It is also painful to see that the struggle against hunger and malnutrition is hindered by ‘market priorities’ and the ‘primacy of profit,’ which have reduced foodstuffs to a commodity like any other, subject to speculation, also of a financial nature.”–Pope Francis, in addressing a U.N. conference on nutrition.
* “To those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: Pass a bill.”–President Barack Obama.
* “We went down the government shutdown route a year ago. It didn’t work, and I think a lot of people that recall that don’t think it’s wise to repeat that exercise. We’ve got a lot more than just a sledgehammer in the toolbox, and so let’s use some of these other weapons that we have.”–Congressman Tom Cole, R-Ok.
* “What did the president do? He pulled the pin on the grenade two weeks after the election, as our leadership was trying to extend the olive branch of working together.”–Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio.
* “Stop whining, stop crying. You have a majority. Use it for the American people.”–Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill.
* “At a time where … the American people want Washington focused on jobs and the economy, the House Republicans choose to sue us, sue the president for doing his job–and using taxpayer resources at the same time–for a lawsuit that their own congressional research service could not identify any merit for.”–White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz, in response to House Republicans filing a lawsuit against the Administration over unilateral actions on the health care law that they say are abuses of executive authority.
* “There’s only joy in the fight. Where I come from, we just never talk about quitting, and we don’t talk about whining.”–Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., after her bill on behalf of the Keystone XL pipeline fell one vote shy of passage in the Senate.
* “In the long run it is unambiguously bad to have low oil prices from an environmental perspective.”–Harvard economist James Stock, who recently served on the Council of Economic Advisers.
* “Hurting others or destroying property is not the answer. No matter what the grand jury decides, I don’t want my son’s death to be in vain. I want it to lead to incredible change, positive change, change that makes the St. Louis region better for everyone.”–Michael Brown Sr., father of Michael Brown.
* “People may have an easy time rationalizing away only one victim, but not when there are a number of them. … In the last decade, we’ve all been developing a greater awareness of just how common these crimes are.”–Scott Berkowitz, president of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.
* “Humor is a tool of last resort. If you don’t have power, you might as well make jokes.”–Jon Stewart.
* “This morning, over 213 million Chinese students went to school and nobody debated whether academic expectations should be lowered in order to protect the students’ self-esteem. Yet in Orange County, Florida, that exact debate did occur.”–Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
* ” Following an unusually slow start, Florida’s economic recovery now appears to be firmly on track. … Florida has regained its position as one of the nation’s best places to do business, with a relatively low cost of living and incredibly diverse and highly desirable quality of life.”–Mark Vitner, Wells Fargo Securities senior economist.
* “You may say our caucus is a minority of members, but those are members who represent 6 million Floridians. We look forward to airing our differences with passion and respect.”–Rep. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, the newly elected Democratic minority leader.
* “Our actions will determine whether we are an irrelevant debating team or a collaborative, substantive political force with a policy agenda embraced by the majority of Floridians.”–Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg.
* “This is a watershed moment–akin to the opening of the airport originally.”–Hillsborough County Aviation Authority chairman Robert Watkins, on groundbreaking for TIA’s $943 million expansion and upgrade.
* “Transportation is your greatest vulnerability.”–Barry Quarles, who heads Market Enhancement Group, on Tampa’s biggest challenge in recruiting brand-name, corporate headquarters.
* “It’s a lot of work to be the guinea pig, but you reap the rewards, too. If you just do what everyone else has done, you just end up last.”–Jay Mize, co-owner and developer of the Tampa location of Ferg’s, a Channelside restaurant designed out of shipping containers.
* “The market has matured to the level where we can go direct to the consumer. We’re taking our training wheels off.”–Visit St. Pete/Clearwater interim CEO David Downing on VSPC’s strategy of advertising directly to British and Irish tourists.
* “Smoothly awkward.”–Tampa Bay Rays baseball operations president Matt Silverman characterizing trade negotiations with his predecessor, Andrew Friedman, now in charge of the Los Angeles Dodgers.