* “From now on, we will respond with force to any aggressor or any breach of red lines from whoever it is and America knows our ability to respond well.”–Joint statement from Russian, Iranian and Asad–backed forces.
* “If you gas a baby, you will see a response from this president.”–White House spokesperson Sean Spicer.
* “Terrorists want us to be afraid, to not live our lives normally. Terrorists can never defeat Sweden. Never.”–Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven.
* “Self-inflicted coup.”–How Luis Almagro, secretary general of the Organization of American States, characterized the move by Venezuela’s Supreme Court to strip the national legislature of its powers.
* “(President Trump) doesn’t like to telegraph all the cards he’s holding.”–Sean Spicer.
* “The most consequential decision I’ve ever been involved in was the decision to let the president being elected last year pick the Supreme Court nominee.”–Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
* “We’re heading into a world where you don’t need one person from the other side to pick a judge. The judges are going to be more ideological, not less.”–Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
* “The Supreme Court has become more than ever a superlegislature.”–Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post.
* “(Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump) are going to have to walk a fine line between matters they are involved with financially and the policies they are helping create and legislation they may be advocating.”–Scott H. Amey, general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight.
* “Populism will always stand in tension with democracy.”–University of Texas political scientist Kurt Weyland.
* “Deficit spending is justified when the benefits of borrowing exceed the costs of borrowing.”–William L. Holahan and Charles O. Kroncke, co-authors of “Economics for Voters.”
* “Bill O’Reilly needs to go to jail.”–U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.
* “The United States of America is truly an exceptional country. It is clear that something is wrong. Since the turn of the century, the U.S. has dumped trillions of dollars into wars, piled huge debt onto students, forced legions of foreigners to leave after getting advanced degrees, driven millions of Americans out of the workplace with felonies for sometimes minor offenses and hobbled the housing market with hastily crafted layers of rules.”–JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
* “Restoring Florida Forever funding ensures that we do not lose the best parts of Florida forever.”–Former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham.
* “In general, the economic outlook is very positive, and the positive sentiment will aid the economy to expand even further.”–Hector H. Sandoval, director of the University of Florida’s Economic Analysis Program, on survey results that show Floridians optimistic about their own finances, current economic conditions and the future of the economy.
* “The campaigns never end. Why do we need two years instead of five months?”–Trial lawyer John “For the People” Morgan, on not yet committing to run for governor in 2018.
* “There’s such a rich history. Writing a medical marijuana law should not be a reinvention of the wheel.”–Ben Pollara, executive director of Florida for Care, the advocacy group that led the campaign for Amendment 2.
* “I believe the ultimate arbiter of term limits is the ballot box.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan.
* “The department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the nation’s sheriffs are at a standoff. … We chastise our children for bullying behavior, and reward cooperative solutions. We should expect nothing less of our federal government.”–Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.
* “They can issue all the executive orders in Washington, D.C., they want, but they can’t extinguish our hope. They can do damage in Tallahassee, but they’re not going to deny our future.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn, during his state of the city speech this week.
* “The next couple of years are going to be pretty remarkable in terms of new hospitality products and the caliber of hotels entering the market. … Downtown Tampa and West Shore are absolutely ripe for a luxury hotel, and a luxury hotel would do extremely well in downtown St. Pete.”– Lou Plasencia, CEO of Tampa’s Plasencia Group hotel sales and consulting firm.
* “There’s a pent-up demand for penthouses.”–Tampa real estate broker Toni Everett.
* “My only regret is I’m term-limited.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.
* “We told the Rays that their forever place is right here in St. Petersburg. That’s what this was all about.”–St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, in touting the city’s report on why the 85-acre Trop site is the best place in the Tampa Bay region to build a new baseball stadium.
* “It is amazing. The ferry, I think, has passed the test. We know there is strong demand for water transit.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman, on the six-month, Cross- Bay Ferry pilot program.
* “The ball is in the city’s hands. Nothing has changed.”–David Yates, CEO of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, in reiterating that the Aquarium is committed to selling a key piece of downtown property to the city–regardless of outside offers, including Scientology.