Category: Media Watch

If you’ve read the reviews or seen a trailer or just love pets and wonder what they think about, you’d want to check out the animated, 3-D movie “The Secret Life of Pets.” I certainly wanted to–and did–and, alas, I don’t recommend it. Especially if you’re inclined to bring along a young child.

I was expecting a Jerry Seinfeld-meets-Woody Allen take of what pets, especially dogs, do when  their owners aren’t around. It’s ripe for anecdotal and insight riffs. As a dog(s) owner, I’m already familiar with providing voice-overs for their behaviors and moods. I know I’m not alone.

The first 10 minutes and the last five of “Pets” are precious. It’s what you hoped for. Droll, observational humor and a sentimental (spoiler alert) reunion scene as voiced by the likes of Louis C.K., Albert Brooks, Dana Carvey and others. But they are bookends for what some reviewers have labeled “madcap comedy.”

Would that were the case.

Instead we get high-octane, winceable, squeamish chase scenes–a pop-culture staple of comic-book-and-video-games-gone celluloid. Think nightmares for little kids.

* “I think the infighting between the Taliban and Islamic State and other groups just highlights the complexities of the environment in which we are dealing. And it really highlights why it is important to stay with Afghanistan and help them through this very difficult period.”–Army Gen. Joseph Votel, the commander of CentCom, after President Barack Obama announced his decision to keep 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan through the end of his term.

* “This is a great opportunity for us.”–Niamh Bushnell, Dublin’s commissioner for start-ups, on the business opportunities for Ireland after Britain leaves the European Union.

* “Thank you, Bernie, for your endorsement. And thank you for your lifetime of fighting injustice.”–Hillary Clinton.

* “I don’t know. We’ll see.”–House Speaker Paul Ryan’s response when asked if Donald Trump will cost Republicans congressional seats.

* “We don’t want to put people in jail unless we prove that they knew they were doing something they shouldn’t do. That is the characteristic of all the prosecutions involving mishandling of classified information.”–FBI Director James Comey.

* “I think (FBI Director James) Comey cut the legs out from under the only narrative that could have hurt (Hillary Clinton). I assume that Trump will continue to try to make hay out of this, and I think it will go about as well as the Republicans did on Whitewater or Benghazi or anything else.”–Democratic strategist Robert Shrum.

* “It’s likely that the next president, whoever she will be, will have a few appointments to make.”–U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

* “It is in the interest of police officers that their communities trust them.”–President Barack Obama.

* “All I know is that this must stop, this divisiveness between our police and our citizens. … We’re hurting.”–Dallas Police Chief David Brown.

* “We have broken into tribes. … It becomes more important who your parents are, what the color of your skin is, than whether you are American.”–Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck.

* “The solution is not more guns. The solution is to end the undervaluing of lives, both black and blue.”–Eugene Robinson, Washington Post.

* “Deny it if you can. I sure can’t. Something is wrong with us. And I don’t mind telling you that I fear for my country.”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.

* “There’s a lot at stake here for a lot of people. Part of what we want to do in this (Florida) campaign is bring in those independents and Republican voters who didn’t think twice about voting for Mitt Romney or John McCain but understand the enormous threat that Donald Trump poses to our security and to our economy. … We have a big opportunity and you’re going to see us engaging those voters.”–Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook.

* “Clinton might be a particularly good fit for Florida. She won the Florida Democratic primary decisively in both 2008 and again in 2016. It’s the rare state where Clinton has often done better than Bernie Sanders in pre-election head-to-head polls versus Trump.”–Nate Cohn, New York Times.

* “Rape is caused by rapists who are empowered by a culture that muddies the concept of consent and uses shame and silence to fuel its punishing fire.”–Bradenton Police Chief Melanie Bevan.

* “We’re still the bigger party in Florida and the bigger party nationally. But it naturally eats into our numbers as more people register as NPA (no party affiliation).”–Max Steele, Florida Democratic Party spokesman.

* “Not to air your state’s dirty laundry, but what’s up with Attorney General Pam Bondi?”–Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Grandholm, in a speech to the Pinellas County Democratic Party.

* “The attitude of law enforcement has been dismissive, as if we are making it all up.”–Donna Davis, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Tampa.

* “Honest to God, I don’t know what the answer is. But we’ve got to come together and find a solution before this gets any worse. And I’m not sure how it could get any worse, and I don’t want to find out.”–Former Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor.

* “This is a major proof point of the international potential of our city.”–TIA CEO Joe Lopano, on the U.S DOT designating Tampa for likely Southwest Airlines commercial flights to Havana.

* “We have had (nonstop flights to) San Francisco as our top priority for a long time. San Francisco is at once our most promising route and the most challenging to win.”–TIA vice president Chris Minner.

* “Over the recent events that have happened, we’ve seen more people enrolling in classes to get concealed weapons permits. People are worried about their safety and protecting themselves.”–Fred Flesche, owner of Shooting Sports of Tampa.

* “Theater is as important to Ybor City’s history as cigars.”–Retired Judge E.J. Salcines.

* “We have to film here; it’s an incredible location.”–Director Brad Furman, on filming parts of The Infiltrator in Ybor City.

* Negative campaigning, as we all acknowledge, is something we all abhor. It brings out the worst in us. Why not focus on a candidate’s positives, rather than traffic in opponent downgrading? Why? Because negative ads work.

Hillary Clinton consultant Harold Wolfson put it this way: “There is very little awareness of (Donald Trump’s) business record, or other aspects of his career. I think when a story runs about the number of lawsuits he’s been engaged in or the number of people he’s sued or the number of people he’s stiffed payment, that’s new information.”

And Walter Cronkite once put it this way: “Most people are not interested in all the cats that did not get stuck in trees today.” What is not the norm is newsworthy–to media, to news consumers–and to voters. The unbribed judge, the uncrashed plane: not news.

The unconscionably unprepared, grifter presidential candidate: That better be news.

* Among young Democrats getting national media attention–as in being mentioned in the context of HUD Secretary Julian Castro and Massachusetts Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III–is Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum. The 33-year-old African American, the son of a construction worker and a school bus driver, was elected in 2014. Prior to that the FAMU grad–and former student body president and first student member of FAMU’s Board of Directors–had been a member of the Tallahassee City Commission. In fact, at 23, he was the youngest person ever elected to the TCC.

Florida Dems have not had an impressive bench of late, and Gillum could be a major player in an upcoming cycle.

* What with a presidential campaign, Brexit and ISIS dominating the news, President Obama’s recent modification of the Freedom of Information Act received very little media coverage. That it will give the public greater access to government documents and records is noteworthy. The new law that the president just signed means federal agencies will have to operate under a “presumption of openness” standard. The previous presumption was that of secrecy.

It matters. It should now be harder to withhold information.

* “They have been let loose against us by the forces who hold their leashes. The bombs that explode in our country today will tomorrow explode in the hands of those who sent them.”–Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

* “One of the most admirable aspects of Islam is its emphasis on charity. Yet in countries like Saudi Arabia this money is directed not to fight malnutrition or child mortality, but to brainwash children and sow conflict in poor and unstable countries.”–Nicholas Kristof, New York Times.

* “One of the things that’s easy to forget amid the inflated rhetoric of an election campaign is that the relationship between our three countries goes far deeper than any individual leaders.”–Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the North American Leaders Summit with President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.

* “I’m not prepared to concede the notion that some of the rhetoric that’s been popping up is populist. Somebody who has never shown any regard for workers … in fact, has worked against economic opportunity for workers and ordinary people, doesn’t suddenly become a populist because they say something controversial in order to win votes. That not the measure of populism. That’s nativism, or xenophobia, or worse.”–President Barack Obama.

* “The coming weeks will be decisive. Europe must show its solidity.”–French President Francois Hollande.

* “With a disunited United Kingdom, we need a united Europe more than ever.”–Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.

* “How did this happen? The right in British politics found an issue that’s causing palpitations in the body politic the world over: immigration.”–Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

* “Without Britain, there won’t be anybody in the E.U. to defend sanctions against us so zealously.”–Sergei S. Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow.

* “Free access to the domestic market is granted to those who accept the four basic European freedoms–of people, of goods, of services, of capital.”–German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

* “You can’t vote Britain out of Europe any more than you can vote Minnesota into Tuscany. Britain is part of Europe. Twenty miles from Dover to Calais.”–Garrison Keillor.

* “We’ve got to keep on working to figure out how we promote the long-term growth and sustainability that’s so desperately needed down there, but the people of Puerto Rico need to know that they are not forgotten, that they are part of the American family.”–President Barack Obama.

* “Has Germany ever asked us to forgive? To my knowledge, no such plea was ever made. With whom am I to speak about forgiveness, I, who don’t believe in collective guilt. Who am I to believe in collective innocence?”–The late Elie Wiesel.

* “I certainly wouldn’t do it again.”–Attorney General Loretta Lynch, expressing regret that in a chance encounter she sat down with Bill Clinton while his wife is under federal criminal investigation.

* “When people feel their world is vanishing, they are easy prey for fact-free magical thinking and demagogues who blame immigrants.”–David Brooks, New York Times.

* “Real change never takes place from the top down, or in the living rooms of wealthy campaign contributors. It always occurs from the bottom on up. … That’s why the political revolution must continue.”–Bernie Sanders.

* “Secretary Clinton believes that meeting the climate challenge is too important to wait for climate deniers in Congress to pass comprehensive climate legislation.”–John Podesta, chairman of the Hillary Clinton campaign.

* “Let me just repeat what I have repeated for many months now. I never received nor sent any material (via private email server) that was marked classified.”–Hillary Clinton.

* “The last time a vice-presidential selection may have altered the outcome was in 1960, when John F. Kennedy’s choice of Lyndon B. Johnson assured Democrats of carrying Texas.”–Democratic strategist Doug Sosnik.

* “Florida is the biggest swing state in the country, therefore it is the biggest swing state with an Hispanic population. … The question is, how many people are registered to vote and how many of them actually show up?”–Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

* “For many years, the Supreme Court has maintained that regulations with the purpose or effect of presenting a substantial obstacle to a woman seeking an abortion constitute an undue burden on women trying to exercise their reproductive freedom, and are contrary to principles enshrined in the Constitution. I am pleased that the Supreme Court has reaffirmed this long-standing principle in its decision.”–Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

* “Florida Governor Rick Scott and the Republican-led Legislature should take note, reverse course on laws they passed that clearly are unconstitutional ‘undue burdens’ on women and their health clinics and doctors.”–U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa.

* “A new ballot measure will allow Californians to vote in November on whether to legalize recreational marijuana. Californians will have the option of voting either ‘Yes’ or ‘Hell yes.'”–Conan O’Brien.

* “Everything is 10 percent more expensive now for visitors from the UK to Florida, so that will change some behavior.”–UCF economist Sean Snaith.

* “Ports are cannibalizing each other by going after the same business opportunities. Florida has dozens of ports, unlike other states that may have just one. There’s not enough business anymore to justify how they all want to grow.”–Richard Wainio, former CEO of Port Tampa Bay.

* “We need a diverse Senate that looks like Florida, and we need a diverse congressional delegation that looks like Florida.”–State Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando, chairwoman of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus.

* “Passengers will see an increased police presence. There may be other additional security modifications that they do not see, like officers in civilian clothes.”–TIA spokeswoman Christine Osborn.

* “This group has been unbelievable, this city has been unbelievable to me. … We have some unfinished business.”–Steven Stamkos, who signed an 8-year deal to stay with the Lightning.

* So Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump’s inartful, in-over-his-head campaign manager and hero-worshipping enabler is out. It was a matter of time once Paul Manafort, who’s not gravitas-challenged, had come on board. No shock to anyone.

Even letting “Trump be Trump” must have some limits in a general-election campaign. Rumors of infighting had become more than rumors, and there were viral references to a certain old, Irish saying: “When everybody says you’re drunk, you’d better sit down.” Never a good sign.

But what did take some of the media aback was Lewandowski’s post-Trump pursuit. He was hired by CNN as a political commentator. Beyond shabby. Still treading ratings water, the network recruited pseudo-access cachet. Lewandowski has a no-disclosure exit deal.

But the Lewandowski hire will play out beyond the November elections. Count on it being referenced again in the spring by next year’s Washington Correspondents’ Dinner comedian. At least Wolf Blitzer won’t have to take all the incoming.

* If your cable TV package includes the BBC channel, check it out while the Brexit story dominates news coverage. Across-the-pond talking heads and correspondents provide a helpful perspective on an unfolding narrative with obvious British, global and American ripple effects. If you’re a Bright House/Charter Communications customer, that would be Channel 123.

* “I held nothing back. I love this country, and I feel honored to have served it.”–British Prime Minister David Cameron, in announcing his post-Brexit resignation.

* “One thing that will not change is the special relationship. That will endure.”–President Barack Obama.

* “I do not understand why the British government needs until October to decide whether to send the divorce letter to Brussels. I would like it immediately. It is not an amicable divorce, but it was also not an intimate love affair.”–Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission.

* “This will certainly have consequences for Britain, for Europe and for us. The consequences will be global, they are inevitable; they will be both positive and negative.”–Russian President Vladimir Putin.

* “Geopolitically and strategically, the Kremlin thinks it will benefit.”–Nikolay Petrov, professor of political science at the National Research University’s Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

* “Policymakers and opinion-shapers need to empathize with the plight of their fellow citizens, but their obligation is to first do no harm. Inciting polarization and perpetuating economic illiteracy are unacceptable and risk setting off destructive forces.”–Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post.

* “I am ‘the king of debt.’ That has been great for me as a businessman, but is bad for the country. I made a fortune off of debt, will fix U.S.”–Donald Trump.

* “Twitter is not an economic policy.”–Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

* “A small, insecure money-grubber who fights for no one but himself.”–Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, in referring to Donald Trump.

* “(Trump’s) policies on trade, immigration and national security threaten trade wars, social unrest and alienation from friends and allies abroad.”–Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post.

* “I do what I do.”–Donald Trump.

* “When it comes to the presidency, I will not vote for Donald Trump. I’ll be voting for Hillary Clinton, with the hope that she can bring Americans together to do the things necessary to strengthen our economy, our environment and our place in the world. Simply put, a Trump presidency is unthinkable.”–Henry Paulson, former Treasury Secretary during the George W. Bush Administration.

* “The fight isn’t over: The next president has to protect women’s health. Women won’t be ‘punished’ for exercising their basic rights.”–Hillary Clinton.

* “We have turned a deaf ear to the blood of innocents. We are blind to a crisis. Where is our courage?”–U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a leader of the gun-control sit-in in the House.

* “We will not leave the floor of this House until Congress takes action!”–U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla.

* “We stand with you to say that the good in the world far outweighs the evil … and that our most effective response to terror and hatred is compassion, unity and love.”–Attorney General Loretta Lynch, in directly addressing the LBGT community.

* “It doesn’t appear that I’m going to be the nominee… . What our job is now is to have (Hillary Clinton) listen to what millions of people in this country who supported me want to see happen. We’ll see how that evolves.”–Sen. Bernie Sanders.

* “The business model that has grown up in pay TV is, figure out a way to make the entry price as low as possible, figure out how to roll people off that entry price as quickly as you can and then deal with their anger once they realize the price has gone up. The angrier they get, the more likely they are to get something from you.”–Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., a member of the Senate Permanent Investigations subcommittee.

* “I believe that if you want to be president of the United States, you run for president. You don’t run for president with some eject button in the cockpit that allows you to go on an exit ramp if it doesn’t work out.”–Sen. Marco Rubio.

* “Marco Rubio abandoned his constituents, and now he’s treating them like a consolation prize.”–U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy of Jupiter, the Democratic establishment favorite in the Florida senate race.

* “(Rubio’s) one of the most widely known, failed senators in the Congress.”–Florida Republican senatorial candidate Carlos Beruff.

* “Marco’s going to have a tough time because Hillary is going to sweep Florida.”–Sen. Bill Nelson.

* “As governor, in the face of partisan attacks, (Charlie Crist) had the courage to save jobs and lead his state into economic recovery.”–President Barack Obama.

* “The DOT, whether it was with intent or not, really pitted the different segments of the community against each other by the way they packaged this (TBX) all together. You have the business folks  who were on the yes side, and you have the neighborhoods that were on the opposite side.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner, who cast one of the four MPO “no” votes.

* “At the top of this organization there is no doubt  about where we stand regarding LGBT equality under the law.”–Tampa Bay Rays President Brian Auld.

* “We at USF are in the top 25 of all public research universities in the country. That means move over UNC Chapel Hill, move over Ohio State and University of Michigan. USF is in the top 25 with you, so there.”–USF President Judy Genshaft.

* Like a lot of folks, I was lured into watching the ESPN documentary “OJ: Made in America.” Some have said it may be the best thing–all seven hours worth–that ESPN’s ever done. I wouldn’t disagree.

A couple of quick takeaways.

Some things are learned for the first time. To wit, the incarcerated Simpson’s hands swelled after he stopped taking his arthritis meds. An obvious factor in trying on “you-must-acquit” gloves–in addition to wearing disposable, latex gloves underneath. And in addition to leather shrinkage caused by blood saturation.

The de facto verdict rendered by the jury: The Los Angeles Police Department was found guilty of racism. Simpson and Rodney King were forever linked.

* While I understand why President Barack Obama goes on late-night talk shows–he’s really good at it and it puts him in front of an alternate demographic–I wish he wouldn’t. The office of the presidency–no matter who occupies it–deserves better than co-billing with Madonna and “slow-jamming the news” with Jimmy Fallon.

Best presidential lines from the recent Fallon appearance.

>On Hillary Clinton: “Whip-smart and tough.”

>On being succeeded by Donald Trump: “Orange is not the new black.”

* “While we do not know if any advanced extraterrestrial civilizations currently exist in our galaxy, we now have enough information to conclude that they almost certainly existed at some point in cosmic history.”–University of Rochester astrophysicist and author Adam Frank.

* “Technological progress without an equivalent progress in human institutions can doom us. The scientific revolution that led to the splitting of an atom requires a moral revolution as well.”–President Barack Obama.

* “We will no longer take funds from the EU and its member states in protest at their shameful deterrence policies and their intensification of efforts to push people back from European shores.”–Doctors Without Borders.

* “(Donald Trump) wants Americans to think about global affairs in terms of financial transactions that net America money rather than relationships that promote security, freedom and order.”–Peter Wehner, senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

* “Trump assumes that the Republican electorate is representative of the national electorate. It’s not.”–Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post.

* “Mr. Trump has found his place at last, and it is with the mob.”–Kevin Baker, essayist and author of the historical novel “The Big Crowd.”

* “He appeals to our fears, preys on our anxieties and exploits our ignorance. A worse candidate to sit in the Oval Office for the next four years cannot be imagined.”–Republican consultant and analyst Mac Stipanovich.

* “The problem is Trump. You can fire all the yes men want, but the campaign reflects on the candidate, and the candidate is hopelessly flawed.”–Republican strategist Mike Murphy.

* “Sure, there will be a roll call eventually. My plan until then is to help the senator do whatever he wants to do to further the political revolution.”–Jeff Weaver, campaign manager for Bernie Sanders.

* “We need common sense gun laws, common sense gender equality and religious pluralism and common sense privacy laws. But that takes common sense leaders, not ones who think the complexities of this age can be bombed away, walled away, willed away or insulted away.”–Thomas Friedman, New York Times.

* “Keeping military-grade combat weapons out of the hands of maniacs should not be a controversial idea.”–Eugene Robinson, Washington Post.

* “Today, some of our politicians and the people who back them seem to promote a culture of gun ownership that does not conform with what I learned in the military.”–Gen. Stanley McChrystal, former commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan.

* “If there’s a glimmer of hope in the massacre of dozens of patrons at a gay nightclub in Orlando, it’s this. It has firmly established gay Americans as an ‘us,’ rather than a ‘them.'”–Frank Cerabino, Cox Newspapers.

* “The guilt of being alive is heavy.”–Patience Carter, a wounded survivor of the Orlando mass shooting.

* “For decades, the world has come to Orlando to have fun. And, now, when we needed it most, the world came to Orlando’s aid.”–Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.

* “Sadly, it is religion, including our own, which targets, mostly verbally, and also often breeds contempt for gays, lesbians and transgender people. … Singling out people for victimization because of their religion, their sexual orientation, their nationality must be offensive to God’s ears.”–Bishop Robert Lynch of the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg.

* “For the religious person, it is about God. For the terrorist, it is about himself. When Omar Mateen was in the midst of his rampage, he was posting on Facebook and calling a TV station. His audience was us, not the Divine.”–David Brooks, New York Times.

“Martyrdom, sir, is what these people like: It is the only way in which a man can become famous without ability.”–George Bernard Shaw in “The Devil’s Disciple.”

* “This is a much harder to kill mosquito than normal. This is the cockroach of mosquitoes. … It’s very difficult to control.”–Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in referencing the Zika virus.

* “In a year when politicians traffic in anti-immigrant rhetoric, there is also a Broadway musical reminding us that a broke, orphan immigrant from the West Indies built our financial system. A story that reminds us that since the beginning of the great unfinished symphony that is our American experiment, time and time again, immigrants get the job done.”–Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of “Hamilton.”

* “The last thing you want to do as an elected official is raise people’s fees for anything, but I said, ‘We have a choice. You either want to live in Atlantis or you want to live in Miami Beach.'”–Miami Beach Mayor Phillip Levine, on why he’s leading a $400 million campaign to build pumping stations, raise roads and sea walls and upgrade the city’s stormwater system.

* “One of the factors for remaining in the Senate was to entertain the prospect of running statewide again.”–Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon.

* “The irony is the U.S. may be more of a threat to Cuba as a friend than as an enemy.”–David Guggenheim, president of Ocean Doctor, a joint rescue project with Cuban scientists, on the possibility of overdevelopment endangering coral reefs.

* “I can’t think of any other city that is quite like Tampa. It’s an easy place to live and very friendly.”–James Nozar, the new CEO of Jeff Vinik’s Strategic Property Partners.

* “We watched and waited, got our hopes up and dashed. But we’re on the verge of something very special here.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn, on the announcement that construction will begin this summer on the first phase of the mixed-used (Tampa) Heights project.

* “This was an act of terror and an act of hate.”–President Barack Obama, on the mass shooting in Orlando.

* “If China were eating America’s lunch, its people would not be rushing to buy safe-haven apartments in New York or San Francisco.”–Ruchir Sharma, chief global strategist at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

* “The Puerto Rican people are our fellow Americans. They pay our taxes, they fight in our wars. We cannot allow this to happen.”–House Speaker Paul Ryan, in imploring lawmakers to pass a rescue package for debt-stricken Puerto Rico.

* “… I don’t think there’s ever been someone so qualified to hold this office. She’s got the courage, the compassion and the heart to get this job done.”–President Barack Obama, in endorsing Hillary Clinton for president.

* “She won because she’s a fighter.”–Sen. Elizabeth Warren, in her endorsement of Hillary Clinton.

* “It never feels good to put our heart into a cause or a candidate you believe in and come up short. I know that feeling well. But as we look ahead to the battle that awaits, let’s remember all that unites us.”–Hillary Clinton.

* “Needless to say, I’m going to do everything in my power, and I’m going to work as hard as I can, to make sure that Donald Trump does not become president of the United States.”–Bernie Sanders.

* “I’ll be here so much … Seriously, we need Florida. It’s absolutely imperative. They say if you don’t win Florida, it’s over.”–Donald Trump at his Tampa rally.

* “I cannot and will not support my party’s nominee for president.”–Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois.

* “During the circus-like years of Silvio Berlusconi, Italians grew flinchingly accustomed to being the butts of the world’s jokes. Will they have the last laugh? They look toward America and wonder. In Donald Trump, we have a version of their buffoonish former prime minister–a clown all our own. He baffles and appalls much of Europe.”–Frank Bruni, New York Times.

* “You win the pennant and now you’re in the World Series–you gonna change?”–Donald Trump.

* “A party’s rules are not a suicide pact.”–Conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt.

* “One day, we shall all have to account for what we did and what we said in this scoundrel year. For now, we each have our conscience to attend to.”–Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post.

* “(Paul Ryan) spent the first eight months of his speakership shepherding a policy agenda that is already being eclipsed by the rhetoric of a GOP nominee whom Ryan loathes yet feels obligated to support because of the office he holds.”–Tim Alberta, National Review.

* “Republicans have not changed Mr. Trump for the better; he has changed them for the worse.”–Peter Wehner, senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

* “We hold that the Second Amendment does not preserve or protect a right of a member of the general public to carry concealed firearms in public.”–9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge William A. Fletcher, writing for the majority.

* “We are dealing with a crisis situation in our city right now. Look, the sky really is falling.”–Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, who is pushing a sales tax to help pay down the city’s $2.8 billion pension debt.

* “If you want to try to defend (Attorney General Pam) Bondi’s actions, try finishing this sentence for me: ‘I think it is perfectly appropriate for a prosecutor to take big chunks of money from someone she has been asked to investigate because …'”–Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel.

* “I’d rather build a Riverwalk than talk about building a wall.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

* “About 1.3 million people live in Hillsborough County, with that number expected to double within the next 20 years. Without significant investments in transportation options, we are setting ourselves up for a future of traffic jams.”–Bob Rohrlack, president and CEO of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.

* “Unfortunately, the commission’s majority continues to lack the courage to let voters decide the way we move forward. Any plan that does not incorporate the needs of the three cities is not a plan and is merely a failed effort by politicians more concerned about the next election rather than the next generation.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn, on the Hillsborough  County Commission’s rejection of a half-cent sales tax hike of 20 years on a 4-3 vote.

* “The main issue in Tampa in 2015 wasn’t the bike stops. It was black youth killing black youth. … We can argue bike stops all night long. I want to argue how we can keep our youth safe … .”–Tampa Police Captain Calvin Johnson, at a recent community forum on racial disparities in the city’s issuance of bicycle citations.

* “Obviously, we’ve got an aging (sewer) system. We’re trying to invest in that system. We need City Council to approve those types of investments.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

* “I agree with the people that don’t want this and they don’t think they should have this in the neighborhood without a complete study done. People just feel like it’s going to destroy their neighborhood. Tampa Heights, Seminole Heights. Even though they’re older, they’re transforming into vibrant communities.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller, on objections to Tampa Bay Express.

* “TBX will not solve congestion. In most universes that should be enough to kill it.”–Tampa Heights Civic Association president Rick Fernandez.

* “We have reached a level of human suffering without parallel since the founding of the United Nations.”–UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

* “Have we really forgotten what just happened (economically) eight years ago?”–President Barack Obama.

* “This is someone who should never have the nuclear codes, because it’s not hard to imagine Donald Trump leading us into a war just because somebody got under his very thin skin.”–Hillary Clinton.

* “It’s true that Donald Trump is not Hitler. But the fact that the comparison is a recognizable part of our new political landscape, and that the man at its center is not actively seeking to prove it wrong, shows how severe the current crisis is, and hints at how dark the future might get.”–Justin E. H. Smith, author and professor of philosophy at the University of Paris.

* “When Donald Trump tells the truth, it should be labeled ‘Breaking News–Trump tells truth without immediately contradicting himself. We’re now going live to the scene right now.'”–Thomas Friedman, New York Times.

* “Donald Trump, I believe, is a true menace.”–Robert Reich, former secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton.

* “The Republican Party is torn apart. There is no question in my mind there is a path toward a viable third or fourth party in the future.”–David Johnson, former executive director of the Republican Party of Florida.

* “This is one of the worst mistakes Trump has made. I think it’s inexcusable.”–Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, on Trump’s attack on the Latino judge who’s presiding over the Trump University lawsuit.

* “I wish Reince Priebus was my party chair. He did a better job of handling the Trump situation than I’ve seen my party chair handle this (Clinton-Sanders) situation. I’m ashamed to say that.”–Liberal commentator Van Jones.

* “We can certainly argue about the way in which (Edward) Snowden did what he did, but I think that he actually performed a public service by raising the debate we engaged in and by the changes that we made.”–Former Attorney General Eric Holder.

* “Every generation inherits a world and its creatures. Every generation should aspire to bequeath a world that is, at the very least, undiminished.”–Chicago Tribune editorial.

* “Cassius Clay was born in Louisville. Muhammad Ali was born in Miami.”–Ferdie Pacheco.

* “If I had somebody in the White House that cared about jobs, just think what I could accomplish my last two years.”–Gov. Rick Scott.

* “I had a really nice car. You can drive 103 (mph) and it not be dangerous. Still, it’s wrong. I get it.”–Republican U.S. Senate candidate Carlos Beruff, explaining the time his license was suspended for going 103 mph on I-75 in 2010 in his Mercedes S550.

* “(Democratic Sen. Bill) Nelson doesn’t appear to pay big dividends for Clinton. … On the other hand, (Gov. Rick) Scott could be toxic for Trump in the state. A whopping 40 percent of Florida voters say they would be less likely to vote for Trump with Scott on the ticket.”–Running-mate analysis from recent Mason-Dixon poll of Florida voters.

* “I think the availability of clean drinking water will determine what the growth patterns are in the state of Florida for a generation.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

* “It’s not the (transit) plan that’s preventing us from moving forward. To be honest, I think it’s building political will.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner.

* “The lineup you have in the morning presents a really great opportunity for a terrorist hit. Somebody with an automatic weapon can wipe out a whole bunch of service men and women at one time.”–State Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, noting the line of cars backing up every day on Dale Mabry Highway outside MacDill Air Force Base.

* “Being a land-rich port is a big ace-card in this industry, and there’s a lot of potential opportunities.”–Sal Kass, general manager of Ports America, on Port Tampa Bay’s “Port Vision 2030” master plan update.

* “At the end of the day, in the state of Florida, all working class and middle class people deserve a raise, so I do support the (minimum-wage) increase. And I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that I think all fast food employees should make $15 tomorrow.”–State Rep. Ed Narain, at a candidate forum for the state Senate District 19 race.

* “My art is in a space that will have more visitors than any museum around the world.”–Cuban artist Esterio Segura, whose wingspan art will be suspended from the ceiling at TIA’s Airside F.