Category: Media Watch

* During the 30 seconds it takes to read Parade magazine, I gleaned a trivia tidbit about “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”–in addition to the time-flies realization that it’s now a 30-year-old movie. Bueller’s high school buddy, Cameron, was played by Alan Ruck–who was 29 years old at the time. Who knew?

It reminded me of another–much more impactful–movie with noteworthy actor-character age disparity: “The Graduate.” Dustin Hoffman, playing recent college grad Benjamin Braddock, was already 30–and Anne Bancroft, as the iconic, seductive Mrs. Robinson, was all of 36. But the relationship dynamic, as we saw, was spot–coo, coo, ca-choo–on. BTW, “The Graduate” will turn 50 next year.

* Anyone else think this when an online or print headline references the fallout from the Terry  Bollea-Gawker trial: How slow does a news day have to be for another prominent update on something so quintessentially repulsive?

* “We have a shared responsibility to look directly into the eye of history and ask what we must do differently to curb such suffering again.”–President Barack Obama, speaking at Hiroshima, Japan.

* “This tragedy must not be allowed to occur again.”–Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

* “We have known the agony of war. Let us now find the courage, together, to spread peace, and pursue a world without nuclear weapons.”–President Barack Obama.

* “The regime is overwhelmed at the moment, and there’s an element of improvisation–as always with the Cubans–so they are going to go very slowly. They fear the speed of China’s transition, and Tiananmen Square is their nightmare.”–Frank Mora, former Deputy Assistant U.S. Secretary of Defense under President Obama.

* “If you can’t travel, kill someone where you are.”–FBI Director James Comey, summarizing his view of the ISIS approach.

* “We are suffering badly. The restaurants and hotels are empty because there is a fear factor to coming here. …We want your business, so everything is cheaper than it ever was.”–Mickey Creyf, chief executive of Belgium-based BTS Travel Group.

* “We are in serious times, and this is a really serious job. This is not entertainment. This is not a reality show. This is a contest for the presidency of the United States.”–President Barack Obama.

* “You have to take the threat of Trump becoming president seriously, but you shouldn’t treat him as a serious person.”–Dan Pfeiffer, former senior adviser to President Obama.

* “The guy’s a maniac. You could run the old LBJ ad against Goldwater, with, ‘Three, two, one,’ and a hydrogen bomb blows up with a little girl counting daisies.”–California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton.

* “Crazy Bernie. He’s a crazy man, but that’s okay, we like crazy.”–Donald Trump.

* “How cruel to you have to be to actually root for a crisis?”–Hillary Clinton.

* “Hillary can’t generate excitement on her own, so she is relying on fear of Trump to get her into the White House. And Trump is relying on fear of everything to get him into the White House.”–Maureen Dowd, New York Times.

* “The greatest irony here may be that the Clintonian urge for privacy produces the opposite of what she needs. Clinton as candidate has done best when she allows the real person inside to poke through the protective shell. Clinton improves when her “personal” becomes accessible. She continually disserves herself by striving to shield.”–Ruth Marcus, Washington Post.

* “I have a hard time believing that even a Republican Congress would enact his (Trump’s) tax plan, because it would create enormous deficits.”–William G. Gale, co-director of the Tax Policy Center.

* “We’re going to march with or without permits. It’s our right to do so.”–Tom Burke, organizer of the Coalition to Stop Trump and March on the RNC, about plans for the Republican National Convention next month in Cleveland.

* “Poll data shows that @marcobubio does by far the best in holding onto his Senate seat in Florida. Important to keep the MAJORITY. Run Marco!”–Donald Trump tweet.

* “I am fiscally conservative in spades and I am socially liberal in spades. I would cut back on military interventions that have the unintended consequence of making us less safe in the world.”–Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico.

* “We’re trying to find that balance of security, but also keep the historic nature of the White House and keep it open for the public. The public doesn’t want to come to the White House and see a wall where you can’t actually see it.”–Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy, on plans for a new White House security fence.

* “Stereotyping and discrimination are wrong, whether against gays or Muslims, or against conservatives or evangelicals. We shouldn’t define one as bigotry and the other as enlightenment.”–Nicholas Kristof,  New York Times.

* “If we all come together and reclaim our streets, reclaim our parks, there’s no room for the gangbangers.”–Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

* “Wage theft is an epidemic causing harm to low-wage workers struggling to support their families every single day.”–New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman.

* “I tell people I’m not running towards it, but I’m not running from it.”–Former Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford, on the possibility of running for governor in 2018.

* “Here’s an idea: Let’s entice businesses with our weather, natural resources and quality of life. We already have one of the lowest tax burdens in the nation. Instead of corporate handouts, let’s invest the money in infrastructure, education and training for a ready workforce.”–Paula Dockery, former state legislator.

* “People should endeavor to become educated. Some formal training is recommended, particularly when it comes to the nautical rules of the road.”–Advice to boaters from Gary Morse, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Florida leads the nation in registered vessels and number of accidents.

I’ll admit I watched last week’s well-hyped, prime-time special on Fox: “Megyn Kelly Presents.” Luckily, I don’t have to admit that I liked it. I didn’t. Not unexpectedly, it was a self-serving, career move by both Megyn Kelly and Donald Trump. A show-biz win-win for two players who, ironically, deserve each other.

When you find yourself yelling follow-up questions at the screen, you know that Trump is still being Trump–and doing anything to become president. And Kelly is still being Kelly–and doing anything to become Barbara Walters/Oprah Winfrey.

BTW, Trump wasn’t Kelly’s only guest–just her biggest “get.” She also chatted with actors Michael Douglas and Laverne Cox, as well as Robert Shapiro, who’s back in the news thanks to the O.J. Simpson-case revival on FX. And speaking of Shapiro, I wanted Kelly to ask him his response to his Simpson-case portrayal by John Travolta. In short, “So, Robert, what’s your reaction to Travolta portraying you as vain and stupid?”

* “The United States is fully lifting the ban on the sale of military equipment to Vietnam that’s been in place for some 50 years.”–President Barack Obama.

* “Life here has become a misery. You walk around always stressed, always scared, and lynching offers a collective catharsis. You can’t do anything about the lines or inflation, but for one moment, at least, the mob feels like it’s making a difference.”–Violence Observatory director Roberto Briceno-Leon, on life in Venezuela.

* “Facts, evidence, reason, logic, an understanding of science–these are good things. These are qualities you want in people making policy. In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue.”–President Barack Obama, in a commencement address at Rutgers University.

* “This is how fascism comes to America, not with jackboots and salutes (although there have been salutes and a whiff of violence) but with a television huckster, a phony billionaire, a textbook egomaniac “tapping into” popular resentments and insecurities, and with an entire political party–out of ambition or blind loyalty, or simply out of fear–falling into line behind him.”–Robert Kagan, Brookings Institution senior fellow.

* “The chairwoman (Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz) of the Democratic National Committee, it is clear almost from the get-go she has been working against Bernie Sanders–there’s no doubt about it, for personal reasons. She has been the divider and not really provided leadership that the Democratic Party needs.”–Jeff Weaver, Sanders campaign manager.

* “Plenty of good people support Bernie Sanders, but his bullies are out of control.”–Connie Schultz, Creators Syndicate.

* “The question in November is not whether Republicans will lose, but how badly will they lose. Right now it looks like everything: House, Senate, presidency.”–Lowell Weicker, former Connecticut senator who sought the GOP presidential nomination in 1980.

* “Crooked Hillary Clinton is the most anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment candidate ever to run for office. … She wants to take away your guns.”–Donald Trump.

* “This is someone running to be president of the United States of America–a country facing a gun violence epidemic–and he’s talking about more guns in our schools, he’s talking about more hatred and division in our streets. That’s no way to keep us safe.”–Hillary Clinton.

 

* “The decline of neighborhood party machines turning out the vote has resulted in declining participation by lower income and less educated voters. The Americans who do vote are disproportionately affluent.”–Michael Lind, author of “Land of Promise: An Economic History of the United States.”

* “I don’t think it’s very good for the society to have billionaires. It creates envy. And envy destroys republics.”–Conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt.

* “I’d like to have more focus on finding ways to get people to move up over time out of minimum-wage jobs, no matter how high the minimum wage ends up being.”–Tara Sinclair, George Washington University economist.

* “There’s a myth out there that you have to genuflect at the altar of quarterly earnings. But it’s a false choice that you can either be a good fiduciary or promote values such as environmental sustainability.”–Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez.

* “During much of the 19th and 20th centuries, government at multiple levels played an essential role in shaping the nation’s transition from farms and small towns to cities and factories. It could do so again. What has stopped it is not the lack of practical ideas but the encrusted ideological opposition to government activism of any kind. … There is so much the government could do–starting with investment in the nation’s crumbling infrastructure.”–Eduardo Porter, New York Times.

* “Never believe anyone who says, ‘Believe me.'”–Kathleen Parker, Washington Post.

* “We do not  issue legal opinions on federal law.”–Florida Deputy Attorney General Kent J. Perez, in response to the Obama Administration’s new guidelines to public schools over transgender students’ bathroom access.

* “A leader has to set the example. You’ve got to be the things that you say you want.”–Auto dealership entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Morsani.

* “People need to move to the urban core to make great cities. … Tampa has always had a very diversified base. We’re hoping to become an integral part of growth.”–Miami developer Jorge Perez, in his keynote address to the Latinos Unidos Luncheon in Tampa.

* “Ybor City in the next five to 10 years is going to be a new world.”–Ariel Quintela, who is developing multiple residential projects in Ybor.

* “The more development, the better. What we’re doing is going to be completely different than what Vinik or anyone else is doing downtown. We’re talking about million-dollar-plus condos with to-die-for views and luxury finishes.”–Developer Larry Feldman, who plans to break ground this fall on the 52-story Riverwalk Tower that will feature 200 condos.

* “I can’t help but get excited about joining a team all rowing in the same direction.”–Craig J. Richard, the newly-named president and CEO of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. He had previously been the CEO of the Invest Atlanta development authority.

* We’ve all noticed the ongoing evolution of the Tampa Bay Times editorial page. It’s been trying to broaden its readership base for obvious reasons. We’ve seen the signs from letters-to-the-editor selection to cartoon choice to opinion pieces.

No, it’s not morphing its progressive take into a conservative rant, but it’s been outsourcing regular space to Washington Post editorials and columnists–and not just George Will and Charles Krauthammer–as well as reserving a regular spot for former Republican Florida Sen. George Lemieux. Paula Dockery, a feisty RINO, really doesn’t count.

But last Sunday’s “Why You Must Vote For Trump” op-ed piece by billionaire GOP donor Sheldon Adelson–also via the Post–was an embarrassment. It was also Trumpesque: as simplistic as it was specious. Ideological diversity is one thing; dithering blather quite another. (“He is a CEO success story that exemplifies the American spirit of determination, commitment to cause and business stewardship.”)

Who’s up next? Sarah Palin? Hulk Hogan? Ted Nugent?

* It’s probably too late to meaningfully change now, but what enablers the non-Fox media have been with their continued knee-jerk references to “Obamacare.” Yes, the Affordable Care Act wasn’t a room-service headline meme, and the ACA sounds too much like a college athletic conference. But it wasn’t–and still isn’t–fair to convert a Republican congressional pejorative into standard journalistic shorthand.

* I love puns. And I’m always drawn to advertising that traffics in word play. I was reminded when I noted a recent newspaper ad for The Sod Father landscaping services. That prompted the recollection of some of my favorites: Plant Parenthood, Edifice Wrecks, Dew Drop Inn and Remains To Be Seen (antiques). Yes, there are a lot more, but, no, I’ll quit while I’m behind and give the last word to the late comedian Fred Allen. “Hanging is too good for a man who makes puns,” noted Allen. “He ought to be drawn and quoted.”

* “It’s urgent to pacify the nation and unify the country. It’s urgent for us to form a government of national salvation to pull this country out of the serious crisis in which we find ourselves.”–Acting Brazilian President Michel Temer, in the wake of the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.

* “By insulting our partners throughout the hemisphere, by tarring all immigrants with a xenophobic brush, some leaders are actively undermining our security and our prosperity. Make no mistake: Our future right here is in this hemisphere.”–Vice President Joe Biden in his address to local business leaders at the University of Tampa.

* “There’s no doubt that Hillary Clinton’s more muscular brand of American foreign policy is better matched to 2016 than it was to 2008.”–Jake Sullivan, former top policy adviser to Secretary of State Clinton.

* “The president has made some tough decisions. But it’s been a mixed record, and the concern is, the president defining what America’s role in the world is in the 21st century hasn’t happened. Hopefully he’ll do it. Certainly (Hillary Clinton) would.”–Leon Panetta, former defense secretary and C.I.A. director in the Obama Administration.

* “Trump is actively campaigning as a Caesarist, making his contempt for constitutional norms and political niceties a selling point. And given his mix of proud ignorance and immense self-regard, there is no reason to believe that any of this is just an act.”–Ross Douthat, New York Times.

* “Trump leveraged a perfect storm. A combo of social media (big following), brand (celebrity figure), creativity (pithy tweets), speed/timeliness (dominating news cycles).”–Steve Case, the founder of AOL.

* “(Trump) has worried many economists, on the right and the left, who warn that breaking laws and commitments could undermine America’s credibility with trading partners, raise its borrowing costs and potentially spark global financial panic.”–Jim Tankersley, Washington Post.

* “You can get away with a lot in primaries by getting more attention than the next guy. He’s going to need infrastructure.”–Josh Holmes, former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, on Trump-campaign context.

* “Not since 1964–when Barry M. Goldwater lost the electoral vote 486-52–has a Republican nominee run without the support of the heart of his political party.”–John Kraushaar, political editor of the National Review.

* “Vichy Republicans.” Term applied to Republicans whose self-interest aligns with embracing Trump.

* “Everything is subject to negotiation, but I can’t and won’t be changing much, because the voters support me because of what I’m saying and how I’m saying it.”–Donald Trump.

* “Every word a president speaks matters. It has economic, social and diplomatic consequences. If any candidate is sloppy with facts or language, the voters need to weigh the consequences.”–Larry Sabato, University of Virginia political scientist.

* “The only candidates able to break through the donor-class stranglehold on the political system tend to be those who do not need to raise money that way because they are movement icons like Bernie Sanders, self-financed billionaires like Ross Perot or Michael Bloomberg or celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jesse Ventura. Donald Trump is two out of three.”–Michael Lind, author of “Land of Promise: An Economic History of the United States.”

* “We will have policy disputes. There is no two ways about that. The question is, can we unify on the common core principles that make our party? And I’m very encouraged that the answer to that question is yes.”–House Speaker Paul Ryan, after a personal meeting with Donald Trump.

* “No matter what happens in this election, Sanders’ idealism has sent a clear message to traditional economists on the left: They are taking too long to develop answers to the problems of inequality and the corrosive effects of concentrated wealth.”–Adam Davidson, New York Times.

* “I sent a letter to the governor of each state, asking them to allow citizens returning from federal prisons to exchange their federal Bureau of Prisons inmate ID card–and their authenticated release documentation–for a state-issued ID, because in order to truly rejoin society, every individual needs to be the one to tell society who they are.”–U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

* “If Congress does not act, then we will need a bailout. And it will be very expensive for U.S. taxpayers.”–Puerto Rican Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla.

* “This is going to be a rough summer; there is no doubt about it.”–Gary Rasicot, TSA chief of operations, on anticipated longer airport security lines and waiting times this summer.

* “Budweiser announced that this summer they will rename their beer ‘America.’ So starting in June, you’re not an alcoholic–you’re a patriot.”–Conan O’Brien.

* “There’s a lot of excitement about the Florida market.”–Chris Walsh, editorial director of Marijuana Business Daily, on the possibilities that could open up as a result of medical cannabis.

* “As long as the County Commission has any say in this at all I am not optimistic. I’ve ceased to try to figure out what they’re thinking or why they’re thinking it.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn, on the commission’s role in addressing Hillsborough’s transportation needs.

* “Tampa is a city that I always liked because it has an economic sector that is diversified. It’s not a tourist city like Orlando, but it has a lot of tourism and a lot of industry.”–Developer Jorge Perez, CEO and chairman of the Miami-based Related Group that bought the Tampa Tribune’s riverfront headquarters last year.

* “My mission remains the same. The fight continues. And my voice will continue to be among those who speak out.”–Doretha Edgecomb, who will be leaving the Hillsborough County School Board when her third term ends in November.

* “Even as our popularity with visitors grows, our supply of hotel rooms remains largely static. … To put it bluntly, we need new hotels and we need them soon. Fortunately, we have several on the drawing board.”–Santiago Corrada, president and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay.

* “I wasn’t particularly happy with how we performed at RiverFest. … Moving forward, we have to do better.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn, on the recent Saturday night that resulted in downtown gridlock.

This day was coming. For about three decades.

Officially it was last week when the Tampa Bay Times announced that it had bought its erstwhile rival, the Tampa Tribune. Unofficially, irreconcilable media clouds had been gathering over this asymmetrical market with limited crossover readership since the late 1980s. That’s when the Times, which fancied itself more of a national player and even had its own globe-trotting columnist (Wilbur Landrey), literally planted its flag in Tampa. End-game on.

The Times started a Tampa edition and opened a prominent downtown office. They also hired strategically from the Tribune–recruiting well-regarded, high-profile community insiders such as Howard Troxler, Paul Wilborn and Denise Stengle, among others. It was like Cold War Berlin; nobody was heading east. The media die was cast, even though the Tribune made some Pinellas inroads.

Over time, the Times landed naming rights and sponsorships around town, brought in Dan Ruth who had been cut loose by the down-sizing Tribune, and eventually changed its name from the more parochial St. Petersburg Times to the region-underscoring Tampa Bay Times. It also won some more Pulitzer Prizes.

But the perfect storm of technology, culture and generation only accelerated. Advertising  roulette and personnel layoffs across the board. Newspapers, blindsided by shattered business models, became an endangered species in many markets. The Great Recession was awful timing. Markets such as Tampa Bay, as noted by Times chairman and CEO Paul Tash, couldn’t accommodate more than one daily.

It was no surprise which one would go. The 2012 sale of the Tribune to California-based Revolution Capital was telling. As was last year’s sale of the Parker Street headquarters building to South Florida developers. As was this February’s announcement that the Times would now be printing the Tribune.

Yes, the Times is now among the 10 largest daily newspapers in the country. And, yes, the struggling Tribune is no more. But, no, we’re not better off with a bigger, better resourced Times at the expense of the Tribune’s demise. Less competition is never a net marketplace plus.

Sure, it was editorially conservative, sometimes annoyingly so, but the Trib was part of this city’s fabric for more than 120 years. It didn’t just have employees, it had community emissaries. A lot more than Tom McEwen, Harry Costello, Steve Otto, Joe Brown and Martin Fennelly.

Before there was upstart Tampa Bay and 21st century media models, there was Tampa and its hometown newspaper. The Trib mattered and it will be missed.

* “Hillary Clinton’s optimal running mate might be Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, a pro-labor populist whose selection would be balm for the bruised feeling of Bernie Sanders’ legions.”–George Will, Washington Post.

* “It’s going to be nasty, isn’t it? Put the small children away until November.”–David Axelrod, former Obama Administration spokesman, on the tenor of a Clinton-Trump match-up.

* “The extreme left now mirrors the extreme right, each reflecting the anger and unbending rigidity of the other. And the idea that politics is the art of compromise, where everybody gets something but nobody gets everything, seems a lost artifact from a distant age.”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.

* “In November, I will not vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, but I will support principled conservatives at the state and federal levels.”–Jeb Bush.

* “The politician’s prior conduct is irrelevant if his present vows are in line with his target audience’s demands, and Trump dutifully obliged Republican primary voters with a socially conservative makeover. He was negative on abortion, grudging on gay marriage, gaga for Antonin Scalia. That was reassurance enough for them to focus on the America-first, anti-immigration, anti-establishment crux of his pitch and core of his appeal.”–Frank Bruni, New York Times.

* “If Trump is a great big middle finger aimed at a Republican establishment that has abandoned its principles, isn’t it curious that the party has chosen a man without any? Trump doesn’t even pretend to have any, conservative or otherwise. He lauds his own ‘flexibility.’ … He elevates unpredictability to a foreign policy doctrine.”–Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post.

* “Donald Trump won by being an outsider, so he should run an outsider candidacy. But can he run as an outsider without antagonizing or alienating all the insiders? If you alienate potential supporters, you make it almost impossible to get a majority.”–Ari Fleischer, former press secretary in the George W. Bush administration.

* “Hispanic voters represent such a big bloc of independent voters today, as well as swing voters and disaffected Republicans, that if we do our politics and messaging right and we get our voters out, we’ve got an opportunity to run up really historic numbers in South Florida because of the nature of Trump’s candidacy.”–Scott Arceneaux, Florida Democratic Party executive director.

* “Military intervention for reasons of ideology or nation building is not an Eisenhower or Nixon or Reagan tradition. It is not a Republican tradition. It is a Bush II-neocon deformity, an aberration that proved disastrous for the United States and the Middle East.”–Pat Buchanan, Creators Syndicate.

* “If Scott wants to be Trump’s VP or a U.S. senator, a more national mind-set might serve him better. Wouldn’t an international trade mission partnering with other governors be more productive–and patriotic–than the zero-sum game of poaching jobs from one state to another?”–Former Florida Republican legislator Paula Dockery.

* “The solution to transportation in this area is a regional approach. A regional plan that could be brought forward to the voters on both sides of the bay at the same time that shows that partnership, that shows that regional approach to this regional problem, and has common branding and … (a) marketing campaign paid for by the private sector, I think that’s the solution.”–Pinellas County Administrator Mark Woodard.

* “Anyone who is looking to do business in Cuba is effectively paralyzed unless you find the right folks in the Cuban government to push your proposal through. … They want U.S. companies to come to Cuba, rebuild their country and, for the most part, leave.”–Attorney Tim Hunt, in an Urban Land Institute-sponsored presentation to local business leaders.

* “The continued competition between the newspapers was threatening to both. There are very few cities that are able to sustain more than one daily newspaper, and the Tampa Bay region is not among them.”–Tampa Bay Times chairman and CEO Paul Tash.

* “Research proves the most critical school-based factor is the quality of the classroom teacher.”–James Cole, U.S. Department of Education deputy secretary

* Once again the White House Correspondents Dinner delivered as expected. Red-carpet treatment for the vacuous and self-important–check. A largely off-putting performance by a professional comedian with a ton of material, in this case Comedy Central’s Larry Wilmore–check. A spot-on performance by President Barack Obama: check.

Obama is really good at this. He’s a tough act to follow.

Wilmore was not so good at this and was a tough act to watch. His diminishing-returns, Ted Cruz/Zodiac Killer analogy ran on forever. He got more cheap shots in on Wolf Blitzer than laugh lines at the expense of Donald Trump. When winces outnumber laughs, it’s never a good sign.

He wrapped it up with his version of an historic shout-out to the first African-American president. “Yo, Barry,” he said while pounding his chest, “you did it, my nigga.”

* Interesting contrast in how the Tampa Bay Times and Tampa Tribune played news of the Department of Justice report on the high number of tickets issued to black bicyclists in Tampa.

“Bike Tickets Fail, Feds Say” was the front-page, above-the-fold Times headline. “No Bias Found In Police Bike Citation Program” was the front-page, below-the-fold Trib head. A same-day Times editorial was titled “Report Confirms Ticket Disparities.” The Trib‘s lead editorial counterpart: “Modest Findings on Bike Arrests.”

In short, we know which paper broke the news of “biking while black” in Tampa, and which found some mitigating reasons for the crime-targeting profiling.

* “Given the shrinking populations inside Europe and the waves of immigrants rolling in from Africa and the Middle and Near East, an Islamic Europe seems to be in the cards before the end of the century.”–Patrick J. Buchanan, Creators Syndicate.

* “It is really crucial for the United States government to withdraw its hostile policy against the DPRK and as an expression of this stop the military exercises, war exercises in the Korean Peninsula. Then we will respond likewise.”–North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong.

* “As long as we have a viable path to victory, we are campaigning until the end.”–Ted Cruz.

* “I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life. Lucifer in the flesh.”–Former House Speaker John Boehner, on Ted Cruz.

* “On the Republican side … foreign policy has been the subject of furious debate. To which Donald Trump has contributed significantly, much of it off-the-cuff, contradictory and confused.”–Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post.

* “If you have a football team and you are winning and then you get to the Super Bowl, you don’t change your quarterback, right? So I’m not changing.”–Donald Trump.

* “Next year someone else will be standing in this very spot, and it’s anyone’s guess who she will be …”–President Barack Obama in his final address at the White House Correspondents Dinner (WHCD).

* “It may not be over yet, but the fat lady is running the scales. Now, how to break that to Bernie Nation?”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.

* “You want to know what would shut Ann Coulter right up? Defeat Trump. Unless we elect Trump and do something about immigration, America will disappear. And I’ll disappear with it.”–Ann Coulter.

* “Trump would be the most unpopular nominee ever, unable to even come close to Mitt Romney’s insufficient support among women, minorities and young people. In losing disastrously, Trump probably would create down-ballot carnage sufficient to end even Republican control of the House.”–George Will, Washington Post.

* “(Republican Party leaders) seem blithely unaware that this is a Joe McCarthy moment. People will be judged by where they stood at this time. Those who walked with Trump will be tainted forever after for the degradation of standards and the general election slaughter.”–David Brooks, New York Times.

* “I’m impressed with her. Picking a candidate that is talented, tough–she takes on Trump really well, I think, and she takes on Hillary Clinton very well, as well.”–Jeb Bush, on Ted Cruz’s selection of Carly Fiorina as a potential running mate.

* “Since his swearing in as House Speaker, Paul Ryan has maintained his sunny, gung-ho disposition, hobnobbing with his party’s guerrillas while gently trying to lure them back to the comforts of civilization.”–Francis Wilkinson, Bloomberg View.

* “Republicans, Democrats and Independents can all agree on one thing–the public did not elect member of Congress to go to Washington and spend their time raising money for their re-election.”–U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Indian Shores, who is pushing his “Stop Act” bill that would bar members of Congress from directly asking for campaign contributions.

* “If this (WHCD) material works well, I’m going to use it at Goldman Sachs next year. Earn me some serious Tubmans.”–President Barack Obama.

* “We’re not making the academic progress that we need to so that there’s greater preparation for post-secondary, for work, for military participation. These numbers aren’t going the way we want.”–Bill Bushaw, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, on results of the Nation’s Report Card that show a lack of progress in high school seniors’ math and reading scores.

* “Many gun injuries and deaths are the result of legal guns that were stolen, misused or discharged accidentally. As long as we’ve got the technology to prevent a criminal from stealing and using your smartphone, then we should be able to prevent the wrong person from pulling a trigger on a gun.”–President Barack Obama.

* “The fundamental questions that faced Jack in 1947 are abounding today. We’ve got to go beyond celebrating the past and use our emotions, sentiments, ideas and analysis to move forward. This would be the greatest tribute to Jackie Robinson.”–Rachel Robinson.

* “A camera does not capture the full story. But it does capture part of that story. It captures evidence where evidence did not exist before.”–Juan Perez, Miami-Dade police director, in explaining why the Miami-Dade Police Department is outfitting 1,000 of its officers with pager-sized body cameras.

* “The single best reason to show that building a new stadium is the right thing to do is to show that (businesses) value live baseball. We’ve got to make a big leap and make that leap before any of us can feel really good about what’s going to be a very large public-private partnership.”–Brian Auld, president of the Tampa Bay Rays.

* “Frankly, the decision I made tonight was not based on data, it was not based on one thing I heard. It was just old-fashioned intuition.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist, explaining his tie-breaking no vote on Go Hillsborough.

* “I’m not blackmailing anybody. Facts are facts. Each pot of money comes with rules.”–DOT District Secretary Paul Steinman, in noting that if Tampa Bay Express plans are not implemented then the hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked for toll lane construction will be diverted to other metropolitan areas.

* “Since 2010, we’ve experienced declining revenues and we started losing money at this location. We are a family restaurant and Ybor City is not family-friendly at this moment, and we made a business decision to close.”–Doug Pak, president of BLD Brands, the parent company of the Spaghetti Warehouse that recently announced its closure next year.