Category: Media Watch

* “The embargo is going to end.”–President Barack Obama, in his visit to Havana.

* “Obama would like to be remembered as the president who ended the Cold War in Latin America and normalized relations with Cuba, so he needs to do as much as he can to make it difficult for the next president to reverse this.”–Geoff Thale, Cuba specialist with the Washington Office on Latin America.

* “In today’s Russia, corrupt officials steal from the budget, police officers demand bribes and judges are believed to be bought and sold. Longing for the ‘order’ of the past is palpable. … The Putin government is able to capitalize on Stalin’s legacy because Russia has not fully reconciled with the dark side of this heritage.”–Alec Luhn, The Moscow Times.

* “The only other time that has happened to me was with Fidel Castro in Guadalajara, Mexico.”–Jorge Ramos, host of “Noticiero Univisión,” on the two times he has been physically removed from a news conference. The more recent one involved Donald Trump.

* “It is now time for Republicans to accept and respect the will of the voters and coalesce behind Donald Trump.”–Gov. Rick Scott.

* “Our country and our world need someone who is going to protect our security like never before, and that’s why I support Donald.”–Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

* “The only real strength of Trump’s candidacy has been to expose and shame the cowards and opportunists among us. Remember them.”–Kathleen Parker, Washington Post.

* “In Cleveland this summer, the men and women of the Republican Party may face a straightforward choice: Betray the large minority of Republicans who cast their votes for Trump, or betray their obligations to their country.”–Ross Douthat, New York Times.

* “What is so disturbing today is that suffusing our politics is not just an air of division but an air of menace.”–Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post.

* “He may very well be a very good nominee. I voted for him earlier. But it’s not about the nominee, it’s about the process.”–Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, explaining his reasoning for not allowing a public hearing on President Obama’s Supreme Court nomination of Merrick B. Garland.

* “Just man up and cast a vote.”–Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., calling for an up-or-down vote on Judge Garland.

* “The Senate should have a (confirmation) hearing and put it up for a vote. I don’t think it will be approved.”–U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Indian Shores.

* “It protects the Atlantic for future generations.”–Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on the Obama Administration’s decision to bar oil drilling off the United States’ Atlantic Coast.

* “The (Cuban) embargo stands for, and should continue to stand for, human rights and freedom.”–Florida Lt. Gov. Carlos López-Cantera, who is running for the U.S. Senate.

* “The movement of company headquarters overseas is a symptom. The disease is we have an outdated tax code.”–Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities.

* “It’s staying. It’s a good constraint for us. It allows for of-the-moment brevity.”–Twitter  CEO Jack Dorsey, in assuring that the 140-character limit will remain.

* “He doesn’t seem like a victim in the traditional way, but we need to think about the principle here.  You should be able to control who sees you naked. It doesn’t matter if you are promiscuous or not promiscuous.”–Mary Ann Franks, University of Miami law professor and legislative and tech policy director of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative.

* “The fear was palpable that vetoes would be severe, deep and swift. Frankly, I am surprised.”–Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, on Gov. Rick Scott’s relatively modest veto impact.

* “I personally hate early voting. One of the most important factors in filling out a ballot is having as much information as possible. And if you vote two weeks early, you’re depriving yourself of that information.”–Darryl Paulson, professor emeritus of government at USF.

* “I think it isn’t wise to say no to things in life. All I can say is that right now, I have no plans to run.”–Former Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, now president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, on running again for public office.

* “Kids are our best natural resources.”–Jeff Vinik, whose Vinik Family Foundation recently gave $2.5 million to renovate and expand a Boys and Girls Club recreation center in the Palm River area.

* “Our enemies can never destroy us. We can only destroy ourselves when we allow fear and hate to turn us against each other and undermine the values and principles we hold so dear which make our nation so great.”–Hassan Shibly, civil rights attorney and chief executive director of the Florida Council on American Islamic Relations.

* “TPP does correct a lot of NAFTA’s issues. I think moving forward, opening up trade is a good thing. We really ought to be focused on how the economy’s changing and how the workforce, the skill set needed to compete in a global economy, is changing.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

* “The best cultural tribute to our authentic places, music and art? Preserve them! But recognizing the destruction of the neighborhood and eulogizing its loss with art is much better than nothing.”–Former Tampa City Council member Linda Saul-Sena, on the mood-altering, artistic touches at Perry Harvey Park.

* “Young people want to live in places that are cool and happening. … We need to dare to lead.”–Mickey Jacob of BDG Architects.

* “We are 20-30 years behind our competition. We are trying to compete in a Model T when they are driving Teslas. Time is not our friend at this point.”–Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill, on the need for more transit options.

* “The Tampa Bay region has a robust enough business community that we should be able to generate significantly greater corporate support than we have, and we’re going to make that a major focus of the next few months.”–Tampa Bay Rays President Brian Auld.

* “We have a common outlook on the world.”–President Barack Obama, in honoring Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a state dinner.

* “The organized group of people, many of them thugs, who shut down our First Amendment rights in Chicago, have totally energized America.”–Donald Trump.

* “Fueled by acrimonious rhetoric, (Trump) has sparked an angry movement that has now created an angry backlash. Campaign 2016 is on a downward and dangerous descent.”–Dan Balz, Washington Post.

* “I think we’ve had enough debates. I mean, how many times do you have to give the same answer to the same question?”–Donald Trump.

* “It’s delightful to see the encrusted political king-making class utter a primal scream as Trump smashes their golden apple art. He’s a real threat to the cozy, greedy, oleaginous cartel, their own Creature from the Black Lagoon.”–Maureen Dowd, New York Times.

* “I believe (Trump) will be a disaster for the party electorally and morally.”–Florida Republican strategist Mac Stipanovich.

* “The founders had little patience for ‘pure democracy,’ which they found particularly vulnerable to demagogues. … Trump is the guy your Founding Fathers warned you about.”–Michael Gerson, Washington Post.

* “We buried the hatchet. That was political stuff. I have found in talking with him, that there’s a lot more alignment, philosophically and spiritually, than I ever thought that there was.”–Dr. Ben Carson, in endorsing Donald Trump.

* “If Trump wins, Hillary wins.”–South Caroline Gov. Nikki Haley, who endorses Marco Rubio.

* “We need someone who is unafraid to lead and restore America to its greatness.”–Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, in her endorsement of Donald Trump.

* “Ronald Reagan was a real conservative. Is there anything about Donald Trump that reminds you of Ronald Reagan?”–Marco Rubio.

* “(Rubio) is extremely skilled and ambitious. He is also extremely not loyal.”–Pinellas County Republican leader Tony DiMatteo.

* “The hour is late and the odds may be long. But there is still hope. It’s a moment for (convention-deciding) audacity, not settling for Cruz simply because he’s the Titanic you know.”–David Brooks, New York Times.

* “The Republican coalition has been slowly breaking apart for years. It’s like a solar system of odd planets, with free traders and Main Street, evangelicals, corporatists, Wall Street and neo-conservative intellectuals who’ve prodded the nation into wars.”–John Kass, Chicago Tribune.

* “Bernie Sanders is the most successful Jewish candidate for the presidency ever. It’s a rare sign of the health of our republic that no one seems to much care or even notice.”–Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post.

* “It makes absolutely no sense, especially when we know that we’re going to have to do high-speed rail if we’re going to have a competitive economy.”–Hillary Clinton, in referring to Gov. Rick Scott’s 2011 decision to turn down $2.4 billion in federal funds to develop high-speed rail between Tampa and Orlando.

* “The state of Florida has an extraordinary natural resource: it’s called sunlight. And this state should be a leader in the world in producing solar energy.”–Bernie Sanders.

* “I never send text messages to them (Gov. Rick Scott’s office), and they wouldn’t accept text messages if I did send them. They specifically said, ‘Call me.’ That’s how they want to do business, so I call them.”–Republican state Sen. Jeff Brandes of St. Petersburg.

* “I’m supporting Narain.”–Retiring Democratic state Sen. Arthenia Joyner, in her endorsement of state Rep. Ed Narain–over former Rep. Betty Reed and Rep. Darryl Rouson–for the District 19 seat in the Florida Senate.

* “I think it isn’t wise to say no to things in life. All I can say is that right now, I have no plans to run.”–Former Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, now president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, on running again for public office.

* “Kids are our best natural resources.”–Jeff Vinik, whose Vinik Family Foundation recently gave $2.5 million to renovate and expand a Boys and Girls Club recreation center in the Palm River area.

* “Our enemies can never destroy us. We can only destroy ourselves when we allow fear and hate to turn us against each other and undermine the values and principles we hold so dear which make our nation so great.”–Hassan Shibly, civil rights attorney and chief executive director of the Florida Council on American Islamic Relations

* “The best cultural tribute to our authentic places, music and art? Preserve them! But recognizing the destruction of the neighborhood and eulogizing its loss with art is much better than nothing.”–Former Tampa City Council member Linda Saul-Sena on the mood-altering artistic touches at Perry Harvey Park.

* “In my opinion, we’re backdooring legalization of something.”–City Councilman Charlie Miranda, on council’s preliminary approval of an ordinance that could allow those caught with small amounts of marijuana to avoid jail and pay a fine instead.

* “She’s not complacent, she’s not coasting, she’s not in the twilight of her path here, and we see only great things ahead of us.”–USF trustee Byron Shinn, on the approval of a raise and performance-based incentives for Judy Genshaft, the longest-serving president in USF history.

* “Every year we seem to make a little more progress in making it less inconvenient for businesses and residents.”–St. Petersburg City Councilman Karl Nurse about preparations for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

* Some things–national to local–are front-page givens–from outrageous presidential debates to a salacious Hulk Hogan trial. Then there is the merely interesting, news-judgment feature that could go anywhere. Thus, last Sunday’s coincidental, Times and Tribune front-page pieces on Melanie Lenz, the senior vice president for strategy and development for the Tampa Bay Rays.

She’s a key player in the search for–and design of–a new, next-generation ballpark. Lenz, who has a master’s degree in urban planning at the University of Pittsburgh, sounds like somebody who could work with–or for–Jeff Vinik, if it came to that.

* Speaking of Hogan (Terry Bollea), if we must, he was also in the news when his Clearwater memorabilia store had to be evacuated on Saturday. There was a structural issue with the building, and an autograph session was summarily ended. The city’s public information director said she didn’t know what caused the building to shift. Presumably, no one asked if she knew why anyone would still want a Hulk Hogan autograph.

* So we now know that Caitlyn Jenner, a rather high-profile conservative with her own reality-TV show, would like to be the “trans ambassador to the president of the United States.” With one caveat: If that president is Ted Cruz. As for Hillary Clinton: “She could care less about women,” according to Jenner.

We also know this. Jenner has always been a self-promoter. It undermines her credibility to make a truly meaningful contribution about the transgender folks among us who could use more societal understanding.

* Prosecutors now say that Doug Hughes, Ruskin’s most notorious gyrocopter pilot, came within seconds of colliding with a Delta flight before landing outside the U.S. Capitol last spring. If that proves to be the case, Hughes is lucky they’re only asking for 10 months in prison. Moreover, had there been a worst-case scenario, imagine how that would have reflected on the self-serving media that helped enable his stunt.

* “Do not come to Europe. Do not believe the smugglers. Do not risk your lives and your money. It is all for nothing.”–Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, to migrants seeking to flee to Europe.

* “The election was a referendum on (moderate President Hassan) Rouhani, and the vote came back ‘yes.'”–Cliff  Kupchan, Eurasia Group analyst, on recent parliamentary elections in Iran.

* “I think you can make the case that the Ronald Reagan we all came to know as president would not have existed without Nancy Reagan.”–Ron Reagan Jr.

* “A crisis like this, the company was not prepared for. We don’t know the right way out.”–Hans-Gerd Bode, Volkswagen’s communication chief, on VW’s emissions cheating scandal.

* “His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University.”–Mitt Romney.

* “Remember when Christie was supposed to be tough and strong and bold? Now he’s just Donald Trump’s sidekick–his Robin, or maybe more appropriately, his Chewbacca.”–Gail Collins, New York Times.

* “His (Trump’s) entire campaign has been one long dog whistle to bigots of various varieties.”–Veteran Florida GOP strategist J.M. “Mac” Stipanovich.

* “For all the Republican establishment’s self-righteous bleating, Trump is nothing more than an unvarnished, cruder version.”–Maureen Dowd, New York Times.

* “It’s a disaster. I couldn’t watch the debate last night.”–Republican strategist April Schiff.

* “We will win the state of Florida. We will beat Donald Trump there the way we beat Charlie Crist.”–Marco Rubio.

* “I’m the mayor of Florida’s third largest city. I have never met Marco Rubio. I’ve been to Washington a number of times, but he has never taken the time to come and see me.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

* “He’s (Rubio) got to lay off the cuteness in the debates and certainly stress the economy and security.”–USF political scientist Susan MacManus.

* “The wonkosphere vs. Bernie clash is not just a story of center-left versus left-left. It is also a clash between those who have been in the trenches of trying to make public policy for the last seven years versus those who can exist in a kind of theoretical world of imagining what public policy ought to be.”–Neil Irwin, New York Times.

* “We are, if elected president, going to invest a lot of money into mental health, and when you watch these Republican debates you know why.”–Bernie Sanders.

* “Resign or be recalled.”–Hillary Clinton’s advice to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder.

* “She’s very careful and reflective. But when the choice is between action and inaction, and you’ve got risks in either direction, which you often do, she’d rather be caught trying.”–Anne-Marie Slaughter, former director of policy planning at the State Department under Secretary Hillary Clinton.

* ” (There are a) lot of people who love me, they just won’t vote for me.”–Ben Carson.

* “The goal is this: Let’s get to the convention in Cleveland and figure it out there.”–Former New Hampshire Republican Gov. John H. Sununu.

* “If Ohio or Florida falls to Trump, anti-Trump Republicans are likely to face a choice between voting for Clinton or supporting a third-party candidate. My inclination? #DraftCondi.”–Michael Gerson, Washington Post.

* “You should be vigilant to the possibility of gun crime in all parts of the U.S.”–Tim Fischer, former deputy prime minister of Australia, giving advice on his Smartraveller web site.

* “Most of the cyber experts that you talk to would say it’s a matter of time, that at some point there will be a vulnerability that someone can exploit. That’s the world that we live in.”–Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good, on the volume of cyberattacks on Duke Energy–much of it coming from computer hackers backed by foreign governments.

* “I’d love to get the money out of politics. I’m certainly not going to single-handedly disarm though.”–Florida Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Patrick Murphy.

* “Without incentives on the table, most high-impact projects won’t take a second look at all that Florida has to offer.”–Rick Homans, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Partnership.

* “Projections show that China will become the top overseas market for America in the next three to five years, and we’ve been slowly getting our feet wet to prepare for that. With more than 1.3 billion people in China, that’s a massive market with huge potential for us.”–Visit St. Pete-Clearwater executive director David Downing, who will join other Florida tourism officials on a 10-day trip to China this spring.

* “Historically, on the I-4 Corridor, you want to be in Tampa. It’s the biggest media market. There’s a lot of young people to help. … Ybor’s got its own vibe, and it’s exciting for us.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn, at the opening of Hillary Clinton’s campaign office in Ybor City.

* “This is a pioneering project. It will be interesting to see what the demand looks like.”–Jeffrey Brown, associate professor of urban and regional planning at Florida State University, on changes to the Veterans Expressway. For the first time, a toll road is getting an even more expensive express lane next year.

* “In my opinion, we’re backdooring legalization of something.”–City Councilman Charlie Miranda, on council’s preliminary approval of an ordinance that could allow those caught with small amounts of marijuana to avoid jail and pay a fine instead.

* “She’s not complacent, she’s not coasting, she’s not in the twilight of her path here, and we see only great things ahead of us.”–USF trustee Byron Shinn, on the approval of a raise and performance-based incentives for Judy Genshaft, the longest-serving president in USF history.

* “It’s a memory that you don’t want to remember.”–Rays prospect Dayron Varona, a Cuban native, reflecting on his Cuba-to-Haiti-to-America escape with his mother.

* “We do have to strike a balance between keeping downtown vibrant and allowing it to be residential.”–St. Petersburg City Councilman Jim Kennedy, after the council had amended a city code to prevent club owners from directing the sound from loudspeakers into the streets or at neighboring businesses and buildings.

* “I know what we are not. But I do believe strongly that in the bottom third of the markets in baseball we have the opportunity and possibility to be at least squarely at the front end of that as opposed to the bottom end of it. And that’s good enough. Is it great? No. But it’s good enough.”–Tampa Bay Rays principal owner Stu Sternberg.

* “There is no sense wasting our time seeking production cuts. That will not happen.”–Ali bin Ibrahim al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia’s petroleum minister, in ruling out the possibility of participating in an oil production freeze with Russia, Venezuela and Qatar.

* “He’s like a modern guy in the context he’s living. He represents the face of change in the party.”–Former Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, in referring to Miguel Díaz-Canel, 55, first vice president of Cuba’s Council of State and the supposed face of Cuba’s post-Castro future.

* “It’s an election year, and candidates can’t stop speaking about our country’s problems (which, of course, only they can solve). That view is dead wrong: The babies being born in America today are the luckiest crop in history.”–Investor Warren Buffett.

* “My party has gone bat—t crazy.”–Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

* “The party of Lincoln is now the party of Donald Trump.”–Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

* “U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly is about to return to Earth after spending an entire year in space. Then he saw Donald Trump’s poll numbers and said, ‘You know, I’m good up here.'”–Conan O’Brien.

* “It would be very safe to just fall in line and get behind Marco Rubio, but we have to recognize what we are seeing in the polls is real. The voters are speaking, and Trump is resonating.”–U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Indian Shores.

* “The fact that Sen. Rubio trails Mr. Trump by double digits is an indication not so much of Trump campaigning in the state of Florida but the fact that Floridians watch television.”–Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

* “We hit our stride in Nevada. Our message of breaking all barriers is really beginning to take hold.”–Hillary Clinton

* “Despite what you hear, we don’t need to make America great again. America has never stopped being great. But, we do need to make America whole again.”–Hillary Clinton.

* “I can guarantee you that the one person that Hillary and Bill Clinton do not want to see on that stage come next September is Donald Trump.”–New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, in endorsing Trump for president.

* “We have a con artist as the front-runner in the Republican Party.”–Marco Rubio.

* “Trump, who was a big-government liberal Democrat before he was a conservative Republican, has the upturned jutted jaw, the celebration of ‘energy,’ and the flirtation with violence and torture that characterized the Italian who was a radical socialist until he decided he was a fascist. Trump, however, is as American as Huey Long.”–George Will, Washington Post.

* “I think he (Trump) certainly is a controversial figure. I think we need someone who can unify the party, as opposed to divide the party. We can’t have a nominee be an albatross around the down-ballot races.”–Sen. Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas.

* “What’s driving this is Apple’s desire to persuade the global market, and particularly the China market, that the FBI can’t just stroll in and ask for data.”–James Lewis, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

* “I think the more skin the U.S. has in the game–diplomatically, commercially and at the individual level–the more difficult it will be to undo things.”–Sarah Stephens, executive director of the Center for Democracy in the Americas, on the evolving business relationship between the U.S. and Cuba.

* “The ($250 million) Enterprise Fund is at zero.”–State Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, chairman of the House-Senate budget conference committee.

* “The utility and performance and benefits of robotic surgery have come under scrutiny in the last four or five years, and there are those that believe robotic surgery adds a lot of time and a lot of costs in the operating room but no benefit to patients compared to other surgical techniques that are much longer-lasting. Robotics itself–the bloom is off the rose a little bit.” Ed Funai, chief operating officer and vice president for administration and strategic development for USF Health.

* “One of the good things about this is we can do it for six months, have law enforcement report back, and if it’s not having the intended effect, fix it.”–Tampa City Councilman Harry Cohen on the council’s plan to decriminalize the use of small amounts of marijuana.

* “Florida is not an easy state to develop in elsewhere outside of Tampa. We’re so thankful to be here in Tampa for that reason.”–Ron Wanek, founder of Ashley Furniture, at the grand opening of Ashley Global Retail’s new e-commerce center and corporate offices in Ybor City.

* “We spent nearly three years illustrating our enormous transportation deficit and the dire straits of our transportation network. We are weeks away from scheduling a referendum, and we are still chasing our tails.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan.

* “We are taking a deep dive in all subjects. As an educator, you really want to make sure the product delivered in the school meets the needs of students so they don’t have to go for tutoring help outside of our school system.”–Hillsborough County School District chief of staff Alberto Vazquez, on the district’s re-evaluation of the SpringBoard program.

* “I’m encouraged because Mr. Sternberg seems to be encouraged. He seems positive and, as a result, I’m positive.”–MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, on stadium input from Rays owner Stu Sternberg.

Two comments about Oscar night.

First, if not “Bridge of Spies” then “Spotlight” was the right choice for best movie. It was also spot on in its depiction of journalists at work.

“All the President’s Men” has spoiled us for more than a generation. News gathering is not that glamorous, that intrepid, that heroic. But it can be that complex, that frustrating and that tedious. Nerds outnumber central casting types. Doing the right–principled, professional–thing is rarely doing the exciting, enthralling thing. Well done, “Spotlight.”

Second, I still miss Billy Crystal.

* “Pakistan regards Afghanistan as its backyard. Determined not to let its archrival, India, gain influence there, and to ensure that Afghanistan remains in the Sunni Islamist camp, Pakistan has used the Taliban selectively… . The same goes for Al Qaeda and other foreign fighters.”–Carlotta Gall, author of “The Wrong Enemy: America in Afghanistan 2001-2014.”

* “Without specific changes on your side that allow the private sector to engage, our changes will not unlock the opportunities for the Cuban people that both of us want to see.”–U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, in making the case that Cuba must now do more to help facilitate commerce after the historic thaw between the two nations.

* “I intend to do my job between now and Jan. 20 of 2017. I expect them to do their job as well.”–President Barack Obama, in underscoring that he will nominate a successor to Justice Antonin Scalia and expects the Senate to act on it.

* “President Barack Obama’s task is further complicated by exceptionally bad relations with Congress. … He has no chits of goodwill to cash.”–Michael Gerson, Washington Post.

* “Like it or not–and I am in the ‘not’ category–President Obama was elected to serve a second term. Americans elected him to be president and with that goes the right and responsibility to appoint judges.”–George LeMieux, former Republican U.S. senator from Florida.

* “The presidential election will determine whether the court leans left or right. The handful of close Senate races will determine the (ideological) range in which the next president can operate in selecting nominees.”–Kermit Roosevelt, professor of constitutional law at the University of Pennsylvania.”

* “Originalists would have to concede that it’s the president’s job to nominate a replacement for an empty Supreme Court seat and the Senate’s job to advise and consent–or dissent as the case may be. Yet to Republicans, the idea of Obama fulfilling his constitutional responsibilities falls somewhere between apocalyptic and absurd.”–Kathleen Parker, Washington Post.

* “I wonder if President Obama would have attended the funeral of Justice Scalia if it were held in a mosque?”–Donald Trump.

* “The people of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina have spoken and I really respect their decision, so tonight I am suspending my campaign.”–Jeb Bush.

* “I don’t understand our country any more.”–St. Petersburg developer and former Ambassador Mel Sembler, who helped fund-raise for Bush’s Right to Rise super PAC.

* “If divided government persists, it’s really hard to see how we avoid growing chaos. Maybe we should all start wearing baseball caps that say, ‘Make America governable again.'”–Paul Krugman, New York Times.

* “The wonkosphere vs. Bernie clash is not just a story of center-left versus left-left. It is also a clash between those who have been in the trenches of trying to make public policy for the last seven years versus those who can exist in a kind of theoretical world of imagining what public policy ought to be.”–Neil Irwin, New York Times.

* “The argument that contributions don’t affect politicians’ conduct is contrary to my experience.”–Former Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C.

* “I believe the biggest banks are still too big to fail and continue to pose a significant, ongoing risk to our economy.”–Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

* “The good  thing about Customs and Border Protection is it’s very non-partisan. No one supports having less reviews of cargo or people coming in.”–R. Gil Kerlikowske, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

* “While we believe the FBI’s intentions are good, it would be wrong for the government to force us to build a backdoor into our products. And, ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.”–Apple CEO Tim Cook.

* “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.”–Pope Francis.

* “Really nothing more than common sense. It’s not a gun rights issue. It’s bad public policy.”–The rationale of State Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, for not scheduling the open-carry bill for a hearing.

* “Most people under 40, they will never go outside and look at the race track. Unless there is some way to make dog, horse racing or jai alai exciting again, I don’t see the parimutuels surviving as tracks.”–Izzy Havenick, vice president of Magic City Casino and owner of greyhound tacks in Miami-Dade and Lee counties.

* “The numbers show marketing works.”–Visit Florida President and CEO Will Seccombe, on Florida setting a record for tourism in 2015–welcoming 105 million visitors to the state.

* “We’re enthusiastic free traders here, and we have significant trade with Asia, generally. Our port serves as a top market for Asia in both directions, and this (Trans-Pacific Partnership) agreement could build up the regional economy and bolster port business.”–Wade Elliott, Port Tampa Bay vice president of marketing and business development.

* “Tampa International is well-positioned for commercial air service. We’ve got solid demand.”–TIA spokeswoman Janet Zink, on the airport’s status in the wake of a deal allowing for regular passenger flights between the U.S. and Cuba.

* “If we’re going to be competitive, we have to have mobility options. We can’t build enough roads in the urban core to meet our needs. The ability to move people by mass transit is critical to our future.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

* “We were just waiting for the right time. With record tourism, our business has been doing very well.”–Troy Manthey, owner of Yacht Starship Dining Cruises, in announcing that he is adding three water taxis this month.

* “The utility and performance and benefits of robotic surgery have come under scrutiny in the last four or five years, and there are those that believe robotic surgery adds a lot of time and a lot of costs in the operating room but no benefit to patients compared to other surgical techniques that are much longer-lasting. Robotics itself–the bloom is off the rose a little bit.”–Ed Funai, chief operating officer and vice president for administration and strategic development for USF Health.

* “One of the good things about this is we can do it for six months, have law enforcement report back, and if it’s not having the intended effect, fix it.”–Tampa City Councilman Harry Cohen on the council’s plan to decriminalize marijuana use in small amounts.

* “It’s a cool thing you’ve got going here, and it’s unique.”–Bob Peterson, chairman and CEO of Carter, the Atlanta-based development company that recently broke ground on a $90-million, 23-story apartment tower on North Franklin Street.

* “I’m encouraged because Mr. Sternberg seems to be encouraged. He seems positive and, as a result I’m positive.”–MLB  Commissioner Rob Manfred, on stadium input from Rays owner Stu Sternberg.

Whatever the exhibition, but especially when parts of it are outside, a visit to the Tampa Museum of Art inevitably yields a certain affirmation. How fortunate we are, indeed, that there is the nearby permanent, de facto installation: the University of Tampa minarets.

Right now they are the aesthetic backdrop for two sculptures (The Soul of Words I and II) of the “Jaume Plensa: Human Landscapes” exhibit now adorning the museum’s lawn. The sculptures intriguingly use numerous alphabets to form two sitting men facing each other. Unsurprisingly, virtually all of the visitor photo ops were inclusive of the minaret background.

They complement everything.

TMA is also currently featuring selections from the Masterworks collection of the Kassar Mochary Art Foundation. The theme: “Public and Private–the (Human) Figure Examined.” One observation that typically typecasts me as a philistine: Whenever a collection is referenced as “eclectic,” it seems that is code for Jackson Pollock inclusion. Mercifully, Pollock did something before drip art caught the trendy eye of the artsy in-crowd.

This week has seen the Hulu series debut of Stephen King’s “11.22.63,” the 2011 novel of a time traveler trying to stop the John F. Kennedy assassination. It was a good read, and James Franco seems well cast in the TV adaptation.

Only problem: It necessarily must rely on Lee Harvey Oswald as the lone, loser assassin. The plot, if not history, requires it. But that’s another story. And movie.

* “We are brothers.”–Pope Francis to Patriarch Kirill, in the first-ever meeting between a pontiff and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.

* “Smurfing.”–Chinese term for those leaving the country–and its faltering economy–with large sums of money (limited to $50,000 apiece).

* “My inability to reduce the polarization and meanness in our politics.”–What President Barack Obama cited as one of his few regrets as president.

* “Obama radiates an ethos of integrity, humanity, good manners and elegance that I’m beginning to miss, and that I suspect we will all miss a bit, regardless of who replaces him.”–David Brooks, New York Times.

* “I know I have some work to do, particularly with young people. Even if they are not supporting me now, I support them.”–Hillary Clinton.

* “Strong as the emotions are in the Clinton and Sanders camps, both sides have to feel sort of chipper when they look over at the Republicans, who are engaged in something between professional wrestling and Godzilla vs. Rodan.”–Gail Collins, New York Times.

* “Houston’s big-money Jeb supporters are slowly admitting defeat, but they’d rather have a Bush nemesis than Cruz. Word on the street is they’re looking at Marco Rubio.”–Mimi Swartz, Texas Monthly executive editor.

* “Ted Cruz is a totally unstable individual. He is the single biggest liar I’ve ever come across … and I have seen some of the best of them.”–Donald Trump.

* “He was a jurist of captivating brilliance and wit, with a rare talent to make even the most sober judge laugh.”–Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, on the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

* “Abandoning their Senate duties would also prove that all the Republican talk about loving the Constitution is just that–empty talk.”–Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., responding to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republican senators who urge not filling the high court vacancy until a new president is elected.

* “It’s up to Mitch McConnell and everybody else to stop it. It’s called delay, delay, delay.”–Donald Trump.

* “Everybody wants to go to Cuba to sell something, and that’s not what we’re trying to do. … It’s our belief that in the long run, we both win if we do things that are beneficial to both countries.”–Horace Clemmons, Alabama businessman who has been given permission by the U.S. and Cuba to build a tractor-assembly plant in Cuba. It will be the first significant U.S. business investment on Cuban soil since Fidel Castro took power in 1959.

* “Grayson claims to be a progressive, but it seems like he has no moral compass.”–Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, in calling for U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, to drop out of the race for Marco Rubio’s Senate seat.

* “Doing a gaming bill is like putting a queen-size sheet on a king-size bed. It’s impossible to accommodate the interests of every single person.”–State Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, R-Miami.

* “We’re entering turbulent waters. It’s no longer like a tide coming in. It’s a nursing shortage tsunami.”–Dianne Morrison-Beedy, dean of the USF College of Nursing.

* “We don’t have any medication, we don’t have any vaccine. And so our only weapon is prevention.”–Beata Casanas, professor in the Division of Infectious Disease at USF’s College of Medicine, on the Zika virus.

* “I definitely think Florida has the least accessible unemployment insurance system in the country. Not much doubt about that.”–George Wentworth, senior counsel for the National Employment Law Project.

* “It’s a backdoor tax increase on citizens who often can’t afford to pay it, and you’re making intersections less safe.”–State Sen. Jeff  Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, who is among Florida lawmakers who want to outlaw red-light cameras statewide.

* “The United States Supreme Court held Florida’s capital sentencing scheme unconstitutional. This court, therefore, concludes that there currently exists no statutory authority in Florida under which the State can seek the death penalty, nor this Court impose the death penalty.”–Hillsborough Circuit Judge Samantha Ward.

* “We decided it was time to reassess what our mission really is–is it brick and mortar or the children and hospitals so we can provide free care.”–James Lich, first vice president of Egypt Shriners, on the rationale for selling the 13-acre, waterfront A La Carte Pavilion site to David Weekley Homes.

* “The Rays are this region’s team.”–Tampa Bay Rays president Brian Auld.

* A lot of people who are passionate about a more connected urban community are spending a lot of time protesting the existential threat, TBX, instead of focusing on Go Hillsborough.”–Kevin Thurman, executive director for transit advocacy group Connect Tampa Bay.

* “We were just waiting for the right time. With record tourism, our business has been doing very well.”–Troy Manthey, owner of Yacht Starship Dining Cruises, in announcing that he is adding three water taxis later this month.

* “It’s a cool thing you’ve got going here, and it’s unique.”–Bob Peterson, chairman and CEO of Carter, the Atlanta-based development company that recently broke ground on a $90 million, 23-story apartment tower on North Franklin Street.