Category: Media Watch

* “I’m going to leave it all out on the field.”–President Barack Obama.

* “Donald Trump is great at the one-liners, but he’s a chaos candidate, and he’d be a chaos president.”–Jeb Bush.

* “This isn’t about Trump. This is about do we run on substance or do we run on personality? If we run on personality, we lose those elections.”–Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

* “I play to people’s fantasies. People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. That’s why a little hyperbole never hurts.”–Donald Trump, from “Trump: The Art of the Deal.”

* “I don’t cry when I lose. There’s always a new hand coming up.”–Billionaire Republican benefactor Sheldon Adelson, who spent $93 million on the 2012 presidential election cycle.

* “Without a Bush or Rubio on the ticket, it is hard to imagine a Republican beating Hillary Clinton in Florida, and as Florida goes, so likely goes the nation.”–Former Florida Republican Senator George LeMieux.

* “I think I will have a Democratic successor. And I will campaign very hard to make that happen.”–President Barack Obama.

* “I’ve hit a wall here.”–Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in announcing the suspension of his presidential campaign.

* “Conservatives killed the GOP establishment in 1964. The Vietnam War and George McGovern killed the Democratic establishment in 1972. What is left are elites, collectives of officeholders past and present, donors, lobbyists, think-tankers angling for jobs, party hacks and talking heads.”–Patrick Buchanan, Creators Syndicate.

* “Walking along the streets of Old Havana, and seeing the faces of young Cubans, I felt the futility of trying to make them fit their dreams into a Cold War straitjacket.”–Secretary of State John Kerry.

* “It was nice to confirm in person how like-minded we are on so many issues. He said that seeing my family on TV on election night reminded him of his election in 2008 with his family. I’m looking forward to having a beer with him.”–New Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, after his initial meeting with President Barack Obama.

* “What’s the most pressing issue of our time? Ending poverty in the world. And we know to do that you have to put women and girls at the center.”–Melinda Gates.

* “Homeowner equity is the largest source of wealth for most Americans. The rise in home prices, expected to be at least 5 percent in 2016, will continue to build wealth and confidence across America. As this process continues, it will provide support for the housing market and the broader economy throughout the year.”–Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic.

* “We are just destroying the user experience.”–Tony Weisman, chief executive of DigitasLBi North America, talking about annoying online ads, including the kind that forces users to chase down a hard-to-find X to close the image.

* “If you don’t make room for the possibility that you can be intolerant, then there is a fairly good chance that you are.”–CNN news anchor Don Lemon.

* “Indoor tanning is the cigarette of this generation, it is so clearly carcinogenic.”–Dr. Mark Lebwohl, president of the American Academy of Dermatology.

* “I am especially pleased that we have secured a $2 billion boost for the National Institutes of Health, Alzheimer’s and cancer research that will lift research efforts at the University of South Florida and the Moffitt Cancer Center.”–U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, after President Barack Obama signed the budget bill that will fund the government until September.

* “I don’t like the traffic and the crowded beaches and this and that, but I think growth is Florida’s destiny.”–Robert M. Beall II, chairman, Beall’s department stores.

* “The Department of Corrections is a misnomer. They aren’t correcting behavior, attitudes, addictions and mental health problems. We’re basically punishing and releasing.”–Paula Dockery, former Florida Republican legislator.

* “Don’t think of us as a call center. The people who sit in these cubes are insurance professionals.”–Jeff Elliott, director of operations in North America for the Willis Group, a global risk advisory firm and insurance broker. It recently picked Tampa for its North American operations center that will create more than 150 jobs.

* “The very best that we could get.”–Tampa City Council member Yvonne Yoli Capin, after council approved the Raymond James Stadium renovation agreement with the Bucs.

* “Downtown Tampa has a very impressive growth story to tell and we will see continued residential and employment growth.”–Dale Peterson, vice president of CBRE, which arranged the recent sale of the Bank of America Plaza.

* “If you travel to the hubs of innovation across this nation and take a hard look at what makes some of the most productive centers of creativity and invention tick, you might notice they have a few things in common: a highly educated workforce, global engagement and diversity, and a culture that supports creativity and invention. And beer. They have lots of great craft beer.”–Mark Sharpe, CEO of the Tampa Innovation Alliance.

* “It’s not too late to stop the young people … from having guns to solve their problems. … There are other ways. There are better ways. There are more peaceful ways.”–St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, at a downtown march to protest a recent surge in fatal gun violence.

* “One act of leaving a car unlocked may perpetuate a series of crimes.”–St. Petersburg Police Department spokesman Mike Puetz.

* “Do we really want to tarnish a young person’s entire life for these minor arrests? This begs for a really robust discussion.”–Pinellas County Commissioner Janet Long, on the upcoming workshop on a civil citation program for small marijuana busts.

* “Whoever invented ‘Thursday Night Football’ was not a player and was not a coach.”–Bucs offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter.

* I don’t agree with a lot that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says, but I’ll try to put his off-putting affirmative action comments regarding the University of Texas into a non-combustible context. Maybe he needs a ghost opinion-writer to override ScaliaSpeak.

It should be a valid premise that students can be unequally prepared for “equal opportunity,” regardless of intent. The issue is how to address the seeming dilemma. Scalia, however, would rather traffic in condescending “slower school” rhetoric that obscures the point of properly prepping all students–from across the spectrum of societal backgrounds–for success.

* Can’t somebody talk House Speaker Paul Ryan into shaving? Does a prominent GOP politician, even one with a Freddy Munster resemblance when clean-shaven, need to double down by actually looking seedy and suspect?

* Michelle Obama was searching for the best vehicle for her campaign to encourage teens to pursue higher education. She settled on a video that has her making the case as a rap artist. Sounds like an early Christmas present to Republicans.

* “This is truly a historic moment. For the first time, we have a truly universal agreement on climate change, one of the most crucial problems on earth.”–United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the close of the world climate conference in Le Bourget, France.

* “The best chance we’ve had to save the one planet we’ve got.”–President Barack Obama.

* “The EU and the U.S. are all on Slim-Fast. China’s still hitting fast food but will have to stop soon.”–Paul Bledsoe, former Clinton administration climate official.

* “When the government puts its  imprimatur on a particular religion, it conveys a message of exclusion to all those who do not adhere to the favored beliefs. A government cannot be premised on the belief that all persons are created equal when it asserts that God prefers some.”–The late Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun.

* “I am hereby barring Donald Trump from entering St. Petersburg until we fully understand the dangerous threat posed by all Trumps.”–St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman’s tweet.

* “Trump’s reckless xenophobia might yet work in a crowded primary; in a general election it’s more likely to lead his party to disaster.”–Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times.

* “It should be heartbreaking to every American that we have a frontrunner in the presidential race that suggests there will be a religious test for anybody who wishes to come to our shores.”–U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Indian Shores.

* “I don’t agree with these folks in Congress, including Senator Rubio, who said that his vote doesn’t matter anymore and that’s why he doesn’t show up. By the way, that’s also baloney.”–Chris Christie.

* “If this was the beginning of a plan to subvert the will of the voters and replace it with the will of the political elite, I assure you Donald Trump will not be the only one leaving the party.”–Ben  Carson, in responding to speculation about a “brokered convention” next summer.

* “She’s (Hillary Clinton) in very good shape compared to where we were in 2008. There already are house parties and phone banks constantly, and that’s a good sign.”–Ashley Walker, who ran Barack Obama’s Florida campaign in 2012.

* “I’ll be the youngest woman president in the history of the United States.”–Hillary Clinton.

* “Digital tools are a boon to reporting, and digital distribution can make a story go global, but digital-era economics have devastated newspaper staffs.”–Margaret Sullivan, New York Times public editor.

* “I would like to … see Cuba go the route of things like ecotourism and embrace those parts of the island you can’t find anywhere else.”–Esther Allen, author and literature professor at Baruch College.

* “Malls just don’t need the big anchors to drive traffic like they used to. They don’t pay rent, so they’re costly to a center if they don’t bring in shoppers.”–Retail analyst Jeff Green.

* “The retail business overall has been okay. But Tampa has been particularly strong.”–Bill Taubman, COO of Taubman Centers Inc. that built and runs International Plaza.

* “What’s particularly insidious, from our standpoint, and not in keeping with public trust is that the (Seminole Tribe) compact was originally sold to the public as a firewall against the further expansion of gambling.”–John Sowinski, president of No Casinos.

* “We always have an open house. Come and get to know us.”–Yahya Chaudhry, spokesman for the Islamic Society of Tampa Bay Area mosque at Orient Road and East Sligh Avenue.

* “People have got to wake up, they’ve got to stop texting and talking and combing their hair when they are driving. They need to look when they’re crossing the street, and they need to start paying attention.”–Tampa City Councilman Harry Cohen.

* “Obviously there needs to be a very robust and healthy community discussion about it, which didn’t happen last time.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn, on renewed interest in building elevated lanes over Gandy Boulevard.

* “The first ‘Dolphin Tale’ had a $580 million economic impact on the Clearwater area. I’m fairly certain the record tourism in the area has something to do with a film that received tax credits for shooting in Florida.”–John Lux, COO of IDEAS, an Orlando-based media and experience design company.

* “If the county says no, I’m still going to say yes.”–St. Petersburg City Councilman Steve Kornell, who has proposed a city ordinance to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Let’s face it. We all know that if we were billionaires we would give back a lot of it to help our fellow man. It’s the right thing to do. But, let’s face it, it will remain an abstraction that we’ll never have to act on.

Then there’s Mark Zuckerberg, of Facebook CEO fame. He and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are worth about $45 billion. They are celebrating the birth of their daughter by forming the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, with the goal of fighting disease, improving education and building strong communities with 99 percent of their Facebook stockholdings. That’s no abstraction.

And that’s no middling, vanity Facebook post either.

* “The threat from terrorism is real, but we will overcome it. We will destroy ISIL (ISIS) and any other organization that tries to harm us. …Our success won’t depend on tough talk, or abandoning our values or giving in to fear. Instead, we will prevail by being strong and smart, resilient and relentless.”–President Barack Obama.

* “We pray to God to accept them as martyrs.”–ISIS, in praise of the “supporters” who massacred 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif.

* “Christians and Muslims and members of traditional religions have lived peacefully for many years. Together, we say ‘no’ to hatred, to vengeance and violence, especially that committed in the name of a religion or God.”–Pope Francis.

* “We are not able to grieve with our fellow Americans when tragedies like this happen. We have to think about defending ourselves and praying that the perpetrators are not Muslim.”–Waqas Syed, a director of the Islamic Circle of North America.

* “Climate change has become one of the gravest challenges humanity is facing. Russia has been contributing actively to addressing global warming.”–Russian President Vladimir Putin.

* “Americans are deeply cynical about the entire political enterprise; they are losing faith in the normal process of politics. This creates the conditions for the rise of demagogues, of people who excel at inflaming tensions. Enter Donald Trump, who delights in tearing down the last remaining guardrails in our political culture.”–Peter Wehner, senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

* “Jeb–and the broader establishment that he represents–needs to understand that these are desperate times for them. … Someone needs to step up and try to take Trump out if, indeed, the establishment believes that The Donald as the party’s nominee is a catastrophic situation. No one is better positioned–or has less to lose than Jeb and Right to Rise (super PAC). It’s time to take a chance.”–Chris Cillizza, Washington Post.

* “…Narcissistic BULLYionaire with a hunger to be adored.”–From an anti-Trump ad in the Miami Herald placed by Jeb Bush backer Mike Fernandez, a major donor to Bush’s Right to Rise Super PAC.

* “Of course I worry. All of us have to worry about the viability of the top of the ticket.”–Sen. John McCain.

* “She (Hillary Clinton) is such a strong brand here. The Obama infrastructure is not fully intact, but it’s still here. Between piecing that together and her part that already exists, she’s going to be able to walk in and turn on a campaign. She will have a massive campaign.”–Florida Democratic Party vice chairman Alan Clendenin.

* “Forecasters say El Niño should bring much needed rain to California. Meanwhile, Donald Trump said if elected president, he won’t let El Niño into the country.”–Conan O’Brien.

* “I anticipate continued economic growth at a moderate pace that will be sufficient to generate additional increases in employment, further reductions in the remaining margins of labor market slack and a rise in inflation to our 2 percent objective.”–Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

* “In recognition of the progress that the Chinese authorities have made in the past years in reforming China’s monetary and financial systems.”–Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, in announcing that the IMF had designated the Chinese yuan as one of the world’s elite currencies–along with the dollar, the euro, the pound and the yen.

* “Since President Xi Jinping came to power three years ago, his promotion of the Chinese Dream–Equity! Fairness! Innovation!–has become a rallying cry for national rejuvenation. Its practical impact, however, has been to foment nationalist sentiment that often feels xenophobic. Journalists, academics and Buddhist monks are forced to attend political education classes, where they repeat bromides about the primacy of the Communist Party.”–Andrew Jacobs, former China correspondent for the New York Times.

* “I want to take this opportunity to state that I stand behind Secretary Carter’s decision and fully support opening all special operations specialties and units to female service members.”–Army Gen. Joseph Votel, in announcing his support for Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s announcement that he will open all combat jobs to women, including missions run by SOCom out of MacDill Air Force Base.

* “Be yourself; everyone else is taken.”–Oscar Wilde.

* “Inside, it’s really about survival first and then innocence later.”–William Dillon, who was wrongfully imprisoned for 27 years.

* “In Cuba, government still matters more than investment. … Our advice to companies looking to invest in Cuba is: Assess the opportunity carefully, hire good advisers, accept that government will be your partner, and, most important, be patient while proceeding.”–Mike Coates, president and chief executive of Hill & Knowlton Strategies Americas.

* “The goal has not changed and has always been compliance with the Fair Districts Amendment.”–Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente.

* “We started this at just the right time. It came to be during a lull, when the economy was hurting. But now passenger traffic is picking up and the economy is recovering.”–TIA CEO Joe Lopano, on the timing of TIA expansion and renovation.

* “This region needs baseball. You can’t have a big league area without big league baseball. … To me, the most important thing is just making sure we retain this great community asset.”–Jeff Vinik.

* Given the phenomenal success of the Epicurean, it makes sense to explore other destinations that might be a good fit for a food-focused boutique hotel.”–Joe Collier, president of Mainsail Lodging & Development, which is in talks with a Texas developer to bring the first duplicate of the South Tampa concept to the Dallas market.

* “Given the way we construct our team, given our finances, we don’t have the luxury of depth if we want to have the talent across 25 guys to compete.”–Matt Silverman, Tampa Bay Rays baseball operations president.

Back in the 1980s my wife and I attended a sold-out Latin concert at the old Curtis Hixon Hall. Gloria Estefan and the “Miami Sound Machine” were in town–and didn’t disappoint. Afterward, we saw them all crossing Ashley Drive still in their band uni’s, still winding down from Conga and Rhythm is Gonna Get You. Fun night all around.

Fast forward more than three decades. There they now were: Gloria, 58, and her producer/husband Emilio Estefan, 62, at the White House to receive Presidential Medals of Freedom from President Barack Obama. And what context: Other recipients included Barbra Streisand, Steven Spielberg, James Taylor, Stephen Sondheim, Itzhak Perlman and Willie Mays.

This was, indeed, special.

The Estefans, both Cuban-Americans, are members of the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame. And their international acclaim and Hispanic back story have been made into the Broadway musical On Your Feet! Their inclusion among the other, iconic honorees–the Medal of Freedom is the country’s highest civilian honor–was a reminder of America at its best. Culturally inclusive and richly diverse. A societal talent pool like no other.

How lucky we have been. Muchas gracias.

* “Libya is the (ISIS) affiliate that we’re most worried about. It’s the hub from which they project across all of North Africa.”–Patrick Prior, the Defense Intelligence Agency’s top counterterrorism analyst.

*”Turkey was our friend, almost an ally, and it is a shame that this was destroyed in such a foolish manner.”–Russian President Vladimir Putin.

* “We are truly saddened by this incident. We wish it hadn’t happened as such, but unfortunately such a thing has happened. I hope that something like this doesn’t occur again.”–Recep Tayyib Erdogan, president of Turkey.

* “We all have a common enemy, and that is ISIL (ISIS), and I want to make sure that we focus on that threat.”–President Barack Obama.

* We will welcome them with a smile. This is a wonderful, humanitarian gesture by all Canadians.”–Canadian Immigration and Refugee Minister John McCallum, in announcing that Canada’s new government will accept 25,0000 Syrians for resettlement over the next three months.

* “We’ll work to mobilize support to help the most vulnerable countries expand clean energy and adapt to the effects of climate change we can no longer avoid.”–President Barack Obama at the climate change conference in Paris.

* “We’re going to put H&R Block the hell out of business.”–Donald Trump, in noting that as president he would implement a far simpler tax code.

* “The Republicans always misunderstand the Democratic coalition, especially the Obama coalition, as merely identity politics.”–Paul Begala, political analyst and former strategist for President Bill Clinton.

* “Now people aren’t talking on Facebook and Twitter. They are communicating through apps that are encrypted, and it’s very difficult for law enforcement, because even when we get warrants and subpoenas, we still can’t get information. Unless there are certain legislative changes made, we’ll have to go back to the basics of human intelligence collection.”–Lydia Khali, former counterterrorism analyst for the NYPD.

* “If the inspector general finds out that the New York Times report is true, then people ought to be fired immediately.”–U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, on reports that ISIS intelligence was manipulated at CentCom, which is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base.

* “The big TV news event is constantly satirized for good reason. Pressure for scoops leads to errors and a silly focus on what ‘we have learned exclusively’–no matter how incremental. It overplays spats between hacks, gaffes and the most outrageous quotes floating around the blabosphere.”–Dick Meyer, Scripps Washington Bureau.

* “It is clear that workers are not saving enough for secure retirement.”–Secretary of Labor Thomas E.  Perez.

* “Rather than abandoning America’s shores, Pfizer should work with Congress to make international reform, and growth in America, a reality.”–Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on the announcement that Pfizer plans to merge with Allergan, which is based in Ireland and has lower tax rates than the U.S.

* “Many celebrities suffer from the arrogance of power and the sense of entitlement. They surround themselves with ‘yes people’ who are afraid to give them the truth about anything. They get their moment of truth from me.”–Attorney Gloria Allred.

* “I’m a big believer in getting an internship, because you have to figure out what you want to do. Particularly for this generation. They’re coming out of college, and a lot of them don’t know what they want to do. An internship can give you a sense of where you want to go.”–Margaret Keane, CEO of Synchrony Financial.

* “The utility companies are not fond of renewal energy because they have not found a way to make a profit off it.”–State Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee.

* “Things are very different than they were in 2009, the last time the (Seminole Tribe) compact was negotiated. Then, the state was starved for money so they were going to do whatever they could do to get it done. This time, state’s in a little better position for money and the Seminoles are in a much better position than they were in 2009, too.”–State Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, R-Miami, the House’s chief negotiator, on the impasse over Florida’s complicated gaming landscape.

* “We are not getting the most value for our incentive money. So I am in favor of doing away with incentives and coming up with more grant money.”–State Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, an advocate for massive reform in the way Florida lures filmmakers and TV series production companies. The current state incentive program is broke.

* “Tampa is very attractive with its lack of personal income tax and a new waterfront development. It is one of the signature development projects today in all 50 states.”–John Boyd, site selection consultant and head of the Boyd Group in Princeton, N.J.

* “We intend to build the best building ever built in the Tampa market, both on the office building portion and the residential portion. It’s our goal to provide an iconic building that’s going to change the skyline of Tampa.”–Developer Larry Feldman on plans for a 52-story high rise along Tampa’s Riverwalk–the site of the erstwhile Trump Tower project.

* “To say that we’re excited for the prospect of having Publix in the Channel District would be an understatement.”–Reaction of Mayor Bob Buckhorn to a building permit filed by Mercury Advisors that calls for a 38,000-square-foot, two-story Publix grocery store.

* “We cannot fix what you’re doing. This past week, 25 cars stolen. How many keys do you think were in those cars? Twenty-four.”–St. Petersburg Police Chief Tony Holloway.

* “We’ve been on a journey to going tobacco- and smoke-free since 2011. It’s a natural step in the progression of that process.”–USF Environmental Health and Safety Director Beverly Daly, on the announcement that the Tampa campus will become tobacco-free starting Jan. 4.

* “You may ask me anything–except about politics, religion or other artists.”–Wrap artist Christo at a post-presentation Q&A at the Tampa Museum of Art.

* “All credit goes to the players and coaches. They have been magnificent. We’re playing as well as anybody in the conference, if not the country.”–USF Athletics Director Mark Harlan, on the resurgent, Bulls’ football program.

* “We do not succumb to fear.”–President Barack Obama.

* “Our goal is not to deter or contain ISIS, but to defeat and destroy ISIS.”–Hillary Clinton.

* “Wealthy and powerful Muslim nations in the region can no longer sit on the sidelines and expect the United States–our young men and our taxpayers–to do their work for them.”–Bernie Sanders.

* “We partnered with Stalin in WWII. Is Vladimir Putin an untouchable? … If Putin wants to enlist in the war against IS (Islamic State), sign him up.”–Patrick Buchanan, Creators Syndicate.

* “We don’t need to be the world’s policemen, but we must restore our place as the leader and indispensible power of the free world.”–Jeb Bush.

* “America has a president whose wartime leadership is apparently inspired, not by Winston Churchill or Franklin Roosevelt, but by Rachel Maddow.”–Michael Gerson, Washington Post.

* “The Arab nation-states were not great. But the nation-state system did preserve a certain order.”–David Brooks, New York Times.

* “Nobody has been able to sit down with him and have him get one iota of intelligent information about the Middle East.”–Former CIA agent Duane R. Clarridge, Ben Carson’s adviser on national security.

* “I’ve come to the realization that this is not my time.”–Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, in announcing that he was dropping out of the 2016 race for president.

* “Our tax code needs to go from 73,000 pages to about three pages.”–Carly Fiorina.

* “Germany has grown increasingly anxious and angry for some months. Reason might now decide to leave the room, replaced by the politics of fear. And where Germany goes, the rest of Europe will follow.”–Anna Sauerbrey, Der Tagesspiegel opinion-page editor.

* “We might as well take down the Statue of Liberty.”–Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., in response to a bill passed by the House that would enact stiff restrictions for Syrian and Iraqi refugees coming to American shores.

* “What the First Amendment does and what it should do is drive the government to use neutral criteria. You can use neutral criteria to identify terrorists. What it can’t do is engage in one-religion bashing. That won’t fly in any court.”–Marci Hamilton, Yeshiva University legal expert on religious liberty.

* “I understand people’s concern about security, but the U.S. vets refugees like no other immigrant group. It’s an 19-month process.”–Sam Sipes, CEO of Lutheran Services Florida.

* “This is something that we’ve seen coming. It’s been almost 10 years that migration from Mexico has really slowed down.”–Mark Hugo Lopez, director of Hispanic research for the Pew Research Center, commenting on findings that during 2009-14 more Mexicans left than moved into the U.S.

*This is the first step in relieving the burden of U.S. travelers carrying cash when traveling to Cuba and another step in normalizing commercial relations between the two countries.”–Dave Seleski, president and CEO of Stonegate Bank, in announcing that Stonegate is now offering a debit MasterCard that U.S. travelers will be able to use at hotels, restaurants and other sites in Cuba.

* “Dec. 16 is a very, very live date for action, and frankly, given the stellar 271,000 jobs report since the October (Federal Reserve) meeting, we would be astounded if they don’t raise rates finally.”–Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York.

* “My partying days are behind me. My philanthropic days are ahead of me.”–Charlie Sheen, who recently acknowledged that he was HIV-positive.

* “It’s a great time to be living and working in Florida and the Tampa Bay region.”–Jesse Panuccio, executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, on news that the Florida jobless rate fell to 5.1 percent–a 7-year low–and the Tampa Bay unemployment rate had dropped to 4.8 percent.

* “Government should have little to no involvement in the recreational daily lives of Floridians.”–Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton, who filed a bill that would prohibit the state from treating fantasy sports companies as gambling operations.

* “It’s time that we accept federal funds and expand Medicaid. As a physician, I am asking Florida representatives to put patients over politics and do what is right for the state.”–Mona Mangat, St. Petersburg-based allergist/immunologist and the chair of Doctors for America.

* “What is normally a straight-A report card, we fail when it comes to transportation. It is our Achilles’ heel. It is what keeps us from becoming even more competitive than we already are.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

* “Just measuring arrests and citations–probably not the most accurate reflection of what an officer is doing.”–TPD Assistant Chief Mary O’Connor.

* “Total lack of good-faith bargaining is an unfair labor practice and a slap in the face to all of you. You deserve better and we will not give up until you are treated with respect.”–Stephanie Baxter-Jenkins, director of the Hillsborough County Teachers Union, in a message to members.

* “Today’s vote denied us an opportunity to make significant improvements to the stormwater system that are desperately needed. If council has a better idea, I would listen to it, but I haven’t heard it.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn on city council’s 4-3 rejection of a new stormwater tax.

* “There’s only two areas in East Tampa where there’s a drainage problem. Why should they be assessed when they already live in a poor economic environment.”–City Council Chairman Frank Reddick, who represents East Tampa, on why he voted against the stormwater tax.

* “Tampa has a fantastic community of restaurants, and I am excited to be a part of it.”–Celebrity chef Marc Murphy, who recently opened the Grey Salt restaurant at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

* “It’s a great, young team. … You would not want to play them.”–Mike Aresco, American Athletic Conference commissioner, on USF’s resurgent football team.

* “It just takes away a piece of Americana, which is high school Friday night football. And that’s Big City, USA, and Small Town, USA. And that’s the way it should stay.”–Plant High head coach Robert Weiner, on the increasing trend of colleges playing on Friday nights.

We all Google too much. It’s too easy. Having said that, put this name in your queue: Smedley Butler. Smedley alone would probably yield results.

Unless you are a historian with a Depression-era conspiracy niche, this name will likely not ring any relevant bells. But trust me, this will take you aback–not just back.

And who knows? Bernie Sanders might just bring this reference up later in the primary races–and you can nod knowingly while others furrow their brows, shrug their shoulders and look quizzically at each other.

I put this last so you wouldn’t start Googling before finishing the column.

* “This is an attack not just on Paris … this is an attack on all of humanity.”–President Barack Obama on the terrorist mass shootings.

* “These terrorists want to make us afraid and seize us with fear. … This is a nation that defends itself.”–French President Francois Hollande.

* “We understand very well that it’s only possible to deal with the terror threat and help millions of people who lost their homes by combining efforts of the entire global community.”–Russian President Vladimir Putin.

* “You’re going to see several things. Tighter border controls, more intensive surveillance in the U.S. and more outreach to local communities in the hope that extremists will be fingered by their friends and family. And a tightening of already intimate cooperation with European intelligence agencies.”–Steven Simon, former Middle East advisor to President Obama.

* “This election is not only about electing a president, it’s also about choosing our next commander in chief. All of the other issues we want to deal with depend upon us being secure and strong.”–Hillary Clinton.

* “We are revolted by this heinous and despicable attack on civilian populations. (ISIS) does not represent Muslims.”–Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

* “They are trying to liquidate the unity of a nation with more than five centuries of history.”–Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, in blasting the Catalan independence movement.

* “There are people who are diehard and want to maintain the faith, but I don’t see another (Cuban) generation accepting the sacrifice for the project as a basis for continuing austerity.”–Lisandro Perez, professor of Latin American studies at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York

* “It would be naive in the extreme to conclude that activities on the scale discovered could have occurred without the explicit or tacit approval of Russian governmental authorities.”–World Anti-Doping Agency commission on reports of Russian athletes using banned drugs to enhance performance.

* “It’s extraordinarily important that the Republican Party reclaim the reputation that we’ve had for most of my life–that we are the go-to guys on national security and defense.”–Former Vice President Dick Cheney.

* “Florida appealed to us because of the taxes. But having moved here, it’s such a pleasant place, it’s such a beautiful place. I don’t know why everybody doesn’t live here.”–Ben Carson, on why he moved to West Palm Beach several years ago.

* “Violent criminal? Or pathological liar? We don’t need either as president.”–Online video from the Trump campaign criticizing Ben Carson.

* “If anyone tells you they embrace Washington, run the other way. People up there fear me because I bring change.”–Sen. Ted Cruz, at last weekend’s Sunshine Summit.

* “The demographics of this country are changing. This will be the last presidential election  cycle in which the GOP, in its current form, has even a shot at winning the White House.”–David Brooks, New York Times.

* “I think it’s very possible that she (Hillary Clinton) wins the Iowa caucuses. I think she’s well-organized there and she’s poised to win … . If she wins the Iowa caucuses, I think the race is effectively over.”–Democratic operative David Axelrod.

* “The true media elites are in talk radio and right-wing television–multimillionaire gasbags from Rush Limbaugh to Sean Hannity.”–Timothy Egan, New York Times.

* “It is imperative to hear from all students and do everything we can to make them comfortable and safe in our community.”–Michael Middleton, recently named interim president of the University of Missouri.

* “It appears to me that we just don’t have enough time left to engage in any process (i.e., bringing in an outside expert) other than the one we’re currently on.”–Leon County Circuit Judge George Reynolds III, in rejecting a Florida Senate request for an outside expert to redraw the Senate’s 40 voting districts.

* “For me, it’s a lose-lose proposition. If I vote against it, I’m the guy who killed the plan. If I vote for it, I’m the guy who moved the bad plan forward.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist, the swing vote on the Go Hillsborough transit plan.

* “Whether we like it or not, it is part of the process. Competing with states that are far more aggressive about their dollars, we’ve got to be in that game.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn, in supporting Gov. Rick Scott’s call for $250 million in business-relocation incentives.

*Buildings do not create a successful district. What creates a successful district is what happens on street level, and that’s the experiences and the stores and the culture and the galleries.”–Jeff Vinik.

* “We don’t believe in speed limits, but we do believe that speed kills. The fast always eat the slow. That’s why we say fast is as slow as we go.”–Gary Friedman, CEO of Restoration Hardware, which recently opened its long-awaited design gallery at International Plaza.

* “Tampa is a great market and a lot of investors are interested, so we just thought this was a good time to sell.”–Nik Sachdev, managing director of Convergent Capital Partners, after Convergent sold downtown’s Aloft Hotel to a North Carolina hospitality company for $30 million.

* “We’re trying to strike a balance between not making things inconvenient or a fortress, and doing all we can to maintain safety and security.”–TPD spokesman Stephen Hagerty.

* “Colleges and university campuses have a special role in society as the very place where the ideals of equality, inclusion, acceptance and free discourse are encouraged to thrive.”–USF President Judy Genshaft.

* “It is important that our vigilance doesn’t turn into vigilantism against any religion or culture.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner.

* “I believe that Tampa-St. Pete is a viable major-league market with the right facility.”–Rob Manfred, commissioner of Major League Baseball.

* “We live our lives in thirds. We learn, we earn and then we return.”–Philanthropist Frank Morsani.

* “Clearwater Beach was always the blue-collar vacation area, and that is slowly but surely changing. Once you get a lot more of those fine-type hotels, you’ll get a lot more high-end tourists who will buy properties and drive prices up.”–Realtor Alex Jansen, CEO of Coastal Properties Group.