Category: Media Watch

* “(Earth) now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will.”–Pope Francis.

* “Every country has violent, hateful or mentally unstable people. What’s different is not every country is awash with easily accessible guns. At some point as a country we have to reckon with what happens. It is not good enough simply to show sympathy.”–President Barack Obama.

* “You know the great thing about the state of Iowa is, I’m pretty sure you all define gun control the same way we do in Texas–hitting what you aim at. … There’s a famous saying, ‘Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.’ There’s a reason why the Second Amendment is right after the First.”–Presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

* “Forgiveness will come, but for me it will not be today. I could forgive my sister’s death if it was an accident. … . What happened to my sister was premeditated. It was calculated. It was hate.”–Former North Carolina state legislator Malcolm Graham, whose sister was among the nine victims of Charleston shooter Dylann Roof.

* “In reality, the opposition to the (Trans-Pacific Partnership) trade pact is part of a long tradition of populist reaction. When economic stress rises, there is a strong temptation to pull inward. The Republican tea partiers are suspicious of all global diplomatic arrangements. The Democratic version of the tea partiers are suspicious of all global economic arrangements.”–David Brooks, New York Times.

* “He would be a very big annoyance to establishment Republicans. He’ll say things they won’t say, and he’ll take people on they won’t take on.”–Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf, on the impact of Donald Trump.

* “They (politicians) give a speech and if anyone boos, they change their speech. They’re living, breathing polls, and that’s the way it should be.”–“Supply-side” economist Arthur Laffer.

* “The problem with politicians is that they hire economists who instantly become politicians.”–Laurence Kotlikoff, Boston University economics professor who ran for president as a third-party candidate in 2012.

* “Both Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton have relationships and history they will have to overcome. He has to make his own case for his background and ideas, but she has a more complex challenge, namely explaining and differing from the sitting administration that she was part of.”–GOP strategist Tony Frito, who is backing Bush.

* “A significant amount of Florida’s economic and job growth in the (Jeb) Bush era was driven by a massive run-up in housing prices–which peaked in Bush’s last year in office, then plunged the state into a worse recession than the nation as a whole.”–Jim Tankersley, Washington Post.

* “So let me lay it out on the table for you. You’re living in a country today which has more wealth and income inequality than any major industrialized nation on Earth.”–Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

* “My position on how to address the Confederate flag is clear. In Florida we acted (2001), moving the flag from the state grounds to a museum where it belonged.”–Jeb Bush.

* “Donald Trump’s policy agenda is too skeletal or absurd to analyze. He will pick better generals to defeat the Islamic State. He will slap a 25 percent tariff on Chinese goods. He will build a wall across the continent and make Mexico pay for it.”–Michael Gerson, Washington Post.

* “That’s like saying, ‘Would you rather have a migraine or throw up?'”–Cher, when asked to choose between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

* “Prisons are only as strong as the people who work in them. We have scattered our maximum-security facilities in remote hamlets where economic security outside the walls is at a minimum. Wages are low and prospects are few when a jail is the only game in town. This is a recipe for failure–and when the (Clinton Correctional Facility) manhunt is over, Americans might want to think about it.”–David Von Drehle, Time magazine.

* “The most irresistible water cooler story of the year. This will be on ‘Blackish’ next season; just wait and see.”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald, on Rachel Dolezal’s black-identity saga.

* “In terms of mop-up duty, I think NBC has done a very deft job. Get him (Brian Williams) back in front of an audience and let’s see how the audience reacts.”–Jonathan Klein, former president of CNN/U.S.

* “Reservations-making without commitment is the apotheosis of digital glibness.”–Henry Alford, author of “Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That? A Modern Guide to Manners.”

* “The environmental part of the (Legislative) session wasn’t a bang–it was a whimper. It started out with big expectations and didn’t produce.”–Eric Draper, executive director of the Florida Audubon Society.

* “The divorce of planning for economic development and planning for infrastructure is one of the reasons we are where we are with transportation.”–Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill in a recent presentation to the county’s Transportation Policy Leadership Group.

* “Part of our challenge is that we don’t have a dedicated fund source that is enough to support all the projects we have.”–Jean Duncan, Tampa’s Transportation and Stormwater Services director.

* “There’s nothing going on, I don’t expect anything to be going on, but the clock be ticking.”–Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg.

* “Freezing redevelopment at the edge of the Trop site is shortsighted. You cannot overstate how hard it is or how long it might take to restart development after a decade.”–Karl Nurse, St. Petersburg City Council member, on the “high price of doing nothing” about the Rays’ Tropicana Field-lease.

* “Why would a Sunni soldier want to die fighting Sunnis to defend a Shiite (Iraq) government?”–French ambassador to the United States Gerard Araud.

* “I don’t really feel the weight of the world economy. I feel the weight of the Greek people resting on my shoulders. If little Greece, in order to survive, brings down the financial world, it can’t be our fault. It would be as if Delaware brought down the United States economy. That would be the fault of the U.S., not Delaware.”–Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis.

* “A report says that China is building a massive database of Americans’ personal information. Who do they think they are? Google?”–Political humor blogger Jim Barach.

* “The highest premium voter in ’92 was a voter who would vote for one party some and for another party some. Now the highest premium voter is somebody with a high probability to vote for you and low probability to turn out. That’s the golden list. And that’s a humongous change in basic strategic doctrine.”–James Carville, chief strategist for Bill Clinton in 1992.

* “I will be the youngest woman president in the history of the United States. And the first grandmother as well.”–Hillary Clinton.

* “Tell me how it is that you can get pulled over for a broken taillight, but if you wreck the nation’s economy you are untouchable.”–Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley.

* “It should come as no surprise that (Bernie) Sanders seems to be catching fire among the leftish faithful, drawing big crowds and scoring double digits in an Iowa poll. He is a recognizable Democratic type–the prophet scorned, gushing rumpled authenticity.”–Joe Klein, Time magazine.

* “Walker is trying to put a stake in the heart of a strong piece of Democratic support that has long been a thorn in the side of the Republicans.”–University of Maryland School of Public Policy Professor Donald F. Kettl, on the union-busting record of Republican presidential  candidate Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin.

* “There’s a little bit of rust on him. He’s still finding his rhythms.”–Former Gov. Bob Martinez on the early performance of Jeb Bush.

* “We need a president willing to challenge and disrupt the whole culture in our nation’s capital.”–Jeb Bush at his presidential-candidate announcement.

* “Those of us who served in Tallahassee while he (Jeb Bush) was governor know that while he was a severe social conservative, his record on fiscal matters does not mesh with the tax-cutting, government-shrinking fiscal conservative storyline so many of his supporters advance.”–Former Florida state senator and Democratic House leader Dan Gelber.

* “They have taken their own child hostage. Does it hurt the president? Of course it hurts the president, but it hurts America more.”–U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., on House Democrats thwarting President Obama’s push to expand trade negotiating power.

* “The Obama White House has managed Congress poorly, with arrogance–or worse, neglect.”–Maureen Dowd, New York Times.

* “We can ensure that now and forever, these tools shall be freely available for all.”–College Board president David Coleman, in announcing that the College Board is teaming up with Khan Academy to make SAT-preparation materials available for free.

* “The sidelines are not where you want to live your life. The world needs you in the arena.”–Apple CEO Tim Cook, in his commencement address at George Washington University.

* “Americans have been sold a myth that there are two kinds of judges–umpires and activists–and that being unbiased is a choice that a person makes. But the truth is that all judges are swayed by countless forces beyond their conscious awareness or control.”–Adam Benforado, associate law professor at Drexel University and author of “Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Justice.”

* “We’ve moved from the right to bear arms to the right to flaunt arms.”–Gail Collins, New York Times.

* “Who’s the last person with a top-notch legal team to be executed?”–MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough.

* “Newsworthiness should be decided by people who choose to look at Gawker or not look at Gawker, not by a jury.”–Charles D. Tobin, entertainment and media lawyer at Holland & Knight, weighing in on Hulk Hogan’s sex-tape suit against Gawker Media.

* “Demand in our key rivers systems are outstripping supply. Other cuts may be imminent.”–Caren Trgovcich, chief deputy director of California’s State Water Resources Control Board, on the state’s drought response that includes sharply cutting back farmers’ century-old, (senior) water rights.

* “He (Jeb Bush) was really the godfather of the growth of the Republican Party in South Florida.”–Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

* “We were trying to prove a point, and we became overprescriptive.”–Senate Education Committee Chairman John Legg, on the Florida Legislature’s effort to tie teachers’ job evaluations to student performance.

* “I think it’s a winnable number. I think all of us need to temper our enthusiasm with the reality.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn, on a county transportation plan that would increase the sales tax by a half-cent.

* “Each jurisdiction’s going to be held accountable for what they do with their money. What they said they wanted, we are going to deliver.”–Hillsborough County Commission Chairwoman Sandra Murman, on the transportation-funding plan that would generate $3.5 billion over 30 years.

* “Trying to win a Stanley Cup is fantastic, but this is also fantastic for our community. I will shamelessly say I’m trying to get all the exposure I can for this region.”–Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik.

* Not that we need to be reminded, but today’s hyper-partisan, technologically customized, self-serve media is too often beyond the pale in its criticism of President Barack Obama–from “socialist” rants to racial insults. We are, quite arguably, devolving in civility when it comes to public discourse.

For context, however, here are some representative passages from major 19th century newspapers weighing in on the presidential nomination of Abraham Lincoln:

“A fourth rate lecturer who cannot speak good grammar … Lincoln is the leanest, lankest, most ungainly mass of legs, arms and hatchet-face ever strung upon a single frame. He has most unwarrantly abused the privilege which all politicians have of being ugly.”–New York Herald.                   “After him what decent white man would be president?”–Charleston Mercury.                          “An illiterate partizan possessed only of his inveterate hatred of slavery and his openly avowed predilections for negro equality.”–Richmond Enquirer.

* We know that those two killers who escaped from a New York prison used power tools to break through bricks and steel walls and pipes, crawled up catwalks and sliced through a manhole-cover lock outside the prison. We also know they disguised their bunks with guard-fooling stuffed clothes and left a prison-taunting caricature with the words “Have a nice day.”

Authorities, to be sure, want to know how they got the power tools, how they cut their way out without being heard and a lot more. We shouldn’t have to wait for the HBO movie to find out.

* Among the media we encountered outside Amalie Arena last Saturday were two TV reporters from Finland who seemed enamored of a river dyeing. I asked them what it was like to be from a Scandanavian hockey hotbed and cover a Stanley Cup in a place like Tampa, Florida.

“Well you’ve got a couple of players (the Lightning’s Valtteri Filppula and the Blackhawks’ Teuvo Teravainen) from Finland,” said one. “And we were in Los Angeles last year, so we’re used to something different. We like it a lot. This is cool.”

* “War never again!”–Pope Francis, in his visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

* “The reality is that there is no hiatus.”–Tom Karl, director of the National Centers for Environmental Information, in response to doubters who have claimed that global heating trends have paused.

* “We must deliberately and carefully extricate ourselves from expensive wars.”–Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, in announcing his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

* “It is beyond my understanding why the Democratic Party has not focused on the needs of seniors much more than they have–and you better believe I plan to.”–Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

* “I need your help to get on that debate stage. I need to grow my team of supporters.”–Carly Fiorina, former Hewlett-Packard CEO, on needing better poll numbers to make the (10 percent) cut in upcoming Republican presidential-candidate debates.

* “I didn’t think I would be back up here again because, frankly, I thought Jeb was just going to suck all the air out of the room, and it just hasn’t happened.”–Potential presidential candidate John Kasich, the Republican governor of Ohio, explaining why he was visiting New Hampshire.

* “Our rights come from God, not from government.”–Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, in announcing his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination.

* “Bill Clinton (is) a new kind of post-presidential celebrity: a convener who wrangles rich people’s money for poor people’s problems. In the process, the (Clinton) Foundation elevates the wealthy by giving them entree to one of the nation’s most prominent political families.”–David Fahrenthold, Washington Post.

* “Without federal involvement, states define their own standards of proficiency. Some states will do good stuff, but there will also be laggards and a lot of happy talk.”–Joel Klein, former chancellor of New York City public schools.

* “I am disappointed that you have not been the strong leader that many had  hoped for.”–Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in a letter to Mary Jo White, chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

* “Compromise isn’t a dirty word. Our nation was formed by compromise–large states and small states–and we wouldn’t be sitting here in the United States of America without it.”–Thomas Kean, former New Jersey governor and chairman of the 9/11 Commission.

* “It’s rough to watch myself going through hell and the bad feelings I was feeling.”–The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, on “Love & Mercy,” the new movie about Wilson.

* “A wide body of research has uncovered a troubling trend: Women, as well as minorities, often get a chance at leadership only in times of turmoil.”–Bryce Covert, The Nation.

* “Heroin is actually the underlying problem behind so many issues in Baltimore. It’s why people can’t find employment, why people go to jail, why people don’t get educated. People lose their whole families because of heroin.”–Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore City Health Commissioner.

* “The program has created a highly lucrative business model of bringing in cheaper H-1B workers to substitute for Americans.”–Ronil Hira, Howard University professor of public policy, on the outsourcing use of temporary visas to place immigrants in U.S. technology jobs.

* “I may not be the presiding officer when this proposal finally makes it, but this is the future. It just is.”–Florida Senate President Andy Gardiner, on the FHIX subsidized health insurance plan passed by the Senate–but defeated in the House.

* “If FHIX is not the answer, then what is? We’ll be back and we’ll be talking  about the same issue because it’s going to haunt the state of Florida.”–House Democratic leader Mark Pafford of West Palm Beach.

* “It’s sort of like not taking your heart medicine because you’re waiting for a heart transplant.”–Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez, D-Miami.

* “There’s going to be a pruning. It’s very simple math. We have to scale back our expectations, and I think the members are aware of that.”–Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon.

* “We think our kids speak Spanish. Well, maybe they speak ‘kitchen’ Spanish or social Spanish. But if they are going to compete in the workforce, they need to be able to read, write and draft business letters in Spanish.”–Former Miami-Dade County school system superintendent Mercedes Toural.

* “The economic and energy benefits of expanded drilling in the eastern Gulf simply do not outweigh the risks.”–U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Indian Shores.

* “With the addition of Edelweiss (airline) from Switzerland, we’ve expanded our reach into German-speaking Europe, like Switzerland, southern Germany and Austria. We’ve also become a port of call for German cruise AIDA.”–Kevin Wiatrowski, spokesman for Visit Tampa Bay.

* “I don’t know why the referendum issue enters into this at all. I don’t think it should be tied to the referendum. … We need to get this thing moving.”–U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, on any relationship between the 2016 sales tax referendum and proposed ferry service connecting  MacDill AFB and southeast Hillsborough County.

* “Tampa Bay has truly become a hockey market. You can see the passion, the excitement, the level of sophistication even since the last Stanley Cup, and that’s nice to see.”–NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

* “He would have been a damn good lawyer. He would have made a lot of money and he would’ve won a lot of arguments. As it turns out, he’s using the same talent and ability he would’ve used to be a great lawyer as a great hockey coach.”–Thomas Brennan, a retired district judge in Michigan, on Jon Cooper’s legal skills.

If you’re of a certain age, you remember when the Saturday Evening Post was a societal media staple. As were its covers. As were those covers’ most famous illustrator: Norman Rockwell.

Thanks to the Tampa Museum of Art’s “American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell,” which just finished a two-month run, locals were privileged to see and reflect on an American original who was much more than a magazine-cover illustrator. And thanks to a last-minute, last-weekend schedule insertion, I was, finally, among the privileged.

“American Chronicles” was a retrospective beyond nostalgia. It was a reminder that Rockwell was more than a pop-culture illustrator. He was also more than his whimsically self-assessed “Dickens of the paint brush.” The 100-plus works on exhibit underscored his portraiture, his attention to detail, his sense of narrative and wry humor, his sentimentality, his patriotism–and his civil rights promotion.

His popularity transcended America. In foreign countries his images were interpreted as the essence of American culture.

* We want the Lightning to win the Stanley Cup because they’re our team. And Chicago feels similarly about its Blackhawks. But what has been annoying–beyond ESPN’s greasy Barry Melrose who was fired by the Bolts in 2008–is the NBC analysts’ bias against the Lightning. As if the Bolts were an upstart expansion team challenging iconic franchises that were still rolling out the Gordie Howes, Rocket Richards and Mark Messiers. And, no, Chicago no longer has Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita.

Go, Bolts.

* Anybody else do this? After a big win by the Lightning–or Rays, Bucs or USF, for that matter–going online to out-of-town media to see how the Tampa Bay success is playing in the home market of the vanquished. Is it excuse mongering or respect? Whatever, schadenfreude is more fun than is usually acknowledged.

* For the second consecutive year the Scripps National Spelling Bee has co-champions. This year it’s Vanya Shivashankar and Gokul Venkatachalam. It’s just possible that having had to master surnames like that was probably a pretty good kick-start to spelling proficiency.

* Lots of media shout-outs for Clint Eastwood, the cultural icon of masculinity, on his 85th birthday. All those Academy Awards and Golden Globes. The stint as mayor of Carmel By-The-Sea. And versatility that would include composing film scores and becoming a renown director.

Too bad his late career had that political pit stop in Tampa for that embarrassing “empty chair” gaffe. The episode certainly didn’t make Mitt Romney’s day, when his feel-good, family video was pushed out of prime time viewing.

Some stages even an acclaimed, talented actor-director-composer should stay off of.

* “We know the United States’ position on the former NSA agent (Edward) Snowden, who uncovered illegal acts by the United States around the globe. Everyone, including Europe, is talking about this but nobody wants to give him asylum, guarantee his safety, nobody wants to quarrel with their partners, their old partners.”–Russian President Vladimir Putin.

* “In falling out of line with the Vatican, Irish people are actually falling in line with their Catholic counterparts in other Western countries, including the United States.”–Frank Bruni, New York Times.

* “The evolution of nature does not contrast with the notion of creation, as evolution presupposes the creation of beings that evolve.”–Pope Francis.

* “The Obama Administration recognized that the United States was paying a high price for obstinately clinging to an outdated Cold War policy that the rest of the world rejected.”–Wayne S. Smith, former chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, on plans to restore full diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba.

* “I will not let the Patriot Act, the most unpatriotic of acts, go unchallenged.”–Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

* “I’m the only person in this national conversation who has used the Patriot Act, signed off on it, and convicted terrorists with it.”–New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christi.

* “A Dan Quayle without the experience.”–Assessment of Marco Rubio by Democratic strategist Christopher Lehane.

* “The presidency is not a crown to be passed back and forth…between two royal families.”–Recently announced Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley, former Maryland governor.

* “The idea that a national poll has any relationship to the viability of a candidate–ask Rudy Giuliani that, ask Phil Gramm that.”–Former Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Rick Santorum.

* “I don’t think there’s a state out there we wouldn’t play in–other than maybe Florida.”–Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

* “Both Mrs. Clinton and the news media have changed. She seems less a presidential candidate than a historical figure, returning to claim what is rightfully hers. And the press corps, both blessed and cursed with live streaming, tweeting and Snapchatting technologies, is armed with questions devised to win the moment. The result is a carnival atmosphere.”–Jason Horowitz, New York Times.

* “Nevada–especially Las Vegas–is much more representative of the rest of the country than Iowa and New Hampshire. … Las Vegas is a melting pot, a strong union town in a right-to-work state. It has a burgeoning Asian and Hispanic population.”–Nevada political analyst Jon Ralston.

* “We’re not going to wait for Washington to lift Americans out of poverty.”–Eric Garcetti,  mayor of Los Angeles, on the city’s decision to increase its minimum wage to $15 from $9 an hour by 2020.

* “F—face von Clownstick.”–Jon Stewart’s name for Donald Trump.

* “Broadband is every bit as important today as plain old telephone service was 30 years ago.”–Gene Kimmelman, chief executive of the consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge, on a proposal to subsidize internet service for the poor.

* “Florida is at a crossroads. Will we continue to be a competitive player in the business of economic development? I encourage community leaders to reach out to elected officials to stress just how important financial incentives are for the economic future of our state.”–Bill Johnson, CEO of Enterprise Florida.

* “We’re all in agreement we’ll get a budget. What we don’t agree on is how much flexibility to give each side to get there.”–Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, House Appropriations Committee chairman.

* “When I walk away from Tallahassee, I don’t want to be known and I don’t want to be remembered for funding stadiums; I don’t want to be remembered for funding transportation. I want to be remembered for saving lives.”–Rep. Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, among those calling for Florida to expand Medicaid coverage.

* “Today, Hillsborough County is focused on the high-value market of the film and digital media industry, but we need the state Legislature to re-fund the Film and Digital Media Tax Credit Program to help us continue to grow our market share.”–Ken Hagan, Hillsborough County commissioner.

* “For years, we limited our horizons to Alabama. It’s time we started looking at a global economy.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

* “It makes our brand stronger for future years.”–Tampa Bay Lightning president Steve Griggs, on the team’s post-season success.

* “It’ll be a great way to connect the two neighborhoods together.”–Tony LaColla, president of the Historic Ybor Neighborhood Civic Association, on the potential for The Gas Worx project that would bring residential towers and a grocery to 7.6 acres between Ybor City and the Channel District.

* “We’re in a hot market right now in the sense that there seems to be more buyers than sellers. What I’ve heard from everyone is that there’s not enough inventory right now, which will drive prices upward.”–Charles Richardson, regional senior vice president for Coldwell Banker, on the Tampa Bay housing market.

* “We’re committed to Bay News 9.”–Charter Communications spokesman Justin Venech, after Charter’s announcement of its merger with Bright House Networks.

Well done and good luck, Gayle Sierens.

Over the years I was lucky to have spent a bit of off-camera time with Tampa’s now retired TV co-anchor. Also met her family. As nice as depicted.

She was unique for all the reasons that have been so well chronicled. A hometown girl who made it big in her hometown–in a business that is about market hopping. She made history with that NFL play-by-play call. She was synonymous with community involvement. It was only fitting that the Tampa Bay Lightning recently named her a Lightning Community Hero and gave $50,000 in her name to the Judeo Christian Health Clinic and LifePath Hospice.

Dr. Sylvia Campbell, M.D., a former president of JCHC, called Sierens a “special gift to our community. She gives so much of herself, both heart and soul, to anyone in need.”

And then there is this. For 38 years she was arguably too nice for a business that traffics inevitably in all that goes wrong in our world. Often, horribly, tragically so. She was the conduit. No contrived Diane Sawyer empathy. No “star” presence.

She once told me: “There are prettier and probably smarter. But at the end of the day, it’s really about trust and a comfort level. I look for ways to say ‘Here’s how it might affect you.'”

To the very end, she was Gayle Sierens, Tampa Catholic kid who made good where she grew up. Modest. Earnest. Authentic. Involved. Classy. Her last night on the WFLA-Channel 8 set–colleagues, friends, family members in attendance–was touching and, well, hometown.

Two things that no longer need to be media staples come readily to mind. First, the sordid, DUI-setup case involving a certain shock jock, a certain law firm and a compromised cop. Beyond sleazy from the get-go. Second, it’s way past those 15 minutes of fame for Ruskin’s infamous, gyrocopter letter carrier, Doug Hughes–even if local media are still milking it.

* “I will not allow foreigners to interview, which is tantamount to interrogation, the prominent, beloved scientists and sons of this nation.”–Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, vowing that he won’t allow international inspection of Iran’s military sites or access to Iranian scientists.

* “What apparently happened (in Ramadi) is the Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight. They were not outnumbered; in fact, they vastly outnumbered the opposing (ISIS) force.”–Defense Secretary Ash Carter.

* “It’s not easy to govern in Latin America right now. Many of these governments rode frustration with high levels of inequality and corruption to power. But you can’t rail against the establishment as effectively as you once did when you are the establishment at this point.”–Raul L. Madrid, author and University of Texas government professor.

* “He’s  the leader of 1.2 billion Catholics. Anything he says is parsed and taken apart for larger meaning. And yet, he shrugs and laughs, the body language behind the most memorable line by a pope in our time: ‘Who am I to judge?'”–Timothy Egan, New York Times.

* “The only way the world is going to prevent the worst effects of climate change  is to slow down the warming of the planet.”–President Barack Obama.

* “I am campaigning on a flat tax that would allow every American to fill out his or her taxes on a postcard that allows us to abolish the I.R.S.”–Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

* “The way to sell the flat tax is as the ultimate Washington-versus-America issue. The only people who benefit from a complicated, barnacle-encrusted 70,000-page tax code are tax attorneys,  accountants, lobbyists, I.R.S. agents and politicians who use the tax code as a way to buy and sell favors.”–Stephen Moore, Heritage Foundation senior fellow.

* “To say that Hillary Rodham Clinton is a polarizing figure–as people do all the time–is to suggest that politics was like a big campfire singalong until this pantsuited fomenter showed up and turned us all against one another.”–Mark Leibovich, New York Times Magazine.

* “I think in Washington during my brother’s time, Republicans spent too much money. I think he could have used the veto power. He could have brought budget discipline to Washington, D.C.”–Jeb Bush.

* “Anytime you give power to government, they love it, and they will accumulate more.”–Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

* “Everybody wants to go. People see that this is all going to open up and they want to see Cuba before it becomes Cancun.”–Vivian Mannerud, chief executive of Airline Brokers Company.

* “You want to know what I’m going to do now that I’m retired? By God, I hope to become the new face of Scientology.”–David Letterman.

* “The rules of the road to journalistic success have changed dramatically, as has the definition of journalist. Today, one can self-identify as a journalist without any background or experience. … Today, it appears that if you are blonde, have great legs, or worked in the White House and can read a Teleprompter, bammo, you are a journalist.”–Cal Thomas, Tribune Media Services.

* “We must deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be. … Any other alternative will be the end of us as a national movement.”–Robert M. Gates, president of the Boy Scouts of America–and former secretary of defense–in calling for the end of the Scouts’ blanket ban on gay adult leaders.

* “Apart from getting rid of their base–evangelicals–I don’t see a way for Republicans to make really deep inroads in the Jewish vote.”–University of Florida political science Professor Kenneth Wald.

* “This is worse than shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theater. There’s not going to be a government shutdown in Florida.”–Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville.

* “I’d be surprised if Rick Scott doesn’t run for another office. He’s keeping his artillery well-oiled.”–Sen. Don Gaetz.

* “I think people expect someone up there to be wearing a black robe, and when you see something different, it lessens the seriousness of the proceedings. The courtroom is a serious place.”–Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Jorge Labarga, in decreeing that all judges must wear a solid black robe–with no “embellishment”–in court at all times.

* “I’ve admired her work ethic and her desire to do right by kids. … But there’s always room to improve. I know you were not satisfied with the glitches we had in testing.”–State Board of Education chairman Gary Chartrand, in the performance review of Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart.

* “Cuba isn’t the problem. Congress is the problem.”–Tampa Port Authority Vice Chairman Carl Lindell Jr.

* “I think the board was flattered to be asked to consider whether or not they want to be included in that strategy, and clearly the board is interested.”–MOSI board chairman Robert Thomas, after a presentation by Jeff Vinik on the prospect of MOSI relocating to downtown.

* “Our number one priority.”–House Majority Leader Dana Young, R-Tampa, on the importance of funding for the USF College of Medicine and Heart Institute in downtown Tampa.

* “My No. 1 mandate is to protect the natural resources of Hillsborough County, and I will do that.”–Janet Dougherty, the newly appointed director of Hillsborough County’s Environmental Protection Commission.

* “We find ourselves coming full circle for the next chapter of not just this project, but of Ybor City.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn, on the announcement that Ashley Furniture will build its e-commerce headquarters in Ybor City.

* “The college football championship (2017) is going to be an amazing event for our community. Being able to host major events like this provides a tremendous opportunity to be in the conversation for another Super Bowl. It’s incredible.”–Rob Higgins, executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission.