Category: Media Watch

* “Never in history have we had such modern weapons as we are getting as a result of this deal.”–Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak, on the recent purchase of long-range missiles from the U.S.

* “(The militants) are developing an unsustainable economy. … ISIL cannot float government bonds like nations can. They can collect taxes, extort money and so forth. But that will likely not be enough in the long run to keep such an unbalanced economic system going.”–Paul Sullivan, Middle East economies’ expert at the National Defense University in Washington.

* “The gringos say they want to sanction Venezuela. No one can sanction Venezuela, because our people decided to be free and will be free, regardless of what happens, with sanctions or without them.”–Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

* “Just like they (U.S. officials) have their lists, we can make our own lists in Latin America of those who shouldn’t enter our country.”–Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, in announcing that he was banning U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen from traveling there because of their roles in passing Venezuelan sanctions.

* “If we don’t lead, future generations will not forgive us. They will want to know how we together could possibly have been so blind, so ideological, so dysfunctional and, frankly, so stubborn.”–Secretary of State John Kerry, on the need to fight climate change.

* “I don’t know what article of the Constitution that (torture) would contravene.”–Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

* “Human rights treaties are promises that the United States will not violate human rights. At a minimum, we must acknowledge that our nation has violated the terms of the U.N. Convention Against Torture.”–Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte, past president of the American Bar Association and former president of FSU.

* “Enormously disappointed.”–House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s reaction after President Barack Obama and Republicans joined forces to override Democratic complaints about a $1.1-trillion, House spending bill.

* “Lock up the center and let them fight it out on the right.”–Sen. John McCain’s 2016 presidential advice to Jeb Bush.

* “I think states are starting to go that route, because they’re trying to reach consumers where they are and where they spend time, and everyone spends time on their phone.”–Kara Macek, spokeswoman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, on use of the new federally funded cellphone app (“ENDUI”) that helps tackle drunken driving.

* “The role we play is in deciding whether or not we should go into war, but our role is not to decide how to go to war.”–Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

* “Burger King’s inversion adds up to a ‘whopper’ of a tax dodge.”–Americans for Tax Fairness study on the bottom-line impact of Burger King moving its headquarters from Miami to Canada.

* “As Americans increasingly move to communities of like-minded individuals, the political segregation of the population only reinforces the polarization. … Never having your own political views challenged is a profound loss for all Americans.”–Darryl Paulson, professor emeritus of government at USF St. Petersburg.

* “It’s not on the Seminole Tribe’s radar.”–Seminole Tribe spokesman Gary Bitner, on the implications of a U.S. Justice Department memo directing federal prosecutors nationwide to allow tribes to cultivate and grow marijuana on their sovereign lands.

* “As big as our state is, we’ll be influential regardless of the timing. … We want to make sure we have all our delegates.”–Florida Republican Party chairwoman Leslie Dougher, on the likelihood that Florida will not flout the 2016 presidential primary schedule set forth by the Republican National Committee.

* “Democrats have to have a (gubernatorial) candidate that can compete in areas other than the traditional Democratic areas. If you cannot compete, and if you don’t have a compelling message, and if you aren’t looked upon as someone who is pro-business, who is centrist, who is all about getting things done, north of Orlando you don’t stand a chance.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

* “That’s going to be big, and that’s probably going to be the issue that unites us.”–State Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, on Hillsborough County’s top priority–the relocation of USF’s College of Medicine to downtown Tampa–going into this spring’s legislative session.

* “Hospitals can provide end-of-life care, but it’s not necessarily the best or the most cost-effective environment. By moving into hospice care, we can provide a new model.”–Tampa General Hospital spokesman John Dunn.

* “My father knew how to bring all races together. We should all want to be like him.”–Andre White, on his late father Moses White, who was among those honored with a Riverwalk bust.

* “Given the economic obsolescence of the Trop and the alternative futures for the land in St. Pete, the deal cut between Stu Sternberg and Rick Kriseman through 2027 is fair and reasonable.”–Vanderbilt University sports economist John Vrooman.

* “That’s the one message I wanted to get out to the shelters and people connected with this. This is not going away.”–Former Rays manager Joe Maddon, on his commitment to his annual ‘Thanksmas’ fundraising dinner that benefits area homeless food programs.

* “It’s still pretty surreal. I’m just really, really honored.”–WFLA-Ch 8’s Jennifer Lee, on replacing Gail Sierens on the 11 p.m. broadcast.

Two opposable thumbs up for the “Dirty Dancing” performance at the Straz. Pure fun, especially for someone who grew up in doo-wop Philly and still remembers the lyrics to “Duke Of Earl,” “Love Is Strange,” “In The Still Of The Night” and “Do You Love Me?” Speaking of:

“You broke my heart, ’cause I couldn’t dance. You didn’t even want me around.                           And now I’m back, to let you know. I can really shake ’em down. Do you love me?”

Now, those were some lyrics. Thanks again, Contours.

But in the midst of a shout-out to the music and moods of the ’60s, there was also an added back-story element not in the coming-of-age, 1987 movie.

Yes, the family of teenaged Frances “Baby” Houseman was vacationing in the Catskills’ Borscht Belt, and that was faithfully and effectively rendered. And, yes, “Baby” had a crush on a gigolo dancer that did justice to the Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze dynamic. But while “Baby” had an idealized side that envisioned the Peace Corps one day, the stage musical added extra 1963 context: the civil rights movement and freedom rides.

Cue: “We Shall Overcome.” Literally.

It proved beyond ironic as this country and this downtown were grappling with the incomprehensible Eric Garner case and prospective, “die-in” demonstrations. I doubt that my wife and I were the only ones who were grounded in mid-reverie.

Frankly, reveries may be a luxury we don’t societally deserve until we all get this one right.

I’ll forego elaborating on the ironies of “Black Lives Matter” and black-on-black crime rates. I’ll also editorially pass on the implied extortion that is “No justice, No Peace” signage. This isn’t Michael Brown and partisan cherry picking. To paraphrase Richard Pryor, “Who you gonna believe, the grand jury or your lying eyes?”

How do you leave the Straz humming “Time of My Life” when no one was indicted for the take-down, choke-hold, chest-depressing videoed death of a black guy accused of selling untaxed cigarettes on a Staten Island sidewalk?  How do you square a grand jury’s vote not to indict with the New York City medical examiner’s labeling of Garner’s death a homicide?

How do you not see this as a watershed moment for America? Why are there not permanent special prosecutors for such high-profile, flashpoint cases? Or is the fealty between police officers and prosecutors not worth noting?

Why do we still tolerate–via our grand jury system–a police-coddling culture when it comes to police officers killing civilians?  The benefit of the doubt to those who put their lives on the line for the public? A tie-breaker in our post-9/11 world?

Understandable. But not in the context of an “I can’t breathe” video showing a fatal choke hold followed by EMS indifference.

If justice is to ultimately prevail, it will have to come from Washington. To that end, President Barack Obama, who’s not about to roll out the bully pulpit on this one, has set up a task force on policing. More importantly, a Justice Department investigation is underway in New York. Intriguingly, it is being led by U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch. Recall that Lynch is the no-nonsense, African-American nominee to replace Eric Holder as attorney general. Talk about a crucible.

The upshot must be this: The legal system has to be the same for everybody. Black or white. Civilian or uniformed. There’s no dancing around that reality.

This is 2014. Not 1963. We haven’t overcome nearly enough.

* “There is no pause, there is no hiatus in global warming.”–Michel Jarraud, secretary general of the World Meteorological Organization.

* “(It) could take off on its own, and redesign itself at an ever increasing rate. …(It) could spell the end of the human race.”–Physicist Stephen Hawking on what the rise of artificial intelligence could lead to.

* “He knows the Department of Defense inside and out, which means that on day one, he’s going to hit the ground running.”–President Barack Obama on the nomination of Ashton Carter as defense secretary.

* “The fact that we have sports start after the soap operas end is classic in Brazil.”–Mario Andrada, communications director for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics organizing committee, in acknowledging some concessions for later starting times for swimming and beach volleyball.

* “This is an American problem, and not just a black problem. It’s my job as president to help solve it.”–President Barack Obama, referencing the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

* “That this story (Eric Garner) has drawn bipartisan condemnation is what makes it feel like a tipping point. The fact that Michael Steele has been more blunt than Barack Obama thus far makes it seem as if liberals and conservatives are finally watching the same event, staring down the same problem, not opposing versions of it.”–Emily Badger, Washington Post.

* “Body cameras are one of the ways to create a real sense of transparency and accountability.”–New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, in announcing that some of New York’s police officers would begin wearing body cameras.

* “A bad day in America is a good day in the newsroom.”–Kathleen Parker, Washington Post.

* “When I saw this (jobs) report, I literally gasped. Over the last couple of months, I would say the American economy is reaching a real sweet spot. It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for and what we’ve been missing.”–TD Bank senior economist James Marple, on news that the U.S. economy added 321,000 jobs last month and remains on track for a year of job growth unseen since the late 1990s.

* “Day One of the Mars era.”–NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr., on the successful test of the Orion spacecraft.

* “For us who live in Florida, who experienced the eight-year Jeb Bush governorship, it’s almost laughable and maybe even hysterical for people who live outside of Florida to claim that he’s a moderate.”–Former House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel.

* “This lawsuit is not about immigration, rather this lawsuit is about President Obama–yet again–overstepping the power granted to him by our U.S. Constitution.”–Attorney General Pam Bondi.

* “My cynical belief is that we tout Florida’s government in the sunshine but purposely keep the laws nebulous with little to no accountability or punishment for overlooking them, stalling them or downright ignoring them.”–Former Florida Republican legislator Paula Dockery.

* “There’s a lot of pent-up demand.”–Broward County Clerk Howard Forman, on the possibility that his Fort Lauderdale office might need to be ready for same-sex marriages on Jan. 6.

* “We think we’ve made great progress on the hockey side–we’re getting to world class, but we’re not there yet–and now we want to do the same thing on the real estate side.”–Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik.

* “Having a medical school and a really state-of-the-art  research operation in a vibrant downtown area will be extraordinary. It makes my job in recruitment much easier.”–USF Morsani College of Medicine Dean Charles Lockwood, after USF trustees endorsed the relocation of the college of medicine to downtown Tampa.

* “We’re not at odds anymore. We’re going forward together and that’s a good thing.”–St. Petersburg City Council member Charlie Gerdes, on the stadium-search agreement negotiated between the Tampa Bay Rays and Mayor Rick Kriseman.

* “The more we can promote our community and reflect the diversity of our community, it provides economic advantages.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner.

* “I think it’s awesome. What’s very clear is the growth movement and exponential opportunity at USF, and at the same time, we have a new mall owner who is deeply committed to this region and to being part of what is happening.”–Former Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe, in confirming that New York-based RD Management LLC is the new owner of University Mall.

* “What this is going to do is connect our community and connect our neighborhoods, from Seminole Heights to Hyde Park to downtown to Ybor City. This is a healthy, environmentally friendly way to get around this community.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn, at the opening of Tampa’s new bike-sharing program

* “They just got about as quality a person and a coach as you’re ever going to find.”–Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona, on the choice of Kevin Cash as new Tampa Bay Rays manager.

When it comes to Bill Cosby, we’ve all been blindsided–even with the accusations and settlement of a decade ago. This time it’s too many, too similar, too predatory.

One victim is too many. What is preventable, however, is a collateral victim. That would be society at large–and how it now views the message of this beyond-flawed messenger.

“Annie Hall” and “Blue Jasmine” are no less superb regardless of who Woody Allen is or might have been in his private life. The same for Cosby.

Punish the messenger, if it comes to that. But don’t punish the message. It’s still valid, even if Cosby’s a Mr. Hyde hypocrite.

Whether he was recalling childhood chums, riffing on the Old Testament about Noah’s archetypal boat-building or showing America a non-stereotypical black family, Cosby was delivering a message about what we multi-hued Americans had in common. An America riven by racial unrest needed an African-American voice that wasn’t race baiting, race hustling or Uncle Tomming.

He never turned cynical or angry when his son Ennis was murdered in 1997.

“What’s a cubit?” I still remember that line from the Noah routine. Or the coin flip before the Revolutionary War that explains why the British had to wear non-camouflaged uniforms and march in lines.

It was vintage Cosby. Never risqué, never crude, ever relatable.

Yet he was chided for not using street language like Richard Pryor or Red Foxx. He became television’s Jackie Robinson, but was criticized for lulling white households into a false sense of civil-rights success. Later he was resented by many blacks for moralizing about personal responsibility. Cosby railed against gangsta rap and teenage pregnancy. In effect, he wasn’t black enough.

Cosby’s response to those critics: “A white person listens to my act and he laughs and he thinks, ‘Yeah, that’s the way I see it too.’ … And we both see things the same way. That must mean that we are alike. Right? So I figure this way I’m doing as much for good race relations as the next guy.”

Arguably, a lot more than the next guy.

No, Bill Cosby’s no Cliff Huxtable, old-school obstetrician. But whoever he is, however much his image is shattered, his societal message remains valid, relevant and never more necessary in an America that hasn’t seen its last racial tragedy.

* The media drumbeat  preceding the Ferguson grand jury decision turned into a de facto countdown to over-reaction. Lights, cameras, no action? No way on non-indictment Monday.

* The headline said it all: “Gunmen Kill 4 Anti-Polio Workers In Pakistan.” Obviously there is no vaccine for ignorant, demonic barbarity.

* No matter your opinion on the Affordable Care Act, whether based on philosophy, economics or the law, we should all be able to agree on this: The media, not just Fox and fiends, hasn’t been doing its job by carelessly calling–and continuing to call–the ACA “Obamacare.” What started out as a partisan pejorative has morphed into easy labeling, media shorthand.

* Have to feel for Channel 8 sports anchor Dan Lucas who has those regularly-contracted, One Buc Place interview segments with Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith. It only gets more awkward as the season devolves. And last Sunday’s 12-man fiasco was the worst. “(It gets) tougher every week,” empathetically acknowledged Gayle Sierens after Monday’s wince-able, Lucas-Smith Q&A. Actually, the studio “happy talk” gets tougher each week too.

* “There is hope. The hope of those who have been cured. The hope that we can control this epidemic … The very fact that hope exists.”–The message that French President Francois Hollande brought to Guinea.

* “As religious leaders, we are obliged to  denounce all violations against human dignity and human rights. As such, any violence which seeks religious justification warrants the strongest condemnation because the omnipotent is the God of life and peace.”–Pope Francis, in his visit to Turkey to improve interfaith ties.

* “What a deal would do is take a big piece of business off the table and perhaps begin a long process in which the relationship not just between Iran and us but the relationship between Iran and the world, and the region, begins to change.”–President Barack Obama, on extending nuclear talks with Iran.

* “Whatever your view on immigration (and I support comprehensive reform), Obama’s executive order is a confession of democratic failure.”–Michael Gerson, Washington Post.

* “Congress should be the arena in which to highlight the broad national debate we need over America’s place in the world.”–John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

* “It’s completely inconsistent with what the other states are doing. … It’s a very sad day for the state of Florida.”–Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, on The Public Service Commission’s (3-2) vote to gut Florida’s energy-efficiency goals and terminate solar rebate programs by the end of 2015.

* “It’s like the patients have taken over the insane asylum. There are no rules stopping the utilities from doing whatever they want. Where’s the leadership in this state? Where’s the responsibility?”–Rep. Dwight Dudley, D-St. Petersburg.

* “The Florida Chamber believes telemedicine can help lower overall health care costs while providing greater access to care in all corners of our state.”–Florida Chamber of Commerce president Mark Wilson, on the issue of expanded use of Web and videoconferencing technology.

* “I was wearing my lawyer hat. I’m representing a client on a legal matter. I’m not trying to influence the attorney general. I’m trying to represent my client. That’s not lobbying.”–Former Attorney General Bill McCollum.

* “I had a great run. Loved every minute of it. But who the heck stays anywhere for 21 years?”–Stuart Rogel, in announcing that he is stepping down as CEO of the Tampa Bay Partnership.

* “I’m looking at regions performing exceptionally well that we compete with. And we’re going to go after their talent.”–Tampa Bay Partnership chairman Brian Lamb, on replacing Rogel.

* “We’re out in the neighborhoods in full force and taking the temperature wherever we go and whoever we talk to. It seems to be okay.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn on the relationship of Tampa police and minority communities.

* “If you were ever in trouble, he’s the guy you would want coming in to save you.”–TPD Deputy Chief Brian Dugan, describing Eric Ward, the newly-appointed, African-American assistant chief of Tampa police.

* “Cities find a way to make (urban university campuses) work, and the reason they find a way to make it work is because they’re so important to their vitality and to their economy. … The (USF) medical school could really create an innovation economy.”–Urban consultant Paul Umbach.

* “Socrates included wine at his Symposium, but he did not get drunk.”–Eckerd College President Donald Eastman III.

* “…Until we meet again, for we surely will. Thank you for watching, and on behalf of all of us here at Fox 13, I’m John Wilson. Goodnight, and farewell.”–John Wilson.

* “This university’s too special to not have a team in a bowl game.”–USF Athletic Director Mark Harlan.

* “In my estimation, they’re probably one of, if not the best team in the NHL.”–New York Rangers’ coach Alain Vigneault’s assessment of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

* “Pretending that Putin has a certain strategic interest that can be shared, it’s wrong. I don’t see any real strategic issue where his interest could be common with Europe.”–Garry Kasparov, Russian chess master and political activist.

* “They live in a place where it is very dangerous to be honest.”–National Book Award winner for non-fiction Evan Osnos, the author of Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth and Faith in the New China.

* “It is also painful to see that the struggle against hunger and malnutrition is hindered by ‘market priorities’ and the ‘primacy of profit,’ which have reduced foodstuffs to a commodity like any other, subject to speculation, also of a financial nature.”–Pope Francis, in addressing a U.N. conference on nutrition.

* “To those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: Pass a bill.”–President Barack Obama.

* “We went down the government shutdown route a year ago. It didn’t work, and I think a lot of people that recall that don’t think it’s wise to repeat that exercise. We’ve got a lot more than just a sledgehammer in the toolbox, and so let’s use some of these other weapons that we have.”–Congressman Tom Cole, R-Ok.

* “What did the president do? He pulled the pin on the grenade two weeks after the election, as our leadership was trying to extend the olive branch of working together.”–Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio.

* “Stop whining, stop crying. You have a majority. Use it for the American people.”–Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill.

* “At a time where … the American people want Washington focused on jobs and the economy, the House Republicans choose to sue us, sue the president for doing his job–and using taxpayer resources at the same time–for a lawsuit that their own congressional research service could not identify any merit for.”–White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz, in response to House Republicans filing a lawsuit against the Administration over unilateral actions on the health care law that they say are abuses of executive authority.

* “There’s only joy in the fight. Where I come from, we just never talk about quitting, and we don’t talk about whining.”–Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., after her bill on behalf of the Keystone XL pipeline fell one vote shy of passage in the Senate.

* “In the long run it is unambiguously bad to have low oil prices from an environmental perspective.”–Harvard economist James Stock, who recently served on the Council of Economic Advisers.

* “Hurting others or destroying property is not the answer. No matter what the grand jury decides, I don’t want my son’s death to be in vain. I want it to lead to incredible change, positive change, change that makes the St. Louis region better for everyone.”–Michael Brown Sr., father of Michael Brown.

* “People may have an easy time rationalizing away only one victim, but not when there are a number of them. … In the last decade, we’ve all been developing a greater awareness of just how common these crimes are.”–Scott Berkowitz, president of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

* “Humor is a tool of last resort. If you don’t have power, you might as well make jokes.”–Jon Stewart.

* “This morning, over 213 million Chinese students went to school and nobody debated whether academic expectations should be lowered in order to protect the students’ self-esteem. Yet in Orange County, Florida, that exact debate did occur.”–Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

* ” Following an unusually slow start, Florida’s economic recovery now appears to be firmly on track. … Florida has regained its position as one of the nation’s best places to do business, with a relatively low cost of living and incredibly diverse and highly desirable quality of life.”–Mark Vitner, Wells Fargo Securities senior economist.

* “You may say our caucus is a minority of members, but those are members who represent 6 million Floridians. We look forward to airing our differences with passion and respect.”–Rep. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, the newly elected Democratic minority leader.

* “Our actions will determine whether we are an irrelevant debating team or a collaborative, substantive political force with a policy agenda embraced by the majority of Floridians.”–Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg.

* “This is a watershed moment–akin to the opening of the airport originally.”–Hillsborough County Aviation Authority chairman Robert Watkins, on groundbreaking for TIA’s $943 million expansion and upgrade.

* “Transportation is your greatest vulnerability.”–Barry Quarles, who heads Market Enhancement Group, on Tampa’s biggest challenge in recruiting brand-name, corporate headquarters.

* “It’s a lot of work to be the guinea pig, but you reap the rewards, too. If you just do what  everyone else has done, you just end up last.”–Jay Mize, co-owner and developer of the Tampa location of Ferg’s, a Channelside restaurant designed out of shipping containers.

* “The market has matured to the level where we can go direct to the consumer. We’re taking our training wheels off.”–Visit St. Pete/Clearwater interim CEO David Downing on VSPC’s strategy of advertising directly to British and Irish tourists.

* “Smoothly awkward.”–Tampa Bay Rays baseball operations president Matt Silverman characterizing trade negotiations with his predecessor, Andrew Friedman, now in charge of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

*Former President George W. Bush has been sitting for interviews as part of the publicity rollout for his book, 41: A Portrait of My Father. It’s an overdue paean to former President George H.W. Bush. George W., the 43rd president, has been mentioning lessons he has learned from his dad, a war hero from World War II as well as Bill Clinton’s predecessor.

Alas, “W” never learned the most important lesson available: that you don’t want to “own” Iraq by invading it, occupying Baghdad and ousting Saddam Hussein. As we know, the laws of unintended religious and tribal consequences inevitably kicked in. Iraq was more of a European colonial construct than country. But “W” listened to Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, not his father. And America continues to pay the price.

No too-late-in-life shout-out to his father can change that.

* Nice touch the other night at the St. Pete campus of USF where the Poynter Institute sponsored a tribute to two long-time media stalwarts who will soon retire. News anchors John Wilson, who will step down next week at Fox 13, and Gayle Sierens, who will retire from News Channel 8 next spring, were honored for their competence, professionalism, Emmy Awards and local involvement.

Yes, theirs is still a “if-it-bleeds-it-leads” medium, but both proved the best can rise above it. Wilson and Sierens underscored that they worked in a community–not just a market.

Reginald Roundtree, the WTSP-Ch. 10 anchor, emceed the event and rendered the ultimate peer accolade. “I think the bay area has been made a better place because of both of you,” said Roundtree.

How true. How rare.

* Daniel Drezner, a Tufts University professor of international politics and a Brookings Institution senior fellow, recently referenced the Rays in a Washington Post column. He characterized President Barack Obama as “the Tampa Bay Rays of presidents.”

In effect, his analogy was saying that good work–from playing winning baseball in front of small crowds to doing a “pretty good job of shepherding the country through the Great Recression” amid anti-Obama vitriol–has gone largely underappreciated (by fans/voters).

* The Mormon church is getting some props for coming clean on details about its founder, Joseph Smith. It’s part of a general pattern we’ve been seeing among religions to foster greater transparency, with the consequent hope of promoting more contemporary appeal.

We all get transparency, of course. But it also can be the sharpest of double-edged swords. In this case, do you get enough non-opaque credit to offset the revelation that confirms your founder’s three dozen-plus wives, including at least one as young as 14? Frankly, that’s transparently shameful, whatever the context.

* “Pure evil.”–President Barack Obama’s characterization of the Islamic State after the most recent beheading of an American.

* “This campaign will be marked or characterized … (as) three steps forward, two steps back, and at every step forward or back, we’ll debate about the size of the step.”–Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, on the nature of the military campaign against Islamic State barbarians.

* “The United States is proud of its record as a leader in respecting, promoting and defending human rights and the rule of law, both at home and around the world. But in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, we regrettably did not always live up to our values.”–Mary McLeod, acting State Department legal adviser.

* “If oil prices stay between $75 and $95 a barrel, we would see the kind of stimulus package that the Federal Reserve or Congress could never do.”–Douglas R. Oberhelman, CEO of Caterpillar.

* “The Obama presidency is crippled, not dead. There will be opportunities for compromise and even triumph. But the Democrats are now Hillary Clinton’s party.”–Joe Klein, Time magazine.

* “The real problem for Republicans is that they lost the presidency in 2012 … . And whatever strategy Republicans select should be designed to increase their chances of securing the presidency in 2016, instead of merely venting … self-destructive outrage.”–Michael Gerson, Washington Post.

* “There is no way I would ask others to go on a Virgin Galactic flight if I didn’t feel it was safe enough for myself.”–Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson, saying he will still be the first passenger on his company’s commercial spaceflight after last month’s test-flight crash.

* “Reckless operation of drones, whether near airports or anywhere else, is a serious threat to public safety.”–Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

* “The more I travel, the clearer it seems to me: Fear is for people who don’t get out much. These people don’t see the world first-hand, so their opinions end up being shaped by sensationalistic media coverage geared toward selling ads. Sadly, fear-mongering politicians desperate for your vote pile on too.”–Travel-guide author and PBS host Rick Steves.

* “Many (American bishops) grew up in conservative families, went to conservative seminaries and have been told not to talk to theologians who are creative because they’ve been labeled heretical. Now (Pope) Francis is saying let’s go in a different direction and let’s have a discussion.”–Rev. Thomas Reese, senior analyst for the National Catholic Reporter.

* “Keystone (XL oil pipeline) is certainly overhyped as a job creator, mostly because the vast majority of jobs are temporary.”–Tim Boersma of the Brookings Institution.

* “I hate to disappoint, but there is no political telenovela under production in Florida. These guys have a genuine, long, strong relationship.”–Miami-based Republican strategist Ana Navarro, on the relationship between potential presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio.

* “This is just the first battle, and I plan to win the war.”–John Morgan, on the narrow defeat of Amendment 2.

* “This makes both ecological and business sense, from our standpoint.”–Curt Engel, general manager for Lockheed Martin mission systems and training, on LM’s plans to build a large-scale solar system at its Pinellas County facility.

* “It puts us on the grid with the world.”–TIA CEO Joe Lopano, on the significance of landing non-stop Lufthansa flights to Frankfurt, Germany.

* “This will be a radically different skyline over the next five years.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

* “To me, it’s what a growing and vibrant city does. It embraces new concepts, new ways of enjoying what we have.”–Tampa City Council member Harry Cohen, on council’s passage of an ordinance permitting open containers of alcoholic drinks along the Riverwalk.

* “By looking into the past, it should enable us to look into the future.”–Oceanographer Jacqueline E. Dixon, dean of USF’s marine science department, on USF’s $20 million grant to further study the impact of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 1979.

* “The Tampa Police Department exists to serve the community, and it’s very, very important to us that we mirror the community that we serve.”–Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor.

* “Had they accepted (an “extremely, extremely fair” counterproposal), I would still be a Ray. It’s very simple.”–Joe Maddon on negotiations with the Rays that preceded the exercising of his opt-out clause and subsequent signing with the Chicago Cubs.

* “Home base is here. The roots have started to take hold here. It’s the people, the whole vibe to the place. I really like it.”–Joe Maddon on remaining in his Tampa home.

* “The world is on the brink of a new Cold War. Some are even saying that it’s already begun.”–Former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

* “The American people overwhelmingly believe that this town doesn’t work well.”–President Barack Obama.

* “There will be no government shutdown or default on the national debt.”–New Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ga.

* “Republicans in Congress now have the opportunity–and the responsibility–to demonstrate to American voters that our party can effectively govern.”–Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

* “George W. Bush, who supported immigration reform, won 44 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004. Mitt Romney received 27 percent. If Republicans don’t win at least 35 percent of the Hispanic vote, it’s hard to imagine them winning the White House again.”–Ari Fleisher, former White House press secretary under President George W. Bush.

* “Being welded to the status quo obviously spooks Hillary Clinton … and that’s why if she runs for president, she’ll bang the “first woman ever” drum in a manner that she didn’t last time around. It’s a way to argue that putting another Democrat in the White House after Obama isn’t mere perpetuation.”–Frank Bruni, New York Times.

* “The trend is that Americans have the shortest vacations in the rich world, so we travel too fast. I think it’s important to travel to a place assuming you will return.”–Travel-guide author  and PBS host Rick Steves.

* “We’re in a very good place in the recovery. … The unemployment rate has come down significantly; we’re seeing good growth numbers; we’re not fearing a recession anymore; we’re not fearing tipping back into one. The macro indicators are all pointed in the right direction.”–U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Sarah Bloom Raskin.

* “There was nothing aspirational about this governor’s race. … These campaigns are all about demonizing someone else as opposed to uplifting the state.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

* “There is no mandate for Rick Scott. … He does not have the support that he thinks he has.”–Florida Democratic Party chairwoman Allison Tant.

* “This is just the first battle, and I plan to win the war.”–John Morgan in the aftermath of the narrow defeat of Amendment 2.

* “Investing in transportation is not an option; it is a necessity for the economic vitality of our region.”–Stuart Rogel, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Partnership.

* “Everyone’s talking about transportation in Hillsborough County, and I don’t think we can continue to look at where we’re going … with having an interim CEO of this agency.”–HART board director and Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller on the decision by HART directors to make the agency’s interim CEO, Katherine Eagan, a permanent one.

*  “You have a little something to eat, maybe a glass of wine. You watch the sunset. Then you go to the airside and get on your plane. It will be completely awesome.”–TIA CEO Joe Lopano, rhapsodizing on what the upgraded and expanded TIA will be like.

* “To me, it’s what a growing and vibrant city does. It embraces new concepts, new ways of enjoying what we have.”–Tampa City Council member Harry Cohen, on council’s passage of an ordinance permitting open containers of alcoholic drinks along the Riverwalk.

* “I’m optimistic that St. Petersburg and the Rays will reach an agreement to amend their lease and allow the team to talk to  us.”–Hillsborough County commissioner Ken Hagan.

* “This will be a radically different skyline over the next five years.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

* “This is a great place to host events. We’ll be back at some point in some form. Maybe when some of the construction around the (Channelside) area is done, it’ll make for an even more compelling event and gathering of people. We’re keeping an eye on it.”–NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on the prospects of the Amalie Arena hosting an All-Star Game.

* “The Tampa Police Department exists to serve the community, and it’s very, very important to us that we mirror the community that we serve.”–Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor.

* “Our feelings are pretty straightforward: Our employees work especially hard during the holiday season and we simply believe that they deserve the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with their families and friends.”–Richard Galanti, CFO of Costco Wholesale Corp., on Costco’s policy of closing for Thanksgiving.

* “I think the bay area has been made a better place because of both of you.”–WTSP-Ch. 10 anchor Reginald Roundtree at a Poynter Institute for Media Studies-sponsored gathering to honor retiring Fox 13 news anchor John Wilson and News Channel 8 anchor Gayle Sierens.