Category: Media Watch

* The post-electionperiod is more than anti-climatic. It is, especially in this state, a merciful relief from negative-ad carpet bombing and disingenuous endorsements. It’s also a reprieve from media over-analysis and all those pundit-and-partisan references to “turnout.”

Speaking of the latter, anyone else grow weary of all those appeals to voters to get out and vote? Especially when they’re not aimed at you. And they don’t just remind and encourage. They beg and shame.

Put it this way, if it takes begging and shaming to get someone to vote, then let’s hope they did stay home and didn’t cancel the vote of those showing up with the right motivation, even though the campaigns tried everyone’s patience.

* Imagine, a society so egalitarian that bloggers can be their own editor, fact-checker, publisher and libel attorney. Wonder if any First-Amendment-enshrining Founding Father saw this one coming?

* Periodically I re-read the Second Amendment. I have my assault-weapons rights and universal background-check reasons. Context matters. Here it is again: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

I still say a good 18th century copy editor could have done wonders with that antecedent-challenged, stilted prose that Ted Nugent and Wayne LaPierre fawn over.

* Working toward less strident, partisan politics seems a long shot in a society comfortable with cherry picking the news analysis that most entertains and validates.

* I see increasing relevance in the late Ernie Kovacs’ definition of television: “A medium, neither rare nor well done.”

* It was sobering to hear Ken Burns’ take on how Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt would fare in today’s media mosh pit. The Roosevelts, asserted Burns, “couldn’t get out of the Iowa caucuses today.”

 

TR, he said, would have “10 ‘Howard Dean’ moments a day.” As for FDR, “CNN and Fox would be vying for the worst images of him unlocking the braces, the sweat pouring off his brow.” It would be “political poison.”

I wish I could disagree.

* Much was made in the media specifically about voter turnout on the last Sunday before the Nov. 4 election. One prominent example: Duval County’s Dayspring Baptist Church. African-American congregation members were given fans featuring side-by-side photos (“Partners in Progress”) of Charlie Crist and Barack Obama, a list of the county’s early voting sites and free tickets to fish fries proximate to those voting venues. It’s a reminder that nothing’s sacred, including the somewhat hallowed tenet of church and state separation, when it comes to political parties, get-out-the-vote efforts and anticipated photo-finish elections.

The Maddon press conference didn’t disappoint. Maddon was Maddon. He explained his philosophy: “Don’t permit the pressure to exceed the pleasure.” He emphasized the value of “trust.” He stressed winning right away. The lexicon was what we’re used to: Here an “ameliorate,” there an “Eddie Haskell” reference.

Maddon was on his thoughtful, charm-offensive, cool-hip/yet old school game and none of the questions were particularly aggressive. For all the talk about a big-city media crossfire, the Q&A was largely a welcome wagon of softballs.

When asked about the pressure–the last time the Cubs won the World Series was 1908–Maddon replied: “This is a once-in-a-107-year opportunity. The challenge is so outstanding–how could you not want to be in this city?” He called Wrigley “the cathedral.” He said he looks forward to living downtown and being part of the community–not just a baseball manager. “I love the energy.”

Maddon didn’t miss a beat. He will be no less marketable than prominent Cubs players.

He underscored that he loves the young Cub talent on the field, the franchise’s scouting and development approach and the simpatico, “philosophically aligned” management team. And, yes, until belatedly informed, he didn’t know about the (14-day window) opt-out clause that kicked in when Andrew Friedman left last month.

When the Q&A was formally ended, he grabbed back the microphone for a couple of quick post-mortems. First, a shout-out to “my guys in Tampa Bay. Very grateful for all the years that I spent there … outstanding people … and thank you for everything.” Coming when it did, it sounded like an afterthought. Too little, too late. Too bad.

Then a pertinent, suitable-to-the-situation announcement: “The first round’s on me.” This was, after all, the Cubby Bar directly across from the “cathedral.”

* “We came from a policy of having zero problems with our neighbors, and now we’re having problems with almost everyone.”–Umit Pamir, Turkey’s former ambassador to the United Nations.

* “The French build in Paris, the English build in London, and the Israelis build in Jerusalem.”–Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

* “Israel today is surrounded on four out of five borders–South Lebanon, Gaza, Sinai and Syria–not by states but by militias, dressed as civilians, armed with rockets and nested among civilians. No other country faces such a threat.”–Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times.

* “Any country that kills its own people, persecutes religious minorities and subjugates women is anathema to American Muslims. They can call themselves angels, but they cannot camouflage their evil under a religious veneer.”–Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

* “Evolution in nature doesn’t contradict the notion of creation because evolution presupposes the creation of beings who evolve.”–Pope Francis.

* “I never dreamed of this job in particular because it didn’t exist.”–David S. Cohen, the Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

* “Let’s temper the Ebola hysteria with knowledge, and remember to prevent an ever greater threat to our health by getting a flu shot.”–Dr. Mona V. Mangat, board chair of Doctors for America.

* “Trickle down economics has failed. Our economy grows when businesses and entrepreneurs create good-paying jobs here in America and workers and families are empowered to build from the bottom up and the middle out–not when we hand out tax breaks for corporations that outsource jobs or stash their profits overseas.”–Hillary Clinton.

* “He has changed the Republican Party more than any other Republican in the Obama years.”–Conservative activist Grover Norquist on the impact of libertarian Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.

* “America and Cuba have so much to gain by turning the page on these Cold War policies. And all of our friends in the hemisphere are in favor of that happening.”–U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor.

* “Let’s not fool ourselves. We Americans have long boasted of having free and fair elections. Thanks to this Supreme Court, they are neither.”–Timothy Egan, New York Times.

* “Continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and long-lasting changes in all components of the climate system, increasing the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts.”–Conclusion of the report by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

* “The New York City skyline is whole again, as One World Trade Center takes its place in Lower Manhattan.”–Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

* “Nationally, we’re getting record revenues, so we’re a very, very valuable piece of property. What teams are getting locally is staggering. Our fans live and die with every game in all these places.”–Retiring Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig.

* “Football is something a big city should have.”–Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

* “Apple CEO Tim Cook came out as gay. Then the CEO of Samsung came out as being even gayer. Those guys are always competing.”–Jimmy Fallon.

* “This decision is the single most important that has occurred in the last 25 years. This is bigger than baseball.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn on the significance of USF putting its college of medicine downtown.

* “We would actually create a university district.”–Dr. Charles Lockwood, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine.

* “It’s the largest square-footage deal that’s ever happened in downtown Tampa, that’s for sure.”–Mike Davis, executive director of Cushman & Wakefield, on the sale of the 38-story, 750,000-square-foot One Tampa City Center for $128.13 million.

* “We’re really seeing a renaissance in Ybor right now.”–Bob McDonough, the city of Tampa’s administrator of economic development.

* “We hope that in the not-too-distant future we will be able to make it daily year-round.”–Copa Airlines CEO Pedro Heilbron, on ultimate prospects for Copa, which begins direct flights between TIA and Panama four times a week next month.

* “In this recovering real estate environment, we look forward to being a part of something that will not only be successful for our company and partners, but also a celebrated new destination for the community, as well.”–Beck Daniel, vice president of acquisitions and development for BTI Partners, which plans on resuscitating the former New Port Tampa Bay project at Westshore and Gandy boulevards.

* “Our goal is to give teachers the tools they need to improve student achievement without overburdening them with mandatory, prescriptive testing requirements. … There’s got to be some common sense put back in this process.”–Pasco County school superintendent Kurt Browning.

* “The Church of Scientology has not told me that it is opposed to the aquarium being in downtown. We are trying to develop downtown for everybody, not just for the Church of Scientology.”–Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos.  

* “The current environment in Egypt is not conducive to genuine democratic elections and civic participation.”–Former President Jimmy Carter.

* “Compounding matters for Democrats, the issue environment during this election season has been toxic: the Obamacare launch, the Veterans Affairs scandal, the rise of the Islamic State and the spread of Ebola fears. Good luck talking about the minimum wage.”–Michael Gerson, Washington Post.

* “The left is still ahead on the ground–they just have more resources.”–Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity.

* “If he (Barack Obama) gets blamed for some of the losses, I hope he also gets credit for developing some of the get-out-the-vote apparatus that could help save some of these seats.”–David Axelrod, political adviser to President Obama.

* “A diet pill endorsed by Dr. Oz was found to be based on bogus scientific research. Yeah, people are shocked that you can’t trust a TV doctor named after a lying wizard.”–Conan O’Brien.

* “It’s hard to get excited … but we’ll take it. It’s encouraging.”–Scott Brown, chief economist with Raymond James Financial, commenting on Florida’s unemployment rate falling to 6.1 percent. The national rate is 5.9 percent.

* “Under Scott’s watch, the Sunshine State is on the sidelines in developing solar power. Florida ranks third nationally for solar potential but is 18th in solar production. … It is ‘Utilities Gone Wild!’ in Tallahassee under Scott’s watch.”–Mike Fasano, Pasco County tax collector and a former Republican state senator and representative.

* “Scientists study the risks we face–whether it’s from failing to vaccinate our children, prescription drugs, hydraulic fracturing, climate change or exposure to toxic chemicals. Politicians don’t have to respond to every one of these risks, of course. They can and should disagree with each other about if and how to respond. But saying, ‘I’m not a scientist’ in the face of scientific evidence is a cheap cop-out.”–Andrew Rosenberg, director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

* “Recently Florida has successfully reduced its environmental permitting time down to just two days, and that’s great.”–Gov. Rick Scott.

* “I can’t think of a governor in this country that has done a better job than Gov. Scott.”–Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

* “A vote for Charlie Crist is a vote for Barack Obama.”–Scott campaign spokeswoman Susan Hepworth.

* “I want you to know how strong my family feels about this race. This is Hillary’s birthday, and I had to get an excused absence to come down here.”–Former President Bill Clinton in Tampa campaigning for Charlie Crist on Sunday.

* “Rick Scott has signed more pro-gun bills into law in one term than any other governor in Florida history.”–Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action.

* “I could definitely see myself running again.”–Term-limited Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe, acknowledging the possibility of future political scenarios.

* “I remind people that Election Day is not the first day to vote. It’s the last day to vote.”–Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer.

* “If they move their facility down here, it’s just going to spawn other types of relationships. You attract world-class talent, and you end up becoming a world-class city.”–David Smith, chairman of the Tampa Downtown Partnership, on the potential impact of a USF medical school downtown.

* “I think you could incorporate a very modern library into that (current) site in addition to other components that would maximize the use of the land.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn on the status of the John F. Germany Library in downtown.

* “We, at this point, are going to continue to go forward.”–City Attorney Julia Mandell, on Tampa’s plans to continue its red-light camera program without changes.

* “I’m in favor of using buses whenever we can. Students are eight times safer on a school bus than riding with their parents and 50 times safer on a school bus than when they are driven by other kids.”–Jim Beekman, newly appointed head of transportation for the Hillsborough County School District.

* “We’re hopeful for a deal by the end of the year.”–Ben Kirby, spokesman for St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, on stadium-site talks with the Tampa Bay Rays.

* “It’s about exploration. What is out there? I have this unique opportunity, and I think I’d be foolish to not explore it.”–Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon on his decision to exercise an opt-out clause in his contract and leave the Rays.

* “I do not think our financial offer contributed to Joe’s decision.”–Matt Silverman, Rays president of baseball operations, on the departure of manager Joe Maddon.

* “Joe’s involvement with Ava is from now until eternity. … You will see Joe at our (November) opening, I assure you of that.”–Mike Stewart, principal owner of new SoHo restaurant Ava that includes partner Joe Maddon.

* Enough of the Crist-Scott fan fallout–and that includes all the accompanying puns plus the ultimate hyperbolic affix: “-gate.” On this there should be no debate, even by political fanatics.

As for candidate rules, how about this: “No electronic ‘communication’ devices. Fans or bar stools are permissible if they help make a candidate more comfortable with candidly presenting an honest, coherent vision for the state.”

But what won’t be allowed is this: Repetitious, self-serving, non sequitur “answers” to whatever question is asked.

If only.

* As we now know, the air war on ISIS by the U.S. and partner nations finally has a name: “Operation Inherent Resolve.” By all accounts, the response has been underwhelming indifference: another generic war label that sounds like the product of a bored bureaucratic committee. Why even bother branding warfare unless it can inspire–and rally around the truth?

To that end:

How about “Operation Turkey Get Your Ass In Here And Help Out” or “Operation Exorcise and Incinerate ISIS.” But “Operation Inherent Resolve”? Sounds like bureaucracy meets a thesaurus. Might as well be “Operation Petticoat” for all its relevance.

* Plaudits to Steve Bousquet, the Tallahassee bureau chief of the Tampa Bay Times. He called out Leadership Florida and the Florida Press Association for arbitrarily banning Adrian Wyllie, the ostensible “mandate killer,” from the gubernatorial debates because the Libertarian fell shy of their (self-imposed)15 percent poll threshold.

Bousquet’s point: Those tempted to vote for neither Charlie Crist or Rick Scott should at least hear first-hand how this alternative candidate would seemingly apply libertarian principles to the real world of governance. In so doing, Bousquet also made a point of noting that his employer, the Times, was a member of the FPA and, as such, became “a party to silencing Wyllie.”

* There are so many lists these days, many of them under-researched and self-promoting, that they’re hardly worth noting. Having said that, I’d rather see Tampa on Travel + Leisure magazine’s short list of America’s “snobbiest” cities (along with the uppity likes of New York, Boston and San Francisco) than see Tampa Bay come in next to last in the Census Bureau’s list of the 25 largest metro areas for the percent of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree.

For the record, the percentage–as of 2012–was 35.6 percent. Tampa Bay beat out Riverside, Calif. (23.9 percent). The top three: Washington (65), San Francisco (60.9) and Boston (60.3).

* “Fighting this disease (Ebola) will take time. Before this is over, we may see more isolated cases here in America. But we know how to wage this fight.”–President Barack Obama.

* “If the hardest thing that happens in a given day is that you have to fly commercial, your life is pretty good.”–Secretary of State John Kerry, who, for the fourth time this year, was forced to fly home commercially when his Air Force Boeing 757 was grounded last week in Vienna.

* “Most of the swings this week were related to fears about global growth and not about the fundamentals of this market. This volatility, in a way, is pure psychological. This is the market returning to a more normalized behavior.”–James Liu, JPMorgan Funds global market strategist, on Wall Street’s volatile week.

* “Chinese investors have been on a buying binge.”–Jonathan A. Miller, chief executive of Miller Samuel, a real estate appraisal and consulting firm, after the Anbang Insurance Group of China agreed to buy the Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan for $2 billion.

* “The extent and continuing increase in inequality in the United States greatly concerns me.”–Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

* “Ultimately, I do think the Equal Protection Clause does guarantee same-sex marriage in all 50 states.”–President Barack Obama.

* “I love the targeting on YouTube. I love how it’s efficient; I love the cost. It’s a great bang for your buck.”–Robert Willington, president of Swiftkurrent, a Republican digital marketing firm.

* “(Bill) Clinton was the last president we’ve had who loved politics.”–Author and Princeton University historian Julian Zelizer.

* “There’s a lot of interaction when you’re reading a book with your child. You’re turning pages, pointing at pictures, talking about the story. Those things are lost somewhat when you’re using an e-book.”–Dr. Pamela High of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

* “Mr. Dunn, your life is effectively over. What is sad … is that this case exemplifies that our society seems to have lost its way.”–Circuit Judge Russell Healey to Michael Dunn, who had just been sentenced to life without parole for the “loud music” murder of a Jacksonville teenager.

* “This (Ebola) is not something you have to worry about when you go to the grocery store or anywhere else in this country. People are much more fearful about this than they are about things that will get them, like the flu.”–Michael Butler, Jackson Health System chief medical officer.

* “The difference between Florida and Georgia is conservatives are leading the way to push for more solar and to allow freedom. In Florida, (conservatives) put up roadblocks. It’s appalling. … It’s violating free market principles.”–Debbie Dooley, national coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots and founder of Conservatives for Energy Freedom.

* “Rick (Scott) has signed more pro-gun bills into law in one term than any other governor in Florida history.”–Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action.

* “It’s hard to get excited … but we’ll take it. It’s encouraging.”–Scott Brown, chief economist with Raymond James Financial, commenting on Florida’s unemployment rate falling to 6.1 percent. The national rate is 5.9 percent.

* “This teaching-to-the-test stuff has become a profit center for testing companies. And our schools are not learning centers anymore. They’re testing centers. And it’s out of control, and we need to address it, and address it quickly.”–Charlie Crist.

* “Recently Florida has successfully reduced its environmental permitting time down to just two days, and that’s great.”–Gov. Rick Scott.

* “Our goal is to power through these next three weeks to raise as much money as we can and talk to as many voters as we can to tell them why this is the right plan for Pinellas County and win this race.”–Stuart Rogel, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Partnership, a leading fundraiser for the Greenlight Pinellas campaign.

* “We’re hopeful for a deal by the end of the year.”–Ben Kirby, spokesman for St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, on stadium-site talks with the Tampa Bay Rays.

* “We, at this point, are going to continue to go forward.”–City Attorney Julia Mandell, on Tampa’s plans to continue its red-light camera program without changes.

* “I’m in favor of using buses whenever we can. Students are eight times safer on a school bus than riding with their parents and 50 times safer on a school bus than when they are driven by other kids.”–Jim Beekman, newly appointed head of transportation for the Hillsborough County School District.

Of all the White House optics, few–if any–can be as cringe-worthy as context for a president’s fund-raising flights. It would be nice if the office were above such expedience, but it comes with the job. Indeed, as we’re periodically reminded, any president is also the Hustler-in-Chief.

Last Tuesday, for example, President Barack Obama was shown boarding and disembarking from Air Force One for a pair of high-roller affairs in New York and then a Marine One helicopter sortie for the short flight to Greenwich, Conn. to charm some more 1 percenters. It was all in a glad-handing, entreating day’s work–even as the world confronted the viral duo of Ebola and ISIS.

* Former cabinet secretaries and memoirs are about as predictable as politicians and their disdain for “special interests.” But whether it’s Hillary Clinton, (former Secretary of Defense) Robert Gates or, most recently, former SOD Leon Panetta, couldn’t they at least wait until the president they were serving is out of office?

How about showing some class even if the kissing-and-telling parts won’t be so newsworthy a few years later. Even if, in the case of Panetta’s Worthy Fights, he has to restrain himself a little longer before calling out President Obama over the handling of Syria and the consequent “blow to American credibility.”

* Ben Affleck was superb in Argo. As a director, as an actor. He was awful the other night on “Real Time with Bill Maher.” As a guest, as an ad hoc spokesman for Islam.

The subject became Islam and Islamophobia. Affleck got into it with Maher and his guest, author Sam Harris. That both Maher and Harris are atheists obviously mattered to Affleck.

There are more appropriate forums for the discussion of substantive, uber sensitive subjects than an HBO exercise in comedy, commentary and F-bombast. Having said that, Affleck played the role of Hollywood elite forced to go on the offense against gross stereotyping and intolerance. If only Maher and Harris were bigots.

Affleck came across as smug, rude and insufferable. His body language was pitch-perfect last call at the local pub.

* I can’t imagine anything more perverse for journalists than having to reference ISIS’s newly released, non-negotiable media rules for those “who wish to continue working in the governorate.” As if.

There are 11 such rules, but I can’t envision any “infidel” reading beyond No. 1: “Correspondents must swear allegiance to the Caliph (Abu Bakr) al-Baghdadi. They are subjects of the Islamic State and, as subjects, they are obliged to swear loyalty to their imam.” Swearing, yes, but not loyalty to an imam.

The rules, however, are also horrifically moot once journalists have been beheaded.

* The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot for 2015 is now out and it includes the eclectic likes of Lou Reed, the Spinners, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. But once again, no Chubby Checker. How does this keep happening–or does ill will remain from back in the day when Chubby covered Hank Ballard on “The Twist”?

Regardless, Chubby’s an icon–and “Let’s Twist Again” was the first rock song to win a Grammy.

It’s inexplicable that Chubby Checker is still not in the R&R Hall, but N.W.A. and Nine-Inch Nails are on the upcoming ballot.

* As we know, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made headlines recently for all the wrong reasons. The native of Hyderabad, India seemed, at best, insensitive to the flashpoint workplace issue of equal pay-equal work-equal opportunity. His candid advice for career-oriented women: Better to trust the system “as you go along,” rather than actually ask for a raise. In short, wait for “karma” to kick in.

Nadella later tried walking it back with a damage-control apology.

It was all beyond ironic.

First, it came during an event celebrating women in computing. Go figure. Second, his name “Satya” actually means “truth” in Sanskrit. He meant what he “misspoke.”

* Since retiring last month, Derek Jeter has sparked speculation about the next chapter of his life. Might he buy into a MLB franchise?  Maybe expand his Turn 2 Foundation that motivates young people to pursue a healthy lifestyle and academic excellence?

As it turns out, he’s behind a new website devoted to delivering athletes’ “unfiltered” views to their fans. The Players Tribune, at www.theplayerstribune.com, is being billed as a digital company offering unique access to top athletes–from videos to podcasts–without having to go through reporters. Jeter says it will “bring fans closer to the games they love.”

If I’m a player, I’m thinking: “Cool. Nobody edits me but me.” If I’m a rabid fan, I’m thinking: “Cool. My direct, sports-idol connection.” If I’m anybody else, I’m thinking: “He’s Derek Jeter, couldn’t he do something more important?”

* “Baghdad is ripe for infiltration for a Tet-like offensive aimed at demoralizing both Iraq and the U.S.”–Charles Krauthammer.

* “We always overestimate military training and force and underestimate what Arabs and Afghans want most: decent and just governance. Without the latter, there is no way to cultivate real citizens with a will to fight–and without will there is no training that matters.”–Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times.

* “A just peace is the only real guarantee for not destroying what we are about to rebuild and reconstruct.”–Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah, on his country’s pledge of $1 billion to help rebuild the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

* “Europe is struggling. Asia is struggling. Japan is struggling. The United States is the best house on the block at the moment.”–Jurrien Timmer, director of global macro at Fidelity Investments.

* “The view, increasingly prevalent in China, that it will inevitably replace the United States as the world’s leading power is far from assured. Our natural resources, our entrepreneurial culture, and our vast head start in higher education and science are strong factors in our favor. People from all over the world want to live and work in the United States–including wealthy Chinese.”–Retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark, author of Don’t Wait for the Next War: A Strategy for American Growth and Global Leadership.

* “Fruitcakes and loonies and closet racists.”–British Prime Minister David Cameron’s characterization of the anti-European U.K. Independence Party

* “The export shipment symbolizes a new era in U.S. energy and U.S. energy relations with the rest of the world. … It doesn’t change everything, but it certainly provides a new dimension to U.S. influence in the world.”–Energy historian Daniel Yergin, on the expected sharp rise in American crude exports.

* “Franklin and Theodore couldn’t get out of the Iowa caucuses (today.) Franklin is too infirm. CNN and Fox would be vying for the worst images of him unlocking the braces, the sweat pouring off his brow, the obvious pain and that kind of pity that it would engender would be political poison. And Theodore is just too hot for the new medium of television. There would be 10 ‘Howard Dean’ moments a day.”–Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, who produced and directed The Roosevelts.

* “It is the water we drink and the air we breathe, a perception out of all proportion to any objective reality, yet it infiltrates the collective subconscious to such an unholy degree that even black men fear black men.”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.

* “A real game changer; a paradigm shifter.”–Dr. Sam Gandy of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, on the re-creation of Alzheimer’s brain cells in a petri dish.

* “The governor could end this today if he wanted to. Don’t put all this on Bondi. It’s time the governor recognizes the (same-sex marriage) message that the U.S. Supreme Court has sent. It’s over. If (Wisconsin Republican Gov.) Scott Walker can make that decision, so can Rick Scott.”–Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida.

* “Amendment 2 clearly recognizes a role for the Legislature. So if it does pass, the Legislature will be prepared to address, through the standard legislative process, the gaps in the law and to provide guidance to the various state agencies impacted by its passage.”–Sen. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, incoming Florida Senate president.

* “I believe in the embargo and here’s why: The Castro brothers are terrorists.”–Gov. Rick Scott, at the first gubernatorial debate, hosted by Telemundo, in Miramar.

* “I was not personally responsible for the global economic meltdown. You’re not responsible for the national economic recovery.”–Charlie Crist to Rick Scott in the Telemundo debate.

* “This could help drive Democrats to the polls.”–Sean Foreman, Barry University political science professor, on the possible impact of Charlie Crist pushing for the acceptance of Medicaid expansion.

* “It doesn’t do him (Rick Scott) any good to support Medicaid expansion as a campaign issue. His party is against it. The Legislature refused to move it last year.”–Sean Foreman.

* “Apathy is our biggest opponent.”–Micki Castor, head of the Hillsborough County chapter of the League of Women Voters, during a USF voter-registration event.

* “There are a lot of wealthy people in this country who just sit on their money, and I have never understood that.”–Les Muma, who, along with his wife Pam, are donating $25 million to USF’s college of business.

* “For so long, we have not emphasized walking and biking. It’s just a matter of filling in all the blank spaces, and the Selmon Greenway is one of those.”–Tampa City Council member Lisa Montelione, who chairs the livable roadways committee of the MPO, on the 1.7-mile Selmon Greenway trail that is expected to open in March.

* “This whole area is changing, and we are the cornerstone.”–Thom Stork, president and CEO of The Florida Aquarium.

* “They’re not just here for business, but they are part of the community. … It’s helping to put us on the map. It’s a piece of our story. —Melanie Morrison, executive director of the SouthShore Chamber of Commerce, on the opening of the 1 million-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center in Ruskin.

* “Rail systems work, and they generate significant economic development.”–Former Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard.

* “I don’t think it’s high enough on the radar screen.”–St. Petersburg City Council member Karl Nurse, on the issue of rising sea levels and the downtown waterfront.

* “He is every bit as good of a person and human being as he is a player.”–Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik on Steven Stamkos.

* Netflix has been on a roll, as we know. The streaming colossus struck it big with House of Cards and Kevin Spacey for television. Now it’s going after the movie business. To that end, it has signed a four-film deal with Adam Sandler.

Even if you thought House of Cards was overrated and pretentious in its Shakespearean asides, it was topical, it was well-scripted and it had Spacey.

Sandler movies have, well, Sandler and are routinely hyped for the Razzies. Something about being tacky and plot-challenged. But there’s a proven market, to be sure.

But, still, shouldn’t Netflix be able to do better than The Water Boy and Happy Gilmore sequels?

* Look who’s back in the news: Nick (Bollea) Hogan. Thanks.