Category: Media Watch

* “This (ISIS) is a group that knows no boundaries of human decency. The head of the snake is in Syria, and if you want to kill the snake, you need to cut off its head.”–U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

* “If Russia continues to escalate the crisis, it will come with a high cost. It’s time for everyone to get down to the business of peace-making. It is not too late, but time is quickly running out.”–European Union Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

* “A Russian soldier who chooses to fight in Ukraine on summer break is still a Russian soldier.”–Samantha Power, U.S. ambassador to United Nations.

* “China behaves like it’s on another planet, content to be a free-rider on the international system.”–Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times.

* “If we can’t do the hard work of building alliances at home, we are never going to have the strength or ability to build them around the world.”–David Rothkopf, author of National Insecurity: American Leadership in an Age of Fear.

* “The oceans control the planet’s temperature: 90 percent of the heat is stored in the oceans, and its heat content continues to rise at a rapid rate.  … So although global air temperatures haven’t changed over the past 15 years, warming of the deep oceans has been unprecedented over the past 50 years and is accelerating. Warming of the oceans causes them to expand and, along with melting ice, causes sea level to rise. And that matters to Floridians. … This is a leadership moment for (Gov.) Scott, since Florida is ground zero for the impacts of climate change.”–David Hastings, professor of marine science and chemistry at Eckerd College.

* “Consumers should be in the driver’s seat when it comes to their data.”–Edith Ramirez, chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission.

* “It has a lot of the key ingredients that often make people want to share things. It gives people lots of social currency to be part of it. It makes you look good. It makes you look smart and in the know; you know what’s going on. And it’s always hard to back down from a challenge.”–Jonah Berger, University of Pennsylvania marketing professor and author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On, on the success of the ALS “ice bucket challenge.”

* “They’re trying to take over every night of TV. It’s all football. At some point, the people get sick of it.”–Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks (of the National Basketball Association), on the further expansion of the NFL’s television package.

* “The last thing we want them to do is delink themselves from the United States and then not pay their debtors.”–U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Fla., in calling for the Obama Administration to block Venezuela’s sale of U.S.-based Citgo Petroleum Corp.

* “I was treated like an unwanted stepchild.”–Former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll on how she felt during Rick Scott’s inaugural celebration.

* “It is strange to me that he (Charlie Crist) would go and lean so far to the left and so publicly when what he needs to do is win independents and take some part of the Republican Party with him.”–Veteran Republican campaign adviser J.M. “Mac” Stipanovich.

* “His (Charlie Crist) biggest drawback is that he was governor once and could have been easily re-elected–everybody concedes that. But he gave that up to try to be the junior-most member of the U.S. Senate, a body with a high negative image.”–Retired USF political scientist Darryl Paulson.

* “This is probably one of the earliest stages ever to unite the party. We stand here with the primary goal of making Rick Scott a one-term governor.”–State Sen. Nan Rich, in introducing Charlie Crist last week at a unity rally in Orlando.

* “We know the universe we have to turn out, and if we turn it out, we win the election.”–Omar Khan, Crist campaign manager.

* “Our waterways and natural spaces are not just objects of beauty but foundational to the health of our two ecos–Florida’s ecosystem and Florida’s economy.”–State Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt and speaker of the House in 2015-16.

* “The command is at its absolute zenith. And it is, indeed, a golden age for special operations. And you are the officer most responsible for this.”–Army Gen. Joseph Votel III, in taking over command of SOCom from Adm. William McRaven.

* “I tried to fight this a year ago. … I’m done talking. Let’s have action. That’s what the people want.”–Lee County School Board member Don Armstrong, after Lee voted to opt out of all state-mandated exams for its students.

* “It’s not the equipment that’s wrong. It’s the manner in which you use it.”–Larry McKinnon, spokesman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, on the issue of the availability of military-grade equipment and weaponry for local law enforcement.

* “Anything we can do to keep young kids from becoming our customers is a good thing, in my view.”–Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor.

* “I think office (development) has always been contemplated as part of the mix. You don’t want everything to be the same. You want people to live, work and play in the same environment.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn on eclectic plans for downtown real estate acreage around the Forum.

* “We are becoming a tougher, meaner, coarser culture. ‘Grand Theft Auto’ is now a video game. Think about that, what it says about our culture.”–Donald Eastman, president of Eckerd College.

Criticism of Congress is nothing new–and hardly relegated to political candidates and pundits. To wit: “Congress is a deliberative body in which there is little real deliberation; a legislature which legislates with no real discussion of its business. Our government is practically carried on by irresponsible committees.” That was collegiate essayist Woodrow Wilson as a Princeton senior in 1879.

* “The United States of America will continue to do what we must do to protect our people. We will be vigilant, and we will be relentless.”–President Barack Obama.

* “This (Islamic State) is an organization that has an apocalyptic, end-of-days strategic vision and which will eventually have to be defeated.”–Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

* “The United States government believes very strongly that paying ransom to terrorists gives them a tool in the form of financing that helps them propagate what they’re doing. And so we believe very strongly that we don’t do that, for that reason.”–State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf.

* “There will be no military solution to this problem.”–German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Ukraine-Russia relations.

* “This country is capable of change. But change doesn’t happen by itself. So let’s start here. Let’s do the work today.”–Attorney General Eric Holder in Ferguson, Mo.

* “That kind (military) of equipment needs to be used in situations where there’s gunfire. That equipment is used in most respects to rescue people under fire. But on a typical protest, there’s no reason to have that out in front. Have it in reserve and available if you need it.”–Darrel Stephens, executive director of Major Cities Chiefs Police Association and former St. Petersburg police chief.

* “I think one of the things the White House has not done well and the president has not done well is the simple idea of establishing relationships before there is a crisis.”–Sen. Angus King of Maine, an independent member of the Democratic caucus.

* “It’s about business, and if somebody can look good on TV and present themselves well and have somewhat of a convincing pitch to a relatively naive audience, that’s all the networks care about. Just because you’re a general does not mean you are qualified to go on television and talk.”–Retired Marine Lt. Col. Bill Cowan, a 12-year Fox News analyst.

* “He is this kind of American construct. He’s in the middle of the story and then he comes back … and he talks about the story.”–Syracuse University Robert Thompson, an expert on television and pop culture, on the revolving roles of the Rev. Al Sharpton, host of MSNBC’s “Politics Nation.”

* “When observers look back 50 years from now, the arguments supporting Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage, though just as sincerely held, will again seem an obvious pretext for discrimination. Observers who are not now of age will wonder just how those views could have been held.”–U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle, in ruling that Florida’s ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional.

* “It’s puzzling to me why more states are not interested in investigating the overwhelming practical benefits of (Medicaid) expansion. I understand some legislators might have philosophical beliefs that make it hard to accept it, but there have been enough creative waiver proposals to get around those philosophical differences.”–Stan Dorn, senior fellow at the Urban Institute and one of the authors of a Medicaid expansion study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

* “This is not complicated. We teach this to18-year-olds every year and I’ve been doing it for 25 years. It’s not hard science.”–David Hastings, professor of marine science and chemistry at Eckerd College, on being part of a five-member, climate-science group that met with Gov. Rick Scott.

* “I will be out there supporting the Democratic nominee. I’m a true Democrat and I’ll support the Democrat.”–Nan Rich, underscoring that she will support Charlie Crist in the gubernatorial election.

* “As a lifelong Republican and a legislator for many years, I have seen a disturbing change in the Republican Party of Florida, its policies and its tone. I’m particularly troubled by the willingness, if not deliberate strategy, to twist the truth.”–Paula Dockery.

* “The numbers continue to be very, very strong. Not only was July strong, but I’m really excited about what we’ve seen in August.”–Santiago Corrada, president and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay, on the strong showing of Tampa Bay area hotels.

* “I am proud of the density of Tampa Bay’s artistic assets. We are Florida’s Cultural Coast, a distinction  that sets us apart and can launch us into the international market of cultural tourism.”–Judy Lisi, president and CEO, Straz Center for the Performing Arts.

* “I’m really worried about pleasing (Athletic Director) Jeremy Foley, (President) Bernie Machen, my wife, my mom and my family. I spend zero time worrying about anything other than what I can control.”–University of Florida head football coach Will Muschamp.

* Just never know where USF economist Phil Porter will show up next when it comes to weighing in on the economic impact of big events. But there he was in last Sunday’s issue of the New York Times Magazine commenting on the Olympic Games and what they do–or don’t do–for host countries. Porter’s unsurprising, unequivocal comment: “The bottom line is, every time we’ve looked–dozens of scholars, dozens of times–we find no real change in economic activity.”

* This much we know about the 2016 Hillary Clinton for President campaign. She can’t afford to have it perceived–by anybody, including left-leaning pundits–as campaigning for a third Obama term.

*A recent episode of CNBC’s American Greed chronicled the tale of John Donald Cody–aka Bobby Thompson–who perpetrated the infamous U.S. Navy Veterans Association charity fraud. The scam, operated out of a seedy, Ybor City duplex, raised more than $100 million from donors nationwide from 2002 to 2010. The story was broken by the (then) St. Petersburg Times and featured (now retired) reporter Jeff Testerman.

* A picture is worth a thousand words–and worse–department: Remember those Abu Ghraib prisoner photos in Iraq and the ones of U.S. marines urinating on Taliban corpses in Afghanistan? They became visceral, anti-American rallying points. It’s hardly a stretch to conclude that people probably died as a result.

Here’s another one: That AP wire photo taken in a Jerusalem bar showing an Israeli army reserve officer with a T-shirt referring to Israeli operations during the latest war in Gaza. The back of the shirt read: “Deployed, Destroyed, Enjoyed. Gaza 2014.” Not helpful.

* “When you have a unique circumstance in which genocide is threatened, and a country is willing to have us in there, you have a strong international consensus that these people need to be protected and we have a capacity to do so, then we have an obligation to do so.”–President Barack Obama’s rationale for using military force to protect Iraqi refugees from Islamic State insurgents.

* “Iraq should be one of the wealthiest countries on earth, with its human capital, strategic location, vast oil and gas reserves and two major rivers in an otherwise barren region.”–Ali Khedery, former special assistant to five American ambassadors in Iraq.

* “We do think we should have a steady improvement in our relationship with the Vietnamese military .”–Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during his visit in Ho Chi Minh City.

* “Would U.S. government function better if presidents were limited to one term, perhaps of six years? The unfortunate, bipartisan experience with second terms suggests the issue is worthy of debate. The historical record helps make the case for change.”–Lawrence Summers, former treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and former economic advisor to President Barack Obama.

* “The $64,000 question is, will mainstream Republicans break from the Tea Party? If they do, it will be good for the country and bad for the Democrats.”–Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y.

* “Republicans always saw libertarians as nice to have around in case they wanted to score some weed, and we always knew where there was a party. And for a while it made sense to bunk up with them.”–Nick Gillespie, editor of Reason, the monthly libertarian magazine published bythe Reason Foundation.

* “It’s (libertarianism) a completely closed and airless ideological system that doesn’t respond well to reality.”–David Frum, political commentator and former speechwriter for President George W. Bush.

* “‘Politics’: ‘Poli’ a Latin word meaning ‘many’ and ‘tics’ meaning ‘bloodsucking creatures.'”–Robin Williams.

* “In police work there are times we have to become soldiers and control through force and fear. But we have to come back to being a public servant as quick as we can to establish that normality and that ethical stature with communities, because they’re the ones who give us the authority to do our police work.”–Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Michael Downing.

* “Florida leaders and citizens have worked for years to make the Sunshine State a world-class location to start or run a business, a family-friendly destination for tourism, and a desirable place to raise a family or retire. Allowing large-scale marijuana operations to take root across Florida, under the guise of using it for medicinal purposes, runs counter to all of these efforts.”–Former Gov. Jeb Bush.

* “The goal here is not to steal from each other. The goal is for Florida ports to steal from other states’ ports.”–Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Anath Prasad, presiding at a meeting of Port Tampa Bay and Port Manatee officials.

* “A healthy economy and a healthy environment are mutually beneficial and not mutually exclusive.”–Holly Greening, Tampa Bay Estuary Program executive director.

* “I’m not sure we have enough time to sell this, and I’m not sure we have time to really do the leg work that needs to be done to generate the voter buy-in to get this passed.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist on the challenges involved in a 2016 transit referendum.

* “They (GOP activists) don’t represent the general public. They are people interested in and involved in party politics, and they’re very, very partisan. Greenlight Pinellas will create jobs and stimulate our economy. That’s what Republicans want.”–Republican Pinellas County Commissioner Susan Latvala.

* “This is a day I have wanted for a very long time. Not just one year or two years, but 20 years.”–Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn at the official opening of Water Works Park.

* “I think I have sometimes been maybe a little too outspoken.”–Hillsborough County school board member April Griffin.

* “Based on our projected growth, we need lots of people. … We’re creating a brand in the world that Tampa is a high-tech place.”–Tony DiBenedetto, CEO of Tribridge, the Tampa-based technology services company.

* “This is how we create our destiny. We don’t create our destiny by building more subdivisions.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

* “The business community, with a focus on the bottom line, is miles ahead of the political leadership on the issues of diversity and has been for years. … People will go where they believe talent and hard work shape their destiny, not prejudice.”–Nadine Smith, CEO of Equality Florida/Equality Florida Institute.

* “ED12 is about supporting this community, not government picking winners or losers.”–Joy Randels, founder and director of the local chapter of Startup Grind, in reference to the 1-year-old Hillsborough County Economic Development Innovation Initiative (ED12).

* Let’s hear it for Kentucky. The Bluegrass State has become the how-to state when it comes to the Affordable Care Act. More than a half-million residents have signed up for its version of the ACA exchange. That’s more than 80 percent of the state’s uninsured.

Much credit goes to Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat in a disproportionately poor, decidedly Republican state. He was honest and made the case that big government was helping with a big problem: too many uninsured Kentuckians. And they doubled down on preparation. Its website worked from the get-go.

But marketing was critical. Polls–both national and in-state–have shown that the ACA is more popular than “Obamacare.” Connotation counts. Embarrassingly so. As a result, in Kentucky the ACA exchange version is called “Kynect.” No need to traffic in “Obamacare,” a self-disparaging, demonized term.

But let’s not forget how that demonization occurred.

It didn’t happen just because it helped expedite a partisan political strategy of Republicans running against President Barack Obama in their home-state races. It also happened because the media, especially electronic, was an eponymous enabler. “Obamacare” was right in the media’s short-hand wheelhouse–as well as a politically partisan taunt.

And it still, regrettably–and disgracefully–continues.

* The page-three, above-the-fold Tampa Bay Times headline summed it up: “Atheist’s Appeal Makes Local History.” Indeed, giving a recent invocation before the Largo City Commission was Joe Reinhardt, a member of Atheists of Florida. This was a first for Pinellas County. A couple of years ago Pinellas Park officials refused such a request.

But now, as a result of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Reinhardt was welcomed to the lectern to give the invocation. He gave it in the form of a moment of silence, which is what his group advocates.

Arguably, this issue has now peaked–unless, frankly, it matters that much to invoke the Deity before ruling on liquor licenses and zoning ordinances. Presumably, this will be the last time this constitutes real “news.”

And to minimize emotion and “newsworthiness” such future speakers might better be referred to as “secular”–whether they represent Atheists of Florida, Scientology, The Humanist Institute, the Moose Lodge or the Rotary Club.

* We now know that former President George W. Bush has a book, a “personal biography” of his father, coming out in November. This much we can be assured of in advance: No way does “W” truly explain why he preferred the advice of Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and Karl Rove over that of his father, former President George H.W. Bush.

* “When we have the unique capacity to avert a massacre, the United States cannot turn a blind eye.”–President Barack Obama, on his authorization of airstrikes in Iraq against ISIS.

* “We are not fighting a terrorist organization. We are fighting a terrorist state.”–Kurdish regional President Masoud Barzani, in appealing for allied help against ISIS.

* “I think President Putin represents a deep strain in Russia that is probably harmful to Russia over the long term, but in the short term can be politically popular at home and very troublesome abroad.”–President Barack Obama.

* “Geopolitics and the ubiquity of social media have made the world a smaller, seemingly gorier place.”–David Carr, New York Times.

* “Whether amnesty or clemency ever becomes a possibility is not for me to say. That’s a debate for the public and the government to decide. But, if I could go anywhere in the world, that place would be home.”–Edward Snowden.

* “The doomsday scenario of Ebola being brought to the United States and spread via passengers on airplanes is very unlikely, unless an infected and symptomatic person is allowed to board and then swaps spit with or bleeds on fellow passengers.”–Jane Hu, Slate.

* “Ebola won’t become a threat to the general public from their (two infected Americans) presence in our facility, but the insight we gain by caring for them will prepare us to better treat emergent diseases that may confront the United States in the future. We also can export our new knowledge to treat Ebola globally.”–Susan M. Grant, RN, chief nurse for Emory Healthcare.

* “America and other countries with advanced health systems have very limited vulnerability to the Ebola virus. Ebola fever, however, continues to infect the American media.”–Michael Gerson, Washington Post.

* “It’s all a scam started by Democrats at the White House.”–U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner, reacting to rumors that the House GOP leadership may seek to serve President Obama with impeachment papers.

* “The GOP must learn to speak a language it has shunned to people it has ignored. Because its biggest threat is not the Democratic Party but demographic reality. And right now, that reality is winning, hands down.”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.

* “It defies logic in this day and age that marijuana is still in Schedule I alongside heroin and LSD when there is so much testimony to what relief medical marijuana can bring.”–Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee.

* “I want our leaders to understand that Florida is ground zero for climate change, including the best of what our state has to offer (sorry Orlando!)–our barrier islands, our harbors, our prime real estate, our hotels, our marinas, our beaches. These places are at risk. Insurance companies already know this.”–Jeffrey Chanton, FSU oceanography professor, one of the 10 scientists who recently requested a meeting with Gov. Rick Scott.

* “Neither this Court nor the Florida Supreme Court can decide this federal issue with finality. The United States Supreme Court, however, ‘has the final word on the United States Constitution.'”–Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on settling the issue of gay marriage.

* “These (same-sex) families should not suffer just because our attorney general has chosen a legal strategy that has plagued her with awkward and embarrassing media coverage.”–Howard Simon, director of the ACLU of Florida.

* “What frankly concerns me is it (gubernatorial ) is going to be a very nasty election in which a lot of people will go to the polls asking which of these two bad choices is least bad. Nobody is going to be elected with anything that could be described as a mandate to do something.”–Bob Graham, former Florida governor and U.S. senator.

* “I have always felt that we’re the body that should be promulgating an agenda and championing what the people want because we probably know it quicker and better than our counterparts in the Senate or the executive branch.”–State Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-Trinity.

* “It has completely transformed into a wonderful place.”–A description of the newly dedicated Water Works Park by David L. Tippin, the city’s water department director from 1974 to 2003.

* “We’re really providing a social network service for people who don’t have cars.”–HART system assessment by Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe, who sits on HART’s governing board.

* “Undergoing a major gastronomic renewal.”–A recent Tampa reference by FoodNetwork.com.

* “I had a lot of fun here; I really did.”–Tampa’s Lou Piniella in his induction to the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame.

* A book recommendation: The Brothers by Stephen Kinzer. Chronicles the impact of the Cold War Dulles Brothers–Allen, the former CIA director, and John Foster, the secretary of state. It helps explain how we got where we are in the world.

A captivating and quick read–unless, not unlike me, you incessantly underline and write in the margins.

* A must-rent movie: The Lunchbox. Made in India, on location in Mumbai. Some fantasy, some work-a-day, cultural insights, some universal themes. Character-driven. Clever. Empathetic. No plot spoilers here.

* A recent Tampa Tribune headline: “Poll: Future Will Mark Iran, Afghan Wars as Failures.” Huh? Indeed, that should have been “Iraq”–not “Iran.” Yes, stuff happens–increasingly in the major daily print biz for an eminently obvious reason: not enough experienced eyes on the product. But this is bad.

* So Jim Greer, the former state GOP chairman who was recently released from prison, is declining interviews. About stealing from the state party. About prison. About Charlie Crist. “Trying to put this nightmare behind me,” he explains.

Also quite the ironic priority for someone who just wrote a tell-all book, The Chairman: The Rise and Betrayal of Jim Greer.

* An HBO movie-in-the-making update: The bizarre federal corruption trial of former Virginia Gov. Bob McConnell–and his wife Maureen. A couple of years ago McConnell was on Mitt Romney’s short list of vice presidential candidates. Now the fast-tracking, fast-talking Notre Dame grad and former Army lieutenant colonel and Virginia attorney general could be the first governor of Virginia to be indicted for actions committed during his tenure. Plus, the businessman he’s accused of accepting gifts from–Jonnie Williams–has been characterized as Maureen’s “playmate.”

* “This whole conflict has the feel of a proxy war. Turkey and Qatar are backing Hamas in the hopes of getting the upper hand in their regional rivalry with Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The Egyptians and even the Saudis are backing or rooting for the Israelis, in hopes that the Israeli force will weaken Hamas.”–David Brooks, New York Times.

* “Every vote they’re taking like that means a vote they’re not taking to actually help you.”–President Barack Obama to an audience in Kansas City, in response to the House GOP vote to sue him.

* “Adding an unprecedented legal maneuver to a long list of what Democrats view as extraordinary slights against  this particular president is likely to excite a liberal base in dire need of excitement.”–Charles Blow, New York Times, on the upshot of the House vote to sue the president.

* “The partisan primary system, which favors more ideologically pure candidates, has contributed to the election of more extreme officeholders and increased political polarization. It has become a menace to governing.”–U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y.

* “I have grave concerns that there remains a troubling pattern in your state of measures that make it more difficult, not easier, for Floridians to vote.”–U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, in a Justice Department letter to Gov. Rick Scott.

* “I mean, this is pure politics. … This is just them trying to help Charlie Crist, the failed candidate that lost jobs and cut education funding.”–Gov. Rick Scott’s response.

* “We are backing (Crist) so aggressively because we feel we have given every governor in the governor’s seat a fair deal in treating public employees fairly, but that hasn’t happened with this governor.”–Jeannette Wynn, Florida president for the American Federation of State, County& Municipal Employees, in referencing AFSCME’s $1 million contribution to the Charlie Crist campaign.

* “Union bosses endorse Charlie Crist. In other news, water is wet.”–Greg Blair, spokesman for Gov. Rick Scott.

* “To make it clear, the doctors in Florida have spoken.”–Dr. Aaron Elkin, chairman of the Broward County Medical Association’s board of trustees, who wrote the FMA’s resolution endorsing Medicaid expansion in Florida.

* “It’s good to be seen and not viewed.”–Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, who is battling cancer, was among those in attendance at last Saturday’s NFL HOF induction ceremony.

* “I am often asked about the most important impression I have as a new member of Congress. And it’s this: We should be in session more.”–U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Indian Shores.

* “The ‘humanitarian quotient’ of the unaccompanied minors we see coming our way cries out to heaven for a humanitarian and not a politically timed or motivated response.”–Catholic Bishop Robert Lynch of the five-county, Diocese of St. Petersburg.

* “We’re talking about nothing short of changing the culture about how we travel and move around the county.”–Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill on what is riding with a transit-tax proposal on the 2016 ballot.

* “Cigars are to Tampa what wine is to Napa and automobiles are to Michigan.”–Eric Newman, co-owner of J.C. Newman Cigar Co. in Ybor City.

* “I’m able to put stuff down, to decompress. I meditate every day.”–Rays manager Joe Maddon.

It’s one of those stories that never quite goes away: controversy over the challenging and banning of books. To be sure, we’re not revisiting Nazi book burnings or reliving this society’s response to Allen Ginsberg’s Howl. But it’s a matter–both legal and pedagogical–never to be taken lightly in a “free speech” democracy.

That’s certainly the case now in Pasco County, where popular author John Green’s coming-of-age Paper Towns has been quickly reinstated on the eighth-grade summer reading list after having been summarily removed in response to a parental complaint. Among those weighing in against removal: the National Coalition Against Censorship.

As it turns out, Pasco County had a reasonable, detailed review process–one that allowed for varied input and appeals on controversial books–that was not followed. And, as it also turns out, the teacher assigning Paper Towns had never read it. Oops.

Sounds like an appropriate forum for a teachable moment.

Surely, we’ve come a long way since The Catcher in the Rye. Books and societal eras have context. So do impressionable students of varying maturity levels. The onus will always be on teachers to exercise prudent judgment and know what envelopes they might be pushing.

But whether it’s Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and N-word context or it’s John Green’s Paper Town and F-bomb/sexual context, it would behoove teachers to actually read the books they assign–and officials to re-read their memos on the review process.