* The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea. Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself.”–President Donald Trump, in his address to the United Nations General Assembly.
* “None other than Trump himself is on a suicide mission.”–North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, in his address to the U.N. General Assembly.
* “We don’t want war. At the same time, we’re not going to run scared. If for any reason, North Korea attacks the United States or our allies, we’re going to respond.”–U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
* “The Trump Administration needs to keep Kim family history in mind. It is a criminal enterprise focused on long-term survival, far more adept at enslaving its people than fighting big-boy wars. … Kim Jong-un is never going to give up his missiles. But he knows that if he uses them, he’s going to die or live in a bunker like Granddad. His nuclear hardware is most valuable on the shelf.”–Blaine Harden, author of “King of Spies: The Dark Reign of America’s Spymaster in Korea.”
* “Frankly that (Iranian) deal is an embarrassment to the United States, and I don’t think you’ve heard the last of it, believe me.”–Donald Trump at the U.N.
* “Only through independence can we secure a future where we will not have the past atrocities.”–Masoud Barzani, president of the Kurdish region of Iraq.
* “We know enough today to act. The science is unassailable.”–U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, on climate change.
* “The limited time horizon of most elected officials … reinforces focus on short-term gains in the fight against terrorism. Ideologies, however, cannot be defeated in the short term. As in the Cold War, countering an ideology will require us to invest in programs and partnerships whose benefits might not be immediately visible.”–Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, former chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the 9/11 Commission.
* “I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried.”–Sen. John McCain, on the GOP’s last-ditch effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
* “The reason that our health care system is so outrageously expensive is that it is not designed to provide quality care to all in a cost-effective way, but to provide huge profits to the medical-industrial complex.”–Sen. Bernie Sanders.
* “There can be no real political democracy unless there is something approaching an economic democracy.”–Theodore Roosevelt.
* “In most countries you are more likely to get evasion and nationalistic versions of history than tough grappling with the darker parts of your past, and the U.S. is no exception.”–Gary Bass, professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University.
* “Whatever the fate of his statues and memorials, so long as the legacy of slavery continues to bedevil American society, it seems unlikely that historians will return (Robert E.) Lee, metaphorically speaking, to his pedestal.”–Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Eric Foner.
* “Colleges can provide a crucible for America’s increasingly strained attitudes toward free discourse. But they are just the canaries in the coal mine.”–Catherine Campbell, Washington Post.
* “Our coastal and stormwater infrastructure are not prepared to handle climate change. They’re two of the most critical areas during a storm, and received D-plus and D ratings, respectively, by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2016.”–Former Florida Congresswoman Gwen Graham.
* “Now is the time for every power company in Florida to spend the money necessary to reinforce the power grid infrastructure. One very useful way for them to address this issue would be to take the money they historically donate to political candidates and instead use that money to ensure that the millions of Floridians who recently lost power will be protected from this same fate in the future.”–State Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater.
* “We recognize the challenges facing the city resulting from previous debts but feel a tax increase to pay for them sets a dangerous precedent.”–Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce CEO Bob Rohrlack.