Quoteworthy

* “Until recently, cybersecurity experts dismissed North Korea’s capabilities. It was too backward to pose a serious threat. No more. … We are more dependent on the web than the North Koreans. In practice, this means that we are more vulnerable to attacks on it.”–Robert Samuelson, Washington Post.

* “Far-right leaders are correct that immigration creates problems; what they miss is that they are the primary problem. The greatest threat to liberal democracies does not come from immigrants and refugees but from the backlash against them by those who exploit fears of outsiders to chip away at the values and institutions that make our societies liberal.”–Sasha Polakow-Suransky, author of “Go Back to Where You Came From: The Backlash Against Immigration and the Fate of Western Democracy.”

* “(Stephen) Bannon is the most revolting operator in American political life since Roy Cohn. He is also the most consequential one.”–Bret Stephens, New York Times.

* “We’ve seen nationalism distorted into nativism, forgotten the dynamism that immigration has always brought to America. … We need to recall and recover our own identity.”–Former President George W. Bush.

* “We will not thrive in a world where our leadership and ideals are absent. We wouldn’t deserve to.”–Sen. John McCain.

* “There has not been a more destructive presidency than George (W.) Bush’s.”–Steve Bannon.

* “This man is a sick man. He’s cold-hearted, and he feels no pity or sympathy for anyone. … The White House itself is full of white supremacists.”–Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson, D-Fla.

* “We’re Republicans. We’re sensitive to the deficit.”–House Speaker Paul Ryan. The federal budget deficit rose by $80 billion–to $666 billion–in the just completed fiscal year.

* “If there’s a need for some kind of interim step here to stabilize the (health care) market, we need a bill the president will actually sign. And I’m not certain yet what the president is looking for here.”–Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

* “As much as the country needs a conservatism with some idea of what it’s doing, some theory of the common good, it needs a liberalism that stops marinating in its own self-righteousness long enough to compete effectively for rural, Southern and Midwestern voters.”–Ross Douthat, New York Times.

* “We voted for Sanders.”–Jimmy Carter, in acknowledging that he and Rosalynn voted for Bernie Sanders in last year’s Democratic primary.

* “Left to scrounge for the crumbs of an ever-shrinking piece of the advertising revenue pie, online publishers, deprived of paid subscribers, are increasingly forced to compromise their editorial convictions in the dogged pursuit of internet traffic. … Prioritizing these ends has nurtured an editorial mindset that is quickly diminishing the quality of our nation’s public square.”–Daniel Kishi, the American Conservative.

* “O’Reilly’s suggestion that no one ever complained about his behavior was false. I know because I complained.”–NBC News host–and former Fox News host–Megyn Kelly.

* “I will try to spend it as irrationally as possible.”–Richard H. Thaler, recipient of the 2017 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science, on how he hoped to use the Nobel money.

* “You should have a balanced happiness portfolio the same way you’d have a balanced financial portfolio.”–Dan Buettner, author of “The Blue Zones of Happiness.”

* “A gorgeous beacon for downtown Tampa. We were looking for an opportunity to acquire a best in class in downtown high rise. We’ll be investing millions in the property in coming years.”–Matthew Gottesdiener, chief investment officer of Northland Investment Corp., the new owner of downtown Tampa’s 35-story, Element apartment tower.

* “We need to stop doing things that attract cars.”–Tom Hall, chairman of the Tampa-based Tucker/Hall marketing and consulting firm.

* “I am humbled by it. They usually do such things for people when they die. So, it’s an eerie experience. But it’s nice they have given me the opportunity to say thank you in life.”–Retired Judge E.J. Salcines, on what it’s like to have a statue of yourself.

* “If you don’t want to go to prison, don’t commit the crime. I’m sorry, but it’s got to stop with the individual.”–Pinellas juvenile court Judge James Pierce, in addressing the alarming incidence of juvenile car thieves.

* “We are not a traditional aquarium and never will be. Animals in captivity for entertainment is really trending away. But our world is trending up, because that’s what people really want to see. We’re about rescue, rehabilitation and education.”–David Yates, CEO of Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

* “If this deal is going to occur, it’s going to have to be really creative.”–Mayor Bob Buckhorn, on finding, securing, financing and developing a Rays ballpark site.

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