* “We Germans owe it to the victims and we owe it to ourselves to keep alive the memory of the crimes committed, to identify the perpetrators and to commemorate the victims in a dignified manner. This is not open to negotiation.”–German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Southern Poland.
* “For a long time, the United States was considered the leader of the free world, and I think that was fair enough. But remember the Bob Dylan song — ‘The Times They Are a-Changin’.'”–Syvatoslav Vakarchuk, leader of the Ukrainian opposition Holos political party.
* “If the United States really wants to help Mexico in its war against drug traffickers, there are two very important steps it needs to take: First, control the flow of weapons from the United States into Mexico, and second, lower the American demand for narcotics.”–Univision anchor Jorge Ramos.
* “The Jewish state has never had a better friend in the White House than your president, Donald J. Trump.”–President Donald J. Trump, at the Israeli-American Council National Summit in Hollywood, Florida.
* “With limited opportunities, many highly capable Eastern Europeans are carving out careers in cybercrime, leading to the creation of what is effectively a criminal Silicon Valley.”–Jonathan Lusthaus, author of “Industry of Anonymity: Inside the Business of Cybercrime.”
* “Trump is a tariff man: (They) let him exercise unconstrained power, rewarding his friends and punishing his enemies. Anyone imagining that he’s going to change his ways and start behaving responsibly is living in a fantasy world.”–Paul Krugman, New York Times.
* “What we’ve seen here is far more serious than a third-rate burglary of the Democratic headquarters. (This) is beyond anything that Nixon did. The difference between then and now is not the difference between Nixon and Trump. It’s the difference between that Congress and this one.”–House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff.
* “None of us came to Congress to impeach a president of the United States. We take no joy in it, no glee.”–House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
* “How many Democrats will join (Pelosi) driving right off the cliff with this illegitimate impeachment hoax?”–White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham.
* “If what we are talking about is not impeachable, then nothing is impeachable.”–University of North Carolina constitutional scholar Michael Gerhardt, testifying before the House Judiciary Committee.
* “All roads lead to Putin. Understand that. That was the a-ha moment.”–Nancy Pelosi.
* “If we cannot impeach a president who abused his office for personal advantage, we no longer live in a democracy.”–Harvard University constitutional scholar Noah Feldman, testifying before the House Judiciary Committee.
* “This isn’t improvisational jazz–close enough is not good enough.”–George Washington University constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley, testifying before the House Judiciary Committee.
* “The grim reaper (Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell) says all we’re doing is impeachment. No, we have 275 bipartisan bills on your desk.”–Nancy Pelosi.
* “If any of these people that I’ve been watching on this stage got elected, your 401(k)’s would be down the tubes. You’d destroy the country.”–Donald Trump.
* “Intimidation and vilification of the press is now a global phenomenon. We don’t have to look far for evidence of that.”–Shepard Smith, former Fox News anchor.
* “China is building its own internet focused on very different values, and it’s now exporting their vision of the internet to other countries. A decade ago, almost all of the major internet platforms were American. Today, six of the top 10 are Chinese.”–Mark Zuckerberg.
* “Today the real argument is between versions of democratic capitalism, found in the U.S., Canada and Denmark, and forms of authoritarian capitalism, found in China and Russia. Our job is to make it the widest and fairest version of capitalism it can possibly be.”–David Brooks, New York Times.
* “It’s that word that nobody likes to use–retreat. We’re going to have to retreat from some areas, and that’s going to be costly.”–Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi, acknowledging that the costs of flood-proofing Florida Keys’ roads can overcome the benefit of keeping communities dry. Buying out homes is a familiar scenario.
* “You can’t hack paper.”–Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee.
* “Hillsborough County is critical statewide. They need a little help. They need to be better organized and funded in 2020. The state party will supplement resources and manpower to make sure.”–State Republican Party Chairman Joe Gruters.
* “There is nothing we would want more than for that number to go to zero.”–Brightline President Patrick Goddard, on statistics showing that 40 deaths–in less than two years–have occurred involving Florida’s new passenger rail service between Miami and West Palm Beach. It’s the worst per-mile death rate of the nation’s 821 railroads. The majority were suicides.
* “We’re a region surrounded by water and while that is a part of our beauty it also makes us ground zero for sea-level rise. I look forward to tackling this effort as a region while implementing best practices from coastal cities from around the globe.”–Mayor Jane Castor, who recently joined the Climate Steering Committee organized by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
* “We are prepared and look forward to discussing post-2027 opportunities in Hillsborough with the (Rays).”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan.
* “We don’t like to say ‘never,’ but I think as (Rays owner Stu Sternberg) said, it’s highly unlikely that a full-season baseball team in Tampa Bay is going to be here in 2028.”–Rays President Brian Auld.
* “Efforts to transition the economy from one based on traditional construction, agriculture and tourism businesses to an economy built on technology are paying off.”–The Computing Technology Industry Association (Comp-TIA), in referencing Tampa as one of America’s top 20 “Tech Towns.”
* “The idea of reading from a textbook and memorizing it is completely antiquated. This building is designed to better marry teaching and technology to how humans actually learn.”–Dr. Charles Lockwood, USF medical school dean, on next month’s downtown opening of the 13-story Morsani College of Medicine tower that has been billed as a state-of-the-art teaching and research facility.