* “We know the end before we consider the beginning, and we can never wholly recapture what it was to know the beginning only.”–English historian C.V. Wedgwood.
* “Very, very concerning. If Brazil is not serious, it will continue to affect the whole neighborhood and beyond. This is not just about Brazil.”–Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the W.H.O. Brazilians are dying in record numbers, and the vaccine campaign has been chaotic.
* “Modern socialism.” That’s how PR-savvy China President Xi Jinping promotes China’s brand of communism to the world’s emerging economies.
* “Just as Biden and his aides decided to err on the side of doing too much rather than too little on COVID-19 relief, they should go big on the border. … It is nothing less than our duty to love and care for (children) as if they were our own.”–Eugene Robinson, Washington Post.
* “Within the legal mainstream.”–How Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell characterized the views of recently confirmed Attorney General Merrick Garland.
* “Women have the right to come forward and be heard. But I still want to be clear … I did not do what has been alleged.”–New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in claiming that he has become a victim of “cancel culture.”
* “When everybody has their own truth, and no two truths look alike, we will become—and we are becoming—a society unable to effectively mobilize itself, even to save its own life.”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.
* “The underlying theme of the racial discourse today is that whites are losing control of the narrative. If a black woman can produce an heir to the British throne, what’s next?”–Nathalie Baptiste, Mother Jones.
* “Try to imagine what 2020 would have been like without Google, Amazon, Zoom, Slack or any other online service. It’s pretty terrifying.”–Noah Smith, Bloomberg.
* “When will this ($27 trillion) national debt, financed by the Chinese and others by the purchase of our securities, matter? … The national debt issue is alarming.”–Alex Sanchez, president and CEO of the Florida Bankers Association.
* “2020 was an anomaly. We’re going to get our work done, so it doesn’t happen again. Part of the problem the Party has had in Florida is that we have never built a real sustainable, grassroots, statewide, year-round organization.”–Florida Democratic Party chairman Manny Diaz.
* “If you look at South Florida right now, this place is booming. Los Angeles isn’t booming. New York City isn’t booming.”–Gov. Rick DeSantis.
* “Unfortunately, we’re getting too many people looking to get loose. Letting loose is precisely what we don’t want.”–Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber.
* “The partnership is now an organization of some influence in the community, and I’m very proud of that.”–Rick Homans, who is stepping down as president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Partnership.
* “During the pandemic, we have really taken so many steps to ensure that our development has not only continued, but increased in our community.”–Mayor Jane Castor. Tampa recorded $4.5 billion in permitted construction in 2020; it was $3.1 billion in 2019.