NATIONAL

“The uproar over whether President Obama or another top administration official should have attended the massive unity rally in Paris has obscured an important point about the White House’s reaction to the latest terror attacks in Europe. The administration no-shows were not a failure of optics, or a diplomatic misstep, but were instead the logical result of the president’s years-long effort to downgrade the threat of terrorism and move on to other things.” – Byron York/Washington Examiner

“I think that is correct. Marching with a million Parisians and the leaders of most European nations, not to mention the Prime Minister of Israel, would have elevated terrorism as an issue–something Obama is determined not to do. That attitude may seem odd, but it is common on the left. Left-wing commentators of the sort Obama probably reads often tabulate the deaths due to terrorist attacks, and point out that statistically speaking, one’s risk of being killed by a terrorist is very low. Indeed, Obama’s attitude toward terrorism is more or less identical to that expressed by John Kerry during the 2004 presidential campaign: ‘We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they’re a nuisance.'” – John Hinderaker/Power Line

“President Barack Obama has a moral responsibility to push back on the nation’s journalism community when it is planning to publish anti-jihadi articles that might cause a jihadi attack against the nation’s defenses forces, the White House’s press secretary said Jan. 12.” – Daily Caller

“‘The West,’ as we pleasantly call the tatty, post-Cold War remnants of Western civilization, got off its numb if still-hifalutin bottom Sunday and took to the streets of Paris in defense of — well, its life, its future, the future of everything in life that matters.” – American Spectator

“In any case, here are four reasons we shouldn’t be the least bit surprised Obama snubbed Paris.” – Mollie Hemingway/The Federalist

“A story that might otherwise have slipped away in a morass of conspiracy theories gained new life Wednesday when former Sen. Bob Graham headlined a press conference on Capitol Hill to press for the release of 28 pages redacted from a Senate report on the 9/11 attacks. And according to Graham, the lead author of the report, the pages ‘point a very strong finger at Saudi Arabia as the principal financier’ of the 9/11 hijackers.” – Eleanor Clift/Daily Beast

“On Monday at Heritage Action for America’s Conservative Policy Summit, a two-day policy primer in Washington, the Texas senator and likely presidential contender laid out the points of his platform for the newly sworn in Republican Congress—and urged his colleagues to stick to their campaign promises.” – National Journal 

“If you thought the Democrats – recently chased into the minority – were going to sit by quietly while the GOP put all the proposals on the table, think again. Their agenda to fix America (at least in terms understood by your dog and your veterinarian) will still be on the table. The rallying cry of income inequality isn’t going anywhere, and Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) is ready to lay out the next plan in what the Washington Post laughably calls a ‘stark shift in messaging’ for 2015.” – Hot Air

“The Moroccan-born mayor of Rotterdam has said Muslim immigrants who do not appreciate the way of life in Western civilisations can ‘f*** off‘.” – UK Daily Mail

“Fans took to the streets after Ohio State’s football championship early Tuesday, yelling and screaming in delight, setting nearly 90 fires and in the case of a few, tearing down an Ohio Stadium goal post.” – CBS Cleveland

LOUISIANA

“Steve Scalise is going to have some unwelcome visitors at a meeting of potential donors Tuesday afternoon — protesters. Liberal organizers for the groups Campaign to Unload and Hoodies Network are rallying supporters to gather outside the National Republican Club of Capitol Hill, where the House majority whip’s political operation is slated to hold an event, according to an advisory.” – POLITICO

“But as his presidential aspirations grow, so is his desire to mix religion and politics. Speaking to a group of Christian and Jewish leaders in Iowa, Jindal averred:” – Nick Gillespie/Reason

“Louisiana ranked as the most pro-life state in the U.S., according to annual report from Americans United for Life released Tuesday.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus plan to be in Ferguson, Mo. on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Monday, January 19, to encourage residents to get more involved in the political process.” – NOLA.com

“Mayor-President Kip Holden’s fourth attempt to pass a tax increase to fund parish infrastructure improvements would cause some areas of East Baton Rouge Parish to have among the highest sales tax rates in the state — as well as some of the steepest sales taxes when compared with other major metropolitan areas across the country.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“The Regional Transit Authority is being sued by members of the community less than 24 hours after the agency started work on a new streetcar line along Rampart Street.” – WWL-TV

“Helis Oil & Gas Co. has responded to various concerns and questions raised by citizens about its proposed drilling and fracking project near Mandeville and, for the first time, shed light on why it chose a location at the southern fringe of the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale formation. In a recent filing, Helis told the Army Corps of Engineers that its exploratory well is not aimed at gathering information about the Tuscaloosa formation but to determine the economic viability of a new field, or play, in southern St. Tammany.” – NOLA.com

“U.S. Sen. David Vitter, a Republican running for governor this year, is expected to announce today that his gubernatorial campaign raised $4 million in 2014 and had $3.5 million cash-on-hand heading into the new year.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“The $20-$30 million project, slated to take a full year with the bridge closed just as long, hit all the criteria for repair and replacement funding. Survey crews found the bridge in a state of disrepair requiring immediate action, but an enormous budget shortfall has left most of the state’s roadways — such as portions of Interstate 20 and Louisiana Highway 1 — in limbo.” – Shreveport Times

“The NFL’s final four – Seattle, New England, Green Bay and Indianapolis – highlight one incontrovertible reality: the New Orleans Saints have fallen from among the league’s upper echelon.” – WWL-TV