NATIONAL

“The top of the globe has quickly become a mirror for international tensions happening much further south. About this time last year, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was saying the U.S. military was going to strengthen ties with Russia in the Arctic, a plan that did not seem far-fetched. After all, the Arctic region in 2013 was no longer the battlefield of Cold War-era politics.” – National Journal

“Fox News Channel’s ‘Kelly File’ host Megyn Kelly grilled Hassan Shilby, the Chief Executive Director of the Florida branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, about radical Islam and President Obama’s declaration that ISIS was not Islamic on Thursday night.” – Breitbart

“President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies hoped to capitalize on the recent wave of companies ditching the U.S. to slice their tax bill as a populist issue to fire up the progressive base and bash Republicans as slaves to corporate interests. So far, rather than becoming the political whopper that Democrats dreamed of, the issue has turned out to be pretty much a massive dud.” – POLITICO

“So there you go. It’s no longer ‘war’ unless American troops are on the ground and actually engaged in combat. By that logic, I guess, bombing Iran’s enrichment facilities would be counterterrorism, not war. (Or does that count as war because Iran is a nation-state, which, er, ISIS also claims to be?) The Bin Laden raid was an operation involving ground troops so I don’t know where that leaves its status — war, counterterror, or, to split the difference, a battle in the war on terror, maybe?” – Hot Air

“Republicans are putting together an agenda for the first 100 days of 2015 in case they win control of the Senate. Authorizing the Keystone XL oil pipeline, approving ‘fast-track’ trade authority, wiping out proposed environmental regulations and repealing the medical device tax top their list.” – The Hill

“The president faces the same dilemma that bedeviled George W. Bush, and I sympathize with him. It is not in our interest for the Muslim world to think we are at war with Islam, not just because it is untrue but more specifically because we desperately need the cooperation of Muslim nations. That’s why Bush constantly proclaimed ‘Islam means peace.’ But it also seems flatly wrong for an American president to be declaring what is or is not Islamic — or Christian or Jewish. Given the First Amendment alone, there’s something un-American in any government official simply declaring what is or is not a religion. Bush’s formulation in his September 20, 2001, address to Congress was better: ‘The terrorists practice a fringe form of Islamic extremism that has been rejected by Muslim scholars and the vast majority of Muslim clerics; a fringe movement that perverts the peaceful teachings of Islam.'” – Jonah Goldberg/National Review

“Let me put it this way: if you believe that all politicians are dirtbags and you treat anybody who runs for office like a dirtbag, you can’t very well turn around and complain when only dirtbags choose to run for office.” – Brian Schoeneman/Bearing Drift

“Yesterday, Gallup released a poll showing a few things, and none of them are good for Democrats. The first is that Republicans had expanded their lead over Democrats as the party people believe is best equipped to protect the United States from terrorism:” – RedState

“As if there were any doubt that the imaginary presidency of Barack Hussein Obama is over, the recent calamitous events leading up to this week’s ghastly speech — the only thing Obama knows how to do, apparently, is make a speech — have certainly dispelled them in all except the minds of the true believers and perhaps Michael Beschloss. Short on specifics (‘coalition’ of whom?), weak-kneed, lily-livered, dispassionate and uninspiring, Obama’s latest address to the nation should be the last time any American takes what the president of the United States has to say seriously. Certainly, nobody else will.” – Michael Walsh/PJ Media

“What makes Ex-Im noteworthy is how narrow its coalition of beneficiaries is. With most modern corruption, you see some sort of logroll. The farm bill, for instance, ensnares not only dozens of commodity groups but also a vast array of interests that have seemingly little to do with agriculture. Similarly, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac survived for so long by roping in realtors, primary mortgage lenders, and home builders, all of whom benefited from the same sorts of policies. Ex-Im’s list of beneficiaries basically starts and ends with Boeing. This should in theory make it more vulnerable. Our perverse system of interest group pluralism tends to favor policies that rally multiple groups. Ex-Im does not really do that. Further, its economic justifications are slender indeed. On top of that, all congressional Republicans have to do is nothing; absent action by Congress renewing the bank, it disappears.” – Jay Cost/Weekly Standard

LOUISIANA

“The weather service reports that shower activity is poorly organized, and strong upper-level winds as well as interaction with land will likely inhibit development of this system today. Once the low moves over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, conditions could become a little more conducive for tropical formation over the weekend. Formation chances through 48 hours was considered low, at 20 percent. Formation chances through 5 days were considered medium, at 40 percent.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Coastal erosion is robbing Louisiana of precious wetlands and protection, but in a strange twist, it’s also providing opportunities in the form of local jobs.” – WWL-TV

“Rather than talking about the plantation mentality, debates or plane rides, Rob Maness — at least on this day — spent Wednesday telling voters about his plans to deal with the growing crisis in Iraq.” – NOLA.com

“As the St. John the Baptist Parish government continues trying to eradicate a potentially fatal brain-damaging amoeba from a portion of its water system, the St. John School Board has declared a state of emergency.” – WBRZ

“Stephanie Hayden Ford took a seat on Dr. Phil’s couch, appearing on a national television broadcast Thursday to describe how her father groped her when she was 12 and explain why she publicly defended him when he was first arrested last month for allegedly molesting a young girl.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“The Capital Area Transit System committee approved the recommendation of negotiating a long-term contract for the CATS CEO Bob Mirabito.” – WAFB

“U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy added a feather to his cap Thursday in his campaign for the U.S. Senate when the House passed his bill that would allow workers to keep their existing employer group health care plans, even if the plans fall short of the standards set by the Affordable Care Act.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Whispers about a new Lake Charles arena football team have gotten a little louder this week after Tuesday’s City Council agenda meeting. Manuel Ramos, a representative of the Global Arena Football League, spoke with the council about possibly establishing a team in Lake Charles.” – Lake Charles American Press

“Lawyers for incumbent Congressman Cedric Richmond have dropped an effort to knock rival Gary Landrieu off the November ballot, according to Landrieu’s attorney.” – NOLA.com

“If your head is spinning, it should be, Mary Landrieu has all but put herself on three sides of the border fence issue by now.” – Breitbart