NATIONAL

“Not that long ago, Yemen was being painted in a different light. Flash back to the heady days of September 2014 (four months ago), and the war on terror in Yemen was being touted as a ‘success’ in speeches by President Obama. Talking about the threat posed by the Islamic State, Obama pointed toward Yemen and Somalia as possible examples:” – Washington Post

“A stunning five-count criminal complaint accused the Manhattan Democrat, a state political fixture for decades, with pocketing more than $6 million in bribes and kickbacks in return for wielding his massive influence.” – NY Daily News

“Senate Republicans head-faked Democrats on climate change Wednesday, agreeing in a floor vote that the planet’s climate was changing, but blocking language that would have blamed human activity.” – POLITICO

“The GOP treats its base like children who must be lied to with silly fictions to keep them in line, to keep them from playing out in traffic or making their face Stay In That Position Forever. Or, not quite as condescendingly, they treat GOP voters like marks in a con game.” – Ace Of Spades

“But the sands are beginning to shift. The coalition of moderate liberals, sceptical intellectuals, and radical progressives that once stood together against the conservative ‘moral majority’ is beginning to fracture. In the absence of a compelling external opponent, the internal tensions of this coalition are becoming more visible. While it is too soon to say if the revolution is about to consume itself, a number of serious divisions have emerged on the cultural left. And they are becoming increasingly bitter.” – Breitbart

“The House GOP leadership already wants to abandon a funding bill it passed only about a week ago that aimed to block President Obama’s de facto amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.” – Power Line

“Perhaps Ron Paul should read more of the work published by the Ron Paul Institute, an organization to which he has, if I am not misinformed, some meaningful formal connection. In an article on Wednesday bearing the headline ‘France Under the Influence’ — no points for guessing whose influence — Diana Johnstone did precisely that: blame the victims. ‘The Charlie Hebdo humorists were a bit like irresponsible children playing with matches who burned the house down,’ she wrote. ‘Or perhaps several houses.’ That is not ambiguous. If Ron Paul rejects these ideas, why is he publishing them?” – Kevin Williamson/National Review

“Last week, the left engaged in a familiar moment of circular, self-reinforcing congratulations over a collective misreading of a new Pew poll. That survey found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that Democrats were most excited to see a woman occupy the Oval Office within their lifetimes. Independents were slightly less thrilled about the prospect and the vast majority of Republicans were utterly unmoved. Many on the left ignored the wording of this poll, which asked voters whether they cared or didn’t care about the gender of the figure that would receive their vote in 2016, and decided that Republicans were openly hostile toward women in positions of authority. Never let reading comprehension get in the way of an opportunity for moral preening.” – Hot Air

“Listening to the criticism you would think that American Sniper was a mindless, pro-Iraq War movie. That’s not the movie I saw. Almost entirely apolitical, American Sniper had nothing to say one way or the other about whether the Iraq War was worth fighting and even showed Chris Kyle’s younger brother cursing the war at the end of his deployment as a marine. It is true that the main narrative of the film depicts Kyle’s martial skills in uncritical fashion–he was the most deadly sniper in American history, with 160 confirmed kills–but it also makes much of the emotional cost of four combat deployments for both him and especially for his family. Among other things, the movie is a sensitive and understated depiction of post-traumatic stress syndrome, showing how much trouble Kyle had in adjusting back into the civilian world after leaving Iraq.” – Commentary

“I admit it: I grew tired of listening to President Obama sometime back in 2009 or early 2010. It was around then that I figured out that his speeches were mostly self-referencing and full of various distortions of truth and wholly partisan claptrap. I say this because it’s been evident for a while now that the American people are beginning to feel similarly. ” – RedState

LOUISIANA

“A group of Republicans who want to see Gov. Bobby Jindal elected president are launching a super PAC to boost the governor’s 2016 aspirations.” – Baton Rouge Business Report

“In one of Baton Rouge’s most violent neighborhoods, Police Chief Carl Dabadie knocked on doors and introduced himself. On Wednesday afternoon, Dabadie and a couple dozen officers from multiple agencies canvassed homes in the Plank Road and Alliquippa Street section of north Baton Rouge that has seen a recent uptick in violence.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“If there is one dominant influence is Louisiana’s newest Senator’s life, it is his wife. She – more than anyone else – has his ear. When Louisiana elected Bill, the state most certainly got a two-for-one deal, friends and political observers said. ” – NOLA.com

“Owner Tom Benson has pulled his granddaughter, Rita Benson LeBlanc, from the Saints vice chairman of the board position and removed her as the future heir to the organization.” – WWL-TV

“The economic performance of the nine-parish Baton Rouge area was 65th among the world’s 300 largest metros in 2014, the nonprofit Brookings Institution reported Thursday. ” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“But while The Advocate went on for days with its series targeting many industries—and then editorialized on the subject in a column, ‘The road to giveaways’—it never seems to mention one particular giveaway or subsidy costing taxpayers millions when alternatives exist. I am referring to legal advertising and public notices in Louisiana’s newspapers.” – Rolfe McCollister/Baton Rouge Business Report

“The state’s coastal protection and restoration Master Plan could grow by $20 billion, based on additional projects being reviewed for the plan’s 2017 revision, a senior planner with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority said Wednesday (January 21).” – NOLA.com

“For the second consecutive year, Louisiana was recognized Thursday for having 9 of 15 highway safety laws that a national group says are essential to trimming road deaths and injuries. The report was compiled by Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety, which represents consumer, health and insurance interests.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“There is a great deal of concern that the Louisiana High School Athletic Association will be split in more than just the sport of football next season.” – WWL-TV

“A local war-wounded Marine who has a key speaking role in the blockbuster Clint Eastwood movie ‘American Sniper’ has some harsh words for filmmaker Michael Moore, who tweeted that snipers, soldiers who kill targeted enemy combatants with precision shots, ‘are cowards.'” – Shreveport Times