Hebdo Fallout Continues

The White House’s decision not to send a high-level representative to the Paris rallies continues to nag the President. National Review Online has video of White House spokesman Joshua Earnest admitting that the Obama Administration did not pay appropriate respect to the victims in the Hebdo attack last week. Meanwhile, France is increasing its military presence in and around sensitive areas. The Washington Post has a write-up.

Paul Ryan Not a Candidate for 2016

Vox reports the widely circulated story that Paul Ryan (R-WI), who was Mitt Romney’s running mate in 2012, will not run for the presidency in 2016. We were shaping up to have a strange dynamic among Republican presidential contenders, with many of the potential candidates from the same states. Cruz and Perry are both from Texas. Rubio and Bush are from Florida. Walker and Ryan are from Wisconsin. Historically, it would be quite odd for more than one meaningful candidate to emerge from the same state. Given this, one might assume that the first “contests” for 2016 would take place within these states, as one candidate drops out and the state rallies around only one favorite son.

However, this conventional wisdom is built on an older view of campaigns that were founded on local, statewide, and regional support. Our elections now are far more national, media-driven affairs. In this era, all of these candidates could run and still tap into different layers of financial and organizational support, at least in theory. Also, there are rumblings around the Romney folks that Mitt may try once more in 2016. Needless to say, the field is not set.

ISIS Sympathizers Hack Pentagon Social Media Accounts

Boy, this just doesn’t look good.

Abortion and the Republican Party

Politico reports that Republicans are, at long last, beginning to coalesce around a common strategy for how to handle abortion, at least legislatively. State legislatures, and even those running for the party’s presidential nomination, are pushing for a ban on abortions after 20 weeks. The U.S. House will vote on such legislation on January 22, the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The current House bill does allow for exceptions for the mother’s health, rape, and incest. Just to be clear, President Obama will not sign the bill, even if it manages to pass the Senate.

Music for today: Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens

I still think the high point of American popular music was the big band era that stretched from the 1930s through parts of the 1950s. In this 1947 classic, Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five make me laugh but also mindful of the musical and vocal artistry at work.