SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:01 P.M. ET:

INCREDIBLE – While Americans were riveted by the terror attacks in France, the president of the United States today still refused to use the term "Islamic terrorism."  In fact, he only made brief mension of the attacks, preferring to speak to audiences about his new proposal to provide free community-college educations for some students.  Nothing like a president with a sense of priority.

MITT? – We noted Jeb Bush's campaign launch a few days ago, and the fact that Mitt Romney wasn't doing much.  That has changed.  From WaPo:  "Mitt Romney forcefully declared his interest in a third presidential run to a room full of powerful Republican donors on Friday, disrupting the fluid 2016 GOP field as would-be rival Jeb Bush was moving swiftly to consolidate establishment support.  Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, has been mulling another campaign for several months, but his comments Friday mark a clear step forward in his thinking and come amid mounting tensions between the Romney and Bush camps."  Let them fight it out.  I have a gut feeling that the real emerging guy is Scott Walker, but that's just a feeling.

YIKES! – From The New York Times:  "The F.B.I. and Justice Department prosecutors have recommended bringing felony charges against retired Gen. David H. Petraeus for providing classified information to his former mistress while he was director of the C.I.A., officials said, leaving Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to decide whether to seek an indictment that could send the pre-eminent military officer of his generation to prison."  I would hope that Holder would decline to seek an indictment unless Petraeus's behavior was truly outrageous, which I seriously doubt.  The classified information, if the accusation is true at all, may well have been on a low level.  Petraeus has served his country well, and seeking an indictment can raise questions as to whether the charges have some political motivation.

THE OTHER SIDE SPEAKS – From The Times of India:  "MUMBAI: Two of three scientists at a session on climate change and society at the Indian Science Congress on Tuesday felt fears of man-made global warming were greatly exaggerated. Their presence at the conference was particularly significant in light of the current 'development-versus-environment' debates.  'While I agree that glaciers are melting because of global warming, if this is because of man, then what was the reason for the melting of the glaciers in the Gondwana period long before man arrived on the planet?' asked Dhruv Sen Singh, Centre of Advanced Study in Geology, University of Lucknow."  Yeah, lots of people finally asking questions like that.

January 9, 2015