Jan 16, 2015 3 min read

Editorial voices from newspapers around the country as compiled by the Associated Press:

As the world mourned Monday the Paris bloodshed and debated President Obama’s European absence, a critically important development took place in Washington.

James Risen, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times, won his legal fight against the U.S. Department of Justice, which wanted him to disclose the sources he used in his newspaper and book coverage of a failed U.S. operation against Iran’s nuclear program.

Risen, backed by his employer and legal team, refused for more than seven years. Prosecutors believe the facts came from Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA officer on trial for giving Risen the information.

At stake was journalists’ ability to report free of government interference, a bedrock component of the First Amendment’s press freedoms.

Undoubtedly, Monday’s announcement that Risen won’t have to testify at Sterling’s trial is a victory for journalism and the public’s right to know about their government’s actions. Risen’s rights as a journalist should be considered rock-solid.

President Barack Obama knows a good deal when he sees one.

He was in Knoxville, Tenn., to propose a federal program based on the Tennessee Promise plan that offers a tuition-free community college education to every high school student.

Basically, his proposal calls for Uncle Sam to pay three-fourths of the tuition cost for two years and states to pay one-fourth, varying somewhat depending on how states currently fund community colleges.

A number of states are considering community college plans such as Tennessee’s; the president’s proposal would extend the basic concept nationwide.

The White House said it expects 9 million students would participate and save up to $3,800 a year – putting the cost at nearly $70 billion.

All kinds of questions arise, including the ability of junior colleges to ramp up their enrollment so much and the extent to which party politics might play a role.

“We don’t expect the country to be transformed overnight,” a domestic policy advisor said, “but we do expect the conversation to begin.”

The Rev. Gov. Presidential Aspirant Michael Dale Huckabee – not necessarily in that order – is back. Currently a Floridian, at least the way Bill Clinton is a New Yorker, he was on another book tour, the campaign trail, or both mixed the other day. He popped up in metropolitan Blue Eye, Mo., (pop. 167), just across the Arkansas state line in the Show Me state.

The Rev. Gov. was there to hawk his latest book, “God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy,” on the ill-starred Jim Bakker’s latest broadcast venture. Hey, what a country, and country in this context refers to the Bible Belt, which is a country all its own. And one that Mike Huckabee knows well.

Never underestimate the power of faith to see through worldly affairs, too.

But mixing the two doesn’t always seem to have the best results, as the sad story of decidedly former radio and TV star Jim Bakker illustrates. And this is the character Mike Huckabee chooses to appear beside at what may be the start of his Presidential Run No. 2.

Yes, we know, the Teacher from Nazareth didn’t shun the likes of publicans and sinners, but He also never considered running for political office, having a higher calling and authority.

Indeed, He proposed a healthy division between the two: Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s, which is still good counsel in 2015 anno domini.