The once and future jerk

Have you been wondering what Bobby Jindal has been doing since his run for the Republican nomination fizzled out? Me neither. I was about to write that his campaign had gone up in flames but that would be inaccurate since it never even got off the ground and the words ‘fizzled out’ seemed more appropriate. But I came across this editorial from the state’s largest newspaper that shows that as his last days as governor of Louisiana approach, he remains a true jerk.
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Let the backroom deals commence!

A group of about 50 religious conservatives led by the odious Family Research Council and its equally odious leader Tony Perkins met in secret to see who they would collectively throw their support behind in the Republican race. They felt that Republicans lost in previous elections because the party’s establishment put forward candidates who were not conservative enough
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Other reactions to the debate

When I review things, I try to make a point of not reading other reviews before I write, to avoid getting swayed by others’ opinions. Of course this means that I often miss things that more knowledgeable or discerning observers pick up on, but that is fine because different people are attuned to different things. But now I have had time to read around the topic and here are some interesting reactions.
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The Republican debate sounded like an ISIS recruitment event

The fifth Republican debate last night was on the topic of national security and this is exactly the kind of topic that Republicans love, because it enables you to talk tough and freely advance the most preposterous suggestions knowing full well that such fact-free speculations carry no costs. But in order to make their case that the US needed tough new leadership, they had to start with a baseline where things are really bad so all the candidates praised the abilities of ISIS to the skies, describing it as this immensely powerful and sophisticated force that was expanding its territory by leaps and bounds and threatening the entire world. ISIS could take clips of the debate and make it into a recruitment video, to impress young people around the world that the US was quaking in its boots in fear of their power.
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Creepy Cruz on climate change

There is something vaguely creepy about Ted Cruz.

It is more than the smug expression that is his standard face. He also has the sly expression of someone who thinks he is way smarter than you and can argue better and thus can make you believe what he says. This confidence is shown in the way he flatly distorts things and uses his skills in sophistry to try and make his lies sound truthful.
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Should a newspaper’s owner be allowed to be anonymous?

This question has arisen because the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the state of Nevada’s largest circulation newspaper, was bought by someone and no one, not even the reporters working at the paper, knows their identity. What is more, the new owner paid a sum of $140 million, which was well above what people considered the market value.
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