Well, They Killed Him

     Reports coming out of Russia this morning claim opposition politician Alexei Navalny has died in prison.

     This is the man Putin's government tried to poison at least once before.  While he was publicly critical of corruption and mismanagement in Russia, I don't see that he ever got even a quarter of the votes in any election.  Nevertheless, he was harassed by Mr. Putin's party throughout his career, in and out of courts and prison, frequently barred from speaking in public.

     Compare and contrast with the United States, where politicians out of power can be found all over the media, no matter how lurid their history or what they have been accused of or charged with.  It's not the same -- and that was before Navalny's sudden and unexplained death.

     Of course, in Russia, the Chief Executive effectively has absolute immunity for his actions while in office.  Make of that what you will.