Aaron Schwartz isn’t the first victim nor, sadly, will he be the last. His death is the terrible toll of a ruthless government intent on protecting a secretive and unaccountable kleptocracy at all costs.

I’m sure Congressman Rivera will feel right at home in the kleptocratic House GOP caucus. I just hope Speaker Boehner asks Eric Cantor to count the coffee spoons after regular Tuesday meetings.

One of the first stories to replace the killings in Tucson and the national response as the lead story in the New York Times has been upheaval in Tunisia, a country I suspect most Americans could find only with assistance from Google Maps. But there’s a painful connection to the common topic of how societies struggle to bring change against what they consider unjust, repressive regimes.