Rubio on The Daily Show

It says something about how awful our current political media landscape is that this conversation between Florida Senator Marco Rubio and the Daily Show's Jon Stewart is better than anything I have seen in years on a Sunday morning political talk show.  Even though Rubio is charmless and lacks the easy banter of other politicos who have sat across from Stewart, the conversation was informative and provided one of the best explanations of the philosophical differences between the parties when it comes to the role of the government in creating economic growth.  The interview is cut into three parts and I have put links below.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Ecuador Welcomes Assange But Not A Free Press

Many have been celebrating the decision by President Rafael Correa of Ecuador to offer political asylum to Julian Assange this week by declaring it a victory against British and American imperialism.  I'm not sure about that; but I am sure that by allowing Assange to live under the protection of his government, Correa is attempting to make people forget about his own terrible treatment of the Ecuadorean press.  As the Committee to Protect Journalists reported recently, "President Rafael Correa's press freedom record is among the very worst in the Americas."  That's saying something in a region that is home to other opponents of a free press including Cuba and Venezuela.  Assange may be resting comfortably and safely in the Ecuadorean embassy in London but when it comes to press freedom in Ecuador it's clear the Correa government is sticking to the "do as I say, not as I do" axiom of politics.