Opinion: A blog warning about politics

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So just in case after 422 debates you remain unsure exactly who’s gonna be ready on Day One of a Hillary Clinton administration or precisely when Barack Obama first spoke out against the Iraq war that hadn’t happened yet, they had another Democratic debate last night on CNN.

We overlook sometimes, while most of us are not watching these verbal jousting matches, that these peaceful, usually civil encounters are somewhat unusual in the larger world where would-be voters can get beaten up or lose their jobs or worse for asking uncomfortable questions of people in power.

Maybe Americans should get their fingers stained purple too when they vote as a visual reminder of the peaceful process most of us so routinely take for granted. Or don’t even bother joining.

Anyway, as strange as it seems from watching American television, other countries have politics too. To help track that, as only some of you know, there’s an entire squadron of blogs on this website from Kareem’s own blog to the new L.A. Now on news around Southern California to La Plaza about Latin America. A potential lifesaver is our sister page, the Travel & Deal blog, which just posted a new State Department warning about travel to Serbia through March 6. You were probably going there in the morning.

It’s rarely wise, even at discount prices (which the blog also tracks), to plan vacation getaways in countries protesting another’s newly declared independence. Such observances usually involve storming the U.S. Embassy. Trust the Travel blog to protect you.

-- Andrew Malcolm