Chen Guangcheng Arrives in the US

Welcome!  Chen will now go to NYU.  I'm counting this one as a win, though there are of course still concerns about his relatives who remain in China.  On a related note: in a time when there's constant America-bashing on all sides by all kinds of people, the nonstop depiction of the US as the bad guy, I note that the entire Chen affair should clarify some points, including (a) the cruel repression of the Chinese government underneath all its glittering charm offensives, and (b) the fact that despite all the foreign policy pratfalls by US leadership, now as before (and, I hope, always) dissidents fleeing from oppression come to America (remember Fang Lizhi?).  I'm cynical about almost everything these days, but this fact coming with my Sunday morning sunshine and coffee made my non-existent heart swell.