STEWART BAKER: WE SHOULD HAVE SEEN THIS ONE COMING. “Russian government allegedly teams with Microsoft to suppress dissenters using dubious claims of software piracy. Staggeringly excessive piracy penalties were pioneered by the United States, but it was only a matter of time before authoritarian governments discovered their charm.”

Plus, from the comments: “What is coming —you can see it a mile away— is the selective enforcement of video duplication and software piracy laws by the political party in power to suppress their opponents. . . . Yes, the Ruskies learned from us, but we also learn from them. It’s a vicious race to the bottom.” It does seem likely to fit the gangster government paradigm. But perhaps the voters will provide a bit of discipline.