Let's hear it for tyranny!

Now that he is in effect Russia's president for life, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin has ordered another big win for himself at the polls. This time he was awarded 76.7 percent of the vote at last rigged count. He just picks a number, a number to his liking, and sure enough the official tally will echo it down to the decimal point. (Hey, seven is a lucky number! Let's use a couple of them!) It's like the terrible old