The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal.com’s “Best of the Web” written by the editor, James Taranto.

Out on a Limb 
“Diplomacy Has Run Its Course on Syria”–headline, Australian, March 12

‘Some People Out There in Our Nation Don’t Have Maps’ 
“Russian Beauty Queens Offer Opinions Beyond World Peace, Making People Mad”–headline, Christian Science Monitor, March 11

News of the Tautological

  • “Gunman Who Fired at Middlefield Police Said to Oppose Authority”–headline, Plain Dealer (Cleveland), March 12
  • “There’s a Big Benefit in Escaping Inheritance Tax”–headline, Daily Telegraph (London), March 12

Bottom Stories of the Day

  • “NJ Governor Praises Sandy Relief Fund Run by Wife”–headline, Associated Press, March 11
  • “Over 100 Guantanamo Detainees on Hunger Strike”–headline, Salon.com, March 12

Larry the Larynx
The Chicago Transit Authority “was accused of putting the profits of its corporate partners ahead of the needs of poor people during a hearing Monday night on a new fare-payment system set to debut this summer,” the Chicago Tribune reports:

The CTA’s plan to prod people to buy the new Ventra contactless fare card, in part by increasing the cash fare on the rail system to $3 from the current $2.25, was singled out for criticism as unjust.

Keith Smith, who represents a citywide group called People Without a Voice, said the 75-cent cash fare hike should be scrapped because it would hurt low-income riders. The CTA should focus instead on “putting a Ventra card in everybody’s hands,” Smith said.

Unfortunately for Smith, nobody heard what he said.

For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.