I am of course glad to hear that two Fox News journalists who had been kidnapped by radical Islamists have been freed.

I was a journalist myself for a time, having worked two years as a part-time reporter and newscaster for a public radio station. People take journalists for granted, kvetching only about their mistakes but forgetting about the myriad of things they get right.

It’s easy to recognize the contribution of our troops, who put themselves on the line to defend our nation. It’s not so easy to recognize the bravery of journalists who set foot on fields of battle in order to bring us the information we need to act as responsible citizens in a democracy. They too are heroes.

I don’t like Fox News. I believe it is more partisan than the liberal media outlets it seeks to “balance” with its nakedly conservative agenda. But it isn’t run by the government (even if it sometimes looks like it is) and is still a damn sight better than the state-sponsored media of many nations. And I still have to give their journalists credit for being on the ground in dangerous parts of the world.

I understand these two Fox News journalists were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint. They shrugged that off, but were totally humiliated when they were also forced to register with the U.S. Democratic Party.

(C’mon, you couldn’t expect me not to take that shot, could you?)