What’s interesting in the news today?

We’ll start with some good news this morning.

First, President Obama on Thursday recognized the Rev. Emil Kapaun with the Medal of Honor. It’s quite a story.

From the NYPost

“America traditionally bestows the Medal of Honor on those who display uncommon valor on the battlefield. But sometimes heroism doesn’t use a weapon.”

“Kapaun’s is a story of self-sacrifice so noble that surviving vets still speak of him with awe — and the Vatican is considering making him a saint.

At the moment of capture, as one soldier lay helpless with a broken ankle at the point of a gun, Father Kapaun pushed the rifle aside and lifted the wounded American up, carrying him 80 miles through what became known as the Tiger Death March.”

“In captivity, he gave away his own rations and stole grain to feed others, picked lice off men too weak to do so themselves, traded his watch for a blanket — which he cut up to make socks for those whose feet were freezing — and defied his Communist captors by saying Mass on Easter. Even before capture, he’d been awarded a Bronze Star for running through enemy fire to drag wounded soldiers to safety. He succumbed to the effects of starvation and neglect in 1951 at age 35.”

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I can’t help but think the media fears giving the Gosnell case the coverage it deserves. They know what it will do to public opinion on the matter. That’s important given the number of states advancing abortion restrictions. But it’s getting harder to ignore thankfully.

And it’s nice to see a “mainstream” show finally get it, but it’s on Twitter, not on the Nightline show.

From HotAir

“Gosnell might be the worst serial killer in history, says … “Nightline” anchor”

“Before you ask, searching ABCNews.com’s archives reveals multiple pieces on the Gosnell trial over the past month — all from the Associated Press wire. There’s no original content from ABC News itself unless I missed something. There is original content that mentions Gosnell dated from late January. It’s a story about … threats to late-term abortionists and how they’re not all monsters like that terrible man in Pennsylvania. So yes, they’ll mention him, as long as they can somehow spin what he did in service to The Cause. Of course.

And yes, they know about the case. And they’ll acknowledge it in lower-profile formats:”

Like Twitter.

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Some of the Newtown parents have lobbyists, complete with handlers? Now who do you suppose set all this up?

From Politico

“When a lobbyist for families of Newtown shooting victims called the office of  Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) to set up a meeting, the first response was a  standard D.C. offer. They could get a meeting with her staff, and Collins would  stop by, they were told.

The families’ answer: not good enough. According to their lobbyists, the  families have a rule against staff-only meetings: They won’t do them. They  insist on sitting down with the senators themselves. The families wound up  getting more than 15 minutes with Collins.

That rule is just one of the ways that the Newtown families, political novices  just a few months ago, are proving to be savvy, effective advocates as they  promote the gun legislation that has finally begun to move through the Senate.  The families are well-educated, and many are well-off. They have been polished  and sharp on TV. They’re mostly non-political, but quite accomplished in their  own fields. With access to money and media, they’re using persistence,  visibility — and, most all, their unique moral authority — to help prod Senate  action. They also have their own lobbyists — several of them, in fact.”

Grassroots activism from the parents, or orchestrated and scripted astroturf from the White House?

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Business interests are not happy about the details leaked about the Immigration/Amnesty Bill. Funny, they didn’t seem concerned about reforms, or supporting them, while contributing to the problem by employing people at sub-standard wages and encouraging illegal immigration. They’ve discovered this will cost them money.

From Politico

“The business community has long supported the idea of immigration reform — particularly the high-tech sector and the construction industry, which badly  need the workers.

What they don’t support are some of the specifics leaking out on a new  immigration reform proposal expected Tuesday from the Gang of Eight.

Now, companies and trade groups — that have been pressuring the key Senate  negotiators — are preparing to unleash their lobbying forces broadly on Capitol  Hill in hopes of securing changes to the package.

And that could spell trouble for the bill since any significant change to even a  single element could scuttle the delicately reached bargain, leaving final  passage of a comprehensive immigration reform bill in serious jeopardy.”

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How 1960s Radicals Ended Up Teaching Your Kids.

From TheDailyBeast

“Last week, Rutgers University fired its mercurial basketball coach after he was videotaped “shoving, grabbing and throwing balls at players in practice and using gay slurs,” according to ESPN. Under pressure from school administrators, Rutgers’ athletic director, who had previously defended the coach’s behavior, resigned. It was an appropriate response: violent oafs should be fired from their university jobs for violent, oafish behavior.