memeorandum: Gitmo Is Killing Me — ONE man here weighs just 77 pounds. Another, 98. (New York Times)

2:10 PM ET, April 15, 2013

Top Items:

The “Pro-Gun” Provisions of Manchin-Toomey are Actually a Bonanza of Gun Control — The Toomey-Manchin Amendment which may be offered as soon as Tuesday to Senator Reid's gun control bill are billed as a “compromise” which contain a variety of provisions for gun control, and other provisions to enhance gun rights.

Discussion: protein wisdom, RT, Maggie's Farm and Clayton Cramer's Blog

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Gun lobbyist brags lawmakers ‘have stepped into our trap’ on background checks — The head of a national gun rights group said in an e-mail Sunday that he was supporting the Manchin-Toomey compromise on background checks and that his group's lobbyist had participated in the writing of the legislative language.

Discussion: Politico and Examiner

Bob Cusack / The Hill:

Manchin-Toomey bill inching closer to 60 votes in the Senate — A bipartisan bill on background checks is inching closer to the necessary 60 votes for passage, but it still has a long way to go. — The upcoming vote on a new proposal crafted by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) is expected to go down to the wire.

Discussion: The Plum Line, The Week, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, No More Mister Nice Blog and CNN

Washington Free Beacon: Murphy: ‘It Took Me a While to Figure Out’ Opposition to Gun Control Is Based on Philosophy

Washington Post:
Gun rights group endorses Manchin-Toomey background-check bill

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, WFPL, The Fix, The National Memo, Restoring Liberty, Right Wing News, Prairie Weather and Post Politics

Dallas Morning News:

Exclusive: As his presidential library debuts, George W. Bush prepares to return to public stage on his own terms … To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network.

Discussion: CNN, Guardian, msnbc.com, Trail Blazers Blog, Telegraph, Post Politics, Booman Tribune, The Daily Caller and Washington Free Beacon

Dallas Morning News:

Exclusive: See President George W. Bush's paintings: ‘People are surprised’ — This painting, “Miss Beazley,” is a work that former President George W. Bush did of his Scottish terrier. — of — President. Governor. Artist? — More than four years after George W. Bush left the White House …

Discussion: The Hill, Politico and First Read

New York Times:

Gitmo Is Killing Me — ONE man here weighs just 77 pounds. Another, 98. Last thing I knew, I weighed 132, but that was a month ago. — I've been on a hunger strike since Feb. 10 and have lost well over 30 pounds. I will not eat until they restore my dignity.

Discussion: Firedoglake, RT, ThinkProgress, Guardian, The Week, BuzzFeed, Weasel Zippers, emptywheel, No More Mister Nice Blog, Taylor Marsh, Shakesville, Booman Tribune and TalkLeft

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Is media bias to blame for lack of Gosnell coverage? Or something far more banal? — The trial of Philadelphia doctor Kermit Gosnell would seem to have all the elements of a spectacular news story: shocking allegations, horrifying visuals, sympathetic victims.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Politico, American Prospect, Mother Jones, GetReligion, LifeNews.com, National Review, NewsBusters, The Dish, Hot Air and Washington Monthly

Melinda Henneberger / She The People:

Why Kermit Gosnell hasn't been on Page One — News outlets have been struggling to explain why until now there's been so little coverage of the murder trial of Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortion doctor accused of delivering live, screaming children and then beheading them.

Discussion: Althouse, The Fix, Taylor Marsh, LifeNews.com, National Review, Mediaite, American Spectator, Power Line and UrbanGrounds

Scott Lemieux / American Prospect:

Five Lessons from the Gosnell Abortion-Clinic Controversy — The hot conservative story of late last week, starting with a USA Today op-ed by Kristen Powers, was the failure of the mainstream media to cover the horrifying case of Kermit Gosnell, a Philadelphia doctor accused of committing infanticide …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Dish, Wizbang and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Reuters:

President Obama, Republicans fight the class war — There was nothing especially subtle about the way Barack Obama played the politics of class resentment against Mitt Romney in 2012. — “My opponent,” Obama brayed in Virginia Beach last fall, “thinks that someone who makes $20 million a year …

Discussion: American Prospect, Hullabaloo, Mediaite, Politico, Heritage Action for America and Betsy's Page

Noam Scheiber / New Republic:

Get Rich or Deny Trying — One of the stars of Barack Obama's 2012 State of the Union address was Jackie Bray, a single mother who was laid off in 2011 and struggled for months to find a good-paying job. Bray's luck finally turned, the president explained, when German industrial giant Siemens hired …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Liz Sidoti / Associated Press: Column: Compromise key to legacy Obama desires

James Livingston / New York Times:

If Companies Are People... HERE'S an idea: why not tax corporations as if they were natural persons, in accordance with their newly discovered rights of free speech? That move would solve any impending fiscal crisis. — Indeed, we used to do just that. For most of the 1950s …

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, Washington Monthly and Campaign for America's Future

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Fewer Americans Now View Their Income Taxes as Fair

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation, The Fix, Hot Air, Wonkblog, Hit & Run, Politico and National Review

Joseph E. Stiglitz / Opinionator:
A Tax System Stacked Against the 99 Percent

Discussion: naked capitalism and CNN

Reuters:

Tight win for Chavez's heir spells uncertainty for Venezuela — (Reuters) - Late socialist leader Hugo Chavez's chosen successor Nicolas Maduro won Venezuela's presidential election by a whisker but now faces opposition protests plus a host of economic and political challenges in the OPEC nation.

Discussion: Power Line, Via Meadia, Taylor Marsh and The Gateway Pundit

William Neuman / New York Times:
Venezuelans Elect Maduro to Succeed Chávez

Discussion: Washington Post, The Week, New Republic, IHT Rendezvous and Crooked Timber

Mary Anastasia O'Grady / Wall Street Journal:
Venezuela's Cuban Election

Discussion: The Week, BBC, National Review, Hot Air and Fausta's Blog

Joe Miller / Restoring Liberty:

Why I Am Considering a 2014 US Senate Run — Serious times call for bold measures. With the re-election of Barack Obama, our very way of self-government is in peril. The Constitution is under attack, the value of human life degraded, religious liberties are threatened …

Discussion: Politico, Yahoo! News, Ballot Box, The Daily Caller, Roll Call and Post Politics

Bloomberg:

High Court Justices Seek Compromise in Gene-Patent Case — Several U.S. Supreme Court justices sought a compromise on the decades-old practice of granting patents on human genes, debating a case that could redefine rights throughout the biotechnology and agricultural industries.

Discussion: The Raw Story and SCOTUSblog

Andrew Pollack / New York Times:
As Court Considers Gene Patents, Case May Overlook Relevant Issues

Discussion: AEIdeas and SCOTUSblog

John Kerry / CNN:

Kerry: Foreign students ‘scared’ of guns in U.S. — (CNN) - Students in other countries assessing where to study abroad are increasingly scared of coming to the United States because of gun violence, the nation's top diplomat said Monday. — Speaking with CNN foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty …

Discussion: Reuters, Hot Air, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers and National Review

Jillian Keenan / Slate:

Legalize Polygamy! — No. I am not kidding. — Sister-wives Valerie, left, and Vicki serve breakfast to their children in their polygamous house in Herriman, Utah, in this file photo from May 30, 2007. Polygamy, once hidden in the shadows of Utah and Arizona, is breaking into the open …

Discussion: American Spectator

Peter Beinart / The Daily Beast:

Not so long ago, plenty of Republicans favored gun control. — Every now and then I encounter some random piece of historical trivia and I remember: the Republican Party used to be sane. The last such epiphany occurred when I was researching the assault-weapons ban, which first passed the Senate in 1993.