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"This isn't a Christian story, sorry to disappoint you. This is a liberal story. The hype is due to her being a female in a mostly male sport. The excessive and fawning media coverage is intended to advance a hyper-feminist agenda."

Nonsense. This is a brave little 13-year-old Christian girl who has survived a shark attack. It's only natural that folks are interested in how she's doing. Apparently, her courage and belief is seeing her through this well. Your attempt to politicize it is specious.

I don't think CanadianLibertarian meant any disrespect, but he is only stating the truth. I doubt that a run-of-the-mill teenaged boy who survived a shark attack would have received such attention. The fact that she was a competitive surfer girl is a major factor in the media interest. It's unusual, it's the hot new thing (see MTV's entire reality series called "Surfer Girls"), and it comports with the media's interest in advancing feminism.

It is the same thing with Jessica Lynch. She was made into a national hero by the media because she was cute, blonde, female, and a soldier who only joined the Army because she wanted to get enough money to go to college to be a Kindergarten teacher. Her story was an allegory for the senselessness of war (though I argue her story is proof that Clinton's feminized military is a disaster).

Shoshana Johnson was ordinary looking, black, and a single mom who chose the Army as her career. Both women were POWs, but who did the media harp on? The one that fits their big-picture agenda: War is stupid.

Do we hear from very many troops upon their return home who express the opinion that the fight in Iraq is, truly, a logical and righteous extension of the war on terror? No. 60 Minutes this week is doing a whole story on amputees at Walter Reed -- all of whom oppose the war in Iraq. We only hear of those who believe the fight is right from troops who have created their own blogs. 60 Minutes has no use for them.

This is a brave little 13-year-old Christian girl who has survived a shark attack.

Beautiful response.

Courage, bravery, "taking it like a man", aspiring goals, dauntless spirit...these are in short supply these days, by anyone, let alone a girl.

The only thing I liked about the new movie Master and Commander was the boy who survived amputation. While I do agree that amputees are exploited to further the anti-war agenda (which that movie surely did), I think this girl proves that the stuff we're truly made of is more than flesh, bones and blood.