memeorandum: Payroll tax cut extension in doubt amid House Republican uproar (Felicia Sonmez/Washington Post)

11:00 AM ET, December 19, 2011

Top Items:

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il, 69, Has Died — SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Kim Jong Il, North Korea's mercurial and enigmatic leader, has died. He was 69. — Kim's death was announced Monday by state television from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.

Discussion: The Politico, Reuters, Questions and Observations, The Daily Caller, The Atlantic Online, Los Angeles Times, Taylor Marsh, WORLD, Blogs of War, Outside the Beltway, Gawker, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Bob Owens, Israel Matzav, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Balloon Juice

BBC:

N Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies — North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has died at the age of 69, state-run television has announced. — His death was announced in an emotional statement read out on national television. — The announcer, wearing black, said he had died on Saturday of physical and mental over-work.

Discussion: News Desk, Booman Tribune, Hot Air, Deadspin, Tim Blair, Catholic Bandita, The Other McCain, his vorpal sword, Gothamist, ThinkProgress, UrbanGrounds and The Duck of Minerva

msnbc.com:

First Thoughts: Here we go again — Here we go again: Boehner and House Republicans walk away from payroll tax cut compromise... Boehner's move either represents a miscommunication with McConnell and Senate GOP leaders, or a reversal... Two weeks to go until Iowa, and the race looks like it did on Friday …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Politico and The Maddow Blog

CBS News:

Kim Jong Il, N. Korean dictator, dies at 69 — PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO — North Korea'S “Dear Leader” Dies — PYONGYANG, North Korea - Even as the world changed around him, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il remained firmly in control, ruling absolutely at home and keeping the rest of the world on edge through a nuclear weapons program.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Danger Room, Weasel Zippers and Dean's World

New York Times:

N. Korea Says Dictator, Kim Jong-il, Dies — SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader who realized his family's dream of turning his starving country into a minor nuclear-weapons power even as the isolated nation sank further into despotism, died on Saturday of a heart attack …

Discussion: World Now, Associated Press, A Blog For All, msnbc.com, Indecision Forever, Towleroad News #gay and The Informer

CNN:
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il dead, state TV reports

Discussion: China Real Time Report, The Atlantic Online, This Just In, Scared Monkeys, Boing Boing, The Moderate Voice, Michelle Malkin, The Spectacle Blog and CANNONFIRE

Chico Harlan / Washington Post:
Kim Jong Il, North Korean leader, is dead at age 69

Discussion: New York Times, Via Meadia and NO QUARTER

Reuters:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dead, son hailed as heir

Discussion: Business Insider, Mashable!, Ed Driscoll, The PJ Tatler, Shakesville and Sister Toldjah

globaltimes.cn:
Comments from Internet Users

Discussion: New York Times and msnbc.com

Bill Austin / Bloomberg:
Kim Jong Il, North Korea's ‘Dear Leader’ Dictator, Dead at 70

Discussion: CNN, Don Surber, Doug Ross and neo-neocon

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Paul leads in Iowa — Newt Gingrich's campaign is rapidly imploding, and Ron Paul has now taken the lead in Iowa. He's at 23% to 20% for Mitt Romney, 14% for Gingrich, 10% each for Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry, 4% for Jon Huntsman, and 2% for Gary Johnson.

Washington Examiner:

GOP will take off the gloves if Ron Paul wins Iowa — The Republican presidential primary has become a bit feisty, but it will get downright ugly if Ron Paul wins the Iowa caucuses. — The principled, antiwar, Constitution-obeying, Fed-hating, libertarian Republican congressman …

Discussion: Right Wing News, National Review and LewRockwell.com Blog

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Paul Moves Into Lead in Iowa Forecast — Our Iowa forecasts, which are designed to be quite aggressive, have had a big reaction to the new Public Policy Polling survey published late Sunday evening. The poll showed Newt Gingrich's support slipping badly in Iowa and Ron Paul moving into the lead.

Discussion: Hit & Run and The Mahablog

Julie Hirschfeld Davis / Bloomberg:
Paul's Raw Milk Freedom Pitch Reflects Offbeat Campaign on Rise

Discussion: msnbc.com

Jeb Bush / Wall Street Journal:

Capitalism and the Right to Rise — In freedom lies the risk of failure. But in statism lies the certainty of stagnation. — Congressman Paul Ryan recently coined a smart phrase to describe the core concept of economic freedom: “The right to rise.” — Think about it.

Discussion: CNN, The Politico, Betsy's Page, Campaign 2012, Simply Left BehindThe …, GOP 12, FrumForum and National Review

Michael Stone / Examiner:

California politician advocates assassination of Obama and family — Like this? Subscribe to get instant updates. — Facebook faux pas: California libertarian and Tea Party darling Jules Manson is caught calling for the assassination of President Barack Obama and his children.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Truth Wins Out and Angry Black Lady Chronicles

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:

Payroll tax cut extension in doubt amid House Republican uproar — The fate of a payroll tax cut extension backed by the White House and overwhelmingly passed by the Senate is uncertain after a restive House Republican conference expressed displeasure with the two-month deal.

Discussion: Hot Air, msnbc.com and New York Times

Julian Pecquet / The Hill:
Year ahead: Health law under attack on all fronts

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Will China Break? — Consider the following picture: Recent growth has relied on a huge construction boom fueled by surging real estate prices, and exhibiting all the classic signs of a bubble. There was rapid growth in credit — with much of that growth taking place not through traditional banking …

Discussion: naked capitalism, Political Mojo and Prairie Weather

Robert Cruickshank:

Occupy the Progressive Movement — It was during the fifth or sixth major argument within the netroots in 2011 about the Obama Administration that the first protestors attempted to Occupy Wall Street in mid-September. Within days the talk of primary challenges, donor strikes …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Agonist and 350.org

New York Times:

Retirement Deal Keeps Bain Money Flowing to Romney — Almost 13 years ago, Mitt Romney left Bain Capital, the successful private equity firm he had helped start, and moved to Utah to rescue the Salt Lake City Olympic Games and begin a second career in public life.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, No More Mister Nice Blog, Business Insider and Campaign 2012

Reuters:

Exclusive: Secret U.S., Taliban talks reach turning point — (Reuters) - After 10 months of secret dialogue with Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents, senior U.S. officials say the talks have reached a critical juncture and they will soon know whether a breakthrough is possible …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, americanthinker.com, Weasel Zippers and Jihad Watch

Chris Casteel / Daily Oklahoman:

Senators block Oklahoma City federal prosecutor from judge post — WASHINGTON — Faced with unrelenting — and mostly unexplained — opposition from Oklahoma's senators, the U.S. Senate on Saturday sent back to the White House the nomination of Arvo Mikkanen to be a federal judge in Tulsa.

Discussion: National Review and Associated Press

Joseph Curl / Washington Times:

One president, please, with a side of Rice — ANALYSIS/OPINION: — Republican diners haven't yet picked their entree, but they've narrowed it down to the steak or the fish. Still, just as interesting as their main course will be their side selection: Will they go for a drab salad, or something more exciting?

Discussion: GOP 12 and LewRockwell.com Blog