memeorandum: NEWSMAKER - Havel: moral beacon, rocker, reluctant leader (Reuters)

11:15 AM ET, December 19, 2011

Top Items:

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

Jason Horowitz / Washington Post:
Evangelicals divided on whom to support in GOP presidential race

Discussion: msnbc.com, LewRockwell.com Blog, Ballot Box and New York Times

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

Associated Press:

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, The Lonely Conservative, 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 and Dean's World

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

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

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

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

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

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

NY lawmaker: GOP taking ‘principled’ stance on payroll tax bill — Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.) responded to criticism that House Republicans were playing politics with the payroll tax cut, saying the GOP was “principled,” trying to “do what's right,” and suggesting that her party's stance …

Discussion: CNN

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

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

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

Discussion: ThinkProgress

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

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

14-Year-Old Challenges Perry's Anti-Gay Views — A 14-year-old bisexual high school student challenged Rick Perry on his support for reinstating Don't Ask, Don't Tell during an event in Decorah, Iowa, asking the Texas governor why he is “so opposed to gays serving openly in the military …

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay

ABCNEWS: Rick Perry Confronted by Teenager Over Gays Serving Openly in Military

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, The New Republic, No More Mister Nice Blog, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Business Insider and Campaign 2012

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

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

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

CNN:

TRENDING: Bachmann pauses in Iowa tour to talk ‘myth’ of Kinsey Report — Clarion, Iowa (CNN) - Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann continued her super-charged bus tour across Iowa Sunday, attending several more events to shake hands and sign autographs.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Alan Colmes' Liberaland