memeorandum: Jindal defends school vouchers in NBC interview (Danielle Dreilinger/New Orleans Times …)

3:15 PM ET, April 13, 2013

Top Items:

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:

Democrat changes story about talks with Progress Kentucky leaders — The Democrat who said the leaders of the liberal group Progress Kentucky told him they bugged Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) campaign office is backing off a key part of his earlier account.

Discussion: Reuters

Politico:

Amateur hour in politics — The political establishment has some advice for anyone out there thinking of forming a super PAC: leave it to the pros. — The two men being investigated for secretly recording Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell were enthusiastic activists, but definitely not professional operatives — far from it.

Discussion: Page One and The Fix

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:
21st-Century Watergate

Discussion: The Daily Caller, WFPL, Politico, The Other McCain, Althouse and The Reaction

Alexandra Jaffe / The Hill:
Group using apparent al Qaeda recruitment video to slam McConnell on guns

Discussion: CNN, Fox News, Riehl World News, Hot Air and National Review

The Independent:

Full statement by MMR scare doctor Andrew Wakefield: 'The Government has tried to cover up putting price before children's health' — This is the full statement by Dr Andrew Wakefield from healthimpactnews.com — In the wake of further media distortion, misrepresentation …

Discussion: Guardian, blogs.telegraph.co.uk and BBC

Jesse McKinley / New York Times:

Albany Teacher Gives Pro-Nazi Writing Assignment — ALBANY — High school is full of hypotheticals, like “How does one solve for x?” and “What happens if I skip class?” But this week, students at Albany High School were given an alarming thought puzzle: How do I convince my teacher that I think Jews are evil?

Discussion: neo-neocon, Albany Times Union, Balkinization, americanthinker.com and Althouse

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

The GOP Amendment That Could Kill Gun Reform — On Thursday, gun reform proponents overcame a key hurdle in the Senate after 68 senators — including 16 Republicans — voted to proceed to a comprehensive package that expands background checks for gun purchases, increases penalties against gun trafficking, and invests in school safety.

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Greg Toppo / USA Today:

Memo warns of rampant cheating in D.C. public schools — District of Columbia Public Schools officials have long maintained that a 2011 test-cheating scandal that generated two government probes was limited to one elementary school. But a newly uncovered confidential memo warns as far …

Discussion: Daily Kos and Lawyers, Guns & Money

John Merrow / Taking Note:
Michelle Rhee's Reign of Error

Discussion: Colorlines and Balloon Juice

Simon Tomlinson / Daily Mail:

Chilling images from inside the mass indoctrination ceremonies where communist ‘cult’ leaders brainwash North Korea's children — Youngsters aged seven to 13 inducted into Korean Children's Union, a group likened to the Hitler Youth — Organisation pledges allegiance …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and WorldViews

Charlotte Meredith / Daily Express:
North Korea states ‘nuclear war is unavoidable’ as it declares first target will be Japan

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit and CNN

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Carney: North Korea not capable of launching nuclear-armed missile

Discussion: CNN and Rush Limbaugh

Washington Post:

Gun debate in Senate likely to feature amendments to weaken or strengthen laws — As the Senate prepares to begin debate next week on the biggest gun-control bill in nearly two decades, the gun rights lobby and its Senate allies are working on a series of amendments that could have the opposite effect …

Discussion: The Reaction

Benny Johnson / BuzzFeed: Here's The Democrats' Plan To Get Gun Control Through The Senate

Zeke J Miller / TIME:

Republicans Fear Clinton in 2016 — HOLLYWOOD — Republican leaders plotted their party's political comeback on Thursday with plans to court minority voters and modernize their political operations. But some wondered if one person could make it all for naught: Hillary Clinton.

Discussion: Daily Kos and Outside the Beltway

Will Oremus / Slate:

The Real Reason No One's Buying PCs Anymore: They've Gotten Too Good — Dude, you're not getting a Dell. — PC sales suffered their steepest decline in history last quarter, plummeting 14 percent worldwide, according to a report from market research firm IDC.

Discussion: CANNONFIRE and Dean's World

Tennessean.com:

Sen. Stacey Campfield withdraws welfare bill after run-in with girl, protesters — After a confrontation with an 8-year-old girl and other activists, along with mounting opposition from fellow Republicans, state Sen. Stacey Campfield dropped his effort to tie welfare benefits to grades …

Discussion: Daily Mail, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Addicting Info, Crooks and Liars and Colorlines

Danielle Dreilinger / New Orleans Times-Picayune:

Jindal defends school vouchers in NBC interview — Gov. Bobby Jindal. … Gov. Bobby Jindal defended his school voucher program in a whirlwind interview Friday with NBC-TV newswoman Hoda Kotb, saying that whether a school is a charter, private or a traditional public school, government should “fund what works for a child.”

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and Outside the Beltway

Charles Abbott / Reuters:

Pact is reached on immigration reform for farm labor — (Reuters) - U.S. growers, the United Farm Workers union and key senators agreed in principle on immigration reform for farm laborers, a grower coalition said on Friday, assuring the issue will be part of a comprehensive immigration bill to be unveiled next week.

Discussion: The Hill and americanthinker.com