memeorandum: Bomb North Korea, Before It's Too Late (Jeremi Suri/New York Times)

1:20 PM ET, April 14, 2013

Top Items:

Bomb North Korea, Before It's Too Late — SINCE February, the North Korean government has followed one threatening move with another. The spiral began with an underground nuclear test. Then the North declared the armistice that ended the Korean War invalid.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune

Erik Loomis / Lawyers, Guns & Money:

When Historians Provide Bad Policy Ideas — I'm all for historians entering public debates. I am less enthused when they advocate utterly terrible ideas in major publications, such as University of Texas historian Jeremi Suri, who calls for the United States to bomb North Korea.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Balloon Juice

Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:

McCain: North Korea nearing nuclear missile launch ‘capability’ — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Sunday that it's not clear if North Korea has a nuclear missile ready to launch, but it's moving towards that “capability.” — Speaking on CNN's “State of the Union,” McCain said the country's military …

Discussion: Politico

Mike Allen / Politico:

RUBIO ON IMMIGRATION DEAL: ‘not take-it-or-leave-it’ — NYT FLOATS ELIZABETH WARREN as possible 2016 liberal challenger to Hillary, Biden — WRIGLEY FIELD may get left-field Jumbotron — THE FULL MARCO: Sen. Marco Rubio pre-tapes seven Sunday-show two-ways from the Biltmore Hotel in Miami this a.m. …

Kelly O'Donnell / NBC Politics:

Republican Senator Collins of Maine to vote yes on background checks — Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is the first GOP senator to say publicly she will vote for the bipartisan compromise on expanded background checks for the sale of guns online and at gun shows. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports.

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Weasel Zippers, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Hill

Maggie Haberman / Politico:

The Anthony Weiner-Mark Sanford comeback playbook — What do Anthony Weiner and Mark Sanford have in common? A comeback playbook. — The two are the latest examples of the accelerated post-sex scandal cycle, in which public rehabilitation can be attempted with a straight face just a few short years after the original sin.

Discussion: CNN and The Reaction

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

Balance and Bias — THE traditional American mass media — the crumbling, Internet-besieged edifice of newspapers and news shows, magazines and roundtables and journalism schools — evolved to believe with equal vigor in two not entirely compatible ideals. — One is an ideal of balance …

Discussion: Hot Air

Ginger Gibson / Politico:

Scott Brown mum on N.H. Senate run — Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown wasn't giving any previews about a possible Senate run in New Hampshire Sunday. — “I'm not going to comment on that, obviously,” the Republican said on “Fox News Sunday,” “Nothing is off the table, and nothing is on the table.

Samantha-Rae Tuthill / AccuWeather.com:

Dazzling Northern Lights Anticipated Tonight — A solar flare that occurred around 2 a.m. Thursday morning may create a spectacular display of northern lights Saturday evening. The midlevel flare had a long duration and was directed at Earth. According to AccuWeather.com Astronomer Hunter Outten …

Discussion: Gothamist

New York Times:

By Phone or by Text, Golf Entertains Second-Guessers — AUGUSTA, Ga. — In golf, and almost no other sport, interactive, real-time communication between armchair television viewers and referees supervising the competition routinely changes rulings and alters the outcomes of tournaments.

Discussion: Washington Post, Althouse and The Early Lead

Yahoo! News:

Dad Furious After Finding This Crayon-Written Paper in Florida 4th-Grader's Backpack: ‘I Am Willing to Give Up Some of My Constitutional Rights...to Be Safer’ — The words are written in crayon, in the haphazard bumpiness of a child's scrawl. — “I am willing to give up some of my constitutional rights …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Riehl World News

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:

Obama's Budget Revives Benefits as Divisive Issue — WASHINGTON — Whether or not Republicans ever agree to a budget deal with President Obama, one thing seems certain: now that he has officially put Social Security and Medicare benefits on the negotiating table, opponents on his party's left …

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Beast and The Hinterland Gazette