memeorandum: “Never be afraid of tenderness” (Andrea Tornielli/LaStampa.it)

12:45 PM ET, December 15, 2013

Top Items:

Dan Friedman / NY Daily News:

Tea Party candidates launch battle against Republican honchos — Several Republican senators' reelection efforts are being threatened by conservative challengers such as the controversial Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Tex.) — Republican honchos like Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) are facing an uprising.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

CNN:

Paul Ryan: Boehner ‘just got his Irish up’ — Washington (CNN) - House Speaker John Boehner was peeved last week at conservative groups that blasted a bipartisan budget agreement before one was even announced. But House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan said it was really just that Irish temper of his.

Discussion: Politico

ABC News:

Ryan Prefers Conservative Debate Within ‘Family’ — Rep. Paul Ryan says he was frustrated with conservative groups that protested the bipartisan budget deal he helped engineer. — The House Budget Committee chairman tells NBC's “Meet the Press” that these groups are “very important elements” of the conservative movement.

Discussion: Politico

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Congress turns to tax reform

Discussion: CNN and The Week

Des Moines Register:

Iowa Poll: The early favorites for 2016 presidential race — Iowa Poll: Presidential candidate preferences: Iowa Poll: Presidential candidate preferences — Hillary Clinton, left, and Paul Ryan / Getty Images photos — Coming Monday — How do Iowans feel about health care reform and its rollout?

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Alexander Burns / Reuters:

Ambassador Kennedy: A star is born — Caroline Kennedy is a long way from Syracuse. — The soft-spoken presidential scion, who four years ago this month toured upstate New York in a short and ill-fated bid for the U.S. Senate, has swept with force into her newest public role as President Barack Obama's ambassador in Japan.

Discussion: NewsBusters

Ashley Killough / CNN:

5 things we learned from McCain's interview on ‘State of the Union’ — (CNN) - Sen. John McCain joined CNN's “State of the Union” from Kiev, Ukraine, on Sunday after the Arizona Republican addressed thousands of protesters who are angry over the Ukrainian government's decision to backpedal away …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Politico

CNN:

McCain says he would vote for budget deal — (CNN) - Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said Sunday he'll vote for a compromise budget bill in the Senate that would prevent another government shutdown. — “I hope it will pass the Senate,” he said on CNN's “State of the Union.”

Discussion: Politico

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:

White House delayed enacting rules ahead of 2012 election to avoid controversy — The White House systematically delayed enacting a series of rules on the environment, worker safety and health care to prevent them from becoming points of contention before the 2012 election …

Alan Schwarz / New York Times:

The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder — The Number of Diagnoses Soared Amid a 20-Year Drug Marketing Campaign — After more than 50 years leading the fight to legitimize attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Keith Conners could be celebrating. — Severely hyperactive …

Discussion: Althouse, Maggie's Farm and The Verge

Andrea Tornielli / LaStampa.it:

“Never be afraid of tenderness” — In this exclusive interview, Pope Francis speaks about Christmas, hunger in the world, the suffering of children, the reform of the Roman Curia, women cardinals, the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), and the upcoming visit to the Holy Land

Discussion: Mediaite, Liberaland, Guardian, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, Business Insider and National Review

Francis A. Walker / The Atlantic Online:

Restriction of Immigration — When we speak of the restriction of immigration, at the present time, we have not in mind measures undertaken for the purpose of straining out from the vast throngs of foreigners arriving at our ports a few hundreds, or possibly thousands of persons, deaf, dumb …

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community

NY Daily News:

SantaCon is on! Drunken Saint Nicks, Mrs. Clauses swarm city streets — The annual bacchanal kicked off in the East Village, but the belligerent Santas and naughty elves made their way towards Downtown Brooklyn for a ‘Rudolph Dance-Off.’ — The SantaCon Twitter account …

Discussion: Liberaland, Mediaite, Mashable and Gothamist

Robert Pear / New York Times:

Enrollment Errors Cut, Officials Say; Fixes Are Overstated, Insurers Report — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Saturday that it had reduced the error rate in enrollment data sent to insurance companies under the new health care law, even as insurers said that files they received …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and JustOneMinute