Wednesday, May 03, 2013   Published Weekday Mornings   To see the full version of today's cartoon, click on the preview graphic of the cartoon (below the Commentary) to be taken to the full version in your favorite web browser. Chickenhawk Screeching Wednesday's Congressional Hearings On Benghazi Attack: It's All Politics Flashback 2012: Weigel - The facts are clear: Republican charges of a Benghazi cover-up are pure fiction Republican probe of Benghazi attacks turns to Hillary Clinton Jason Linkins: Benghazi Will Totally Be 'The Next Watergate' - Unless It Isn't A Decade After Iraq, Right-Wing and Liberal Hawks Reunite To Squak Over Syria Edward Luce: Obama is right to resist the Syria hawks Proper Focus: Syria U.S. and Russia Plan Peace Conference Aimed at Ending Syrian War U.S., Russia pledge to work together for a Syrian transitional government Qaeda influence in Syria also growing, Russia worried Israel Syrian strike targeted Iran's missile shipment to Hezbollah Hezbollah Involvement In Syria War An 'Open Secret' In Lebanon Western officials fear retaliation for airstrikes in Syria attributed to Israel Syria Goes Offline, Again Eugene Robinson: Questioning Syrian intervention Katrina vanden Heuvel: Diplomacy is better than military action in Syria Confronting Sex & Reality Air Force's sex-abuse prevention honcho charged with sexual battery Pentagon report shows big jump in sex crimes in military Sexual Assaults in Military Keep Rising-And Nearly 90 Percent Never Report It Air Force Brochure Tells Sex Assault Victims to 'Submit' Air Force General Blames Increase in Military Rape on Hookup Culture President Obama delivers blunt message on sexual assaults in military SecDef Hagel orders changes to confront military sexual abuse Cleveland Freedom Alleged captors of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight likely to be charged on Wednesday Primary Cleveland Suspect Was Familiar Figure to Victims' Families Cleveland police facing questions in 3 women's Ohio rescue Should the operator have stayed on the line? 911 call concerns some pros Health Care Checkup Medicare Pulls Back Curtain On Wildly Differing Hospital Bills Health Care Spending Growth May Have Slowed Permanently - With Huge Implications For The Economy And Deficits Justice & Injustice Colorado Theater Shooting Suspect Will Enter Insanity Plea Intolerance in America Seema Jilani: My Racist Encounter at the White House Correspondents' Dinner Energy, Climate & Environment Study Confirms: Media Ignore Climate Context Of Midwest Floods Fact Check:Cherry-picking a survey to discredit scientists on climate change still makes the picker a liar Nations In Turmoil Iraqi Kurdish rebels begin withdrawal from Turkey, fueling peace hopes International News Bangladesh factory death toll passes 800 As Pakistan votes, the military watches sternly from its barracks Thousands rally against Malaysian vote result States Of Confusion With Hours Remaining, Mississippi Stays Execution Of Man Whose DNA Was Never Tested GOP Gov. Jindal's Voucher Scheme Goes Down To Failure In Louisiana Midwest Roundup Neb. state budget debate begins; school aid compromise still stings Nebraska's Ex-Lt. Gov. Sheehy repays $500 for using state-owned cellphone to call women Ground broken for Univ. of Nebraska's Buffett Cancer Center Iowa Senate approves $8 million for Iowa Speedway improvements Online driver license renewal allowed under bill passed in Iowa Legislature Chickenhawk Distractions On a day when Wall Street will still be swooning over record highs, some Republicans will be attempting to gloat over a special election in South Carolina, and the long neglected issue of sexual assault in the U.S. military has finally received a small bit of attention, what you won't likely hear enough about today is the real issue Americans need to pay attention to in the Middle East - Syria. We're well aware of what the right-wing extremists will be screaming about today, including those in Congress who will be holding yet another pointless hearing on Capitol Hill. For all the pearl-clutching and empty threats the right-wing nuts have thrown at President Obama, the facts behind the Benghazi, Libya incident of 2012 still don't rise to the level of a cover-up - and have less to do with Obama in 2013 than they do Hillary Clinton in 2016. The truly important focus point in the Middle East right now - the one where both neo-con chickenhawks and liberal interventionists are squawking at President Obama that he should jump into another war - is already beginning to to be aimed towards a resolution in Moscow...   To continue reading... click here. And now, for your Daily Felltoon preview for May 08, 2013 (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) Jobs & The Economy New Records: Dow Ends Above 15000 for First Time Ever; S&P 500 Enters Bull Market Territory, Up 20% Since November Lows Dow 15,000: Here's why caring about it is not as silly as it might seem More working-class families spend half of income on rent Study: Austerity Has Cost The U.S. Economy 2.2 Million Jobs Churn, baby, churn: The labor market won't be truly healthy until people feel like they can quit their jobs Study confirms: Higher levels of homeownership can kill jobs Budgets, Debt & Deficits Congressional Budget Office shows continuing decline in federal budget deficit As red ink recedes, pressure fades for budget deal McConnell says GOP won't vote to raise debt limits without concessions from Democrats Treasury Secretary Jack Lew: There will be no brinksmanship in increasing the debt ceiling Republicans mull hostage wish list on debt limit Dana Milbank: Washington's budget brawling nowhere near a deal Wall Street Watch Freddie Mac posts 2nd-biggest profit in its history Americans Are Borrowing Again - But Still Less Than Before The Freeze | Cheap money bankrolling Wall Street's current bet on housing House legislative package seeks to weaken provisions of Dodd-Frank law Marriage Equality Delaware Becomes the 11th State to Allow Same-Sex Marriage Minnesota House to vote on same-sex marriage Thursday Immigration: Reform Coming Bipartisan Immigration Plan Faces Its First Test Senate immigration bill elicits a flood of amendments Communications Breakdown Report: 48 Of 50 Top Advertisers 'Exclude Rush And Hannity' From Radio Commercial Buys The High Cost of Hate: Limbaugh Bleeds Millions From His Affiliates as Toxic Talk Radio Slumps Cumulus CEO hits Limbaugh while reporting $2.4 million revenue loss Progressive Groups Pull Facebook Ads In Protest Of Zuckerberg's Political Strategy Guns & America Extremist right-wing protest group plans July 4 march on Washington - with loaded rifles Republicans continue struggling to justify vote against expanded background checks Report: Sharp drop in gun violence, but most killings still involve firearms Steve Benen: Reduced gun violence doesn't mean the gun violence problem is solved Did You Miss It On Monday? Here It Is Again! Your HuskerNutz Preview for May 08, 2013 (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) White House Update Pres. Obama delivers blunt message on sexual assaults in military Obama to dine with House Democrats Wed. night to talk about the budget National Politics Jonathan Bernstein: Why you should care about 2016 right now Ezra Klein: How we broke the Senate without breaking any rules News From Capitol Hill Senators Finally Consider Revisiting the A.U.M.F. Senate GOP denies formation of budget conference committee for third time | GOP's Tom Coburn Pushes Gun Amendments - On Water Resources Bill Sen. Leahy Wants To Add Gay Couple Protections To Immigration Bill On The Left Lee Siegel: Memo to the South - Go Ahead, Secede Already! Ask the Wonks: What would happen if the blue states seceded? Jamelle Bouie: Hey Liberals - Don't expect the GOP to change on gay rights anytime soon David Sirota: How a big fracking setback got overlooked On The Right Ex-South Carolina Gov. Sanford beats Colbert Busch in special election Jonathan Capehart: Mark Sanford's path to redemption More Insanity: Carl Paladino Wins Buffalo School Board Seat After Failed 2010 Campaign For NY Gov. NJ Gov. Chris Christie Admits - He Had Secret Weight-Loss Surgery We hope you enjoy "The Daily Felltoon" every business day. Thanks for continuing to be a member! Paul Fell Shawn "Smith" Peirce Paul Fell Cartoons, Inc.