Wednesday, August 14, 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. Shutdown Showdown Sen. Mitch McConnell: Government Shutdown 'Won't Stop Obamacare' Greg Sargent: No, Mitch McConnell didn't come out against a government shutdown push Robert Schlesinger: Republican leaders think voters aren't paying attention to their gamble against Obamacare. Yglesias: The Right's Obamacare Boycott Will Only Hurt Conservatives Avik Roy: Obamacare's Shutdown Shock-Jocks GOP Sen Deb. Fischer stands her ground on Obamacare defunding Flashback: Lessons from the great government shutdown of 1995-1996 Autumn in Washington: There Will Be Blood Health Care Checkup A Limit on Consumer Costs Is Delayed in Health Care Law Ramesh Ponnuru: Not every glitch means that Obamacare is fatally flawed Brian Beutler: Is Obamacare really being threatened? No. Here's a handy guide to the law. Greg Sargent: Obamacare still not a "trainwreck" Ezra Klein:Four ways to understand the latest Obamacare delay Jonathan Cohn: The Latest Right-Wing Freakout Over Obamacare Steve Benen: No, Congress isn't 'exempt' from Obamacare Brian Beutler: Bill Clinton should teach Obama how to sell Obamacare Race In America Missouri fair bans rodeo clown for life who wore Obama mask Missouri rodeo cowboy official resigns amid Obama-masked clown furor Study Shows White People Like Pure Meritocracy, Except When White People Don't Succeed Rep. John Lewis: Still Marching on Washington, 50 Years Later The Right To Vote Hillary Clinton defends Voting Rights Act, says some states are reviving 'old demons of discrimination' Arizona Republicans Already Working On 2020 Gerrymander Plan Immigration: Reform Coming? White House: Pathway to citizenship would boost GDP by $1.4T over decade Deferred Action Immigration Program In First Year Aids More Than 400,000 War on Women Kansas' Anti-Abortion Activists Are Citing Their Own Disruptive Protests To Justify Closing A Clinic Nations In Turmoil Egyptian security forces storm protesters' camps Egyptian bloodshed: Dozens killed as troops clear pro-Morsi rallies Morsi supporters 'torch three churches' in Egypt Egypt declares one-month state of emergency Egyptian crackdown follows weeks of failed negotiation The War Over There Sen. Feinstein and Sen. Durbin: How to close Gitmo International News Peace talks to resume as Israel frees Palestinians, yet still pursues illegal settlements Two Koreas agree to restart shuttered factory park UN investigates North Korean arms shipment Midwest Roundup Nebraska's U.S. Senators disagree on anti-Obamacare strategy U.S. Appeals court asked to rehear racist Fremont ordinance case Across-the-board improvement shown by Nebraska students on standardized tests 'Yes' votes lead, but Pine Ridge Reservation alcohol referendum is too close to call Iowa saw 11% increase in costs of farming in 2012 GOP Clowns, Still Near The Edge In the past, we've often used the metaphor of a clown to represent blithely clueless politicians. While we mean no insult to clowns, the metaphor couldn't be any more fitting this month - especially in light of the racist anti-Obama rodeo clown and his crew at the Missouri State Fair. The clown has since been banned for life from working at the State Fair in Missouri and may end up being permanently banned from rodeos throughout the 'Show Me' state. Some may feel that punishment is a bit overboard, like getting kicked in the head by a bull. We believe the harsh punishment is likely the exact intention of the Missouri State Fair board: To make sure no one else ever tries another similarly disrespectful and stupid stunt. Hopefully, that clown learned his lesson. Sadly, a large number of Republican clowns in Congress still haven't learned the harsh lessons of the 1995 Federal government shutdown, including freshman Republican Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska. Fischer recently signed a letter stating - in effect - that she and the other Congressional Republican clowns would prefer the political equivalent of getting kicked in the head by a bull, and knocked over the edge into the political abyss during the next few election cycles. Contrary to what you might have thought yesterday morning, Republican leaders have yet to pull their craziest members back from the abyss... To continue reading... click here. And now, for your Daily Felltoon preview for August 14, 2013 (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) Jobs & The Economy July Retail Sales Rose 0.2%, Despite a Drop in Auto Sales Peter Orszag: With So Many Job Openings, Why Still So Little Hiring? Robert Reich: The Real Price of Congress's Gridlock Neil Irwin: Why America needs to get used to slower economic growth Budget Battles Greg Sargent: Dems must get it right in this fall's spending fights Sequestration Ushers In A Dark Age For Science In America U.S. Budget Deficit Down 37.6 Percent Through July Chart of the Day: The Public Doesn't Know Squat About the Federal Deficit Wall Street Watch U.S. government seeks to block American Airlines/U.S. Airways merger The Fight For The Fed Kevin Drum: Today's Most Interesting Argument Against Larry Summers as Fed Chair The Euro Zone Eurozone is now climbing out of recession | Germany, France do largest share in pulling Eurozone out of recession The Spying Game Snowden: NSA targeted journalists critical of government after 9/11 NSA to cut 90 percent of systems administrators Education In America The Cost Of Public Four-Year College Has Risen 27 Percent Over Five Years Martha Kanter, Top Obama Higher Education Official, Resigns Energy, Climate & Environment Air Pollution Concerns Halt Enormous Coal Plant In China Why blackouts are becoming more common in America, in two charts Media Matters SF Chronicle Confirms All Its Content Is No Longer Behind A Paywall Henry Blodget: Journalism Has Entered A Golden Age, Again Here It Is! Your HuskerNutz Preview for August 14, 2013 (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) White House Update Obama now pushing ambitious Internet access plan for schools White House denies intel chief will lead NSA surveillance review News From Capitol Hill NY Times: Congress Must Now Act On Criminal Sentencing Reforms Congress in August, hiding from town-hall hollering On The Left Cory Booker sweeps N.J. Senate primary Cory Booker Wins In NJ, But Almost No One Votes Michelle Singletary: Martin Luther King Jr's unfinished work, in the fight for economic equality On The Right New Jersey Republicans Nominate Koch Brothers Operative For Senate North Carolinians Fear the End of a Middle Way, After GOP Extremism IS Forced Onto State Timothy Noah: Why Republicans can't stand Rand Paul States Of Confusion UPS Cargo Plane Crashes, Explodes in Alabama | Gunman and hostage both killed in Louisiana bank standoff 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.