Wednesday, September 25, 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. Fauxlibuster Sen. Cruz extends faux filibuster into Wednesday morning Senator Cruz Persists Battling Health Law, Irking Even Many in His Own Party Alex Seitz-Wald: Don't Call It a Filibuster On Floor Of Senate, Ted Cruz Compares Defunding Obamacare To Nazi Germany Ted Cruz reads 'Green Eggs and Ham' during Obamacare 'filibuster' Sen. Harry Reid's office: Cruz filibuster is fake Cruz Privately Approached Reid To Ask For Time To "Filibuster" Dana Milbank: Ted Cruz, filibusted Ezra Klein: Ted Cruz's filibuster is an excellent argument against Ted Cruz's filibuster GOP Civil War Ted Cruz's Fake Fight Against Obamacare is Making Him Millions - And Enemies GOP Rep. Peter King: Ted Cruz Engaging In 'Governmental Terrorism' Former GOP political strategist Steve Schmidt rants against GOP 'asininity' Jonathan Bernstein: Mainstream Republicans in worse shape than Ted Cruz Shutdown Showdown Senate Democrats Seeking a Shorter Spending Measure, Only Extending Govt. Through Nov. 15 House GOP may attempt to attach Obamacare delay to CR, nearly guaranteeing shutdown Shutdown would hit federal contractors, but circumstances would vary Should it happen, most government employees would work through shutdown Debt Ceiling Debacle Treasury Sets Firm Date: U.S. Will Default On Oct. 17 If Congress Doesn't Act Bush budget director: Debt ceiling brinksmanship risks scuttling recovery Message from Washington to Wall Street: The threat of default is real Drum: Investors Still Aren't Very Worried That America Will Default At The United Nations President Obama Defends U.S. Engagement in the Middle East in United Nations Speech John Judis: Obama's United Nations Speech May Have Been His Most Significant Yet Obama urges U.N. to seize opportunity for Israeli-Palestinian peace In talks with Obama, Abbas pledges Palestinian support for peace process Iran's President Rouhani: Nuclear weapons have no place in Iran's security Kevin Drum: Don't Expect Any Quick Miracles on Iran The Spying Game Federal investigators discover hundreds of U.S. security clearance records performed by private contractors were falsified How a Crypto 'Backdoor' Pitted the Tech World Against the NSA Energy, Climate & Environment Renewable Energy Study Shows That Benefits Now Outweigh Costs In U.S. Republicans Still See Keystone Pipeline as a Card to Play in Debt Ceiling Debate Nations In Turmoil UN weapons inspectors back in Syria Protests in Sudan over fuel prices turn deadly The War Over There Kenya mall siege from al Qaeda linked group now over; Death toll still unclear Nairobi attack: Kenya mourns Westgate Mall siege victims U.S. moves drone fleet from Camp Lemonnier to ease Djibouti's safety concerns International News Hundreds dead in Pakistan earthquake Dozens dead in Philippines floods Pope says migrants not 'pawns on chessboard of humanity' Midwest Roundup Scientists aim to bring healthier hogs to market in Nebraska Judge to hear arguments Friday in Keystone XL pipeline suit Iowa Attorney General calls for regulation of e-cigarettes Most of Iowa's schools miss No Child Left Behind goals Popcorn & Sympathy As we began our discussions last night for today's commentary, our staff members had a good chuckle at the expense of Republican Senator Ted Cruz, as we're sure many people across the nation did. Cruz was foolishly yammering on about green eggs & ham and Nazis to a nearly empty Senate chamber in what some of our colleagues in the media began calling a "fauxlibuster" on Tuesday afternoon. After all, since there was no bill up for debate on the floor of the U.S. Senate, what Sen. Cruz was doing cannot be accurately called a filibuster. Cruz' actions, along with those of the heavily divided Republican Party, can be called many things, these days. 'Ridiculous' or 'disaster' - or if you're Steve Schmidt, former political strategist to the GOP - "asininity." As Schmidt noted in an interview this week, people like Cruz are "the freak show that's been running wild for four years" that has hijacked both the Republican Party and the political right in America. If America hadn't endured more than a decade of ginned up hatred, bigotry, misogyny, class warfare, at least one unnecessary war, and the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression, all at the hands of the modern GOP, we might not be laughing so hard. We might even feel a little bit of sympathy for Republicans who are getting perpetually pounded these days by their own tea party partners. The fact is, Americans have endured growing, explosive, divisive, right-wing abuse for nearly twenty years now. As the Republican Party is reduced to watching someone they hate like Sen. Ted Cruz usurp their own party's image, some Americans are content to... To continue reading... click here. And now, for your Daily Felltoon preview for September 25, 2013 (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) Jobs & The Economy Small-business jobs rise as economy improves Federal cleaning and concessions workers to go on strike Wednesday Austerity Fraud It's the Austerity, Stupid: How We Were Sold an Economy-Killing Lie Krugman: What's The Austerity Debate About If Not Austerity? Wall Street Watch JPMorgan in talks with U.S. authorities to settle mortgage probes 'Massive fraud' at center of trial against Bank of America over U.S. mortgages Hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors in talks to settle criminal insider trading charges | Clueless AIG Exec Says Public Outrage Over Bonuses 'Just As Bad' As Lynchings In The South Some Traders Got The Fed's 'No Taper' Decision News Early - And May Have Made Billions Kevin Drum: Somebody Stole 7 Milliseconds From the Fed Health Care Checkup Government Releases Obamacare Premium Levels for 36 More States Scott: The Final Word On Obamacare Coverage: Cheaper Than Expected Cohn: Obamacare Ins. Premiums Beat Expectations HHS Says Ezra Klein: How much will Obamacare premiums cost? Depends on where you live. | Federal Health official: We're ready to deal with ObamaCare glitches Pres. Obama won't delay the individual mandate Federal worker health program to remain largely stable Rick Ungar: Wal-Mart Returning To Full-Time Workers-Obamacare Not Such A Job Killer After All Immigration: Reform Coming? Greg Sargent: Immigration reform is on life support, but it isn't dead yet Guns & America Secretary of State Kerry to sign Arms Trade Treaty on Wednesday Media Matters Popular Science decides to shut off reader comments on their website | Alexandra Petri: Down with comments! Why Popular Science made the right call. Communications Breakdown Jeff Bezos: Newspapers may become a 'luxury item' in the future Ethics & The Media NBC Chief Foreign Corespondent Richard Engel Honored with John Chancellor Award Did You Miss It On Monday? Here It Is Again! Your HuskerNutz Preview for September 25, 2013 (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) White House Update At the U.N., Pres. Obama vows to pursue better relations with Iran Presidents Obama & Clinton Tout Health Care Law At Clinton Global Initiative News From Capitol Hill Senate unanimously confirms first openly gay federal appeals court judge With Time Short, House Says It Seeks a New Farm Bill On The Left Democrats see GOP shutdown threat as opening for 2014 election gains David Corn: #SlatePitch - Obama Is the Shrewdest Political Tactician In America Since LBJ On The Right Ed Kilgore: The Difference Between Ted Cruz & Rand Paul Molly Ball: The Fall of the Heritage Foundation and the Death of Republican Ideas 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.