Friday, October 04, 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. Capitol Hill Lockdown Driver killed after car chase from White House to Capitol Car Chase, White House to Capitol, Has Fatal End Miriam Carey: Dental hygienist at the center of car chase and shooting near the Capitol Michael Daly: What Pushed Miriam Carey to a Capitol Hill Tragedy? Republican lawmaker blames Obama and congressional Dems within minutes of Capitol shooting Republican Congressman Who Appeared To Blame Democrats For Shooting Apologizes, Says He "Tweeted Out Of Emotion" Unpaid during shutdown, Capitol Police still risk lives D.C. shooting reminds what we owe to public servants Shutdown Showdown How White House sees shutdown & debt ceiling fights & how House Repubs are playing Calvinball Johnathan Bernstein: Republicans have no idea why they've shut down the government Jamelle Bouie: In Fantasyland, Hardcore GOP Still Likes Where This Shutdown Is Going Kevin Drum: The Shutdown in 10 Infuriating Sentences McConnell, Rand Paul Caught On Hot Mic Talking About "Winning" The Shutdown Poll: Public's anger at Washington spikes over shutdown First cracks seem to appear in House GOP resolve to use debt limit as political bargaining chip More Responsible G.O.P. Elders See Liabilities in Shutdown Proposed House and Senate bills would pay federal workers for shutdown furloughs Eugene Robinson: John Boehner's turn to give in Shutdown Effects Monthly jobs report from Dept. of Labor is latest shutdown casualty Jared Bernstein: Some Economic Consequences of the Shutdown Government Shutdown Likely To Grow Veterans' Administration Backlogs Shutdown Means Students Are Running Own Schedules at U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Shutdown Closes 3,200 Preschoolers' Head Start Programs Government shutdown: CDC will be unable to monitor seasonal flu; vaccination not affected The Government Shutdown Is Now Stopping Blood Drives Ana Marie Cox: Think the government shutdown doesn't impact you? Think again. Energy, Climate & Environment Tropical Storm Karen forms between Cuba, Mexico Furloughed FEMA workers recalled to respond to Tropical Storm Karen Gov. Jindal declares state of emergency over Tropical Storm Karen Tropical storm looms in Gulf; while snowstorm builds in Rockies Activists Campaigning Again, for Obama to Say 'No' To Keystone Court orders closer scrutiny of oil-spill claims against BP Nations In Turmoil Angered Assad says Turkey will pay for backing Syrian rebels Disarmament experts make progress in Syria Violence erupts after Friday prayers in Egypt Muslim Brotherhood supporters clash with opponents at Cairo's Tahrir Square Egypt: Attack on army convoy kills 2 soldiers International News Italy searches for boat disaster victims Merkel set for tricky coalition talks in Germany States Of Confusion Survey Shows Virginians Leaning More Heavily Toward McAuliffe in Governor's Race Penn. GOP Gov. Tom Corbett compares gay marriage to incest Midwest Roundup Neb. state Sen. Jeremy Nordquist notes Neb. premiums may go up, due to Governor's refusal to expand Medicare Gasoline prices falling steadily across Nebraska Bachmann, Paul campaigns may have violated federal election laws in Iowa in 2012 Iowa Republican party warning Iowans not to be cooperative with police Truly Essential As we roll to the end of the first week of experiencing the 2013 Federal Government shutdown - courtesy of the arrogance and ignorance of a few clueless extremist Republicans in Congress - we thought it would be a good time to reexamine what "essential" really means. We know that yesterday, Capitol Hill police and members of the Secret Service were absolutely essential. On Thursday, 34-year old dental hygienist Miriam Carey attempted to use her car as a weapon, in Washington, DC. She crashed both the White House and the grounds outside the Capitol, in an escape attempt that ended in her death. Ms. Carey had her one year old daughter in the car with her - and at the time we're writing this, no reason is known for her actions. Many of the brave members of the Capitol Hill police and the other security forces who sprang into action Thursday all had one thing in common - they're not considered "essential" personnel under the shutdown. Many of the men and women who instantly jumped into action were essentially doing their jobs for free, since no one knows when they'll actually get paid. While those men and women were rushing towards chaos, not knowing what they were facing, people like Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul were talking about "winning" the government shutdown in front of TV cameras... To continue reading... click here. And now, for your Daily Felltoon preview for October 04, 2013 (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) The Debt Ceiling Looms As government shutdown persists, focus shifts to debt limit Top Bankers Say U.S. Debt Ceiling Default Would Be Disastrous Obama Stands Firm; Won't Make Policy Concessions In Debt Limit Talks Beutler: Repubs in Congress finally confronting reality: Obama isn't giving in. Sargent: Boehner gives away the GOP's game on the debt ceiling | Matthew Yglesias: Boehner's debt ceiling position? Exactly as absurd as ever. White House Rules Out 14th Amendment Plan B on Debt Ceiling Experts See Other Potential Ways Out for Obama in Debt Ceiling Maze Greg Sargent: What the White House fears most about the debt limit fight U.S. banks fearing default begin stocking up ATMs with cash Jobs & The Economy It's official: No official jobs report today Long debate over debt ceiling could harm economy, according to Treasury Wall Street Watch Twitter Files for IPO With Implied $12.8 Billion Value Swiss Regulator Probes Banks Over Currency Manipulation Income Inequality Reich: "Inequality for All": A Must-See Movie For Today's 99 Percent | DePillis: It's not just people. Corporations are getting more unequal, too. Health Care Checkup With Obamacare systems still slow, backlog builds among the uninsured Government continues streamlining new health exchanges | Paul Krugman: Health Insurance Reform Is Finally Turning Real Mississippi blues: The cost of rejecting Medicaid expansion Communications Breakdown Lessons from The Dallas Morning News's failed paywall Media Matters Novel by Michael Hastings to Be Published Posthumously Here It Is! Your Paul Fell PREDICTION preview for October 04, 2013 (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) National Politics Alex Seitz-Wald: Washington's Bad Old Days Worked Better Than the Good New Ones | Poll: U.S. Catholics Agree With Pope, Say Church Too Fixated With Social Issues White House Update In speech, Obama warns of economic damage from shutdown, default President Obama cancels Asian trip because of shutdown SCOTUS Brief Workers and employers to face off at Supreme Court SCOTUS could give wealthy donors even more latitude in elections On The Left John Nichols: Could Wendy Davis Become Texas Gov? Yes, She Can! Kevin Drum: Republicans May Be Cynical, But Democrats Need Better Answers On The Right Shutdown could diminish GOP hopes of winning Senate in 2014 Joshua Green: Republicans Are No Longer the Party of Business GOP Civil War Closed-Door Senate GOP Meeting With Ted Cruz Turned Into 'Lynch Mob' GOP Donors Revolt Against Republican-Led Govt Shutdown | Ed Kilgore: What Would It Take For "Moderate" Republicans To Walk Away From the Tea Party? Norm Ornstein: The Republican Hardliners Aren't Conservatives, They're Radicals 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.