Tuesday, October 08, 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. Fears & Failures Republican disapproval grows in budget battle, Post-ABC poll finds Poll: 70 Percent Disapprove Of GOP Approach To Gov't Shutdown Greg Sargent: More red flags for GOP Shutdown shines spotlight on rift in Republican Party Jennifer Rubin: Republicans fighting back against the tea party EJ Dionne: The shutdown is the tea party's last stand Neil Irwin: Can business take the Republican Party back from the Tea Party? The House GOP has nothing to show for its government shutdown Debt Ceiling Disaster Looms Government shutdown unlikely to severely damage economy, but debt limit could be catastrophe Debt-Limit Disaster Would Be Exponentially Worse Than 2008 Lehman Debacle Republican Debt-Ceiling 'Truthers' Are Risking Financial Disaster Senate to Move Ahead on 'Clean' Debt-Limit Increase Obama, Senate Dems hope to break logjam with debt ceiling bill Some Senate Republicans Ready To Raise The Debt Ceiling House unlikely to pass debt ceiling bill this week White House: Obama Will Never Negotiate On The Debt Limit Again Top Bankers Warn Against Prioritization In Debt Ceiling Proposal Beijing Urges U.S. to Avoid Default Bruce Barlett: What Will Happen When the Treasury Runs Out of Cash Joe Nocera: Why the Debt Ceiling Matters Shutdown Showdown Pres. Obama to Boehner on clean CR: 'Hold a vote. Call a vote right now. Let's see what happens' Greg Sargent: Do `moderate' Repubs really want to vote to fund the government? Probably not. Robert Costa: Conservatives Wary of Any Deal WH Likes Some tea party congressmen find signs of political backlash at home Derek Thomspon: Why the Government Shutdown Isn't Anywhere Near Over Steven Pearlstein: A face-saving plan to end the Obamacare shutdown stalemate Neil Irwin: Can business take the Republican Party back from the Tea Party? The House GOP has nothing to show for its government shutdown Nations In Turmoil Lebanon rebukes Syria for cross-border raid Chemical weapons team faces many dangers in Syria says U.N. chief Ban UN's Ban Ki-moon outlines plan for larger Syria chemical weapons mission Five soldiers slain, blasts rock Egypt as deadly violence continues Egyptian Attacks Are Escalating Amid Stalemate The War Over There Miami Herald sources: Capitol Hill lawyer chosen as Pentagon's 'Guant�namo closer' U.S. team questions seized al-Qaeda suspect International News Global Trade Talks Hit 'Impasse' At Asia Pacific Forum Higgs and Englert win Nobel Prize for Physics North Korea puts army on alert, warns U.S. of 'horrible disaster' Midwest Roundup Neb. Gov. Heineman declares emergencies for two areas of state in wake of tornado, blizzard Police continue search for teen accused of violent attack Most furloughed Iowa National Guard employees return to work Iowa Legislative panel rejects idea of delaying ban on so-called "telemed" abortions Something To Really Fear As our staff members have continued to read the horror stories about the debt ceiling and the disasters of the ongoing shutdown, we keep finding ourselves repeatedly & unpleasantly surprised. Several topics kept resurfacing in our discussions, including how such a sizable number of Republicans in Congress remain so clueless about the negative effects their obstruction is causing. When mixed with the season, the term 'nightmare' also kept coming back up in our discussions, along with inevitable comparison to monsters in the closet, and even the old purple-horned snorkelwhacker from the comic strip 'Bloom County.' For all the whip counting and posturing going on in DC right now, what's really driving the entire process on Capitol Hill isn't anything complex, though. It's simply the outsized fear by Republican Congressmembers of being attacked by the tea party wing of the GOP - specifically, about getting a primary challenge from a privately funded extremist tea party candidate. Think of it as your local cowardly Republican Congressmember's personal anxiety closet... To continue reading... click here. And now, for your Daily Felltoon preview for October 08, 2013 (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) Shutdown Effects Veterans Administration to furlough 7,000 employees, close all regional offices Shutdown denies death benefits to families of fallen soldiers Sarah Kliff: This cancer patient's treatment is on hold because of the government shutdown | Members-Only Congressional Gyms Remain Open During Shutdown Senate Democrats Close D.C. Offices During Shutdown While Republicans Keep Their Offices Open Shutdown Costs now measured at $1.6 Billion With $160 Million More Each Day Jobs & The Economy Federal Government Shutdown Starts to Crimp Trade, Slowing Economy IMF Cuts Global Economic Outlook While Warning of U.S. Default Threat Wall Street Watch Wall Street Falls as No Progress Seen to Resolve Shutdown Tense Negotiations Inside the Fed Producing Muddled Signals to Markets Economic Inequality Who Receives 'Food Stamps' & Why It's Critical To Continue Their Support | Arizona Gov. Reverses Directive, Orders Welfare Checks Issued Health Care Checkup Health Exchange Delays Tied to Software Crash in Early Rush Sarah Kliff: Measuring Obamacare enrollment is actually kind of tricky Eugene Robinson: Obamacare is here. Get used to it, Tea Partiers. | Report confirms: Medicaid will expand, with or without GOP support Peter Orsag: Are Hospitals More Efficient Than They Seem? Tom Lee: What everyone is getting wrong about HealthCare.gov Energy, Climate & Environment Pres. Obama's climate adviser plans to step down | U.S. claims title of world's biggest oil-and-gas producer And now, for your Weekly OK Gazette Toon preview for October 01, 2013  (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) National Politics Ezra Klein: The 13 reasons Washington is failing Petula Dvorak: Don't slam D.C. for the shutdown, America - You sent these wackos here. National News U.S. adults lag most countries in literacy, math and computer skills New $100 Bill Begins Circulating October 8, Federal Reserve Board Says White House Update Sect. Kerry 'very pleased' at Syrian compliance over chemical weapons SCOTUS Brief SCOTUS Case Could Usher In a "System of Legalized Corruption"  On The Left Left Is Cool: New Study Says Conservatives React More Strongly to Insults Than Liberals Robert Borosage: The Democratic Party's New Insurgents On The Right Rick Ungar: John Boehner And Ted Cruz; The Real Life 'Pinky And The Brain' David Frum: Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective Political Parties 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.