Tuesday, October 29, 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. Tea Party Dead Weight John Judis: The Tea Party is going down. Dysfunction is not Kevin Drum: Sigh. Benghazi? Again? Really?! Tea Party Sen. Rand Paul warns eugenics are on the horizon unless conservatives stand up against abortion rights Nevada Tea Party Republican Assemblyman: I'd Bring Back Slavery If Constituents Wanted Me To The Spying Game Pres. Obama didn't know about surveillance of U.S.-allied world leaders until summer, White House officials say U.S. intelligence officials disagree with administration, saying White House OK'd spying on allies The N.S.A. and Obama: Who Watches the Watchers? Everyone spies: Intelligence insiders shrug amid outrage over US snooping allegations President Obama May Choose to Ban Spying on Heads of Allied States Spain Summons U.S. Ambassador in Spying Scandal U.S. spy chiefs to face Congress on Tuesday amid spying rift with Europe Adam Serwer: Former NSA supporters join critics in calling for reform NSA bills set up a choice in Congress: End bulk collection of phone records or endorse it NSA Surveillance Reform Legislation May Only Need One More Vote in the House To Pass Harris & Judson: NSA's Best Friend On Capitol Hill, Sen. Diane Feinstein, Just Shivved The Spies Eugene Robinson: The out-of-control NSA Health Care Checkup Obamacare Delays: Healthcare.gov Problems Shouldn't Cripple Program Lydia DePillis: Some better news about government websites Michael Tomasky: Enough Already on HealthCare.gov. Don't You Remember Medicare Part D? Jonathan Chait: 'If You Like Your Plan, You Can Keep It.' Well, Not Exactly Igor Volsky: The Not-So-Shocking Facts About Obamacare Rate Shock Josh Barro: Why 'Rate Shock' Is An Essential Part Of Health Care Reform HHS: Half Of Young Americans Can Now Buy Health Insurance For $50 Or Less Michael Lind: Here's how GOP Obamacare hypocrisy backfires War on Women Becca Aaronson: Federal Court Rules Parts Of Texas State Abortion Restriction Unconstitutional Sarah Kliff: Wendy Davis couldn't stop a Texas abortion law. But a federal court just did. Irin Carmon: Judge only strikes down parts of Texas abortion law, not the whole law Two Reasons Why The TX Abortion Decision Is Nothing For The Pro-Choice Community To Celebrate Energy, Climate & Environment A year after Superstorm Sandy, storm-hit areas plan to light up shore Hurricane Sandy also showed that America's rebuilding efforts need reform Four Reasons You Should Worry About Another Sandy California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia sign climate change pact Nations In Turmoil Syria's ability to launch chemical attack said to be limited after key equipment destroyed WHO confirms outbreak of Polio in Syria The War Over There U.S. Disrupts Afghans' Murky Talks With Al-Qaeda Militants Kony 2013: U.S. quietly intensifies effort to help African troops capture infamous warlord International News Yemen police halt fireworks causing rumors of U.S. embassy attack Storm death toll rises as wind, rain batters northern Europe National Politics Survey: Most U.S. libertarians do not identify with Tea Party Money in Politics Report: Outside campaign spending distorts state supreme court rulings States Of Confusion Penn State to Pay $59.7 Million to 26 Sandusky Victims Semiautomatic Weapon Found Near Dying Colorado Toddler Midwest Roundup Former Neb. Gov. Kay Orr endorses corporatist Republican Pete Ricketts Lincoln, Nebraska man pleads guilty to selling AK-47 to felon Iowa GOP Rep. Steve King & Democratic Senator Tom Harkin to meet with House-Senate conference committee on Farm Bill GOP, Still Going Down For all the screaming and hoopla going on this month over the federal healthcare website, the fact remains that the website is improving. That doesn't mean it's perfect yet, as the downtime the system experienced last Sunday proved once again. The numbers of Americans finding insurance plans for themselves using the system has continued to increase though. Further, when Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius testifies before Congress Wednesday, members of Congress will have a chance to discover why the rollout fell so short of public expectations. There's actually a far more important mechanism falling short of public expectation or even legitimate function right now - namely the current Republican Party. Thankfully, we already know why that machinery of government isn't working: The Tea Party wing of the GOP, that's dragging the party down rapidly. As John Judis of The New Republic wrote on Monday, and as all but the most delusional right-wing fanatics have already admitted, the Tea Party is going down. Whether they last until the 2016 election is anyone's guess, but as Judis notes, after the teapeople brought the government to a dead stop and nearly blew up the world's economy earlier this month GOP leaders aren't likely to let them do the same thing again this winter. That hasn't stopped the teabaggers - and those who continue to pander to them - from bringing out the crazy. Sen. Lindsay Graham, a master of the political pander, dragged out one of the extremist's most tattered ideological toys when he promised to block all Senate nominations over more investigation into Benghazi. Conveniently, as Kevin Drum pointed out on Monday, 60 Minutes already did that for Sen Graham last weekend, and as any sane person would expect... To continue reading... click here. And now, for your Daily Felltoon preview for October 29, 2013 (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) Jobs & The Economy Pending Home Sales Show Sharp Drop; Buyers Retreat as Affordability Conditions Tighten Economic data: Districts represented by extremist Repubs doing MUCH worse than the rest of the U.S. Wall Street Watch Lloyds Bank Profit Soars to $2.5 Billion as Costs Fall and Loans Improve UBS, Deutsche Bank Disclose Foreign Exchange Inquiries Budget Battles Jonathan Chait: Yes, There's a Budget Deal in the Works. Here's What It Will Look Like. | Jonathan Bernstein: There will be a budget deal -- if Republicans want one Economic Inequality Food stamps to get cut by $5 billion this week - & more cuts could follow "Riots always begin... the same" - Food stamp shutdown looms Friday Food Stamp Cuts Coming For Everyone - Including Nearly A Million Veterans Math: A person making $50K/yr pays 10¢/day in taxes for food stamps Zombie Sequestration President Obama blasts sequester during remarks at FBI Research Cuts From Sequestration Ought to Worry Business Bryce Covert: How Sequestration Gets Even Worse Next Year Jared Bernstein: It's Not Over By A Long Shot - Sequester Watch Roundup #28 Equality In America Greg Sargent: For Republicans, a big test on gay rights could also be an opportunity Sen. Harry Reid To Bring ENDA Up For Senate Vote | Florida Sen. Bill Nelson Signs On As ENDA Cosponsor, Leaving Just Two Democratic Holdouts Hawaii governor expects gay marriage bill to pass 'within week' Communications Breakdown Thomson Reuters beats Wall Street's expectations; Plans to cut 3,000 positions anyway Ethics & The Media UK Prime Minister Cameron threatens to 'act' against newspapers publishing NSA leaks Media Matters Michael Schaffer: What If POLITICO Had Covered the Civil War? | Print vs Radio: The Myth of the War of the Worlds Panic And now, for your Weekly OK Gazette Toon preview for October 29, 2013  (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) White House Update Obama Reassures F.B.I. at Ceremony for New Director | Evan McMorris-Santoro: Obama's Favorite Newspaper Columnists News From Capitol Hill Senate Dems to call for 'McConnell rule' reform on debt ceiling Senate banking panel eyes November 14 for Yellen's Fed confirmation hearing Filibuster Wars To Flare Up As Senate Majority Leader Reid Moves On Top Judges Senate to vote on gay rights bill by Thanksgiving | Healthcare Website Site Puts Agency and Its Leader in Hot Seat, in Front Of House Republicans Today GOP-led House Set to Vote on 2 Bills, Is Still Seen as an Ally of Wall St. Steve Benen: After accomplishing practically nothing this year, House GOP plans to start working even less Why Wednesday will be 'Another Tricky Day' on Capitol Hill On The Left Molly Ball: The Glorious, Futile Progressive Policy Agenda Former Dem. Congressman from Missouri, Ike Skelton, dead at 81 On The Right McCain: Hillary Would Make 'A Very Strong Candidate' in 2016 For Dems Babington: A Year After Romney Loss, GOP In Even Worse Shape Decision 2013: Virginia McAuliffe widens lead over Cuccinelli in Virginia governor's race Poll: Libertarian Candidate Also Hurting Dem in Virginia, GOP Still Losing | The Libertarian/Republican divide, on display in Virginia Jason Sattler: If Virginia Is What 2016 Is Going To Look Like, The GOP Is In Big Trouble 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.