Monday, December 09, 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. Out In The Cold On Medicaid Neb. state Sen. Nordquist launches Medicaid expansion petition against GOP Governor Neb. state senator calls on Gov. Heineman to stop being a health insurance hypocrite Medicaid 'Coverage Gap' Causing Anxiety In Non-Expansion States Medicaid expansion gap could leave poor shortchanged Sally Kohn: GOP obstruction of Obamacare is closing hospitals Winter's First Blast Winter storm pushes up U.S. East Coast after deep-freeze in the South Icy weather turns fatal; more than 2,000 flights canceled Budget Battles Budget deal expected this week amounts to a cease-fire on debt as sides move to avert a standoff Budget negotiators also looking at gutting military pensions Greg Sargent: Sequester looks to be lifted, but unemployed likely to be left behind Kevin Drum: What is Deficit Mania Doing on the News Pages? Sen. Dick Durbin: No ultimatum on jobless benefits from Democrats Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013   91 world leaders, including Obama, head to South Africa to honor Mandela Large Mandela memorial set for Tuesday in Johannesburg Mandela, Self-Declared Yankee, Gets Plaque in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park Six Things Nelson Mandela Believed That Most People Won't Talk About Goldie Taylor: Who is marching in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela? E.J. Dionne: Nelson Mandela & the return of the working class hero Ta-Nehisi Coates: Newt Gingrich blasts conservatives' disgraceful response on Nelson Mandela & race Jonathan Chait: Why Conservatives Got Segregation Wrong a Second Time in South Africa Guns & America After Newtown, focus of U.S. gun control battle shifts to states New gun laws dividing North Carolina War on Women Oops: Republican Obamacare Amendment Expanded Abortion Access for GOP Staffers Steve Benen: A 'pathetic' spin on the war on women Ethics & The Media Fox News stonewalls the New York Times on Lewis' firing China's strong-arm tactics toward U.S. media merit a response Media Matters Al Jazeera America Now on Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks Writer Glenn Greenwald Vows To Return To U.S. After 'Exile' Nations In Turmoil Syrian troops seize strategic town Car bomb attacks across Iraq kill at least 39 Ukrainian protesters fell Lenin statue, tell Ukraine's president 'you're next' Riot police flood site of protests in Ukrainian capital Ukrainian police dismantle Kiev protest camps French troops push further into Central African Republic The War Over There Troops in Afghanistan Tell Hagel of Sequester Worries U.S. contractors & generals say they need millions more to complete Afghanistan's 'Pentagon' International News W.T.O. Reaches First Global Trade Deal U.S. Sec. of Defense Chuck Hagel to meet with Pakistan's prime minister Thai PM dissolves parliament, calls for new elections North Korea confirms purge of Kim Jong Un's uncle, describes 'anti-state' crimes National News Washington defies ice storm to salute five for Kenned Center honors Midwest Roundup In his final year, Nebraska's GOP governor will push income tax cut Iowa Supreme Court: Juvenile offenses can't be used to commit sexual predators  Left Out In The Cold As icy, wintery weather covers most of the U.S., Congress looks to be busy back in DC this week, getting ready to pass its own flurry - one made of last minute amendments and budget bargaining. Unfortunately, it looks as though Senator Rand Paul remains a perfect example of the modern Republican Party's ability to miss the true meaning of the season. Sen. Paul insisted this weekend at a speech in Detroit - a town decimated by the selfish excesses of Wall Street and sabotaged by the GOP - that unemployment benefits are a "disservice" to workers. That's a convenient, if not cold, position for a member of Congress who would prefer to see unemployment benefits for millions of Americans left out of the proposed Federal budget agreement. Indeed, Sen. Paul isn't alone among Republicans in Congress, or even among Republicans at the state level, in his zeal to hit poor Americans while they're already down. Nebraska's Republican governor, Dave Heineman, is also looking to act like a bad Santa, whacking the uninsured as a way to welcome in the new year. Heineman, already attempting to plow the way for right-wing extremists in 2014's political contests, is pushing for yet another income tax cut, and "prison reforms" that would shovel millions in public funds to private prison contractors. All this during Heineman's lame duck year, even while he continues to ignore the massive cost to citizens in his state of refusing the Medicaid expansion. Heineman's refusal to expand Medicaid for the poorest in his state might come off as just another standard Republican act of cruelty, if... To continue reading... click here. And now, for your Daily Felltoon preview for December 09, 2013 (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) Jobs & The Economy Confirmed: Economic drag from government policies is now fading Despite Friday's Positive Jobs Report, the Labor Market Remains Weak Study Confirms: Extended Unemployment Benefits Didn't Keep People From Taking Jobs State, local governments taking action on minimum wage, where Feds still won't Wall Street Watch Fed's Plan to Taper Stimulus Effort Is Now Not Expected Until 2014 Volcker Rule Could Give Banks Discretion In Market Making SIGTARP, the watchdog that proves that some bankers aren't too big to jail Josh Edelson: How the Republican Party and the big Wall Street banks sabotaged Detroit Economic Inequality Rand Paul: Unemployment Benefits Extension Would Be A 'Disservice' To Workers Paul Krugman: The Republicans' Punishment Cure For Unemployment | David Dayen: The great robbery of public employee pensions has begun, in Detroit And Illinois Who's the biggest barrier to income inequality? The '2 percent' Health Care Checkup Obamacare's real promise: if you lose your health-care plan, you can get a new one Amid Uproar Over the Health Law, Voices of Quiet Optimism and Relief Problem: An effective eye drug is available for $50. But many doctors choose a $2,000 alternative. Obamacare To Prevent Millions From Being Gouged By Hospitals The Spying Game Revealed: spy agencies' covert push to infiltrate virtual world of online games Major tech companies unite to call for new limits on surveillance Kevin Drum: Silicon Valley Takes On the NSA Agencies also collected data on Americans' cellphone use in thousands of 'tower dumps' Energy, Climate & Environment Study confirms: Arctic thaw tied to European, U.S. heatwaves and downpours | Largest Private-Sector Union In Canada Says 'No' To The Northern Gateway Pipeline Did You Miss It On Friday? Here It Is Again! Your HuskerNutz Preview for December 09, 2013 (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) White House Update President Obama defends Iran nuclear deal to pro-Israel audience TPP Watch: Obama Faces Backlash Over New Corporate Powers In Proposed International Trade Deal News From Capitol Hill Congress Readies a Year-End Dash on Budget, Other Fronts House GOPers' New Plan to Take Down Obama: Sue Him On The Left David Cay Johnston: As New York Proves, Billions of Tax Dollars Later, Tax Cuts Don't Equal Jobs Scott Bland: Guess Who's Funding the Republican Civil War? Unions & The Left On The Right Republicans tout campaign to blunt Obama's executive powers Perfect example of the Right's Problem: No soul-searching for Virginia GOP, even in spite of 2012 and 2013 losses States Of Confusion Vermont Approves Single-Payer Health Care: "Everybody In, Nobody Out" Satanists aim to build monument near Oklahoma capitol Sporting News Nebraska-Georgia, bowl rematch set for New Year's Day Nebraska volleyball heads to Sweet 16 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.