Monday, February 10, 2014    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. The Meat Of The Farm Bill   President Obama signs the farm bill at Michigan State appearance Republicans skip Obama farm bill signing Brad Plumer: The $956 billion farm bill, in one graph Brad Plumer: Why so many people hate the Farm & Food bill, both on and off Capitol Hill David Dayen: New Farm Bill Still Gives Piles of Cash to Agribusiness. It's Just Sneakier About It. Ned Resnikoff: Congress passes $8.7 billion food stamp cut - and a Farm & Food Bill NYTimes: The Farm Bill Could Have Been Worse Lisa Desjardins: The five things the farm bill will mean for you Immigration: Reform Coming?   Benjy Sarlin: Immigration activists fear House GOP is backing off reform Beutler: The GOP's pathetic new excuse - Trying to blame Obama for killing immigration reform Dem. Sen. Chuck Schumer floats 2017 start for immigration plan Cohn: Schumer Calls Boehner's Bluff on Immigration Reform Sahil Kapur: Boehner Is Trapped In An Immigration Nightmare With No End In Sight Greg Sargent: For Republicans, it's now or never on immigration reform Colin Powell to the GOP on immigration reform: "If not now, when?" Francis Wilkinson: The End of the Immigration Debate, For Everyone Except Congress Hitting The Ceiling   Three Things To Know About The Looming Debt Ceiling Showdown With the clock ticking, Republicans in Congress seek a solution to raising debt limit, but not a fight Elahe Izadi: Why Some Conservatives Are Done Fighting Over the Debt Ceiling Suzy Khimm: The Congressional Republican's debt-ceiling farce Pity The Rich   Crybabies of the 1 percent: Spoiled rich kids, Tom Perkins and the real affluenza Billionaire Corporatist Sam Zell's Detached World View: 'The 1% Just Work Harder' AOL CEO reverses changes to its 401(k) policy after blaming sick babies for his company's problems Deanna Fei: My Baby, Our Insurance, and AOL's Bottom Line Energy, Climate & Environment California's Drought Could Be the Worst in 500 Years U.S. Utilities Tighten Security After Attack Last April Nations In Turmoil U.N.-brokered Syrian peace talks resume in Geneva today In Syria, aid workers dodge mortar shells, gunfire, to deliver food to Homs Temporary Break in Siege Is Little Relief to Syrian City of Homs The War Over There Afghan soldiers desperate for pact with U.S., criticize President Karzai for delay International News Swiss Voters Narrowly Approve Curbs on Immigration Iran moves to cooperate in U.N. nuclear bomb probe Eleven dead in Japan after worst snowfall in decades hits capital Olympics 2014 The 2014 Sochi Opening Ceremonies Recap: The Winter Olympics of our Discontent Meet 18 Sochi Athletes Whose Struggles (and Style) Will Make You Stand Up and Cheer Despite anti-LGBT laws, it's business as usual in Sochi's Club Mayak gay bar Charts: The Most Ridiculously Expensive Olympics Ever National Politics Why Now Is the Time to Reform How America Elects the President Lydia DePillis: Why Volkswagen is helping a union organize its own plant Midwest Roundup Neb. Atty Gen Jon Bruning enters governor race as top-tier candidate Small Nebraska town's do-over on illegal immigration drawing voters Iowa Gov. Branstad says he won't fire Iowa DHS chief in wake of Toledo juvenile home scandal Dubuque and Council Bluffs officials seek end to greyhound racing Red Meat & Reticence Even as the Olympics began ramping up last week, that big event pushed other stories out of the headlines, much like the daylong correction and apologies of many media organizations surrounding the right-wing lies about the CBO report on Obamacare. In all the distractions, much of the greater media also missed key stories about immigration and the farm bill that came down last week. Greg Sargent, as he often does, had a fantastic roundup Friday of the issues surrounding immigration reform - and we highly recommend you read his work on the subject, and all the pieces he recommended as well. The Farm & Food bill that President Obama signed into law on Friday received no similar wide-angle roundup from anyone - sadly, not a surprise in today's media environment. So we rounded up some of the best explanations about the bill, that's now law. Brad Plumer summarized the bill in a great chart two weeks ago, making it instantly clear where the $956 billion in funding went. As Plumer also noted last week, many people - both inside and outside of Congress - hated the bill. David Dayen made brutally clear that the Farm & Food bill once again gave wads of cash to agribusness. Congress just gave the money away in a sneakier way. Meanwhile, the "compromise" on food stamps wasn't really a compromise at all. As Ned Resnikoff made clear, Congress didn't compromise between raising or lowering the amount of help poor Americans would get on food issues. The only "compromise" members of Congress made was in how much they pandered to the extremists on the right and to big ag - and how badly they were going to screw over the poor... To continue reading... click here. And now, for your Daily Felltoon preview for February 10, 2014 (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) Jobs & The Economy No surprise: "Research" produced against minimum wage hike turns out to be bought by anti-worker group Kevin Drum: Missing Jobs & The Madness of Austerity Paul Krugman: The Right Is Wrong In Writing Off the Unemployed Wall Street Watch Robert Reich: Why the Lousy January Jobs Report Boosted Wall Street January Jobs Report Won't Likely Change Federal Reserve's Policy Path on Taper Pete Kasperowicz: Janet Yellen, meet the House of Representatives Health Care Checkup Jonathan Gruber: CBO Report Confirms - Obamacare's a net gain for the economy End of Job Lock: They quit their jobs, thanks to Obamacare Brian Beutler: On Obamacare, Conservatives Are About To Be Hoisted By Their Own Petard Sokolow: Why the future of health care may rest with "The Daily Show" Equality in America Justice Department to give married same-sex couples sweeping equal protection Same-sex marriage: New protections show how Obama's position 'evolved' Michael Sam, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, announces he is gay, may be first openly gay player in NFL Ta-Nehisi Coates: The NFL Will Never Be 'Ready' for an Openly Gay Player The Spying Game Snowden Used Low-Cost Tool to Best N.S.A. | Bloomberg: How U.S. Spying Is Killing Free Trade Communications Breakdown Target's recent breach could represent leading edge of wave of serious cybercrime Industry and Congress Await the F.C.C. Chairman's Next Moves on Internet Rules Media Matters Former Editor In Chief Bill Keller leaving New York Times to head nonprofit media outlet Time Inc. lays off workers as boss rakes in $1.4 million signing bonus Did You Miss It On Friday? Here It Is Again! Your HuskerNutz Preview for February 10, 2014 (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) White House Update French president Hollande & Pres. Obama to visit Monticello today Barack Obama and Francois Hollande Push For Climate Change Agreement News From Capitol Hill Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid again eyes Senate rulebook Lawmakers In Congress Pressing N.F.L. on Name Change for Redskins On The Left Greg Sargent: A Democratic ad that hits back on Obamacare Obama The Mentor: In meetings with young black men, President tries to leave a mark Wall Street's Hot New Financial Product: Your Rent Check North Carolina's Moral Monday Movement Kicks Off 2014 With a Massive Rally in Raleigh On The Right Some in GOP Try to Foil Insurgent Extremists at Primary Level Steve Benen: Where the GOP is now - When tribalism takes over Brad Friedman: R.I.P. Republican Credibility - Why the GOP is no longer a legitimate entity that deserves to be taken seriously Michael Tomasky: The Abusive Right And The Enabling Establishment States Of Confusion N.Carolina: Authorities say river has elevated arsenic from coal ash spill Despite Not Using Water, West Virginians Say Water Bills Have Spiked Since Chemical Spill Money in Politics Republicans seek access to Romney's money machine for '14 & '16 races Key Democratic Fundraising Group Will Sit Out 2014 Elections 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.