Good morning! Here are some of the pieces we’ve been reading on this fine Wednesday morning…
Shutdown…
- The whole world is a bit confused about what’s going on in the US, reports Anthony Zurcher for the BBC.
- Over at The Washington Post’s Plumline, Greg Sargent reminds us that there were deep misgivings about a shutdown within the GOP and wonders whether they are looking for a way out.
- According to Tom Kludt at Talking Points Memo, the shutdown has already hurt Republicans badly. But Sean Trende writes at Real Clear Politics that history doesn’t suggest there will be much backlash.
- Ezra Klein interviews NRO’s Robert Costa, who’s been covering the GOP’s internal wrangling throughout.
- Dems think a drawn out shutdown gives them more leverage in the coming debt ceiling fight, reports Alexander Bolton for The Hill.
- They go there: Alan Grayson says Republicans were drinking on the job Monday night, and Joan Walsh argues there’s a racial component at play.
- Hyundai will defer car payments for furloughed federal employees until they get paid again, reports the BBC.
- Don’t miss our Essential Reader on the shutdown/debt limit fight.
Exchanges go online…
- Sarah Kliff and her colleagues at The Washington Post have a rundown of what happened yesterday as the ACA’s exchanges went live. Short version: lots of interest; some glitches.
- At Kaiser Health News, Jenny Gold and Sarah Varney look at very different pictures of Obamacare’s rollout in California and Virginia.
- At Balloon Juice, Richard Mayhew, who works for a health insurer, says that the first-day traffic numbers were a really good sign.
- The New Republic’s Alec MacGillis calls foul on people who did everything they could to sabotage the law complaining about its glitches.
- And at Mother Jones, Stephanie Mencimer looks at how companies are trying to use Citizens United to get out of covering contraception.
Ideological threat –> At Salon, Thomas Frank argues that because people like public services, the right has given up on a frontal assault on government and doubled down on obstructing it.
The economy is awful –> Donna Brazile debunks foodstamp myths at CNN.
SCOTUS –> Supreme Court will review eight cases in the next session, and SCOTUSBlog’s Lyle Denniston runs them down.
Govsplaining –> Rick Perry explains what his wife Anita really thinks about abortion days after she told a reporter it was a woman’s right.
Solar cells don’t blow up –> Military investing in renewable energy sources that don’t explode, reports Ehren Goossens for Bloomberg.
Big boom –> Scientists think they’ve figured out which megavolcano erupted in the 13th century, setting off what’s known as the “little ice age.” Science Magazine has the tale.
What are you reading this morning? Tell us in the comments!
