Happy Wednesday morning! Here’s a look at some of the stuff we’re reading over our coffee at Moyers & Company HQ…
Day eight…
- There’s a growing chorus of conservatives who say that breaching the debt limit won’t be that bad, reports Jonathan Weisman for The New York Times.
- In the WaPo, Harold Meyerson wonders where these GOP moderates we keep hearing about are.
- Paul Ryan writes an op-ed in the WSJ calling for a “grand bargain” to end the impasse, but doesn’t call it such. He manages to squeeze in most of the Republican agenda, offers no new tax revenues.
- Erik Erickson notices that Ryan doesn’t once mention Obamacare (what’s this about again?). Calls for a debt limit hike that would get the country through Christmas in order to keep the fight on the shutdown.
- TNR’s Noam Scheiber says a short-term debt hike is a trap to get Dems to negotiate.
- Neil Irwin looks at the first signs of serious trouble in the debt markets over at Wonkblog.
- If the shutdown grinds on until late in the month, veterans won’t get disability benefits, reports Kevin Freking for the AP.
- MoJo’s Asawin Suebsaeng looks at “the six dumbest shutdown myths.”
- On a lighter note, if you missed this viral gem, check out “Applying government shutdown logic to the baseball playoffs.”
In other news…
Latest fad in voter suppression –> Two-tiered system of voting rights unveiled in Arizona and Kansas, reports Erick Lach for TPM.
The thaw continues –> Jay Solomon reports for the WSJ that Iran is readying an offer to limit its nuclear program.
Radioactive stupidity –> At Salon, Lindsay Abrams says nobody at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has any clue what they’re doing.
Working on the price side –> For all the “glitches” we hear about, an analysis by Peter Gosselin at Bloomberg Government finds competition in the Obamacare exchanges is pushing rates down significantly.
Cuffed –> Eight legislators were arrested at a big immigration reform rally in DC yesterday, reports Seung Min Kim for Politico.
Plutocracy win? –> At TAP, Scott Lemieux predicts a big win for the 1% when the Supreme Court rules in McCutcheon v FEC.
Sad trombone –> That ‘truckers are gonna shut down the Beltway’ story we mentioned? Not gonna happen, according to WaPo’s Lori Aratani.
Cut off –> US leaning toward withholding military aid from Egypt in light of the latest bloody crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood protesters, reports Reuters.
As funny as shooting a buddy in the face –>Buzzfeed’s Ben Smith reports that waterboarding was the subject of many hilarious jokes at a roast for Dick Cheney last night.
Speaking of laughs –> Jon Stewart talks to a real hostage negotiator about the standoff in DC.
What are we missing? Tell us in the comments…
