From Bachmann, a persuasive case for why many Republicans don't fear a shutdown  —  Why have House Republicans pursued their effort to defund, and now to delay, Obamacare so relentlessly, even though they have almost zero chance of success in the face of a rapidly-approaching deadline for shutting down the government?

GOP adds ‘conscience clause’ to spending bill  —  Washington (CNN) - House Republicans have added a measure aimed at limiting contraceptive coverage to the spending bill coming up for a vote Saturday night, a spokesman for Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kansas, told CNN.  —  A senior House leadership aide confirmed that development.

Children and Guns: The Hidden Toll  —  The .45-caliber pistol that killed Lucas Heagren, 3, on Memorial Day last year at his Ohio home had been temporarily hidden under the couch by his father.  But Lucas found it and shot himself through the right eye.  “It's bad,” his mother told the 911 dispatcher.

Five Things Former President Clinton Took Away From the 2008 President Election  —  During an interview with ABC News, former President Bill Clinton was asked by “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos about the biggest lesson he learned from the 2008 presidential campaign, in which his wife …

As government shutdown looms, Obamacare exchanges still set for launch  —  It's looking more and more like Tuesday will be a split-screen day: The government will shut down, and Obamacare will open for business.  —  That's going to annoy a lot of Republicans —because the ones who are pushing …

Federal workers demanding back pay if government closes  —  Federal worker unions are lobbying lawmakers for back pay in the event of a government shutdown.  —  They say government employees have suffered enough under the cutbacks from sequestration, and are putting pressure on President Obama …

11 Pieces of Obamacare Conventional Wisdom That Shouldn't Be So Conventional  —  As we approach the Great Unveiling next week, you're going to see a lot of these talking points repeated as if they're facts.  Most of them aren't dead wrong — they could be true.

The Fed has become a creature of politics  —  Because Ben Bernanke's public persona is as mild as milk, the transformation in American governance in which he has participated is imperfectly understood and hence insufficiently deplored.  The change is dramatized by two recent developments.