Republicans toss insults at Harry Reid  —  Washington's shutdown blame game is already in full force - and the government isn't even closed yet.  —  About 20 House Republicans gathered on the steps of the United States Senate on Sunday afternoon, a time usually reserved in the city for watching the Redskins.

Key players in the shutdown debate  —  Washington (CNN) — If the federal government shuts down starting Tuesday because of a bitter partisan battle over the new health care law, more people say congressional Republicans rather than President Barack Obama would be responsible, according to a new national survey.

STATES OF HEALTH  —  Ours can be an unforgiving country.  Paul Sullivan was in his fifties, college-educated, and ran a successful small business in the Houston area.  He owned a house and three cars.  Then the local economy fell apart.  Business dried up.

Top MIT scientist: Newest UN climate report is ‘hilariously’ flawed  —  Not all scientists are panicking about global warming — one of them finds the alarmism “hilarious.”  —  A top climate scientist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology lambasted a new report by the UN's climate bureaucracy …

The Right Gets Its '60s  —  “Something's happening here.  —  What it is ain't exactly clear.  The right-wing campaign to sabotage the Affordable Care Act has driven a lot of normally temperate people past the edge of exasperation.  Pundits have described the crusade as crazy, stupid …

House Republican Hostage-Takers Are Unfit to Govern  —  They're threatening an economic shutdown that will cause financial hardship and even ruin for millions of Americans.  So let's call these House Republicans what they are, says Jon Favreau.  —  The most terrifying speech I ever wrote for President Obama was one he never gave.

Justice Department Poised to File Lawsuit Over Voter ID Law  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is expected to sue North Carolina on Monday over its restrictive new voting law, further escalating the Obama administration's efforts to restore a stronger federal role in protecting minority voters …

Lawyers Olson and Boies want Virginia as same-sex marriage test case  —  The legal team that overturned California's ban on same-sex marriage is targeting Virginia to launch another challenge aimed at convincing the Supreme Court that gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry no matter where they live.

The frauds on the Hill target Obama  —  Who are these people?  Of what are they made that they can say and do such things on the floor of Congress?  —  No nonsense is too great, no act too low.  —  House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) leaves the floor of the House in the wee hours of Sunday morning …

The JP Morgan apologists of CNBC  —  I don't know which producer at CNBC had the genius idea of asking Alex Pareene on to discuss Jamie Dimon with Dimon's biggest cheerleaders, but the result was truly great television.  What's more, as Kevin Roose says, it illustrates “the divide between …

Jeanne Shaheen raises cash plea off Scott Brown threat  —  Scott Brown will appear at another GOP function in New Hampshire Monday night, continuing to fan flames that he might move there to run for Senate in 2014 even though the likelihood of that happening looks increasingly remote.

Texas First Lady Calls Abortion 'A Woman's Right'  —  Texas first lady Anita Perry told an interviewer on Saturday that she thinks abortion is “a woman's right.”  —  Perry's husband, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), has helped push through a slew of laws restricting and eroding access to abortion in the state.