memeorandum: Star Wars lightsabers finally invented (Ben Child/Guardian)

5:10 PM ET, September 30, 2013

Top Items:

Paul Steinhauser / CNN:

Poll: Shutdown would be GOP's fault — 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.

NationalJournal.com:

State of Play: Republicans Getting Wobbly on a Government Shutdown — The most important updates on the brewing government shutdown. — The government will shut down at midnight unless Democrats and Republicans reach a budget deal to keep it open, but with just hours to go, the two sides remain very far apart.

Discussion: TIME, Roll Call, Washington Post, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Wonkblog, American Spectator, Taegan Goddard's …, Yahoo! News and Heritage Action for America

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Senate rejects House funding bill with shutdown in clear sight — Congress took another step toward a government shutdown Monday as the Senate voted 54-46 to strip language from a House funding bill that delayed ObamaCare by a year. [WATCH VIDEO] — Senate Democrats called on House Republicans …

Discussion: CNN, Outside the Beltway and The Other McCain

Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:

Countdown to Shutdown — Think 1996 was bad for the GOP? This time will be much, much worse — The year 1996, the last time the GOP took its toys and went home rather than fund the government, hasn't loomed so large in Washington since it actually was 1996.

Discussion: The Week, Washington Times, The Dish, Balloon Juice and The Hugh Hewitt Show

Politico:

Government shutdown: House GOP leaders huddle — House Speaker John Boehner and his leadership team will meet twice Monday morning, as House Republicans mull how - and if - they will avoid a government shutdown. — The Senate is expected to reject House-passed legislation that would keep …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway and Connecting.the.Dots

ThinkProgress:

49 Republicans Who Say Shutting Down The Government Over Obamacare Is A Big Mistake — The government may very well shut down on Tuesday, thanks to a set of Republicans who refuse to pass any legislation to continue funding it unless the law also defunds or delays Obamacare.

Discussion: Press & Sun-Bulletin, Salt Lake Tribune, PolicyMic, Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post and The Hinterland Gazette

Avik Roy / Forbes:

New Poll: Only One-Third Of Americans Support Repealing, Defunding Or Delaying Obamacare — Polls consistently show that Americans aren't happy with Obamacare. They think the law will make health care more expensive, and decrease its quality. But a new survey of 1,976 registered voters finds …

Discussion: CNN, Hot Air, PoliticusUSA, Los Angeles Times, PolicyMic and The Morning Consult

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

John Boehner doesn't have to let the Tea Party paralyze whole government — The New York Times reports this morning that GOP Rep. Charlie Dent, a moderate from Pennsylvania, is working to round up House GOP support for allowing a “clean CR” funding the government, with no Obamacare defunding, to get a vote in the House.

Discussion: ABC News, ABC News, PostPartisan, Daily Kos, Democratic Policy & … and National Review

Robert Stacy McCain / American Spectator:
Extremely Extreme Extremists

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
Shutdown showdown hits brink as Senate kills House spending bill

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative and Weekly Standard

Bloomberg:
Republicans' Shutdown Fight Exposes Simmering Civil War

Discussion: CANNONFIRE and Taylor Marsh

Robert Costa / National Review:
The Speaker's Slog

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill, The Plum Line, The Raw Story and Taegan Goddard's …

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
The Associated Press Goes to Bat For the Democratic Party

Discussion: neo-neocon, Associated Press, The Lonely Conservative, The Strata-Sphere, Prairie Weather and VodkaPundit

Ashley Parker / New York Times:
Senate Rejects House's Terms on Budget With Shutdown Near

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Taking Note, The Hinterland Gazette and Shakesville

Gary Langer / ABC News:
Disapproval on Budget Debate Puts the GOP at Greater Risk

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Tal Kopan / Politico:
Dow drops amid government shutdown fears

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Hill and CNN

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Obama ‘not resigned’ to shutdown

Discussion: Politico

New York Times:
Senate Action on Health Law Moves to Brink of Shutdown

Discussion: Slate, Business Insider, The Other McCain, The Week, Wall Street Journal, The Reaction, First Read, The Hugh Hewitt Show, msnbc.com, The World's Greatest …, The Blotter, Politico and NBCNews

Reuters:
Government shutdown: Harry Reid spearheads Democratic strategy

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, Politico, The Daily Caller, BizPac Review, Hot Air, WJLA-TV, National Review, Right Wing News and Pat Dollard

Washington Post:
Senate rejects House amendments to spending bill as shutdown looms

Discussion: The Hill, The Plum Line, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, The Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Wonkblog, The Daily Caller, GigaOM, Los Angeles Times, Post Politics, THEROOT.COM, Gawker, Daniel W. Drezner and Washington Wire

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:
POLL: Voters Are ‘Unmoved’ By Government Shutdown Drama, Still Don't Want To Delay Obamacare

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Wall Street Journal:
Government Heads Toward Shutdown

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, The Week, Daily Record, Washington Post, Taegan Goddard's …, Washington Wire and Speaker.gov

Politico:
Government shutdown update: Mitch McConnell weighs one-week CR

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Charles Ferguson / The Huffington Post:

Why I Am Cancelling My Documentary on Hillary Clinton — In late 2012, CNN Films approached me about directing a documentary. We discussed a number of potential subjects, and eventually settled on Hillary Rodham Clinton. The film would be ambitious, controversial, and highly visible.

Dylan Byers / Politico:
CNN Films cancels Hillary Clinton doc, director cites pressure from Clinton aides

Discussion: Deadline.com, Talking Points Memo, The Right Scoop and National Review

Guardian:
CNN's Hillary Clinton film scrapped as director blames lack of co-operation

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Rush Limbaugh

Jack Mirkinson / The Huffington Post:
CNN's Hillary Clinton Movie Has Been Canceled, Director Says

Discussion: Spectator, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, National Review and WND, more at Mediagazer »

Brian Beutler / Salon:

Right-wing extremists “are guilty of murder,” Sen. Angus King tells Salon — In an interview with Salon, Independent senator unloads on conservatives who urge young people to remain uninsured — Tuesday begins a 6-month race to enroll as many uninsured people as possible in the Affordable Care Act's insurance exchanges.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, The Raw Story, The Daily Caller, The PJ Tatler and National Review

New York Times:

Qaeda Plot Leak Has Undermined U.S. Intelligence — WASHINGTON — As the nation's spy agencies assess the fallout from disclosures about their surveillance programs, some government analysts and senior officials have made a startling finding: the impact of a leaked terrorist plot by Al Qaeda …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, emptywheel, JustOneMinute, The Jawa Report, americanthinker.com, Prairie Weather, Hot Air, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, NPR, Hullabaloo and VodkaPundit, more at Mediagazer »

Cecile Richards / Politico:

The House's war on women — The full picture of what the House of Representatives did late Saturday night is just coming into view, and it's startling. The House voted to keep the government functioning as long as the Affordable Care Act is delayed for a year — and they also voted …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, ABC News, CNN, ABC News, theGrio and LifeNews.com

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Republican Senator Denounces House GOP's Obamacare Strategy

Discussion: Booman Tribune, The Moderate Voice and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Eric Garland / The Hill:
GOP Rep. Pompeo: I'll try to enroll in ObamaCare exchange

Discussion: Politico

Bill Keller / New York Times:

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 …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Washington Monthly, The Raw Story, The Mahablog and alicublog

NY Daily News:

'Because you're black': Framboise Patisserie in Middle Village, Queens, hit with $25,000 in fines, penalties in discrimination case — 'I can't hire you because you're black,' Jamilah DaCosta, 25, said she was told when she tried to get a job at the bakery.

Discussion: The Raw Story, ThinkProgress and Jezebel

Jeryl Bier / Weekly Standard:

Most Popular Question at Healthcare.gov: How to Get Exemption From Lack-of-Coverage Penalty Fee? — One day away from the launch of the Obamacare marketplaces, the question most on the minds people visiting the Healthcare.gov website is not about coverage, but rather about avoiding the penalty, or tax, for not having health insurance.

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers and Conservatives4Palin

Ben Child / Guardian:

Star Wars lightsabers finally invented — Scientists in America have ‘accidentally’ found a way forward to the creation of real-life weapons as used by Jedi Knights — • Star Wars pet clothing range has puppies feeling the force — Wannabe Jedi Knights rejoice …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys