Holding Firm  —  The same question keeps popping up: why doesn't Speaker John Boehner just pass a “clean” continuing resolution to fund the government?  It's a ubiquitous query at the Capitol, and it was asked many times this afternoon as House Republicans left their closed-door conference meeting.

With Traditional GOP Allies Defecting, Big Business Takes Sides With Obama  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Having failed to persuade their traditional Republican allies in Congress to avert a government shutdown, business leaders fear bigger problems ahead, and they're taking sides …

Rand Paul: ‘Goons’ blocked WWII Memorial  —  Sen. Rand Paul blasted the federal government for trying to block World War II vets from visiting their memorial, saying “some idiot in government sent goons out there to set up barricades.”  —  “If Harry Reid and the President want to keep the parks closed …

Business leaders dread debt-limit battle  —  The Treasury Department estimates the government will exhaust its borrowing capacity by Oct. 17, which is just three weeks away.  —  Lobbyists have been pushing Congress to raise the debt ceiling without drama or delay, but say the chances …

America flirts with self-destruction  —  The fallout of a US government default, particularly one that lasts, is beyond prediction  —  Is the US a functioning democracy?  This week legislators decided to shut down a swath of the federal government rather than allow an enacted health law go into operation at the agreed moment.

House votes down GOP's piecemeal spending bills  —  The House on Tuesday night rejected three appropriations resolutions that would have funded the District of Columbia, veterans programs and national parks, after House Republicans set them up in a way that required Democratic support for passage.

Rick Perry: Implementing Obamacare “a Criminal Act”  —  HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, N.J. — In a campaign appearance Tuesday on behalf of New Jersey Republican Senate nominee Steve Lonegan, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said the government's implementation of the national health care reform law constituted “a criminal act.”

Jellyfish Invasion Paralyzes Swedish Reactor  —  In an episode that evokes B-grade sci-fi movie plots from the 1950s, but actually reflects a continuing global problem, nuclear engineers in southeastern Sweden have been wrestling with a giant swarm of jellyfish that forced the shutdown of the world's largest boiling-water reactor.

Americans Think GOP's Top Priority Is Troublemaking  —  The United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll finds few people see job creation as either party's priority.  —  The confrontations looming this month over funding the federal government and raising the public debt …

Shutdown coverage fails Americans … U.S. news reports are largely blaming the government shutdown on the inability of both political parties to come to terms.  It is supposedly the result of a “bitterly divided” Congress that “failed to reach agreement” (Washington Post) or …