Republican Party Favorability Sinks to Record Low  —  Falls 10 percentage points from September's 38%  —  This article is part of an ongoing series analyzing how the government shutdown and the debate over raising the debt ceiling are affecting Americans' views of government, government leaders …

Eleanor Holmes Norton confronts Obama on D.C. budget bill  —  Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) had what some colleagues called “a heated exchange” and what she described as “a conversation” with President Obama during a White House meeting Wednesday afternoon regarding the District's budget constraints …

Ted Cruz poll shows GOP gained in fight over Obamacare despite shutdown  —  BARACK OBAMA OBAMACARE REPUBLICAN PARTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY POLLS TED CRUZ PENNAVE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN  —  Sen. Ted Cruz during a closed-door lunch on Wednesday argued to his Republican colleagues that the campaign …

Wolf Blitzer: White House Should Take GOP ‘Advice,’ Delay Obamacare Website  —  Wolf Blitzer said on CNN Wednesday that the Obama administration should have listened to Republicans and delayed the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.  —  “If they had three years to get this ready …

Kochs to Congress: Focus on spending, not Obamacare  —  In a move that highlights a growing rift in conservative ranks, Koch Industries — the privately held energy conglomerate owned by billionaires Charles and David Koch — today distanced the firm from allied political groups lobbying …

First Thoughts: The beginning of the end?  —  The beginning of the end?  Paul Ryan op-ed appears to be an olive branch and a way out of the budget stalemate... But can conservatives accept that potential end (which has no Obamacare changes?)...  Cantor's bad cop to Ryan's good cop? …

Press Release - First Letter from Julian Assange to Benedict Cumberbatch Over The Fifth Estate  —  Today WikiLeaks publishes the first letter from Julian Assange to Benedict Cumberbatch regarding “The Fifth Estate”, a Dreamworks movie about WikiLeaks set to open in the UK on Friday 11 Oct …

Bachmann: Obama ‘Committed Impeachable Offenses,’ Wants To Be A Dictator  —  Speaking with conservative talk show host Rusty Humphries on a conference call sponsored by TheTeaParty.net yesterday, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota suggested that the House hold hearings on impeaching the president.

Chelsea Manning statement: 'I don't consider myself anti-war or a conscientious objector'  —  US soldier convicted over WikiLeaks disclosures says she did not leak the documents because she was explicitly motivated by pacifism

Ohio's GOP Governor May Adopt Obamacare Via Executive Order  —  Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) is considering accepting Obamacare's Medicaid expansion in his state via executive order, his office confirmed to TPM, after the state legislature stymied his efforts earlier this year.

White House, IRS exchanged confidential taxpayer info  —  Top Internal Revenue Service Obamacare official Sarah Hall Ingram discussed confidential taxpayer information with senior Obama White House officials, according to 2012 emails obtained by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and provided to The Daily Caller.

You're still legally dead, judge tells Fostoria man  —  Donald Eugene Miller Jr. walked out of Hancock County Probate Court on Monday as legally dead as ever.  —  In 1994, the court ruled that Miller was legally dead, eight years after he disappeared from his Arcadia rental home.

Suicide of the Right  —  Every piece of evidence we have so far on the government shutdown shows the public is blaming Republicans most of all for the standoff.  On Monday, an ABC poll showed 71 percent fault the GOP; 61 percent fault Congressional Democrats; 51 percent fault President Obama.

The Supreme Court clamors to protect the right of Richie Rich, Scrooge McDuck, and the Koch brothers to further corrupt American politics.  —  Sing in me, Money, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of earning, the jobs-provider, harried for years on end …

Unpaid Intern Is Ruled Not an ‘Employee,’ Not Protected From Sexual Harassment  —  There's plenty for unpaid interns to complain about—mainly, the lack of money—but apparently it gets worse.  Because they're not paid and don't receive remuneration such as pension and life insurance …

Is the Shutdown Creating a Dystopic Political Future?  —  Let's cast our minds forward a few weeks, to after the shutdown/default crisis is over.  At that point, the 2014 off-year elections will be only a year away.  And what will the lasting effect of this episode be?  Maybe not all that much.

Sarah Lacy Writes Every Female-Penned Defense of Gender Inequality Ever  —  As reported here earlier, there is a kerfuffle over the revelation that Twitter's board, investors, and almost all of its executives are male.  This is playing out by the book: The initial criticisms, the defensive retorts, the anger at the defensive retorts.

Waterboarding Is A Big Joke At Cheney Roast  —  A sentimental evening at the Plaza for Cheney, Rumsfeld, Mukasey, and Lieberman.  “Really tasteless,” says a guest.  —  The cover of the program at the Oct. 7 “Roast of Dick Cheney.”  —  Dick Cheney is ready to laugh about waterboarding.