memeorandum: Millions on food stamps facing benefits cuts (Alain Sherter/CBS News)

8:10 PM ET, October 31, 2013

Top Items:

Ryan Lizza / News Desk:

Obamacare's Three Per Cent — While President Obama was in Boston on Wednesday to deliver a speech at Faneuil Hall, he was also scheduled to attend a private meeting with friends and supporters. One of the well-wishers in attendance was Jonathan Gruber, an M.I.T. economist and an architect …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Health Care Policy …, BREITBART.COM, Business Insider, BillMoyers.com, The Plum Line, Hot Air, The Dish and ABC News

Avik Roy / Forbes:

Obama Officials In 2010: 93 Million Americans Will Be Unable To Keep Their Health Plans Under Obamacare — On Wednesday, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius testified before Congress about the continuing issues with the rollout of Obamacare's health insurance exchanges.

Igor Bobic / Talking Points Memo:

CHART: ‘Winners And Losers From Obamacare’ — University of Michigan professor and senior Brookings fellow Justin Wolfers on Thursday created a chart depicting the “winners and losers” under the Affordable Care Act, sourced to a Ryan Lizza article that used estimates from M.I.T. economist Jon Gruber, a former adviser to Mitt Romney.

Discussion: Liberaland and Washington Monthly

ThinkProgress:

How To Spot A Fake Obamacare Horror Story — Since insurers have begun informing beneficiaries that their health care plans do not meet the new federal requirements of Obamacare, and will be either cancelled or significantly altered, the media has profiled countless middle class Americans …

Discussion: Liberaland, The Week and Washington Monthly

David Firestone / Taking Note:
The Uproar Over Insurance ‘Cancellation’ Letters

Discussion: The Impolitic, The Raw Story and Right Wing News

The Hill:
Top Dems made same promises

Discussion: Hot Air

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Pelosi pushes back hard on dropped plans

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller, americanthinker.com and The Lonely Conservative

David Corn / Mother Jones:

WATCH: Ted Cruz's Dad Calls US a “Christian Nation,” Says Obama Should Go “Back to Kenya” — Want to understand where the tea party champion's hardcore views come from? Meet his father, Rafael. — In April, Rafael Cruz, the father of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), spoke to the tea party of Hood County …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico, dallasmorningviewsblog …, Trail Blazers Blog, The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, The Raw Story, Taylor Marsh, CNN, Mediaite, theGrio, The Lead with Jake Tapper, PoliticusUSA and Mock Paper Scissors, more at Mediagazer »

DSWright / Firedoglake:
Ted Cruz's Father Tells Obama to “Go Back to Kenya”

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Rebecca Shabad / The Hill:
Reid: Cruz nomination would destroy GOP

Discussion: Sabato's Crystal Ball, Daily Kos, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, CNN, Connecting.the.Dots, Politico, Taegan Goddard's … and First Read

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Ted Cruz's Dad: I'd Like To See Obama Go ‘Back To Kenya’ (VIDEO)

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Pat Dollard

ThinkProgress:

BREAKING: Senate Republicans Block Vote On Key Judicial Candidate, Daring Dems To Go Nuclear — Senate Republicans voted to hold up a key federal appeals court nominee Thursday, daring Senate Democrats to invoke what is known as the nuclear option and change the Senate rules with a simple majority vote.

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Liberaland

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
GOP Threatens Mass Blockade Of Obama's Top Judges

Discussion: American Prospect, The Impolitic, Daily Kos, PoliticusUSA, Mock Paper Scissors, National Review and Mother Jones

Paul Sherman / Forbes:
Will The U.S. Supreme Court Defend Free Speech For The Little Guy?

Discussion: Hit & Run and SCOTUSblog

Irin Carmon / msnbc.com:

'I'm showing my son mercy' — On their last night in Dallas, the ramen noodles and microwave popcorn were finished. The money for the motel had run out too. So on a hot August night Jessica and Erick Davis and their three young kids slept in the Mazda rented for the trip.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, The Plum Line, NewsBusters blogs and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Hillary Clinton: I'm ‘minded to do it’ — Hillary Clinton, the subject of intense 2016 speculation, recently said abroad that she is “minded to do it,” according to a Scottish newspaper. — “Again, Mrs Clinton politely gave a neutral answer,” Scottish outlet The Herald reported last week …

Discussion: TIME

Peter Nicholas / Washington Wire:
Hillary Clinton's Ratings Slip in New WSJ/NBC Poll

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Politico

Ezra Klein / Businessweek:

How the iPod President Crashed: Obama's Broken Technology Promise — In the 2008 election, President Obama's advisers talked of their boss's belief that it was time for an “iPod government.” Obama, a technology addict who tools around on his iPad before going to sleep and who fought …

Discussion: TheBlaze.com, Yahoo! News and Business Insider

US News:

Top Hospitals Opt Out of Obamacare — Americans who sign up for insurance on the state exchanges may not have access to the nation's top hospitals, Watchdog.org reports. — The Obama Administration has been claiming that insurance companies will be competing for your dollars under the Affordable Care Act …

Discussion: Hot Air, National Review, Weasel Zippers, The Right Scoop and Reuters

Sharyl Attkisson / CBS News:

Obamacare enrollments got off to very slow start, documents show — (CBS News) WASHINGTON - For 31 days now, the Obama administration has been telling us that Americans by the millions are visiting the new health insurance website, despite all its problems.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Hot Air, Conservative Intelligence … and Twitchy

Kristie Greco / FAA:

Press Release - FAA to Allow Airlines to Expand Use of Personal Electronics — For Immediate Release — WASHINGTON- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Huerta today announced that the FAA has determined that airlines …

Discussion: NBCNews, TIME, New York Times, Business Insider, Taking Note, Outside the Beltway, White House.gov Blog, iDownloadBlog.com, The Week, Wonkblog, The Switch, Gawker, Mashable, TechCrunch, GeekWire, CBS DC, Guardian and AllThingsD

Townhall.com:

Debunking the Debunkers: Yes, Obamacare Rate Shock is Real — On October 26, The Los Angeles Times ran a story by Chad Terhune, documenting how many Californians feel lied as they are being forced out of their current health care plans due to Obamacare. — “All we've been hearing …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, protein wisdom and NewsBusters blogs

Michael Hiltzik / Los Angeles Times:
Another Obamacare horror story debunked

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Mediaite and The Week

John Stanton / BuzzFeed:

Senate Blocks Nomination Of Sitting Member Of Congress For First Time Since Reconstruction — Senate Republicans block Obama's Housing Authority nominee — and show just how bad relations are in Congress these days. — Yuri Gripas / Reuters — WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans Thursday …

Discussion: Colorlines

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Thursday: Cory Booker and Mel Watt in the Senate

Discussion: Reuters, CNN, Politico and Daily Kos

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Obama voices ‘enormous frustration’ with GOP — President Obama told donors at a fundraiser Wednesday in Boston that he sometimes felt an “enormous frustration” with Republican efforts to block his legislative agenda. — “Sometimes people ask me, 'Man, how do you stay optimistic …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Mike Lillis / TheHill:
Pelosi: No revenue, no deal

Discussion: Hit & Run and VodkaPundit

Alex Pareene / Salon:

Obamacare is a mess, and liberals need to fix it — Democrats need to acknowledge that, and make it work for everyone — It has been a pretty lousy month for the idea that the American government is capable of expanding access to healthcare to the uninsured and underinsured.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Norm Ornstein / NationalJournal.com:

The Right to Vote — It is becoming increasingly obvious that the Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which eviscerated the Voting Rights Act, is leading to a new era of voter suppression that parallels the pre-1960s era—this time affecting not just African-Americans …

Discussion: Guardian, A plain blog about politics and Balloon Juice

HHS.govStrategy:

More on the Tech Surge — Site Tags: — Julie Bataille, Director of Communications, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — Thursday, October 31, 2013 — As part of the “Tech Surge,” we've added key personnel from the government and private sector, including expert engineers and technology managers.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Talking Points Memo, NBCNews and The Verge

Jurassicpork / Welcome Back to Pottersville:

Assclowns of the Week #96: Treat or Treat, Kiss My Ass edition — (Thanks to Tengrain linking to this during his turn on Mike's Blog Roll at Crooks and Liars, this posting will get some decent exposure. After making the rent on November 1st, Mrs. JP and I will be seriously wiped out.