President Obama told CNBC he's bearish about the government, which is either a tactic to scare Republicans or a ploy to scoop up a bunch of hella cheap t-bills. The RNC is starting a petition to reopen the World War II memorial, though we doubt it'll launch a similar one to resume the Agriculture Department's goat semen deliveries. And a search for a missing 63-year-old woman in a national park had to be called off due to the shutdown. If only the missing person were an attractive blond college student the networks would be all over it and the government would be up and running in no time. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Wednesday, October 2nd, 2013:
PRESIDENT TRIES TO SPOOK MARKETS - Sam Stein: "A self-described 'exasperated' President Barack Obama told Wall Street CEOs on Wednesday that they should not take for granted that the Republican-led House of Representatives will raise the nation's debt ceiling by Oct. 17. 'I think this time is different,' the president said, when asked by CNBC's John Harwood whether the financial markets were right to assume that the upcoming conflict would ultimately get resolved in time. 'I think they should be concerned.' Speaking less than two hours before he was set to meet with congressional leadership to discuss both the debt ceiling and a way out of the current impasse over the government shutdown, the president argued that he had already sacrificed a lot during these negotiations, having agreed to fund the government at sequestration levels. And while he said would be willing to consider changes to his health care law -- a key demand of House Republicans -- he refused to do it during the fight over the shutdown or debt limit." [HuffPost]
Republicans want to restore funding to the World War II memorial. That way, all those kids not getting their experimental cancer treatments can visit it! Ryan Reilly: "The Republican National Committee engaged in a political stunt Wednesday, with Chairman Reince Priebus offering to give the government around $150,000 to keep the World War II Memorial open for 30 days during the ongoing government shutdown. Priebus held a press conference on Wednesday in front of the barricaded World War II Memorial, which has been closed to the public for the past two days but has still been visited by veterans and members of Congress, who helped remove the gates." [HuffPost]
How the shutdown is messing stuff up in your state.
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - Low-wage workers followed members of Congress to the World War II Memorial on Wednesday to protest a federal government shutdown that had entered its second day. The two-dozen protesters, organized by a labor group called Good Jobs Nation, work in federal buildings affected by the shutdown. The group has organized several small strikes and protests to draw attention to the estimated 2 million workers directly or indirectly employed by the federal government for low wages. On Wednesday, they protested no wages. Luis Chiliquinga, 63, works at a McDonald's restaurant inside the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum'sWright Place Food Court -- but only when the government's open. "They don't think about the situation of the workers," said Chiliquinga, still wearing his McDonald's polo shirt. "They only think of their political interest but they don't think of the effects these actions cause to the workers." [HuffPost]
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FRIENDLY REMINDER THAT THERE'S ENOUGH SUPPORT TO END A SHUTDOWN RIGHT NOW - Of course, there are so many more photo-ops of white dudes doing their best impression of the Choate admissions board circa 1957 to be had. Jen Bendery and Mike McAuliffe: "For all the fighting on Capitol Hill over how to end the government shutdown, the reality is that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) could do it right now if he wanted to. All Boehner has to do is bring a 'clean' continuing resolution to the House floor -- that is, a bill to fund the government without any strings attached -- and give it a vote. Most, if not all, Democrats would vote for it, and enough Republicans are publicly now on board to pass it. The Huffington Post has been keeping a running tally of which Republicans have said they support doing this. Privately, more GOP lawmakers have indicated they would as well...If the House did pass a clean funding bill, it would sail through the Senate and President Barack Obama would sign it. Some senators have been pointing out how easily Boehner could resolve the whole situation." [HuffPost]
WALL STREET INCREASINGLY ANXIOUS OVER FISCAL CRISES - Zach Carter: "Wall Street is growing more skittish about the prospect of the U.S. defaulting on its debt now that an indefinite government shutdown has resulted from GOP House members' refusal to fund the government without hamstringing President Barack Obama's health care reform law. 'So far, there are no signs of heavy political damage so the chances of Washington going beyond October 17 without a debt ceiling agreement continue to rise,' Keefe Bruyette & Woods analyst Brian Gardner wrote in an Oct. 1 note to clients. 'We now think the chances of this occurring are 40% (up from 15-20% last week).' Treasury Secretary Jack Lew wrote a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday saying that the government will be unable to avoid defaulting on its debt if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling by Oct. 17. 'There are no other legal and prudent options to extend the nation's borrowing authority,' Lew wrote. everal experts have warned that a U.S. default, however brief, could trigger a financial crisis akin to what happened after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in 2008." [HuffPost]
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BACHMANN AND CO POSE FOR PHOTOS AT SITE THEY CLOSED - Closed war memorials, you know, can cause autism in children. Ryan Reilly: "Members of Congress on Wednesday took down a barrier at an entrance to the World War II Memorial on the National Mall for the second day in a row, allowing veterans who had traveled there from out of state to visit the memorial built to honor their service...Ironically, most of them were among the most vocal members of the House's right flank that pushed Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) toward a shutdown, and they are therefore partly responsible for the memorial's closure. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) clutched a piece of yellow caution tape as she shook hands with veterans as they entered the memorial. The line to enter the memorial stretched back as each veteran was greeted in a sort of reception line stacked with Republican members of Congress...Bachmann argued that the House's final version of a continuing resolution, a stopgap spending bill to keep the government funded, didn't go far enough to hobble Obamacare. So did Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), who was also present at the monument on Wednesday, and Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who participated in a similar stunt on Tuesday." [HuffPost]
LATEST FROM THE BACHMANN CAMPAIGN QUAGMIRE - Jason Noble: "A special investigator has found probable cause to believe Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson violated the legislative ethics rules by taking money from campaign committees associated with U.S. Rep. and one-time presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. False statements made by Sorenson in the course of the investigation of the matter, moreover may also warrant felony criminal charges. In a 566-page report filed with the Iowa Senate on Wednesday, Mark E. Weinhardt, a specially appointed independent counsel to the Senate Ethics Committee reports that Sorenson, R-Milo, received money from Bachmann controlled political action committees by filtering the funds through two separate consulting firms." [Des Moines Register]
SEARCH FOR MISSING WOMAN IN NATIONAL PARK CALLED OFF - Death and Taxes: "The government shutdown might be responsible for losing more than jobs. In central Idaho, a 63-year-old hiker went missing the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve after the U.S. National Parks Service was forced to send home its 16 staff employees on furlough. With the assistance of family and locals, staff members at the site are continuing their search for Jo Elliott-Blakeslee, but now that the government has scaled back personnel in rescue agencies and park staff, the search is far more difficult. Some say chances are now slim to none. 'It's pretty much just park staff that are continuing the search,' Craters staff member Ted Stout told KBOI News. 'But we're also faced with the government shutdown ... we've been busy with that.' Federal law, meanwhile, forbids government workers on furlough to even volunteer for their jobs -- even in moments of crisis such as the search for Elliot-Blakeslee." [Death and Taxes]
WENDY DAVIS TRAILING IN EARLY TX GOV POLL, EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE CANDIDACY THIS WEEK - KERA: "A new statewide poll released Wednesday shows Republican Greg Abbott with an eight-point lead over Democrat Wendy Davis in the Texas governor's race. The poll, conducted by the Texas Lyceum, shows Abbott, the Texas Attorney General, leading with 29 percent. Davis, the Fort Worth Democrat, has 21 percent. But most registered voters don't know who will get their vote - 50 percent are undecided. Davis, a state senator, gained national fame over the summer when she filibustered for 11 hours against an abortion bill that would ban most abortions in Texas. She has yet to formally announce her intentions to run, although that's expected to happen on Thursday. Among women who were polled, Abbott and Davis are in a statistical tie, 25 percent to 23 percent." [KERA]
RONALD REAGAN'S ARM FURLOUGHED - Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this limb. AP: "Police were searching on Wednesday for a vandal who damaged a bronze statue of Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II in the Polish city of Gdansk by cutting off one arm of the former U.S. president and stealing it. The statue was unveiled just last year to honor Reagan and the Polish-born pope, who were both widely credited with helping Poland topple communism 24 years ago. The vandalism in the Baltic port city was discovered on Tuesday, setting off the search for the perpetrator, said Lucyna Rykowska, a spokeswoman for Gdansk police. The statue was inspired by an Associated Press photograph taken by Scott Stewart during the pope's second visit to the United States in 1987, and honors Reagan's support for Poland's struggle to end decades of communism." [AP]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here is a cat snuggling with a baby chick.
UNCLE SAM WON'T SEND YOU GOAT SEMEN... SORRY - Times Picayune: "Before Tuesday, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry had already relocated some of their personnel that work in federal office facilities, like the U.S. Department of Agriculture facility in New Orleans, said department Commissioner Mike Strain. No one in Louisiana will be able export livestock, embryos, fertilized animal eggs or animal semen either, since there are no federal officials to sign off on those projects. 'Anything that requires a signature to leave the United States has stopped,' said Strain." [Times-Picayune]
COMFORT FOOD
- WTF visualizations feature the worst in modern infographics. [http://bit.ly/15feFgO]
- The company that one women quit by making a viral video has responded with its own viral video. [http://bit.ly/1c4zvBt]
- An app that will make your car sound like a Ferrari. [http://bit.ly/15451uT]
- John Boehner singing Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball" is so very upsetting. [http://bit.ly/1bw06Vl]
- The editors of "Wing-Manning" take photos of themselves next to kissing couples. Odd. [http://bit.ly/194ODYd]
- A scientific explanation of why Nacho Doritos are so damn delicious. [http://nyti.ms/1fJuwbM]
- People With Lana Del Rey Lips delivers on its title. [http://bit.ly/n7CzTB]
TWITTERAMA
@meredithshiner: Bruno Mars' "Treasure" is playing on Hannity radio to intro a Mitch McConnell interview.
@mattyglesias: Dems should agree to scrap ObamaCare, replace it with a Romney-style system modeled on what works in MA.
@pourmecoffee: Unguarded by furloughed rangers, founders' monuments shake their stony pedestals and march on a Congress that has forsaken their ideals.
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