Today’s taping of a new bloggingheads episode (with Nancy LeTourneau as guest) took a mere hour-and-a-half out of my blogging day. It should be ready by COB today, and I hope you’ll consider subscribing to the podcast version of this show via iTunes.

Here are some Monday midday news/views treats:

* The Hill takes us through the mechanics of avoiding a government shutdown, which isn’t as easy as it sounds.

* The headline says it all: “Carly Fiorina Both Repels and Enthralls Liberal Feminists.”

* Maybe this will reduce the enthralling element of Fiorina’s candidacy: she’s a big fan of waterboarding.

* Rubio says back-and-forth with Trump makes him part of The Donald’s “Freak Show.” Sounds like Rubio did not get the better of the exchange.

* New Q-Poll shows Americans oppose funding cutoff for Planned Parenthood 52/41.

And in non-political news:

* Alabama the underdog in a college football game for first time since 2009 as they play–yikes!–my Georgia Bulldogs.

As we break for lunch, here’s Bryan Ferry in a classic croon from Stranded: “Just Like You,” as performed live in 2007.

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Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.