The rift in the GOP today isn't about policy or principle. Ostensibly, it's about tactics.  Mostly it's about culture. Tea Party insurgents in Flyover Country regard more "moderate" Republicans -- the GOP leadership in Congress especially -- as Establishment "squishes" too comfortable with the status quo, too timid to take on the powers that be. To Establishment "squishes," Tea Party insurgents are chest-thumping Yahoos who haven't a clue. Losing -- which, with the partial exception of the 2010 midterms, Republicans have been doing since 2006 -- intensifies factional disputes. Since Ronald Reagan, every GOP nominee for president has come from (what these days passes for) the party's moderate wing.  They've done poorly. 

In a number of cases, officials of the Obama administration appear to have given unlawful orders during the shutdown, such as to put up barricades to prevent people from going to nonfederal attractions such as Mount Vernon, and keeping open nonessential activities like federally owned golf courses that serve the "well-connected." The Uniform Code of Military Justice Section 892, Article 92 makes it clear that military personnel have an obligation and a duty to obey only lawful orders and, indeed, have an obligation to disobey unlawful orders, including orders by the president that do not comply with the code. The moral and legal obligation of the military is to the U.S. Constitution and not to those who would issue unlawful orders, especially if those orders are in direct violation of the Constitution and the code. Civilian employees also have an equal obligation to disobey unlawful orders. The illegitimate orders that government workers followed during the shutdown might seem like minor infractions, but those who committed them should think about where they would draw the line.

It's natural to want good things for our kids. We want them to grow into strong, good people; we want them to have work they love that enables them to live well; we want them to find good friends and a wonderful mate with whom they can grow a wonderful, loving life. We want them to succeed. There is an expression of this natural sentiment, though, that I'm seeing more of and it troubles me.  I have talked with people who are freaking out because their 5 year old isn't measuring up, or their 10 year old might not be able to get into the top preparatory Jr. High School that will feed into the top preparatory High School that will get them into the top university. It's not that these parents see certain talents in their kids, and support them to do their best and to flourish. It's different than that.  This is not about flourishing, or living a happy, successful life; it's obsessing about getting into a club. And, I fear, more accurately, that this club is a particularly seductive and dangerous one.  Here's why.

The furor over the government "shutdown" has distracted attention from the Obamacare rollout. The news media focus more now on GOP dissension, but Obamacare's troubles aren't going away.  Such media attention as there's been has focused on "glitches" in the websites of Obamacare exchanges.  The glitches aren't in Obamacare, they are Obamacare - the whole program is one giant glitch from end to end. The cheapest plan anywhere in the country will be 99 percent more expensive for men, 62 percent more expensive for women than the cheapest plans are now, according to a Manhattan Institute study. "Of course I want people to have health care," Obama voter Cindy Vinson told the San Jose Mercury News when she learned she'll have to pay $1,800 more for health insurance. "I just didn't realize I would be the one who was going to pay for it personally." Cindy got what she voted for.  Will she still be averse to voting for the GOP in 2014?

The International Monetary Fund announced this past week that it expects world GDP growth to be only 2.9 percent this year. This is below the 3.2 percent in 2012, which was below the 30-year average of about 3.6 percent, and far below the one-of-the-best recent four-year periods, from 2004 to 2007, when it averaged 5.1 percent. The differences may seem small, but the rate of GDP growth determines how quickly global poverty declines and real incomes rise. Real global growth has declined owing to government spending growing faster than the private sector in much of the world, mounting environmental and financial regulation whose costs far exceed the benefits, and monetary policies forcing misallocation of capital in the major economies. In other words, what's wrong with America's economy is not unique -- it's what's wrong with much of the entire world.

A crowd of "thousands," composed chiefly of veterans, descended on the National Mall in Washington D.C. Sunday to remove "barrycades" blocking access to the World War II, Vietnam, and Lincoln memorials. Police in riot gear blocked road access to the World War II memorial, but didn't interfere as the vets took down the barricades.  Younger vets helped the veterans of World War II -- now in their 80s and 90s -- past the barricades and up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Some of the protesters -- including a vet who had lost both legs -- carried a few barricades more than a mile to the White House and dumped them there. "I'm totally, thoroughly disgusted in our government's decision to close these monuments," Mike Freeman, a retired Green Beret who served in Vietnam, told the Daily Caller. So should we all.  Tearing down Zero's barrycades could be the way to regain our freedom.

Gunwalker.  Benghazi.  IRS audits.  NSA surveillance.  All are overshadowed by Smokey the Bear becoming a Nazi, thinks the Weekly Standard. * * * * By refusing to pay death benefits to the loved ones of service members killed in action, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel found a way to be more despicable that the National Socialist Parks Service.  * * * * Zero is a lot more fond of the Muslim Brotherhood than he is of vets or our troops.  He's planning to slash aid to Egypt as punishment for ousting his buddy Mohamed Morsi. * * * * The problems that plague Healthcare.gov aren't going to be fixed anytime soon, because, experts told the Washington Post, the "root cause is not simply a matter of flawed computer code but rather the government's habit of buying outdated, costly and buggy technology." A Canadian firm got a sole source contract for $634 million to build it, so the worst built Web site ever is also the most expensive ever. * * * * Gun rights advocates in Colorado have begun collecting signatures to recall a third state senator, Evie Hudak, who represents a district in the suburbs north of Denver. "Hudak's district is more conservative than either Morse's or Giron's," notes the Washington Post. * * * * North Korea has opened a luxury ski resort.  The Swiss are "human rights abusers," the Norks say, because the Swiss won't sell them ski lifts. * * * * Both sides are losing in the shutdown showdown, but Republicans are suffering most.