Senate Democrats Promise To Fight About the Budget 'Next Time'

• The Senate is expected to vote today on a bill that would extend funding for the federal government for two additional weeks while also cutting four billion clams from current spending levels. Senate Democrats are "conceding defeat this time," but vow to say mean things about John Boehner before voting on a similar bill two weeks from now. “I don’t like this death by 1,000 cuts, but I also don’t want a government shutdown,” says Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), who will most likely vote today to die by 1,000 cuts. (Cutting Pro Tip: It's "down the highway" not "across the street.") "Democratic senators suggested Tuesday they would win — next time." Yes. Yes, of course. [ The Hill / CNN ]

• A Pakistani cabinet minister was assassinated, apparently because he opposed the country's strict blasphemy laws. (At least we know Raymond Davis didn't kill him?) [ BBC ]

• The nonstop earthquakes ravaging Arkansas are "very possibly an after effect of natural-gas drilling," according to naive "earthquake experts" unfamiliar with Hugo Chavez's Earthquake Machine. [ Fox News ]