A phone call between President Obama and John Boehner apparently did little to move the government shutdown negotiations forward. (Maybe they should try a Snapchat next.) As we inch towards a debt ceiling disaster, the markets are concerned, but not afraid. And some investors think that’s a big problem. Along similar lines: Why America Needs a Stock Market Crash. (Either that, or we just need to learn to vote more wisely.)

+ Here’s the story of the government shutdown, told in Legos.

+ WaPo’s Ezra Klein: The 13 reasons Washington is failing.

+ Senator Mitch McConnell may have inadvertently explained Washington’s troubles with this take on the impasse: “There’s a time for politics, and there’s a time for sitting down like adults and working things out.” I always wondered what the opposite of “politics” was.

+ Here’s a solution to our debt ceiling problems. Let’s just print a lot more of these brand new $100 bills.