I hate to break this to you this close to Christmas but...

...he ain't comin. Deal with it.

Just pass the damn bill!

I'm a couple of days late to this. My apologies if you've seen one or all of this clips before. In a perfect world, I would like to line-up every Republican and the lone Democrat who voted against the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, the so called 9/11 First Responders legislation that failed to get past a procedural filibuster this week, turn on a video camera and get them on record defending their vote.

Perhaps John McCain would take the opportunity to rethink his comment from the debate that "after all the fooling around that we've been doing on the DREAM act, on New York City, on all of these other issues that [have] taken up our time". Maybe a couple would actually change their vote. You know, if they had to pay any price at all for playing politics with the health and well-being of those of us who, as the towers fell, ran towards the horror and not away.

This makes me sick to my stomach

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Worst Responders
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

Maybe Mitch McConnell or John Kyl could summon up the courage to look these men right in the face and tell them why this legislation doesn't warrent their support.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
9/11 First Responders React to the Senate Filibuster
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

Shep Smith, of Fox News, deserves some credit for jumping on this issue. It's unfortunate that he has to hide behind a generic "they" or "these people" instead of name-calling the Republican Party for voting in lock-step against the bill.



Here's a proposition for you. Let's all get into the Christmas spirit by letting our elected officials know what we think of this travesty. Just click on over to Congress.org, plug in your zip code on the upper right side of the page and you'll get email, snail mail, phone and fax contact information for your representatives.

Just in case you were wondering, here is the roll call from the cloture vote:

Sen. Daniel Akaka [D, HI] Aye
Sen. Lamar Alexander [R, TN] Nay
Sen. John Barrasso [R, WY] Nay
Sen. Max Baucus [D, MT] Aye
Sen. Evan Bayh [D, IN] Aye
Sen. Mark Begich [D, AK] Aye
Sen. Michael Bennet [D, CO] Aye
Sen. Robert Bennett [R, UT] Nay
Sen. Jeff Bingaman [D, NM] Aye
Sen. Christopher Bond [R, MO] Nay
Sen. Barbara Boxer [D, CA] Aye
Sen. Scott Brown [R, MA] Nay
Sen. Sherrod Brown [D, OH] Aye
Sen. Samuel Brownback [R, KS] Abstain
Sen. Jim Bunning [R, KY] Nay
Sen. Richard Burr [R, NC] Nay
Sen. Maria Cantwell [D, WA] Aye
Sen. Benjamin Cardin [D, MD] Aye
Sen. Thomas Carper [D, DE] Aye
Sen. Robert Casey [D, PA] Aye
Sen. Saxby Chambliss [R, GA] Nay
Sen. Thomas Coburn [R, OK] Nay
Sen. Thad Cochran [R, MS] Nay
Sen. Susan Collins [R, ME] Nay
Sen. Kent Conrad [D, ND] Aye
Sen. Chris Coons [D, DE] Aye
Sen. Bob Corker [R, TN] Nay
Sen. John Cornyn [R, TX] Nay
Sen. Michael Crapo [R, ID] Nay
Sen. Jim DeMint [R, SC] Nay
Sen. Christopher Dodd [D, CT] Aye
Sen. Byron Dorgan [D, ND] Aye
Sen. Richard Durbin [D, IL] Aye
Sen. John Ensign [R, NV] Nay
Sen. Michael Enzi [R, WY] Nay
Sen. Russell Feingold [D, WI] Aye
Sen. Dianne Feinstein [D, CA] Aye
Sen. Al Franken [D, MN] Aye
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand [D, NY] Aye
Sen. Lindsey Graham [R, SC] Nay
Sen. Charles Grassley [R, IA] Nay
Sen. Judd Gregg [R, NH] Nay
Sen. Kay Hagan [D, NC] Aye
Sen. Thomas Harkin [D, IA] Aye
Sen. Orrin Hatch [R, UT] Nay
Sen. Kay Hutchison [R, TX] Nay
Sen. James Inhofe [R, OK] Nay
Sen. Daniel Inouye [D, HI] Aye
Sen. John Isakson [R, GA] Nay
Sen. Mike Johanns [R, NE] Nay
Sen. Tim Johnson [D, SD] Aye
Sen. John Kerry [D, MA] Aye
Sen. Mark Kirk [R, IL] Nay
Sen. Amy Klobuchar [D, MN] Aye
Sen. Herbert Kohl [D, WI] Aye
Sen. Jon Kyl [R, AZ] Nay
Sen. Mary Landrieu [D, LA] Aye
Sen. Frank Lautenberg [D, NJ] Aye
Sen. Patrick Leahy [D, VT] Aye
Sen. George LeMieux [R, FL] Nay
Sen. Carl Levin [D, MI] Aye
Sen. Joseph Lieberman [I, CT] Aye
Sen. Blanche Lincoln [D, AR] Aye
Sen. Richard Lugar [R, IN] Nay
Sen. Joe Manchin [D, WV] Aye
Sen. John McCain [R, AZ] Nay
Sen. Claire McCaskill [D, MO] Aye
Sen. Mitch McConnell [R, KY] Nay
Sen. Robert Menéndez [D, NJ] Aye
Sen. Jeff Merkley [D, OR] Aye
Sen. Barbara Mikulski [D, MD] Aye
Sen. Lisa Murkowski [R, AK] Nay
Sen. Patty Murray [D, WA] Aye
Sen. Bill Nelson [D, FL] Aye
Sen. Ben Nelson [D, NE] Aye
Sen. Mark Pryor [D, AR] Aye
Sen. John Reed [D, RI] Aye
Sen. Harry Reid [D, NV] Nay WTF!!!
Sen. James Risch [R, ID] Nay
Sen. Pat Roberts [R, KS] Nay
Sen. John Rockefeller [D, WV] Aye
Sen. Bernard Sanders [I, VT] Aye
Sen. Charles Schumer [D, NY] Aye
Sen. Jefferson Sessions [R, AL] Nay
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen [D, NH] Aye
Sen. Richard Shelby [R, AL] Nay
Sen. Olympia Snowe [R, ME] Nay
Sen. Arlen Specter [D, PA] Aye
Sen. Debbie Ann Stabenow [D,MI] Aye
Sen. Jon Tester [D, MT] Aye
Sen. John Thune [R, SD] Nay
Sen. Tom Udall [D, NM] Aye
Sen. Mark Udall [D, CO] Aye
Sen. David Vitter [R, LA] Nay
Sen. George Voinovich [R, OH] Nay
Sen. Mark Warner [D, VA] Aye
Sen. Jim Webb [D, VA] Aye
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse [D, RI] Aye
Sen. Roger Wicker [R, MS] Nay
Sen. Ron Wyden [D, OR] Aye

UPDATE: The Reid vote no longer warrants a WTF. This was a procedural vote so that the bill can be reintroduced later in the session. I better know what I'm talking about before I throw around those WTF's!

Criminally Underappreciated Band of the Day - Silverchair

It certainly took me long enough to get around to this band's latest.  Hard to believe this is the same band that release Frogstomp a dozen or so years ago.  From 2007's Young Modern, give a listen to this Jeff Lynne-inspired, Van Dyke Parks-orchestrated suite and tell me the Strange Behaviour middle section doesn't have a killer hook.

But what about the Feats of Strength?

Posted without comment.

Via The Huffington Post.

"My Mother Gave Me A Gun For Christmas"...

...posted without comment, via thee head vein.

Elliott Murphy has still got it.

As I mentioned last Sunday, one can never get enough Elliott Murphy.  While I was scrolling around the innertubz looking for the right Murphy video for that post, I found out that he was going to be playing on 12/9 at Bordentown, NJ's The Record Collector.  Elliott will be 62 next Spring, but he still knows how to rock.  check out On Elvis Presley's Birthday and tell me what to think.

Because one can never get enough Elliott Murphy...

...and the song seems appropriate for the times, here is White Middle Class Blues.



...one more, because, well, this just kicks all kinds of ass...



Both these songs are from Murphy's 1973 release Aquashow. If you don't own it, you should.  I'll be seeing him at The Record Collector in Bordentown, NJ on December 9th.  Take my word for it and just go.  

Who says statistics have to be boring?

Hans Rosling sounds like the kind of nerd you'd want to have a beer with.  Check out his Gapminder web site for plenty more of this kind of statistical mind candy.  Via Talking Points Memo.

CPR The GOP Way

Via Clay Bennett at truthout.

Criminally Forgotten Band of the Day: The Rondelles

Another in a long list of albums I found...somewhere...forgot about and finally got around to playing, The Rondelles 2000 release The Fox is a hidden gem. Formed in the late 90's while still in high school, the band resides squarely in the riot grrrl neighborhood of the rock continuum.  

Give a listen to Modern Chemical and feel free to scoot on over to eMusic if you want more!

Go read this!

John Brown’s body

The correlation between the Confederate states, Lincoln's attempts to save the Union via compromise and the current political logjam in Washington is eye-opening. Via Balloon Juice.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

I agree with Stephen Colbert...

...where's mine!  Via attaturk over at Rising Hegemon.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - The Great White Wail
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election March to Keep Fear Alive

Need a little mid-day pick me up? How 'bout a little Fitz & The Tantrums!

Way back in January, I stumbled over a nice little retro-soul EP by Fitz & The Tantrums.  Fast forward to December and THIS, shared by watertiger over at Dependable Renegade...




How did I miss this?  The band dropped their full-length debut way back in August.  You can download a copy of MoneyGrabber for the cost of your e-mail address over at the band's web site.  So what are you waiting for...GO!