Vacation More Important Than Doing Their Jobs

So, the House finally passed the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act by a vote of 206-60 on 12/22/10.   You might notice that there were only 266 House members voting.   You might notice that there were about 169 Representatives missing in action.  The majority of the missing Members apparently are Republicans who left town early (i.e., before the House adjourned) for the "Holiday."  According to the Washington Post:

The bill passed Wednesday evening by a vote of 206 to 60 after House leaders had held open the vote for more than an hour, presumably for members who were still hustling to make their way over to the Capitol on the final day of the 111th Congress' lame-duck session.

Missing Wednesday's vote were nearly 170 House members, 100 more than had been missing in action for the previous day's votes. Thirty Republicans had joined all but one Democrat, Mississippi's Gene Taylor, in supporting the measure

It's just another example of why most people hold politicians in such low regard.  

Do Ask Do Tell

Self explanatory comic from Harrybliss.com.

Questions That Shouldn't Have Answers

I just thought this Real Life Adventures comic was pretty funny today.

  

Repeat Photography & Global Warming

Repeat photography is pretty straight-forward: multiple pictures taken from the same spot years apart.   The technique is useful to determine and document changes in climate and human impact on the environment.   Wired Magazine has a fascinating series of repeat photos taken by the US Geologic Survey that show restored archeological sites, rivers that have moved, and glaciers that have all but vanished.   

Global warming anyone?  

TSA Intrusive? Yawn.

I don't fly much anymore, mostly because it's become an unpleasant, over-crowded, and expensive exercise.   Lately if I travel far enough to consider flying, I've ended up driving.   The hullabaloo in recent weeks about the new TSA inspection procedures and use of new "x-ray" equipment has largely, IMO, been a tempest in a teapot.   And now at least one VERY experienced traveler also feels the reality isn't anywhere near as awful as the anticipation, especially if you're a talking head like John Boehner or Matt Drudge.  Travel expert Arthur Frommer has blogged about his recent travel through Kennedy Airport in NYC, and he found getting through security to be somewhat of an anti-climax. 

My TSA experience was totally without drama or tension. My passage through security was handled professionally by people dedicated to a never-ending battle with Al Qaeda, and these procedures seemed to be welcomed by citizens of a democracy who have determined never to let the terrorists interfere with our right to travel. We have all acquiesced in these trivial burdens out of a determination to keep our skies safe for air travel.
Matt Drudge will now need to find a new crusade.

Read Frommer's account here.