john dough wrote:
Rest assured; Eddie Vedder has not gone stupid in the last month.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/eddie-vedder-pearl-jam-barack-obama-fundraiser-372731

According to a pool report on the event, Vedder then referred to Mitt Romney's 47 percent comments, offering a personal story.

"I'm an example of someone who never made it to university," Vedder said. "I did have this dream to be a musician. I felt that this dream had an expiration date."

He recalled signing up for a government security guard training program. He was hired for the midnight shift, and later became the security supervisor at a petroleum company.

"It was that job which allowed me to keep affording to guitars and microphones," he said. "For me, it all began with that ability to get the proper training for a decent job….It's very upsetting to hear a presidential candidate be so easily dismissive of such a ginormous amount of the population," he said.

Pearl Jam last weekend busted out a set 29-song set packed with fan favorites and politically-tinged covers at the Adams Center in Missoula, Montana, in support of Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat who's currently seeking re-election in a hotly contested race that could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate, Billboard reports.

While the members of Pearl Jam aren't shy about voicing their political beliefs – frontman Eddie Vedder recently performed at a fundraiser for President Barack Obama – the connection to Tester is more personal: bassist Jeff Ament, a Montana native, is a childhood friend of the senator's.

"I grew up with Jon and I can vouch for how much he cares for Montana, how much he cares for the country," Ament said at a pre-show event. "I couldn't be prouder to be up here with the band."

Although the show was not a traditional fundraiser, Tester's campaign did sell some premium ticket packages, and of course the senator and his wife sat alongside Pearl Jam fanclub members to watch the show. It wasn't the first time the band has thrown its support behind Tester: Pearl Jam played a benefit in 2005 when he was first seeking office.

$tevie wrote:

Pearl Jam last weekend busted out a set 29-song set packed with fan favorites and politically-tinged covers at the Adams Center in Missoula, Montana, in support of Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat who's currently seeking re-election in a hotly contested race that could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate, Billboard reports.

While the members of Pearl Jam aren't shy about voicing their political beliefs – frontman Eddie Vedder recently performed at a fundraiser for President Barack Obama – the connection to Tester is more personal: bassist Jeff Ament, a Montana native, is a childhood friend of the senator's.

"I grew up with Jon and I can vouch for how much he cares for Montana, how much he cares for the country," Ament said at a pre-show event. "I couldn't be prouder to be up here with the band."

Although the show was not a traditional fundraiser, Tester's campaign did sell some premium ticket packages, and of course the senator and his wife sat alongside Pearl Jam fanclub members to watch the show. It wasn't the first time the band has thrown its support behind Tester: Pearl Jam played a benefit in 2005 when he was first seeking office.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/pearl-jam-rocks-montana-in-support-of-u-s-senator-20121002

Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready has teamed with friend and filmmaker Jesse Dylan for "Life Is a Pre-Existing Condition," a short video urging voters to choose candidates who support the Affordable Care Act. Partially inspired by McCready's own experiences with Crohn's disease and health insurance, along with a medical condition afflicting Dylan's son, the clip seeks sympathy for those who need it. "Just know that people suffer. Maybe you can't see it, it's internal," says McCready. "Whether it's Crohn's or diabetes, whether it's asthma, arthritis or cancer, a disease that keeps re-occuring, if you can just get the insurance or whatever you need for that, your life will better."