h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I think filibusters are crap! What a silly idea. Great entry on them, though

DZ

My first instinct is also argh! But when the propaganda-buying Bush administration, drunk with triumphalism, claims a "mandate" after the last election (51% to 48%) and wants to do whatever they want - dismantle Social Security? extend the tax breaks for the rich? raise the deficit to even more astronomical heights? teach religion in science class? invade yet another country? - it makes one realize that some "minority" braking is needed. Apparently I'm not alone, judging by the current abysmal approval rating of Bush & Co.

BTW, IMHO the Democrats are no better, they would put everybody on the dole, rather than on the street. And unfortunately, there is no third choice with a balanced, common sense approach ... that is apparently beyond our abilities.

... stepping down off soapbox ...

Gotta agree with most of what you say, although I don't think the Dems wanna put everyone on the dole. After all, they are just Republicans in sheeps' clothing.

Test - having trouble with H2G2 ...

I find filibusters terribly amusing. It's an elegant solution for allowing a wronged and sizeable minority to veto legislation against their interests. If it is a very small but vocal minority, the filibuster will be overcome. And if the minority is large but insufficiently motivated to go to extreme lengths, the filibuster also fails. So the huge majority of legislation is let through, but not all.

I guess I just find it disconcerting that my congressmen and congresswomen could potentially squander my hard-earned tax dollars by sitting up there and reading from a phone book for 23 hours...

DZ

"...the Dems ... are just Republicans in sheeps' clothing."

Yeah, I can go along with that. When large corporations are giving money to both sides just to make sure ...

Clinton sells pardons on his last day in office, Bush vetoes a bill banning torture ... if you made this stuff up in a novel, nobody would believe it.

I see your point, DZ. Ultimately, public outrage at a do-nothing Senate is what keeps folks from filibustering all the time. That, and I'm sure they'd rather eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom.

Politics is stranger than fiction.

Well, the filibuster has evolved, DZ. We won't see many 23 hour long ones nowadays. Bunch a wimps down there in Washington

I personally think that the filibuster is a brilliant and important tool for the survival of Democracy. I'm not going to argue about it though. My entry speaks for itself