This is utterly adorable! Such a dapper gentleman you have!

What is this scene? Vaggie looks like she’s on a pirate ship! Maybe from when she’s singing the duet with Camilla in season 1? Whatever it Takes I think? I’m just trying to remember why she would be on a pirate ship, but sometimes the animation goes by so fast I miss things

Yes to the filibuster, no to the quorum. Although I think you might be using quorum incorrectly. If you mean these as 1 question, about simply removing the filibuster and setting the minimum threshold for passing a bill to 50 votes, then that happens automatically, although it’s actually 51 votes without a tiebreaker.

Answer here, my personal opinions below. The filibuster is a Senate rule, not a law, and can be changed by a simple majority vote of the Senate. It does not require approval by the house or president. Changing or creating exceptions to the filibuster has been done several times over the years, from budget acts to disapproving actions of the executive branch. More recently, it has been removed for approval of federal judges. Harry Reid, a Democrat Senate Majority Leader got rid of the filibuster for approving federal judges, not including Supreme Court justices. Republican Mitch McConnell followed up a few years later by removing it for SC justices.

Without the filibuster, any business (well, almost any) such as approvals, bills, etc. requires a simple majority of Senators voting, assuming they have a quorum. If there are no absences or vacancies or abstentions (Senators there but not voting), that’s 100 Senators, so 51 votes needed. If there are only 95 Senators voting, you would only need 48 votes (half of 95 is 47.5, so 47 would not be enough). If there is a tie (50-50, for example), the Vice-President (technically acting as the President of the Senate) can break ties, so a bill could only pass with 50 Senators voting yes, rather than 51, if you add in the VP’s vote.

Quorum of the Senate is not a Senate rule. It comes from the Constitution, which says that a quorum is a majority of the full Senate (always 100). Vacancies are not counted. This means at least 51 Senators have to be physically there for any business to proceed. Changing it would require a constitutional amendment.

In my opinion, Harry Reid’s filibuster removal was somewhat understandable, as Republicans really were obstructing judges, but it was nonetheless a political mistake and backfired horribly, opening the door for Republicans to eventually follow-up by removing the filibuster for SC justices and take firm control of the court. Removing the filibuster for ALL business, including laws, would have similar risk. John Thune, the current Republican Senate Majority Leader, has resisted doing so, despite pastor from Trump. I disagree with Thune on almost everything politically, but respect the backbone/wisdom of keeping the filibuster in place. In general, a good rule is “never give yourself political power you wouldn’t want your political opponents to have.” I kind of feel the same way on the quorum question, but I think that’s not exactly what you were asking. No one really has a major problem with quorum rules, excepting rare intentional absences.

We’re not there yet, but I could see a bit more fear-mongering smashing us into V For Vendetta territory

Cat: Yes, this is very nice, but where’s the plain cardboard box it came in?

I am lucky enough to have a local vet that is excellent and caring and independently owned. When the owner wanted to retire a few years ago, several of the veterinarians pooled together to purchase it, so it wasn’t bought by a big company. My cat died earlier this year, but I will continue to donate to them even though I don’t have a pet right now.

All that being said, I’ve known two people who’ve worked at the VCA, and both are excellent. One (a vet tech) is still there and loves it and her manager is great, but the other left because she was overworked and underpaid (an actual veterinarian). In an ideal world, huge conglomerates wouldn’t buy out and jack up the prices of independent vets and then cut costs by stressing staff, but that doesn’t mean that the people working there aren’t caring and dedicated. Depends a lot on the specific location.

Oh wow, you unlocked a memory of me singing that at like 2am in a packed car while waiting at a Taco Bell drive thru in high school. I’m gonna go lie down now, my back hurts.

And their Instagram, before the motorcycle pics so you have to login or cheat, is https://www.instagram.com/cobabeda99/

Damn it now this is going to be stuck in my head for the day. “64. How did 64 get into it? I hear you cry.”

Just because I can’t name the head of Antifa (or any other prominent member of Antifa) off the top of my head doesn’t mean they aren’t a highly coordinated terrorist organization.

Fantastic satire

Charlie’s Angels’ Colon must have been a direct to TV sequel

This and inflationary language are two of my favorites from him!

National Treasure is a mediocre movie that I will always watch the shit out of. It is the perfect balance of ridiculousness and action, and just always brings me joy.

Better than jumping the shark

What does lamo mean? I understood the rest, and yes, my back hurts.

Northerners: The American Civil War

Southerners: The War for States’ Rights

Deep Southerners: The War of Northern Aggression

Deep Deep Rednecks: North 1, South 0, HALFTIME!

Oh god how have I never realized this. You monster!

Also, it’s crazy to me that we still use the normal metric prefixes for a logarithmic scale!

When I was younger, I assumed that trans people wanted to transition because they felt their personality wasn’t their “assigned at birth” sex. And thus, because of society’s expectations that “men should dress and act this way” and “women have to do/be this,” a lot of people who didn’t meet that would be trans. But as I met and talked to more people, both trans and agender/genderfluid/etc., it does seem like those with body dysphoria actually feel uncomfortable in their bodies, and want a different body. But I’ve never actually asked any trans friends about it, because it does feel too personal, even though some of them are very good friends.

So, my question: if there were no gender norms or societal expectations, would you still want to transition? Would that answer change if surgery/hormones aren’t desired, and you instead do want to keep the body you were born with?

I had a neighbor growing up who was opposed to legalizing same-sex marriage in our state. Why? Oh, it was because he was legitimately convinced that it would ruin his gay son’s marriage, which had occurred in Massachusetts and was currently recognized by our state. He thought his son would have to get remarried again in our state, and that was unfair and discriminatory to his beloved son. “Why should he have to get married again just because he’s gay?!?”