I don't think "Welcome" is the right word for this episode in that it is a mess. We're unfocused and all over the place… kind of like our country right now. We're post riot and pre inauguration or ig-nauguration if you're the Senator and it really doesn't feel great right now being an American, at least for me. No one seems happy. I supposed democrats are relatively happy because Mao Tse Trump is leaving office but no matter where you are on the spectrum, things are not good in this country. So much unrest and dis-ease, it doesn't feel good. Maybe we've taken so much for granted for so long, we're being jarred out of our cushy country's consumerist tendencies and we need to wake up.
A couple of things we go over that bears a mention going in: we talk about the filibuster. Now I don't know about you, but this moron didn't even really know what a filibuster was until recently. So, I'd like to address it briefly so you know what this moron's understanding is of the filibuster. A filibuster is a form of obstruction and it occurs when a bill comes up and a senator or representative raises a question for debate relating to the bill. The debate can continue on and on and on unless a "supermajority" can be reached rather than the original majority that would have been needed before someone raises the question and therefore the debate. A supermajority is a 3/5ths vote (60%) instead of 51%.
In many cases the points made in the debate have nothing to do with the bill at all.
Here are a couple of examples courtesy of a BBC article (link in the description):
In 1935 Louisiana Democrat Huey Long tried to quash a bill by talking for more than 15 hours, reciting recipes for Roquefort salad dressing and discussing in detail the best way to fry oysters.
Twenty-two years later, the South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond, set a record by filibustering a civil rights bill for 24 hours and 18 minutes, reading aloud the voting laws of each US state and quoting George Washington's farewell address in its entirety.
Sometimes filibustering a bill might be more commonly referred to as "talking a bill do death", or "talking out a bill", "stonewalling"... or how about cock-blocking. Isn't that a form of filibuster?
So we cover that wonderful aspect of our government and a tool that may serve the Republicans in the upcoming Democratic Senate, even though it's democratic by only one vote.
We finish by talking about the military style sendoff Trump is asking for on the morning he departs the White House before the inauguration of Grandpa Joe Biden, complete with military band, soldiers and hopefully a flyover. Isn't that completely contrary to the Republican platform in terms of wasteful spending of our tax dollars? How much do you think the sendoff he's asking for will cost? Wednesday is going to be so much fun.
With all that is going on in the world, all that is going on in this country we start by talking about, guess what? That's right. We start by talking about the Senator and the fact that he can't get his $250 Apple Earpods to pair with his PC so he has to switch over to his $250 Beats by Dre headphones. See how difficult life can be America? Wherever you are I hope life is being more kind to you than it is to our friend The Senator. Let's reach out to him right now with some positive energy and well wishes and thank you for listening to The Modern Moron…
The art of the filibuster: How do you talk for 24 hours straight? - BBC News
