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

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.

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?

Yeah, but can it play Doom?

I don’t disagree with you, but I will say that it is quite dependent on the community. I had some issues for a while, but spent time filtering and muting/blocking communities and users, and now I’m at a point where my feed is significantly less fanatical and toxic than Reddit ever was (even after years of attempting to filter the same way).

Exactly my reason. After the Reddit API fiasco, I tried the Lemmy web interfaces at first and was a bit frustrated because it just didn’t work well. Then I saw Boost had a Lemmy version, and switched over, easy-peasy.

The Star Wars Expanded Universe (now called “Star Wars Legends” because of Disney)

Holy crap that Animorphs game; I absolutely remember playing that. Stupid Yeerks

Logical Journey of the Zoombinis, Gizmos and Gadgets, All of the Carmen Sandiego titles (US, World, Space, etc.), Commander Keen

Sauron Denies Request for Contract Information

Reading a prepared statement from the tower of Barad-dûr, the Mouth of Sauron indicated today that the Dark Lord would not be complying with the demands of lawmakers to provide information on its contracts with the Trump Administration. The Messenger of Mordor further called the demands “ridiculous” and “unnecessary government intrusion into private affairs of Sauron, who does not answer to any higher authority, save that of his fallen master Morgoth.” Furthermore, the statement chastised the lawmakers for contacting Sauron through the Palantir, which he described as “an illegal privacy breach,” and said he planned to seek legal action for this invasion of his personal communications.

This sounds insane, but I’m absolutely fascinated by it. I just ran out of cottage cheese yesterday, but I’m going to try making these later this week!

Isn’t most of the insurance for liability? I can see a logic where older cars are less safe, and thus accidents are more likely and would cost more, hence the higher costs. But I’m just guessing.

I love this! And if you find yourself afraid to even entertain an idea, perhaps you’re afraid that you’ll find it convincing and accept it. We should WANT to be convinced, because that means the different idea holds more merit than our current belief!