What is a filibuster?
138897
A kind of pirate. More precisely "an early 17th century term that the English used for a buccaneer in the Caribbean".\n\nHave a look to other definitions:\nhttp://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=define%3Afilibuster
46788
The filibuster is used by senators when they have "the floor." The idea behind it is to keep yaking and yaking for endless hours and not give up the floor so that the bill they are discussing cannot be voted on. It's been part of our political system since our forefathers argued in congress. The candidate is allowed to keep the floor till he/she is finished and it can go on for hours! They've even been known to call it a day and the next morinings session begins with the same filibuster. They figure that they'll convince those who oppose the bill they want passed or bore them to death until someone cries "Uncle." Tina
597795
Russ Feingold\n\nWhy?\n\nFeingold was the only senator to vote against the USA PATRIOT Act when first voted on in 2001. At the time, Feingold stated that provisions in the act infringed upon citizens' civil liberties...no one listened...and now everybody whines...\n\nFeingold was one of 23 members of the United States Senate to vote against H.J. Res. 114, which authorized President George W. Bush to use force against Iraq\n\nAnswerman wtf..lol..last thing we need is another President with "family ties" so to speak.
882810
Don't wanna be a wikipaster, so this link here will give you some good information. the higher rated answers above explain things nicely as well\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Senate
1182584
In the US it usually means talking for as long as it takes to delay a vote... talking about anything.  You can read the phone book for 3 weeks straight if you have the desire (and stamina).  It's used in the US Senate but I believe is against the rules of the House.  In Japan, I've heard, there are laws against the filibuster but not against how long it takes to get up to the podium to speak, just so long as you're moving towards it so people will take all day going the hundred feet from their seat to the microphone.
1104817
The House of Representatives.
954220
the senate, and filibuster.\nsee http://www.thisnation.com/question/037.html\nthis gives a pretty good definition.
334835
First a bit of background:\n\nFrance -- like many other countries -- has a parliament (= US Congress). This Parliament is divided into two parts: a Senate (Sénat) and a "Chambre des Députés" (= US House of representatives).\n\nOf course, this parliament is different from the US Congress, but just remember that it works mostly in the same way.\n\nLaws are then created in the following way:\n\n1. A "Projet de Loi" (Law Project) is presented to Parliament -- usually to the Chambre des Députés -- either by an MP (Member of Parliament) or, more frequently, by a member (minister) of the current Government. Another possibility is that an existing law needs to be amended/modified, in which case a "Projet d'Amendement" is presented and discussed exactly in the same way as a normal law.\n\n2. The law (or amendment) is then discussed by the "Députés", who amend and/or modify it.\n\n3. The Law is then subject to a vote by the "Députés". All amendments to the law are also voted upon.\n\n4. If accepted, the law then goes to the Senate, where it is again discussed, modified, amended, etc.\n\n5. The Law is then subject to a 2nd vote by the Senate.\n\nAt this stage, several things can happen:\n\n5.1. The law is accepted by both Senate and Chambre des Députés: it then becomes a part of French Law, which means it will become part of one of the French "Law Codes", and that the Government will pass one or more "Décrets d'application", which clarifies the law if needed and commands & instructs all relevant law-enforcement agencies to apply it from a given date.\n\n5.2. The law is rejected by the Senate. It then goes back to the "Chambre des députés" for a 2nd session (Seconde Lecture), during which it will be again modified, amended, voted upon, etc... after which it will go back to the Senate for another round.\n\nStill with me? Good!\n\nAt any point during this whole process, a group of "députés" or senators can call upon the "Conseil Constitutionnel" (Consitution Council) to pronounce itself on the constitutionality of a law.\n\nThis means that -- if the Conseil Constitutionnel finds the law unconstitutional -- any law can be rejected outright, and won't be allowed to be discussed any further. This is, in effect, a form of constitutional veto on the law.\n\nBut, at any point during this big cycle, the Government can force the law to be adopted, using what is called the "Article 49-3". This is usually very controversial and the mark of a very unpopular text (as was the case recently). If that is the case, the only way to stop the law from being adopted is for the MPs to censor the Government, which is hard to do, since governments usually also have a mjority of their own party in Parliament.\n\nAlso, the President can force a law -- or even parts of a law -- to go back to Parliament if he is not satisfied with it.\n\nFinally, the only exception to the above rules is the case when there is a constitutional change. In that case, the changes to the constitution are debated by _both_ the Senate and the Chambre des Députés in a "special" Parliament in Versailles (and not in Paris). Otherwise, the law-making rules are almost the same.\n\nIn Paris, the French Senate is based on the Left Bank, at the "Palais du Luxembourg" and the "Chambre des Députés" is based at the "Assemblée Nationale", near the river Seine.
838551
The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress, the other being the Senate. Each state is represented in the House proportionally to its population, and is entitled to at least one Representative. The total number of Representatives is currently fixed at 435 by the Reapportionment Act of 1929, though Congress has the authority to change that number. Each Representative serves for a two-year term and may be re-elected an unlimited number of times. The presiding officer of the House is known as the Speaker, and is elected by the members. The present House delegations by state are shown in the article List of U.S. states by population.\n\nThe bicameral Congress arose from the desire of the Founders to create a "house of the people" that would represent public opinion, balanced by a more deliberative Senate that would represent the governments of the individual states, and would be less susceptible to variations of mass sentiment. The House is often considered the "lower house," and the Senate as the "upper house," although the United States Constitution does not use such language. The Constitution provides that the approval of both houses is necessary for the passage of legislation.\n\nThe House is generally considered a more partisan chamber than the Senate. Many of the Founding Fathers intended the Senate (whose members were originally chosen by the state legislatures) to be a check on the popularly elected House, just as the House was to be a check on the Senate. The "advice and consent" powers (such as the power to approve treaties) were therefore granted to the Senate alone. The House was granted its own exclusive powers: the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach officials, and elect the President in electoral college deadlocks. The Senate, however, can propose amendments to spending bills, try impeached officials, and choose the Vice President in an electoral college deadlock. The Senate and its members generally have greater prestige than the House since Senators serve longer terms (six years) in a smaller body and (in most cases) represent larger constituencies than Representatives.\n\nThe House meets in the south wing of the United States Capitol.
990334
In your last question you partially answered your own question  about who it serves.  It also serve republicans who suck up to them and get votes and money from them by maintaining the embargo.
863287
You probably mean the filibuster. It is a tactic used by members of a minority to try and prevent the majority from addressing an issue or passing a law. In it, the member filibustering takes the floor and speaks for as long as they want to try and stall business. As long as the member remains on the floor speaking nothing else happens, but as soon as they quit speaking and or leave the floor business resumes as usual. One famous case of this was a Senator filibustering by reading out of the phone book.
1037783
Bicameral refers to the number of legislative bodies in a country and state. Bicameral means there are two. Nebraska is the only state in the Union that has a unicameral (one) legislature. All others have two (called the House and Senate) and are therefore bicameral.\n\nI hope this helps.
981205
president pro tempore - A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service
759752
Any Senator is entitled to speak on any bill before the Senate, But if they speak, and speak and speak for days, and then some other senator gets on his hind legs and does the same thing,followed by another and another, they can keep it going until the senate rises and the session is over without resolving the bill!..After that, its usually refered off to some commitee and never heard of again!..In Australia, this cannot be done anymore, because the Govt can move a vote on it!..They seldom do this though, for fear of govt members crossing the floor!
276112
a filibuster is the means of shutting down the senate to defeat legislation. a senator will get up and start filibustering by saying anything that goes along with the piece of legislation (in theory). there is not limit on how long or how many people talk but the key thing is it shuts down the senate not allowing them to make the laws that they need to be doing.\nthe only way to stop a filibuster is by cloture where 60 of the 100 members of the senate vote to stop the fillibuster but in truth it only limits the filibuster to 2 hours. otherwise the filibuster could go on 24/7 untill every person against the legislation has no voice left.
915946
A pocket veto is a legislative maneuver in American federal lawmaking. The U.S. Constitution requires the President to sign or veto any legislation placed on his desk within ten days (not including Sundays). If he does not, then it becomes law by default. \n\nThe one exception to this rule is if Congress adjourns before the ten days are up and the President does not sign the bill. In such a case, the bill does not become law; it is effectively, if not actually, vetoed. If the President does sign the bill, then it does become law. \n\nIgnoring legislation, or "putting a bill in one's pocket" until Congress adjourns is thus called a pocket veto. Since Congress cannot vote while in adjournment, a pocket veto cannot be overridden.
125866
Filibuster. Quorum. President Pro Tempore. \n"Christmas tree" bill. Riddick's.