FILIBUSTER

Sunday, October 12. 2008

I write this on Day Three of Dad’s filibuster of the Rabbit Council. I don’t know how much those of you on the other side of the portal know about this, but Dad discovered that all of the other Council members were fantastically corrupt. Kell didn’t want Coney to be associated with such behavior, so Dad tried to step down from his seat. The Council members still wanted Coney’s protection, however, and refused his resignation. That’s when he started his filibuster.
Some legislative bodies use speech to hold the floor, but food is such an important part of rabbit life that it’s the act of chewing that the Council recognizes. This is standard for herbivore groups, as predators usually swallow things much, much quicker.
I’m following the events online, and Kell and Rudy watch on the TV back home as Dad chews and Coney draws pictures with her crayons when she’s not sleeping. Kell wanted to retrieve Coney when the filibuster started, but knew that going down into the warren would...complicate matters. Gran and Danielle volunteered to get her, but the Council signaled that Coney had to stay. She seems okay; there’s a lot going on around her and of course she’s well fed from the food coming in from the rest of rabbit society.
There lies the tale: the reaction of other rabbits. Veggies are pouring in from all quarters to aid Dad. Of course his quest is to leave the Council, but his act of defiance has released a wave of support simply to express disapproval of the status quo. It’s inspiring, if it wasn’t so painful to see Dad pushed to the limits of physical endurance.

Posted by Lindesfarne at 12:00 | Comments (30) | Trackbacks (0)

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I hope that all goes well with your father and his resignation. It is sad that there are governments that are that courrupt. Coney has become quite the popular rabbit in her young age! I guess being the child of a wolf/rabbit interspecies marrige and then eating both meat and vegtables no less! She must be the wave of the future j/k.

#1 Jak Trina on 2008-10-12 12:39 (Reply)

Go Kevin!! I'm sure the strain on your family is huge. I just hope Coney stays happy with the vegetables others are bringing in. From the past examples of politics on your side of the portal I would assume that it would not be good if a politician's daughter ate one of his supporters, but maybe it would be seen as a bold statement if she ate one of the rabbit council. That seems extreme though. How are the rest of the council doing, does it look like they might cave soon?

#2 Elisabeth on 2008-10-12 12:47 (Reply)

We have someone over here who inspires the same waves of support. It's nice to have a politician who spent the first years of his adult life actually helping the people instead of campaigning.

#3 Selina Grace on 2008-10-12 12:50 (Reply)

So far both signs show no sign of giving in. As for Coney, she's eating the vegetables being brought without looking hungry for anything else...so far. (I guess that Gran's promotion of plants into her diet has helped in this respect.) It should be noted that Coney never once eaten a rabbit, whether it was related to her or not.
As for her being the wave of the future, that might just be true. Someday we'll see how a bat/hedgehog hybrid does.

#4 Lindesfarne Dewclaw on 2008-10-12 13:02 (Reply)

Hope your Wall Street is doing better than ours. I'm even hearing rumors that student loans will soon be affected. Do you have a student loan?
As for your father and sister...I assume they are allowed to leave to - how do I put this delicately - "dispose" of the digested food they have eaten?

#5 Thomas Mazanec (Link) on 2008-10-12 13:10 (Reply)

Boy, this story oughtta be made into a movie! I can see it now... "Mr. Dewclaw Goes To The Warren"! (I wonder if there's a "human" analogue here... any help, "people"?)

#6 Gray Tiger on 2008-10-12 13:24 (Reply)

What about bathroom breaks???

Sorry, can't help but wonder...

#7 Cid on 2008-10-12 13:35 (Reply)

Can the rabbits that are fed up with the council not call for the impeachment of the current council and election of a new one?

#8 Nifar on 2008-10-12 14:47 (Reply)

Talk about having to "eat your way out" of a situation.

It does seem coruption and government have a way of going hand in hand. I recall Mark Twain remarking in the Guilded Age, "America has the best Congress money can buy." More than a hundred years later, people still nod at those words.

Fortunetly people with honest intentions still go in to try to fix things the best they can. Unfortunetly, we still have a few whom dress themselves as reformers at election time, and in practice fall short of their claims. Voters need to do their homework.

Good luck to your father, Lindesfarne, though I have a feeling he's already "won" by the warren seeing somebody will not go along with the "greasing of palms" as we call it here (I forget where that expression came from).

#9 Bixyl Shuftan (Link) on 2008-10-12 15:08 (Reply)

I don't know, if your dad wants to push the issue, maybe he should stop feeding Coney. (Kidding)

Good luck to Kevin. I hope this Mr. Smith Gambit ends as successfully as the first.

#10 joeb on 2008-10-12 15:08 (Reply)

As I remember, Kevin used to be a professional wrestler; though they get criticized because their actions are scripted (s are movie stars, though they rarely get such scrutiny), that doesn't take away from the incredible physical strength and endurance required to pull it off. If anyone can pull this off, it's Kevin!

#11 ReFlex76 (Link) on 2008-10-12 15:32 (Reply)

I don't have a student loan, fortunately. Beige University gave me a full scholarship.

Hare Link is privately owned, so we don't have stock to worry about.The difficulties on Wall Street might affect our corporate customers, however. (Danielle handles that side of the business.)

Meanwhile, I'll stay off the topic of bathroom breaks...

#12 Lindesfarne Dewclaw on 2008-10-12 16:24 (Reply)

Good luck to your father in his eating endeavors...I'd chip in some support as well, were I living on the same continent right now. Or in fact the same universe...

It's amazing how up-to-date the webcomic that seems to be chronicling your lives here is...I wonder if Mr. B** H****** has his own little portal into your world.

Quick, unrelated question for you, Lindesfarne:

In our universe, we have this concept: Anthropomorphism. It's defined as "the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object." One could say that the aforementioned webcomic is a good example of anthropomorphism, were it not for the fact that it's based on reality (alternate).

Is there such a concept in your world? Is there one word to describe attributing (sentient) animal characteristics or behavior to inanimate objects? Or do you have words for each species, e.g. attributing feline characteristics to canines?

Just curious,

Rob in Japan

#13 Rob in Japan on 2008-10-12 17:58 (Reply)

Yes, we sort of have that concept. When Rudy was doing his webcomic on humans he was a Guest at a convention called Manthrocon.

#14 Lindesfarne Dewclaw on 2008-10-12 18:49 (Reply)

Not exactly what I was asking about, but okay...

I would assume that Manthrocon would have been a short event, lest it wreak havok on the instincts of the attendees!

#14.1 Rob in Japan on 2008-10-12 19:32 (Reply)

Well... while there have been rumors of a few hardcore fans going so far as to shave off their fur (a report which, while unsubstantiated, caused a great ruckus in the tabloids), the vast majority of 'Humies' manage to keep their real lives separate from their fantasies. I attended Manthrocon myself this past summer, and had a wonderful time; and, as far as I can tell, there weren't any negative effects. (Perhaps it's because the character I play is only partly Human).

I never read Rudy's strip; but I think the trouble it caused might have been more of a case of auto-suggestion.... I'm not so sure about the more recent outbreak, though.... 7@=e

#14.1.1 Lucius Appaloosius on 2008-10-13 21:21 (Reply)

It's by no means fiction.

I have had the personal pleasure in meeting (and surviving) & even dining with the feline that feels so deeply that he shares something with Humans that he has altered himself to look Human. (Trust me. One never forgets a feline that taunts your backside with tongue licking sounds and chanting, "Deer". He preferes exotic fish, I...erm...think.) Watching this one gizzelle come leaping over tables to be by his side at a sushi restraurant is a sight to behold. He even tried to show me how to use chop sticks. (Hooves and chop sticks. They don't mix.)

Back in the '80s, he amassed a small fortune through the budding computer industry. (Back before big companies roamed the landscape, swallowing up all profits they can find. And, before small computer companies had net access to offer.) In fact, he was well ahead of this Human curve on transforming into one through those profits. We are not talking about an eight thousand buck shaver, here. Surgery to redesign the muzzle down to almost flat is extreme to the max.

These days, his career is long gone. No place will hire him. Income is tight. (What's wrong with employing a Human? You tell me.) Fame is his final claim. Check out this year's Guiness book. He's in there. (Well...I don't know if our Human reader's can, though.) I have ideas that I could employ him for creating. Though, I have no funds for it.

Anyhow, I ramble. But, my point is that dedicated felines (always the kitties) do exist. There is suppose to be another feline-gone-Human living in the wilds of another continent. Was it Africa? Been so long since I saw the TV special.

#14.1.1.1 jup-reindeer on 2008-10-14 14:47 (Reply)

Yes, it was just a weekend in Philadelphia. (It's since moved to Pittsburgh.)

#15 Lindesfarne Dewclaw on 2008-10-12 19:52 (Reply)

"Your father's on television, fighting for a cause in council? What channel? I can't find any broadcasts of this. Oh, wait. Cable, right? One would think such rabbit events would be picked up on rabbit ears, for Pete's sake.

My hopes go to your father in seeing his cause through, successfully. But, deer...three days involved of chewing? What is he? SuperBuck?"

#16 jup-reindeer on 2008-10-13 01:02 (Reply)

It's on satellite, but I'm getting it via streaming media.
See you next week, everybody!

#17 Lindesfarne Dewclaw on 2008-10-13 01:31 (Reply)

This is being sent on Monday, 10/13.

1) Lindesfarne, I wish we in the human world could/would take such measures to end government corruption.
2) Today, the invisible narrator revealed him/herself. Why do I feel that Coney's going to be belching up snakeskin very shortly?

#18 CharlieG on 2008-10-13 10:55 (Reply)

And I thought the Stackhouse Fillibuster on The West Wing was impressive when a 60-something gentleman read through Great Expectations, the Rules fo Cards, and a huge Cookbook in order to get a discussion about autism for a child healthcare bill. Four days?? Your dad must have some serious stamina... but I also reccoment you keep the path to the nearest bathroom clear!

#19 Sean on 2008-10-13 14:59 (Reply)

Seeing the comic, I can see why the council was so eager to have Connie around.

Anyone on the other side reading this who knows Lindesfarne might want to ask her to check up on the warren, though knowing the carnivorous bunny, the outcome is going to be snake leather for a new belt if he tries to have Kevin for lunch.

#20 Bixyl Shuftan (Link) on 2008-10-13 17:52 (Reply)

It's interesting that it's a SNAKE who's attacking Kevin... remember when Kevin was running for the school board and there was a big issue about who killed the sandbox snake? History repeats itself, huh?

#21 Holly on 2008-10-14 08:24 (Reply)

And thus, the council steps out of the shadows, both physically and metaphorically. No more bribes.

Although, there's something that's been bugging me...

Exactly HOW accurate are the comics in this universe? I mean, how much of it is depicting what's going on in the Lindesfarne's universe and how much of it is artist interpretation? What we're seeing might be completely different then how it's actually going down.

Or there's no apparent discrepancies, and the artist has truly tapped into inter-universal awareness. Which is still rather cool.

Still, I wish there were a way to really test it, short of posting the script of the comics for Lindesfarne to verify.

#22 Fenix on 2008-10-15 23:01 (Reply)

Well, I would imagine confirming the general particulars would be enough. Remember, Lindesfarne saw the event streamed and it was also picked up by satellite (I have to admit, it's the first time I watched anything concerned with RABBIT politics!).

It's intriguing how politics are so different for other species. We have a cat council, of course, but many of us are so independent that we hardly pay any attention to what it does; the only thing that gets us moving is when they do something that abridges our freedom to choose what we want to do (which is pretty rare). I wish Lindesfarne's father luck with the changes he is trying to bring about in the Rabbit Council; many politicians on the cat council are leopards, and you know they NEVER change their spots!

I would have thought the humans, being all one species, would have far less contentious politics, but apparently that isn't the case. (And I'll hold off on any further comments in deference to Lindesfarne's wishes that this not turn into a political blog!).

#22.1 Terri the Tiger on 2008-10-16 09:30 (Reply)

You might think so. These Humans seem to have many undertowing currents about them. Location matters alot. They have pack mentality. They do, indeed, have multiple breeds. They have a social order. If they truly identified with mere looks and saw each other as equals, then they should not have such complex issues. After all, this one posting about all the weapons their many tribes have created would denote just how complicated they truly seem to make their world and of themselves.

There's many hints that they are mirror images of us. So, why should their views of each other be any more harmonious?

#22.1.1 jup-reindeer on 2008-10-17 05:10 (Reply)

At first, I thought the artist had found a way to tap into the computer systems. That did not explain enough. Then, I thought that I truly was on to something where the Human had found a mental connection to Rudy. However, that STILL does not tip off how the artist is getting everything. My latest idea. Magic. Pure magic.

#22.2 jup-reindeer on 2008-10-16 15:35 (Reply)

This story of Kevin reminds me an awful lot of McCain who has always been trying to fight against Earmarks and Pork Barrels in Congress which is a form of government bribe. One of the reasons he's running for president is that he'll finally have the power to veto any bills from congress with Earmarks. Did McCain inspire this story?

#23 Diara Laurino on 2008-10-18 19:23 (Reply)

No, this is what really happened to my father at the Rabbit Council.

#24 Lindesfarne Dewclaw on 2008-10-18 21:21 (Reply)

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