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Hullabaloo — ... Like many others over the past two years, I've ranted from time to time that Harry Reid should force the Republicans to do an actual filibuster. But we were wrong. It's an archaic practice which has been amended in such ways that there is no longer any practical way to make them do it. ...

What about the 'real' filibusters?
Political Animal — WHAT ABOUT THE 'REAL' FILIBUSTERS?.... One of the more common arguments in the debate over filibusters is the fact that actual filibusters never actually happen anymore. Gone are the days in which senators would stand, reading from phone books and reciting recipes, literally talking a bill to death. If we're not going to get rid of the tactic, can we at least discourage their frequency by making senators launch real filibusters? Ryan Grim reports today that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is well aware of these questions, and has looked into the procedure. It's not going ...

Happy Hour Links
Weekly Standard Blog — Military families cut an ad protesting Obama's decision to release Gitmo detainee Binyam Mohamed. Democrats longing to make the GOP conduct an old-fashioned phonebook-reading filibuster will be disappointed. Geert Wilders wants a First Amendment for Europe. The cramdown cometh. Sean Penn is "very proud" that his country elected an "elegant man" president, who should also, apparently, "reflect and anticipate [his] great shame and the shame in [his] grandchildren's eyes" for opposing gay marriage. ...

Make The Filibuster An Actual Filibuster
Open Left - Front Page — ... Unfortunately, this approach was recently closed off, too. After an extensive look into Senate rules, Majority Leader Harry Reid concluded that Democrats are unable to force Republicans to actually filibuster any of the above listed legislation: ...

Forcing a Filibuster
Megan McArdle — The idea is popular among a lot of Democrats impatient with the Republican minority's ability to block their bills--just as it was popular with Republicans when Democrats were filibustering their judicial nominees.  While the idea of a Jimmy Stewart type marathon is appealing, this article lays out, at more length than I've ever seen, why that the majority can't actually force a minority to do it.