Exactly! Saying that missing a vote is missing a vote, regardless of the circumstances, is like saying that there's no difference between great white sharks and guppies. Both are fish, right? Yeah, but most people would see quite a lot of difference.

Similarly, speeding is illegal regardless of the circumstances, but nearly everybody regards speeding on a empty road in the middle of nowhere quite differently from speeding on a busy city street filled with pedestrians. Speeding is speeding, except when it's not.

Missing a vote when the tally is 8-0 is radically different from missing a vote when the tally is 5-3. Anybody who can't understand the difference has intentionally put blinders on. I won't do that.

Bruce