Memorial Day is more than a holiday. It is a solemn day of remembrance—an opportunity to honor the men and women who served in our armed forces and sacrificed their lives and limbs in defense of the values we aspire to uphold as a nation. They served with courage, believing in a country where the […]
All Americans gain from being able to participate in a regular schedule of free and fair elections to choose those who govern us. If you want to learn more about how elections work, check out our short read “Things You Might Not Know About Elections.”
Universal Voting Rights Read More »
How much public corruption is there in the USA? Public corruption was notably present in the Gilded Age from the end of the Civil War through the 1890s, before a public backlash led to several key reforms. At the start of the 21st century, the U.S. was counted among the less corrupt countries. The situation
Public Corruption in the USA Read More »
This year, the country holds mid-term elections. Congressional, legislative, gubernatorial, and statewide offices are on the ballots in 46 states. The first step will be primary elections, where candidates compete to be the face of their political party. If you are interested in helping to select a candidate for your favored party, you can find
2026 Mid-Term Elections Read More »
We have answers! The answers to all these questions and more can be found right here: CFFAD.org All our courses are short reads, nonpartisan, and reviewed by experts on the left AND right. And hang on because more is coming soon!
Can the Government Even Work for Us? Read More »
What is an ally? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, an ally can be understood in two ways. It can mean a sovereign or state associated with another by treaty or league, such as America and its allies, where the Allies were the nations that fought together against Germany in World War I or World War
Allies Make Us Stronger Read More »
Time to refresh your knowledge? The answers to all these questions and more can be found right here: CFFAD.org All our courses are short reads, nonpartisan, and reviewed by experts on the left AND right. And hang on because more is coming soon!
New Year’s Resolution? Read More »
December 15 is Bill of Rights Day. Why is that important? Back when the Constitution was written, some people did not trust the new federal government that the framers created. Those who felt this way, the so-called Anti-federalists, were especially concerned that the new government would tyrannize the people or the state governments. Here is
Bill of Rights Day 2025 Read More »
The Supreme Court took up a difficult issue on December 8, 2025. On the one hand, there is the need for presidents to fully control their executive branch staff so that they faithfully execute the laws of the land. On the other hand, there is a need to insulate some essential functions in the service
Faithfully Execute the Law without Partisanship Read More »
Thursday is Thanksgiving Day in the United States of America. Here are a few things we are grateful for. We are grateful for the framers of our Constitution. They meant to create a new form of government that loyalists and patriots alike could live with – even if flawed in many ways much discussed since
Things to Be Thankful For Read More »
Is American-style democracy truly worth the trouble? On paper, according to our Constitution, our republic has two notable features: accountable representation through regular elections and protection against government tyranny. The protection is achieved through the separation and sharing of powers (so no part of government can get too strong), due process and the rule of
Worth the Trouble? Democracy in Our Republic Read More »
Power really does change hands in the federal government – and it is hard to keep for more than a few years. And, because power does change hands, it is foolish to give your leaders more power than you would trust to your political rivals. If you value freedom and fairness, then it is important
Power Does Change Hands Read More »
A good part of the magic of representative democracy in our republic is that losing an election does not mean losing power forever. Just like in most modern sports, there are always opportunities to compete again and again. This has been true ever since our Constitution went into effect in 1789. It has been true
Can Losers Compete Again? Read More »
October 20 to 26 is Free Speech Week. In that spirit, we are reposting and updating a blog from September 2019. You will find many quotes from American leaders on the right and left in support of free speech – protected under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. ** Decades ago, when this blogger
Famous People on Freedom of Speech Read More »
The federal budget shutdown proves democracy does not work – right? Especially since it has happened several times since 1980 including some long ones in 1995/96, 2013, 2018/19 and now? We agree it is maddening to watch the two major political parties willingly use government services from the military to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Democracy Does Not Work? Read More »
Trust in our system of democracy depends in no small part upon how well it delivers for us. The services we get from the government are part of that. Few of us are happy about shut-downs, inadequate services, waste, and unsustainable debt. That prompts a question: how is the U.S. budget process supposed to work
The Budget Process & Shutdowns Read More »
Very, very few Americans support political violence. Political violence is real and we condemn it. Fortunately, only a tiny fraction of Americans actually supports its use. Here are four kinds of political violence and the share of Americans who supported each, courtesy of the Polarization Research Lab. We show the long-run averages starting from September
Dealing with Political Violence Read More »
September 17 is Constitution Day. This week does not seem like a good time to celebrate but maybe we should give the day its’ due any way. This is a somber time. Charlie Kirk was assassinated just a few days ago. His murder follows too many other acts of political violence against people in both
Constitution Day 2025 Read More »
This article reviews what the Federal Reserve does and why it is independent. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution makes clear that power over fiscal and monetary policy resides exclusively with the Legislative Branch and that it may delegate these powers to agencies beyond its direct control. In practice, Congress has largely maintained its
The Federal Reserve Read More »
We want to propose a fallback plan for the two major political parties if one or more states actually carry out their gerrymandering threats. We propose that candidates, volunteers, donors, and political operatives mount massive efforts to compete in opposition territory. Do the hard work to change minds and earn new voters. You might surprise
Gerrymander War Fallback Plan Read More »
Recent news reports indicate the two major political parties are getting ready for a gerrymandering war that will further undermine the quality of democracy in our republic. Leaders in several “red” and “blue” states are contemplating redistricting for partisan advantage in advance of the mid-terms rather than under the usual ten-year census cycle. The very
The 249th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is a time to celebrate the founding of our nation—an ambitious, imperfect, and ongoing experiment in self-government. We have come a long way since 1776. Today, the United States is one of the world’s most free, powerful, influential, and wealthy nations. Even so, we can always be
249 Years Later: The Power & Price of Self-Government Read More »
Memorial Day is more than a holiday. It is a solemn day of remembrance—an opportunity to honor the men and women who served in our armed forces and sacrificed their lives and limbs in defense of the values we aspire to uphold as a nation. They served with courage, believing in a country where the
CFFAD maintains a glossary of terms that are used in civics. Our new addition is corruption. Check it out.As with all of our glossary entries, we try to be careful. You will sometimes see more than one definition for a word. This is because words can have different meanings for different people. The meaning of
Political Corruption Read More »
Could constitutional checks and balances within the federal government impact your bank balance and the checks you write? Yes, definitely! After a brief reminder of what we mean by checks and balances, we will give you two examples from other countries of how that can happen. The Constitution’s framers created checks and balances to make
Checks and Balances: Yours & The Governments Read More »
Sometimes, when a problem gets bad enough, people say things like “burn it all down and start over.” Many people have said that about the federal government. Suppose the “burn it down” people get their way. What kind of government would you like to see built after the fire? To help you think about that,
After the Fire: What Next? Read More »
We are living in almost unprecedented times. Many problems have piled up on top of one another in a way younger Americans have never seen – and older Americans haven’t seen for many decades. Making things worse, many of us feel either very frustrated and apathetic or very angry about what has been going on.
Timeless Ideas for Tough Times Read More »
Some of the stuff on the radio, TV, and social media sounds pretty ominous. But how much of it is meant to deliberately get you scared? What would be the advantage of getting you scared? How can you fight the fear? We’ve got your back – check out the answers here. It’s a short read.
Fear and Fear-Mongering Read More »
It is time for the two major parties to work harder to earn new votes. One-third of Americans have not registered to vote and have not given their allegiance to any political party. Worse, neither of the major parties seems to be making much effort to earn new votes from these people. According to the
The Parties Should Work Harder Read More »
CFFAD adds its thoughts and prayers for the victims of the senseless tragedy of July 13 and wishes a full, speedy recovery to former President Trump. Political violence has no place in a healthy democracy. We condemn it in the strongest possible terms. Rather than violence, we believe the better option is to insist on
