Until 2025, it was common for one or more district court judges to issue “universal injunctions” to block specific federal policies, which were often issued in the form of executive orders from the Office of the President. The Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. CASA (2025) that universal injunctions exceed the power granted to the […]
Can District Courts Block Federal Policies? Read More »
The United States has not one but two court systems: state and federal. They run side by side, each with trial courts, appeals courts, and a high court at the top. Most of the time, your daily legal issues—family disputes, traffic tickets, property fights, or criminal charges—are handled by state courts. Federal courts step in
How Is the Judicial System Organized? Read More »
Voters and political parties became additional sources of presidential power and accountability.
The power to pardon creates some overlap in the powers of the presidency and those of the court.
The Twentieth Amendment largely removed the need for power to convene or adjourn Congress.
Test your knowledge against these five questions!
The Presidency – Quiz 1 Read More »
To faithfully execute the laws of the land, the presidency was assigned executive power that was mostly undefined.
Faithfully executing the laws of the land is one of the most important obligations of the presidency.
The framers feared that a president could be seduced by a foreign power to harm the country.
The framers agreed that the President would command the armed forces – with several explicit reservations.
Does voting make any difference? Is it worth the trouble? The answer depends upon you. If you and enough other people vote for someone who has pledged to represent your interests and to work with your opposition to solve problems, then, yes, absolutely your vote will make a difference. Politicians are highly tuned to what
The Value of Voting Read More »
In general, constitutions are written by people who expect to live and work together for generations to come. It’s when enough people no longer feel this way that Constitutions are weakened or destroyed. One of the reasons they might feel that way is because they have become divided and no longer trust each other.
Keeping Our Republic Read More »
Clashes in Berkeley and Portland bring to mind an interesting story about two countries where people who felt frustrated with each other and their governments. Citizens in Columbia and Venezuela (both republics) were fed up with the inability of their governments to solve their problems. In both cases, they were willing to try the leadership
A Tale of Two Countries Read More »
The U.S. Constitution provides for nearly universal adult access to the ballot. The pandemic is making that difficult. Most voting precincts had historically depended upon retirees to administer the system, many have to shutdown as this high-risk population is reluctant to participate this year. Younger people need to step up. If you want to
Are You Well Served by the USPS? Read More »
Take this short civics course about trust, distrust, and the presidency.
New Course on Trust & The Presidency Read More »
Consider every citizen in this country to be an American, worthy of your support and help.
Declaration of Independence Read More »
To improve trust in our police, fairness and accountability must be more evenly distributed along lines of race and ethnicity.
Trust and Our Police Read More »
History shows that one of the shortest paths towards dictatorship is to get the people divided against each other.
We get to have leaders who are accountable to us, and we get to choose our leaders peacefully – but only if …
Our Leaders Don’t Want Us to Know Read More »
Thomas Jefferson said “Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.” A free press is especially important in the coronavirus pandemic.
Freedom of the Press Read More »
It is hard to fight the corona virus without a healthy liberal, republican democracy. Urgent attention is needed.
Urgent Attention Needed Read More »
