After putting this project off for nearly a year, I'm finally writing a "brief" explainer about how the U.S. government works, because this isn't taught as widely/deeply as it should be. This is mostly intended for non-Americans who don't have a deep background in American history, but I don't doubt that some American readers might…
I've been waiting for this election for a very, very long time. With two days left until the 2018 midterm elections, I feel like it's time to dust this thing off and give everyone a "brief" rundown of this year's House, Senate, gubernatorial, and state legislative elections. Donald Trump himself might not be on the ballot,…
Today, Justice Anthony Kennedy announced that he will retire from the Supreme Court of the United States, effective July 31st. Kennedy has been an Associate Justice for just over thirty years now, and his moderate conservative-ish voice made him a swing vote on the court of nine. Upon his retirement, Kennedy will likely be replaced…
Once again, I'm procrastinating my homework to deliver analysis and a reaction to President Trump's State of the Union. This was his first real SOTU address, although he gave an address to Congress last February (and you can catch my reaction to that speech here), so this is kind of a big deal. Presidents usually…
In roughly 20 days, Doug Jones will be sworn in as a United States Senator from the state of Alabama. Jones, a Democrat, will replace Republican Luther Strange and narrow the GOP's already-slim majority from 52 seats to 51. The official election results have not yet been certified, but it appears that Jones has beaten…
No, Jeb! Bush isn't back. But the Democrats are. Sorta. In case you haven't heard, November 7th, 2017, was a pretty great night for the Democratic Party. In the first real general election since the inauguration of Donald Trump, the Democrats took back the governorship of New Jersey, held on to the governorship of Virginia,…
Just 90 minutes after midnight, 51 United States Senators voted against Majority Leader McConnell's latest proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act. I spent the evening worrying about the bill, labeled a "skinny repeal" by the Senate Republican Leadership. The repeal promised to get rid of Obamacare's individual/employer mandate (the thing that requires everyone to…
This post was written on the night of 7 June 2017, in anticipation of former FBI Director James B. Comey's public testimony before members of the United States Congress, slated to take place 8 June 2017. If you're reading this post, you are probably aware that former FBI Director James B. Comey is going to…
At 9:30 AM on 10 April 2017, Neil Gorsuch's official job title changed from "Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit" to "Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court." Welcome to the bench, Justice Gorsuch, and congratulations. Normally, any nomination to the bench requires 51 "yes" votes on the nominee…
Today, 435 of the Democratic National Committee's 447 members voted to select their Chairman. With a majority of 235 out of 435 votes, former Labor Secretary Tom Perez edged out Representative Keith Ellison and secured his place as the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. As Chairman, Perez has the ability to help dictate and…
