Government

Scandalgate! The connotative suffix has been affixed to imbroglios aplenty. But has its overuse made us forget its original context?

By Patrick J. Kiger

The longest mail route in America is nearly 200 miles. The shortest? Less than 1 mile.

By Dave Roos

The words we use can suggest transactional or participatory relationships. What's your role in a country? To consume, spend and buy? Or to participate, vote and engage?

By Patrick J. Kiger

The first and only Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia in 1787. Why haven't there been others since?

By Dave Roos

Eight Republican members of Congress are pushing legislation to remove the U.S. from the United Nations. Is that even possible? Has it ever happened before?

By Patrick J. Kiger

You may be surprised at which states are feeding the most at the government trough.

By Dave Roos

Are there alternatives to the winner-take-all voting system? Ranked-choice voting is one, which supporters say would elect more centrist candidates. But critics worry about the downsides.

By Patrick J. Kiger

A new U.S. president is under pressure to produce in those first 100 days in office. Why is that and does it really matter?

By Dave Roos

Born Melanija Knavs in Yugoslavia, the former model is only the second foreign-born first lady of the United States.

By Christopher Hassiotis

Donald Trump proposed stripping flag burners of citizenship. Regardless of the fact that flag-burning is legal, whether the United States can even do that is tricky.

By Patrick J. Kiger

The intelligence community has been keeping the U.S. president up to date on world events since 1946 with the President's Daily Brief. Why would a president skip it?

By John Donovan

The powers wielded by the U.S. president have waxed and waned over the years.

By Oisin Curran

The law actually says 'yes', but precedent says 'no.' Here's why.

By Dave Roos

Democracy requires citizen participation. But sometimes emailing and signing petitions can feel like shouting into a black hole. What's your best strategy to be heard?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Voting on a Tuesday in November has been a U.S. tradition since the 1840s, but the timing makes it difficult for many people to exercise their right to vote. What are states doing about it?

By Patrick J. Kiger & Kathryn Whitbourne

Donald Trump may be the most prominent Trump, but he's not the only one. His polarizing candidacy is affecting ordinary people who share the surname.

By Christopher Hassiotis

A new study says you may get different treatment options depending on your doctors' political beliefs? What's a patient to do?

By Dave Roos

Think that a debate is intense? When tempers rise, elected officials can land more than metaphorical blows, as these examples from the past year alone show.

By Chris Opfer

A low-level cabinet member becomes U.S. president when everyone else is killed during a State of the Union address. It's the plot of a new TV show - and based in reality.

By Dave Roos

Think the Trump/Biden presidential campaign is the strangest? It'll seem par for the course when you see what crazy things have happened in previous elections.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Think you have an original idea for a Constitutional amendment? Are you sure it hasn't been brought up one of the other 11,000 times?

By Clint Pumphrey

If the millennial generation is behind some of the most innovative developments in tech and business, why not hand these young citizens the keys to the country, too?

By Chris Opfer

What started as a hashtag has gone global. Is the group's loose, ever-evolving structure a benefit or a drawback - or both?

By Chris Opfer

How did the idea of "don't kill the messenger" turn into a modern international standard?

By Laurie L. Dove

Cell phone video has inspired millions of people to rally against issues of police brutality. It's a powerful tool for exposing injustices. And it's not going anywhere.

By Dave Roos