Any well-run organization has a great process. The United States is such an organization. We have a great process in place for presidential succession. This topic continues to trend. Did many Americans ditch civics class when this was taught? Wait. Maybe there was no civics class. ? If the President is unable to assume the […]
The President is Ill
Our President is ill. Will one of our enemies take advantage of this situation? Before 6:00 a.m., when I heard the news that the President and First Lady contracted coronavirus, the commentator’s very next sentence was speculation about U.S. vulnerability to our adversaries. What might Iran, China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran view as an […]
Presidential Debate Makeover
By now, you have heard and seen it all about the first presidential debate, which many Americans are struggling to call a “debate.” It’s been called a lot of things, mostly negative. Americans instinctively know what debate should look and sound like. For sure, the debate did not follow the rules for civility that we […]
It’s An Issue
Our citizenship is not just a piece of paper. It’s how we live. Since this is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship, let’s apply what we intuitively know about a citizenship issue facing us. My antennae went up early this morning when I heard Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, called various names for adopting two children […]
The Peaceful Transfer of Power
Do you think this election is contentious? Got a few minutes? Look up the election in 1800 between the Democrat-Republican Thomas Jefferson and Federalist John Adams. Being free ain’t easy. America was divided in the election of 1800 between those who wanted a strong central government that emphasized a healthy manufacturing sector, and those who […]
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Another week, another set of challenges! Lots of questions, not a lot of answers. Here’s a question I’m struggling with as our nation will be laying Associate Justice Ginsburg to rest and watching for the announcement of a nominee to the Supreme Court . Thank you for being here. We at Common Sense Civics and […]
Hell on Earth 2020
Those pictures coming in from the west coast look like real “hell on earth.” I can’t even imagine. None of us can unless we have been relocated to a shelter, are battling the inferno, or have personal experience with wildfires. Before I share with you a text I received, please know that we don’t turn […]
Welcome New and Returning Subscribers!
It’s been a challenging week nationally and personally. The blog handles some of the national topics related to our civics and citizenship. Personally, Facebook decided that in order to maintain my Common Sense Civics and Citizenship page, I would need a different address as well as a new email address that ties my domain name […]
September 11
About September 11, they say, “We will always remember.” What will we always remember? What memories will we pass down to our posterity? -the shock of villains using our freedoms against us -no longer naive about freedom and safety; we are never more than one misstep away from an attack on our shores -the faces […]
From the Mailbox
Well, not exactly the mailbox… I received a phone call over the weekend from a loved one, who asked a compelling question. “Why do you believe what you believe? I just don’t understand someone like you. How could you think like this?” (names my beliefs that are in question) How would you answer someone if […]
Welcome New and Returning Subscribers!
Welcome New Subscribers! Thank you for subscribing to the weekly updates. Each week I will include the latest articles I have written. An occasional personal note from me will also arrive in the weekly email. The advantage of being a subscriber is the ability to see Common Sense Civics and Citizenship without the comments that […]
Labor Day 2020
Americans don’t seem to be in the mood to talk about Labor Day. Many are out of a job, not by their own choosing. Hard-working people are watching their savings dwindle. Others are sick and tired of the chaos going on in our country. Still others (I talked to a 30-something yesterday) want “this election […]
Simple Civics 101 Election Basics
Feeling bombarded with ads, calls, billboards, texts, etc. about the November 3 election? It’s a war! The war is over YOU and your vote. Every modern means to secure your support is used. Generals in any war use tactics to win the skirmishes and battles along the way. Elections are like that. Sound bites, slogans, […]
Straight Talk about Civil Unrest
What would you do? Not sure what I’d do if I had to live through “Protest Hell” as the direct object of gangs of verbally abusive, under 30-somethings. The scenes I’m seeing aren’t staged. They are first-person accounts. These incorrectly labeled “Peaceful Protestors” get up in your face as you walk in a suit and […]
From the Mailbox…
Let’s make the complex simple. One CSCC participant would like to know my thoughts about the term “living constitution.” First, have you ever heard of “the living constitution?” This is a philosophy based on a “revolving door” definition of truth. When our Founders wrote the US Constitution, “truth” was defined as absolute and unchanging. For […]
