I can think of no better time of the year to discuss the institution of the National Holiday.
In the US, legislation declaring a ‘national holiday’ is passed by Congress and signed by the President, just like any other law. On these Congressionally-designated holidays, most employees of the federal government are given the day off. But although Congress can close down the federal government, it can’t do the same for private businesses or even state governments. It is up to each company, and each state, to decide whether or not to give its employees the day off. If you are …read more

Campaign spending is obviously one of the most contentious aspects of the US political process, and we often hear of proposals to limit expenditures as a way of leveling the playing field or promoting more moderate campaigns. Although we are used to discussing campaign finance laws proposed in or passed by Congress, the Supreme Court, in its role as interpreter of the US Constitution, plays a major role in regulating campaign finance. One of the United States Supreme Court’s most important cases deals with exactly that. The case is Buckley v. Valeo (1976), and it remains essential to understanding campaign …read more

The US Constitution, our second form of government (after the Articles of Confederation), constitutes the rules of the political game. Although it is a short document of only about 4,500 words, its 4 pages of parchment are filled with amusing little nooks and crannies that are easy to overlook as we skim for the most well-known sections.
Sure, we all know about Article I, Section 8’s enumeration of Congressional powers, and who could forget the Fourth Amendment’s protection against “unreasonable searches and seizures,” but when was the last time you curled up with Article 3, Section 3’s definition of treason, or …read more