The electoral college is one of the oldest and most distinctive features of American democracy. Outlined in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, it began as a compromise between giving the public a direct voice in choosing the president and preserving congressional power. Here is how the system worked originally, and how it changed with the 12th Amendment in 1804 and the 23rd Amendment in 1961. How the System Works Allocation: Each state receives a number of electors eq

The First Amendment says Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of speech or of the press. That sentence has been interpreted by courts for over two hundred years. What is happening right now is not a repeal of that sentence. It is a quiet, systematic redefinition of what it protects, who it protects, and when its protections apply. Text from the First Amendment highlighting fundamental freedoms, including religion, speech, press, assembly, and petitioning the governmen

The Trump administration cut 1.1 billion dollars in federal funding from public broadcasting this year. NPR stations across the country are contracting or closing. PBS faces a similar reckoning. Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, and several other public-interest broadcasters have had their funding slashed or eliminated entirely. The justification offered by administration officials is that the government should not be in the business of funding media. That

In October 2025, the Pentagon introduced new press guidelines. The guidelines required journalists seeking access to sign a 21-page policy restricting their contact with military and civilian staff, warning that reporting on information not officially approved could lead to consequences regardless of how the information was obtained or whether it was classified. Almost the entire mainstream press corps refused. The Associated Press, Reuters, NPR, The New York Times, and every

The United States is now ranked 64th in the world for press freedom. Not 64th in GDP. Not 64th in military spending. 64th in its ability to protect the people whose job is to tell the truth about power. Reporters Without Borders released its 2026 World Press Freedom Index last month, and the findings are damning. For a country that has long held up its First Amendment as the gold standard of democratic values, slipping to 64th out of 180 nations should be a national crisis. I

In an era of intense partisanship and plunging public trust, America's news media faces a crisis, not only from bias or misinformation, but also from who owns and controls the flow of information. This ownership crisis threatens democracy itself: a strong republic depends on informed citizens, who in turn rely on trustworthy news. The American news media have long been dominated by private conglomerates that control much of the broadcast, print, and digital media. While compl