US Politics

The scariest part of the healthcare bill is it will make health insurance mandatory for all Americans. The plan will cost billions of tax dollars. If you are below poverty level you will need to...

Many Americans are opposed to the health care reform bill as it is currently written but do not know exactly how to voice their concerns. This how-to article provides easy and efficient ways to be...

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was signed into law in 1996 by President Bill Clinton. While Title I of the act protected workers' rights to retain medical...

Inpatient treatment facilities offer help for patients suffering from severe addiction to drugs and alcohol. These facilities generally offer 30-day therapy to help patients recover from the...

The winner of the November U.S. presidential election becomes the president-elect until he is sworn into office on January 20 of the following year. The president-elect does not have any real...

Federal law currently does not mandate tinting requirements on automobiles; however, each state has its own separate requirements on issues ranging from windshield tint to certification of window...

If you are involved in a protest, you are probably trying to get people to change their minds about something. This can best be accomplished by getting them to think visually, or putting a...

Do you have something held deep within your conscience? Is it burning and simmering inside of you waiting to be released? Are you afraid of what people will think of your opinion? Are you holding...

The Confederate flag was the flag used by the Confederate government and army during the period of 1861 to 1865 as the Civil War occurred. It went through a number of incarnations as the war...

The current Michigan state flag was adopted in 1911, and is the third to be adopted since Michigan became a state in 1837. The various symbols and phrases on the flag have significance to the...

Signed by Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act was designed to change how the federal government would distribute its lands to the people. While it opened access to land for some,...

The Surgeon General is responsible for maintaining a military-based, high-level government office. The individual himself is appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the...

The Office of the Surgeon General is a military-based agency controlled by the U.S. president, acting as the spokesperson for the majority of public health matters in regard to federal government...

Since the beginning of the "war on drugs" in the late 20th century, the number of inmates in U.S. prisons has increased 15 times. A debate within the criminal justice community concerns the...

The U.S. Constitution lays out a number of duties for the president of the United States. Among them is the role of commander in chief, the head of the country's armed forces.

The President nominates and appoints U.S. Supreme Court justices with the approval of the Senate. According to the Constitution, justices "serve during good behavior," generally interpreted as a...

Congress passed the Child Safety Protection Act (CSPA) in 1994 as a regulatory system monitoring products and toys intended for children at least 3 years of age.

Numerous government agencies protect the health and safety of Americans and the environment. In addition to conducting inspections and enforcing policies, these agencies offer support to help...

The executive branch in the United States is led by the president and also includes the vice president, Cabinet members and heads of selected agencies. As of 2009, the leader of the executive...

The first anti-abortion laws in the United States appeared in the 1820s. By 1965, abortion was banned in all 50 states, with few exceptions--some states allowed abortion in cases of rape or incest...

Marijuana is a commonly cultivated plant that has been grown for thousands of years and continues to be used by millions of people worldwide. It has a long history as a folk medicine among many...

Native Americans within the United States are subject to certain benefits. However, these benefits depend on whether a person is a member of a federally recognized tribe. As of 2009, 557 tribes...

Collective agreements are commonly used between companies and the unions that represent their employees. They are the product of negotiations on wages, benefits, work hours and more. Collective...

The United States cabinet includes the vice president and the heads of 15 departments. Cabinet members advise the president on issues relating to their departments.

In an ideal world we wouldn't test medicine and products on animals, but sometimes animal testing provides the only alternative to human testing. Animal testing often saves human lives. However,...

Since its inception, a move to privatize Social Security has been a major debate in the United States. Proponents of the measure point to a number of reasons, namely unfair practices and personal...

Gabriel Tarde (1843-1904) was a sociologist and social theorist known for holding this central thesis: the human person, living in society, has a complex form of existence that derives from every...

Contacting government officials can seem intimidating or challenging, but with some preparation it can be quite easy. Officials make their contact information available to the public in phone...

Renewing your passport can be a hassle, but if you know the reasons passport renewals are denied, you can save yourself the hassle by being prepared.

One way the federal government raises money is through the gas tax it levies on oil refiners. The tax has been around for roughly 80 years. It became a popular issue in 2008 when crude oil prices...

The debate on health care has shed light on the overall rights that consumers have when dealing with claims from their insurance company. Most are unaware of their rights when dealing with this...

National disasters can include any devastating occurrence (such as hurricanes, tornados, fires, floods and landslides) which affects a large region and population. The Federal Emergency Management...

The Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act is a law geared towards preventing and penalizing those responsible for committing identity theft. It provides strict guidelines and funding for the...

The U.S. dollar is a key currency, not only at home but also abroad. Because the price of the dollar fluctuates, economic trends are impacted. Analyzing the dollar's price movements will help you...

From the moment of our birth, we become part of the U.S. record system. Along with a Social Security number, we are given a birth certificate. There are a few times in life when a birth...

Presidential debates help to shape elections and provide substance for public discussions of candidates. The effects of debates vary, depending upon the candidates; polls show changes in public...

The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created to prevent work-related injuries, sicknesses and deaths. To accomplish this, the agency issues and enforces rules...

The Children's Disability Act was first known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act enacted by Congress in 1975 and was changed to its current form in 1997 as the Individuals with...

The Little Rock Nine were nine African American teenagers who became the first test case following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of desegregation of American schools. The students...

The U.S. Cabinet consists of members of the executive branch of the United States government, responsible for advising the President on key areas that are important to the country and overseeing...

Hoping to reduce the cost to process and deliver mail, the Post Office Department (POD) introduced ZIP (Zoning Improvement Plan) codes in 1963.

A prominent Bostonian, Paul Revere was a key player in pre-Revolutionary War events. He made a daring horse ride at the start of the war to warn fellow Boston radicals that the British were...

Because laws are narrowly crafted and will not fit every situation, police officers must often use discretion. Not surprisingly, the degree of discretion that officers exercise has been subject to...

The members of the presidential cabinet are the heads of various departments in the governmental bureaucracy, and each has a vital role in setting and enforcing American public policy.

The United States Cabinet is made up of the heads of the executive branch departments and the vice-president. Though not specifically created by the Constitution or federal law, the Cabinet has...

Embryonic stem cell research is one of the most politically and ethically charged debates in the U.S.. The most outspoken anti-embryonic stem cell research groups say that stem cell research is...

Every ten years, the United States Census Bureau conducts the U.S. Census. This census is important to the government because they are attempting to get an accurate count of the entire population....

It is a question that must cross many a curious mind, especially when appearing in court before a judge, customarily draped in flowing garb: Does it have to be a robe, and why is it black?

The recent health care and Nobel protests have brought to mind, at least for me, the difference between an effective protest and a non-effective one. We often see people in the streets with...

Hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water (H2O). This is an explosive, exothermic reaction, releasing a great deal of energy. Because the reactants are fully involved in the reaction, this...