Mar 1, 2018 | The Informed Citizen
by Jodi L. Miller If you’ve been paying attention over the last year, a lot has been written and speculated about the U.S. Constitution’s emoluments clauses. The word emolument derives from the Latin “emolumentum,” which translates to profit or gain. The dictionary...
Feb 13, 2018 | The Informed Citizen
by Jodi L. Miller Negotiation and compromise, once keys to the legislative process, seem to be lacking in today’s Congress. Many view the legislative branch in Washington, DC as hopelessly partisan, accomplishing very little. In a speech from the Senate floor during...
Nov 27, 2017 | The Informed Citizen
by Jodi L. Miller As you can imagine, running the country is a tough job, which is why presidents rely on members of their cabinet to advise them on difficult issues. The U.S. Constitution never mentions the term “cabinet,” but Article II, Section 2 lays out the role...
Oct 31, 2017 | The Informed Citizen
by Jodi L. Miller Next week voters will again make their way to the voting booth, with New Jersey voters poised to elect a new governor. Today, every U.S. citizen over the age of 18 has the right to vote—that wasn’t always so. In fact, for the most part, when the...
Sep 29, 2017 | The Informed Citizen
by Jodi L. Miller Everyone probably knows there are two political parties in the United States today—Democrats and Republicans. It wasn’t always that way, though. There is no mention of political parties in the U.S. Constitution. In fact, until President George...
Sep 1, 2017 | The Informed Citizen
by Jodi L. Miller The Declaration of Independence states: “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” This is a fancy way of saying that the people should power government. If that’s what our forefathers...
