Welcome to the wayback machine for Civics for Adults. Start here if you’re new to this newsletter and want to get caught up, or if you want to find a post you think you read here before.
I’ve been writing this newsletter since January 2025 to educate American voters and non-voters about how the U.S. government works.
Think of this directory as the syllabus for the civics class you are auditing at your own pace. The posts from the past month or so and my most popular essays are free to everyone. But if you want to dig deeper into the archives, you’ll need to become a paid subscriber.
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Table of Contents
= Link to a post or story by someone else
The rest are by Donna Blankinship
Politics and Government, in general
(Re) Introducing Civics for Adults
Could you pass the new test to become a U.S. citizen?
10 things I didn’t know about U.S. government: Wrap-up of the first year
Do no harm: Spread truth not lies on the Internet
Bad Bunny doesn’t dance alone in the U.S. territories
Hunger in America, one of the richest nations in the world
What America’s treason law really says
Why some government cuts should scare you
Why NGOs have been tax exempt since America first taxed income
Why does it matter what people in other countries think of the U.S.
How immigration and crime are (not) connected
= Understand how your local government works (Dr. Nancy Pearson)
Civic Engagement and Advocacy
Your citizen’s toolkit for taking political action
Don’t give up on America: Resolutions for civic engagement
How to be most effective when you call Congress
What to do when ICE comes to your town (or school or business)
Political actions to celebrate Independence Day
Don’t let Trump scare you away from protesting
Stay safe: Legal rights for protesters
= CitizINFO: Free resources for informed U.S. citizens (Brie McReynolds)
History
What you should know about the U.S. military draft
A short history of political violence in the United States
What you may not know about federal holidays
Presidents have been going to war without Congress since at least 1898
What America’s treason law really says
= Republicans were the progressives of the early 20th Century (Jim Schlueter)
= What’s the gerrymander and when was the species discovered (with Alycia Asai)
Voting and Elections
Why Americans under 30 don’t vote and what you can do
Who are the 100 million Americans who don’t vote
How to get the 43% of eligible voters who skip U.S. elections to vote
Is the U.S. Voting Rights Act dead or just damaged?
U.S. Supreme Court supports voters over Trump
Getting out the vote may be as easy as waiting in line at the DMV
How the Supreme Court could make it harder for you to vote
The SAVE Act may be coming for your vote
This is why voting matters: Voting rights, Citizens United, Electoral College
Voting is your American super power
What if Kamala actually won in 2024
Experiments in American democracy
= Extend Early Voting & Paper Ballots: An excerpt from "The Hidden History of the War on Voting" (Thom Hartmann)
=Ranked choice voting: How it works and why it matters (The Democracy Group)
The Constitution
Constitutional Law for beginners
Is it time for a U.S. Constitutional Convention?
Separation of powers: Is the Constitution working as intended
Constitutional Law for beginners: The First Amendment
What America’s treason law really says
Separation of powers: tools of resistance
Five ways to become a U.S. citizen
What is the emoluments clause and why should you care?
= What’s the gerrymander and when was the species discovered
The First Amendment
Stay safe: Legal rights for protesters
Constitutional Law for beginners: The First Amendment
How to get your hands on public records and track your government
Hate speech is protected speech
How to be a professional truth teller
Don’t look away from the press
FOIA like an American who has a right to government documents
Executive Branch
Presidents have been going to war without Congress since at least 1898
Is Trump committing war crimes in the Iran war?
What the U.S. Education Department actually does
Power of the presidency: How it has grown
Social Security: America’s biggest anti-poverty program
Executive orders: suggestions or laws?
“Fun” facts about Inauguration Day
= Why Social Security is in the worst crisis since its 1935 founding (Robert Reich)
= The evil at your door: The deportation action as regime change (Timothy Snyder)
Congress
How to be most effective when you call Congress
The fabulous perks of serving in Congress
Congress is back in D.C. Your summer break is over
Congress and the health insurance affordability crisis
Do Republicans hate poor children
Are NPR, PBS and Elmo in trouble?
What is a filibuster and why should I care?
= What’s the gerrymander and when was the species discovered (with Alycia Asai)
The Judiciary
Is it constitutional to expand the Supreme Court and set term limits?
Separation of powers: tools of resistance
Is the U.S. Voting Rights Act dead or just damaged?
How the Supreme Court could make it harder for you to vote
Immigration Law 101: Law and policy are not the same
= Trump grows increasingly combative with the courts (NY Times)
The Economy
With gas prices up by $1, Americans want to know why
The national debt has hit a new milestone. You might want to start worrying.
Who is paying to bring World Cup soccer to America
How worried should you be about the economy?
Which is more concerning: The economy or censorship of economic statistics?
= Here’s what tariffs are and how they work (The Associated Press)
= Why Trump will lose his trade war (Paul Krugman)
= A financial crisis primer, Part 1 (Paul Krugman)
What others are saying about Civics for Adults
Jim S.:
"Donna is a respected journalism colleague and friend. And while I appreciate the many voices on Substack, I need help in sorting through the sheer volume of content and opinion pieces. Donna does that, through her experience and expertise in the journalistic principles that we so badly need today."
Annette L.:
“Truth telling is vital. Excellent post! Thank you!”
Elizabeth P:
“This is an important read and drives home the value of journalism that reports objectively, rather than staying in the echo chamber of opinion writers (however excellent) whose views mirror my own.”
Join the conversation
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About me
I’ve been covering the news as a writer and editor for decades. I’ve worked for a variety of media, including The Associated Press, The Seattle Times and Cascade PBS, nonprofit public media in Seattle. I’ve been intrigued by government and politics since I was a kid watching Richard Nixon’s impeachment trial on TV. I started this newsletter as my way to do something about my dismay seeing so few Americans vote in the past few elections.
My work elsewhere
Donna on TikTok: brief civics lessons while cooking
Donna at Crosscut/Cascade PBS: a nonprofit news site in Seattle
Donna’s column at the Washington State Standard
Donna’s column at The Seattle Times
Donna at The Associated Press (just a tiny sample from 16 years at the AP)
Constitutional Law for beginners
What would you be willing to pay to enhance your education about how the U.S. government works? The same as a cup of coffee at that nice cafe near your office or a beer at your favorite pub? Civics for Adults is a reader-supported publication. I only get paid if you decide to contribute. Please consider skipping one coffee (or beer) out this week and be…
Introducing Civics for Adults
I started this newsletter in January 2025 out of frustration over the lack of participation in the past three presidential elections. Everyone talks about the results being 50-50, but that simply isn’t true. About a third of all U.S. eligible voters chose Donald Trump for president in November 2024. Another third chose Kamala Harris and a third sat home…
Great resources.