The decorations come down and the chores resume, but the work of maintaining independence goes on. Three July 5ths, in 1776, 1813, and 1994, offer three lessons: getting information to people, upholding the rule of law, and preparing for the unknown.

It was my third day of an internship at U.S. Senator Jon Kyl’s Phoenix office when the office phones suddenly started ringing constantly.

Laws are passed, rules are formed, and internal policies are born. The cost of rigid adherence is that it may stray far away from the original intent of a law.

The graveyard of good policy proposals is enormous.

Policy discussions often operate at both a system level and a personal level.