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Caitie Whelan

Caitie Whelan

A Key Policy Power Marker

While it is true that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, it is less true that a House Speaker by any other name would control as much. Legislatures the land over just love their titles. And too often, good folks unwittingly misaddress legislators, an immediate flag

Decoding Policy Jargon

The poets seldom write about short-term CRs. Full committee markups and community directed spending (a spiffed up way of saying earmarks) are also notably absent from the poetic canon. Uninspired though legislative language may be, it can actually have some bearing on us. So let's open wide the

What Quietly Helps Hold Democracy Together

There's a place where you can take stuff home for free and be trusted that you'll bring it back. The stuff isn't grimy or second-rate or chaotically strewn about, but systematically organized, updated, and cared for by professionals. This place also offers other free

The Key Thing the News Barely Covers

And now for a few fun policy questions. Can you... * ...name one component of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law? * ...name one law that was enacted under Trump? * ...ditto Obama (besides Obamacare)? If you could answer any of those, brava! If you were stumped by all of them (but can still

Dispelling One of the Biggest Myths in Modern Politics

The story we get told is that everything is partisan and politicians can agree on nothing across the aisle. But, as a cashier recently said when I offhandedly remarked that it had been raining for years, "I call B.S." Point of fact: It had been raining for

For When You Want to Give Up All Hope of Policy Change

"This is something we really cannot duplicate in the United States," Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross tells the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging one August day in 1972. "In England," she continues, "it does not cost the patient a penny." She isn't talking

If You're Nervous About Contacting Your Legislator

Us Magazine - which I don't read because I'm just too absorbed with the collected works of the French existentialists - has a section called, "Stars! They're just like us." Stars, here, are not luminous spheres of hydrogen and helium (though some

The One Note That Can Change a Vote

Today, let's discuss some people who aren't household names, but who can tell us a lot about our role in democracy. Mark Babin, a licensed pilot and minister, won northern Maine's rural House District 3 seat by 110 votes. Down in the northeastern part

Two Unconventional Democracy Strengtheners

All kinds of juicy policy stuff is happening right under our noses! And an easy way to get some visibility into the juice is our Unconventional Democracy Strengthener #1: Sign up for our town or county's newsletter (if they have one). Mine shows up in my inbox on

Where, Exactly, Do Our Tax Dollars Go?

Years ago, on a busy city bus, I noticed a sticker the size of a Monopoly card on the corner of a glass pane behind the driver. "Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act," the sticker said in nondescript font. Now when most people read that, I&