Welcome to Tuesday, February 11th, heads and tails...

Today, voters in New Hampshire will cast their ballots in the first-in-the-nation primary. What they're voting for, really, is which direction they hope to see America go.

But why would Granite Staters want anything different?

According to Gallup, Americans' satisfaction with the direction of the country is at its highest point since 2005.

A little more than three years have passed since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, and Gallup found that Americans’ level of satisfaction with eight key issues had increased substantially since Trump took office in January 2017:

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Satisfaction did drop in three areas, however. Read about them here, then join the public polling:

How do you feel about the direction of the country on a scale of 1 (very satisfied) to 5 (very dissatisfied)?

On the Radar

American Monarchy

President Trump recently declared: “Article II (of the U.S. Constitution) gives me the right to do whatever I want,” referring to the section of our founding document which outlines the powers of the executive branch.

Alan Dershowitz, who defended the president in his impeachment trial, crowned this statement, arguing: “[T]he president’s far more powerful than the king. The president has the power that kings have never had… He has a very, very powerful office, and the framers wanted it that way.”

Lead House impeachment Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), in his opening statements, also addressed the return of the king:

“Does the oath of office itself - requiring that our laws be faithfully executed, that our president defend a Constitution that balances the powers of its branches, setting ambition against ambition so that we become no monarchy - still have meaning?”

Ben Franklin famously said: America is “a republic, if you can keep it.” Can we keep America a republic? And if democracy is broken, should we?

"American Monarchy" is our first piece in a planned series exploring significant, but controversial, questions about the state of the union.

Would you consider having an American Monarchy?

What You're Saying

Here's how you're answering Should Homeland Security & FEMA Incorporate the Needs of Children Into Their Disaster Planning?

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Should DHS Produce a Report on Climate Change’s Impact on Homeland Security?

And, in the End...

"Gerrymandering" was birthed today.

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On this date in 1812, the governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry, signed a redistricting law that favored his party. Pundits thought Gerry's squiggly outline resembled a salamander.

Come up with a solution for gerrymandering in honor of National Inventors' Day,

—Josh Herman

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