Education

1. Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day

It is not clear where the traditions of Memorial Day began, but not long after the Civil War ended, several cities began holding tributes in the spring for the soldiers who fell during the war. People would honor the fallen by decorating their graves and praying.

General John A. Logan called for a nationally recognized day of remembrance to honor the soldiers who gave their lives for their country on May 5, 1862. He proclaimed May 30, 1868 to be the first Decoration Day:

Independent Voting, the national organizing center for the 45% of Americans who self-identify as independents, has launched a unique national voter survey to capture the concerns of America’s independents and independent-minded citizens in the midst of this current pandemic.

In his March 15 commentary, Sen. Angus King wishes Maine a Happy Birthday and another 200 years. He is certain history will repeat itself.

OK. What will he and Maine’s congressional delegation do to ensure it? Will they adhere to our state motto to lead and demand that Congress implement true political election reform? Let’s demand it of them!

As 2019 comes to a close we want to wrap up the year with a review of our most popular stories on nonpartisan reform and unfiltered political news. Unfortunately, many top stories are rife with fine examples of how parties rig the election process -- from denying Bernie the Democratic nomination to Donald Trump’s impeachment. 

But there’s good news! Major reform initiatives took shape shape in 2019, and we’re expecting the momentum to continue heading into 2020.

Surely you have heard of the "Varsity Blues" scandal, in which the rich and famous purchased "side door" entries to elite colleges for their children with mediocre academic and athletic skills.

There were at least two ways they cheated: at two compromised testing centers in Los Angeles and Houston students were given preferential test administrations—alone with a proctor and extra time; and athletic coaches at elite schools were bribed to steer reserved admission slots for their sport to paying non-athletes.

CEO Audrey Henson and her team are disrupting the way internships on the