Action Kit

Cabinet — The senior officers of the Executive Branch in U.S. government who head executive departments ; members get the title 'Secretary of' except for the Attorney General; the 15 current offices are State, Treasury, Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veteran Affairs, Homeland Security and the AG; there are also cabinet-level administration offices, which include the vice president and the White House chief of staff.

campaign finance — Running for political office is really, really expensive, mostly because everyone else running for office raises lots and lots of money, and to compete you have to do the same; reforming this practice and deciding from whom, when, and how candidates get money is a source of constant debate; see hard money, soft money, private financing, public financing. (Federal Election Commission's finance disclosure information)

capitalism — People devote entire careers to defining capitalism; most basically, it is the economic system driven by the competition of private businesses looking for profit; The U.S. has a capitalist economy, however it also does have many government-owned entities; 20DC has advertisements because of capitalism. (Wikipedia entry on capitalism)

censorship — Whether it is the government, the media, an industry, a religious group or your own discretion, withholding information in full or in part is a form of censorship; of course, when you withhold your opinion about Aunt Jean's chin hair, it's not such a bad thing.

CIA — The Central Intelligence Agency gathers information, distributes propaganda and engages in covert operations for the U.S. - all of which makes for good movies, but frequently causes controversy at home and abroad; it is under the direction of the President and oversight of the Congress. (Official CIA Web site)

civil union — Most relevant in the debate over gay marriage, civil unions offer legal benefits similar to a marriage; the terms and specific benefits of civil unions are not all the same; the unions (or a similar recognition like domestic partnership) are legal in seven U.S. states with gay marriage legal in Massachusetts. (Gay union info from About)

collateral damage — An example of political rhetoric; can refer to the damage of facilities or equipment, but most often means unintended casualties during military action; 'casualties' will usually suffice.

collectivism — A philosophical idea that says human interaction is more important than the individual; in politics, related to the social contract between citizens that part of the founding ideals of the United States.

communism — Not a synonym for socialism, the focus of communism is having no private ownership of production; it is a part of socialist philosophy; the U.S.S.R. was a communist state and today China, Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam and Laos are controlled by Communist parties; nothing has frightened the U.S. more than communism, but it is the one intense philosophical disagreement that never came to open war; there is a Communist Party of the United States. (Communist Party USA Web site)

Congress — Most often a reference to the United States' legislature; refers collectively to the Senate and the House of Representatives; states have them, too, but usually that capital 'C' means you're talking national politics.

conscription — a.k.a The Draft, Selective Service System; young men between ages 18 to 25 are required to register with the selective service, but the U.S. does not currently require military service. (Selective Service System Web site)

conservative — Not a synonym for any single political party, conservatism's definition varies worldwide; there is no one, accepted definition, but for the purposes of 20DC's left-right political spectrum, conservative philosophy is right of center (shades of red) and most commonly associated with support for free market economics, traditional or slowly changing social and religious ideals, and support for a large military and a small central government; in the U.S., it is often so narrowly defined that it is even used as a derogatory term; deciding where you stand on issues with regard to both conservative and liberal viewpoints is infinitely more important than aligning with one and labeling yourself and others. (Wikipedia article on conservatism)

The Constitution — That long, boring document that history teachers make some people read; actually, it remains one of the most important writings in history and is one of the few things that really does affect everyone every day; plus, it's not really that long - at about 4,500 words, you could read through it in less time than it would take to watch a 30-minute TV show; the phrase 'We the People...' is from the Constitution and not the Declaration of Independence. (Read The Constitution online)

creationism — Belief that the universe and its contents were created by a deity or deities; in politics, most commonly referenced in the debate over teaching evolution in public schools; see intelligent design. (Answers in Genesis, a creationist Web site)