Civics on the Rocks
A history teacher and an engineer walk into a bar…ouch! Except there isn’t a bar. But there are dad jokes. And whiskey. Two guys who know a few things, have been around a few blocks, and a few cocktails, discuss politics, science, history, technology, and the planet Earth. They also warp through rabbit holes in both the Federation and the Galactic Empire, and toast the ashes of the Twelve Colonies. And did I mention dad jokes? Yeah. Grab a drink, pull up a chair, and join us for Civics on the Rocks. Oh, and if you want some merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/CivcsRocks/shop?asc=u
Episodes
Steve commits murder, Anne pursues him to the full extent of the law, and Mack is on a mission from God.
REFERENCES
So, by warrant here, we’re talking about honest-to-gosh legal warrants:
Legal Information Institute. “Warrant.” https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/warrant
We need to make a distinction because there are administrative warrants:
Legal Information Institute. “Administrative Warrant.” https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/adminis...
VOTE IN THE MARCH 3 TEXAS PRIMARY ELECTION. In this episode, we head back to Texas and discuss why this isn’t as off a year as you might think. Also, if you haven’t done it yet, VOTE!
References
March 3 are the primaries in Texas:
Texas Secretary of State. “March 3, 2026 Primary Election Law Calendar and May 26, 2026 Primary Runoff Election Law Calendar.” https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/laws/advisory2025-17-mar-3-2026-primary...
Steve points out the squishiness, Mack plays Devil’s advocate, and Anne declares war on Switzerland.
REFERENCES
The executive power shall be vested in a President:
Constitution Annotated. “ArtII.S1.C1.1 Overview of Executive Vesting Clause.” https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S1-C1-1/ALDE_00013790/
President shall also be Commander in Chief of the armed forces:
In this episode, we tackle war crimes. Please note that we record episodes in the month before they are posted—just in case you are wondering why we aren’t talking about one big event in particular.
REFERENCES
People have desecrated corpses throughout history:
Breed, Allen G. “Desecration of the Dead is as Old as War Itself.” January 13, 2012. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/nation-world/2012/01/...
Steve, Mack, and Anne dig into the power dynamics of these United States.
REFERENCES
What about Washington, D.C.?
Duignan, Brian. “What State Is Washington, D.C. In?” June 13, 2025. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/story/what-state-is-washington-dc-in
Federalism is…
Legal Information Institute. “Federalism.” https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/federalism
We should start with the Tenth Amendment:
Get out your dictionaries, folks! It’s time to figure out what’s happening in the U.S. of A. In this listener-suggested episode of Civics, we look at -archies, -acracies, and -isms.
REFERENCES
Oligarchy:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oligarchy
Many of them had a council of elders:
Hodkinson, Stephen. “Gerousia.” December 22, 2015. Oxford Classical Dictionary. https://oxfordre.com/classics/display/10.1093/acrefore/97801...
Mack, Steve, and Anne get into what one branch of the government isn’t doing right now.
REFERENCES
Congress is defined in Article I of the Constitution:
Constitution Annotated. “Article I.” https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/article-1/
They didn’t want a king:
Pereira, Ivan. “Nation’s Founders Pushed Against ‘Elected King’ When Framing Presidential Powers.” July 2, 2024. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/nations...
Mack, Steve, and Anne debate Constitutional law and look to fix the problems of our country in our first episode of season 3.
References
What is independent?
Merriam-Webster. “Independent.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/independent
What is justice?
https://youtu.be/wEBlaMOmKV4?si=difVAzt3cTdBuLvG
So, we have three branches:
USA.gov. “Branches of the U.S. Government.” https://www.usa.gov/branches-of-government
The power...
To celebrate two years of Civics on the Rocks, we’re going on vacation! We’re not going to have a full episode this month. Instead, you get this silliness. Enjoy!
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