where to begin??

[LabRat]

So, the original reason i ended up here bugs bunny\I should've taken a left turn at Albuquerque/bugs bunny was a quest for knowledge. i am shamefully ignorant of politics/government. the canadian grad student in my lab knows more about american government than i do! aside from checking out an intermediate school social studies book (which i have considered) where do i begin? there is so much history i feel like this is an insurmountable task. how do you keep up with whats going on? reputable sources?