Here is how the U.S. Government is setup.
We have three branches, the Legislative, Judicial and Executive.
The
Legislative branch:
• Is also known as Congress.
• The legislative branch, or Congress makes all the laws.
• Only Congress can declare martial law. Federal executive orders are not constitutional as they are executive, not legislative.
• They control all the money; taxes, borrows, and sets the budget (with exception of inappropriate spending by central bank).
• They have the sole power to declare war.
• Oversees, investigates, and makes the rules for the government and its officers.
• Confirms the heads of the executive branch.
• Confirms federal judicial appointments, and defines by law the jurisdiction of the judicial branch in cases not specified by the Constitution.
• Ratifies treaties.
• Originates and tries cases of impeachment.
The
Executive branch:
• Is also known as the President.
• Preserves, protects and defends the Constitution.
• Faithfully executes the laws of the Country.
• Executes the instructions of Congress.
•
May veto laws (but the veto may be overridden by Congress by a 2/3 majority) or
refuse to execute them if she/he deems them unconstitutional. This is key! • Executes the spending authorized by Congress.
• Executes the instructions of Congress when it declares war or makes rules for the military.
• Declares states of emergency and publishes regulations and executive orders.
• Creates treaties, and appoints judges and other executive heads, both with the advice and consent of the Senate.
• Has the power to grant pardons for crimes against the United States.
• Has the power to put flags at half staff.
•Is the commander in chief of the armed forces.
The
Judicial branch:
• Determines which laws Congress intended to apply to any given case
• Determines whether a law is unconstitutional
• Determines how Congress meant the law to apply to disputes
• Determines how a law acts to determine the disposition of prisoners
• Determines how a law acts to compel testimony and the production of evidence
• Determines how laws should be interpreted to assure uniform policies in a top-down fashion via the appeals process, but gives discretion in individual cases to low-level judges. (The amount of discretion depends upon the standard of review, determined by the type of case in question.)
• Polices its own members
• Is never immune to arbitrary dismissal by Congress through impeachment proceedings
The president has the right to veto a bill if he doesn't agree with it. Which means that two thirds of Congress, which is filled up by the house of representatives (100 people, 2 from each of the fifty states) and the senate. So if we were to write to our state reps, and assuming the agree with us, and want to please and protect their people, then we could get this thing blown out of the water.
And since this law clearly has the ability to become unconstitutional rather quickly, I will be very surprised to see Obama sign it.
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