Thread: What is taught about US Government in US High Schools

Constitution of the US: separation of powers – system of checks and balances;

“Separation of powers political doctrine originating from the United States Constitution, according to which the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the United States government are kept distinct in order to prevent abuse of power. This U.S. form of separation of powers is associated with a system of checks and balances.”

Separation of powers under the United States Constitution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“In the United States government, executive privilege is the power claimed by the President of the United States and other members of the executive branch to resist certain subpoenas and other interventions by the legislative and judicial branches of government. The concept of executive privilege is not mentioned explicitly in the United States Constitution, but the Supreme Court of the United States ruled it to be an element of the separation of powers doctrine, and/or derived from the supremacy of executive branch in its own area of Constitutional activity.”

Executive privilege - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And so the precise area where checks and balances were intended to prevent abuses, is the area where abuses flourish. The framers did not want a dictatorial or imperial president. By claiming ‘national security’ and executive privilege, no oversight or checks and balances by legislative or judicial branches are permitted by the executive branch for various activities.

Transformation into the ‘imperial presidency’. Rule by decree: the executive order.

“Critics have accused presidents of abusing executive orders, of using them to make laws without Congressional approval, and of moving existing laws away from their original mandates.”
Executive order - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Imperial Presidency - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lots of discussions about these can be found, and comments by people from inside various administrations. Example:

Introduction | Cheney's Law | FRONTLINE | PBS

Americans are largely dissatisfied with the political system. The system of representation doesn't represent us anymore.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/08/1...itical-system/

Seraph, thanks for the links. My daughter found the last article VERY interesting.