ACH Study Groups
Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders
7659 Gingerblossom Drive
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com
www.ACHStudyGroups.com
December 3, 2019
This is a letter to our friends –
Isaiah 33:22
“For the Lord is our judge,
the Lord is our lawgiver,
the Lord is our king;
He will save us.”
The news, these days, is filled with distortions.
One of them is something called “Separation of Powers”. Let’s begin with job descriptions.
* “The Lord is our Judge.” He decides good and bad as measured by a standard.
* “The Lord is our Law-Giver.” He creates the standards (laws). * “The Lord is our King.” He is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
You use these functions many times each day. Before getting out of bed, you plan your day. I.e. You make the rules for the day. – “Legislate”.
Then you carry out your plans. I.e. you “Execute” your plan.
At the end of your day you evaluate the events relative to the plan. I.e. You “Judge” the results.
America’s founders built this concept into our Constitution. The national government has three departments – Legislative, Executive, Judicial – with similar job descriptions. Congress makes the laws – “legislates”. The President enforces (carry out) the laws. The Supreme Court determines whether the laws and the execution are within the rules set by the Constitution.
This is illustrated by an equilateral triangle with its corners erased. Label each leg with a department (L, E, J). NOW THE NEXT STEP IS IMPORTANT! Please take time to think it through.
Take any two legs and assume both jobs were in one man’s hand. See that the third department would have no authority. If the President could write the laws, he could make anything legal. The court would be out of a job.
Each department MUST be independent of the other two. Each department must defend that independence. This is the core of the “check & balance” system. Further, the Constitution gives the legislature authority to limit the jurisdiction of the court. The court can declare a law unconstitutional. The President can veto a law. The legislature can impeach a president.
Each department has equal authority. The legislature has the authority to investigate, impeach, and try the President. It is my opinion the president has the authority to deny access to executive department staff if he chooses. I.e. Congress and the President have no authority over one another. The President need not cooperate with congressional investigations. Congress has no authority to demand cooperation from the executive department.
On another topic that will soon be in the news – – I have written before on this too. “We the people” are the people of the States United. The President is elected by delegations from each sovereign State. He is not the president of the people, he is the President of the United States.
I.e. the States United.
These columns are archived since 12/10/09
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