Dance Moms and The Three Branches of Government
1. Explanation: Checks and Balances is a way for each of the
branches of government to check on each other and make
sure no branch is gaining more power than another. They each
have the ability to overrule, overthrow or change something
about the other branches in order for all power to be equal.
2. Connection to the Constitution:
a.) Article 1, Section 1, Clause 2 states that every bill that
has the intention of becoming a law has to be approved by
the Executive branch (after the house of Representatives
has approved it). If the President rejects the bill, the House
of Representatives has the ability to vote on passing the law.
And if 2/3 of the House agree, then they can send it to the
Senate. If the Senate votes 2/3 in favor of the bill, then the bill can be made into a law.This shows only one of the many checks and balances that the branches can do. The Executive branch checks on the Legislative branch by turning the bill down, but the Legislative branch checks the Executive branch by voting 2/3 for the bill.
b.) Article 2, Section 2, Clause 2 states that the Executive branch can check the Judicial branch by granting pardons and reprieves. This means that the Executive branch can grant pardons onto criminals in jail.
3. Connection: The 3 branches of Dance moms are Abby Lee Miller (Legislative, because she choreographs all the dances and decides where the dancers will compete), the dancers and dance moms (Executive, because they are carrying out Abby's dances and choreography) and finally the judges (Judicial because they judge whether or not the dances are good and if they are following the rules and dance etiquette). See chart below:
Checks and Balances
4. Current event:
Checks and Balances is very relevant in any of the drone assassinations that the Executive branch has ordered. The supreme court calls it unconstitutional, because everyone has the right to a fair trial. These drones are sent out after a certain amount evidence (from organizations such as NSA and the FBI) is collected against certain people are suspected as terrorists. The NSA has been collecting evidence from the United States own citizens by tracking phones. Once they have enough evidence against a person, they then track the suspect’s phones and send out a drone. In operation VICTORYDANCE, the NSA and the FBI did everything from mapping wifi patterns in yemen in order to trying to
locate and kill these suspects to sending out 43 drones. This goes to show that the branches have enough power to balance out power, but the branches don’t want to have to even the scales all the time.
Citation: "The NSA's Secret Role in the U.S. Assassination Program - The Intercept." The Intercept. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. LINK HERE
5. Check and Cartoon
a.) John Adams sent a letter to the Senate about nominating John Marshall to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. This shows the check of Legislative Check on the Executive (Advise and Consent concerning Nominations for Supreme Court). This shows how the Legislative branch can check the Executive branch by advising the President on who to approve as Supreme Court judge
b.) This cartoon shows Obama ordering the
Air Force to "unleash the drones," this cartton also represents how the check of Unconstitutional Behavior comes into play. Since President Obama is ordering the murder of American citizens (through drones), the Judical branch has the ability to check that the Executive branch isn't gaining to much power by calling the Executive Branch's actions unconstitutional.