Spontaneous Musings

Good news, depending on one's perspective? It also shows how the courts check the executive branch or how the system of checks and balances works.

Prior to going into this? A nice little video about how a "bill" becomes a "law" in the US, which shows how the Legislature and Executive Branch interact and check each other. The US is a democratic Republic with a system of Checks and Balances, it's not a Parliamentary System, although the system did borrow heavily from it.

I'm Only a Bill...via School House Rock.

[For those who don't already know? School House Rock along with the Afterschool Special was ABC's response to the Children's Television Act of the 1970s and 1990s, which required American Broadcasting to provide television shows aimed at educating children and were "child" appropriate. And specifically the creation of advertising executive who decided cartoons would be a cool way to teach kids.
( Read more... )

( I'm Only a Bill..Just a Bill )

And a fun little one about our Checks and Balances known as the 3 Ring Circus, it explains in simple terms what each branch of the US government is responsible for:
( checks and balances )
Both are rather oversimplified explanations. It's more complicated than that, and if we add in the State Legislatures, Executive Branches, and Courts, it gets even more so. There's a reason you can't practice law in the US without passing both the individual State Bar Exam and the Multi-State Bar Exam (Federal). Also not every State recognizes every other State's Bar, since the regulations and laws per state vary.

So, its not just a check and balances between the Executive (enforces the laws), the Legislative (creates the laws), and the Courts (interprets the laws and determines if the newly created laws or their enforcement contradicts the US or State Constitutions and are invalid, and how they should be enforced) - it's also a checks and balances between the States vs. Federal, States vs. States, and States vs. Local, and add to all of that other countries or what is known as International Law, and International Trade and Treaties. This type of law is practiced and taught under Administrative Law (which has various regulations and policies in place to enforce the laws), and Constitutional Law, also Civil Law, Criminal Law, and Procedural Law.

Hopefully the above will give anyone who wasn't taught all of this in law school or civics courses or isn't a legal professional working with administrative laws and regulations daily - a simplified road map towards understanding what is currently happening? (shrugs)

Now, for the good news, or a demonstration of how all of this is actually working to beat back fascism and uphold our civil rights in a peaceful and non-violent manner. [As always, mileage may vary on whether this is good news and it's in the eye of the beholder.]

1.A federal court temporarily blocks the president’s unconstitutional executive order attempting to require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

https://www.votebeat.org/2025/04/24/trump-executive-order-elections-preliminary-injunction/

2. Mohsen Mahdawi, a college student arrested by ICE following his citizenship interview, is released from detention by order of a federal court while his immigration case proceeds.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/lawyers-columbia-student-detained-ice-seek-release-case/story?id=121317902

3.19 states and Washington, DC sue the Dept. of Health and Human Services and its leadership over the unconstitutional dismantling of various federal programs vital to Americans’ health.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/05/health/states-sue-trump-administration-hhs-rfk

4.A U.S. district court rules that the presidential administration cannot use an 18th-century wartime law to deport people from Venezuela living in the U.S. ( explanation of what is happening here )

5.Colorado passes a bill to uphold public school students’ access to diverse reading materials.

https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/colorado-limit-school-library-book-bans/

( the rest - not just court cases )

"Since day one of the new administration, We The People have fought in the courts, legislatures, and the streets to defend our civil rights against any attack:
( Read more... )

As stated earlier in this post - the US does have things already in place and historically embedded over 200 years, that enable us to fight back and to do so peacefully.

Another School House Rock Ditty... No More Kings - which I think explains the American character rather well, even if it leaves a lot out, unfortunately.

Also these:

* Electoral College - Send Your Vote to College

* The Constitution - the Preamble

* Declaration of Independence - Fireworks

And finally, a new protest song by Joan Baez and Janis Ian: