Georgia Magazine - August 2013 - (Page 9)

Checks and balances James Madison wrote in “Federalist No. 45”: If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difﬁculty lies in this: you must ﬁrst enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. The key to the federal government “controlling itself” are checks and balances in the Constitution. The Constitution was constructed so no single branch of government—executive, legislative or judicial—could become so powerful as to threaten the people’s liberty. The Founding Fathers sought to “check” and “balance” the government’s powers by giving each branch the ability to limit the power of the other branches. The president, for instance, cannot establish policies by himself. Congress must pass legislation for him to implement. Congress also wields the power to appropriate money. The chief executive may not spend whatever he desires. The president may check the power of Congress by choosing not to implement a particular law or refusing to spend appropriated funds. But a citizen or Congress can sue him in federal court, and the court could declare that he violated the law or the Constitution. The president can veto bills passed by Congress, but Congress may decide to override a veto with a two-thirds majority vote in the House and the Senate. Finally, the courts can declare legislation passed by Congress unconstitutional. But even a Supreme Court opinion is not absolute. Congress can propose and the states can ratify a constitutional amendment that redeﬁnes a constitutional provision and overrules the court’s opinion. —Jim Jess Sign up for GEORGIA Magazine’s E-blast Want to know what’s in the current issue of GEORGIA Magazine—and what’s on the horizon? Subscribe to the E-blast list for the latest information on articles, contests, partnerships and more, delivered right to your inbox. To subscribe, visit bit.ly/gamagnews. Picture this? Guess where this is and you could In “Picture this?” the reader whose photo of a Georgia place is published wins a $25 Target gift card—as does the person who correctly guesses what the photo is and where it was taken. The winner’s name (drawn at random from correct guesses) and the answer will appear in a future issue. If you’re ready to guess, or have a photo for us to consider, email picturethis@geor giaemc.com or mail to “Picture this,” P.O. Box 1707, Tucker, GA 30085. Submissions for consideration should be 300-dpi photos you have taken of locations that are easy to identify, but not too prominent. Please send photos and guesses separately. Guesses for the August contest must be received by Aug. 23, 2013. With all correspondence, both via email and regular mail, please include your name, complete address and phone number. June 2013 August 2013 Win a $25 gift card! Our winners from the June 2013 issue are Ronnie Harris, of Rocky Face, who took the photo, and Toni Swindell Dykes, of Midway, who correctly guessed that it is the former location of Callaway Brothers Feed Store in Ringgold. More online at www.georgiamagazine.org 9 http://www.bit.ly/gamagnews http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - August 2013

Georgia Magazine - August 2013
Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Georgia News
Picture This?
Liberty Notes
Calendar of Events
Currents
Sweet Success
Tracking the Bottlenose Dolphins
Saving Wilma; Dolphin Facts
Around Georgia
While Visiting Lake Oconee
My Georgia
Georgia Cooks
Second Helping: We All Scream for More Ice Cream!
Snapshot
More Snapshot Photos
Plant of the Month
August’s Online Trivia Contest
Georgia Grown Spotlight

Georgia Magazine - August 2013