my cat headbutts me constantly.
its her form of love

There are so many pregnant girls in my office. I'm afraid to drink the water.

I dont' think it was the water.

Watch where you sit

having to work with just one is too many.

this is the worst part of that whole situation

SNL needs to steal all the writers from the Onion

haha. hormones are awesome.

And don't share combs.

I can't stop staring at this.

haha. That's great.


In other news:


Did you guys know that the Vietnam War was a Catholic War against Buddhism started by the French? A crazy man was shouting this out on the street.

It's true. French guys never set themselves on fire in protest of the current government:



However, with Sarkozy, all things are possible.

does anyone have a list of "1001 paintings you must see"?

or was it............MURDER!

hahaha! Awesome. yer funny.

<param name="shake" value="http://www.hellsoap.com/taffy.swf">
<embed src="http://www.hellsoap.com/taffy.swf" width="550" height="400">
</embed>

Whoa yeah.

Hey! My computer started playing some JEEP booty music when I opened this thread! MIND CONTROL! MIND CONTROL!

17 more posts to start a new page

Or I could just edit my post, but I won't be doing that. :P

This page made my computer crash the last time I clicked here.

compeulsive

Constitutional Topic: Separation of Powers

The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the Separation of Powers. The concept of Separation of Powers is embodied in the Constitution in the 1st Article, in the 2nd Article, and in the 3rd Article. Another Topics Page, on The Government provides details about the make-up of the various branches and may also be of use.

Primary sources for this topic page are Comparative Politics by Gregory Mahler (Schenkman Publishing, 1983) and Comparative Politics by Gregory Mahler (Prentice Hall, 2000). Individual pages from Wikipedia were also helpful in keeping this page up to date.

The American Example
Historical Examples
The British Example
The French Example
The Canadian Example
The Mexican Example
Conclusions

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The American Example

The United States Constitution is deliberately inefficient.

The Separation of Powers devised by the framers of the Constitution was designed to do one primary thing: to prevent the majority from ruling with an iron fist. Based on their experience, the framers shied away from giving any branch of the new government too much power. The separation of powers provides a system of shared power known as Checks and Balances.

Three branches are created in the Constitution. The Legislative, composed of the House and Senate, is set up in Article 1. The Executive, composed of the President, Vice-President, and the Departments, is set up in Article 2. The Judicial, composed of the federal courts and the Supreme Court, is set up in Article 3.

Each of these branches has certain powers, and each of these powers is limited, or checked, by another branch.

For example, the President appoints judges and departmental secretaries. But these appointments must be approved by the Senate. The Congress can pass a law, but the President can veto it. The Supreme Court can rule a law to be unconstitutional, but the Congress, with the States, can amend the Constitution.

All of these checks and balances, however, are inefficient. But that's by design rather than by accident. By forcing the various branches to be accountable to the others, no one branch can usurp enough power to become dominant.

The following are the powers of the Executive: veto power over all bills; appointment of judges and other officials; makes treaties; ensures all laws are carried out; commander in chief of the military; pardon power. The checks can be found on the Checks and Balances Page.

The following are the powers of the Legislature: Passes all federal laws; establishes all lower federal courts; can override a Presidential veto; can impeach the President. The checks can be found on the Checks and Balances Page.

The following are the powers of the Judiciary: the power to try federal cases and interpret the laws of the nation in those cases; the power to declare any law or executive act unconstitutional. The checks can be found on the Checks and Balances Page.

Historical Examples

Historically, the concept of Separation of Powers dates back as far as ancient Greece. The concepts were refined by contemporaries of the Framers, and those refinements influenced the establishment of the three branches in the Constitution.

Aristotle favored a mixed government composed of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, seeing none as ideal, but a mix of the three useful by combining the best aspects of each. In his 1656 Oceana, James Harrington brought these ideas up-to-date and proposed systems based on the separation of power. John Locke, in his 1690 Civil Government, second treatise, separated the powers into an executive and a legislature. Montesquieu's 1748 Spirit of the Laws expanded on Locke, adding a judiciary. The framers of the Constitution took all of these ideas and converted the theories into practical applications.

When discussing Separation of Power, is it helpful to contrast the American System to the governments of other nations. This list below is far from a representative sample of nations or systems. The United States, Britain, France, Canada, and Mexico are actually more similar than they are different, especially when the whole range of nations is taken into account. However, sometimes the smaller differences between similar systems can be interesting and illustrative. It is left to the reader to conduct studies of more disparate systems.

The British Example

The British Parliamentary system works like this: There are two houses of the legislature. The upper house, the House of Lords, has traditionally consisted of the nobility of Britain: dukes, earls, viscounts, barons, and bishops. As of 2005, the very existence of the House of Lords is in question. There are some calling for its abolition, but a combination elected/lifetime appointment system seems more likely. A popular proposal calls for 80% of the body to be elected and the name to change to the "Second Chamber." In 1999, the House of Lords had over 1300 members. Today, there are just over 700 members. The House of Lords serves a judicial function as a court of final appeal, but as a legislative body, is widely regarded as ineffectual. It can delay passage of bills issued by the lower house, though it cannot veto them.

The lower house, the House of Commons, consists of MPs (Members of Parliament) elected from one of 646 electoral districts. In the Commons, majority rules. The majority party makes all the laws. The minority has little voice. The Prime Minister, Britain's closest approximation of the American President, is an MP chosen by the majority. The judiciary has no power of review as in the U.S. Since Britain has no formal, written constitution, no law can be unconstitutional.

The head of state, analogous still with the American President, is the monarch (King or Queen). The monarch must approve of all bills, though the process today is little more than a rubber stamp. The Speaker of the House of Commons, elected by the House, acts as the referee in debate between the majority and the minority. The MPs in the House of Commons sit for five years, or until the monarch (at the Prime Minister's behest) dissolves Parliament and calls for new elections. The Prime Minister also heads the Cabinet.

In Britain, the majority party in the House of Commons holds all of the power. The judiciary has no power of review. The House of Lords holds little more than delaying powers. By tradition, the monarch does not veto bills passed by the Parliament. And the de facto head of state, the Prime Minister, is a member of the Commons.

The French Example

In France, the President is elected for five year terms by the people to a powerful position. The President can, and has, dissolve Parliament and call for new elections. The President appoints the Prime Minister. Together, the President and Prime Minister head the executive branch. The President does not have veto power over legislation, but can ask Parliament to reconsider a bill. The Prime Minister heads The Government, akin to the American Cabinet. Most bills passed into law originate with the Government. The President presides over the Cabinet, and has vast emergency powers. The French President, de jure does not have many powers, but because of the French election system, he usually has great popular support and is able to leverage that into political power. When the President's party holds power in the legislature, he is quite powerful, but it is quite diminished when the legislature is not controlled by his party.

The Prime Minister, chosen by the President from the majority party in the National Assembly (the lower house), has power that varies in direct correlation to that of the President. The Prime Minister chooses the members of the Government and is head of the military and the civil service. Deputies of the Assembly are elected by the people for five year terms. There are currently 577 deputies. The Assembly can vote to dissolve the Government, but in reality, such a move is unlikely.

The Senate, the upper house, is more powerful than the House of Lords in Britain, but not by much. Senators are elected by the various local officials from across the country to six year terms. There are currently 321 senators.

There is a written French Constitution. Laws, after passage but before enactment, can be reviewed by the Constitutional Council. Review is either requested (for most laws) or mandatory (for laws affecting the Constitution). Its nine members consist of three appointed by the Government, three by the Assembly, and three by the Senate. The Council is designed almost like the U.S. Supreme Court, but it has little of the power of that court.

For the French, the majority of the power lies in the hands of the Government. If the President is of the same party as the Government, he can also yield considerable power. The Assembly is highly limited to legislate on topics specifically spelled out in the Constitution; the Senate has far less power than the Assembly. The Constitutional Council has not proven to be the force in French government that it appears to have been designed to be.

The Canadian Example

Canada was a subject of Britain for several centuries, and its system has many similarities with the British system. Until 1982, Canada could not officially make changes to its own constitution - any changes had to be approved by the British parliament. The Constitution Act of 1982 gave Canada control over its own constitution. Officially, the monarch of England remains the head of state of Canada and is represented in governmental affairs by a governor-general. De facto, however, the monarch has no real control of any kind over Canada. In an interesting circular system repeated throughout the former British commonwealth, the governor-general is "recommended" to the monarch by the Canadian Prime Minister and the governor-general in turn de jure appoints the Prime Minister from the members of the House of Commons.

Canada is a federal system akin to that of the United States, with each of its ten provinces having a great deal of control over internal policy. Canada's three territories have less autonomy. Canadian federalism differs from American federalism, however, in that the provinces have specific powers reserved to them and all other powers belong to the federal government. The federal government has veto power over all provincial law-making. The branches of government are a mix of the British and American systems. The legislature is parliamentary and bicameral, split between the House of Commons and the Senate. The members of the Senate are recommended by the House of Commons and appointed by the governor-general. Appointment is for life or until age 75. There are currently 105 members. Members of the House of Commons are elected by the people; elections must be held at least once each five years. There are currently 308 members. The executive is composed of a Prime Minister and a cabinet.

A privy council is in place that works to supplement and support the Prime Minister and the cabinet. The members of the council include the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; the staff is comprised of career public servants, ensuring continuity even when there is a change in the leadership party in the parliament. The Privy Council Office is separate and distinct from the Prime Minister's Office. The former is concerned with the efficient running of the government and is generally considered non-partisan. The latter is completely partisan and is concerned with the advancement of the platform of the Prime Minister and the ruling party.

The judiciary is more powerful in Canada, much like that of the United States; the Supreme Court has nine members which serve for life or until age 75. Each province has its own judicial system as well; these provincial courts work at the lowest level in the system, with the Supreme Court at the highest level and with superior courts in between. Each province has a Court of Appeal, and in all cases, the Supreme Court is a final court of appeal. The federal courts also act as the sole courts of Canada's three territories. The constitution allows the Supreme Court to be used as an advisory court, issuing opinions on the constitutionality of laws without any actual dispute needing to be in play.

The Mexican Example

Mexico has had a tumultuous history, as it has had to deal with foreign invaders, poverty, and its strong neighbor to the north. What Mexico has for a political system has evolved with all of these influences. Its current constitution has been in force since 1917 and it has been amended at least 450 times since its enactment. The Constitution is divided into two major parts, the Individual Guarantees and the definition of the structure of the government. One notable feature of the Guarantees is that the freedoms enumerated therein are reserved "by any individual," regardless of citizenship or status. The Mexican government is explicitly divided into the same three branches as the United States, legislative, executive, and judicial. It is a federal republic like its North American neighbors, with 31 states dividing the varied geography, plus one Federal District. Like U.S. states and Canadian provinces, much of the everyday law is left to the Mexican states' jurisdiction.

The Mexican legislature, the General Congress, is bicameral and divided between a 128-member Senate and a 500-member Chamber of Deputies. The members of the Chamber are elected every three years. 300 members are elected in an at-large election where seats are distributed to parties on a national proportional basis. The remaining 200 are allocated to the states in proportion to their population. Deputies cannot serve more than one term in succession.

Senators are elected every six years. Each state has four Senators as does the Federal District. Two of the four are allocated to the majority political party; a third is allocated to the next highest minority party; the fourth is selected based on proportional representation. Senators may not be reelected to a seat.

Certain subjects are the exclusive domain of one house of the Congress; others must be agreed to by both houses. Legislation may be introduced by any member of Congress, the President, or a state legislature. A Permanent Committee, comprised of 15 Deputies and 14 Senators, meets when the Congress is in recess.

The Mexican executive is the President, elected to a single six-year term. The President is directly elected by the people. In the case of disability, the Congress can designate an interim President and call for new elections. The President is the head of state and head of government. Constitutionally, he is held to the will of the Congress - he cannot leave the country, for example, without the permission of the Congress.

The judicial system of Mexico divides the national courts into four hierarchical parts. At the top is the Supreme Court of Justice, followed by the Electoral Tribunal, Circuit Courts, and District Courts. The Supreme Court is made up of eleven Ministers; the Court can operate en banc (as a whole) or in divisions of five ministers. The Chief Minister is elected every four years by the ministers from within the Court; no one person can be immediately reelected to the Chief position. Ministers are appointed to the Court for 15 year terms. The federal courts act as courts of appeal for the state courts, and act as courts of appeal for themselves according to the previously noted hierarchy. Only through special rulings known as jurisprudencias can the decision of a higher court become legally binding on all lower courts.

Conclusions

Is the American system superior to any of these, or to any other, system of government? That depends on where you sit. The French and the British might scoff at the fact that our head of state, the President, has no power to make laws. They might cringe at the thought that judges can render the will of the people, in the form of a duly passed law, null and void. Canadians might think that state powers ought to be enumerated; Mexicans might marvel at the longevity of some career American politicians.

Americans might look with amusement at the institution of the British monarchy, and its continued hold, if only on paper, on Canada. Americans might cringe at the British thought of majority rule with no written constitution to be used as a guide or rule book. We might worry that the French Presidency has the potential to turn tyrannical by the misuse of emergency powers. We might worry that a Mexican judiciary, without lifetime tenure or a solid stare decisis system might lead to incoherent judicial policy.

But recall that each of these nations, and the hundred others in this world, have political and social traditions that sometimes date back a thousand years. Despite what Americans might think are odd institutions and traditions in France, Britain, Canada, Mexico, and elsewhere, these are all prosperous nations. The systems work in the context of each nation, even if the details could not work in some others.

Members of Congress

The following is a list of the Senators and Representatives of the 110th Congress, as of January 4, 2006. If you see any discrepancies, please let me know.

In the "Party" column, the following abbreviations are used:

D = Democrat
R = Republican
I = Independent
- = Vacant
NV = Non-Voting - several U.S. territories have non-voting members in Congress
You can also see the primary members of the Executive and Judicial branches on the Government Topic Page.

Jump to Senate List or State Stats.

The House of Representatives
State District Name Party
Alabama 1 Jo Bonner R
Alabama 2 Terry Everett R
Alabama 3 Mike Rogers R
Alabama 4 Robert B. Aderholt R
Alabama 5 Robert E. (Bud) Cramer, Jr. D
Alabama 6 Spencer Bachus R
Alabama 7 Artur Davis D
Alaska At Large Don Young R
American Samoa At Large Eni F. H. Faleomavaega D-NV
Arizona 1 Rick Renzi R
Arizona 2 Trent Franks R
Arizona 3 John B. Shadegg R
Arizona 4 Ed Pastor D
Arizona 5 Harry E. Mitchell D
Arizona 6 Jeff Flake R
Arizona 7 Raul M. Grijalva D
Arizona 8 Gabrielle Giffords D
Arkansas 1 Marion Berry D
Arkansas 2 Vic Snyder D
Arkansas 3 John Boozman R
Arkansas 4 Mike Ross D
California 01 Mike Thompson D
California 02 Wally Herger R
California 03 Daniel E. Lungren R
California 04 John T. Doolittle R
California 05 Doris O. Matsui D
California 06 Lynn C. Woolsey D
California 07 George Miller D
California 08 Nancy Pelosi D
California 09 Barbara Lee D
California 10 Ellen O. Tauscher D
California 11 Jerry McNerney D
California 12 Tom Lantos D
California 13 Fortney Pete Stark D
California 14 Anna G. Eshoo D
California 15 Michael M. Honda D
California 16 Zoe Lofgren D
California 17 Sam Farr D
California 18 Dennis A. Cardoza D
California 19 George Radanovich R
California 20 Jim Costa D
California 21 Devin Nunes R
California 22 Kevin McCarthy R
California 23 Lois Capps D
California 24 Elton Gallegly R
California 25 Howard P. "Buck" McKeon R
California 26 David Dreier R
California 27 Brad Sherman D
California 28 Howard L. Berman D
California 29 Adam B. Schiff D
California 30 Henry A. Waxman D
California 31 Xavier Becerra D
California 32 Hilda L. Solis D
California 33 Diane E. Watson D
California 34 Lucille Roybal-Allard D
California 35 Maxine Waters D
California 36 Jane Harman D
California 37 (Vacant) -
California 38 Grace F. Napolitano D
California 39 Linda T. Sanchez D
California 40 Edward R. Royce R
California 41 Jerry Lewis R
California 42 Gary G. Miller R
California 43 Joe Baca D
California 44 Ken Calvert R
California 45 Mary Bono R
California 46 Dana Rohrabacher R
California 47 Loretta Sanchez D
California 48 John Campbell R
California 49 Darrell E. Issa R
California 50 Brian P. Bilbray R
California 51 Bob Filner D
California 52 Duncan Hunter R
California 53 Susan A. Davis D
Colorado 1 Diana DeGette D
Colorado 2 Mark Udall D
Colorado 3 John T. Salazar D
Colorado 4 Marilyn N. Musgrave R
Colorado 5 Doug Lamborn R
Colorado 6 Thomas G. Tancredo R
Colorado 7 Ed Perlmutter D
Connecticut 1 John B. Larson D
Connecticut 2 Joe Courtney D
Connecticut 3 Rosa L. DeLauro D
Connecticut 4 Christopher Shays R
Connecticut 5 Christopher S. Murphy D
Delaware At Large Michael N. Castle R
District Of Columbia At Large Eleanor Holmes Norton D-NV
Florida 01 Jeff Miller R
Florida 02 Allen Boyd D
Florida 03 Corrine Brown D
Florida 04 Ander Crenshaw R
Florida 05 Ginny Brown-Waite R
Florida 06 Cliff Stearns R
Florida 07 John L. Mica R
Florida 08 Ric Keller R
Florida 09 Gus. M. Bilirakis R
Florida 10 C. W. Bill Young R
Florida 11 Kathy Castor D
Florida 12 Adam H. Putnam R
Florida 13 Vern Buchanan R
Florida 14 Connie Mack R
Florida 15 Dave Weldon R
Florida 16 Tim Mahoney D
Florida 17 Kendrick B. Meek D
Florida 18 Ileana Ros-Lehtinen R
Florida 19 Robert Wexler D
Florida 20 Debbie Wasserman Schultz D
Florida 21 Lincoln Diaz-Balart R
Florida 22 Ron Klein D
Florida 23 Alcee L. Hastings D
Florida 24 Tom Feeney R
Florida 25 Mario Diaz-Balart R
Georgia 01 Jack Kingston R
Georgia 02 Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. D
Georgia 03 Lynn A. Westmoreland R
Georgia 04 Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. D
Georgia 05 John Lewis D
Georgia 06 Tom Price R
Georgia 07 John Linder R
Georgia 08 Jim Marshall D
Georgia 09 Nathan Deal R
Georgia 10 (Vacant) -
Georgia 11 Phil Gringrey R
Georgia 12 John Barrow D
Georgia 13 David Scott D
Guam At Large Madeleine Z. Bordallo D-NV
Hawaii 1 Neil Abercrombie D
Hawaii 2 Mazie K. Hirono D
Idaho 1 Bill Sali R
Idaho 2 Michael K. Simpson R
Illinois 01 Bobby L. Rush D
Illinois 02 Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. D
Illinois 03 Daniel Lipinski D
Illinois 04 Luis V. Gutierrez D
Illinois 05 Rahm Emanuel D
Illinois 06 Peter J. Roskam R
Illinois 07 Danny K. Davis D
Illinois 08 Melissa L. Bean D
Illinois 09 Janice D. Schakowsky D
Illinois 10 Mark Steven Kirk R
Illinois 11 Jerry Weller R
Illinois 12 Jerry F. Costello D
Illinois 13 Judy Biggert R
Illinois 14 J. Dennis Hastert R
Illinois 15 Timothy V. Johnson R
Illinois 16 Donald A. Manzullo R
Illinois 17 Phil Hare D
Illinois 18 Ray LaHood R
Illinois 19 John Shimkus R
Indiana 1 Peter J. Visclosky D
Indiana 2 Joe Donnelly D
Indiana 3 Mark E. Souder R
Indiana 4 Steve Buyer R
Indiana 5 Dan Burton R
Indiana 6 Mike Pence R
Indiana 7 Julia Carson D
Indiana 8 Brad Ellsworth D
Indiana 9 Baron P. Hill D
Iowa 1 Bruce L. Braley D
Iowa 2 David Loebsack D
Iowa 3 Leonard L. Boswell D
Iowa 4 Tom Latham R
Iowa 5 Steve King R
Kansas 1 Jerry Moran R
Kansas 2 Nancy E. Boyda D
Kansas 3 Dennis Moore D
Kansas 4 Todd Tiahrt R
Kentucky 1 Ed Whitfield R
Kentucky 2 Ron Lewis R
Kentucky 3 John A. Yarmuth D
Kentucky 4 Geoff Davis R
Kentucky 5 Harold Rogers R
Kentucky 6 Ben Chandler D
Louisiana 1 Bobby Jindal R
Louisiana 2 William J. Jefferson D
Louisiana 3 Charlie Melancon D
Louisiana 4 Jim McCrery R
Louisiana 5 Rodney Alexander R
Louisiana 6 Richard H. Baker R
Louisiana 7 Charles W. Boustany Jr. R
Maine 1 Thomas H. Allen D
Maine 2 Michael H. Michaud D
Maryland 1 Wayne T. Gilchrest R
Maryland 2 C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger D
Maryland 3 John P. Sarbanes D
Maryland 4 Albert Russell Wynn D
Maryland 5 Steny H. Hoyer D
Maryland 6 Roscoe G. Bartlett R
Maryland 7 Elijah E. Cummings D
Maryland 8 Chris Van Hollen D
Massachusetts 01 John W. Olver D
Massachusetts 02 Richard E. Neal D
Massachusetts 03 James P. McGovern D
Massachusetts 04 Barney Frank D
Massachusetts 05 Martin T. Meehan D
Massachusetts 06 John F. Tierney D
Massachusetts 07 Edward J. Markey D
Massachusetts 08 Michael E. Capuano D
Massachusetts 09 Stephen F. Lynch D
Massachusetts 10 William D. Delahunt D
Michigan 01 Bart Stupak D
Michigan 02 Peter Hoekstra R
Michigan 03 Vernon J. Ehlers R
Michigan 04 Dave Camp R
Michigan 05 Dale E. Kildee D
Michigan 06 Fred Upton R
Michigan 07 Timothy Walberg R
Michigan 08 Mike Rogers R
Michigan 09 Joe Knollenberg R
Michigan 10 Candice S. Miller R
Michigan 11 Thaddeus G. McCotter R
Michigan 12 Sander M. Levin D
Michigan 13 Carolyn C. Kilpatrick D
Michigan 14 John Conyers, Jr. D
Michigan 15 John D. Dingell D
Minnesota 1 Timothy J. Walz D
Minnesota 2 John Kline R
Minnesota 3 Jim Ramstad R
Minnesota 4 Betty McCollum D
Minnesota 5 Keith Ellison D
Minnesota 6 Michele Bachmann R
Minnesota 7 Collin C. Peterson D
Minnesota 8 James L. Oberstar D
Mississippi 1 Roger F. Wicker R
Mississippi 2 Bennie G. Thompson D
Mississippi 3 Charles W. "Chip" Pickering R
Mississippi 4 Gene Taylor D
Missouri 1 William Lacy Clay D
Missouri 2 W. Todd Akin R
Missouri 3 Russ Carnahan D
Missouri 4 Ike Skelton D
Missouri 5 Emanuel Cleaver D
Missouri 6 Sam Graves R
Missouri 7 Roy Blunt R
Missouri 8 Jo Ann Emerson R
Missouri 9 Kenny C. Hulshof R
Montana At Large Dennis R. Rehberg R
Nebraska 1 Jeff Fortenberry R
Nebraska 2 Lee Terry R
Nebraska 3 Adrian Smith R
Nevada 1 Shelley Berkley D
Nevada 2 Dean Heller R
Nevada 3 Jon C. Porter R
New Hampshire 1 Carol Shea-Porter D
New Hampshire 2 Paul W. Hodes D
New Jersey 01 Robert E. Andrews D
New Jersey 02 Frank A. LoBiondo R
New Jersey 03 Jim Saxton R
New Jersey 04 Christopher H. Smith R
New Jersey 05 Scott Garrett R
New Jersey 06 Frank Pallone, Jr. D
New Jersey 07 Mike Ferguson R
New Jersey 08 Bill Pascrell, Jr. D
New Jersey 09 Steven R. Rothman D
New Jersey 10 Donald M. Payne D
New Jersey 11 Rodney P. Frelinghuysen R
New Jersey 12 Rush D. Holt D
New Jersey 13 Albio Sires D
New Mexico 1 Heather Wilson R
New Mexico 2 Stevan Pearce R
New Mexico 3 Tom Udall D
New York 01 Timothy H. Bishop D
New York 02 Steve Israel D
New York 03 Peter T. King R
New York 04 Carolyn McCarthy D
New York 05 Gary L. Ackerman D
New York 06 Gregory W. Meeks D
New York 07 Joseph Crowley D
New York 08 Jerrold Nadler D
New York 09 Anthony D. Weiner D
New York 10 Edolphus Towns D
New York 11 Yvette D. Clarke D
New York 12 Nydia M. Velazquez D
New York 13 Vito Fossella R
New York 14 Carolyn B. Maloney D
New York 15 Charles B. Rangel D
New York 16 Jose E. Serrano D
New York 17 Eliot L. Engel D
New York 18 Nita M. Lowey D
New York 19 John J. Hall D
New York 20 Kirsten E. Gillibrand D
New York 21 Michael R. McNulty D
New York 22 Maurice D. Hinchey D
New York 23 John M. McHugh R
New York 24 Michael A. Arcuri D
New York 25 James T. Walsh R
New York 26 Thomas M. Reynolds R
New York 27 Brian Higgins D
New York 28 Louise McIntosh Slaughter D
New York 29 John R. "Randy" Kuhl Jr. R
North Carolina 01 G.K. Butterfield D
North Carolina 02 Bob Etheridge D
North Carolina 03 Walter B. Jones R
North Carolina 04 David E. Price D
North Carolina 05 Virginia Foxx R
North Carolina 06 Howard Coble R
North Carolina 07 Mike McIntyre D
North Carolina 08 Robin Hayes R
North Carolina 09 Sue Wilkins Myrick R
North Carolina 10 Patrick T. McHenry R
North Carolina 11 Heath Shuler D
North Carolina 12 Melvin L. Watt D
North Carolina 13 Brad Miller D
North Dakota At Large Earl Pomeroy D
Ohio 01 Steve Chabot R
Ohio 02 Jean Schmidt R
Ohio 03 Michael R. Turner R
Ohio 04 Jim Jordan R
Ohio 05 Paul E. Gillmor R
Ohio 06 Charles A. Wilson D
Ohio 07 David L. Hobson R
Ohio 08 John A. Boehner R
Ohio 09 Marcy Kaptur D
Ohio 10 Dennis J. Kucinich D
Ohio 11 Stephanie Tubbs Jones D
Ohio 12 Patrick J. Tiberi R
Ohio 13 Betty Sutton D
Ohio 14 Steven C. LaTourette R
Ohio 15 Deborah Pryce R
Ohio 16 Ralph Regula R
Ohio 17 Tim Ryan D
Ohio 18 Zachary T. Space D
Oklahoma 1 John Sullivan R
Oklahoma 2 Dan Boren D
Oklahoma 3 Frank D. Lucas R
Oklahoma 4 Tom Cole R
Oklahoma 5 Mary Fallin R
Oregon 1 David Wu D
Oregon 2 Greg Walden R
Oregon 3 Earl Blumenauer D
Oregon 4 Peter A. DeFazio D
Oregon 5 Darlene Hooley D
Pennsylvania 01 Robert A. Brady D
Pennsylvania 02 Chaka Fattah D
Pennsylvania 03 Phil English R
Pennsylvania 04 Jason Altmire D
Pennsylvania 05 John E. Peterson R
Pennsylvania 06 Jim Gerlach R
Pennsylvania 07 Joe Sestak D
Pennsylvania 08 Patrick J. Murphy D
Pennsylvania 09 Bill Schuster R
Pennsylvania 10 Christopher P. Carney D
Pennsylvania 11 Paul E. Kanjorski D
Pennsylvania 12 John P. Murtha D
Pennsylvania 13 Allyson Y. Schwarz D
Pennsylvania 14 Michael F. Doyle D
Pennsylvania 15 Charles W. Dent R
Pennsylvania 16 Joseph R. Pitts R
Pennsylvania 17 Tim Holden D
Pennsylvania 18 Tim Murphy R
Pennsylvania 19 Todd Russell Platts R
Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Luis G. Fortuno R-NV
Rhode Island 1 Patrick J. Kennedy D
Rhode Island 2 James R. Langevin D
South Carolina 1 Henry E. Brown, Jr. R
South Carolina 2 Joe Wilson R
South Carolina 3 J. Gresham Barrett R
South Carolina 4 Bob Inglis R
South Carolina 5 John M. Spratt, Jr. D
South Carolina 6 James E. Clyburn D
South Dakota At Large Stephanie Herseth D
Tennessee 1 David Davis R
Tennessee 2 John J. Duncan, Jr. R
Tennessee 3 Zach Wamp R
Tennessee 4 Lincoln Davis D
Tennessee 5 Jim Cooper D
Tennessee 6 Bart Gordon D
Tennessee 7 Marsha Blackburn R
Tennessee 8 John S. Tanner D
Tennessee 9 Steve Cohen D
Texas 01 Louie Gohmert R
Texas 02 Ted Poe R
Texas 03 Sam Johnson R
Texas 04 Ralph M. Hall R
Texas 05 Jeb Hensarling R
Texas 06 Joe Barton R
Texas 07 John Abney Culberson R
Texas 08 Kevin Brady R
Texas 09 Al Green D
Texas 10 Michael T. McCaul R
Texas 11 K. Michael Conaway R
Texas 12 Kay Granger R
Texas 13 Mac Thornberry R
Texas 14 Ron Paul R
Texas 15 Ruben Hinojosa D
Texas 16 Silvestre Reyes D
Texas 17 Chet Edwards D
Texas 18 Sheila Jackson-Lee D
Texas 19 Randy Neugebauer R
Texas 20 Charles A. Gonzalez D
Texas 21 Lamar S. Smith R
Texas 22 Nick Lampson D
Texas 23 Ciro D. Rodriguez D
Texas 24 Kenny Marchant R
Texas 25 Lloyd Doggett D
Texas 26 Michael C. Burgess R
Texas 27 Solomon P. Ortiz D
Texas 28 Henry Cuellar D
Texas 29 Gene Green D
Texas 30 Eddie Bernice Johnson D
Texas 31 John R. Carter R
Texas 32 Pete Sessions R
Utah 1 Rob Bishop R
Utah 2 Jim Matheson D
Utah 3 Chris Cannon R
Vermont At Large Peter Welch D
Virgin Islands At Large Donna M. Christensen D-NV
Virginia 01 Jo Ann Davis R
Virginia 02 Thelma D. Drake R
Virginia 03 Robert C. "Bobby" Scott D
Virginia 04 J. Randy Forbes R
Virginia 05 Virgil H. Goode, Jr. R
Virginia 06 Bob Goodlatte R
Virginia 07 Eric Cantor R
Virginia 08 James P. Moran D
Virginia 09 Rick Boucher D
Virginia 10 Frank R. Wolf R
Virginia 11 Tom Davis R
Washington 1 Jay Inslee D
Washington 2 Rick Larsen D
Washington 3 Brian Baird D
Washington 4 Doc Hastings R
Washington 5 Cathy McMorris Rodgers R
Washington 6 Norman D. Dicks D
Washington 7 Jim McDermott D
Washington 8 David G. Reichert R
Washington 9 Adam Smith D
West Virginia 1 Alan B. Mollohan D
West Virginia 2 Shelley Moore Capito R
West Virginia 3 Nick J. Rahall II D
Wisconsin 1 Paul Ryan R
Wisconsin 2 Tammy Baldwin D
Wisconsin 3 Ron Kind D
Wisconsin 4 Gwen Moore D
Wisconsin 5 F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. R
Wisconsin 6 Thomas E. Petri R
Wisconsin 7 David R. Obey D
Wisconsin 8 Steve Kagen, MD D
Wyoming At Large Barbara Cubin R

232 Democrat
201 Republican
0 Independent
Total voting members: 433
5 Other
2 Vacant

Jump to House List or State Stats.

The Senate
State Name Party
Alabama Jeff Sessions R
Alabama Richard Shelby R
Alaska Lisa Murkowski R
Alaska Ted Stevens R
Arizona Jon Kyl R
Arizona John McCain R
Arkansas Mark Pryor D
Arkansas Blanche Lincoln D
California Barbara Boxer D
California Dianne Feinstein D
Colorado Wayne Allard R
Colorado Ken Salazar D
Connecticut Christopher Dodd D
Connecticut Joseph Lieberman I
Delaware Joseph Biden D
Delaware Thomas Carper D
Florida Mel Martinez R
Florida Bill Nelson D
Georgia Saxby Chambliss R
Georgia Johnny Isakson R
Hawaii Daniel Akaka D
Hawaii Daniel Inouye D
Idaho Larry Craig R
Idaho Mike Crapo R
Illinois Barak Obama D
Illinois Richard Durbin D
Indiana Richard Lugar R
Indiana Evan Bayh D
Iowa Chuck Grassley R
Iowa Tom Harkin D
Kansas Pat Roberts R
Kansas Sam Brownback R
Kentucky Mitch McConnell R
Kentucky Jim Bunning R
Louisiana David Vitter R
Louisiana Mary Landrieu D
Maine Susan Collins R
Maine Olympia Snowe R
Maryland Barbara Mikulski D
Maryland Benjamin L. Cardin D
Massachusetts Edward Kennedy D
Massachusetts John Kerry D
Michigan Debbie Stabenow D
Michigan Carl Levin D
Minnesota Amy Klobuchar D
Minnesota Norm Coleman R
Mississippi Trent Lott R
Mississippi Thad Cochran R
Missouri Christopher Bond R
Missouri Claire McCaskill D
Montana Max Baucus D
Montana Jon Tester D
Nebraska Charles Hagel R
Nebraska Benjamin E. Nelson D
Nevada John Ensign R
Nevada Harry Reid D
New Hampshire Judd Gregg R
New Hampshire John Sununu R
New Jersey Frank Lautenberg D
New Jersey Robert Menendez D
New Mexico Jeff Bingaman D
New Mexico Pete Domenici R
New York Hillary Clinton D
New York Charles Schumer D
North Carolina Elizabeth Dole R
North Carolina Richard Burr R
North Dakota Byron Dorgan D
North Dakota Kent Conrad D
Ohio Sherrod Brown D
Ohio George Voinovich R
Oklahoma James Inhofe R
Oklahoma Tom Coburn R
Oregon Gordon Smith R
Oregon Ron Wyden D
Pennsylvania Robert P. Casey, Jr. D
Pennsylvania Arlen Specter R
Rhode Island Sheldon Whitehouse D
Rhode Island Jack Reed D
South Carolina Jim DeMint R
South Carolina Lindsey Graham R
South Dakota John Thune R
South Dakota Tim Johnson D
Tennessee Bob Corker R
Tennessee Lamar Alexander R
Texas John Cornyn R
Texas Kay Bailey Hutchison R
Utah Robert Bennett R
Utah Orrin Hatch R
Vermont Bernard Sanders I
Vermont Patrick Leahy D
Virginia Jim Webb D
Virginia John Warner R
Washington Maria Cantwell D
Washington Patty Murray D
West Virginia Robert Byrd D
West Virginia John Rockefeller D
Wisconsin Russell Feingold D
Wisconsin Herb Kohl D
Wyoming Mike Enzi R
Wyoming Vacant -

49 Democrat
48 Republican
2 Independent
Total voting members: 99
1 Vacant

Jump to House List or Senate List.

D = Democrat
R = Republican
O = Other Party
V = Vacant
State House Senate
D R O V D R O V
Alabama 2 5 0 0 0 2 0 0
Alaska 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0
Arizona 4 4 0 0 0 2 0 0
Arkansas 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 0
California 33 19 0 1 2 0 0 0
Colorado 4 3 0 0 1 1 0 0
Connecticut 4 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
Delaware 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0
Florida 9 16 0 0 1 1 0 0
Georgia 6 6 0 1 0 2 0 0
Hawaii 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Idaho 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0
Illinois 10 9 0 0 2 0 0 0
Indiana 5 4 0 0 1 1 0 0
Iowa 3 2 0 0 1 1 0 0
Kansas 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 0
Kentucky 2 4 0 0 0 2 0 0
Louisiana 2 5 0 0 1 1 0 0
Maine 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
Maryland 6 2 0 0 2 0 0 0
Massachusetts 10 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Michigan 6 9 0 0 2 0 0 0
Minnesota 5 3 0 0 1 1 0 0
Mississippi 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 0
Missouri 4 5 0 0 1 1 0 0
Montana 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0
Nebraska 0 3 0 0 1 1 0 0
Nevada 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0
New Hampshire 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
New Jersey 7 6 0 0 2 0 0 0
New Mexico 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0
New York 23 6 0 0 2 0 0 0
North Carolina 7 6 0 0 0 2 0 0
North Dakota 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Ohio 7 11 0 0 1 1 0 0
Oklahoma 1 4 0 0 0 2 0 0
Oregon 4 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
Pennsylvania 11 8 0 0 1 1 0 0
Rhode Island 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
South Carolina 2 4 0 0 0 2 0 0
South Dakota 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
Tennessee 5 4 0 0 0 2 0 0
Texas 13 19 0 0 0 2 0 0
Utah 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 0
Vermont 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Virginia 3 8 0 0 1 1 0 0
Washington 6 3 0 0 2 0 0 0
West Virginia 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 0
Wisconsin 5 3 0 0 2 0 0 0
Wyoming 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1
Totals 232 201 0 2 49 48 2 1

you know i don't have time to read all that

Constitutional Topic: The Government

The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns the Government. The Constitution of the United States provides a basic framework for the government of the United States. But there are a lot of details that it does not go into, for good reason. The purpose of this page is to go over some of those details, to fill in the blanks, as it were. The Topics Page for The Separation of Powers may be helpful in explaining why the three branches of the United States Government were created.

The Legislature
The House
The Senate
The Executive
The Judiciary

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Legislature
The duty of the Legislative Branch is to make the laws of the nation. It consists of two houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Members of either house are referred to as Congressmen, Congresswomen, or Congresspeople. Often, Congressperson is used as a synonym for Representative; this is not quite proper usage, however, as a Senator may properly be called a Congressperson, too.

The so-called Lower House is the House of Representatives, or simply the House. The House is made up of members called Representatives. The qualifications for House members are spelled out in Article 1, Section 2:

25 years old or older
Must have been a U.S. citizen for seven years
Must live in the district he represents
Note that there is no restriction in terms of gender, race, class, social standing, or any other classification, for Representative.

Each state has a number of Representatives proportionate to the population of that state. Each state has at least one Representative, even if its population would not warrant one. The Constitution does not set a per-Representative ratio (except for the House's sessions up until the first census was taken), nor does it set a maximum limit to the number of Representatives. This number has been fixed by law, however, at 435. This number was set in 1911, and in current law, does not change even upon admission of new states (though the number can temporarily increase to accommodate new states until the next census). These 435 seats are divided among the states every ten years, following the Constitutionally-mandated decennial census. For details about how seats are apportioned, see the U.S. Census Website.

If a Representative's seat becomes vacant for any reason, the governor of that state must provide for a new election to fill the seat. Representatives serve for two years at a time, with new elections coming every second November. The entire House can theoretically be replaced each election. Representatives are chosen by the people in a direct election.

The Constitution mandates that the House choose a Speaker for itself. The Speaker presides over the proceedings of the House and is the highest position in the House leadership. Other leadership positions are the Majority and Minority Leaders, and the Majority and Minority Whips. The Minority Leader would generally be the Speaker if his party were the majority. The whips act as an interface between the leadership and the rank-and-file members.

The current leadership of the House (110th Congress, as of January 4, 2007):

Speaker: Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Majority Leader: Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
Majority Whip: James Clyburn (D-SC)
Minority Leader: John Boehner (R-OH)
Minority Whip: Roy Blunt (R-MO)
See the Congressional Membership Page for a list of the members of the House. The House also has its own website.

The Senate is the Upper House. Its members are called Senators. The qualifications for Senators are spelled out in Article 1, Section 3:

30 years old or older
Must have been a U.S. citizen for nine years
Must live in the state he represents
Note that there is no restriction in terms of gender, race, class, social standing, or any other classification, for Senator.

Originally, Senators were appointed by the state legislatures. This method was chosen to allow the Senate to better offset the House, which the Framers felt would be impetuous, it being elected by the people. Senators are now chosen by the people in direct election; this provision was changed by the 17th Amendment.

Each state has two Senators, regardless of the size of the state. Currently, there are 100 Senators. A Senatorial term lasts six years; every second November, one third of the Senate comes up for reelection, leaving an experienced two-thirds in the Senate each time through the election cycle.

If a Senator's seat becomes vacant for any reason, the governor of that state must provide for a new election to fill the seat.

The Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate. He is a non-voting member unless a vote of the Senate ends in a tie, in which case the Vice President casts the deciding vote. The Constitution understands that the Vice President will not always be available and provides for a President pro tempore (literally, a temporary president). Like the House, the Senate leadership also consists of Majority and Minority Leaders and Whips. In the Senate, the whips are officially known as the Assistant Leader.

The current leadership of the Senate (110th Congress, as of January 4, 2007):

President: Richard Cheney
President Pro Tem: Robert Byrd (D-WV)
Majority Leader: Harry Reid (D-NV)
Majority Whip: Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Minority Leader: Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Minority Whip: Trent Lott (R-MS)
See the Congressional Membership Page for a list of the members of the Senate. The Senate also has its own website.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Executive
The duty of the Executive Branch is to enforce the laws of the United States. The branch is headed by the President. The Constitution sets out the qualifications for the President in Article 2, Section 1:

35 years old or older
Must be a native-born U.S. citizen
Must have lived in the United States for fourteen years
There is a bit of ambiguity in some of these requirements. First, the definition of "native-born" is a matter of law, and, hence, interpretation. For example, the child of American citizens who happened to be overseas when the child was born is considered native-born. A child born in an acquired U.S. territory (such the U.S. Virgin Islands) is considered a citizen at birth as determined by law. To be safe, a person is eligible to be President if that person was born in a state after the date of statehood. If a person was born in a territory or overseas, one should check the U.S. Code (Title 8) to be sure. Next, there is no clarity on the 14 year requirement. Few think that it means 14 consecutive years inside the United States, as that would likely disqualify many citizens who traveled abroad or who lived in military bases. Some think it should mean 14 accumulated years from birth, including time in U.S. military bases, embassies, and off-shore offices of U.S. corporations. It may take a Supreme Court decision to set the rule in stone.

Note that there is no restriction in terms of gender, race, class, social standing, or any other classification, for President or Vice President.

The other Constitutional members of the Executive are the Vice President, who, by virtue of the 12th Amendment must have the exact same qualifications as the President in order to be VP; the Executive Departments (see The Cabinet Topic for details); the Military; various Agencies, Councils, Advisors, and Offices that work with and for the President; and Embassies, Missions, and Ambassadors to international organizations and foreign nations.

The President is restricted to two full elected terms in office by the 22nd Amendment. This is the only term limit in the Constitution. There is no restriction of term for the Vice President or any of the non-elected members of the Executive Branch. The longest serving President was Franklin Roosevelt, who, in a time of national emergency, overturned a traditional (but not legal) two-term limit first set by George Washington. Roosevelt was elected four times. The shortest serving President was William Harrison, who died after one month in office.

The President has several constitutional duties aside from the general "enforce the laws" duty. These are:

To be Commander in Chief of the military
To conduct foreign affairs
To negotiate treaties with other nations
To nominate members of the cabinet, judiciary, etc.
To review and sign or veto bills
To administer the laws of the nation
To issue pardons as he sees fit
To address the Congress from time to time to assess the state of the nation
The President, as leader of the nation, and as leader of his or her party, de facto if not de jure, has several other roles. These are:

Morale builder
Party Leader
Legislative leader
Coalition builder
Crisis manager
Personnel recruiter
World Leader
Budget Setter
Priority setter
Bargainer and Persuader
Conflict resolver
The current President and Vice President are:

George Walker Bush, President
Richard Bruce Cheney, Vice President
See the Presidents Page for a list of all U.S. Presidents. The White House also has its own website.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Judiciary
The duty of the interpretation of the law rests in the Judiciary. The highest court in the United States, above all others, with the final say in the what laws are Constitutional and which aren't, is the Supreme Court.

There is actually very little said in the Constitution about the Supreme Court or any of the courts. Article 3 is the shortest of the first three articles, and only the first two of the three sections have anything to do with the structure of the Judiciary. The Chief Justice is only mentioned in Article 2, concerning presidential impeachment. Judges have no Constitutionally mandated age, residency, or citizenship requirements.

Judges appointed to the bench under Article 3 courts serve their terms for as long as they wish, while in "good Behavior." Judges can be impeached by the Legislative branch.

Currently, there are nine justices of the Supreme Court. Since the Constitution does not specify the number, it has fluctuated, from as few as five to as many as ten. The Supreme Court is the highest appellate court, meaning that cases normally only come to the Court by way of appeal after appeal of the losing party. The Supreme Court does have original jurisdiction of a few types of cases, spelled out in Section 2.

The Constitution also specifies that there will be courts inferior to the Supreme Court. These courts are federal in scope and are separate from similar court setups in each state. This dual-scope judicial system is quite uncommon through other governments in the world, but reflects the historical power of the states.

In addition the Article 3 courts, there are special Article 1 courts which help carry out the duties of the Legislative branch, such as bankruptcy courts and military courts of appeal. Judges serving in Article 1 courts do not serve for life, but have set terms (such as 14 years for bankruptcy court, and 15 for military appeals court).

The current members of the Supreme Court are as follows, along with their year of appointment and president who appointed them:

John Roberts (chief) (2005, Bush)
John Paul Stevens (1975, Ford)
Antonin Scalia (1986, Reagan)
Anthony Kennedy (1988, Reagan)
David Souter (1990, Bush)
Clarence Thomas (1991, Bush)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1993, Clinton)
Stephen Breyer (1994, Clinton)
Samuel Alito (2006, Bush)
The Supreme Court also has its own website.

words letters numbers figures

Darn flood control.

I really like his blue period:

kicks!

I won an iPod Shuffle today!

This is a cool website.

Looks like the Leopard launch is still a ways off.

fellateur

weak.

EDIT IN MY WHITE TEE

is it wrong that those things crack me up everytime?