http://professor-lyman.livejournal.com/ (
professor-lyman.livejournal.com) wrote in
fandomhigh2006-11-15 09:13 am
Entry tags:
US Government [Wednesday, November 15, 4th period]
"The rush has worn off from the election results," Josh said as he passed around sheets of paper, "which means that it is time for your much-delayed midterm examination."
1. What are the requirements of becoming the President of the United States of America?
2. What powers does the President have?
3. What is a veto?
4. What positions can the President appoint people to?
5. Name five cabinet positions.
EC: On a scale of 1 to 10, just how cool is Jed Bartlet?
"Questions? Pleas for understanding, or possible attempts to throw yourself at me in the hopes that I'll find mercy?" Josh shrugged. "I'm here for it all."
1. What are the requirements of becoming the President of the United States of America?
2. What powers does the President have?
3. What is a veto?
4. What positions can the President appoint people to?
5. Name five cabinet positions.
EC: On a scale of 1 to 10, just how cool is Jed Bartlet?
"Questions? Pleas for understanding, or possible attempts to throw yourself at me in the hopes that I'll find mercy?" Josh shrugged. "I'm here for it all."

Sign in [November 15, USG]
Re: Sign in [November 15, USG]
Re: Sign in [November 15, USG]
Re: Sign in [November 15, USG]
Re: Sign in [November 15, USG]
Re: Sign in [November 15, USG]
Re: Sign in [November 15, USG]
Re: Sign in [November 15, USG]
Re: Sign in [November 15, USG]
Take the test
Re: Take the test
because his mun so can't focus on government stuff right now XD. Of note, though, was that he added "and sometimes x-ray vision" at the end of Question Two and drew a picture of the Bill from the cartoon at the end of Question Three, looking sad with a dialogue bubble that said "I've been veto-d!"...Just because Chad was good with tests didn't mean he took them very seriously at all.
He also lied on the extra credit question, putting ten because, well, it just seemed the smart thing to do.
Re: Take the test
2. The president can tell the military what to do and create executive orders. And he can refer to himself as the commander-in-chief.
3. When the president stops a bill.
4. The president can appoint people to Cabinet positions.
5. Treasury, Defense, Commerce, Transportation, Education
EC: Eleven. He gets an extra cool point for not being a shrub.
Re: Take the test
2. The ability to have someone else write what he says and get away with it, which most people can't do outside of college. Seriously, though, he has the power to create bills I think, start wars, order around military underlings, and occasionally fly.
3. A veto is when someone says "This bill should say this!" and everyone else goes "Bitch, please. No."
4. If he's Bill Clinton, probably dirty ones. But I jest. Cabinet.
5. Education, Defense, Treasury, Shorthand...
EC: I give him a 9. Because to rate a 10 you'd kinda need to look like Obi-wan Kenobi.
Re: Take the test
2. The power to nominate ambassadors and judges, conduct foreign policy, grant pardons, hand down executive orders, and command the military.
3. When the President declines to sign a bill and sends it back to the
ParliamentCongress. They can then override the veto.4. Ambassadors, judges of the Supreme Ct, all other ministers of the United States. However, the Senate gets to consent to the appointment of these positions. Those offices in the Executive Office can be appointed without consent from the Senate.
5. Defence, Treasury, State, Justice, Agriculture, Interior.
EC: He was especially kind to take the time out of his day to speak to us.
Re: Take the test
because the mun's being burned out by actual uni tests and can't focus on this oneRe: Take the test
Meaning, not particularly well. But he did seem quite certain of his own answers.
Like the fool he is.
Re: Take the test
According to the Constitution, you must be at least 35 years old, be a natural born US citizen, and have lived in the US for at least 14 years.
According to everyone else you need a whole lot of money, have to look good on TV, know how to say nothing while sounding like you're saying something, and being a white male apparently does not hurt.
My assumption is that requirements like "must be currently alive" are implied somewhere. Also you can't have been president for two terms already because these days that's considered greedy. Also illegal.
2. What powers does the President have?
He's allowed to use troops overseas without declaring war, he can make treaties with other nations but then, like the war declaring, he needs Congress to back him up on that. Ditto nominating ambassadors, though he can receive them without getting a permission slip. I assume he has to give them back eventually.
He can bring both houses of Congress together for special sessions without having to buy everybody pizza for staying up late. He gives the State of the Union on the odd chance nobody in Congress has cracked a newspaper once in a while. He can recommend legislation to Congress and then give them strong hints and nudges about not being invited to the annual egg hunt if they don't let it pass.
He can appoint Federal judges, again with a Senate say-so which I imagine really builds up a resentment from time to time. He can also issue pardons to people and turkeys, but not for impeachment because our government may have many stupid loopholes but they're not that stupid.
He has to "take care the laws be faithfully executed" which is always written in textbooks with quotemarks since, let's face it, that's so vague nobody knows what it's really supposed to mean for the practical day to day aspects of it. He appoints the heads of each Executive Branch department, and if he's really nice he doesn't fill each position with one of his old drinking buddies.
He can request written opinions from administrative officials, though for some reason nobody's thought to specify that the officials have to honor that request. He can also fill administrative vacancies during Congressional recess. I assume with other people, and that these are at least semi-important jobs, because otherwise it kind of gives the impression that he's going to be the guy who has to fetch the coffee when Congress isn't in town.
3. What is a veto?
Veto comes from a Latin word which means "I forbid." This also means that Latin words are surprisingly more efficient than English ones since they were able to sum up a two-word concept in a reasonably short, single word. Practically speaking a veto is when a bill is sent back to Congress because the President doesn't approve of it. The bill's self-esteem is then dealt with in group therapy.
4. What positions can the President appoint people to?
Federal judges, heads of Executive branch department, administrative vacancies when Congress isn't around, plus he gets to pick who goes first in the semi-annual Go Fish tournament.
5. Name five cabinet positions.
Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security. Of all these Education is the one I would cheerfully knife fight someone for.
EC: On a scale of 1 to 10, just how cool is Jed Bartlet?
You didn't say which was which! What if I say 10 and it turns out that was the worst and you think that I hate him? Plus the word 'cool' can be very misleading. Some people mean it to sound like a compliment, but others could mean it to say that someone wasn't very personable. Frankly this whole thing is far too much pressure, especially considering we're talking about a President and your boss. What if I really answer wrong and get tried for treason???
I did like him, though. He was very nice about witches.
Re: Take the test
1. They have to have been born in the United States, and be at least 35 years old. And be male, apparently. :(
2. Being able to nominate judges and appoint ambassadors, granting pardons, vetoing bills/signing bills into law, and being the commander in chief.
3. When Congress has decided that they want a bill to be made into a law, it gets sent to the President. If he doesn't like it, he can refuse to sign it - that's a veto. The veto can be overturned by Congress though, if enough people vote against the President's wishes.
4. Cabinet positions, ambassadorships, and the Supreme Court.
5. Agriculture, Education, Defence, Treasury, State
EC: 10! He's very awesome.
Talk to Josh after class
OOC
Re: OOC