The were an ancient civilization that settled in mexico and were thought to be very brutal and violent, offering human sacrifices and going to war with neighboring people. a. aztec b. inca c. cherokee d. maya

the recent bombing of the uss cole is one of many incidents of terrorism directed against the united states. more than 40 percent of the world’s terrorism is directed against u.s. targets.   pursue the alleged perpetrators through the criminal justice system, and still others would beef up intelligence capabilities. to deal with potential attacks involving weapons of mass destruction, some analysts advocate extending the reach of law enforcement agencies or spending more on domestic preparedness programs; others would encourage a policy of u.s. military restraint overseas to attempt to reduce the motivation for terrorist attacks on u.s. targets.

separation of powers, therefore, refers to the division of government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the core functions of another.   the intent is to prevent the concentration of power and provide for checks and balances.  

the traditional characterizations of the powers of the branches of american government are:

* the legislative branch is responsible for enacting the laws of the state and appropriating the money necessary to operate the government.

* the executive branch is responsible for implementing and administering the public policy enacted and funded by the legislative branch.

* the judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the constitution and laws and applying their interpretations to controversies brought before it.

forty state constitutions specify that government be divided into three branches:   legislative, executive and judicial.   california illustrates this approach; "the powers of state government are legislative, executive, and judicial.   persons charged with the exercise of one power may not exercise either of the others except as permitted by this constitution."

while separation of powers is key to the workings of american government, no democratic system exists with an absolute separation of powers or an absolute lack of separation of powers. governmental powers and responsibilities intentionally overlap; they are too complex and interrelated to be neatly compartmentalized. as a result, there is an inherent measure of competition and conflict

minnesota:   minnesota house research,   separation of powers: when statutes and court rules conflict, 2005