A blank check (carte blanche) is a check that has no numerical value written in, but is still signed; check owners are normally advised to specify the amount before signing. If created accidentially, such checks can be extremely dangerous for their owner, for whoever obtains the check could write in whatever amount of money he wanted, and would legally be able to cash it (to the extent that the underlying account contains such funds). The 1994 film Blank Check plays on such a situation. Typical cancelled personal cheque as used in the U.S. A cheque (CwE) or check (AmE), thought to have developed from Persian Ú†Ùƒ chek, is a negotiable instrument instructing a financial institution to pay a specific amount of a specific currency from a specific demand account held in the maker/depositor... Value is a term that expresses the concept of worth in general, and it is thought to be connected to reasons for certain practices, policies, or actions. ... Money Money is any marketable good or token used by a society as a store of value, a medium of exchange, and a unit of account. ... In accountancy, an account is a label for recording a quantity of almost anything. ... Blank Check film poster Blank Check is a 1994 Disney live action movie about a boy whose bicycle is run over by an anonymous bank robber. ...

The metaphor of the "blank check" is thus often used in politics to describe legislation that is open-ended or vague, and could be easily subjected to abuse. For example, in the US the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution has been called a "blank check," for it gave the President the power to "take all necessary measures" to prevent "aggression" in Southeast Asia. These powers were then used to escalate the Vietnam War. Many in the Congress protested, but were helpless to do so, for the Tonkin resolution's terms were too subjective to enforce. Legislation refers to the process of enacting statutory laws, or to the set of statutory laws in a state. ... ... Chart showing the US Navy’s interpretation of the events of the first part of the Gulf of Tonkin incident The Gulf of Tonkin Incident was originally presented as a pair of battles initiated by North Vietnamese gunboats without provocation against two U.S. destroyers, that took place in August... President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, universities, and countries. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... The Vietnam War or Second Indochina War was a conflict between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN, or North Vietnam), allied with the National Liberation Front (NLF, or Viet Cong) against the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, or South Vietnam), and its allies—notably the United States military in support of...

This term was also used to describe how the Kaiser of Germany told Austria-Hungary officials they could deal with Serbia however they wanted after Serbian Nationalists assassinated the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This was immediately preceeding World War I. Kaiser is a German title meaning emperor, derived from the Roman title of Caesar, as is the Slavic title of Czar. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Franz Ferdinand links to here. ... World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machine guns, and poison gas World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, the War of the Nations and...

Literature's most famous carte blanche (literally 'white card') was handed out by Cardinal Richelieu in Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers: Cardinal Richelieu was the French chief minister from 1624 until his death. ... Alexandre Dumas redirects here. ... DArtagnan and the Musketeers The Three Musketeers (Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. ...

Dec. 3, 1627

It is by my order and for the good of the state that the bearer of this has done what he has done.

Richelieu

or in French:

« C'est par mon ordre et pour le bien de l'Etat que le porteur du présent a fait ce qu'il a fait.

« 3 décembre 1627.

« Richelieu. »

See also

• List of political metaphors