How the process of impeachment acts as a check and balance within the government. who is being checked? by whom? why is the principle of checks and balances important?

The process of impeachment acts as a check and balance for the executive branch, or the President of the United States (POTUS). The Executive Branch is being checked by the other two branches, the Legislative Branch, or Congress, and the Judicial Branch, or the Supreme Court. The principle of checks and balances are important to ensure that 1) no government branch can become too powerful, and 2) to make sure that work is evenly distributed and that not one branch has to carry all the weight.

How each branch checks each other:

Legislative Branch Powers & Weakness:

The Legislative Branch can create and pass or deny bills.

The Legislative Branch can override the President's veto.

- The Legislative Branch's laws can be declared unconstitutional.

-  They may not agree and may not be able to pass a bill.

- The president may veto their bill.

Executive Branch Powers & Weakness:

The Executive Branch can pass or veto bills.

The Executive Branch has Executive Powers, which can bypass Judicial & Legislative powers.

- The Executive Branch can be impeached by the Legislative Branch & Judicial Branch.

- The Executive Branch can be replaced by the people.

Judicial Branch Powers & Weakness:

The Judicial Branch can declare laws constitutional or unconstitutional.

The Judicial Branch is able to interpret the laws that are passed.

The Judicial Branch is life-long, and can only be replaced by death or impeachment.

- The Judicial Branch can only be selected by the President.

- The Judicial Branch does not have a voice until needed.

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as university of miami psychologists debra lieberman and adam smith pointed out in a recent article in the journal current directions in psychological science, humans have social and psychological mechanisms to deter incest. with very few exceptions, marriages between brothers and sisters and between parents and their children are verboten in every human culture. the primary psychological anti-incest mechanism is the yuck response. even the idea of sex with their mom or dad, bro or sis is upsetting to most people. the psychologist jonathan haidt has found that nearly everyone is repelled by the prospect of brother-sister sex, even in hypothetical situations in which there is no chance of pregnancy).

the biological cost of incest

this raises an interesting question: just what’s so bad about incest? sure, having sex with your dad or your sister seems gross — but why? some anthropologists have argued that incest taboos are learned social conventions. this explanation, however, doesn’t make sense to me as it does not explain the widespread existence of anti-incest mechanisms in creatures ranging from cockroaches to chimpanzees. second, the incest taboo is about as close to a universal law as human moral rules get.

why should mechanisms to avoid incest be so widespread both in nature and across human societies? the answer is simple. the problem with having sex close with relatives is that there is an astonishingly high chance that your offspring will be born with a serious birth defect.

the first part is ocean

explanation: