The Major Congressional Checks on the Presidential Authority

The Major Congressional Checks on the Presidential Authority Introduction The US government is tripartite, and its branches perform the critical role of performing checks and balances on one another to as a way of preventing any of the branches from overstepping its mandate.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Major Congressional Checks on the Presidential Authority specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, the limits to presidential powers include a political culture that has as one of its characteristics features a distrust of government and an array of congressional checks on presidential authority, including the ability to approve presidential appointments, the laws that the president wishes to approve and the budget to the executive departments. This essay will examine the congressional powers in relation to checking on the presidency. How the Congress checks on the presidency The Congress has powers to check on the presidency in different aspects one of which is che cking on the budgetary allocations by the executive. The creation of a budget requires integrity given the massive amounts of cash involved, and as such, Congress ensures that the budget drafting process by the executive is both transparent and appropriate. The Congress performs this role by debating and approving or rejecting budgets depending on their perceptions of the budgetary allocations (Gitelson, Dudley and Dubnick 60). The president can only recommend a budget for congressional consideration, but the actual appropriation of funds lies in the hands of the Senate and House of Representatives. Congress can also challenge the treaties signed by the president is Congress feel that it is inappropriate. This issue has however attracted much debate centered on whether the president should have the final word on approving or discarding treaties. As noted by Gunter (354), these debates arrived at the conclusion that the president is not the only one affected by the treaties as an ind ividual and as such, granting the presidency the last word on treaties would be according it too much power as an individual, is not the one actually affected by these treaties on the ground. And as such, the president should not be the only one to decide the fate of treaties. Even though Congress lacks the force of law, there are numerous ways by which it can exact restrictions on a military operation, including the denial of Congressional authorization, disapproving resolutions and specific reporting requirements. These restrictions provide the Congress with opportunities to signal its opposition or the limits of its support and to impose political costs on the president and his senior advisors for pursuing intervention policies that deviate from Congressional preferences.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For example, Congress may threaten to vote on War Powers question, o r through complaints about the absence of prior consultation, insistence on extensive consultation, ons of US presidents who were impeached by Congress include President Johnson in 1868 and most recently, President Clinton in 1998. Another way in which Congress checks on presidential powers is through its capabilities to confirm or reject presidential nominees for executive and judicial positions. Before assuming office, the Senate has to debate the nominated candidates and based on the votes; a candidate may either be approved or rejected.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Major Congressional Checks on the Presidential Authority specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Conclusion The constitution gives the government authority to the government’s three branches each with its specific roles concerning the running of day to day governmental duties. Each branch is governed by a checks and balances system that ensures that all the three branches cooperate in making important decisions. This essay has explored various ways by which Congress checks on the executive. Ehrman, John, and Flamm, Michael. Debating the Reagan presidency. Lanham, MD: Rowman Littlefield, 2009. GÃ ¼nter, Gerald. Constitutional law. New York: Foundation Press, 1991. Gitelson, Allan, Dudley Robert, and Dubnick. Melvin American Government: Student Choice Edition. California: Good Cengage Learning, 2008. Heath, David. The Congress of the United States. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

Mathematical Properties of Waves

Mathematical Properties of Waves Physical waves, or mechanical waves, form through the vibration of a medium, be it a string, the Earths crust, or particles of gases and fluids. Waves have mathematical properties that can be analyzed to understand the motion of the wave. This article introduces these general wave properties, rather than how to apply them in specific situations in physics. Transverse Longitudinal Waves There are two types of mechanical waves. A is such that the displacements of the medium are perpendicular (transverse) to the direction of travel of the wave along the medium. Vibrating a string in periodic motion, so the waves move along it, is a transverse wave, as are waves in the ocean. A longitudinal wave is such that the displacements of the medium are back and forth along the same direction as the wave itself. Sound waves, where the air particles are pushed along in the direction of travel, is an example of a longitudinal wave. Even though the waves discussed in this article will refer to travel in a medium, the mathematics introduced here can be used to analyze properties of non-mechanical waves. Electromagnetic radiation, for example, is able to travel through empty space, but still, has the same mathematical properties as other waves. For example, the Doppler effect for sound waves is well known, but there exists a similar Doppler effect for light waves, and they are based around the same mathematical principles. What Causes Waves? Waves can be viewed as a disturbance in the medium around an equilibrium state, which is generally at rest. The energy of this disturbance is what causes the wave motion. A pool of water is at equilibrium when there are no waves, but as soon as a stone is thrown in it, the equilibrium of the particles is disturbed and the wave motion begins.The disturbance of the wave travels, or propogates, with a definite speed, called the wave speed (v).Waves transport energy, but not matter. The medium itself doesnt travel; the individual particles undergo back-and-forth or up-and-down motion around the equilibrium position. The Wave Function To mathematically describe wave motion, we refer to the concept of a wave function, which describes the position of a particle in the medium at any time. The most basic of wave functions is the sine wave, or sinusoidal wave, which is a periodic wave (i.e. a wave with repetitive motion). It is important to note that the wave function doesnt depict the physical wave, but rather its a graph of the displacement about the equilibrium position. This can be a confusing concept, but the useful thing is that we can use a sinusoidal wave to depict most periodic motions, such as moving in a circle or swinging a pendulum, which dont necessarily look wave-like when you view the actual motion. Properties of the Wave Function wave speed (v) - the speed of the waves propagationamplitude (A) - the maximum magnitude of the displacement from equilibrium, in SI units of meters. In general, it is the distance from the equilibrium midpoint of the wave to its maximum displacement, or it is half the total displacement of the wave.period (T) - is the time for one wave cycle (two pulses, or from crest to crest or trough to trough), in SI units of seconds (though it may be referred to as seconds per cycle).frequency (f) - the number of cycles in a unit of time. The SI unit of frequency is the hertz (Hz) and1 Hz 1 cycle/s 1 s-1angular frequency (ω) - is 2Ï€ times the frequency, in SI units of radians per second.wavelength (ÃŽ ») - the distance between any two points at corresponding positions on successive repetitions in the wave, so (for example) from one crest or trough to the next, in SI units  of meters.  wave number (k) - also called the propagation constant, this useful quantity is defined as 2 Ï₠¬ divided by the wavelength, so the SI units are radians per meter. pulse - one half-wavelength, from equilibrium back Some useful equations in defining the above quantities are: v ÃŽ » / T ÃŽ » fω 2 Ï€ f 2 Ï€/TT 1 / f 2 Ï€/ωk 2Ï€/ωω vk The vertical position of a point on the wave, y, can be found as a function of the horizontal position, x, and the time, t, when we look at it. We thank the kind mathematicians for doing this work for us, and obtain the following useful equations to describe the wave motion: y(x, t) A sin ω(t - x/v) A sin 2Ï€ f(t - x/v)y(x, t) A sin 2Ï€(t/T - x/v)y(x, t) A sin (ω t - kx) The Wave Equation One final feature of the wave function is that applying calculus to take the second derivative yields the wave equation, which is an intriguing and sometimes useful product (which, once again, we will thank the mathematicians for and accept without proving it): d2y / dx2 (1 / v2) d2y / dt2 The second derivative of y with respect to x is equivalent to the second derivative of y with respect to t divided by the wave speed squared. The key usefulness of this equation is that whenever it occurs, we know that the function y acts as a wave with wave speed v and, therefore, the situation can be described using the wave function.