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Online Casebook
Blumstein James, and Alex Tolbert. Why President Obama Can Break The Law With
Impunity. Forbes. 14 April 2014. Web. 5 May 2014.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2014/04/30/why-president-obama-can-break-the-law-
with-impunity/
The two authors go over the healthcare laws and how they are in contrast to other laws.
They highlight why it is difficult to sue over the new laws because of requirements of bringing a
lawsuit. The requirements that they highlight deal with the language of the law and how it is
difficult to meet the letter of the law to bring a lawsuit. They also draw comparisons to the way
some new laws are added and the Pre-Magna Carta days in England. A portion of the article
talks about doing things based on what Congress may have intended to do instead of what
Congress has done.
The article was written by a health scholar and the founder of Bernard Health. The
article was published in Forbes Magazine, a well known and respected news magazine. The
article is directed towards individuals and healthcare management concerned about politics and
the new healthcare laws. Counter points are brought up in the article and answered, giving the
article more credibility.
This will help show ways that laws are broken and why it is difficult to bring a lawsuit to
change the course of action. The article supports the fact that laws are sometimes broken when
government officials are doing their business. In addition the article shows that policies are
made around what could have been in a law instead of what is actually in the law.

Constitution of the United States. Image. Google Images. Web. 6 July 2014
https://www.google.com/search?q=constitution+being+destroyed&rlz=1C1OPRB_enUS558
US558&espv=2&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=cu_PU5XaFMqWyATD04DA
Dw&ved=0CC0Q7Ak&biw=1366&bih=667#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=VU8oD4To01Yr_
M%253A%3BOkr2-
euH1xXxIM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F4.bp.blogspot.com%252F_eXv5PWnhZGE%2
52FTHVywJ2U_iI%252FAAAAAAAAAKA%252FN3mWgqls0yk%252Fs1600%252F200
10628_CONSTITUTION.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fnixcurrents.blogspot.com%25
2F%3B640%3B480

The Constitution of the United States is a set of documents written by our founders of the
United States. It details the division of power for each branch of the government and the
limitations of branch. The constitution is able to be changed and the changes are referred to as
amendments. Some of the most important and original amendments are referred to as the Bill of
Rights.
The Constitution of the United States is available on the U.S. Government website. The
government website is updated regularly. The intended audience is wide ranging and would
include professionals, students and academia.
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The Constitution of the United States will provide backing to claims made about actions
of public officials. Comparisons will be made between what has been done by public officials
and the powers or limits provided in the Constitution of the United States.

Grant, Stephen. Should We Ever Disobey the Law. Richmond Journal of Philosophy 14
(2007). Web. 9 July 2014.
http://www.richmond-philosophy.net/rjp/back_issues/rjp14_grant.pdf
Several philosophical reasons are given for why a law should be broken, generally laws
that are contrary to moral principles. Laws made by our government should be consistent with
the principles that are in our constitution that guide what a law may consist of. An example
given is having a law that did not allow an ethnic group to vote, yet the constitution gives
everyone the right to vote.
This article is written by Dr. Stephen Grant, a Professor of Philosophy. The site the
article is on is an academic web site. The intended audience is students studying philosophy.
The article is written in a way that makes you look beyond the first impression of what someone
has done.
The article will be used to build credibility to my thesis statement. This article will give
reasons for not following the law. This will provide material for building a counter argument in
the essay.

Merriam-Webster/Dictionary. Merriam-Webster 2014. Web. 16 July 2014
http://www.merriam-webster.com/
Merriam-Webster Dictionary provides definitions to words used in the English
language. This online version allow a user to type in a word and the dictionary will provide an
up to date definition.
The dictionary was last updated in 2014 and has been in print for 150 years. The
audience for this site is the general public that is looking for answers to questions about words.
The site provides information to over 40 million visitors each month.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary will provide definitions to wording used in the essay.
Giving definitions to important words in the essay will eliminate confusion and bring focus to
the point being made.

Ramirez, Andy. DHS & Congress in Collusion for Amnesty: If You or I Were to Smuggle More
than Four Boxes of Cuban Cigars Into America, We Would Face Fines and Jail Time, yet Our
Government Aids Millions of Illegal Immigrants. The New American. 30.11 (2014): 17. The
Sinclair Library Collections. Web. 04 July 2014.
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.sinclair.ohionet.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1b03b17c-c19a-
4752-a401-f133aa874925%40sessionmgr111&vid=5&hid=107

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Ramirez gives examples of laws regarding our immigration and the actions of our
government that are contrary to the law. Laws regarding immigration are defused with policies
made by the President and Congress. These policies are given in the forms of Presidential
Decrees and Memorandums. Discussed in the article are some of the draw backs of
systematically not following the law. An example would be releasing dangerous people into the
American public. Allegations of financial misconduct are made in the article due to the lack of
oversight and accountability. The biggest claim made in this article is the shift in loyalty of
some of the law enforcement officers. The shift has been from loyalty to the constitution to the
agency loyalty.
This article was published 9 June 2014 in the New American to show the difference
between the immigration laws and their enforcement by the government. The audience is the
American public concerned with politics and immigration. This article shows that laws are
broken by more than just the President or one political party. The article discusses how laws are
gone around by use of Presidential Decrees and Memorandums. This article discusses some of
the reasons for not following the laws and shows some of the consequences. These consequences
affect individuals and the American population as a whole. This article was also chosen to show
that some laws are not followed to help people. Long term consequences to our future way of
life can be shown through points made in this article. The author is a recognized expert on
border security.
The information in this article will show ways laws are circumvented and some of the
reaching effects. The effects that are shown in this article will build upon the big picture that the
essay will have.

Rep. Blackburn, Marsha. Interview. Obama Broke the Law With Bergdahl Swap. 16
June 2014. Fox News. Web. 5 July 2014.
http://video.foxnews.com/v/3625407887001/rep-blackburn-obama-broke-the-law-with-bergdahl-
swap/#sp=show-clips
Representative Marsha Blackburn is interviewed on Fox News on 16 June 2014 about the
illegal release of Guantanamo Bay detainees and captured soldier Bergdahl. Rep. Blackburn
claims that President Obama broke the law by circumventing Congress. Going around Congress
was premeditated because the President worked with the Department of Justice for information
on bypassing Congress. Rep. Blackburn states that it is the law that the President must notify
Congress. Rep. Blackburn says that Congress is looking at what laws are broken and what
actions can be taken.
The interview conducted on 16 June 2014 is intended for the American general public. It
was conducted on a conservative news program and the interviewed person was a Republican.
The slant was towards the Republican portion of the audience. Representative Blackburn has a
level of credibility on the subject due to her position in the government and being part of the
briefings on the swap.
The information in the interview will support the reasoning for my thesis statement. This
interview shows that deliberate actions were taken by officials that are contrary to the law.

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United States of America. Federal Government. Constitution of the United States. July
2014. Web. 5 July 2014.
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html
The Constitution of the United States is the backbone of our politics. It provides limits of
power for different branches of government and means to control the branches of government. It
was written during the founding of our government and is the standard that is used by public
officials in the actions that they take.
The intended audience of this site is wide ranging and includes scholars, students and
professionals. The site is published by the Government of the United States and the credibility
of the site comes from the government.
The Constitution of the United States will be referenced many times throughout the essay. It will
be quoted to show how actions taken are in comparison to what is allowed by the limits of the
Constitution.

What is the Rule of Law, Part I. Rule of Law I nitiative. American Bar Association. Web.
9 July 2014.
http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/publiced/features/Part1DialogueROL.aut
hcheckdam.pdf
This is an educational article published by the American Bar Association. It describes
situations throughout history that make you think about what the meaning of law is and why we
have it. This article gives philosophical reasons for laws to be followed and broken through
quotes for historical figures.
The American Bar Association is a respected establishment. The article is written
without any slant. This article is published by the American Bar Association for their Rule of
Law Initiative and is found on their website. This article is intended for academic use.
This article will provide backing for my thesis by giving philosophical reasons for public
officials to follow the law. Through these quotes from important people in history I will be able
to build an argument supporting my thesis and counterarguments.

"'We Kill People Based on Metadata,' Admits Former CIA/NSA Boss." The New
American 2014: 8. The Sinclair Library Collections. Web. 4 July 2014.
http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.sinclair.ohionet.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=c93356a0-8a5c-
420e-9f93-23edbdafa02a%40sessionmgr4001&vid=60&hid=4113
This article talks about some extremes that the government has gone to. The extremes
are reported as unconstitutional and include assassination of Americans. The article claims that
these actions of our government are not only international but also domestic. Our Constitution
guarantees certain rights that are sometimes ignored by officials.

This article is written by The New American in 2014. The intended audience for this is
the American public concerned with politics. It is published by The New American and is
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accessed through the Sinclair Library Database. The fact that the article is a part of the Sinclair
Library Database gives the article added credibility.
This article will support my thesis that political officials should be held accountable for
their actions. This is done by showing the extremes our political officials will go to including
the assassination of Americans without a trial.




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