John W. Whitehead

Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of the Rutherford Institute. His new book, The Freedom Wars, (TRI Press) is available online at www.amazon.com. Whitehead can be contacted at johnw@rutherford.org. Information about the Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.

Turning America Into a War Zone, Where ‘We the People’ Are the Enemy

“If you don’t want to get shot, tased, pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton or thrown to the ground, just do what I tell you. Don’t argue with me, don’t call me names, don’t tell me that I can’t stop you, don’t say I’m a racist pig, don’t threaten that you’ll sue me and take away my … Continue reading “Turning America Into a War Zone, Where ‘We the People’ Are the Enemy”

‘Just Salute and Follow Orders’: When Secrecy and Surveillance Trump the Rule of Law

“The Secret Government is an interlocking network of official functionaries, spies, mercenaries, ex-generals, profiteers and superpatriots, who, for a variety of motives, operate outside the legitimate institutions of government. Presidents have turned to them when they can’t win the support of the Congress or the people, creating that unsupervised power so feared by the framers … Continue reading “‘Just Salute and Follow Orders’: When Secrecy and Surveillance Trump the Rule of Law”

Obama’s Lies, NSA Spies, and the Sons of Liberty

President Obama has managed, with singular assistance from Congress and the courts, to mangle the Constitution through repeated abuses, attacks and evasions. This is nothing new, as I’ve documented in my book A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State. However, with his recent speech on the National Security Agency—a heady cocktail of lies, … Continue reading “Obama’s Lies, NSA Spies, and the Sons of Liberty”

Police State Programs Not Affected by a Government Shutdown

Like clockwork, we’ve ticked back to the annual government shutdown scare. It’s always an entertaining show, with both Republicans and Democrats doing their best to one-up each other with heartbreaking anecdotes about the millions who will suffer in the event of a government shutdown and showy bravado over the need for greater fiscal stewardship, while … Continue reading “Police State Programs Not Affected by a Government Shutdown”

Ten Reasons Why America Does Not Need to Go to War Over Syria

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, from those who are cold and are not clothed. The world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its … Continue reading “Ten Reasons Why America Does Not Need to Go to War Over Syria”

The NSA: ‘The Abyss from Which There Is No Return’

“The National Security Agency’s capability at any time could be turned around on the American people, and no American would have any privacy left, such is the capability to monitor everything: telephone conversations, telegrams, it doesn’t matter. There would be no place to hide. If a dictator ever took over, the N.S.A. could enable it … Continue reading “The NSA: ‘The Abyss from Which There Is No Return’”

The American Surveillance State Is Here. Can It Be Evaded?

On any given day, the average American going about his daily business will be monitored, surveilled, spied on and tracked in more than 20 different ways, by both government and corporate eyes and ears. A byproduct of this new age in which we live, whether you’re walking through a store, driving your car, checking email, … Continue reading “The American Surveillance State Is Here. Can It Be Evaded?”

Kafka’s America: Secret Courts, Secret Laws, and Total Surveillance

“Logic may indeed be unshakeable, but it cannot withstand a man who is determined to live. Where was the judge he had never seen? Where was the High Court he had never reached? He raised his hands and spread out all his fingers. But the hands of one of the men closed round his throat, … Continue reading “Kafka’s America: Secret Courts, Secret Laws, and Total Surveillance”

The Surveillance State: Is This the Price of Living in a ‘Free, Safe’ Society?

“If you’re not a terrorist, if you’re not a threat, prove it. This is the price you pay to live in free society right now. It’s just the way it is.”—Sergeant Ed Mullins of the New York Police Department   Immediately following the devastating 9/11 attacks, which destroyed the illusion of invulnerability which had defined … Continue reading “The Surveillance State: Is This the Price of Living in a ‘Free, Safe’ Society?”

‘Boston Strong’: Marching in Lockstep with the Police State

“Of all the tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.” -C.S. Lewis Caught up in the televised drama of a military-style manhunt for the suspects in the Boston Marathon explosion, most Americans fail to realize that the world around them has been suddenly and jarringly shifted … Continue reading “‘Boston Strong’: Marching in Lockstep with the Police State”