by John and Nisha Whitehead
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.”— Friedrich Nietzsche
We’re not dealing with a government that exists to serve its people, protect their liberties and ensure their happiness.
Rather, we are the unfortunate victims of the diabolical machinations of a make-works program carried out on an epic scale whose only purpose is to keep the powers-that-be permanently (and profitably) employed.
Case in point: the FBI.
The government’s henchmen have become the embodiment of how power, once acquired, can be so easily corrupted and abused. Indeed, far from being tough on crime, FBI agents are also among the nation’s most notorious lawbreakers.
Whether the FBI is planting undercover agents in churches, synagogues and mosques; issuing fake emergency letters to gain access to Americans’ phone records; using intimidation tactics to silence Americans who are critical of the government, or persuading impressionable individuals to plot acts of terror and then entrapping them, the overall impression of the nation’s secret police force is that of a well-dressed thug, flexing its muscles and doing the boss’ dirty work.
Clearly, this is not a government agency that appears to understand, let ...
by John W. Whitehead and Nisha Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute – Commentary
“We live in a surveillance state founded on a partnership between government and the technology industry.”
— Law Professor Avidan Y. Cover
In this age of ubiquitous surveillance, there are no private lives: everything is public.
Surveillance cameras ...
by John & Nisha Whitehead
“He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows when you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness’ sake!”
— “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
You’d better watch out — you’d better not pout — you’d better ...
by John & Nisha Whitehead
This article was originally published by The Rutherford Institute on August 22, 2022. It is reprinted here with permission.
“We want no Gestapo or Secret Police. FBI is tending in that direction.” —Harry Truman
With every passing day, the United States government borrows ...
by John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead
“In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is getting caught.”
—Hunter S. Thompson
The burden of proof has been reversed.
No longer are we presumed innocent. Now we’re presumed guilty unless we can prove our innocence beyond a reasonable ...
by John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute
“The greatest tyrannies are always perpetrated in the name of the noblest causes.”—Thomas Paine
The government wants your money.It will beg, steal or borrow if necessary, but it wants your money any way it can get it.
The government’s schemes ...
by John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead, Rutherford.org
He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows when you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness’ sake!
—“Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
Santa’s got a new helper.
No longer does the all-knowing, all-seeing, jolly Old St. Nick need to rely on antiquated elves on shelves and other seasonal snitches in order to know when you’re sleeping or awake, and if you’ve been naughty or nice.
Thanks to the government’s almost limitless powers made possible by a domestic army of techno-tyrants, fusion centers and Peeping Toms, Santa can get real-time reports on who’s been good or bad this year. This creepy new era of government/corporate spying—in which we’re being listened to, watched, tracked, followed, mapped, bought, sold and targeted—makes the NSA’s rudimentary phone and metadata surveillance appear almost antiquated in comparison.
Consider just a small sampling of the tools being used to track our movements, monitor our spending, and sniff out all the ways in which our thoughts, actions and social circles might land us on the government’s naughty list.
Tracking you based on your health status. In the age of COVID-19, digital health passports are ...
The All-Seeing Fourth Branch of Government
by John W. Whitehead and Nisha Whitehead
It is just when people are all engaged in snooping on themselves and one another that they become anesthetized to the whole process. As information itself becomes the largest business in the world, data banks know more ...
“The Fourth Amendment was designed to stand between us and arbitrary governmental authority. For all practical purposes, that shield has been shattered, leaving our liberty and personal integrity subject to the whim of every cop on the beat, trooper on the highway and jail official. The framers would be appalled.”—Herman ...
by John W. Whitehead and Nisha Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute – Commentary
“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 ...
