Chinese Totalitarianism, American-Style

John W. Whitehead August 5th, 2008

Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. Thomas Jefferson

China is becoming more like us in very visible ways (Starbucks, Hooters, cellphones that are cooler than ours), observed Naomi Klein in Rolling Stone in May 2008, and we are becoming more like China in less visible ones (torture, warrantless wiretapping, indefinite detention, though not nearly on the Chinese scale).

Kleins expose, Chinas A … (Read More)

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Our Schools Are Graveyards for Freedom

John W. Whitehead December 13th, 2007

“The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.”—Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis

My granddaughter is seven months old. Intent on discovering as much as she can about the world around her, she is blissfully unaware of the fact that she is under constant surveillance. Between her doting parents, her equally doting grandparents and a baby monitor that is always turned on and tuned in, there is little this child can d … (Read More)

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Big Brother in the Sky

Erik October 12th, 2007

From heat tracking spy satellites to miniature flying audio/video recorders (see pic.), the U.S. government has an arsenal of surveillance tools… and they're aimed directly at you. On top of that, you're paying for it.

This week on SBE, we're joined by constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead from The Rutherford Institute to talk about his recent article, An Electronic Concentration Camp: Big Brother in the Sky. Check out the piece and listen to the program to find out ho … (Read More)

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An Electronic Concentration Camp: Big Brother in the Sky

John W. Whitehead October 10th, 2007

Short of hiding out in a cave, far removed from any trace of modern technology, it would seem that there is no longer any escaping the electronic concentration camp in which we live.

Whether we're crossing the street, queuing up at the ATM or picnicking in the park, we're under constant scrutiny–our movements monitored by cameras, tracked by satellites and catalogued by a host of increasingly attentive government agencies. No longer does the idea of an omnipresent, omniscient go … (Read More)

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Florida Bar Governors - Guardians of Democracy or Guards of a Gulag?

Jack Thompson July 16th, 2007

In 1976, having graduated from Vanderbilt Law School, I came to Miami and became a Christian and then a lawyer, in that order. I have tried to keep those two roles in that particular order.

In 1989 I secured the first fines ever levied by the Federal Communications Commission for airing indecent material in violation of 18 USC 1464. The radio station's attorneys retaliated by collaborating with the former chairman of the Florida ACLU to persuade The Florida Bar to go to the state Supreme C … (Read More)

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Are the Hitler Parallels Too Close for Comfort?

John W. Whitehead June 12th, 2007

"Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it." —George Santayana

On May 9, 2007, with little attention from the snoozing media, George W. Bush issued a "presidential directive" that allows him to assume control of the federal government following a "catastrophic emergency."

Although the directive doesn't specifically identify the types of emergencies that would qualify as "catastrophic," it is vague enough to encompass � … (Read More)

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