Obama and the Global Police: More Friendly Fascism?

John W. Whitehead January 14th, 2010

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"The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse."– James Madison

Over the course of his first year in office, Barack Obama has shown himself to be a skillful and savvy politician, saying the things Americans want to hear while stealthily and inexorably moving forward the government's agenda of centralized power. For example, in one breath, Obama pays lip service to the need for great … (Read More)

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Is Tweeting Now a Felony Under Federal Law?

John W. Whitehead November 18th, 2009

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Say you want a revolution.

We better get on right away.

Well you get on your feet

And out on the street.

–John Lennon, "Power to the People"

The ominous rise of the surveillance state continues unabated. With each passing day, hope fades that the Obama administration will diverge from George W. Bush's erection of a police state.

The government's treatment of Elliot Madison is a case in point. Madison, a 41-year-old self-sty … (Read More)

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Loving Big Brother: The Future Is Now

John W. Whitehead October 5th, 2009

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"He loved Big Brother."–George Orwell, 1984

1984 portrays a global society of total control in which people are not supposed to have thoughts that in any way disagree with the corporate state. There is no personal freedom. Snitches and surveillance cameras are everywhere. And people are subject to the Thought Police, who deal with anyone guilty of such thought crimes. The government, or "Party," is headed by Big Brother, who appears on posters … (Read More)

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Freedom Fading – John W. Whitehead on SBE

Erik Guzman July 3rd, 2009

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If it's not enough of a 4th of July bummer that the economy is in the toilet, join John Whitehead on this edition of Steve Brown Etc. to hear about the shocking ways that the freedoms we're celebrating are going up in smoke.

(If you're on the front page of the site, click "Read More" to see player options.)

If your city canceled their 4th of July celebration because of budget cuts, here's a recipe for fireworks. Combine one part federal … (Read More)

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Nat Hentoff Has Never Lost His Sense of Rage

John W. Whitehead June 9th, 2009

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My lives as a radical (according to the FBI): an "enslaver of women" (according to pro-choicers); a suspiciously unpredictable civil-libertarian (according to the ACLU); a dangerous defender of alleged pornography (according to my friend Catherine MacKinnon); an irrelevant, anachronistic integrationist (according to assorted black nationalists); and, as an editor at the Washington Post once said, not unkindly–"a general pain in the…"̵ … (Read More)

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Angry Conversations with God – Susan Isaacs on SBE

Erik Guzman May 22nd, 2009

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After forty years of being a good Christian girl, Susan Isaacs' life fell apart. Her dad died, her mom had a stroke, her career tanked and then her boyfriend of three years left her with no house and no husband…all simultaneously.

What's a girl to do? She had a nervous breakdown, took God to couples counseling, gave Him a piece of her mind and wrote Angry Conversations with God: A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir.

Join Susan on this week' … (Read More)

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