Rutherford Institute

COVID-19 Tested Our Commitment to Freedom. Three Years Later, We’re Still Failing

John & Nisha Whitehead “The remedy is worse than the disease.” Francis Bacon The government never cedes power willingly. Neither should we. If the COVID-19 debacle taught us one thing it is that, as Justice Neil Gorsuch acknowledged, “Rule by indefinite emergency edict risks leaving all of us with a shell of a democracy and civil …

The Global Deep State: A Fascist World Order Funded by the American Taxpayer

John & Nisha Whitehead “The madmen are in power.” Philip K. Dick, The Man in the High Castle The debate over U.S. foreign aid is a distraction. That’s not to say that the amount of taxpayer money flowing to foreign countries in the form of military and economic assistance is insignificant. Even at less than 1% of the …

2024 Is the New 1984: Big Brother and the Rise of the Security Industrial Complex

John & Nisha Whitehead Big Brother is Watching You.” George Orwell, 1984 2024 is the new 1984. Forty years past the time that George Orwell envisioned the stomping boot of Big Brother, the police state is about to pass off the baton to the surveillance state. Fueled by a melding of government and corporate power—the rise …

You’re Probably Already on a Government Extremism List

John & Nisha Whitehead “In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is getting caught.” Hunter S. Thompson According to the FBI, you may be an anti-government extremist if you’ve: a) purchased a Bible or other religious materials b) used terms like “MAGA” and “Trump,” c) shopped at Dick’s Sporting Goods, Cabela’s, or Bass …

Digital Kill Switches: How Tyrannical Governments Stifle Political Dissent

John & Nisha Whitehead “No president from either party should have the sole power to shut down or take control of the internet or any other of our communication channels during an emergency.” Senator Rand Paul What’s to stop the U.S. government from throwing the kill switch and shutting down phone and internet communications in a time …

The Rise of the Political Psychopath

John & Nisha Whitehead “When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal.” Richard Nixon Many years ago, a newspaper headline asked the question: “What’s the difference between a politician and a psychopath?” The answer, then and now, remains the same: None. There is no difference between psychopaths and politicians. Nor is there much of …

Dictator-in-Chief: How Absolute Power Corrupted the Presidency

John & Nisha Whitehead “He says, ‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’ I said: ‘No, no, no, other than day one. We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.’” Donald Trump to Sean Hannity on being asked if he would abuse power after being re-elected Once …

The White House’s Secret Surveillance Program Breaks All the Laws

John & Nisha Whitehead “We are rapidly entering the age of no privacy, where everyone is open to surveillance at all times; where there are no secrets from government.” William O. Douglas, dissenting in Osborn v. United States (1966) The government wants us to believe that we have nothing to fear from its mass spying programs as …