Tag: Rutherford Institute

This is nearing martial law without declaration of war

By John & Nisha Whitehead In Donald Trump’s America, the bar for martial law is no longer constitutional—it’s personal. What is unfolding right now in California—with hundreds of Marines deployed domestically; thousands of National Guard troops federalized; and military weapons, tactics and equipment on full display—is intended to intimidate, distract

Call it what it is: A panopticon presidency

By John & Nisha Whitehead President Donald Trump’s plan to fuse government power with private surveillance tech to build a centralized, national citizen database is the final step in transforming America from a constitutional republic into a digital dictatorship armed with algorithms and powered by unaccountable, all-seeing artificial intelligence. This

U.S. citizenship as spectacle, transaction, or privilege

By John & Nisha Whitehead Few modern political figures have done more to prompt spontaneous national discussions about the Bill of Rights and constitutional limits on government power than Donald Trump—if only because he tramples on them so frequently. Indeed, president Trump has become a walking civics lesson. Consider some

Trump making Americans Constitutionally literate

By John & Nisha Whitehead Few modern political figures have done more to prompt spontaneous national discussions about the Bill of Rights and constitutional limits on government power than Donald Trump—if only because he tramples on them so frequently. Indeed, president Trump has become a walking civics lesson. Consider some

Authoritarian: Martial law disguised as law and order

By John & Nisha Whitehead “A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty.”—James Madison We are being frog-marched into tyranny at the end of a loaded gun. Or rather, hundreds of thousands of loaded guns. Let’s not mince words: President Donald Trump’s

Home invasions on the rise, Constitution-free policing

By John & Nisha Whitehead “One of the most essential branches of English liberty is the freedom of one’s house. A man’s house is his castle.”—James Otis, Revolutionary War activist, on the Writs of Assistance, 1761 What the Founders rebelled against—armed government agents invading homes without cause—we are now being

How a president becomes a dictator: By executive order

By John & Nisha Whitehead “We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases.” — Ayn Rand One-hundred and thirty executive orders in under 100 days. Sweeping powers claimed in the name of “security” and “efficiency.” One

Refugee. Enemy of the State. Would ICE have crucified Jesus?

By John & Nisha Whitehead It has begun, just as we predicted, justified in the name of national security. Mass roundups. Raids. Indefinite detentions in concentration camps. Martial law. The erosion of habeas corpus protections. The suspension of the Constitution, at least for select segments of the population. A hierarchy

A financial coup: Manufactured crises to seize power

By John & Nisha Whitehead What we’re witnessing is the calculated use of emergency powers to concentrate power in the hands of the president, enrich the Deep State, and dismantle what remains of economic and constitutional safeguards. Nearly 250 years after our nation’s founders rebelled over abused property rights, Americans

Beyond the law: What it means to weaponize the government

By John & Nisha Whitehead President Donald Trump’s declaration of war as a justification for using wartime powers to sidestep constitutional protections is indeed a war, but it is a war waged by the president against dissent, against due process, and against the very foundations of our constitutional republic. This

War on truth: Doublespeak, delusion, and propaganda

By John & Nisha Whitehead The Deep State’s war on truth is being waged with doubletalk, delusion and propaganda. Through deliberate manipulation of language, what George Orwell called “doublespeak”, Donald Trump has provided cover for the Deep State’s continued grip on power. While promising to drain the swamp, his administration

Nullifying the Constitution won’t make America great again

By John & Nisha Whiteheadjohnw@rutherford.org Anyone who wants to put America first needs to start by putting the Constitution first. This should be non-negotiable. Winning an election does not give president Donald Trump, or any politician, the authority to sidestep the U.S. Constitution and remake the government at will. That’s

The Ways ‘We the People’ Keep Losing Our Freedoms

By John & Nisha Whitehead Almost one month into the Donald Trump presidency, and the U.S. Constitution and the entire section on the various branches of government and how they work together are still missing from the White House website. This is no small thing. This omission, deliberate or inadvertent,

Constitution gone: Presidential power grabs to martial law

John & Nisha Whitehead That didn’t take long. Within days of Donald Trump’s second term, the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights disappeared from the White House’s website. While the Donald Trump Administration insists the removal of these foundational documents will eventually be restored to the site, the timing and