Mistrust All Those in Power, Always (Attorney John Whitehead Interview)

03/24/22 • 42 min

John Whitehead is one of the nation's premier civil liberties lawyers, a passionate orator, and president of The Rutherford Institute (www.rutherford.org). He's also the author of several fantastic books, two of which are:
Battlefield America: The War on the American People and A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State
Today, we're lucky to have John come on the show to talk about his tireless work through the past several decades as he tries to wake all Americans up to the importance of civil liberties and your American duty to challenge authority before it's too late.
"All men having power ought to be mistrusted." ...James Madison
(Interview Begins at 9:50)
The Rutherford Institute (est 1982) is a nonprofit civil liberties and human rights organization located in Charlottesville, Virginia, deeply committed to protecting the constitutional freedoms of every American and the integral human rights of all people. It has emerged as a prominent leader in the national dialogue on civil liberties and human rights, and is a formidable champion of the Constitution.

In his lengthy and impressive professional history, Whitehead has filed numerous amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court, has been co-counsel in several landmark Supreme Court cases and continues to champion the freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights in and out of the courts. His law review articles have been published in Emory Law Journal, Pepperdine Law Review, Harvard Journal on Legislation, Washington and Lee Law Review, Cumberland Law Review, Tulsa Law Journal and the Temple University Civil Rights Law Review. Whitehead is also a member of various groups that seek nonpartisan consensus solutions to difficult legal and constitutional issues through scholarship, activism and public education efforts.

John Whitehead is a frequent commentator on a variety of legal and cultural issues in the national media and writes a weekly opinion column, which is distributed nationwide. He has authored more than 30 books on various legal and social issues.
His most recent books include the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People and the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State.
In addition, he wrote and directed the documentary video series Grasping for the Wind, as well as its companion book, which focus on key cultural events of the 20th Century. The series received two Silver World Medals at the New York Film and Video Festival. You can also check out and share some of John's expertly written youtube videos.

Previous Episode

A True Tale of Russian Espionage (Former KGB Spy Jack Barsky Interview)

If you’ve ever watched the hit television show The Americans, you’ve probably been simultaneously terrified and mesmerized by the concept that a hostile foreign government could successfully plant undercover spies into your friends, your neighbors, your family. Well, it doesn't just make great fiction, it's proven fact.
Jack Barsky is a former KGB spy from the "Soviet illegals" program. Under orders and training from the most clandestine division of Russian intelligence, Jack left East Germany in his 20s to successfully infiltrate the United States with the intent to bring about our end. Jack lived, worked, and created an entirely false identity of family and friends during a decade long period in which he secretly took orders from the KGB.
(Interview Begins at 11:20)

Jack's Autobiography "Deep Undercover"
"The Agent" podcast about Jack's life.
60 Minutes interview with Jack

If you've ever wondered about the realities of international espionage, this is an interview you do not want to miss. Jack's life is not only fantastic and thrilling, but inspirational. Over time he came to understand the horrors of communism, defect from the USSR for love of his daughter and his life in America, and eventually not only found a spiritual faith, but became an advocate of United States' democracy.
In this fascinating interview Jack gives insight into his extremely interesting life, but also uses his incredibly unique experience of living in both systems of communism and democracy to provide thoughts on where modern America is possibly going wrong. This interview covers everything from undercover spy work, to the Putin invasion of Ukraine, to American politics, cancel culture, and God.
So give it a listen, and then pick up a copy of Jack's autobiography "Deep Undercover" to learn more about his life, or listen to the excellent podcast series "The Agent."
And also, please remember to subscribe to this show so you don't miss any of our terrific upcoming interviews, and follow the Independent Riot on the www.callin.com app to be notified of our upcoming live, call in, episodes.
Thanks for listening, and keep thinking for yourself!

Next Episode

Q-Anon... The Good, The Bad, and The Utterly Ridiculous (Professor Robert Guffey Interview)

Robert Guffey is a well-respected author, researcher, professor, and lecturer at California State University--Long Beach, and a historical-scholar of conspiracy theories. Today, he's going to give his insight into the Trump-loving quagmire known as Qanon.
This is actually Part 2 of a conversation Jim and Robert had several months back for Episode 19 (The Craziest True Story You'll Ever Hear). And if you love wild, mind-bending true stories, we'd strongly suggest you go back and listen to Episode 19 (a fan favorite), but it is certainly not a prerequisite for listening to today's discussion.
Today's topic is all about Qanon, and correpsonds with the release of Robert's newest non-fiction book "Operation Mindfuck" available now at OR books. Robert gives a basic overview of what Qanon is, and gives insight into how he thinks so many people with good intent can get led into so many crazy conclusions. Once you listen to the interview, we'd highly recommend you go pick up a copy of "Operation Mindfuck" to read Robert's more deeper analysis.
You can also find Robert's non-fictional analysis of conspiracy-theories "Cryptoscatology" on Amazon, as well as find his articles debunking conspiracies like Qanon on Salon. Additionally, he's the author of two excellent, genre-bending works of fiction, which you can find on amazon at:
"Bela Lugosi's Dead" ...Part detective story, part Hollywood ghost story, and part pulp adventure novel.
and
"Widow of the Amputation and Other Weird Crimes"...four novellas that explore the madness of murder through the warped lenses of urban noir, science fiction, horror, and fantasy.
Please pick up one or all of his books today!
And, if you like fascinating, independent-thinking discussions like this, where we don't shy away from provocative subjects, but try to use logic and reason to find truth regardless of what political side it corresponds with, please remember to give the Independent Riot a 5-star rating on whatever podcast players you use.
You can also contact us at [email protected]
Last, but not least, please consider subscribing to our fun new podcast "Your Best True Story" where we play anyone and everyone's most unbelievable, creepy, or hilarious true stories. You can even record and submit your own true story for a chance to win our monthly cash prize.
Thanks, and enjoy!