Click Here to Read John Whitehead's Commentary
I just wanted to say that your piece "One man against the surveillance state" is amazing. I am glad that someone has decided to stand up against this treatment and has contacted you to do something about it. I think both the machine and the new "rub down" are completely horrible and violate our rights as citizens. I wish more people understood this. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Amber
Good Morning:
I read, with great interest, the account of John Whitehead, whose experience at Memphis Airport, earlier this month, prevented him from arriving at work.
I also am a pilot for a major airline. It is easy to envision a scenario, in which, I could be delayed, or denied access to my aircraft, while clearing security and ON DUTY, somewhere in the U.S. or in Europe This may well lead to disciplinary action, by my employer, even resulting in termination efforts, by my employer.
As you may know, the "code of conduct" expected by pilots of major airlines, since the events of Sept. 11, is "full cooperation and compliance with TSA."
However, the developments have outpaced reasonableness.
The F.B.I. has already conducted a complete background check on each pilot who enters the cockpit of any (Part 121 Carrier) operating in this country.
Hence, they have "passed" on each individual pilot already.
Each pilot routinely undergoes random, unannounced drug testing.
Further, we undergo bi-annual medical examinations, including an EKG.
Please keep me informed of the developments with this important civil liberty issue, and advise me if you have a sign-up list of professionals, who are united in opposition to this encroaching menace within our society.
Thank you,
Joe P.
Sir:
The scanners exist only because the flying public knuckles under like a flock of cowards. A general strike on the part of the passengers would bring the airlines to their financial knees. If the strike was long enough, the scanners would be removed.
Charles B.
I read your piece in the Lew Rockwell site.
I cannot agree more with your views. I have for many years had a dream of touring the US on a Harley from one side to the other, and for even longer I felt a gratitude towards the British and the Americans for liberating Europe from the Germans.
Today I feel only contempt for America. I feel anger for the overbearing and brutish attitude of your government, deep seated anger for you arrogant and brash behaviour and increasingly contempt for you technological killing going on all over the globe.
What I can't fathom, for the life of me, is why the rest of the world is so hell bent on following your lead.
My suspicions are that the world is not keen, the elite is, wherever they are.
I am just waiting for the revolt to start, for surely, if we want to live as free people on this globe, revolt we must.
I increasingly have to remind myself that my thoughts should not extend to the American on the street, for in deed, he would be a victim as are all of us.
However, resistance must start at home, and your population have lost all but a faint trace of the qualities which made America strong. You guys have to wake up, or your dream becomes a nightmare!
Alas, my trip across the US will come to naught.
Kind regards
G. K.
Good Morning Mr. Whitehead,
…well…I think it is time to burn the whore house down to the ground…and hang the whores.
Regards,
Steven S.
Hello John...
Thank you, again, for your patriotic and selfless righteousness.
Like you said, "If we allow the government to reverse the burden of proof so that we have to prove our innocence, then we might as well give up on the Constitution altogether."
I believe that our government thinks we are ALL guilty until proven innocent.
And, I also believe that if we are truly innocent now (as the vast majority of us are), it doesn't really matter to the government because they believe any individual WILL commit a crime in the future, so why not monitor every individual NOW!
A few years ago, when I was at the DMV in Chico, California to get my California driver's license, they refused to give me a driver's license until I submitted to being FINGERPRINTED!
Can you believe that? I never owed any child support or alimony, there was no warrant out for my arrest, I wasn't in any type of trouble, I'm no sex offender, my record was clean, my record is clean, etc.
John, I'm still pissed off about that!
And like a fingerprint, those body scans taken at airports are on file FOREVER!
Respectfully Yours...
RON
Mr. Whitehead:
I pray you can defend Mr. Roberts against the growing tyranny in Washington. I live in Memphis and will never fly commercial again and hope millions of others make this choice, and if the airlines and tourist industry goes under, too bad. The sooner we rise up and have a tax revolt and stop sending our wealth to Washington, the better. The only terrorists we should be concerned with are the parasites in government and their cronies in business.
Jim H.
The solution to this unconstitutional search at airports is simple.
1. Quit flying immediately.
2. Single out the financially weakest air carrier, publicly target THEM for a boycott, explaining it will continue until the TSA is disbanded.
End of problem.
Mark M.
They are known as Beltway Bandits (District of Columbia) and their corrupt power makes the Kremlin in its heyday pathetically meek by comparison.
If I were very rich, I would spend my fortune exposing the corporate-business relationship. The Patriot Act's linking to insiders of the Pentagon, FBI and CIA et al.
HPTi in Reston Va.... I was hired for my technical expertise .. What makes this gang scary is their total disregard for the purpose of business. Their purpose was to amass a personal fortune at all costs. It has never been linked to a higher calling in service to your fellow man in submission to Christ. They never set out to do the "right thing".
They are selling their grandmothers soul for lucre.
When law and order crumbles.... I know where to look for assets.
Thank you for all you do.
Best Regards,
Jon W.
At any other time or place a full body pat down and viewing of naked children would be considered a "sex crime". What is it that we can do to fight back? I've chosen to drive on the next long trip with the kids, it's 20 hours and I have a week off. If we have to drive from Texas to Connecticut I don't think I can get that done and still enjoy any part of a vacation. I don't want my kids to grow up in a police state and think that it's ok to be assaulted by the state.
Tim F.
I to agree to the pilots objections to the illegal searches and pat downs. For some reason I have been subjected to these actions for a number of years , BEFORE 9/11. I have not flown, but once since the early 1990's because of the SO CALLED security. I just refuse to allow these people to do this to me. I WILL NOT FLY. TO HELL with it. IF more people refused to fly they might get the picture.
WFG
John,
This is exactly why I have not flown since they started this crap. I am not a criminal. I spent over 12 years in the military protecting my country and I didn’t do it to be treated like a criminal every time I decide to fly on a plane. Therefore, I will never fly on a plane again. The TSA and the rest of these monkeys can just damn well bite be.
I still remember the time a friend and I who both worked for the same company were flying to Denver. They had one of these machines that supposedly could tell by ‘sniffing’, if you had some time of explosive on you. ‘After’ completely going through his computer bag, dismantling it to the point where there was nothing left to hide, he was asked the question, “Have you had explosives of any kind EVER in this bag before?” I told my friend David to ‘not answer’ the question and then asked the lady ‘what right do you have to ask my friend about anything that he has HAD in the bag before. I instructed her that her only concern was what was presently IN the bag. She told me that she would call security if I interfered again. I told her to ‘go for it’ as she was demanding answers to questions that were NONE OF HER BUSINESS!
Of course, my friend David and I had never had anything remotely like explosives in our bags. But she insisted that he answer and I kept telling her that it was none of her business what he had or hadn’t done in the past before walking into the airport. I told her that her only concern was the HERE and NOW; not yesterday, early this morning, or tomorrow. She kept threating to call security and I kept egging her on telling her to knock herself out and call them, that I would tell them the same flippin’ thing I was telling her and that her tactics didn’t scare me one little bit.
Talk about invasion of flippin’ privacy! Now you have to answer about what you have done BEFORE you ever stepped foot into the airport! Remember, this was before 9/11!
So I agree with you 100%! And I’m still not going to fly the ‘friendly’ frickin’ skies!
Regards,
Scott W. Swigart
Dear Mr. Whitehead,
Besides the obvious Constitutional arguments, and the health warnings against these invasive porno machines, why isn't anyone stressing the danger these airline employees are facing with their having to go through these things multiple times a week/day?
Shouldn't that AT LEAST be screamed about?
Even the least amount of X-ray bombardment has a lethal cumulative effect over time.
These people are being slowly killed outright in the name of keeping the rest of us "safe." Why isn't anyone screaming about this?!
Anyway, no criticism of your articles; I enjoy them very much, and certainly did this one. I agree with you 100%. Just concerned for these employees who are being forced to sacrifice their lives for their jobs and the government.
Shame.
Sincerely,
Cathy
Dear John,
Thank you for what you are doing. A lawyer friend of mine who served in Vietnam stated it best when he said, "3,000 Americans died for us to lose the freedoms that half a million of us died fighting to gain".
I believe no truer words were spoken and wish you luck in your quest to get our freedoms back.
Having grown up in Africa on the front lines of the cold war I lived through real terror my entire childhood. Yet we never did any of the stupid things I witness happening in the US as we realised those kinds of things just empowered the "terrs".
Here are some of my observations.
1) We hire Muslims from the same region as Al Qaeda operate in North Africa to perform security screening at the Phoenix International airport. (madness if there is a real threat, sane if there isn't)
2) Denver International airport has a perfect ambush kill zone for a terror attack where the TSA has crowded over 1,000 people tightly packed together below a balcony with easy access from a closed underground parking lot, up an elevator and to the balcony edge. Perfect for Molotov cocktail bombs that can be sourced at the fuel station a mile away, or if creative hand grenades could be used with nowhere to escape to. (the red army did this in a coffee shop in Paris) As a PTSD suffering disabled veteran I feel I am well placed to comment on security issues.
3) Since 9/11 I have flown to Africa and the Middle East on business 5 times and have been armed on all my trips getting through all security checks including the full body searches. My knives have never been found and I have experimented with different locations on my body to hide them so know that the scans are just meaningless harassment. (Knives are so I can protect myself if there is another attack as I don't trust the State to protect me)
4) My last flight was a real joke I had 2 laptop computers one the battery works in the other it doesn't, they made me open them both and show them, turn them on etc. when I said one does not work they said ok and told me to put it back. If that was not one of the biggest real warning signs that should have had a more intense look at then nothing was. That search was by RCMP in Canada.
The entire TSA should be scrapped and the security should be scrapped it is a very expensive joke. All airlines have billions of dollars invested in their aircrafts. Let them make sure their aircraft are not blown up or crashed they have a financial incentive for ensuring they fly safe and will take measures to make sure they do stay safe. Pirates throughout history have been overpowered by the crews of the attacked craft that same principle will apply to aircraft.
All the best, not sure I can be of help but if I can let me know how.
Cheers
Rodger S.
Excellent article with great facts and stories.
I would add that there is one more impetus for this behavior. These scanners, with their danger to our health from radiation, also have a societal aspect to it.
They are another way to start culling people so illuminate elite can have their 80 percent population reduction. They're doing it with gm foods, chemtrails, atmosphere and earth manipulation (haarp), pesticides and herbicides (corporate farms), aspartame, sucrolose, hfcs, endless other food additives, vaccines, tooth amalgams. And this is just a small sample. Don't believe it? Ever see so many people with diseases nobody ever had? I know, I work in the healthcare industry for 50 plus years.
Best of all, they keep us asleep and compliant by providing desensitizing tv, movies, music and corporately controlled media.
Skip J.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Raising Up an Orwellian Generation
Click Here to Read John Whitehead's Commentary
The parents should exercise the US Constitutional given to us by God for their children, born or unborn. Be it privacy, life, liberty or happiness.
Raymond O.
The parents should exercise the US Constitutional given to us by God for their children, born or unborn. Be it privacy, life, liberty or happiness.
Raymond O.
Monday, October 4, 2010
John Lennon’s Dream: His 10 Best Songs
Click Here to Read John Whitehead's Commentary
My vote is for Working Class Hero. Richie Havens has a wonderful version.
Yours is probably the only Lennon Top Ten list without In My Life, although I generally concur with your selections, especially Walrus and Strawberry Fields. McCartney gets half the credit for A Day in the Life.
Your list draws almost exclusively from the psychedelic Beatles. Earlier Lennon works that merit honorable mention would include The Word, You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away, and perhaps the popular Norwegian Wood.
Don M.
John,
Rain is also my favorite Beatle song. The bass line and guitar weave together along different meandering paths to great effect. Paul's bass plays a prominent role, rather than just providing background assistance. And Ringo's drumming is the best he ever performed, completely confident, original, and necessarily providing complimentary propulsion. The slap at the end of the final verse, contrasted with the snare roll ending the prior verses, tells us where we're at in the music's message. Lennon's lazy-eyed delivery of "I don't mind" and the bell-like resonance of the G7th chord (I seem to recall when I played guitar and this song in particular in my youth) are exceptional. I just love this song for its crisp and unified arrangement and instrumentation. I'm amazed no one has tried to cover it on a grander scale. It's flip side, Paperback Writer, was just another light pop single devised along a simple guitar riff (preceded by Day Tripper) and had its moments, but Rain was heavy metal for the time.
As for Lennon, his canonization is not something I agree with. These encomiums are better suited for those who make great sacrifices on behalf of God, family, country and their neighbor. As I drive past one pot shop after another, I credit him with tearing at society's moral fabric, not mending it.
Sincerely,
Bill B.
Excellent list of Lennon songs. Everyone disagrees about the “top 10” but I mostly agree with yours – particularly having “Rain” high on the list. But, I think overlooking “Tomorrow Never Knows” was a mistake – that song is so far ahead of its time, we still haven’t caught up, and probably never will. Then, of course, there’s “She said she said”, “Norwegian Wood”, “#9 Dream”, etc. etc. etc. Thanks for the great list!
Steve H.
I was a senior in high school when I first heard "She Loves You".
I was an instant, and forever, Beatlemaniac.
My best friend said "but they will never be as big as Chuck".
Thank you for the article and memories.
Bruce H.
John,
I have a rock n roll band and play Revolution with much of the understanding of John Lennon. I don't know that John was as secular in Imagine as you think. While being a Christian I also imagine a world without religion. I view religion as just a sub political party of the left or right; a creature of people protecting what they shouldn't or the gain of something by nothing. Jesus Christ was not political nor did he claim a kingdom before Pilate. He didn't care for the "religious" as is practice then and today. It does take people though to make crap out of perfection.
Same thing with the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Too many believe those documents grant or give people freedom. It's not what the words say, but if people can make crap out of perfection, these imperfect documents don't stand a chance and in the end may only resemble toilet paper.
John Lennon also wrote these words, "Last night the wife said, 'Oh Boy when your dead, You won't take nothing with you but your soul. Think.' " Interesting secular words. He's dead right or perhaps "Biblical" where he says, "You'd better free your mind instead." I love, "Expert, textpert, choking smoker don't you think the joker laughs at you..." Now didn't doctors profess smoking as healthy at one time?
BTW I thought that Paul encourage Lennon to do a more rock version of Revolution which is the second version different from the White Album? Maybe you wrote that.
Anyway, I enjoyed your article.
Mike P.
I Am the Walrus. In my opinion, this song is John Lennon’s masterpiece. Lennon, a voracious reader, was inspired by the writings of Lewis Carroll, in particular the tale of woe from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, in which a band of young oysters are lured by the charms of the Walrus, who then begins to devour them. Obvious is the "goo goo g’joob" refrain which is the last line that Humpty Dumpty speaks when he falls to his doom in Alice’s Adventures..
The poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter", and the character of Humpty Dumpty, are both from Lewis Carroll's second novel, "Through the Looking-Glass, and what Alice found there".
Humpty Dumpty's last words were "Wait till you've tried."
Ed P.
A nice list of songs. You've written a fine article. It's a good thing Normal Mailer isn't here to read it.
About 15 years years ago I went to a display of John's and others drawing and paintings. Looking at his simple lines, tears began to run down my face. I don't cry much. I slipped out a side door and lets the tears come. I still miss him. I often wonder what he'd think about the world. Such a waste.
RESIST MUCH, OBEY LITTLE, MF
Michael F.
My vote is for Working Class Hero. Richie Havens has a wonderful version.
Yours is probably the only Lennon Top Ten list without In My Life, although I generally concur with your selections, especially Walrus and Strawberry Fields. McCartney gets half the credit for A Day in the Life.
Your list draws almost exclusively from the psychedelic Beatles. Earlier Lennon works that merit honorable mention would include The Word, You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away, and perhaps the popular Norwegian Wood.
Don M.
John,
Rain is also my favorite Beatle song. The bass line and guitar weave together along different meandering paths to great effect. Paul's bass plays a prominent role, rather than just providing background assistance. And Ringo's drumming is the best he ever performed, completely confident, original, and necessarily providing complimentary propulsion. The slap at the end of the final verse, contrasted with the snare roll ending the prior verses, tells us where we're at in the music's message. Lennon's lazy-eyed delivery of "I don't mind" and the bell-like resonance of the G7th chord (I seem to recall when I played guitar and this song in particular in my youth) are exceptional. I just love this song for its crisp and unified arrangement and instrumentation. I'm amazed no one has tried to cover it on a grander scale. It's flip side, Paperback Writer, was just another light pop single devised along a simple guitar riff (preceded by Day Tripper) and had its moments, but Rain was heavy metal for the time.
As for Lennon, his canonization is not something I agree with. These encomiums are better suited for those who make great sacrifices on behalf of God, family, country and their neighbor. As I drive past one pot shop after another, I credit him with tearing at society's moral fabric, not mending it.
Sincerely,
Bill B.
Excellent list of Lennon songs. Everyone disagrees about the “top 10” but I mostly agree with yours – particularly having “Rain” high on the list. But, I think overlooking “Tomorrow Never Knows” was a mistake – that song is so far ahead of its time, we still haven’t caught up, and probably never will. Then, of course, there’s “She said she said”, “Norwegian Wood”, “#9 Dream”, etc. etc. etc. Thanks for the great list!
Steve H.
I was a senior in high school when I first heard "She Loves You".
I was an instant, and forever, Beatlemaniac.
My best friend said "but they will never be as big as Chuck".
Thank you for the article and memories.
Bruce H.
John,
I have a rock n roll band and play Revolution with much of the understanding of John Lennon. I don't know that John was as secular in Imagine as you think. While being a Christian I also imagine a world without religion. I view religion as just a sub political party of the left or right; a creature of people protecting what they shouldn't or the gain of something by nothing. Jesus Christ was not political nor did he claim a kingdom before Pilate. He didn't care for the "religious" as is practice then and today. It does take people though to make crap out of perfection.
Same thing with the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Too many believe those documents grant or give people freedom. It's not what the words say, but if people can make crap out of perfection, these imperfect documents don't stand a chance and in the end may only resemble toilet paper.
John Lennon also wrote these words, "Last night the wife said, 'Oh Boy when your dead, You won't take nothing with you but your soul. Think.' " Interesting secular words. He's dead right or perhaps "Biblical" where he says, "You'd better free your mind instead." I love, "Expert, textpert, choking smoker don't you think the joker laughs at you..." Now didn't doctors profess smoking as healthy at one time?
BTW I thought that Paul encourage Lennon to do a more rock version of Revolution which is the second version different from the White Album? Maybe you wrote that.
Anyway, I enjoyed your article.
Mike P.
I Am the Walrus. In my opinion, this song is John Lennon’s masterpiece. Lennon, a voracious reader, was inspired by the writings of Lewis Carroll, in particular the tale of woe from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, in which a band of young oysters are lured by the charms of the Walrus, who then begins to devour them. Obvious is the "goo goo g’joob" refrain which is the last line that Humpty Dumpty speaks when he falls to his doom in Alice’s Adventures..
The poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter", and the character of Humpty Dumpty, are both from Lewis Carroll's second novel, "Through the Looking-Glass, and what Alice found there".
Humpty Dumpty's last words were "Wait till you've tried."
Ed P.
A nice list of songs. You've written a fine article. It's a good thing Normal Mailer isn't here to read it.
About 15 years years ago I went to a display of John's and others drawing and paintings. Looking at his simple lines, tears began to run down my face. I don't cry much. I slipped out a side door and lets the tears come. I still miss him. I often wonder what he'd think about the world. Such a waste.
RESIST MUCH, OBEY LITTLE, MF
Michael F.
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