History has shown that Big Government expands quickest in the immediate aftermath of a crisis - real or manufactured.

In a single generation, the Internet has given to virtually every person on the face of the earth the ability to communicate with fellow human beings on virtually any topic, at any time, and in every nook and cranny on the globe. This magnificent invention has done this without succumbing to government control.

For far too long the American public and business sector have kept their silence as civil liberties have been whittled away by statutory and regulatory measures.

The main international problem facing America is our lack of - our loss of influence in the world and our lack of an ability to define what U.S. interests really are.

The Tea Party knows that continuing to delay charting a course to spending reform hurts everybody.

I sense that conservatives have largely already tuned out to the coming elections, after six years of burgeoning federal spending and inaction on key issues, such as immigration. The Republican Party has become the party of the government status quo, and conservatives see no reason to reward it with their votes.

Looking down the road, space exploration and the benefits it yields - in medicine and information technology - should not be overlooked.