One thing is clear: The Founding Fathers never intended a nation where citizens would pay nearly half of everything they earn to the government.

America was founded by men who understood that the threat of domestic tyranny is as great as any threat from abroad. If we want to be worthy of their legacy, we must resist the rush toward ever-increasing state control of our society. Otherwise, our own government will become a greater threat to our freedoms than any foreign terrorist.

There was a time when a willingness to criticize one's own government when it was wrong was the very definition of patriotism.

I wish I could say I was shocked at the reports the NSA is secretly spying on the private phone calls of millions of Verizon customers. However, this is a predictable result of a government that continues to erode our liberties while promising some glimmering hope of security.

After years spent in Washington, I have become more aware than ever of the government's ineptness and the likelihood of its making mistakes. I no longer trust the U.S. government to invoke and carry out a death sentence under any conditions.

The Federal Reserve System is nothing more than legalized counterfeit.

Another term for preventive war is aggressive war - starting wars because someday somebody might do something to us. That is not part of the American tradition.