Patriotic Federalist

by Chris Edwards
Director of Fiscal Policy Studies, Cato Institute, 2002

Any tax system creates a threat to individual liberty because “the power to tax involves the power to destroy,” as Chief Justice John Marshall observed.[1] But the federal income tax and its enforcement harm civil liberties much more than necessary to raise needed funds for the government. Certainly, the IRS performs poorly and too easily abuses the rights of citizens. But ultimately Congress is to blame for creating an excessively complex and high-rate tax system. New laws to increase taxpayer protections and replacement of the income tax with a simpler, flatter consumption-based tax could greatly reduce the following 10 areas of civil liberties abuse.
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“Thirty years following President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) speech, the United States still does not have a comprehensive ballistic missile defense system. While the geopolitical landscape has changed in the interim, the threat from ballistic missiles has continued to grow. Now more than ever, the United States needs a comprehensive ballistic missile defense system.

Join us as our distinguished guests discuss the importance of SDI then, its relevance for today’s missile defense programs, and the importance of missile defenses for U.S. national security in the light of today’s diverse challenges.

Agenda

10:00 a.m. – Panel Discussion
Ambassador Henry Cooper, Former Director, Strategic Defense Initiative Organization, George H.W. Bush Administration
Sven Kraemer, Ph.D., Former Director of Arms Control, National Security Council
Lee Edwards, Ph.D., Distinguished Fellow in Conservative Thought, The Heritage Foundation
Kim R. Holmes, Ph.D., Distinguished Fellow, The Heritage Foundation (Host/Moderator)

11:00 a.m. – Keynote Address
The Honorable Mike Rogers (AL-3), Chairman, Strategic Forces Subcommittee, House Armed Services Committee

12:00 p.m. – Panel Discussion
Baker Spring, F.M. Kirby Research Fellow in National Security Policy, The Heritage Foundation
General Henry A. “Trey” Obering, Former Director, Missile Defense Agency Ambassador
Robert Joseph, Senior Scholar, National Institute for Public Policy, and former Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security
Jeff Kueter, President, The George C. Marshall Institute (Moderator)”

Reagan

Actual Speech:
Address to the Nation on National Security By President Ronald Reagan, March 23, 1983 Continue reading

America’s Team

A Message To Our Members About The Deadly Massacre

Dear Patriot,   Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and to the families and friends of the victims affected by the deadly massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Many of our members are parents with elementary school children, making this senseless tragedy one that hits home even harder.

There are no words to describe the overwhelming grief that pierces us to the soul.

Today we ask you to join us in prayer, to stand in solidarity and in sorrow for the lives lost…joined in faith for a brighter tomorrow.   To honor those who perished, the Tea Party will observe a moment of prayerful silence on Monday morning, December 17th at 9:40 am. We ask you to join us in remembering the innocent lives lost and show our children that we are undivided in our resolve to protect them.

May God bless you and your family and keep each and every one of you safe and protected.

Steve Eichler  

CEO—TeaParty.org

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The Tea Party Response

A Message from TeaParty.org

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We like to bandy the idea of democracy around, promoting the value of elections and citizen involvement. But those features are not the primary intention of democracy. Instead, it is to promote deliberation, consideration which produces a broader perspective and more considered response.

Exercising the rights of our representative democracy – voting, free speech, etc. – is valuable only in as much as it produces said deliberation.

Alexis de Toqueville, whose insightful 19th century observations on American political life continue to bear fruit in contemporary analysis, noted that “liberty is an arduous apprenticeship.”

If you wish to assert your rights, you must respect the responsibilities that come with them.Electronic communications and social media only magnify the significance of these concerns. Continue reading