Lee Smith welcomes Constitutional Attorney KrisAnne Hall to examine the original constitutional framework of taxation and how far the United States has departed from the Founders’ design. Drawing on founding-era documents and early American history, Hall explains how taxation was intended to function at the state level, with the federal government relying primarily on tariffs and limited, apportioned contributions from the states. She outlines the philosophical foundation behind this structure, rooted in consent, representation, and the protection of individual liberty.

The discussion traces the pivotal shift from that system to the modern federal income tax, exploring how wartime measures, political incentives, and the passage of the 16th Amendment reshaped the balance of power between the citizen and the central government. Smith and Hall also examine the long-term consequences of direct taxation, the role of regulation in expanding federal authority, and the broader question of whether the current system aligns with the principles of a constitutional republic.

Follow Host Lee Smith on X: https://x.com/LeeSmithDC

New episodes drop every Wednesday at 3 PM ET.
To watch Roots, Rights and Reason, visit https://www.americasfuture.net/the-roots-rights-reason-show/

Subscribe to our Rumble channel : https://rumble.com/c/AmericasFuture?e9s=src_v1_sa

Follow Us On Social Media

Facebook: (20+) Facebook

Twitter: (2) America's Future USA (@amerifuture) / X

Instagram: Americas Future USA (@americasfutureusa) • Instagram photos and videos

Lee Smith welcomes educator and author Jake Tawney to examine the true nature of mathematics and its role in shaping both the individual mind and the American founding. Challenging the modern view of math as mere computation, Tawney argues that mathematics is fundamentally about truth, discovery, and the formation of human reason; training the mind to think clearly, pursue what is true, and communicate it effectively.

Drawing on the intellectual traditions of the Founding Fathers, the conversation highlights how mathematical reasoning played a critical role in early American governance, including the debate that led to President George Washington’s first veto. As modern education moves away from these foundations, Tawney makes the case that recovering mathematics as a formative discipline is essential not only for intellectual development, but for the preservation of a free and self-governing society.

Follow Host Lee Smith on X: https://x.com/LeeSmithDC

New episodes drop every Wednesday at 3 PM ET.
To watch Roots, Rights and Reason, visit https://www.americasfuture.net/the-roots-rights-reason-show/

Subscribe to our Rumble channel : https://rumble.com/c/AmericasFuture?e9s=src_v1_sa

Follow Us On Social Media

Facebook: (20+) Facebook

Twitter: (2) America's Future USA (@amerifuture) / X

Instagram: Americas Future USA (@americasfutureusa) • Instagram photos and videos

Episode Forty: The Information State and the War for Truth

In this focused discussion, Lee Smith sits down with writer Jacob Siegel to examine what information warfare actually is and how it has evolved from a tool of foreign conflict into a defining force within American political life. Drawing from his new book The Information State: Politics in the Age of Total Control, Siegel explains how modern information warfare extends beyond propaganda to include the struggle for narrative control, the manipulation of communications systems, and the targeting of decision-making itself.

The conversation traces how efforts to combat foreign disinformation gradually expanded into the regulation of domestic speech, blurring the line between legitimate national security concerns and the policing of American political expression. Smith and Siegel also explore the deeper philosophical roots of information control, the danger it poses to national sovereignty, and what it would take to recover a public sphere that protects both truth and liberty.

Follow Host Lee Smith on X: @leesmithDC

Follow Jacob Siegl on X: https://x.com/Jacob__Siegel

New episodes drop every Wednesday at 3 PM ET.

To watch Roots, Rights and Reason, visit https://www.americasfuture.net/the-roots-rights-reason-show/

Subscribe to our Rumble channel : https://rumble.com/c/AmericasFuture?e9s=src_v1_sa

Follow Us On Social Media

Facebook: (20+) Facebook

Twitter: (2) America's Future USA (@amerifuture) / X

Instagram: Americas Future USA (@americasfutureusa) • Instagram photos and videos