I was born in raised in Massachusetts, not far from where the first shot of the American Revolution was fired.  I grew up learning about the colonial times, the Revolutionary War, Liberty, Freedom, and Patriotism.  Now, looking back over my life, I realize that I’ve taken Liberty for granted.  I suppose many of us have, being that it has never been so seriously threatened before.  When you’ve had it so good for so long, you get used to how things are. You expect things to stay the way they’ve always been.

The real wake-up call came when I started thinking about what my children could grow up believing Patriotism to be.  It occurred to me that they may grow up believing that it is the responsibility of the individual to support the needs of the collective.  That the purpose of the person is to contribute to the people.  That one must be careful what they think or say, because disagreeing with the collective is unpatriotic.  So now I find myself explaining what Liberty and Patriotism are to my children, hopefully fending off unwholesome leftist influences from ensnaring my children.  It is a never ending struggle, leftist ideology has infiltrated Mainstream Media as well as the public education system.

What comes next, however, is what I worry about the most.  Educating my children about Liberty, Patriotism, and the American experience may protect them from falling into the leftist’s ideological traps.  But what of the legislative assault on their current, and potential, way of life?  ObamaCare, Amnesty for Illegals, Financial Reform, Education Reform, and the overall expansion of government and the taxes required to sustain it?  Much of President Obama’s agenda threatens the way of life I grew up to expect, and what my children deserve!

President Obama now has 80,000 US troops trained and ready for deployment on US soil, and the November elections are closing in quickly.  The leftist controlled Congress is trying to ram as many leftist bills through as they can from now until then, knowing full well that they may not have the power to do so after the elections.  If these bills were in line with the will of the People, why do we need 80,000 U.S. Army soldiers operating domestically in the event of civil unrest?  Think about it.

We are well past the point of no return, and we can no longer afford inaction and deference of responsibility.  We must take ownership of the responsibility we have to our children to preserve their Liberty.  I urge you to network with fellow Patriots, organize protests and rallies, get involved in the movement to restore our Constitutional Republic!  If you cherish Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness as I do, you will see we have no other choice.  The cavalry isn’t coming, my friend.  WE are the cavalry.

I have decided to network with fellow Patriots and do my part to educate, inform, and spread the word that Tyranny shall not go unchallenged.  What kind of parent would I be, let alone Patriot, if I were to stand by while the collectivist left systematically attacks our way of life?

Protecting our children’s Liberty is a post from: The Burnman Experience

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The title of this article will likely inspire all sorts of feelings in all sorts of people.  It certainly does with me.  I disagree with the sentiment, but it seemed fitting since I believe it is exactly what you will be hearing in the relatively near future.  At least if the proposed bill H.R. 2159 passes.

Never heard of H.R. 2159?  It is the “Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2009.”  The bill would allow the United States Attorney General to disallow terrorists from purchasing, possessing, transporting, or selling firearms.  While this may not sound like a bad deal at first glance, when you start to think about the implications, it gets a bit dicey.

To truly understand the impact of such a bill, one must understand the definition of “terrorist” under U.S. law.  I did a quick search of the U.S. Code and found the definition of “Domestic Terrorist” under Title 18 Section 2331:

(5) the term “domestic terrorism” means activities that—

A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;

B) appear to be intended—

(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or

(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and

C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

Outspoken Peaceful Protest is Terrorism is a post from: The Burnman Experience

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• In Congress, July 4, 1776 (0)

The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

In Congress, July 4, 1776 is a post from: The Burnman Experience

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Have you ever had one of those moments where an idea hits you at the strangest of moments?  This happened to me recently when my family and I were enjoying breakfast at one of our favorite breakfast eateries.  When our food arrived at the table I asked the waitress for extra napkins, and it hit me.

Does asking the server for more napkins increase the chance that you will need them?  Or is it simply being prepared in the event that they are needed?  At what point does precaution become self-fulfilling prophecy?

At first, I dismissed the idea as the silly ramblings of a man who hasn’t had his coffee yet, but it stuck with me.  I began to wonder if having a safety net would increase the likelihood of risky behavior or carelessness rather than simply provide a level of protection.  Does the safety net make the trapeze artist more bold, more careless?  Does the seat-belt or airbag act as enablers to the lead foot?  What about government spending and the lack of accountability?

I think the argument could be made that the availability of “extra napkins” increases the likelihood that the net will be needed.  In the back of one’s mind, the knowledge that additional risk could be mitigated by the safety measures in place effects the level of restraint one would normally maintain.  While not true in every situation, I do think the level of countermeasures available do increase the odds that they will be needed.

Imagine where our Country would be, for example, if politicians tried not to make a mess of things rather than constantly asking for more napkins.  What do you think?

The Napkin Prophecy is a post from: The Burnman Experience

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Have you ever heard of the Fair Tax Act?  It is a proposed bill which would (with parallel legislation) repeal the 16th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, abolishing the IRS and federal income tax, replacing the system with a national sales tax.  I am still reading up on the Fair Tax Act and the organization behind the movement, so it would be irresponsible for me to offer an opinion about either at this time.  At first glance, however, it seems like an interesting idea that deserves some attention.

From the Fair Tax website:

The FairTax plan is a comprehensive proposal that replaces all federal income and payroll based taxes with an integrated approach including a progressive national retail sales tax, a prebate to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, dollar-for-dollar federal revenue neutrality, and, through companion legislation, the repeal of the 16th Amendment.

The FairTax Act (HR 25, S 296) is nonpartisan legislation. It abolishes all federal personal and corporate income taxes, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, and self-employment taxes and replaces them with one simple, visible, federal retail sales tax  administered primarily by existing state sales tax authorities.

The FairTax taxes us only on what we choose to spend on new goods or services, not on what we earn. The FairTax is a fair, efficient, transparent, and intelligent solution to the frustration and inequity of our current tax system.

The FairTax:

• Enables workers to keep their entire paychecks
• Enables retirees to keep their entire pensions
• Refunds in advance the tax on purchases of basic necessities
• Allows American products to compete fairly
• Brings transparency and accountability to tax policy
• Ensures Social Security and Medicare funding
• Closes all loopholes and brings fairness to taxation
• Abolishes the IRS

I am interested in hearing what others have to say about the Fair Tax Act.  I have a bit more research to do before I render my own opinion, but I have to admit that I love the idea of abolishing the IRS.  Our tax system is flawed, unbalanced, and needs to be replaced.  Not repaired, but replaced.  Is the Fair Tax Act the way to go?

Is the Fair Tax Act a fair tax act? is a post from: The Burnman Experience

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Michelle Obama recently launched a new campaign to fight childhood obesity and I can’t help but feel frustrated, angry, and a little disgusted.

Yes, I know that childhood obesity is a serious issue which faces the youth of America, but there is a far more serious issue which needs to be addressed NOW.  There are millions of people in the United States who do not have enough food.  In 2008 the USDA reported that 17 million children lived in households where food was scarce, 1.1 million of them starving.  Add the adults into the mix, and we’re talking 49 million people struggling for food.  If you consider that the population of the United States in 2008 was just over 300 million people, that means approximately 16.3% of all Americans struggled for food in 2008.

During Barrack Obama’s presidential campaign, he pledged to eliminate hunger among children by 2015.  What is being done to bring about the end to childhood hunger in America?  So far, the answer has been to throw more money at existing programs (which are not working) and wait for the economy to recover.

The amazing thing about both issues, childhood obesity and childhood hunger, is that they are connected.  Both are a result of a failing economy, rising poverty level, and a government too concerned with public relations to do anything serious about anything serious.  Part of me thinks that childhood hunger is getting less attention because it admits that our system is failing.  Go on television and talk about all the fat people in the US makes it sound like hunger isn’t an issue here, doesn’t it?  If we only talk about the excesses, people might not notice the desperate and needy, right?

Childhood obesity and childhood hunger are issues which both need to be addressed, but it amazes me that starving children didn’t win out on Michelle Obama’s list of top priorities.  What do you think is more important?

Childhood obesity? What about starving children? is a post from: The Burnman Experience

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I recently experienced a rather painful injury to my left eye.  My 7 month old managed to poke me in the eye while we were playing, and I ended up with a 5mm corneal abrasion.  While not an incredibly serious injury, a 5mm corneal abrasion (dead center on the eye, mind you) is very painful and it drastically reduces your ability to see.  It hurts to blink, it hurts not to blink.  You end up in a constant state of trying to find the least painful direction to look, and the darkest corner of the room in which to do it.  Due to the lateness of the hour, I had to wait until morning to see an eye doctor and by the time morning finally came, I was in agony.  To put it bluntly, the experience totally sucked.

I must admit that I did find some value in the experience, however.  When nearly every aspect of your daily life relies on your ability to see relatively clearly, losing that ability stops you in your tracks.  This might sound a bit obvious, but it is difficult to truly understand it without experiencing it first hand.  You find yourself relying on your other senses to help you get through the day.  Feeling your way around, listening for the dog so you don’t step on the poor thing, hoping you remember where the coffee table is.  You end up relying more and more on your other senses to get you through the day, especially the sense of touch.

It was the act of feeling my way down the hall to find the bathroom that gave me the idea behind this article.  During our normal day to day lives, many of us simply go about our routines.  We have goals that we seek to achieve, and most of us approach our goals with familiar and obvious methodology.  This may get the job done, but could we be missing something?  I definitely think so.

Take income for example.  I want to buy a new car and a new house.  The obvious path would be to work a steady job, saving as much as possible while attempting to maintain a good credit score and wait until I have gathered the resources to achieve the goal.  But is that the only way?  Is that the best way?  What other options are available to me?  Should I work two jobs?  That is what many people do, shouldn’t I do the same thing?

I think it is time to approach life from a different perspective, examine more options, find a better way to move forward.  There is more to life than the daily grind, and I intend to find a better way.  Rather than watch my life pass me by, I am going to feel it.  Smell it.  Taste it.  I am going to listen for new opportunities and look around to see what life has to offer, rather than keep my eyes on the path laid out before me.  I am going to evaluate all of my options and lay out a new plan for my life.  A plan that is right for my family.  A plan that is right for me.

Don’t follow a path because it’s all you see.  I am not saying you should go rob a bank, but don’t be afraid to go outside the norm.  Life has no meaning if you aren’t happy.  Wouldn’t you agree?

Keeping sight of what is important is a post from: The Burnman Experience

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I’ve decided it is time to change the look of “The Burnman Experience” yet again.  I wasn’t entirely happy with the old design and since I’ve decided to start blogging much more regularly, I figured it was about time to make the switch.  So far, I am pleased with the new theme and will be customizing it over the next few days.

What do you think of the new theme?

Experimenting with a new WordPress theme is a post from: The Burnman Experience

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This morning, CNN reported via Twitter that a suspicious boat was in a river near President Obama with shots fired:

Minutes later, CNN reported that a the United States Coast Guard attempted to prevent a boat from entering a security zone on the Potomac River near the Pentagon, where President Obama was at an event commemorating the 9/11 attacks, and again mentions the police scanner reports of shots fired:

Coast Guard confronts boat as Obama visits Pentagon

Just ten minutes after CNN posted that update, NPR reported that the FBI confirmed that no shots were fired, and the Coast Guard was conducting a training exercise:

FBI: No Shots Fired On Potomac ; Coast Guard Was Conducting Training Exercise

One minute before NPR reported that there were no shots fired, CNN posted another update about the situation stating that police scanner reports indicated the Coast Guard had fired 10 rounds of ammunition, and they were not sure if they were warning shots or not:

Reports of shots fired on Potomac near Pentagon

While CNN stated that they could not immediately confirm the report of shots fired, NPR was reporting that the FBI confirmed no shots had been fired at all.  In what seems like an attempt to win the race for “first to report” bragging rights, CNN neglected their journalistic responsibility to provide accurate and factual data.  It would have taken just minutes to discover that no shots were fired.  While CNN may have beat NPR to the punch, NPR was reporting facts before CNN was done reporting conjecture.

Was this an example of sensationalism or incompetence?  Either way, shame on you CNN.  Shame on you.

Shots fired! Shots fired! (not really) is a post from: The Burnman Experience

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Before the White House released “Remarks by the President in a National Address to America’s Schoolchildren,” I was not sure what to expect from the speech.  In today’s politically charged environment, I could not help but wonder how much agenda would make its way into the speech.  I was happy to have the opportunity to read the speech before it was aired, and while my initial concerns were quelled, a couple of new ones took their place.

Now don’t get me wrong, I did think a much of President Obama’s speech was spot on.  For example:

“I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.”

- President Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President in a National Address to America’s Schoolchildren”

I could not agree more with that sentiment.  I believe that each and every individual has the potential to do great things.  What those great things are can only be determined through self discovery, which is often a side effect of a good education in a free country where children and encouraged to recognize their individuality.

What I do not agree with, is the idea that success in school should be associated with patriotism or nationalistic pride.  A child should attempt to do their best in getting a good education to better themselves.  To open doors to a brighter future and a more fulfilling life.  Not because their country expects them to:

“What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. The future of America depends on you.”

“We need every single one of you to develop your talents and your skills and your intellect so you can help us old folks solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that — if you quit on school — you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.”

“And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, don’t ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.”

“Don’t let your family down or your country down.”

- President Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President in a National Address to America’s Schoolchildren”

While I am sure some will tell me I am overreacting to President Obama’s words, I do not believe in telling children that doing poorly in school makes them bad Americans.  Do we seriously want to associate difficulties in education to a lack of national pride or patriotism?  And think of all the pressure this puts on children.  Could you imagine a child getting a bad grade and thinking that they have failed America?

Many of the criticisms that I have read of President Obama’s speech come from parents who feel that it is the responsibility of the parent to instill a sense of educational responsibility in their children, not that of the President.  After reading and later watching the President’s remarks, I am not at all surprised people feel that way.

When Barack Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States, I truly hoped we would see a positive change after 8 horrible years under the Bush administration.  But now, I can’t help but wonder what we’ve gotten ourselves into.

You’re quitting on your country is a post from: The Burnman Experience

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• Outspoken Peaceful Protest is Terrorism (3)