Join the Heathertarian Party

I'm going to "Occupy" my blog this morning... paint my cardboard posters (or, just type what I want to say) ... sit my ample backside down in my nest and refuse to move until my demands are met. Or. Until it's time to leave for work.

Here are my demands:

1. Get rid of the income tax. It was implemented by Prohibitionists so that the dependence on "sin taxes" on  "demon rum" and other spirits which provided about 70% of the nations budget would no longer be needed. When Prohibition was repealed, why wasn't the income tax? Use sales taxes to collect money on goods and services purchased in the United States which will mean that the more that people buy, the more they will pay in taxes.

2. Regulate the pharmaceutical industry. There is no reason why 30 pills should cost nearly $300. Once the New Year comes and my deductible resets at $2500, the only way I can afford health insurance, I'm going to have to make a choice between not having my meds that keep me functioning or not being able to pay rent/buy groceries, etc.

3. Tort reform. Limit the amount of money that medical professionals can be sued for. Our litigious society has contributed the high cost of health care. Doctors have to have insurance to protect them against lawsuit... therefore they have to charge high prices for the care they deliver.

4. Eliminate hospital mass billing or excessive billing - $10 for a tylenol, for example. You're already paying room and board, this should cover the cost of having a nurse bring you a tylenol... the tylenol should cost about ten cents.

5. Stop assuming that your right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness entitles you to welfare, food stamps, medicaid, government housing. Your right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness doesn't mean that I should give you what I earn because of your life choices. Implement drug testing for anyone receiving government assistance, including everyone in their household. Put able bodied welfare recipients to work doing things that government employees are being paid to do. Provide child care for those who go to work. People don't respect what they have until they have worked for it.

6. Term limits for politicians at all levels of government. We need people with vision and understanding of what it takes to be successful in the private sector. We need people who are able to vote their heart and mind and accurately reflect the wishes of their constituency without having to worry about re-election.

7. Legalize marijuana and tax the heck out of it. I have never (and will never) smoke it... but I think we're clogging our prisons and wasting valuable tax dollars on fighting this mild drug. There are drugs (such as meth or crack) that cause physical harm to the user and place others at risk. I look at people like Willie Nelson and think... he's so mild-mannered and chilled... let the old man have his pot.

8. Stop passing stupid "green" legislation that limits industry and places unfair burdens on American companies. If you want to keep American industry on Americal soil, quit regulating businesses to death.

9. Allow for drilling of American oil. Stop our dependence on foreign oil. We made our enemy rich by not utilizing our own natural resources.

10. Balanced budget means spending an amount less than or equal to your income. We can't afford to send money to people (like Pakistan) that hate us, see us as the enemy or infidels and want to eliminate us from the planet. We can't afford pork barrel spending. We can't afford pet projects that are implemented to benefit one small constituency so that a representative of that constituency will get re-elected.

11. Disband unions. The reason they were formed no longer exists... working conditions are fair and more highly legislated that in the past. Unions have become too powerful and falsely inflate the cost of goods and services. Or at least limit their impact.

I'm going to have to stop occupying here so that I can get ready to go to my occupation, work for the evil corporation (that provides financial stability to millions of people) drive my foreign car that was made better than the American made cars I've had in the past, fill it with gas derived from foreign oil that has made some Saudi rich, Later, I'll go visit my overpaid pain doctor who I'm sure will provide me with additional or new prescriptions so that I can continue to pump up the pharmaceutical industry, since my insurance doesn't cover holistic or natural treatments that would have been commonly available 100 years ago. Then I'll come home and hook up to the internet, watch satellite tv and eat food that I worked hard to pay for...

 One last thing... my uncle Bill posted this picture on his facebook yesterday and I copied it... but for those who missed it, I find this picture absolutely amazing. The baby on the far left is my Granddaddy Pennington, my mom's father - who I absolutely adored. He called me "Heiffer" and grew an awesome garden with strawberries and grapes and blackberries and figs... and lots of other things, I'm sure... but those were my favorites.

this picture was taken in Miller County, MO in 1910. From left to right: My grandfather, C.B. Pennington (1908-1978); his father, (my great-grandfather) William J. Pennington (1878-1962); his father, (my great-great-grandfather) John Pennington (1857-1946); and his father, (amazingly, my great-great-great grandfather) Samuel Pennington (1828-1914) Picture was probably taken at the time of Samuel's second marriage. His first wife was Martha Walls (1833-1904).