I left out the traditional "and ham" part because I gave up beef and pork about 2 months ago and it's going great - I really don't miss them, except bacon. Poultry and fish, however, remain on my ok list and may be that way forever - I love chicken and tuna way too much to survive without them.
Anyways, this post isn't about my burgeoning semi-vegetative, er, I mean vegetarian state, or even St. Patty's day, but rather about my recent abandonment of the Democratic party. Yes - I just sent in my new registration and changed my official party affiliation to the Green Party (http://www.gp.org/ and http://www.gpny.org/). Of course, because our rigged, two-party system of government has enormous barriers to third parties, I had to pencil in Green Party in the "OTHER" party box listing.
I have totally given up on the Democrats. They are, with few exceptions, spineless, corrupt, corporate-beholden, liars; barely distinguishable from those evil, evil Republicans. So I threw in the towel! Time to get involved in the grassroots and cast my votes based on my beliefs in peace and protecting the environment and universal health care and equal rights for all, rather than on who might have the best shot at beating the Republicans.
Of course, there will follow the usual litany of complaints from the peanut gallery that such Green attitudes are what lost Gore the election in 2000 and that I'm just "throwing away my vote." But to those people - I say fuck you and the defeatist horse you rode in on! Your view is as short-sighted as Mr. Magoo in a snowstorm - this corrupt 2-party system has been a major contributor to where we are as a country now. Do you like where we are now? This system feeds the attitude that our representatives can take our support for granted and thus increases their separation from reality and the values of their constituents, and increases the power of money in politics.
To take this point one step further - our government is dominated by white, male, christian millionaires - do ya think they have any desire whatsoever to change the stats quo that has so conveniently placed them at the top of the shallow, materialistic wealth heap?. If you answered yes, or even maybe, Some stats:
- women in congress: 15% (women making up 52% of the population + the global average parliamentary representation by women is 16.3%, including 3rd world countries! Iraq, Afghanistan, Ecuador, Rwanda, and 64 other nations all have higher percentages of female representatives!)
- white men in congress: 80% (whites make up a whopping 97% of the Senate!)
- Openly gay members: 0.6% (zero in the Senate, 3 in the House)
- Non-religious or religiously unspecified members: less than 1% (compared to 15% nationally, and there isn't a professed atheist or agnostic among this tiny group)
So I say revolution. It may be a slow-moving turtle of a movement, but we need to change how things are done as well as remove the dominance of money, and I think challenging the 2-party monopoly on power is the only way to do that. Just like global warming, we need to act now, despite the fact that on the surface things may seem to be ok to some.
[Dana steps down from her soapbox, drops her megaphone, screams for one minute exactly at the top of her lungs, and walks off stage left...]
4 comments:
OH yes! I could not agree more. I cannot see any saving graces in either of the main parties and would, if I was eligible to vote, vote for someone else entirely. Screw those idiots who call it a wasted vote - it's always GOING to be if people can't look further than Republicans and Democrats. Come to think of it, most people don't even go that far, they just toe the party line and if you ask them why they vote a certain way, they have no idea! PAH!
OMG...bacon. Morningstar Farms however, do a pretty presentable veggie bacon. It smells like the real deal and tastes pretty good too. Not bad for a sub.:)
It's amazing the duplicity of these "moral values" politicians and the people who so blindly follow them. In the face of overwhelming evidence that their torchbearers are nothing more than power-hungry liars and hateful dividers with no regard to the long-term consequences of their policies of division, so many of our populace continue to support these assholes.
On the bacon - ya, I use the fake stuff now, but it doesn't compare at all to real bacon in my opinion - the devilishly-bad-for-you swine fat is what makes the flavor so enticing, and that is missing in the veg varieties. The bacon grease is also what used to underlie my excellent hot as hell meat chili. Luckily, I've adapted and now make a pretty good vegetarian version, sans the animal grease.
I do still allow myself to eat poultry - so maybe there is some turkey bacon out there? Doubtful. Although I must say vegetarian choices up here in the country are definately lacking!
Those little sausage patties you can buy (veggie ones!) in the supermarket are quite SUPERB. We are addicted to them. Of course, most things taste great smothered in ketchup...we're really philostines of the highest order! :)
A bit like people who like Judas Priest. HA:)
uh-uh, child. Dana does not and never will go for sausages - no mam, no how :-)
I tried a large spicy italian specimen once and almost blew chunks right then and there. The damn thing was huge and all veiny and greasy and smelled like a sweaty tube sock. Yuck!
Nah - I prefer a nice toasted muff in with some home fries to start my day...
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