I am using my treacherous Vegetarian Agenda to wean my SO off of blood food by

cooking for her. Changing her palate while whispering subtle, insidious vegetarian propagands in her ear.

Preaching totally doesn't work; when carnivores tell me my vegetarian meals are delicious, I say "I'm so glad you liked it", nod, smile, and think to myself "fish on!".

Last time she was here (long distance relationship) she stayed for 3 days and I cooked all the meals whenever we ate at home.

Veggie omelettes with meatless sausage sauteed with red and green bell peppers and onions smothered in green chili sauce.

Meatless "chicken" parmesan with gruyere, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese and homemade pasta sauce with a side of pasta after a meatless seasoned soy antipasto, served with hot garlic bread.

Meatless deli slice philly cheese steak sandwiches with the deli slices cut into strips sauteed in peppers and onions, swiss cheese, and mayo, served on a fresh roll.

Eggs Benedict made with hot crispy veggie bacon.

1/4 lb Deluxe Sloppy Soyburgers cooked on the grill, with fried onions, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, diced garlic dill pickles, mayo, mustard, and ketchup served on a fresh Kaiser roll.

Meatless stroganoff made with sauteed then seared veggie beef tips.

And my specialty, homemade marinara sauce veggie lasagna, made with mozzarella, parmesan, and a ricotta-cottage cheese blend, veggie ground beef and zucchini sauteed in butter, onions, garlic and spices.

Afterwards, some nice wine out on the deck as the sun goes down, some light, tasty jazz,, the pleasant glow of a great meal that does not sit heavy...

I'm pretty sure I've got her hooked. She commented about how she felt better after 3 days, and actually took pictures of all the veggie products I use before she went home.

Hungry?

A primary reason, (pun intended), why the polarization of wealth increases daily,

why we can't make any significant progressive changes, and why democracy in the US is an illusion.

"I've listened to preachers,
I've listened to fools
I've watched all the dropouts
Who make their own rules
One person conditioned to rule and control
The media sells it and you live the role"

The Iron Triangle.

Yes. It's a catch 22. The game is rigged, and is played in a maze that has no exit.

The only constructive solution I can envision is worldwide mass solidarity and democratic resolve, a focused and immutable non-violent direct action bloc of widespread non-participation in the game, surrounding the powers that be and rendering them incapable of subverting the democratic process, and politely but insistently and assertively kicking their corrupt asses to the curb.

This has to be done with a great deal of forethought, prudence and a relatively foolproof transition plan in place, mainly to insure that everyone can survive reasonably comfortably while all systems and resources are nationalized, and to prevent the greed driven sociopathic megalo-maniacs who currently control the system from interrupting and subverting the flow and evolution of democratic processes. They will do everything they can to regain control, and we will need to plan accordingly in order to gently restrain them from interfering with the democratic evolution that will maximize the possibilities for the future liberty and happiness, and comfortable survival of the 99% and the planet itself.

A formidable undertaking, but an undertaking that is now critical to having any possibility of present and future democratic self-determination, comfortable physical survival, and maintaining and improving what is left of the planetary environmental systems necessary to support physical life in this world.

That said, voting in as many real Democrats as possible may help buy us more time to fix what needs to be fixed, but like you said, most of "those who would have to initiate the reforms are the ones who are currently the beneficiaries of that same system. Seriously, what are the chances they're going to turn off the spigot?"

IMO, we really have limited options for insuring, to the greatest degree possible, the comfortable survival of the majority of human beings and other life forms at this stage of the game ~ something reasonably similar to what I described above ~ or we will be faced with an inevitable political catastrophe involving worldwide, iron fisted authoritarian control of the 99% by sociopathic plutarchs, and the unprecedented environmental catastrophe that would naturally follow iron fisted control by greed/ego driven sociopaths.

The only truth I know is that I'm pretty sure I don't know, at least I believe so, I think,

but, anyway, I don't seem to have any need to convince anyone else that this is true which is probably a good thing, since I'm not really sure that it is. And if it is, it might only be true for me, so there doesn't seem to be any sense in worrying about it.

Would you like a cookie?

It is impossible to have substantive discussions with those who cannot grasp,

or refuse to acknowledge, the reality of the fact that our system is broken beyond repair, because it is indisputably controlled by wealthy private interests.

It is difficult to effectively communicate with people who believe that terminal cancer can be cured with band aids. They have such a frail grasp on the big picture that it for us it is like debating with woodchucks. I'm sorry, but it's true.

Many of us would love to get more liberal legislators elected, but it it is virtually impossible do so within the framework of the system.

Seriously, I believe 1/4 of DU, supposedly a progressive Democratic website, was ecstatic when Dennis Kucinich was redistrected out of office. When Alan Grayson posts here, he sometimes gets attacked and insulted.

With all due respect, and I do realize how condescending this all sounds, but fixing the system from outside the system is the only way the system can be fixed, and until someone realizes this, it is a waste of time discussing the issue with them. Yes, we should always vote for the most liberal Democratic candidate, but with the understanding that it is to do as much good as possible, but cannot possibly fix what is broken.

"Frail Grasp On The Big Picture"
lyrics by Don Henley

Well, ain't it a shame
That our short little memories
Never seem to learn
The message of history
We keep makin' the same mistakes
Over and over and over and over again
And then we wonder why
We're in the shape we're in

Good ol' boys down at the bar
Peanuts and politics
They think they know it all
They don't know much of nothing
Even if one of them was to read the newspaper
Cover-to-cover
That ain't what's going on
Journalism's dead and gone

Frail grasp on the big picture
Light fading and the fog is getting thicker
It's a frail grasp on the big picture
Dark ages

You my love-drunk friend
All that red wine and candlelight
Soulful conversations
That go on until the dawn
How many times can you tell your story?
How many hangovers can you endure
Just to get some snuggling done?
You're living in a hollow dream
You don't have the slightest notion
What long-term love is all about
All your romantic liasons
Don't deal with eternal questions like
Who left the cap off the freaking toothpaste?
Whose turn to take the garbage out?

Frail grasp on the big picture
You keep on rubbin' that, you're gonna get a blister
It's a frail grasp on the big picture
I've seen it all before

And we pray to our Lord
Who we know is American
He reigns from on high
He speaks to us through many men
And he shepherds his flock
We sing out and we praise His name
He supports us in war
He presides over football games
And the right will prevail
All our troubles shall be resolved
We have faith above all
Unless there's money or sex involved

Frail grasp on the big picture
Nobody's calling them for roughing up the kicker
It's a frail grasp on the big picture
Heaven help us

Frail grasp on the big picture
All waiting for that miracle elixir
Frail grasp on the big picture
I don't wonder anymore

Frail grasp on the big picture
Somebody says, "You brought her here so go ahead and kiss her
Frail grasp on the big picture

Frail grasp on the big picture
Light fading and the fog is getting thicker
It's a frail grasp on the big picture

Frail grasp on the big picture
Frail grasp on the big picture

Maybe if the government put forth a clear, sincere, comprehensive, and acceptable explanation

for its actions, this what you appear to consider wild unsourced speculation by mobs of unreasonable progressives might stop.

Most liberals are intelligent, perceptive, and many are educated, and have knowledge of history, and are aware that highly invasive spying is the hallmark of authoritarian, totalitarian regimes. Often very nasty, aggressive fascist regimes.

Liberals may have a tendency to get over emotional when they are told by those purporting to be Democrats

"You won't have anything to worry about if you have nothing to hide".

Who are the irrational ones in this scenario? I lost my innocence and naivete regarding the nobility and trustworthiness of governement from many hard lessons learned beginning in the Vietnam War era and through to the present. As did many of the other liberals here, who are as concerned as I am about the very real danger of unfettered information gathering by this government.

We are alarmed at the apparent cluelessness of the DU contingent who support unlimited spying on us in our public lives and our daily lives. It has caused many of us to consider that we are dealing with a group of conservative personalities who do not have the intellectual and perceptual abilities to understand, or care about, unrestricted spying on our population. They are letting the wolves in our door. I personally consider them as much threat to my freedom to pursue of life, liberty and happiness as I do the GOP.

After suffering through 8 horrifying, repressive years of the quasi-fascist Bush/PNAC regime, liberals may have a tendency to get over emotional when their privacy is seriously invaded by their government, especially after no effort at a serious, credible explanation for this and other related occurrences has been attempted by representatives of the government.

Well, except for this one:

Something For You To Keep Forever, On Your Birthday, Mr. Resident ~

It is the standard MO of the MIC to use deceit, aggression, and violence against those most

capable of exposing and subjugating them with non-violence.

I hope some day that people of this planet stop paying attention to the whatevers, recognize the MIC for what it is, and rise up in unified non-violent direct actions that will permanently quarantine and neutralize the MIC. I see no other possible way to eliminate the deadly MIC cancer from our world.

This, from my POV, is our only hope for eliminating this insane system that is based in violence, destruction, waste, exploitation and profit, and creating evolving progressive systems that exist solely to promote the well-being, liberty, and happiness of the vast majority of human beings on the planet.

But we have to overcome the propaganda spread by the MIC, and their whatevers first. It is their mission to create confusion in order to prevent a large enough body of individuals from uniting as a force large enough to non-violently overcome the power of the MIC.

When law ceases to become based in reason and ethics, and instead becomes based on

the needs of wealthy and powerful economic interests, tyranny and despotism result.

What is blatantly obvious from this entire NSA debacle is that we the people must take matters into our own hands and strip all power from the global wealthy private interests that control and coordinate the transnational corporations, governments, and economies of the world.

Power corrupts, and absolute power has clearly corrupted absolutely. It is totally up to us to fix it.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Happy Independence Day