Not your daddy's GOP

 

A lot of Republicans are, for some reason, blind to the fact that this GOP ain't what it used to be.

But a lot DO recognize it for what it is and rather than stick with the new Party of Trump, they're throwing their support behind Joe Biden.

You can find several articles highlighting these folks on-line.

Here's a comprehensive list at Wikipedia "of Republicans and conservatives who oppose or have declined to endorse the re-election of incumbent Donald Trump, the 2020 Republican Party nominee for President of the United States. Among them are former Republicans who left the party in 2016 or later due to their opposition to Trump, those who held office as a Republican, Republicans who endorsed a different candidate, and Republican presidential primary election candidates that announced opposition to Trump as the presumptive nominee."

I applaud them.

And here's an article about the more than 350 faith leaders endorsing Biden citing "need of moral leadership."

If you're interested in seeing all of Joe Biden's endorsements, check here.  I think this list is being updated regularly.

We can all get back to the party line of choice later, but for now, let's get America back on track.

Let's bring back the UNITED States of America.

And here's what Ted Wheeler, Mayor of Portland, had to say over the weekend.  Things EVERYONE - politicians and journalists especially - should have been saying all along.

“President Trump, for four years we’ve had to live with you and your racist attacks on black people. We learned early about your sexist attitudes towards women. We’ve had to endure you mocking a disabled man. We’ve had to listen to your anti-democratic attacks on journalists. We read your tweets slamming private citizens to the point of receiving death threats and we’ve listened to your attacks on immigrants. We’ve listened to you label Mexicans as rapists.

Do you seriously wonder, Mr. President, why this is the first time in decades that America has seen this level of violence? It’s you who have created the hate and the division. It’s you who have not found a way to say the names of black people killed by police officers even as people in law enforcement have. And it’s you who claimed that white supremacists are good people.

Your campaign of fear is as anti-democratic as anything you’ve done to create hate and vitriol in our beautiful country. You’ve tried to divide us more than any other figure in modern history and now you want me to stop the violence that you helped create. What America needs is for you to be stopped so that we could come back together as one America...”

“President Trump, you bring no peace, you bring no respect to our democracy.”

Trump, with his remarkable vocabulary and skills as an orator, replied to Mayor Wheeler's comments by calling him a "dummy."

Michelle Obama said it perfectly.

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!!

More Paris Dreaming

Some days are sadder than others. I'm tired. I'm sad. We all have our own ways of dealing with all that 2020 has thrown at us. One of the ways I'm handling things is to cook and bake and eat. And making plans for our next trip, whenever it might be. And doing a little Paris Dreaming. This little Paris Dream is about food. A Croque Monsieur, in particular. Thanks Ina Garten!

 

Who doesn't love a grilled cheese?

Add some good ham and man oh man

Here's the French version, and it is scrumptious!

A Croque Monsieur

Donald and I got caught in a sudden downpour one afternoon in Paris and did what anyone would do.  Hopped into the nearest cafe.

And it was a fun one.

It was busy and bustling and full of folks who seemed to be a fun-loving bunch.

Including our waiter.

And the Croque Monsiers were delish

Like everyone else who is sticking close to home now, I'm doing more cooking than I used to.  

I'm enjoying going through cookbooks which I'm still relying on even with all the recipes available on-line.

My most recent browsing has been in Ina Garten's "Barefoot in Paris."

Where I ran across, of course, her recipe for Croque Monsieurs.

Here 'tis:

RECIPE COURTESY OF INA GARTEN

Croque Monsieur

161 Reviews

• Total: 30 min

• Prep: 5 min
• Cook: 25 min

• Yield: 4 to 8 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups hot milk

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pinch nutmeg

12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed

Dijon mustard

8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin

Directions

WATCH

Watch how to make this recipe.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter?flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan and set aside.
3. To toast the bread, place the slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.
4. Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyere. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.

2004, Barefoot in Paris, All Rights Reserved

Bon Appétit!

America come get your children

 

Leslé Honoré's poetry always, ALWAYS, go straight to the truth of things, and pierces my heart.

Leslé Honoré Poetry

YesteugdtrfdrSanuyS poaaatns 2:4lhlfuhlgoohirg8 PedM

  · 

America come get your children

The ones you are so proud of

The ones wearing Stars and Stripes

Buying guns like candy

The ones dripping with

White privilege

That you created with

Red blood from brown skin

America come get your children

Come get your kids

The ones flying flags of defeat

Of history long dead

Of a life they wish they had

Of superiority they believe they have

The lies you whispered in their ears

As you rocked them to sleep

“Look away look away look away Dixie land”

America come get your children

The ones terrorizing this country

The ones terrorizing the world

The ones never called a terrorist

Come get

Your rapist

Your misogynistic

Your appropriating

Hating

Bigoted

Offspring

You know...

the apples that didn’t fall far from the tree

America come get your children

The ones running the country

The ones too cowardly to speak up

The ones that shoot into protests

Churches

Light torches

Run cars into peace

Come get your diseased infants

Entitled children in men’s bodies

Jealous girls screaming in women’s voices

Come get this disgusting basket of

Deplorables

That you nurtured on

Manifest destiny

The pale pink faces

In utter disbelief

That even though you put your knee

On every Brown and Black neck you saw

We have fought back and risen

Casting shadows on your children

And they rage when they learn

That being a white mediocre man

Is no longer enough

America come get your children

Before they burn this stolen land down

And you with it

Plans for this week

Plans for this week do not include watching the Republican National Convention.

WHY would I??!

Pfffffttttt!

Have you seen the list of speakers??

<snort>

I know there are folks who are saying they will watch because they want to stay informed.  

Well,  here's a litle info.  There's NO platform.  like I said, it's now The Party of Trump.

Trump is the first sitting president not receiving ANY previous presdents' endorsement.

More than two dozen former GOP lawmakers endorse Biden on Day One of the RNC.

Over 70 former national security officials who have served in Republican administrations signed a written statement highlighting the threat Donald Trump poses to our national security and endorsing Joe Biden. 

I do not even want to talk about the hypocrisy of the Falwells and that whole evangelical bunch.

As far as I'm concerned, with seeing the same old gang telling the same old lies you can see or read every single day via the news, there's nothing new to be learned at this "Party of Trump" convention.  

The only thing I would get from watching is a major head explosion.

Well, never mind . . . 

If I truly had a hankering for a convention fix I'd probably tune into the Convention on Founding Principles.  

Former FBI Director James Comey and former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci are among the lineup of speakers.

But . . .  No.

Just.   No.

I'll be doing a little of the same as last week.

Reading, baking, creating.

And because I rarely take the time to sit down and look through this wonderful collection of coffee table books I have, I plan on doing that.

I have an addiction to big fun wonderful coffee table books about a myriad of subjects.

Along with some I've collected over the years, I now have my mom's collection also.  She had an amazing collection of jewelry books that I'm loving.

One of the things I always do while traveling is find a bookstore or two.  I can't seem to resist the local author/local interest section and have often come home with books as a fun souvenier.  

Some of the books I've posted here are treasures I've found at used bookstores or on-line used for a terrific price.  Amazingly, some of them are now listed at a price I'd never be able to pay.   

And since I know you all love books as much as I do, you might enjoy some of these - take a look.  

You might find a book you were unaware of, or a book that you'll want to search out for your own personal library.  (there are places on line to look for used books besides Amazon and AbeBooks.com, although those are sometimes the perfect place to start.

I've put books on the paperbackswap.com "wishlist" thinking it would be a close to impossible attempt, only to be pleasantly surprised.

And, sometimes, it's all about the hunt.  Like finding a rare version of a much loved book.  Or an autographed edition of a much loved book by an author no longer living.

Here's a few of my favorites - - - 

There are a few more books around this house I can read and browse through.  

Enough at least that I know I won't be tempted to turn on the "Trump Comedy Hour" any night this week.

Stay safe, everyone!

Happy Reading!