Democratic National Convention

This week is the Democratic National Convention. Yay! I'm a Progressive Democrat so this is a big deal to me. I watched the speeches for the first night of the convention and it was amazing. The speakers laid out a great case to re-elect President Obama. They also let everyone know the difference between the parties and candidates. Lilly Ledbetter spoke about her struggle to help all women get fair and equal pay. She spoke about how the first bill President Obama signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. I found her speech very moving. You can read her speech at the following link.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/04/lilly-ledbetter-speech-text_n_1852687.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2012

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro gave a speech that highlighted his mother's struggle working low paying jobs while raising two boys. He spoke about his mother and grandmother being immigrants and the struggles they went through. He was introduced by his brother Joaquin, who is running for congress. His speech was heartwarming and he thanked his mother for her love and hard work raising him. You can read  his speech at the following link.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/04/julian-castro-convention-speech_n_1856340.html

Harry Reid's speech was more about policy and why Mitt Romney would not make a good president and why we should re-elect Barack Obama. He also hit Romney on his taxes again.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/dnc-2012-senator-harry-reids-speech-to-democratic-convention-full-speech/2012/09/04/69571634-f6f2-11e1-8253-3f495ae70650_story.html

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley speech was about Maryland and some of the states history. He spoke about jobs and how President Obama is moving our country forward. Read his speech at the following link.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/dnc-2012-maryland-governor-martin-omalleys-speech-full-text/2012/09/04/71a527a8-f6f8-11e1-8253-3f495ae70650_story.html

Another truly amazing speech was given by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. His speech included Romney's failed policies while governor of the dame state. He told of his policies that turned the state around.He spoke about how Barack Obama helped his state and how Democrats need to grow a backbone and stand up for what they believe in. It was truly an amazing and motivating speech. Read his speech at the following link.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/04/deval-patrick-speech-text_n_1852774.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2012

The highlight of the night was First Lady Michelle Obama's speech. It was so heart warming and moving that I cried listening to her talk about her family. Her drees was beautiful too. She talked about her life, being a mother, and being first lady. She spoke about how the last few years have changed her and her husband's lives. Our first lady spoke of her husband quite a bit and the tough choices he has to make as President of the United States. She also talked about military families. You can read her amazing speech at the following link.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/09/04/dnc-2012-michelle-obamas-speech-at-the-democratic-national-convention-full-text/?tid=pm_politics_pop

They had other speakers as well like a mother of a little girl with a heart condition who spoke about her daughter and why they need Obamacare. The military mom who introduced Michelle Obama spoke of her 5 kids, 4 of them are in the military. Michelle's older brother and Barack's younger sister spoke about the family and why their siblings should stay in the White House. It was a great night of moving and heartwarming speeches that outlined Democratic policies and President Barack Obama's achievements. I can't wait to see night 2 were people like Sandra Fluke, Barney Frank, and Bill Clinton are going to give speeches, as well as many others. See the speakers at the following link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Democratic_National_Convention

For more information and to watch the convention live click the following link.

http://www.demconvention.com/

Harvest Moon Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup ground almonds
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• dash salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• bag of almond splinters
• bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation:

Stir together flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt; set aside.In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar at medium speed of electric hand held mixer. Beat in egg and almond & vanilla extracts. Stir flour and ground almond mixture into the creamed mixture. Cover with plastic wrap; chill for about 2 hours. Shape dough into small balls, about 3/4-inch. Place balls 2 inches apart; flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass. Bake at 350° for about 12 minutes, or until set but not browned. Melt a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a saucepan on low heat. Dip cookies in melted chocolate so 1/3-1/2 of the sides of the cookies are covered. Place a few pieces of almond splinters on the chocolate part of the cookies and let cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen almond cookies. I put brown baking parchment on the bottom of my cookie sheets so the cookies don't stick. They peel right off the paper and the paper keeps the bottom of the cookies from browning too much.