I AM A REGISTERED DEMOCRAT BECAUSE...

...because my party believes in civil rights and LGBT rights.

...because my party believes in equal opportunity and equal pay for equal work.

...because my party believes that it takes government oversight to ensure that we have clean air to breathe and clean water to drink, food that is safe to eat, and safe workplace conditions.

...because my party believes that the economic playing field should be fair, that strong unions have made life better in this country, that people and businesses that earn more should pay more, that welfare should not be a reward for the rich but a safety net to the poor.

...because my party believes that together we can help each other recover from natural disasters and that together we can better understand and react to our changing climate.

...because my party believes that everyone who is eligible has the right to vote free from hindrance.

I am a registered Democrat because I join with others who believe the same. I want the candidates of my party and those who choose those candidates with me to believe the same. I have no quarrel with those who choose to register as Independent or Republican. They have their reasons. But without making a commitment to my party's principles, a commitment that is real, timely, and not the result of the exigencies of the moment, they have no place in determining the standard bearers of my party. That privilege belongs to its members, those who have made that commitment alongside me.

There are those who say that there is no difference between the political parties. And I can agree that there is too much money buying access in politics, too much lobbying in Washington, and too much deference paid to those who fund campaigns. But can you see the difference between Bader Ginsburg, Kagan, and Sotomayor as opposed to Roberts, Thomas, and Alito? If you can, then you know that there is a difference.

I am a registered Democrat.

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RESTAURANT TEN, UZES: RESTAURANT REVIEW

Ten sits just off the market square in Uzes, one of the prettiest villages in southern France. The newly renovated space is airy and comfortable with tables of sufficient size and sufficiently spaced to provide for a pleasant dining experience. Service was cheerful, fully bilingual, and attentive without being overbearing. The food presented well to both eye and tongue. And the rate of approximately 30 € per person for a party of five included starters, mains, a dessert or two, two bottles of local wine, and coffees at the finish. Reasonable if not cheap eats. So why am I hesitant to give an unqualified thumbs up? It took me a while to figure it out. Uzes is a quintessentially French village in a quintessentially French region of southern France. There are those who will say that the Languedoc is just as beautiful but less crowded and less expensive than its eastern neighbors. I know. I'm one of those people. But the fact remains that for many people, villages like Uzes are t

Kreuz Market vs. Smitty’s Market: Texas Barbecue in Lockhart

I was born and raised in New Jersey. I didn’t taste Texas barbecue until I was twenty-two years old. What the hell do I know about barbecue? And what could I add to the millions of words that have been written on the subject? Well, I know a bit about food. I’ve managed to check out a few of the finer joints in Texas – Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse in Dallas, Joe Cotton’s in Robstown before the fire, the dear departed Williams Smokehouse in Houston, and the incomparable New Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Huntsville . So I can speak from a reasonably wide experience. This will not be a comprehensive discussion of the relative merits of Texas barbecue as opposed to the fare available in places like Memphis or the Carolinas. It’s simply a take on our recent visits to Lockhart and the relative merits of Smitty’s versus Kreuz from our point of view. I’ll get all over academic in a later post. On our way out to the ranch in Crystal City, we stopped at Smitty’s. You have to look

CHÉ OLIVE / LE ZINC, CREISSAN: RESTAURANT REVIEW

No, it's not Chez Olive. It is indeed Ché complete with red star and black beret. I have no idea why and I wasn't about to ask. The French are the French and not to be analyzed too closely when it comes to politics, especially these days. Creissan is the next town over from our village of Quarante. We pass through it often and Ché Olive is right there on the main road at the entrance to town. (One of the signs still says Le Zinc. Olive says he prefers Ché Olive though.) Olive opened it a couple of years ago after leaving the Bar 40, Quarante's basic local watering hole that's undergone a bit of a renaissance lately. We hadn't heard much about Ché Olive from our usual sources for dining recommendations. So we just kept passing by. For reasons not central to this review, we decided to stop in for lunch on a mid-week in late December. The bar is cozy, the restaurant open and bright and modern. Newly renovated and perhaps a bit sterile. We were the f

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