Julia Sneden writes: The class came to the realization that if your candidate didn’t win, it didn’t mean that you were “dumb” or “a loser.” It just meant that many of us have different opinions, and that election was simply a reflection of those differences. And that our class, like America itself, was special because we accept — and even celebrate — differences, an idea eagerly seized on by the kids. more »

American weddings have traditionally been emblematic of social status, wealth, and personality. "For Marjorie Merriweather Post, they also reflected her progression from young bride to fully-emancipated American businesswoman, collector, philanthropist, and every bit an embodiment of the American dream. And what dream doesn’t include a great love story or two?” more »

The Iveagh Bequest is a collection of masterpieces that includes paintings by seventeenth-century Dutch artists such as Rembrandt, Anthony van Dyck, and Albert Cuyp, and those inspired by them — Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds. Also at the Milwaukee Art Museum the work of Grete Marks: When Modern Was Degenerate, a ceramicist whose art was derided in Nazi Germany. more »

Jill Norgren writes: "The authors explain this failure of representatives to work together as fallout from the permanence of campaigning in modern American politics. Successful campaigning selects for men and women who present themselves as tenaciously principled agents. These candidates appeal to voters with take-no-prisoner policy positions (refined for local predilections)." more »