Tags: politics

It is the movement's "social issues" which often divide libertarians from other conservatives. At the 2010 CPAC that divide was most apparent around the presence of the newest gay organization, GOPROUD. GOPROUD broke off from the Log Cabin Republicans before its national conference last April. CPAC didn’t blink at taking the $4,000 fee GOPROUD paid to be a full co-sponsor, despite some threats from other conservative organizations to stay away. more »

Mr. Thomas Jefferson was a clever man. He recognized that what makes one person happy may not be the same as what makes another person happy. All that his declaration advocated was allowing citizens to pursue whatever they thought might make them happy. Even then, there are obvious limits on how we may pursue our happiness. Murdering your mother-in-law might make you happy, but if you pursue it to completion you won’t be happy when the cops show up. more »

They got their comical name - 'Bluestockings' - when another guest, the botanist Benjamin Stillingfleet (1702-71), was welcomed at one of Elizabeth Montagu's salons even though he had arrived absent-mindedly wearing the blue woollen stockings normally worn by working men, instead of the more formal white silk." more »

From the Times: But the Obamas mix politics and romance in a way that no first couple quite have before. Almost 10 months ago, they swept into Washington with inauguration festivities that struck distinctly wedding-like notes: he strode down an aisle and took a vow, she wore a long white dress, the youthful-looking couple swayed to a love song in a ceremonial first dance and then settled into a new house.From Slate: "I remember him saying his wife thought he could do more,'' says his friend Denny Jacobs, who served alongside him. "I think she thought he was—I don't want to say twiddling his thumbs, but she thought he should either do something to move up, or he should get the hell out. She's his prod." And from the first moment, his mentor. more »