Hot Time In The City

What: Scotch tasting and cigar-smoking evening with the Northern Alliance Radio Network

Where: The patio at Keegan's Irish Pub & Restaurant in Northeast Minneapolis

When: Friday July 7th at 7pm

Why: More fun than you should legally be allowed to have (and given its recent history, it's quite possible that the City of Minneapolis may soon ban any such future gatherings)

Cost: $25 for a sampling of top shelf single malts with a Scotch tasting expert.

There will also be a cigar based trivia contest with winners receiving cigars specially selected to compliment the Scotches. Cigars will be provided by the fine gentlemen from St. Croix Cigar in Hudson.

No pre-registration necessary. Just show up at Keegan's on the night of July 7th. Even if you're not a Scotch fan, stop by for the usual mix of beer, food, and camaraderie that Keegan's is known for. Hope to see you there.

UPDATE-- Theresa e-mails with her regrets:

Although I am a proud MOB member, I'd sincerely like to know how many women drink whiskey and smoke cigars? And just how would I let my DFL husband know that I was going to a mostly Republican whiskey-drinking and cigar-smoking gathering? Thanks for the invite, though. I will be there in spirit.

Sincerely,

A beer lover

First of all, there are no doubt some women who do enjoy fine whisky and cigars. But even if you are not among them, it doesn't mean that you won't enjoy the event at Keegan's. You don't have to participate in the Scotch tasting if it's not your bag. You can avail yourself of the many fine beers that Keegan's offers on tap. Or wine, vodka, gin, or whatever your preferred beverage of choice happens to be.

The second part your problem is a little dicier. This just might be a good opportunity to show your husband that conservatives are not the uptight, dour lot that we are often portrayed as in the media. In fact, he may discover that he enjoys hanging out with a group largely made up of happy, well-adjusted people (from a piece in today's WSJ by Arthur C. Brooks-subscription required):

For example, data collected on Americans in 2004 by the National Opinion Research Center show that self-described political conservatives are almost twice as likely as political liberals to say they are very happy with their lives. These differences are not due to demographics such as education, income, age, gender or race. Indeed, if two adults are identical in all these ways and only differ in their politics, the conservative will be, on average, 14 percentage points more likely to say he or she is very happy than the liberal.

Political conservatives are also far less likely than liberals to express maladjustment to their adult lives. For example, adults on the political right are only half as likely as those on the left to say, "at times, I think I am no good at all." They are also less likely to say they are dissatisfied with themselves, they are inclined to feel like a failure, or they are pessimistic about their futures.