I was losing interest in politics, when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again. What I have done since then is pretty well known.
I am invariably of the politics of the people at whose table I sit, or beneath whose roof I sleep.
I don't want to express my opinion about actual politics, because if I do, I have to be responsible for my decision.
I knew I had a lot to say. Not politically - politics have always confused me - but perhaps spiritually.
Ultimately, my books are not about the politics, although the toil and the struggle and the wars in Afghanistan have a significant impact on the lives of my characters.
My publicist told me not to talk about politics but, yes, I think we have a president who stole the election.
The larger meaning here is that mainstream journalists simply cannot talk about things that the two parties agree on; this is the black hole of American politics.
I think less than people think I do about politics. I care about writing.
We've switched from a culture that was interested in manufacturing, economics, politics - trying to play a serious part in the world - to a culture that's really entertainment-based.
I try not to tune in to politics until it's two or three months before the election. Till then, it's like watching preseason football.
My children and grandchildren loved the secret servicemen and women that served us. I was honoured that they thought I was important enough to protect.
There were so many outstanding women in scripture that were leaders. And, you know, the organized church sometimes puts boundaries on us that the Bible doesn't.
Whatever is dirty, it is women's job to clean up, or drive some man to clean up, and that goes for everything from cellar to senate.
We have to fight twice as hard, three times as hard - not only as conservatives, but frankly, as women - to have our voices heard.
Bias has to be taught. If you hear your parents downgrading women or people of different backgrounds, why, you are going to do that.
I'm not a competitive person, and I think women like me because they don't think I'm competitive, just nice.
New Zealand, by the way, where I was ambassador, has had two women prime ministers - one from either party.
The women's rights movement of the 1970s had not yet emerged; except for Bella Abzug, I had no women supporters.
Capitalism has its weaknesses. But it is capitalism that ended the stranglehold of the hereditary aristocracies, raised the standard of living for most of the world and enabled the emancipation of women.
Feminism is dead. The movement is absolutely dead. The women's movement tried to suppress dissident voices for way too long. There's no room for dissent.
What made women's labour particularly attractive to the capitalists was not only its lower price but also the greater submissiveness of women.
