Swing Time Welcome one and

Swing Time

Welcome one and all to the third Cotillion Ball. I'm honored to share hosting duties this week with Right Girl and Denita of Who Tends the Fires. I hope you've brought your comfortable dance shoes because I'm here to whirl you through the heady synergy of the Swing Gals on the Right.

And synergy is the keyword. American history and culture is the perfect example no more easily demonstrated than by Swing. This musical artform gives full big band orchestration to the pulse and passion of jazz -- a vibrant, wildly optimistic music written at a time when Americans were clawing their way back from the Depression and then found themselves plunged headfirst into a world at war. The music form was fathered and crafted by artists of all ethnicities and loved by its fans of many backgrounds. Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Artie Shaw, the Dorsey Brothers, Duke Ellington -- the list goes on and on.

You'll notice the varied and unique voices the Cotillion showcases, the synergy we bring to the Right of Center realm of political/cultural/pop Americana. Pay no heed to the Miserable Mandys and Sad Brads that stand, arms crossed, just outside the open door blathering that we are nothing but prigs, prudes and hypocrites. We lead not just with our brains, but our hearts and we hold our values close even as we kick up our heels and lose ourselves in the sharp, sly and heady sweetness of the music.

Listen to Begin the Beguine (3.5 Mb) as I begin my part of the Cotillion:

Stacy of NotADesperateHousewife caught some of a broadcast of a radio "sex-therapist's" show that has her wondering when the line between advice and license (if not outright advocacy) was crossed. As Stacy quotes "Just Because You Have The Right To Do Something Does Not Mean That It's The Right Thing To Do".

Rightwingsparkle offers up what she promises is the first installment of a series of posts analyzing this month's Vanity Fair. She starts with Christopher Hitchen's article in which he discusses his meeting with Hossein Khomeini (the grandson of Ayatollah).

Sissy of sisu minces no words in a slam against those attempting to usurp the memorializing of 9/11 at WTC -- she appropriately labels them Grave Robbers. Sissy's post also provides some great links and updates.

Kate of small dead animals has been on the road and reports in briefly from Minneapolis. The guys who have been guestblogging have been actually doing a very good job. Don't be drinking your orange juice while reading Jeff Goldstein's entry -- oj is a *itch to clean off the monitor. Kate is due back today and I hope the guys have taken out the trash, restocked the liquor cabinet and removed the stains (we do not want to know what they were or how they got there.)

Just as the most rewarding music is a many layered one ( melody/harmony/theme lines) Jody of Steal The Bandwagon celebrates the differences between the genders and warns that using one's difference as an "excuse for failure" is really a reflection on the excuse maker, not the society.

Zendo Deb of TFS Magnum experiences what most of us feel when we read of tragic cases of domestic violence -- a loss to understand the obsession. Sometimes we don't always know the answers, but asking the right questions, as Zendo does, is a start.

If you're not making Emily Zanotti of The American Princess a regular morning read, you are indeed missing a rousing good time. That gal can dance! And when she gets started on evil chocolate chip cookies and the mistress behind the recipe ... well, just know that after apologizing to the world about Hillary you know you will never want to be on [wink] Emily's list.

As bloggers, many times we are glued to the news, to the shock and awe of the unexpected tragedy of others. And sometimes we should take a step back and consider before we write. Such words of wisdom are what The Anchoress offers as she explains her first and last post on Natalee Holloway.

Fausta of The Bad Hair Blog has also had guest bloggers keeping the homefires burning. A thoughtful and link-enhanced essay examining how the Geneva Convention is being used against the people it was ostensibly crafted to protect is offered by Mary.

Mary Katherine at Townhall.com C-Log catches a discussion by Ken Mehlman of The Doctor of Scream Dean's remarks and it inspires her to write a campaign spot -- straight forward, true and very effective. knock, knock Hello? RNC? Are you paying attention??

Did you know that a bunch of ferrets is a "business?" Neither did we, but Denita of Who Tends the Fires not only clues us in with that bit of trivia but also takes us on a warm and poignant journey of having ferrets in the house with tiny dancing feet.

So wraps up my portion of this week's Cotillion. My thanks to wearers of the Cotillion tiaras -- Beth, Jody and Janette for allowing me this opportunity to host!

[Cross-posted at Darleen's Place]

Posted by JanetteS at June 14, 2005 03:38 AM