It's A Holiday Cotillion

Fashionably late the ladies of The Cotillion are happy to invite you to our holiday block party.

The first stop is at sisu where Sissy presents A Microcosm Of America At Its Best.

"We often talk about how our policies are radicalizing young men in the Middle East to become our enemies, but rarely do we talk about how their actions are radicalizing us," writes Matt Pottinger -- until recently a Wall Street Journal correspondent in China -- explaining why he gave up journalism to join the Marines

It's an inspirational story that all Americans can be proud of.

On the subject of war, December 21 marks the surrender of Savannah, GA to Sherman's Army in 1864.

While you're busy with presents and holiday parties, think about the Christmas those people had all those years ago.

Zendo Deb at TFS Magnum reminds us of the price that The South paid for William Tecumseh Sherman's success and the influence that he had on modern warfare.

At Darleen's Place this week the discussion has turned to feminism. On Feminism: A Quadrant Answer To A Binary Question deals with the differences that divide American Feminist ideology.

If we assume the initial, observable premise that gender disparities exist, we can then plot the very different assumptions and solutions that divide American Feminism into very different camps.

I'm specifically dealing with American Feminism because, Constitutionally, we are already equal before the law as citizens - i.e. American women already have the vote and are not legally barred from any profession or elected office that similarly qualified men have the opportunity to pursue.

Darleen needs your help in completing the graph.

E.M. at The American Princess provides some levity and mixology tips with More Than Just A Pretty Face. Really I learn the most interesting things about Robert Bork from her.

For those of you who don't know, Professor Robert "If I Wanted A Salad I Would Have Ordered One" Bork makes more than a mean Ninth Amendment analysis. He's the master of Mixology, specifically, the Perfect Martini.

Go and join the debate on what exactly qualifies as a martini.

My contribution this week was a few observations on a photo in an upcoming magazine.

The January 2006 issue of Vanity Fair includes the magazine's 2005 Best of the Best "Heroes! Winners! Guilty Pleasures!" feature. In the "Best Stand" category there's a two-page spread of winner Cindy Sheehan. Sheehan is photographed lying full length in the grass "napping" on her son Casey's grave.

Check out No Headstone For Casey Sheehan's Grave.

Tammy at A Mom and Her Blog writes about another article, this one about Michael Schiavo in People magazine where Michael proves that he's just as narcissistic as ever.

Schiavo, who according to his brother Brian received death threats, will tell his story in a memoir, Terri: The Truth, which is due out in the spring: he has also started a political action committee. “There’s more important stuff going on in the world right now,” says Brian, “but he’s not going to let people forget how he was vilified-so it doesn’t happen again to someone else.”

See Tammy's take on it in Newsmakers Of The Year?

I saved the happiest post for last. Florida Cracker tells us about a fantastic Living Tribute.

Did you know that every puppy in the Transportation Safety Administration's explosives detection program is named for a victim of 9-11? The dogs are born at Lackland Air Force Base, then fostered for their first 14 months by local families.

Donnah gives us the touching details and provides some photos of the adorable government employees.

That's it for us, I hope you enjoyed the party. Be sure to stop by the rest of the ladies blogs and let them show you some holiday hospitality.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to you all!

Posted by JanetteS at December 20, 2005 11:25 PM