Once again, I have the distinct honour of co-hosting this week’s Cotillion Ball, along with fellow femme fatales MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, e-Claire, and Who Tends The Fires.

In the indispensible noir and neo-noir film genres, the classic femme fatale stops at almost nothing to shake the traditional and most unbearable characterization by those two-bit losers who would try to possess and control her. A recurring theme of film noir is men’s treatment of women as though they indeed were mere possessions or an amusing little pet to be left at home. In one of the earlier noirs, I Wake Up Screaming (1941), one scene features three men in a bar. Each of the men are complaining of one particular woman, the femme fatale, who will not succumb to their individual attempts to seduce and therefore own the femme fatale. One man declares, “Women are all alike,” to which another responds, “Well, you’ve got to have them around – they’re standard equipment.”

Oh we beg to differ, for the Cotillion debutantes are anything but standard furnishings. In a close analogy to the femme fatale of film noir, the ladies of The Cotillion are indeed colouring outside the prescribed lines that would attempt to define all conservative women. Please witness the magnificence that follows:

Tammy at A Mom And Her Blog speaks out against the lost innocence of children through the unspeakable evil of sex offenders. She excerpts a particularly resolute sermon for a child killed by such a predator.

On a lighter note, Ith of Absinthe & Cookies draws together a few “modern” wedding vows for your amusement in her classic post, For As Long As You’re In Touch With The Inner Me. OH man, some of those are really great – now I have to ponder which one to use in Vegas myself….

If there’s one thing that annoys me in this world, it’s that silly Oprah Winfrey. To my delight, An American Housewife recently embarked on a tour de force against the Big O herself. Our debutante is indeed sickened by the continued brainwashing of housewives by Oprah, who, I might add, will quite ironically never resemble a housewife herself.

Raven of And Rightly So! takes on the automatic salary increases of certain government employees. Those with a work ethic, pride, and motivation need not apply, and you know, that sounds pretty sweet to me. How can I get a job there, I wonder…

Lady Annika certainly isn’t worried about Ann Coulter, and she makes makes some fine points about this ruthless pundit’s reputation. Exactly why does the left find Coulter so dangerous? Go read Annika’s explanation and be enlightened.

The resident debutante of Are You Conservative? points us toward some very twisted comic strips. Since when are household condom ettiquette jokes amusing, really? Not as such.

Jane Armies of Liberation provides some much-needed context behind the Yemeni protests, including the torture and jailing of children:

Amnesty International recently issued an urgent alert pertaining to Ibrahim al-Saiani, a 14 year old boy in prison, unconscious and in need of medical treatment. Amnesty reports that he may be held solely for being part of the Zaidi community, and at risk of torture and ill treatment. The Arabic daily, al-Shoura, also reported on children in prison; the youngest listed is nine year old Aref Mosa al-Qusi. His condition is “wounded.”

In the Sa’ada region, where reportedly 65,000 residents were made homeless due to government bombing, government vehicles have been reported dragging burnt bodies through the villages. Doctors have been arrested for treating the wounded, and the literary works of Iman Ali bin Abi Talib (noted by the UN as a model for his teachings encouraging democracy) have been confiscated. Mass arrests of entire villages have resulted in thousands of men held in prison for months without charges.

As stated above, Jane’s careful research is most enlightening to the vast majority of bloggers, including political types. Go and read the rest of her essay and at least a few others. Then return tomorrow for more wisdom.

Pamela from Atlas Shrugs presents an account of a Jerusalem resident’s up-close-and-personal experience with media bias. Settler, eh?

Oddybobbo at Bobo Blogger explains why Dick Durbin & Co. will fail in their attempt to undermine military credibility. She asserts that indeed this strategy will backfire, since most military men and women believe in the causes of our country. “Soldiers have a voice, and a vote,” and they certainly aren’t afraid to use them.

Tom Tancredo’s buttons should be popping off his congressional shirt as we speak, for two ladies have written of his recent infamous words concerning the use of nuclear power against the Muslim extremists.

Juliette over at Baldilocks tells Hugh Hewitt to get it right instead of attempting to label Mr. Hewitt as he who unleashes the nukes upon Mecca. Juliette’s expertise on such matters is astounding, and some of the follow-up postings this week will have you hooked on her perspectives concerning foreign policy.

An interesting twist on this topic comes from she who manages to be both debutante and diva at Cake Eater Chronicles. Miss Kathy delivers the undergraduate political science lecture that Ms. Barber apparently missed out on – the nuclear strategy known as Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). In particular, Kathy’s conclusion sums things up nicely:

Nuclear weapons are most effective as a weapon when they serve the purpose of deterrence, ya dig?

And finally, our lovely Janette of Common Sense Runs Wild must have made the mistake of handing an adorable yet slightly unruly debutante the keys to her blog. If nothing else, this illustrates that the ladies of The Cotillion do indeed possess a healthy sense of humour, which will shake a few stereotypes free from their utmost moldings, I do believe.

Crossposted at The Cotillion, and don’t miss those aforementioned installments of e-Claire, MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, and Who Tends The Fires.