Friday Fun

Few commercials will make me stop whatever I am doing and pay attention. But invariably I will pay attention to ESPN's "This is Sportscenter" spots because they are usually very funny. Here's a compilation of the 25 best with video of each.

Hat tip: Mary Katherine Ham

Digging My Grave

This has to be one of the most clever anti-Obamacare ads I have seen yet:



Source

Goodbye, Freedom

If government healthcare reform passes, then we can kiss our freedoms goodbye according to Judge Andrew Napolitano:

Congress recognizes no limits on its power. It doesn't care about the Constitution, it doesn't care about your inalienable rights. If this health care bill becomes law, America, life as you have known it, freedom as you have exercised it, and privacy as you have enjoyed it will cease to be.

Last week the House of Representatives voted on a 2,000 page bill to give the federal government the power to micromanage the health care of every single American. The bill will raise your taxes, steal your freedom, invade your privacy, and ration your health care. Even the Republicans have introduced their version of Obamacare Lite. It, too, if passed, will compel employers to provide coverage, bribe the states to change their court rules, and tell insurance companies whom to insure.

We do not have two political parties in this country, America. We have one party; called the Big Government Party. The Republican wing likes deficits, war, and assaults on civil liberties. The Democratic wing likes wealth transfer, taxes, and assaults on commercial liberties. Both parties like power; and neither is interested in your freedoms.

Think about it. Government is the negation of freedom. Freedom is your power and ability to follow your own free will and your own conscience. The government wants you to follow the will of some faceless bureaucrat.

Be sure to read the whole thing.

Oops

Sometimes technology can be unreliable.


Obama's Home Teleprompter Malfunctions During Family Dinner

Hat tip: Allahpundit

Wandering In The Desert

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I made our first visit ever to Scottsdale, Arizona. It's a little strange for us given that we live in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. A trip to the desert is a little startling at first. As we were landing in Phoenix, I couldn't help but be struck by the lack of green plants and grass. Instead, I saw a lot of dust and, of course, cacti.

While wandering around Scottsdale, though, I was struck by a couple of different sites. For one thing, there is actually something attractive about cacti. Here's one example that was outside our hotel:



There's also this:



But cacti were not the only plant life we saw. There were also some gorgeous flower arrangements such as this around town:



Just because we were in the desert doesn't mean that everything was flat. In fact, mountains sometimes we're popping up in the middle of town. Here was the view out our hotel room window:



That's Camelback Mountain in the background and it's one of the most famous mountains in Arizona.

Two different thoughts came to me while on this trip. First, the beauty of God's creation can be found anywhere even in the desert. Mountains such as Camelback pop up all over the place. And despite the lack of vegetation, the flowers there were quite beautiful.

The second thought struck me as we were driving back through the Shenandoah Valley when we returned to Virginia. I was awed by the mountain vista and the beauty it encompassed. I had driven that stretch of road more times that I could count. But this time, because I had been in the desert, I appreciated the view that much more. I think that's why God allows us to have times when we are in the desert and we feel distant from God. Once we return to the "mountaintop" we have a little more appreciation for the blessings He bestows upon us.

Taking A Bow

President Obama caused quite a ruckus over the weekend while in Japan. When he met Emperor Akihito he bowed which is a major faux paus. Americans do not bow to royalty and especially not Presidents. But as this video shows, the President not only bowed once but several times:



But as this video shows, other world leaders know not to bow to the Emperor (hat tip: Ed Morrissey):



At least one expert on Japan says the President's critics on both the right and left are all wrong about why it was wrong but makes the point that the bow was still offensive in the eyes of the Japanese.

Two thoughts come to mind. First, there is no question that the President is very intelligent, having been educated at Harvard and Columbia. Either he's not listening to his protocol advisers or the State Department has some housecleaning to do.

Second, this whole incident reminds me of this toy for some reason:

How To Bake Great Artisan Bread At Home

I love bread. My waistline will testify to this fact. When I travel, I usually eat at least one meal at either (a) a local bakery or (b) Panera Bread when I can't find a good local bakery. Little did I know that it's possible to make the same high quality artisan bread at home and the best part is that it's really, really easy.

Here's how you do it: first, go to a grocery store or warehouse club and buy a 5 quart tub of ice cream. Then eat the ice cream and save the container (this is what you will use to store your dough). Then go buy this book and follow the instructions:



It's that easy.

Celebrating Joy Out of Sorrow

Mark Alexander has the heartwarming story in this week's essay at the Patriot Post. Be sure to read all the way to the end to discover how two patriots found joy in the midst of dealing with grief. It's a beautiful story and one well worth reading.

Two Different Views of Healthcare Reform

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi insists that she is going to get a vote on healthcare reform over the weekend but one has to wonder what she thinks she is going to accomplish. According to the Wall Street Journal's John Fund, there are some Democrats who are questioning the wisdom in pushing ahead especially in light of Tuesday's election results:

It's one thing to be serene under fire, it's another to be delusional.

More than a few Democrats in Congress are perplexed and worried that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is insisting on ramming through a 1,900-page health care bill on Saturday, just days after her party took heavy losses in Tuesday's elections. "It reminds me of Major Nicholson, the obsessed British major in the film 'Bridge on the River Kwai,'" one Democrat told me. "She is fixated on finishing her health care bridge even as she's lost sight of where it's going and what damage it could cause to her own troops."

Indeed, the Speaker's take on Tuesday's off-year elections struck some of her own members as delusive "happy talk." "From our perspective, we won last night," a cheerful Ms. Pelosi told reporters, citing her party's pick-up of a single House seat in a New York special election and retention of another strongly Democratic seat in California.

That's not how many of her own troops see it. Democratic Rep. Parker Griffith of Alabama told Politico.com that members are "very, very sensitive" to the fact that the agenda being pushed by party leaders has "the potential to cost some of our front-line members their seats"

On health care, added New Jersey Democrat Bill Pascrell: "People who had weak knees before are going to have weaker knees now."

Meanwhile, Republicans have outlined their own common sense and no-cost reform proposals that actually reform the health insurance system rather than turning the whole thing into another gigantic government bureaucracy.

Speaker Pelosi might just get her wish and see her bill pass the House. Chances are that even if she succeeds to keep enough Democrats together to pass it the bill will undergo vast changes in the Senate. More importantly, passage of a massively complex healthcare bill may fufill Democrats' dreams of government healthcare but it will likely cause so many of their members to lose seats that they could be in the minority for many years to come. The key question will be how many Democrats are willing to risk political suicide for the sake of passing this bill. My guess is not many.

Flu Vaccine Shortages and Government Healthcare

A new ad will begin to run nationally today that makes the case that the government has no business getting any further into running healthcare given how they've handled the H1N1 flu vaccine shortage (as well as sending vaccine to Gitmo detainees before American citizens) (hat tip: Michael Goldfarb):



It's a great ad and makes a very salient point. For all the talk about how widespread the H1N1 pandemic was supposed to be, the government sure seems to have been caught woefully unprepared in developing sufficient supplies of the vaccine. The ad reinforces what we already know: everything government does is going to be far less efficient and far more costly than they say it will be.

EP Debut: Wish That I Was by Annie Parsons

Wikipedia says that a songwriter is "someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. But a true songwriter is not someone who not only can write a song but can communicate feelings and thoughts through the music and lyrics, someone who reveals either part of themselves or through their music share things that any listener can identify with, themes that resonate with us.

Annie Parsons (not related to me) is a true songwriter.

I met Annie earlier this year on a trip to Nashville. I got to know her through my own daughter Annie.

Annie moved to Nashville a couple of years ago to pursue songwriting. This past summer, she made her debut at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville which is a big deal.

Now, Annie has just released her first EP entitled Wish That I Was. For a limited time, she has it available for sale. And she makes a compelling case why you should go buy this EP.

Please go and support Annie by buying her EP. She is a terrific writer and a wonderful singer as well. You will certainly enjoy her music.

Becoming a Conservative

One of my favorite TV shows is Chuck which airs on NBC (currently on hiatus until after the Winter Olympics). One of its key characters is Reagan-loving NSA agent John Casey played wonderfully by Adam Baldwin. I've always been curious whether the actor shares some of the character's political views. Now I know that the answer is yes.

Hat tip: Mary Katherine Ham

Phillies Making History

Jimmy Rollins' game-winning double in the bottom of the ninth in Game 4 of the NLCS was the first walk-off game winning hit in the postseason since 1988. That hit? Only one of the most famous home runs in major league history: Kirk Gibson's pinch-hit home run against the Oakland A's in game one of the World Series. Of course, that was just life imitating art:




The Phillies will face either the Yankees or Angels (Game 5 of the ALCS is tonight with the Yankees ahead 3-1) but whoever they face they will be trying to make a little history of their own.

Here's an added bonus: Vin Scully's call of the Gibson home run. Priceless.

Book Review: The Other Mr. Darcy by Monica Fairview

In Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice, Caroline Bingley has her eyes set on marrying Fitzwilliam Darcy, a handsome gentleman of no small fortune. As anyone who is familiar with the novel knows, Mr. Darcy ends up marrying Elizabeth Bennett and Caroline is heartbroken to see the man she loves marry another woman. But Fitzwilliam has an American cousin Robert who sees Caroline weeping at the wedding. He's immediately smitten but will he be able to win the affection of Miss Bingley?

Click here to read the rest of this article at Blogcritics.

Book Review: Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson are back with the fourth installment in their popular Starcatchers series. Click here to read my review of the book at Blogcritics.

Book Review: Double Cross by James David Jordan

Taylor Pasbury has had a tough life. Her mother ran out on her when she was just nine years old. Her father was murdered when she was seventeen while trying to protect her from a brutal rape. She had a successful career as a Secret Service agent before being dismissed for extracurricular activities. To top it off, her last client, Simon Mason, a noted televangelist, was murdered.

But things are about to get even more complicated. First, Mason's assistant turns up dead in an apparent suicide as allegations of embezzlement swirl around her. Then her mother suddenly decides to reappear in her life. As she begins to sort through the clues someone starts shooting at her. And a simple case of suicide quickly becomes a complicated case of murder.

This is the premise behind James David Jordan's new thriller Double Cross, the sequel to his best-selling suspense novel Forsaken. Once again Mr. Jordan, a corporate attorney by day, shows his ability to weave an intriguing story of suspense.



Jordan has already shown an ability to tell a good story without preaching at the same time. There are themes within each of his books that will give the reader plenty to think about. Taylor is a flawed woman who is struggling to figure out not only what she wants out of life but also what God wants and expects from her. The reappearance of her mother also is a source of tension for Taylor because she was abandoned at an early age but also because her role is integral to the overall story and causes her to think long and hard about who she can trust.

Once again, Mr. Jordan has spun a terrific yarn. In Taylor Pasbury, he has an intriguing heroine: a woman with a very tough exterior who at the same time is extremely vunerable and lonely. She's also deeply flawed which makes her incredibly fascinating.

Double Cross is another fine novel from Mr. Jordan. As I said when I reviewed Forsaken, I could enjoy reading about Taylor Pasbury for quite some time. Here's hoping that there she's got more adventures ahead of her.

Double Cross By James David Jordan / B & H Publishing Group

Debunking Global Warming Myths

A brand new film from the Cornwall Alliance for Stewardship of Creation entitled Not Evil Just Wrong takes a critical look at the claims made by global warming fearmongers and attempts to separate the facts from fiction. Which is worse: the (alleged) problem or the proposed solutions? Click the video below to see the trailer.



Hat tip: Chuck Colson

White House Goes To War Against Fox News

Frankly I can't understand why any White House would declare war on a single media outlet but that's exactly what the Obama Administration has decided to do with Fox News. Fox's own Brit Hume succinctly points out what a huge losing strategy this is:



Hat tip: Don Surber

What's Your Favorite Pixar Movie?

Here's one author's take on which Pixar movies are the best. As the writer points out, their movies are so good it's hard to distinguish which one is best. I agree with the top pick but beyond that it's debatable.

Hat tip: Instapundit

President Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize While Achieving Nothing

To be fair, it's premature that President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. Even the Associated Press isn't buying the argument that he deserves it:

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Price to President Barack Obama landed with a shock on darkened, still-asleep Washington. He won! For what?

For one of America's youngest presidents, in office less than nine months — and only for 12 days before the Nobel nomination deadline last February — it was an enormous honor.

The prize seems to be more for Obama's promise than for his performance. Work on the president's ambitious agenda, both at home and abroad, is barely underway, much less finished. He has no standout moment of victory that would seem to warrant a verdict as sweeping as that issued by the Nobel committee.

And what about peace? Obama is running two wars in the Muslim world — in Iraq and Afghanistan — and can't get a climate change bill through his own Congress.

His scorecard for the year is largely an "incomplete," if he's being graded.

That running two wars remark is important and signals the bind the President will now find himself in as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He's already withdrawing troops in Iraq and it's a safe bet that he'll do the same in Afghanistan. Of course, you don't have to take my word for it.

This was a political award pure and simple and had nothing to do with accomplishments either real or imagined. Then again, this is nothing new. The fact is that the Nobel Peace Prize doesn't mean the same thing it used to. Awarding the Peace Prize to President Obama doesn't do anything to enhance the standing of the prize. It doesn't do a whole lot for the recipient, either.

UPDATE: John Fund asks what the Nobel Committee was thinking.

Oh, this is where I went wrong. It's all about him, not us.

It wasn't what he achieved. It was that he wasn't George W. Bush.

And why he didn't win the prize for Literature.

FTC Announces Regulation of Bloggers

Because they obviously don't have enough to do.

This has actually been brewing for a while as I pointed out a few months ago.

My first impression is that I have a hard time seeing how the FTC is going to practically make this work. But as Ann Althouse points out, the enforcement thing seems a little vague and selective:

The most absurd part of it is the way the FTC is trying to make it okay by assuring us that they will be selective in deciding which writers on the internet to pursue. That is, they've deliberately made a grotesquely overbroad rule, enough to sweep so many of us into technical violations, but we're supposed to feel soothed by the knowledge that government agents will decide who among us gets fined. No, no, no. Overbreath itself is a problem. And so is selective enforcement.

Good point. No one really expects the FTC to be able to consistently apply its rules.

But then there's that pesky First Amendment. And the law of unintended consequences.

Since the announcement was made I've received a number of e-mails from folks all asking the same question: what does this all mean?

The more benign explanation is that the FTC is trying to crack down on so-called "pay per post" schemes that could appear misleading to the public. The more conspiratorial line of thinking is that the goverment is trying to suppress free speech.

I'm inclined to side more with the latter explanation. My bet is this will end up at the Supreme Court before it's all over. Meanwhile, ordinary citizens like me will have to figure out how to cope with yet another set of onerous government regulations.

It's enough to make me sick.

The Motivational Churchill

He's one of the most quoted leaders of all time. Now, an enterprising blogger has taken Winston Churchill's famous quotes and turned them into terrific motivational posters. Great fun.

One of my favorite Churchill quotes is on romance: "My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me."

Hat tip: Matthew Continetti

New BP Sports Column

Over at BP Sports, you can check out my column on teen golfer Lilly Ellis and a remarkable achievement that serves as an inspiration to all of us.

Health Care Debate Heads to Sesame Street

And the results are absolutely hilarious......

Dave Barry and Free Speech

More than anywhere else, colleges and universities consistently restrict students' rights to free speech. Recently a quote from award-winning humor columnist Dave Barry was at the center of a free speech controversy at Marquette University. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education caught up with Barry and spoke with him about the controversy and his advice for students.



Hat tip: Kevin Glass at Townhall

It's Time to Dump the UN

Leave it to Mike Huckabee to nail the issue in the video below. In light of last week's circus in New York it's time to dump the UN.

An Historic Speech

Most of the coverage from last week's meetings at the United Nations focused on leaders of rogue nations. But the most important speech was one given by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It's a tough speech and one worth watching. It's also a speech that historians may look back upon years from now as very prophetic. Take time to watch it all.

Buy Coffee and Support the Troops

I've got to hand it to former Marine (is there really such a thing as a former Marine?) Hank Salmans. He took his love for coffee and turned it into a business that does more than makes a profit. He uses it to support the troops. Here's to Hank and I hope he sells a lot of coffee. By the way, the names of the blends are really cool.

You can buy his coffee directly from his website.

It makes me want to buy some.

Hat tip: Instapundit

How Monopoly Helped Allied Prisoners Escape

This story is a great antidote to the avalanche of political stories being blogged about of late. Few realize this but secret maps and other things were smuggled to Allied prisoners of war during World War II inside Monopoly sets. It's a terrific story of ingenuity and creativity in keeping prisoners involved in the war effort. (Hat tip: Free Republic)

For fans of the game, check out Philip Orbanes terrific book Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game And How It Got That Way. I previously reviewed the book here.

Maybe They Were Onto Something.....

Consider this:

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. (Source)

Does this sound anything like what we're experiencing now?

Responding to Obama's Health Care Speech

I had been working on a lengthy post responding to the President's health care speech and then ran across this column by Shikha Dalmia that makes my case better than I could so I'll just encourage you to read it instead.

Quick Takes 9-12-09

Some random links for your consideration over the weekend:

The Wonder of God's Creation - new pictures from the refurbished Hubble telescope. These are incredible pictures. (Hat tip: Al Mohler)

A new resource for building a Christian worldview.

Ace scores two aces - Steve Blass, winning pitcher for the 1971 World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates scores not one but two hole in ones in the same round.

Remembering the 2996 Americans who died on 9/11.

Thoughts on the Rule of Law.

Some cool DIY projects. (Hat tip: Jonah Goldberg)


Listening to a liar. Yes, Joe Wilson was right.

13 steps to giving a speech like Obama.

Today marked anti-goverment protests around the country. Here's cool time lapse video of the crowd assembling at the D. C. Rally. Plus some pictures from the rally here.

Have a great weekend.

Remembering 9/11

Author's Note: The following post was originally written on the five year anniversary of 9/11. Though the President and others want to turn 9/11 into a National Day of Service, there are many of us who will always remember 9/11 for what it really was: the day that terrorists killed over 3000 of our fellow citizens and brought a global war onto American soil. We must never forget what happened that horrible day.

*********************************************************************************
I will never forget 9/11. No matter how hard I try, I can't block out the memories of that day. They will be forever burned in my memory.

I was supposed to be attending a meeting in Bala Cynwyd (just outside of Philadelphia) on 9/11. My wife and two daughters (ages 4 and 5) went up a few days early to explore the Amish country as well as downtown Philadelphia. We had had a great time visiting an area that we had never visited before. But that Tuesday morning everything would change - in ways far greater than we could have ever imagined.

The day started normally enough. My meeting was supposed to start at 9:00 so I headed downstairs to the hotel restaurant early to eat breakfast. My wife and daughters were a little later getting ready. Our meeting started on time and was underway for about an hour before taking our first break of the morning. Many of the folks in this meeting were from New York. While we were on the break, several guys tried to call the office but couldn't get through. One of them finally decided to call the operator and see what was wrong with the telephone lines. He would be the first one to share the news with us: the World Trade Center had been hit. Another person came in and said it was the Pentagon. It would be a few minutes before we realized that it was both.

By the time we managed to get a TV brought into the conference room we were able to see the replay of the South tower being hit. Moments later it collapsed. It took all of us only a split second to decide we needed to go home. The fourth airliner, United flight 93, would crash in Western Pennsylvania within the next few minutes.

My wife had taken the kids next door to Denny's to eat breakfast. A waitress told her that the Pentagon had been hit. Her sister's husband often worked at the Pentagon. Was he there? Frantically, she was calling her unable to get through. It would be much, much later before we found out he wasn't there and was completely safe. My wife came back to the hotel not knowing how to find me. At the time, I didn't carry a cellphone (I have ever since). She was in the lobby trying to call her sister when I finally came upstairs. I looked at her and said "We're going home".

At the time we lived in Richmond, VA, almost directly due south along Interstate 95 from Philadelphia. Under normal circumstances, it would have taken about five hours to drive home. But Washington, DC is directly on Interstate 95. Due to the attack at the Pentagon, Washington was completely locked down. Our only choice was to head west and then south in a long circle along interstates through Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virgina. It was a long drive home.

As we were leaving the hotel we turned on the local news on our radio. The mayor of Philadelphia was holding a press conference announcing the evacuation of the city. Everyone was being ordered home since at that time we didn't know where the hijackers intended to fly United 93. It was reasonable to assume that Philadelphia was a target. One thing was clear: we were at war. We weren't sure yet who was responsible but we knew we had been attacked. The peaceful setting of Lancaster County was strangely appealing. Surely whoever this was wouldn't attack the Amish. We would be safe there, wouldn't we? As we drove on there was this eerie feeling of not knowing what to expect next. Would there be further attacks? Who was responsible? Why had they attacked us? Our daughters thankfully were oblivious to what was happening. At least until the announcement was made that Walt Disney World had closed (we had made our first visit as a family the previous year). Then it registered with them that something was wrong.

Everywhere we stopped along the way home people seemed to be trying to carry on with life as normal even though they all knew that life would never be normal again. Everything had changed. By late afternoon we had made it to Harrisonburg, VA (about 3 1/2 hours from home). At first we thought we would just find a hotel room and spend the night but there were none to be found. Greyhound had ordered all their buses to stop wherever they were and as a result people had to find hotel rooms. Everything was closing down: restaurants, stores, shopping malls were all closed. We managed to find a gas station that was still open. When I went in to pay there was the extra edition of the local paper with the photo of the burning towers above the fold. This was not just a bad dream. This was real.

As we left Harrisonburg and headed towards home I can remember the eerie sight of a single jet plane crossing the sky. I knew it was a military plane since all civilian aircraft had been grounded much earlier in the day. This is what it felt like to be at war.

We eventually made it home safely that evening. But we knew that everything had changed. A couple days later we got another grim reminder of just how serious things were.Where we lived, we never saw military traffic. But around 9:00 one evening just a few days after the attacks we were buzzed twice in the span of a couple of minutes by a pair of F-14 fighter jets. It was yet another reminder that we were truly at war. There would be other reminders, as well. I went to Las Vegas for a meeting a couple of months later (a meeting that was originally supposed to take place the week after 9/11). The sight of armed soldiers patrolling the airport was a clear sign that things had changed. While I was in Las Vegas I stayed at the New York, New York Hotel and Casino. As the name suggests, the hotel is supposed to remind one of the New York skyline. Even three months after 9/11, there was a memorial of flowers, posters, and messages of support for the police, firefighters, and people of New York City. I couldn't help but be struck by the sight.

Driving by the Pentagon several months after 9/11 and getting to see firsthand the devastation caused by the terrorists would be yet another grim reminder of the war we had been dragged into by our attackers. I can't forget no matter how hard I try. We should never forget for this is why we fight.

Facebook Ruins Friendships

I was talking with a friend of mine the other day that has teenagers and we were discussing problems in relationships. It seems that her daughter was having some problems with friends that was exacerbated by things that were being posted via text message and Facebook. I then ran across this column about how Facebook can ruin friendships and thought it really struck a chord.All of this made me think about all the stupid things I did as a teenager and how glad I am that I didn't have technology available to make me more stupid. Frankly, I don't know how teenagers today manage. Perhaps we're all better off not relying so heavily on technology to help us maintain contact with our friends.

Educating Obama

Although President Obama is set to deliver a speech to students tomorrow via the internet, he could be well served to pay close attention to the speech below. He could learn a lot.



Hat tip: Hot Air