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......