Right Wing Nut House

Once again, I’ve been remiss in my duties as a member of the Watcher’s Council and not linked the winning entries from a week past.

Since the peasants are now at my door with torches banging away and wanting to get in to tear me to pieces, allow me to rectify my booble before it is too late…

For January 13, the winning Council post was from the Glittering Eye entitled Perspectives on foreign command of U. S. forces. Finishing second was New Sisyphus for Misogyny Day. And coming in third was New World Man for A Little Liberty.

In the non Council category, Patterico came away the winner with Patterico’s Los Angeles Dog Trainer Year in Review 2005 . In second, we had the incomparable Jeff Golstein in a post that I submitted entitled We love the troops; but it’s a tough love (#144) - UPDATED. And Maxed out Mama came in third with Stuck on Thought.

Here are the winning entries from this past week: The Glittering Eye brought home first again in the Council category with Options on Iran II. AJ Strata at The Strata-Sphere came in second with NY Times Confesses Truth About NSA Leak. My post on MLK Day tied for third with the Education Wonks and The Need to Share the Dawn. And Dr. Sanity and Gates of Vienna tied for 5th with A Campaign For De-Civilization and Identity Politics: Terrorism Is About Woman’s Place respectively.

In the non Council category, the Anchoress won with NY Times Tipped Terrorists? (UPDATED). Liberty and Culture finished second with Bloggers: The Pamphleteers of Today. Thomas Lifson at The American Thinker came in third with Photo Fakery at the New York Times. Coming in Fourth was The Moderate Voice for Iran’s New Threat, the UN and the U.S.. And in Fifth place was The Colossus of Rhodey with Comics and Politics.

If you’d like to participate in the weekly Watcher’s Council vote, go here and follow instructions.

There is nothing new about claiming to talk to God. Neither is there anything new in believing that the Lord is working his will through a human vessel. For thousands of years, societies have had mystics, ascetics, holy men, holy rollers, shakers, fakirs, shamans and charlatans. These folks usually served a useful purpose in that they reinforced a belief system that united the culture - especially in times of trial and hardship.

The old Testament is replete with examples of prophets and ordinary people who talked to God or who claimed they were carrying out the will of the Almighty. They are among the most revered figures in the history of both the Jewish and Christian religions. Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Jonah are touchstones that for Jews, connect the present with the past and for Christians, represent confirmation in the divinity of Christ - “The Word Made Flesh.” Similarly, for Muslims, “al Mahdi” (The Guided One) is both a mystic and a savior. His return has been foretold for almost 1500 years and his arrival will herald the final battle between believers and non-believers. It is significant that the Mahdi’s return will not occur until Muslims all over the world are oppressed and ready to unite to defeat the forces of evil represented by their oppressors.

The modern, secular world no longer has much tolerance for people who claim to talk to God (or, at least have a direct line to what God is saying). They are considered kooks and crazies. If they stand on a street corner in ragged clothes with a sign saying “The End Is Near” we tend to feel pity. But when they go on television dressed in $1,000 suits and claim that illness is divine retribution for being disobedient of God, we are rightly outraged:

As the Israeli prime minister battled for life, Robertson seemed to suggest to viewers on his “700 Club” television show that Sharon was being punished for his policies in Gaza and the West Bank.

“The prophet Joel makes it very clear that God has enmity against those who, quote, ‘divide my land.’ God considers this land to be his.

“You read the Bible, he says, ‘This is my land.’ And for any prime minister of Israel who decides he’s going carve it up and give it away, God says, ‘No. This is mine.’”

Being something of a theatrical prophet, Robertson then invokes language reminiscent of the thundering condemnations given by Old Testament prophets to the sinning Hebrews:

I prayed with him personally. But here he is at the point of death. He was dividing God’s land, and I would say woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the EU, the United Nations or the United States of America.”

Woe, indeed. Robertson isn’t “suggesting” that Sharon’s illness was caused by his disobedience of God’s strictures, he is actually wishing it. “Woe unto” - or “may bad things happen to you” is a helluva lot different than simply saying that God doesn’t like you. In effect, Robertson is acting as the hand of God here on earth - by his lights - in punishing Sharon for his transgressions.

I will not make fun of Robertson’s beliefs by suggesting he is crazy. Indeed, millions believe in what the good Reverend has to say, even his over the air healing sessions where he invokes the name of Jesus Christ to cure everything from cancer to warts. Instead, as Joe Gandleman has pointed out, let’s examine Robertson’s affinity with another anti-modernist; Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:

“Hopefully, the news that the criminal of Sabra and Chatilla has joined his ancestors is final,” President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency.

Ahmadinejad was referring to Sharon, who as defense minister in 1982 directed Israel’s ill-fated invasion of Lebanon. An Israeli commission found him indirectly responsible for a massacre of Palestinians in the Sabra and Chatilla refugee camps by Christian Phalangist soldiers.

While not specifically invoking the name Allah, the reference to “joining his ancestors” is reflective of the belief of devout Muslims that Jews and Christians cannot enter heaven. And note the similarity - both men are wishing Sharon ill.

What are we to make of this? For Robertson’s part, he has been marginalized even in the evangelical movement as other TV preachers have far surpassed him in audience and fundraising. And his political influence is almost non existent. His notoriety comes from his brush with destiny in 1988 when he made a surprisingly strong showing in the Iowa Caucuses, finishing second ahead of candidates like Vice President Bush and Jack Kemp. Since the heyday of TV evangelists in the 1990’s, he has fallen precipitously.

Not so the mystical Ahmadinejad. As President of a country that is about ready to get its hands on the ultimate power here on earth, he claims that he “foretold” his election last June months before when his support was at 1%. He also claims to possess otherwordly powers:

The president also spoke of an aura that wreathed him throughout his controversial UN speech in September.

“O mighty Lord,” Mr. Ahmadinejad intoned to his surprised audience, “I pray to you to hasten the emergence of your last repository, the promised one, that perfect and pure human being, the one that will fill this world with justice and peace.”

Later, at a private meeting with a cleric that was caught on video, Ahmadinejad shared his views of the moment. “I felt that all of a sudden the atmosphere changed, and for 27 to 28 minutes the leaders did not blink,” he said. “They were astonished…. it had opened their eyes and ears for the message of the Islamic Republic.”

“The promised one” being the Mahdi. And here’s where the similarities between Robertson and Ahmadinejad are most pronounced; they both have an apocalyptic vision of the world.

Robertson has said on many occasion that America is suffering because we have fallen away from God. Along with his fellow preacher Jerry Falwell who famously said that 9/11 was the result of throwing God out of the classroom and the public square, this is a worldview that accepts the fact of direct divine retribution for both innocent and guilty alike.

Ahmadinejad goes even farther. He believes he is laying the foundation for the return of the Mahdi, meeting the required conditions laid out in prophecy and tradition. By doing so, he hopes to usher in an era of “justice and peace” - ostensibly once the unbelievers are dealt with. The similarities between Robertson’s constant use of apocalyptic metaphors to describe what’s happening to America and Ahmadinejad invoking the Mahdi is startling. And, in the case of the Iranian President, extraordinarily troubling.

Robertson’s run for the Presidency in 1988 was doomed from the start. He was buried in every subsequent contest and never had a ghost of a chance of winning. What Robertson was really after was a platform for his ideas - something the Republicans were happy to oblige him at the Convention. Robertson was never really serious about being President and I daresay the American people never took him seriously in that regard.

But Ahmadinejad is already the leader of a country that is a regional powerhouse and whose influence (thanks to their support of terrorism) is felt far beyond the Middle East. They also hold vast reserves of oil, have a healthy literacy rate, an emerging middle class, and as I mentioned, are about to embark on the grand adventure of arming itself with nuclear weapons.

The problem is that Robertston would fit right in with those Old Testament prophets and mystics. They would recognize a kindred spirit. The same goes for Ahmadinejad to a certain extent. And here’s the problem.:

What do you think it would be like if instead of horns to blow down the walls of Jerhico, Joshua had a tactical nuke?

It certainly would have saved Joshua some time. After the walls came down, Joshua ordered every living soul in Jericho (with a couple of exceptions) put to the sword, dealing out God’s “justice” - a practice carried out many times by the Israelites in their conquest of the promised land.

This kind of fanaticism in the breast of someone like Robertson is harmless for the most part. No one takes him seriously. But in the case of the Iranian President, it would behoove us to be mindful of every pronouncement this man makes as it relates to his mystical belief in salvation - either by the Mahdi or by the Islamic Republic’s own devices.

We may get a chance to observe his mystical belief in the apocalypse a lot sooner than we would care to believe.

I don’t link half as often enough to my fellow Illinoisan and satirist extraordinaire Iowahawk but this piece is too good not too:

The New York Times reported today that Polar authorities are engaged in a secret program to conduct warrantless monitoring of private communications and activities among U.S. minors. Anonymous sources within the State Department and Central Intelligence Agency said the program, codename “Operation Coal Lump,” dates as far back as 1879, and recieved approval at the highest echelon of Polar administration, including President Santa Claus himself.

The disclosure of the program sparked an immediate furor among civil libertarian organizations and brats right groups. ACLU spokesman Dan Knaggs said “that chill in the air isn’t December — it’s Big Brother Kriss Kringle unconstitutionally watching, and following, and evaluating your every move.”

Josh Cleland, 9, a spokesboy for the Council For Misbehaving Americans, decried the program as “a looming threat to the economic rights of millions of young Americans, many of whom may be guilty of nothing more than a wedgie or Indian burn of self defense.”

Cleland added that “Stop hitting yourself, retard. Stop hitting yourself, retard.”

Too funny…

The votes are in for this week’s Watchers Council and the winner in the Council category for best post is The Sundries Shack for “…Have a Great Time Dieing in the War. From, Miguel.” Finishing second was AJ at The Strata-Sphere for “Iran’s Nuclear Game.”

In the non Council section, Seraphic Secret won with “Murderous Peaceniks.” Protein Wisdom finished second for “On Patriotism, Redux (UPDATED).”

If you’d like to participate in the Watcher’s Vote every week, go here and follow instructions.

What is it about the end of the year that brings out “listmania” in people? Perhaps it is a general feeling that as the calendar is about to turn over, it becomes time to reflect on the past in ways that one ordinarily wouldn’t do.

That said, I thought I’d take a stab at my own list. Since most people will be doing a “Top 10 Stories of 2005″ or something similar, I thought I’d try something a little different with “The Top 10 Movie Soundtracks of All Time.”

This list will not include any the dozens of wonderful MGM musicals or excellent movie adaptations of Broadway shows. That could be another list. Instead, this list will include what I believe the Academy calls “Original Scores.”

Let the games begin…

10. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK - JOHN WILLIAMS

This is the first of three appearances of John Williams on this list and for good reason. Williams is a brilliant composer whose body of work would be astonishing for its volume alone. Already a well established commodity in Hollywood by the time Raiders came out, Williams allowed himself to have some fun with the score as it’s sprightly marches with playful counterpoint demonstrates. Not his best work but, like most of his film scores, it adds substantially to the totality of the movie.

9. GETTYSBURG - RANDY EDELMAN

This score by Randy Edelman, another prolific composer, is noted for the grandeur and emotionally charged overture that has been used many times in sports programming. The two pivotal moments in the movie - the bayonet charge of the 2nd Maine down Little Round Top and Pickett’s Charge - always bring tears to my eyes thanks to Edelman’s majestic accompaniment.

8. THE GREAT ESCAPE - ELMER BERNSTEIN

No list would be complete without a mention of Bernstein, another familiar Hollywood composer. His films have run the gamut from Ghostbusters to The Bridge at Remagen to Leonard Part Six.. It was a toss up to include TGE or The Magnificent Seven but the scoring of Steve McQueen’s motorcycle ride through the German countryside tipped the balance in favor of this one.

7. SILVERADO - BRUCE BROUGHTON

Broughton is known more for his TV work than film credits. But his majestic score for the movie credited with reviving the American western cannot be overlooked. The theme is hypnotic.

6. BEN HUR - MIKLOS ROZSA

The Hungarian immigrant’ scores enriched dozens of movies in the 40’s and 50’s. His unobstrusive style attracted director William Wyler who tapped him to score Hur after several other composers rejected the project. He ended up being nominated for an Academy Award.

5. JAWS - JOHN WILLIAMS

If there is a better combination of music and mood ever scored for a motion picture, I can’t think of it. Haunting is an understatment for Williams’ work here. When the very first notes of a piece of music can generate terror, you know that there is something special about it.

4. BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI -MALCOLM ARNOLD

Many would not place this as high as I have, but I challenge you to watch this movie for the first time and not be humming “Colonel Bogey’s March” by the end of it. I’m being a little facietious but the fact remains that this is another film where the music perfectly captures the mood and spirit of the film. Won the Academy Award for Best Score in 1957.

3. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA - MAURICE JARRE

Jarre’s memorable score to one of the greatest films of all time is a joy, a brilliant symphonic counterpoint to the majesty of David Lean’s masterpiece.

2. THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD - ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD

Hollywood would have been a much different place if Korngold had decided to stick with writing symphonies. A child prodigy who attracted the attention of such luminaries as Mahler and Richard Strauss, Korngold emigrated to the US in 1935 to escape the ravages of Nazism. Did Korngold “invent” the orchestral movie score? No, but he perfected it.

1. STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE - JOHN WILLIAMS

The orchestral soundtrack had gone out of fashion in the 1960’s and 70’s. Hollywood was making few epics and the spare, jazzy sounds of Lalo Shiffrin and moody, atonal pieces that graced most of the dramas were consistently uninspiring to say the least. That’s what made Williams raucous, grandeliquent overture so shockingly emotional. The majesty of the score against the background of space will always be remembered. A never to be forgotten theme.

One would think that George Bush would have learned his lesson about appointing people to jobs whose only qualification is how much they froth at the mouth when the word “Republican” is mentioned.

I mean, if the federal government was ever going to put on an Arabian Horse show, I know that Michael Brown would have been the perfect guy I would want on point to shepard that project through to completion. Alas, Mr. Brown was stuck whiling away the hours as Director of FEMA - a position for which he had little aptitude and less experience.

Ditto for Harriet Miers who was perfectly qualified to do something at the Supreme Court - just what I’m not sure. They may have eventually had an opening for “President’s Crony” or some such job that wouldn’t have taxed Ms. Miers’ abilities to the limit.

This is not to say that the President shouldn’t have the right to name whomever he damn well pleases to any position he sees fit. It’s just that this appointment of Paul Bonicelli to be Deputy Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which is in charge of all programs to promote democracy and good governance overseas is a true and total embarrassment:

Bonicelli is dean of academic affairs at Patrick Henry College (PHC) in Purcellville, Virginia, whose motto is: “For Christ and Liberty”. This ultra-fundamentalist institution requires its students and faculty to sign a “statement of faith” declaring that they believe “Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, is God come in the flesh”, “Jesus Christ literally rose bodily from the dead”, and Hell is a place where “all who die outside of Christ shall be confined in conscious torment for eternity”.

That’s not all. Patrick Henry College also requires its “science” professors to sign a statement saying they believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible that says the world was created in 6 days. Here is the school’s own statement:

‘Creation. Any biology, Bible or other courses at PHC dealing with creation will teach creation from the understanding of Scripture that God’s creative work, as described in Genesis 1:1–31, was completed in six twenty–four hour days. All faculty for such courses will be chosen on the basis of their personal adherence to this view. PHC expects its faculty in these courses, as in all courses, to expose students to alternate theories and the data, if any, which support those theories. In this context, PHC in particular expects its biology faculty to provide a full exposition of the claims of the theory of Darwinian evolution, intelligent design and other major theories while, in the end, teach creation as both biblically true and as the best fit to observed data.’

I am at a total loss. Anyone who can say with a straight face that the theory of the world being created in 6 24-hour days is “the best fit to observed data” is not only crazy but a living, walking insult to rational thought.

And to make someone like this the Deputy Director of USAID is an insult to the overwhelming majority of the rest of the world that is not Christian. One wonders what a Hindu or Muslim would say if they saw that bit about “all who die outside of Christ shall be confined in conscious torment for eternity.” Kind of puts the kibosh on democracy and good governance if the pagan devils are going to hell anyway, doesn’t it? I mean, why bother being good if being bad is so much more fun? And since they’re going to hell anyway, might as well make the journey a helluva a ride, no?

I am not totally against cronyism as long as the crony being appointed has at least a passing familiarity with what the job is all about. Someone with as narrow a world view as Mr. Bonicelli cannot possibly be the right person for a job that would seem to require an individual with a breadth of experience that would enable them to deal with everyone from raving atheists in the Chinese Politburo to the fanatical Islamists in Saudi Arabia. Someone whose entire intellectual framework is squeezed through the narrowest of prisms - the Bible - would seem ill-suited to promote anything except, well Bible sales.

Perhaps Mr. Bonicelli could inquire whether the Gideons could use some help in promoting readership of the Bible and leave the promotion of democracy to others who are more qualified.

And one note to George Bush: Who ever is sending these nominees your way needs to be fired forthwith. They are making you look ridiculous. And a President cannot afford to look ridiculous.

Courtesy of Michelle Malkin, we have a preview of the President’s remarks at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska in which he inches closer to calling out Democrats by name who are accusing him falsely of lying about pre-war Iraq intel:

Reasonable people can disagree about the conduct of the war –­ but it is irresponsible for Democrats to now claim that we misled them and the American people. Leaders in my Administration and members of Congress from both parties looked at the same intelligence on Iraq –­ and reached the conclusion that Saddam Hussein was a threat. Let me give you quotes from three senior Democrats: First, quote, “There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons.” End quote. Here’s another one, quote, “The war against terrorism will not be finished as long as [Saddam Hussein] is in power.” End quote. And here’s the way another Democratic leader summed it up, quote, “Saddam Hussein, in effect, has thumbed his nose at the world community. And I think that the President’s approaching this in the right fashion.”

An excellent tactic. The President is leaving it to the press to put a name with those quotes which still leaves him somewhat above the fray. I daresay Senator Rockefeller is probably spending an uncomfortable evening as he is almost certainly the author of the first quote (as quoted here by the Captain). Rockefeller is also quoted in that article as disavowing his Iraq vote saying he’s “not respsonsible.” This is another vein that the President should be mining; the furious backtracking by Democratic politicians on their votes to go to war.

In fact, the two avenues of attack are interconnected. Apparently, the Democrats are trying to argue that the only reason they voted to go to war was that they were misled and lied to by the President. By knocking the chocks from underneath one argument, their whole rationale for the attack falls apart. The President and Republicans running next year should be able to pose the question: Are the Democrats dummies or liars?

Unfortunately, the new found combativeness on the part of the President probably comes a little too late to do him much good. The most recent poll shows the President’s trustworthiness tanking along with the belief that the war was worth it. So while not changing many minds about the President ((only events on the ground in Iraq could do that) by giving the lie to the Democrats scurrilous charges, it should help Republicans in both 2006 and 2008.

Meanwhile, on a related note, there are two articles you should read that make cogent arguments about the President and the war. John Cole has a superior piece about Jay Rockefeller’s disingenuousness while the Good Doctor Sanity has an outstanding article on Bush Derangement Syndrome (that should drive any moonbats who read it absolutely batty).

The withdrawal of Harriet Miers from consideration for Supreme Court Justice is the best possible outcome to a messy, family quarrel. The damage to the President will be minimal within the party although how it will play in the hinterlands is an entirely different matter. The important thing is that a source of friction in Republican ranks will have been eliminated at a most opportune moment.

I have little doubt that the White House sees the writing on the wall with regards to the Special Prosecutors impending indictments of high level administration officials in the Plame Affair. They perhaps even have advanced knowledge of who might be on Fitzgerald’s chopping block. All signs point to at the very least an indictment on perjury for Scooter Libby along with probable obstruction of justice charges. But the President’s real worry is the possible exposure of his top aide Karl Rove to charges of perjury.

In this context, the withdrawal of Miers can be seen as strengthening the President’s hand as now there will be no excuse for Republicans not to stand shoulder to shoulder with the President through what is going to be the roughest part of his Presidency. The storm about to break in Washington among the media and the left will be loud and long. The indictments will dominate the news for weeks. A united party will help offset the drumbeat of criticism that is sure to follow any actions by the Special Prosecutor.

If Rove especially has to walk the plank, Republicans must close ranks around the President to avoid a disaster - near term, anyway. Any hint of Republican disunity could doom the President’s legislative agenda for the remainder of his term. As I wrote here, any fracturing of the Republican party at this point would make Bush a lame duck long before his time. And the question of how this will play in the 2006 midterms is anyone’s guess but I suspect that much will be forgotten by next November and any pickups by the Democrats will be as a result of depressed Republican turnout.

That depressed turnout will be traced to the President’s continuing refusal to address spending and immigration issues - both near and dear to the hearts of his base supporters. And as I suspect that the President many now nominate a Supreme Court Justice even more unacceptable to those who opposed Miers (Justice Gonzalez?), Bush may be faced with more internal problems in the future. But for the moment, Republicans can be one big happy family again - something that will be of comfort to the President after the Special Prosecutor drops the other shoe.

Miers was not just a poor choice, she was the wrong choice. The President has a chance to do things better the next time around, but don’t hold your breath waiting for the nomination of a constitutionalist to the Court. With the Administration on the run because of the coming indictments, Democrats will smell blood in the water and attempt to draw out the nomination battle of such a nominee until after the 2006 elections where they hope to get a majority in the Senate. This would insure a more moderate Justice coming before the Senate for approval.

The opponents of Miers believe they have won. Perhaps they can inform me of exactly what it is they find in victory that makes them happy? The President, temporarily humiliated, the Democrats strengthened, and the probable nomination of someone even more objectionable to them would not seem to be parameters of winning - at least not in my neck of the woods. So beyond ideological satisfaction, what have you really accomplished?

You may have guaranteed a more liberal court than we have now or would have had with Miers. Congratulations, guys. What do you do for an encore?

UPDATE

Michelle Malkin exclaims “Relief!” and links to dozens of others who weigh on on the bad news.

The Captain also seems relieved and writes “Now can we nominate a candidate whose qualities and track record presumes we control the Senate?

Good luck on that one, Ed.

I apologize for the trouble being experienced by most of you today in accessing this site.

I have no clue as to what is causing it. And since my hosting company uses the same server, I cannot contact them to find out.

Not a very satisfactory state of affairs…

WHITE SOX PITCHER JOHN GARLAND STRIDES OFF THE MOUND AFTER STRIKING OUT LAST YEAR’S MOST VALUABLE PLAYER VLAD GUERRERO IN THE 6TH INNING OF LAST NIGHT’S GAME

There was a time when playing catch with one’s father was part of growing up, as natural and common place as running water.

I’m not sure the same holds true today. Families are different. Many families are without fathers and those that are so blessed either aren’t that interested in baseball or are limited by other factors such as work or alternative activities.

But most of the fathers I knew when I was growing up played catch or “Running Bases” with both their kids and other children in the neighborhood. And what I can recall about playing catch with my own father is that the man had what in baseball parlance is known as “a live arm.”

Even as a six or seven year old kid I knew my dad could pitch. A rather rotund figure, his delivery was effortless and the ball would steam into my mitt stinging my hand. It gave me a wonderful “grown up” feeling that he would throw the hard one to me. He had a curve ball that had a beautiful dip to it and his slider would shoot by my glove more often than not. The guy even threw a knuckle ball that was no fun to try and catch I can assure you.

I was probably ten years old when I realized with a shock that my dad had what baseball insiders call “good stuff.” This is something that a pitcher is born with. Either one has a live arm that leads to having good stuff or one doesn’t. While it is true that much of the art of pitching is learned including the mechanics of throwing the ball, the gift of a live arm is bestowed on precious few. It is something in the way the ball is released from a pitcher’s hand, or the snap of his wrist, or the way his shoulder rotates, or any one of a number of other mysterious reasons why some pitchers can make the ball move like a Mexican jumping bean.

Some pitchers with live arms never make it to the big leagues. Many pitchers blessed with good stuff have a devil of a time trying to throw strikes. The ball moves so precipitously and in so many ways that it sometimes takes years of hard work to learn how to control the flight of the ball. A good example would be Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax.

Koufax could throw the ball 100 MPH but it was his curve ball and slider that were devastating to hitters. Sandy’s problem was that he could not control how much those particular pitches would break. Major League hitters figured out early on to be very patient with the young southpaw because Koufax more often than not would walk a hitter due to this chronic wildness.

After about 5 years, Sandy figured it out and was unhittable for the last few years of his career. The same exact thing could be said of Yankee hurler Randy Johnson who, once he conquered his wildness, was a reliable 20 game winner.

White Sox pitcher John Garland is such a pitcher. His smooth, effortless delivery masks the travail that hitters much go through to bat successfully against him. Last night, Garland’s pitching was so deceptive that the LA Angels broke their bats with regularity swinging at the moving, darting, hopping ball.

When a pitcher throws 95 MPH, the batter doesn’t have a whole hell of a lot of time to decide whether or not to swing. And when the ball has “late movement” - it darts inward or outward from the plate - the batsman doesn’t have a chance.

American League hitters have known this for years about Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. The chucker has such a live arm that hitters are swinging at pitches that almost hit them in the shoulder. Rivera’s pitchers start off right over the heart of the plate. But by the time the batter has committed to his swing, if he’s a right handed hitter the ball is digging toward his wrists. And by the time he makes contact (if he can catch up with the 93 MPH pitch) the ball is taking off his fingernails as the hitter’s bat meets the ball down near the handle of the bat.

Garland uses his “cut fastball” to get this effect. A cut fastball is thrown across the seams with the ball a little farther back in the hand (rather than gripped on the seams and thrown with the forefinger and index finger). While this means the ball is thrown with less vel0city, it also means the ball has a nasty, late break that can continuously fool hitters. This is what the Angels ran into last night; a man with a live arm and tremendous stuff so that it became almost impossible for them to “center” the ball on the bat and make good contact.

John Garland has finally lived up to his potential and on the national stage of the playoffs, proved he is one of the top 10 pitchers in baseball. At age 25, the sky is the limit for the righthander.

White Sox starters in general continue to impress. Through three games - 27 innings - Sox starters have pitched an incredible 26 1/3 innings with the last two starts complete game victories. Such an accomplishment has not been seen in the playoffs since 1997.

And the flummoxed Angles hitters are starting to press. They are swinging at bad pitches and are not patient at all as evidenced by the fact that those same Sox starters have pitched all those innings and allowed only one walk.

White Sox hitters on the other hand looked much more relaxed last night as they executed much better at the plate and on the bases. Jermaine Dye got caught when Aaron Rowand pumped a vicious line drive that looked ticketed for left field but was snared by Angles shortstop Orlando Cabrera who made an easy toss to second to double off Dye. Cabrera also hit a two-run homer for the Angels only runs.

That blemish on Garland’s game was not the result of a mistake but rather Cabrera’s excellent at bat in the sixth inning. Garland had been pitching the diminutive shortstop inside, crowding him successfully until the kid guessed right on a Garland fastball and sent a screaming line drive into the left field seats.

But that was all Garland allowed. He set down the Angels in order in the 9th to earn the 5-2 victory. Taking the loss was John Lackey whose performance was disappointing to say the least. Back in July when Lackey throttled the White Sox on 4 hits, his lively fastball was finding its target and his curve dropped like a stone. But last night, his curve ball hung like ripe fruit over the middle of the plate and Sox players took immediate advantage. Konerko’s two-run homer in the first started the Pale Hose off on the right foot while Sox bats banged out 11 hits.

Lackey just didn’t have it last night. He wasn’t spotting his fastball well and his breaking balls were rolling up to the plate with the words “hit me” written all over them. And while the Angels bullpen has been spectacular, getting them the lead has been a problem lately.

Tonight, a kid with one of the livest arms imaginable goes for the Halos. Ervin Sanatana may be a rookie but he already has a shutout of the White Sox in July and gets the nod over the ailing Bartolo Colon.

It should be interesting to see if White Sox hitters are patient with this kid and make him throw strikes. This will be the key tonight. I predict If the Sox hitters get more than 4 walks, they win the ballgame.

For the Angles, they almost have to win this game or face elimination on Monday. That said, it looks like October baseball will continue in Chicago for at least one more game.