Today’s decision by the US Supreme Court in Gonzales vs Carhart upholding the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban marks the first step into the issue being returned to the people via their elected representatives.
From NR’s Editors:
It is good that the Court has offered back a limited measure of democratic authority over abortion policy. The major theoretical concession in Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority opinion — that the courts should make sure laws against partial-birth abortion are not misapplied — may not in practice prove important. Pro-abortion litigators, we suspect, are going to have a hard time finding cases in which laws against partial-birth abortion can plausibly be said to have been applied too broadly. But let’s not forget how far four justices are willing to go in defense of abortion.
After three games, the Pens are down 2 games to 1 to the Sens. The Officiating has stayed as bad as the regular season, even worse at times. Through three games, Sidney Crosby has three goals and two assists, but has had two goals disallowed on top of that. One would have closed game 1’s deficit to 4-2 early in the third, and the Pens later scored twice more. In Game three, it would have tied the game - only to have been blown dead on a whistle just before the puck crossed the line due to a roughing scrum in the neutral zone. Instead of tied 2-2, Ottawa scores shortly thereafter to go up 3-1, and all but clinch the game.
One wonders why Kerry Fraser is sitting out these playoffs, as one of the most senior referees. He could do no worse than the inconsistent product that is being trotted out - and it cuts both ways. Serious infractions such as high sticks, punches to faces, blatant interference and boarding go uncalled, while ticky-tack hooks and holds are being called (at times). And by in large the poor calling is across the board, but players don’t know what will be called and what won’t.
For Pittsburgh, it means they have to win 3 out of 4, and win a second game on Ottawa ice while holding serve at home. Not impossible - but it is near critical they win Game 4 on Tuesday to tie the series at 2 games apiece. Then it becomes a best two out of three.
It looked early on that the game might mean the difference for home ice in the first round, but that was crushed by a huge Ottawa burst vs Boston. The Pens held on for a 2-1 win, giving up the goal just under 2 minutes into the third. The Pens scored on two powerplay goals in the 2nd, Roberts from Crosby and Gonchar 53 seconds into the period, and Recchi from Crosby and Christensen at 15:54.
Continue reading ‘Pens close out season with a 2-1 win over Rags’
The improbable even-strength goal (the only one of the night, coming 4 on 4) by Maxime Talbot with 9.8 seconds left in Regulation propelled the Pens to a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators, leaving both teams tied at 103 in the standings with one game left each. Earlier in the evening, New Jersey had beaten Philadelphia to clinch the Atlantic Division title and 2 seed. That leaves the Pens and Senators locked into a first round playoff matchup, with the only question left as to which team will have home ice.
Aside from Talbot’s winner, all of the other goals were on the powerplay, two for each team. Ottawa scored first, the Pens got two during a major penalty to Ottawa’s Jason Spezza for elbowing Jarkko Ruutu to take a 2-1 lead into the 1st intermission. Ottawa scored during the last seconds of a 5 on 3, after a delay of game call against Rob Scuderi, combined with an unusual 6 minutes assessed to Joe Melichar, two for crosschecking and 4 for high-sticking. The Pens would go on to kill the rest of Joe’s penalties.
Scoring race with two games left:
Crosby: 117
Thornton: 109
Lecavalier: 107
Heatley 101
St Louis 101
Hossa 97
Briere 95
Sakic 95
Jagr 94
Savard 93
Ovechkin 92 *one game left
Selanne 91
Iginla 91
Datsuk 86
Jokinen 86
Malkin 85 (rookie leader)
Rookie Race:
Malkin 85 (leads in goals, assists and points)
Stastny 73 (3 games left)
Kopitar 59
Wolski 48
Penner 44
Staal 42 (leads in SHGs with 7 - a rookie record for a single season)
Zajac 42
Carle 41
Radulov 36
Clowe 34
June 30, 1985.
President Ronald Reagan.
His words are as pertinent today as they were then - although the instant situation is different, the principles remain the same:
This drama has reminded us how precious and fragile are the freedoms and standards of decency of civilized societies; how greatly civilized life depends on trust in other human beings; but how those values we hold most dear must also be defended with bravery — a bravery that may lie quiet and deep, but that will rise to answer our call in every time of peril. Freedom, democracy, and peace have enemies; they must also have steadfast friends.
The United States gives terrorists no rewards and no guarantees. We make no concessions; we make no deals. Nations that harbor terrorists undermine their own stability and endanger their own people. Terrorists, be on notice, we will fight back against you, in Lebanon and elsewhere. We will fight back against your cowardly attacks on American citizens and property.
The current situation in Iran, with allied troops being captured illegally, is no different. We may not have a communicator like Reagan now, but President George W. Bush is no different in his belief, as he echoed some of these words in the days, weeks and years since 9/11.
It is worth going back to the days following 9/11, and the White House has a wealth of text transcripts and audio/video links on a single page for the month of September 2001.
Guess what everyone? Cheryl Crow is on tour, trying to save the world from Global Warming! Riding around in her souped-up bio-desiel van, she’s been blogging about her Global Warming adventurings!
The Washington Post has a roundup of some selected quotes:
Continue reading ‘Cheryl Crow on Global Warming’
The Pens staged a furious comeback from a 4-1 deficit to tie the Leafs with 4 seconds to go in regulation, earning at least a point, but lost with 1:05 to go in the OT. The point gives them 101 points on the season, but formally eliminates them from catching Buffalo for the top spot in the conference. The 101 points also puts them back into 1st in the Atlantic, one point in front of idle New Jersey. The Devils have a game in hand (4 games left to 3 for the Pens) and control their own destiny, needing to go only 3-0-1 to win the division over the Pens should the Pens win out.
The point also means the Pens retain control of their own destiny over Ottawa - but with Ottawa’s win over the Islanders tonight, giving them 102 points with 3 games left, means the head-to-head game in Ottawa has to be won by the Pens in regulation. Ottawa also plays New Jersey on Tuesday, April 3rd in a game that may well decide who is seeded where. The Pens host Buffalo on Tuesday - the Pens are 2-1-0 vs the Sabres this year, with one win coming in a shootout after Buffalo tied the Pens late in regulation.
The game at hand, at Toronto, was mostly Toronto for the better part of two periods, but the Pens started coming hard at the Leafs late in the 2nd, with a Maxime Talbot goal with three and a half minutes left in the period. The Pens had a minute of 5 on 3 time early in the third but did not convert - but got a goal from Crosby with just under 5 minutes remaining to make in 4-3, and Ryan Whitney’s goal with 4 seconds left to tie it.
There was an extensive delay between regulation and overtime due to a medical emergency in the stands - a fan had a heart attack - and one can only surmise what effect the extra rest had to the teams. The overtime period was wide open, with chances at either end, before Toronto won a face-off cleanly with 1:08 remaining and scored three seconds later on a shot by Kaberle.
Fresh Cracks...