🏈❤️ COURTSIDE SPORTS: GOTTA LOVE THAT COMEBACK — JLove Leads Q4 Surge As Pack Down Saints 18-17 In Epic Home Opener @ Lambeau!

🏈❤️ COURTSIDE SPORTS: GOTTA LOVE THAT COMEBACK — JLove Leads Q4 Surge As Pack Down Saints 18-17 In Epic Home Opener @ Lambeau!

Jordan Love
Jordan Love
Quarterback
Green Bay Packers
PHOTO” Packer website

Paul Wickham Schmidt

Courtside Sports Exclusive 

September 24, 2023

Last week, the Packers took a 12 point lead into the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons. They came up short, as the defense allowed three scores, the Jordan Love led offense whiffed big time on all their possessions, and the Falcons won 25-24. 

For three quarters, the funk continued as Green Bay hurt themselves with penalties, while the visiting New Orleans Saints held a commanding 17-0 lead in the fourth quarter. At that point, the Pack had been outscored 30-0 over four quarters.

Then, with about 12 minutes left in the game, Love and the Packer offense came alive, scoring a field goal, and two touchdowns on their next three possessions to lead 18-17. Following the field goal, Love (22-44-259-1-1) ran for his first Lambeau touchdown, topped by a laser to Samori Toure for a huge two-point conversion that turned out to be the difference maker. On the Packers’ next possession, Love hit Romeo Doubs on an 8-yard TD pass with the kick by Anders Carlson giving the Pack their first and only lead of the afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Pack defense, led by Rashan Gary (3 sacks), pitched a second half shutout. Their cause was helped when Saints QB Derek Carr (13-18-1-0) left the game with an apparent shoulder injury in the third quarter following a Gary sack. His replacement Jameis Winston was largely ineffective. 

However, after Green Bay took the lead, Winston did rally his troops into position for a potential lead-retaking field goal with a little over a minute remaining in the game. But, Blake Grupe’s kick drifted wide right, and the Pack went into victory formation.

The Pack overcame a 17-point halftime deficit for only the second time in team history. Apparently, it’s only they third time in the last three decades that an NFL team has erased a deficit of that magnitude in the fourth quarter.

New Orleans (2-1) suffered its first defeat of the season. The Pack meanwhile improved to 2-1 with the Detroit Lions, also 2-1 and victors over the Falcons Sunday, up next on Thursday night at Lambeau.

Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers

THE FAKE CIVILITY OF THE UNCIVIL GOP: “Sometimes calls for institutional decency and civility mask institutional cowardice and opportunism. The first day of Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings was one of those times.”

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/kavanaugh-confirmation-hearing-senate-judiciary-grotesque-decency.html

Dahlia Lithwick writes in Slate:

If we learned anything at all from John McCain’s funeral over the weekend it’s this: The more buffeted we are by the hourly insanity that emanates from the Trump White House, the more likely we are to get bleary-eyed drunk on episodes of public sobriety, dignity, and seriousness. As Michelle Goldberg aptly noted, “For many who detest Donald Trump, the spectacle of the country’s former leaders championing embattled American principles—principles once shared by even the bitterest political enemies—was fiercely moving.” Moving, yes, but at what cost?

The more corruption, incompetence, and recklessness we witness spewing out of the White House, the more inclined we are to cling tightly to the blanket of institutional integrity, normalcy, and civility. It’s not just that it’s nuts out there. It’s almost as if the nuttier it gets, the more we need to pretend that wherever it is we’re sitting at the moment is a safe place in which the norms of dignity, respect, and goodwill are still in force. And if John McCain’s funeral was a symbol of that, so too is all the talk of “decorum” and “civility” in the U.S. Senate.

And so, Republicans spent the first day of Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings telling us that nothing that’s happening in here has anything to do with the fact that Donald Trump is the president. None of the concern around this Supreme Court seat has anything to do with the fact that the president himself is under investigation for corruption and campaign finance violations, or that his personal lawyer swore under oath that Trump instructed him to commit crimes, or that a foreign power is currently interfering with our election systems. All of that is about a different thing. This hearing is about something stable and immutable and good. And anyone who implies that anything is abnormal is a hysteric or an opportunist or an attention-seeker.

Jeff Flake and Ben Sasse can go so far as to express mild concern about Trump’s assaults on the rule of law and his own attorney general because none of that has anything to do with Brett Kavanaugh. And Lindsey Graham can splutter about Hillary Clinton because that also has nothing to do with Kavanaugh. And Chuck Grassley can snarl that this is akin to attacking the president because it has nothing whatsoever to do with the president.

We take so much visceral succor in public performances of bipartisanship and decency that we can blinker ourselves to genuineinjustice.

If you followed Tuesday’s events on a split screen, you’d know that in addition to issuing threats to his own attorney general and making claims that Republicans running for office deserve different legal treatment than Democrats, Trump was also the subject of jaw-dropping leaks in Bob Woodward’s new book, leaks suggesting his own aides must take documents off his desk in order to keep the United States safe from his rampant incompetence. But inside the cocoon of the Senate Judiciary Committee, none of that matters at all. Moreover, for legal luminaries like Ted Cruz, this hearing is an extraordinary opportunity to celebrate the greatness of Trump’s nominees to the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts. This is still a safe space, of civility and decorum, and the Democrats who squawk about documents being withheld have descended into “mob rule” and incivility.

The White House (the White House!) was tweeting indignantly about interruptions. By the end of the day Trump himself was tweeting that all Senate Democrats were “mean, angry, and despicable.” But even with the president forcing himself into the Senate’s aperture yet again, by no means should anyone who works there take any steps to rein him in. That would be weird. And while most of the senators had the good graces on Tuesday to pretend that Trump was not really the president, some evinced a kind of nagging low-level worry that someone somewhere should really address the problem of a chief executive who doesn’t believe in law or courts or justice. But who? Who could possibly do it?Flake described “concern” about Donald Trump’s attacks on the rule of law. And Sasse deplored the do-nothing Congress. And Chuck Grassley (yes, this Chuck Grassley) bemoaned the fact that Senate Democrats were taking advantage of his “decency and integrity.” But everyone on the Republican side of the aisle felt confident that it was Democrats who were breaking the Senate on Tuesday.

On the Democratic side, Dick Durbin decried the fact that a Republican lawyer was vetting all of the Kavanaugh documents, and Amy Klobuchar expressed the sentiment that nothing about this hearing was regular. “This is not normal,” she said. “You have a nominee with excellent credentials, with his family behind him. You have the cameras there. You have the senators questioning. But this isn’t normal.” Mazie Hirono made the same point: “These are not normal times.”

Indeed, for a brief time on Tuesday morning as the Democrats demanded postponement and adjournment, it appeared they might walk out of the chamber altogether. But ultimately, the need for regularity and normalcy overmastered even them, and so while their opening statements grew longer and more irate, the decision to stick around and litigate this thing on the merits proved too tempting. It was left to the protesters, one after another in unprecedented numbers and with unprecedented ferocity, to voice their disgust and dismay. The more furious the calls for “decorum” and “rules” and “politeness,” the more enraged the protesters became. The opposite of civility isn’t always civil disagreement.

In the furious national quest for decency and normalcy, the day ended as a parody of itself—with Kavanaugh feted by a “liberal feminist” lawyer for his legal greatness that transcends all politics and ideology, and the judge himself offering his girls’ basketball coaching as an argument about human decency in a cruel and frightening world.

If the McCain funeral proved anything, it’s that we take so much visceral succor in public performances of bipartisanship and decency that we can blinker ourselves to genuine injustice, injustice we don’t see because it happens outside our scope of vision. We need balanced, functioning institutions so desperately that we gorge ourselves on performances of friendship and family and civility.

We must be extra cautious, now more than ever, about institutions that substitute talk of norms and civility for actual justice. Senate Republicans are rushing the Kavanaugh hearing, and blocking access to his record, precisely because they would rather prey on the national need for normalcy and dignity than do anything to reaffirm the rule of law as it applies to this presidency. Yet again the crumbling of democratic safeguards is someone else’s problem. Sometimes calls for institutional decency and civility mask institutional cowardice and opportunism. The first day of Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings was one of those times.

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Basically, the Democrats need to win elections, not count on the civility, honesty, commitment to “norms,” or for that matter commitment to the rule of law of the GOP. Failure to win elections is why we have Justice Neil Gorsuch rather than Justice Merrick Garland and why we soon will have Justice BKavs.

Those who believe in the Constitution and the continuation of our republic need to get to the polls this fall, get others of like mind out too, and begin the difficult but essential process of taking back our country from Trump and his GOP.

PWS

09-05-18

FEDERAL JUDGE SANCTIONS KOBACH FOR MISCONDUCT IN KS VOTING RIGHTS CASE!

 

https://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/immigration/b/immigration-law-blog/archive/2017/06/24/kobach-sanctioned-for-39-deceptive-conduct-39-in-proof-of-citizenship-lawsuit-fish-v-kobach.aspx

Dan Kowalski reports from LexisNexis Immigration:

“Fish v. Kobach, June 23, 2017 – “[D]efendant’s deceptive conduct and lack of candor warrant the imposition of sanctions. … [D]efendant made patently misleading representations to the court … The court cannot say that defendant flat-out lied in representing the content of the disputed documents. … “Most attorneys, of course, try to convey evidence in the best possible light for their clients. But there is a difference between putting evidence in the best possible light and blatantly misstating the evidence.” … When counsel’s false references in a brief indicate “that he has been either cavalier in regard to his approach to this case or bent upon misleading the court,” sanctions are appropriate. … [P]laintiffs are permitted to take the deposition of Secretary Kobach with respect to non-privileged information and evidence pertaining to the draft amendment and the photographed document. … The undersigned will preside over the deposition and contemporaneously resolve any disputes that arise.”

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Go to the link for the full decision.

Gee, Kris, the rules in Federal Court apply even to guys like you!

PWS

06-24-17

Secretary Kelly Rescinds DAPA, But Retains DACA!

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2017/06/15/dhs-secretary-kelly-signs-memo-rescinding-obamas-dapa-program-n2342012

Matt Vespa reports on Townhall:

“It’s official. The Department of Homeland Security has rescinded the memorandum that created the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents under the Obama administration. A statement from the department noted that Department of Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly consulted with the attorney general’s office on this subject and was able to sign off a new memorandum ending the DAPA program. The Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) remains in place:

On June 15, Department of Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, after consulting with the Attorney General, signed a memorandum rescinding the November 20, 2014 memorandum that created the program known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (“DAPA”) because there is no credible path forward to litigate the currently enjoined policy.
The rescinded memo purported to provide a path for illegal aliens with a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident child to be considered for deferred action. To be considered for deferred action, an alien was required to satisfy six criteria:
(1) as of November 20, 2014, be the parent of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident;
(2) have continuously resided here since before January 1, 2010;
(3) have been physically present here on November 20, 2014, and when applying for relief;
(4) have no lawful immigration status on that date;
(5) not fall within the Secretary’s enforcement priorities; and
(6) “present no other factors that, in the exercise of discretion, make [ ] the grant of deferred action inappropriate.”
Prior to implementation of DAPA, twenty-six states challenged the policies established in the DAPA memorandum in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The district court enjoined implementation of the DAPA memorandum, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision, and the Supreme Court allowed the district court’s injunction to remain in place.
The rescinded policy also provided expanded work authorization for recipients under the DACA program for three years versus two years. This policy was also enjoined nationwide and has now been rescinded.
The June 15, 2012 memorandum that created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will remain in effect.”

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The formal rescission of DAPA was anticipated. The Obama Administration program never went into effect.  It was immediately enjoined by a US Distict Judge in Texas.  That injunction was upheld by a split Fifth Circuit. The Obama Administration succeeded in obtaining Supreme Court review. However, following the death of Justice Scalia, the Court split 4-4, without issuing an opinion, thereby allowing the injunction to remain in effect. Following the election, the cancellation of DAPA became inevitable.

Ironically, the reasoning of the District Judge and the Fifth Circuit in the DAPA case has been cited by some in support of the so-far successful effort to enjoin Trump’s Travel Ban.

But, the good news here is that for the time being, at least, DACA remains in effect. As I have previously reported, the DHS is approving both new DACA applications and applications for renewal of DACA status.

PWS

06-16-17

NEW FROM NOLAN: GOP Senators’ Bill Would Give States Visa Authority!

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/judicial/337498-is-the-senate-bill-to-let-the-states-manage-a-large-immigration

Nolan Rappaport writes in The Hill:

“Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) recently introduced the State Sponsored Visa Pilot Program Act of 2017, which would allow the states to establish and manage their own guest worker programs for nonimmigrant workers, investors, and entrepreneurs.

According to Johnson, “We need to recognize that a one-size-fits-all federal model for visas or guest workers doesn’t work.  Let the states manage the visas, allocate them to the industries that need the workers, set prevailing wage rates.”

This program would blur the distinction between federal and state immigration responsibilities and require information sharing to an unprecedented extent, which would eliminate the justification for sanctuary cities. The states could no longer claim that enforcement was a solely federal responsibility.

How many visas?

The bill would allocate 5,000 renewable three-year visas for each state and give them a share of 245,000 additional visas which would be distributed on a population basis.  Also, the guest workers would be allowed to bring their spouses and children, and there would not be a limit on the visas for family members.  Thus, the program could bring more than a million aliens to the country each year.

The guest workers would have to work and reside in the state sponsoring them, but the states would be allowed to enter into compacts with other states to share the workers.

The states would be required to notify the DHS Secretary when guest workers fail to comply with the terms of their status “when the State is made aware of such failure.”

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Go over to The Hill at the link for Nolan’s complete analysis.

I can’t see Congress or the Administration wanting to give the states this much authority in the area of immigration.

PWS

06-14-17