A federal district judge in Hawaii issues a ruling blocking Donald Trump’s revamped travel ban nationwide. Trump calls the new ban a “watered down” version of the first and suggests he might go back to the original and “take it all the way,” presumably to the Supreme Court. Via The Los Angeles Times.
Highlights from the judge’s ruling halting Trump’s second shot at a travel ban, including this: “The illogic of the government’s contentions is palpable.” And the full ruling. Via The New York Times.
Trump’s first budget, with all its cuts, takes you all the way back to Reagan’s first budget. The State Department would take a 29 percent hit. The EPA would take a 30 percent hit. Oh, and then there’s Meals on Wheels. Via The Washington Post.
Republicans are rapidly backing away from the baseless Trump wiretap charges. From the chair of the House Intelligence Committee: No evidence seen so far and no evidence expected to be seen. Via The New York Times.
Here’s the partial transcript of Trump’s defense of his wiretap accusation in an interview with Tucker Carlson, who asked Trump where he learned about the alleged wiretap. Trump: “I read about things.” Via a tweet from NBC News’s Bradd Jaffy.
There is an entire list of things that need to happen before Trump/Ryancare can get passed. Not one of them has happened yet. Via Vox.
Erick Erickson makes the case from the right against Paul Ryan’s bill and any similar bill. It’s simple: Don’t repeal and replace Obamacare. Repeal it. Via The New York Times.
Could California institute its own universal healthcare program? And if it does — and there’s a lot of momentum pushing that way — could states like Colorado join? Via The Nation.
The hot social media buzz is that Trump was the source of the income tax leak. The Washington Post thinks it very unlikely.
Willa Parkin: How Rachel Maddow overhyped her big scoop and turned herself into a spectacle. Via Slate.
Photo by Masha George via Flickr: Creative Commons
Is Berkeley still the bastion of progressive values? Not if you’re homeless. Via The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/15/berkeley-california-homeless-identity-crisis
In 2006 Democrat Senators Barack Obama—yes, that Barack Obama—-Joe Biden, Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton supported the Secure Fence Act which approved the construction of 700 miles of double border fencing along specific sections of the U.S.-Mexico border. Via The Boston Globe
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2017/01/26/when-wall-was-fence-and-democrats-embraced/QE7ieCBXjXVxO63pLMTe9O/story.html
Today, Senate Minority Leader Schumer (D-NY) is threatening a government shutdown over funding for the building of a wall on the US-Mexico border. Via The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/13/us/politics/budget-wall-government-shutdown-democrats.html?_r=0