A Brave Front, but Regrets?  On Health Bill, Trump Has a Few  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump, the author of “The Art of the Deal,” has been projecting his usual bravado in public this week about the prospects of repealing the Affordable Care Act.  Privately he is grappling with rare bouts of self-doubt.

Potential ‘smoking gun’ showing Obama administration spied on Trump team, source says  —  Republican congressional investigators expect a potential “smoking gun” establishing that the Obama administration spied on the Trump transition team, and possibly the president-elect himself …

“NO” ON AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT (H.R. 1628)  —  At some point, the House is expected to vote on the American Health Care Act (H.R. 1628), which would partially repeal and replace various components of Obamacare.  The proposed legislation repeals a number of Obamacare provisions …

Confusion over essential health benefits  —  Last night, House Republicans released the text of the final manager's amendment to the American Health Care Act, including changes to the rules governing the essential health benefits.  With these tweaks, the House hopes to pass the bill today.

A Former Student Says UC Berkeley's Star Philosophy Professor Groped Her And Watched Porn At Work  —  A lawsuit alleges UC Berkeley professor John R. Searle sexually harassed, assaulted, and retaliated against a former student and employee — and that the university did nothing to stop him.

In Wake of Rockville Rape, School Superintendent Accuses Parents of Racism  —  In the wake of an alleged brutal rape at Rockville High School in Maryland by two illegal aliens last week, Montgomery County Superintendent Dr. Jack Smith is accusing parents of racism and xenophobia.

The Life Cycle Of A Donald Trump Lie  —  On March 4, President Donald Trump declared himself the victim of a scandal on the level of the the Watergate crimes that brought down President Richard Nixon.  In an early-morning tweetstorm apparently triggered by reading a Breitbart article …

Dark Matter  —  Today, March 23rd 2017, WikiLeaks releases Vault 7 “Dark Matter”, which contains documentation for several CIA projects that infect Apple Mac firmware (meaning the infection persists even if the operating system is re-installed) developed by the CIA's Embedded Development Branch (EDB).

Mulvaney: If Your State Doesn't Mandate Maternity Care, Change Your State  —  Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, one of the top administration officials who had been working to pass the bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, on Friday morning brushed off concerns …

Juncker warns Trump that anti-EU stance risks triggering Balkan war  —  European Commission president delivered admonition to vice-president Mike Pence  —  Read next … Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, has delivered a blunt warning to Donald Trump against encouraging countries …

The Scammers, the Scammed and America's Fate  —  Many people are horrified, and rightly so, by what passes for leadership in today's Washington.  And it's important to keep the horror of our political situation up front, to keep highlighting the lies, the cruelty, the bad judgment.

Democrats Plan to Filibuster to Thwart Gorsuch Nomination  —  WASHINGTON — Democrats signaled on Thursday that they would filibuster the nomination of Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, President Trump's Supreme Court pick, setting up a showdown with Republicans who may be forced to change longstanding rules …