” Judicial Branch of the Government is on a High now ” – February 9, 2017.

President Donald Trump’s ‘travel ban order’ is suspended for now, clearing the way for the citizens of 7 countries mentioned in the ban order to resume travel to U.S.A. The 9th appellate court (three judges)
ruled 3 – 0 to keep the travel ban on hold.

Reason : “Federal Government has failed to provide evidence that without the ban order in force there will be harm to the nation”.

President’s response : ” See you in Court, the security of nation is at stake.” ( through his tweet )

Department of Justice is reviewing its decision.

Bob Ferguson, Washington State Attorney General.

Noah Purcell, Solicitor General.

A big victory for the Washington State Attorney General, Bob Ferguson, and his team including Noah Purcell, Solicitor General. Their key arguments : “Separation of families; small businesses, universities, and students besides the economy getting impacted” have found favor with the judges in their unanimous decision.

Solution : Rescind the order, write a new order with consultations and place forward; decision may go to a larger bench with 11 members; or be viewed by the District Court again with elaborate discussions and reviewal.
Ultimately it may go to Supreme Court, a possibility many minds – legal, political, and academics converge upon.

Questions that arise : 1. While submitting ourselves to the fact that a free society comes with some inherent risks, has the President taken the idea of ‘security’ through his travel ban a little too far ? May be true.
2. Has President Trump harmed himself by pursuing something difficult to attain through the means, rightly or wrongly, adopted ? May be true.
3. Will he feel hurt enough to be motivated strongly to prove something to the judiciary now ? May be yes.

The Obvious : That President Trump is not one to surrender anytime to anyone is known. Will this prove to be a temporary halt to his quick strides on election promises in his first two weeks in office ?

In about a 15 minute period, I asked 10 common people in India as to the nature of their preference to safety & security Vs freedom. 6 out of 10 put safety & security as the ‘priority’. Freedom automatically comes from safety is their view.

What now : For President Trump safety & security is like a dream task and the courage to believe that he’ll win is never diminished. Victory in the Court decision would have enabled him to take more challenges facing the nation probably with added drive. But it has not happened and the process will get dragged on further for long now.

Without defending in any measure the President’s travel ban order, are we forced to think in terms of a faulty system in place on ” Risk Management” is what emerges to my mind.

” Dieu avec nous”

Friday, February 10, 2017 – 8.09 a.m. (IST)

Tidbit: ” Success requires risk taking”. SR.