Calendar 24 February 2017  –  2 March 2017

• Friday, 24 February
  • 2:00 pm President Trump to meet with Ohio Governor John Kasich. One probable topic could be healthcare. While in D.C., Kasich is expected to hold planning meetings with other governors to eke out a Medicaid replacement plan the Executive and Legislative branches might agree.
  • 3:00 pm President Trump to meet with Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. During a phone conversation on February 12 between the two Presidents, they discussed Venezuela and spreading democracy according to a White House readout. Other concerns could be drug trafficking and the extradition of erstwhile Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo suspected of living in the US.
  • President Trump will NOT rack up either frequent flyer miles or green fees this weekend. He’ll be hangin’ at the swamp instead. Evidently, the Latin American leader doesn’t rank high on Trump’s wine and dine scale; no Mar-a-Lago Spa retreat for you, Mr. President.
• Saturday, 25 February
  • Following an epic election loss, the Democrats have agreed to agree and not much else. The Democratic National Committee is meeting in Atlanta, Georgia this weekend to select its new Chairperson. Of the top ten wannabees, the field has winnowed to two: MN-Rep Keith Ellison, a Bernie Sanders supporter and Labor Secretary Tom Perez, the establishment favorite.
    FiveThirtyEight is so incredibly awesome here: “… the race for DNC chair, culminating in a vote this Saturday, has become the closest thing to a group-therapy session that the Democratic Party can muster, a safe space to repeat the new self-flagellating conventional wisdoms of the day and try to heal. They flubbed it, everyone concedes. Went up for the easy layup and missed while Donald Trump simultaneously pantsed them.”
• Sunday, 26 February
  •  The 89th Academy Awards
• Monday, 27 February
  • The Senate and the House are back in session.
  • 7 pm The full Senate will cast their vote on the confirmation of Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur L. Ross. [Watch Ross Confirmation Hearing]
  • The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Packingham v. North Carolina. The case involves a North Carolina law that prohibits sex offenders from accessing social media sites. In 2002 a 21-year-old Lester Packingham was convicted for “indecent liberties” with a minor. In 2010, the defendant was re-arrested for having a FaceBook account. The question to the court is whether the NC law violates the sex offenders first amendment rights.
• Tuesday, 28 February:
  • Mardi Gras Celebration
  • Trump to address a joint session of Congress
• Wednesday, 1 March
  • Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. It marks the first of 40 days and nights of Christ’s journey into the desert in preparation of fulfilling God’s prophecy for Him.
  • VFW National Commander, Brian Duffy will testify at a joint congressional hearing on the VFW’s top legislative priorities. A few issues that will address are Military Quality of Life, Healthcare, and Work Force Development and Accountability.
• Thursday, 2 – 5 March
  • The Selma Bridge Walking Jubilee is a commemoration of Bloody Sunday 1965 and the march two weeks later led by Martin Luther King. Dr. King and 3,200 civil rights activists walked the 49 miles from Selma, Alabama to its capital city Montgomery. Their peaceful challenge to voting rights laws in the face of tragic violence only weeks prior urged Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act.

Welcome back, RedStaters, to the Company WaterCooler! It’s RedState’s only Daily open thread. What else is happening next week? Tell us about it in the comments below. Enjoy!