Sexual assault is sexual assault regardless of your political views. It’s a simple truth, but sadly it seems to be lost on the United States Congress.

Only days after Speaker of the House Paul Ryan decreed that all House members and staff would undergo mandatory sexual harassment training in response to the rash of unsavory allegations surfacing against members of Congress, our representatives have turned this issue into a political football.

It’s the perfect example of how Congress is failing the American people, and this is not the first time that it’s happened.

Today, most families are worried about discussing politics at the Thanksgiving dinner table. In a heated partisan environment, people have been uninvited from family gatherings over who they voted for.

However, did you know there was a year when Thanksgiving itself was the subject of a heated, partisan firestorm? In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt changed Thanksgiving tradition in a significant way, and it didn't go over well.

Property rights are fundamental in America – or at least they are supposed to be.

Yet each year, prosecutors and law enforcement agencies seize hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of cars, homes, cash and other property, with no due process to determine guilt or innocence, or even without even filing charges against the property owner.

It’s called asset seizure or civil forfeiture, and it’s just wrong.

Stephen Erickson joins host T.J. O'Hara on this week's podcast to discuss his latest book, "What Would Madison Do? The Political Journey Progressives and Conservatives Must Make Together."

The two delve into key issues raised in the book, the parallels between the challenges Madison faced and those in the present political climate, as well as Erickson's experience in the political realm and the insight he provides into a partisan system.

It was perhaps only a matter of time before revelations emerged that disgraced former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, groped women while serving as a Congressman.

On MSNBC this week, Congresswoman Diana DeGette said while they were colleagues, Filner tried to pin her to the elevator and kiss her.

https://twitter.com/RepDianaDeGette/status/932755087142899712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.denverpost.com%2F2017%2F11%2F20%2Fdiana-degette-tells-msnbc-groped-in-congress-by-former-congressman%2F

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4J8Z09zHXA

Video Credit: Protect Our Defenders

Military sexual assault (MST) is a problem that went under-acknowledged for decades. However, thanks to the documentary The Invisible War and other attempts to bring the issue to light, fewer sexual assaults are occurring and a greater percentage are being reported.

It looks like San Diego's hemp farms and manufacturing sites will be concentrated to three areas of the city: Kearny Mesa, Mira Mesa, and near the Mexican border.

Kearny Mesa and Mira Mesa both fall under District 6, currently Councilman Chris Cate's district.

Last week, 78 proposals were submitted to open marijuana related businesses in San Diego. Of the 78, 67 are targeted for one of those communities.

Most of that is because of the strict zoning regulations that limit pot properties across the city.

President Trump has radically increased the number of U.S. airstrikes overseas.

That should trouble America's voices on the antiwar left and non-interventionist right. Especially since this increase follows up on Obama's own drastic increase in U.S. drone strikes over the Bush administration.

And the Bush administration itself was the subject of intense criticism for drastically increasing the amount of U.S. bombings overseas compared to the Clinton era.

The time for independent leaders to change our political system for the better is here.

Actionable Ways to Establish More Successful Third-Party Campaigns

It's no secret — American voters are fed up. In the 2016 presidential elections, nearly half of all eligible voters did not bother to go to the polls. A good deal of the frustration stems from the fact that Americans are fed up with our current two-party system.