"No government ought to be without censors; and where the press is free no one ever will." -- Thomas Jefferson

The White House Friday excluded reporters from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Politico, BuzzFeed News, and CNN, from attending a briefing by press secretary Sean Spicer.

The issue of civil liberties versus states' rights has entered the forefront of the national political discussion as the White House made two announcements this week: (1) It's a states' rights issue to decide bathroom policy for transgender people, and (2) there will likely be an increase in enforcement of federal marijuana prohibition in states that have legalized it for recreational use.

Today, the Republican Party finds itself in a precarious position despite holding a majority in Congress and, ostensibly, the presidency. While President Trump did run with the Republican nomination, a closer look at his political origins suggests voters elected a third-party candidate instead.

Last week, Utah state Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck introduced legislation that would initiate ranked choice voting (RCV) in her state. According to fairvote.org, a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocate for RCV, “With ranked choice voting, voters can rank as many candidates as they want in order of choice.”

This bill could potentially give voters in Utah more choice on their ballot while mandating that over 50% of the vote must be reached for a winner to be named -- an actual majority.

That's right. Your options are not limited to McDonald's and Burger King -- there are all sorts of burger joints in the mix.

Milo Yiannopoulos, the flamboyant, former Breitbart editor and spokesperson for the Alt-Right, was confronted with an attack coming from the social conservatives on his own "right" side of the political isle. Of course, as the news hit -- the left piled on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go5qGge61cM

Bernie Sanders may no longer be fighting for causes such as open primaries and a fairer election process, choosing instead to focus on progressive economic and domestic issues. However, that does not mean the fight to change the Democratic Party and the Democratic primary process is dead.

True to their promise to impose term limits, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and U.S. Representative Ron DeSantis (R-FL) kicked-off 2017 by introducing a constitutional amendment which proposes limiting service to three terms in the House (6 years) and two terms in the Senate (12 years).

The 2016 election was the gift that keeps on giving for the Libertarian Party. The Libertarian Party of Iowa (LPIA) will soon officially be given major party status, allowing libertarians to be on the ballot in future state elections, and greater exposure for its candidates.

I was 14 when I saw "The Fountainhead" with Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal. I saw the film on a Saturday afternoon at the North Park Theater in the San Diego community by that name (a 10 cents trolley ride from our home on Redwood Street).

I did not go because "The Fountainhead" was playing, but rather because that’s what kids did on Saturday afternoons when the Pacific Coast League Padres were not playing at Lane field, we took in a flick.