Dan K. Thomasson

The current flap over mandating birth control services to employees of institutions owned or run by the Catholic Church is yet another example of mistakes brought on by political tone deafness in the White House and by President Barack Obama's decision to turn over the crafting of the giant health care reform package to Congress.

Have you ever tried putting toothpaste back in the tube? Of course, you haven't. It can't be done. But that is exactly what the Federal Communications Commission is trying to do by arguing its continued right to censor and fine broadcast television on standards that date to early in the last century.

It is simply too late. That denial of First Amendment guarantees of free speech is long overdue for abolition in a world where there are no such restrictions on a steadily increasing number of viewing opportunities. Like it or not, the seven deadly words as expressed by comedian George Carlin are ubiquitous in our daily electronic world. And that goes double for the functions and activities they describe.

WASHINGTON -- Did it ever occur to you that men who practice a radical form of whatever religion they profess have one thing in common: a distrust of women that mostly manifests itself in abusiveness to one degree or another? They use the term "orthodoxy" to justify the most bizarre demands on their mothers, sisters, wives and lovers.

WASHINGTON -- There are several reasons why Iowa is not a good place for the initial test in choosing a presidential nominee.

First among these is that what takes place there this January is not a primary but a caucus. Until the mid 1970s, it played no real part in the national political nominating process.

WASHINGTON -- So far, the theme music for the race for the Republican nomination probably should be "Send in the Clowns." Rarely has the nation seen a more disparate group of candidates, ranging from doorknob dull to "you've got to be kidding," with a splash of hare-brained mixed in for good measure.

For GOP regulars, this has to be painful as the primary season begins with hopes high that the troubled administration of Barack Obama is more than a little vulnerable. So much so it might even put to the test the accuracy of the age-old political adage that you can't beat somebody with nobody. That's disturbing.

WASHINGTON -- The government giveth and the government taketh away.

With one hand, the Social Security Administration will provide a 3.6 percent raise to some 55 million older Americans, the first since 2009. With the other hand it will decrease the amount they receive by increasing the premiums for Medicare Part B that covers doctors' visits and other medically necessary services like outpatient and home care costs. Part B is automatically deducted from the monthly Social Security payment.