The Constitution vests the president with the power to pardon anyone he or she wishes. It’s one of the clearest authorities the Founders established.

As with any power granted an elected official, the ability to issue a pardon must be used wisely and respectfully.

As a governor, I had similar authority. A process was in place to consider requests for clemency and insure that pardons were granted carefully and appropriately.

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

Julian Assange issued a warning to the FBI Wednesday: If you conceal information on the Hillary Clinton investigation, WikiLeaks won't.

Citing a "lack of public interest," the FBI has shut down a request to turn over files related to its investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails. The issue became a major problem for the Democratic candidate as she pursued the White House in 2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtOOzO6OmOU

Anyone who hasn't seen enough evidence that partisanship is toxic to American society need look no further than the way partisan politicians, media, and voters politicize national disaster relief.

This ugly political pastime is on display yet again in all its boorish insensitivity and lack of decency as Americans struggle to survive and stay safe in the wake of Hurricane Harvey's destruction.

Following some extraordinary media scrutiny, the City of San Diego has decided to send its Lifeguard Swift Water Rescue Team to Houston to assist in the search and rescue efforts.

The Lifeguard team has tremendous experience in handling hurricane related rescue efforts, having saved lives in Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina.

According to sources within the Lifeguard department, 11 members of the team and their equipment will immediately be heading to Houston.

The US Court of Appeals tossed an anti-trust lawsuit Tuesday brought by Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, their respective parties, and affiliated groups against the Commission on Presidential Debates.

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

As of Monday evening, Hurricane Harvey had killed at least 10 people, according to the New York Times.

The economic toll is impossible to calculate as of yet, but the Wall Street Journal puts it in the “tens of billions of dollars.”

T.J. O’Hara is joined by author and attorney Jeff Rasley.

Jeff performed a small Facebook experiment concerning civility. The two discuss this experiment, the post-election conversations that take place on social media, “silos of the like-minded,” and more.

In a letter that is bound to raise some questions and a few eyebrows, Ed Harris, a San Diego Lifeguard Sergeant and union leader, has apologized to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and the citizens of Houston, that he and his nationally recognized river rescue team, have been told to stand down and not travel to Texas by the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

If you're looking for reasons as to how and why the country is so divided, and who is responsible for that division, look no further than the latest Gallup poll.

In a survey of 1,810 US adults, respondents were asked if they believed the news media reported accurate information:

Party politics is killing America and Illinois. It is not enough to just elect different people into a bad system. We have to fundamentally change politics, and that starts with real open primaries.

The 2016 presidential election has opened the eyes of Americans who are more aware than ever of a rigged political system working against the voters.

Americans are fed up with a political party establishment more interested in their side “winning” than in what is best for the country.