In his farewell address, George Washington warned against the creation of American political parties. He firmly believed that the establishment of political factions would divide the country and cripple the democratic republic he and the other founding fathers created. If you ask me, he was right. Partisanship is reaching historical highs. American political gridlock is nearing unprecedented levels. Long-standing nonpartisan institutions have been rapidly politicized. Roughly a fifth of the country is sympathetic to political violence. I mean hell, our political divisions have nearly half the country preparing for a potential second civil war.

Poudre fire authorities responded to a fire approximately 600-800 acres in size around 4 p.m. Thursday near North Taft Lane north of U.S. Highway 287. Rebecca Clark, public information officer for the...