Hi. Remember me? It’s been a while. I no longer have my slave-driving webmaster to keep me on task, so I have been dragging my fingers here. In my defense, however, I have been casually working on a book or two, so when I do any writing, that’s where my time goes. I also have a print column and a deadline, so if there is any extra time, it goes there.

That said, this is a good place to write what I want because nobody reads this.

So, there’s a lot going on these days, but the thing that’s getting through to me is politics. In my print column, saying what’s on my mind is pissing some people off. It’s like there is no middle ground anymore. The two candidates are both flawed losers and certainly don’t represent ‘we the people.’ I suspect both sides are right in their dislike/distrust of the other side, but the alternative is no better. I cannot and will not vote for either. Because of the Never Trump and Never Clinton movements, people are reluctantly voting for the other, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

It’s like going into a well-stocked car dealership and being taken into a small room where there is a Ford Pinto and a Yugo. The salesman tries to get you to decide on and buy one or the other. S/he speaks as if those are the only two cars available. As long as you accept that, those are your choices. Really, all you have to do is leave the room and check out the other choices.

I have done so, and while there may still be some questions, I have chosen Libertarian Gary Johnson. Neither mainstream candidate is acceptable to me. People say a vote for him will take a vote away from one of the others or be a vote for one or the other. That is not a bad thing.

Everything that has come before in my life has brought me to this point and allowed me to make this decision. I can vote for someone in good conscience. Can you?