A musing Beam

As I discussed in Part 1 ( http://amusingbeam.blogspot.com/2012/01/voting-this-year-part-1-what-i-think.html ), I am not at all impressed with the political landscape, and I think both parties have major problems. Democrats want to throw money at everything, and Republicans are greedy. (Please at least read the first post if you think that statement is without nuance; the nuance is over there.) However, I do think citizens should vote, even if none of the candidates meet their requirements. You can always write someone in or vote for your least worst candidate; besides, there are always other measures and candidates to vote for, too, so at a minimum you still need to go to the polls. My top two candidates are not running, and my 3rd favorite will not make the cut, so that leaves me with my 4th favorite. Unless something odd happens, I will vote for him. Here is how I came to this decision. I 'm looking for someone that will help make the country function, which sometimes mean

Lewis Black, in a stand-up routine a couple of years ago, said that anyone still loyal to either major political party is crazier than he was after he dropped acid in the 70s and found himself in the woods, believing his fridge had turned into a mountain lion that he had tracked down and was now trying to gut in order to get a beer.  LSD and I have never crossed paths, but I have to agree that anyone that is an active supporter of either party is crazy. They are both riddled with intellectual inconsistencies brought upon by the perceived need to pander to various groups in order to secure votes. What is even worse is that both sides are self-righteous. My own personal philosophy is to look at what works. We have to find balances between helping ourselves, our fellow citizens, our fellow humans, and our descendants. A productive populace that works through various channels, including industry, media, governments, and civic organizations, to achieve progress in as many areas as possibl