Time Out with Billy Hamilton (2004 Calistoga High graduate)

Vince D’Adamo: What did you enjoy most about competing in athletics throughout your life?

Billy Hamilton: I loved being able to travel to new places, meeting new people, and experiencing new challenges. Getting a chance to play baseball in Puerto Rico was an experience that I will never forget.

D’Adamo: What have you been doing since graduating from high school?

Hamilton: After high school, I got to play with the Santa Rosa JC and win a state championship, then after an injury ended all of that I started working and playing hockey to fill that void from not being able to play baseball.

D’Adamo: What was your favorite class at Calistoga High?

Hamilton: I don't really think any of us jocks had a favorite class in high school, I would say PE. It was always the favorite cause we got a period to do what we love to do, be outside doing some kind of activity.

D’Adamo: What was your favorite athletic moment at Calistoga High?

Hamilton: I would say that my favorite moment would be throwing a no hitter against St. Vincent my senior year to finally beat them in who knows how long.

D’Adamo: Between football and baseball, there were a lot of memories as a Wildcat. How much does your relationship with teammates and coaches still resonate to this day?

Hamilton: Unfortunately all of us had to grow up and go our separate ways but if I were to see any of them I'm sure it would be like no time has passed and we would all be just as close as we were back in high school.

D’Adamo: How much do you feel you have grown personally since graduating from high school and how much of that do you trace to athletics?

Hamilton: I feel being a part of a team makes a big impact on your life, it teaches you to work with people and being a quarterback and trying to lead your team the best way you can is just a learning experience to being a leader at work and managing.

D’Adamo: Within your family, who have been the most influential people?

Hamilton: My entire family has always been amazing. My sister was an amazing pitcher for the softball team and thought of that as a challenge to push myself to be that good when I got into high school. My dad was always there to coach me and push me to be the best I could possibly be and my mom was always at my games to support me.

D’Adamo: Name a historical figure, dead or alive, in or out of sports you would most like to meet.

Hamilton: Nolan Ryan has always been my idol and I would love to sit down and ask him question after question about his baseball career.

Hiring Van Winden as volleyball a huge catch for Napa High

You hear the phrase uttered so often about “winning the offseason” or “winning the press conference” or “home run hire.”

I have always found those statements to be a mixture of hyperbole and conjecture because a program can make moves that it believes are good but there’s no guarantee of success. However, all a program can do is put itself in a position that it believes will lead to success. That said, it is my belief that hiring Kelly Van Winden as its new volleyball head coach, Napa High just got better without even playing a match. Van Winden’s hiring was reported in the June 8 edition of the Napa Valley Register.

The name alone brings the program instant credibility. For openers, Van Winden was a two-time All-American at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo who has gone on to develop a tremendous resume as a coach. Van Winden coached at Napa Valley College for 15 seasons before taking the Napa High job, replacing Heather O’Neill, who was the Indians coach the previous three seasons.

Van Winden also served as the director of the Napa Valley Volleyball Club, which was formed in 1987. Van Winden was also an assistant coach at Sonoma State for two years and spent nine more as the head coach. Van Winden earned Northern California Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors three times. She was Bay Valley Conference Coach of the Year seven times at NVC.

The hiring of Van Winden is significant because the Indians volleyball program is like a fallen champion. Though football success will be front and center on people’s mind, Napa has a rich tradition of volleyball headlined by the 1980s and 1990s under former head coach Barbara Franco. In her tenure, the Indians won nine Monticello Empire League titles, three CIF Sac Joaquin Section Div. II championships and a NorCal title (1996). Napa won 64 straight MEL matches.

The problem is, those days were eons ago. After Franco stepped down as head coach, the Indians continued to experience success on some level later under coaches such as Dustin Blank, Scott Kostecka, David Rentz and O’Neill as the Indians continued to be regular postseason participants but not the long postseason runs the program experienced in the Franco era. To be fair, eras like that come along once in a generation.

So how soon can the Indians return to prominence? Since I am out of the newspaper industry as a sports reporter, I’m not as plugged in as I used to be in terms of local sports in the Napa Valley. However, any time a new coach comes into a program, regardless of resume, I always preach the same message, “the new coach needs time with everything from implementing philosophies, developing relationships with student-athletes, etc.” I’m preaching the same message with the Van Winden hire.  

Translation, Jena Mello is not walkin’ through that door, fans. Neither is Alynda Franco.

The Indians have not sniffed the playoffs since 2012 and went 3-18 overall and 3-12 against MEL teams in 2015. Looking at those records, the narrative becomes, “there’s nowhere to go but up.”

Whenever I see a storied program fall on hard times, the narrative I preach is, “You can remember the past but you can’t rely on it. Tradition is all well and good but the past doesn’t win games today. At this point, it’s about today’s players redrawing the lines on the highway that players of the past drew.” That’s the approach the current Indians need to take because they can the group that lead the Indians back to prominence.

The fact that Van Winden has history as a professional volleyball is also a big plus. She played two seasons of indoor volleyball for the San Jose Golddiggers from 1987-1989 as an outside hitter. Van Winden also played three years in the Women’s Professional Volleyball association and seven more in a Bud Light 4-Person Beach League.

The reason that part of her resume is significant? Because she can tell youngsters, “I played at high levels of volleyball, I can show you how to get there if you so desire.” Granted, one out of every 10 high school seniors get a scholarship to play college athletics but it helps that Van Winden knows the in-roads to travel. The point is, her prowess in teaching the game can make a great player excellent, it can make a good player great and a below average one good if the youngsters absorb teaching.

Van Winden spent the better part of the past few seasons watching her daughters (Adlee and Torrey) excel at crosstown rival Vintage. Those Napa/Vintage volleyball matches just became even more compelling. Both are freshmen at their respective colleges, Adlee at Cal Poly San Luis Opispo and Torrey at UCLA.

I only know Van Winden in passing. I’ve interviewed her once and talked to her a few times but I feel confident enough to know this, regardless of what talent Napa has on its roster, Van Winden will extract the most out of it.

Hiring someone with credentials as a professional player, college coach and administrator is by definition, “checking all the boxes.”

Time Out with Steve Meyer, retired Justin-Siena High administrator/coach

Vince D’Adamo: Be it as an administrator or coach, what did you enjoy most about being involved in athletics?

Steve Meyer: Athletics help the student-athlete understand the advantages to teamwork and get them to realize that hard work pays off. I also enjoyed watching the maturation process during the four years as how those who continued with athletics improved not only within the sport but also as a person. I enjoyed the opportunity to coach football as I was learning the game and enjoyed working with the coaches I did to help me understand the game. The adjustments that had to be made every game and the results. The opportunity to work with some of the parents who believed that their athlete was going to play at the highest level. It's great to have a dream and work hard for it but you really have to work hard and believe in yourself and your coaches.

D’Adamo: It is often said that athletics and academics coexist, how much have you found that to be true?

Meyer: In high school, it needs to co-exist and most of that is on the coaches. I was lucky to be an on-campus coach and had grades available to me so I could monitor that. When I became Assistant Athletic Director, I was able to keep all the coaches updated on grades by sending them out every 2-3 weeks. In college, when I was coaching at San Jose State it depended more on the actual program. Football had an Academic Adviser while other teams did nothing. There were some situations that were not legal that I was aware of after the fact involving student athletes at the college level.

D’Adamo: Beyond victories and defeats, when bringing in a coach, what are common denominator qualities you seek?

Meyer: We always looked for a coach who could communicate to players, parents and media the ideas that they wanted to make happen within their programs. Knowledge and experience are always important and having a coach on campus helps. It was important that they taught the fundamentals of the sport and coached the players up to make them better. They always had to have a good attitude (“Playing the game shows some of your characteristics, losing shows all.” Yogi Berra) and had to instill that upon the student-athlete.

D’Adamo: From the student-athlete perspective, what life lessons do you hope they learn from sports?

Meyer: I always tried to instill the family feeling within the teams I coached. You needed to trust your team members and understand that just as there are in families, the possibility of disagreements would happen. Learn to handle adversity no matter how difficult it seemed. Understand that coaches yell at them not because of who they are but because of who they can be. Total respect for the sport, the opposition, the officials and everybody associated with the game. Set priorities in their lives that would help them to be successful in their future endeavors.

D’Adamo: Within your family, who have been the most influential people?

Meyer: Without a doubt my father was the most influential growing up. He would work all day at Mare Island and then I would ask him to play catch when he got home. He never said no. He was my coach most of my years growing up so we had our moments but I survived. My wife, Charlotte, has been very understanding and without a doubt the best choice I ever could have made. I don't know where I would be if I hadn't married when I did.

D’Adamo: Name a historical figure, dead or alive, in or out of sports you would most like to meet. What would intrigue you about meeting him or her?

Meyer: John Wooden-UCLA Basketball. I would like to sit down with him and pick his brain about how he handled different situations. I know times have changed but it would be interesting to see how he handled today's student-athlete.

Time machine: 2001 football playoffs: Atwater at Vallejo

Sometimes you remember a game because no matter how imperfect the process was, the team needed the result to wipe away years of failure.

The 2001 version of Vallejo High football was like many others for the past decade and a half or so: Many regular season wins but several postseason shortcomings. On a mid-November night in 2001 at Corbus Field in Vallejo, CA, the Vallejo Apaches (now Redhawks thanks to the politically correct police) edged the Atwater Falcons 16-14 in the first round of the CIF Sac Joaquin Section Div. I playoffs.

It marked the first postseason win for Vallejo in ten years.

Setting the stage: The Apaches went 9-1 during the regular season, including 8-1 against Monticello Empire League teams. Vallejo tied for first in the MEL with Fairfield but was the higher seed in the postseason based on its 24-7 win over the Falcons in Game 2. The Apaches’ lone setback in the regular season was a 36-32 loss to the Vacaville Bulldogs in Game 5.

The 2001 version of Vallejo was a well-rounded team in outscoring the opposition 35.2-to-17.2. The Apaches were led by Cameron Thurston, who earned Monticello Empire League Back of the Year honors but was also a defensive stalwart. On offense, the Apaches were versatile in that they employed both their 800 package, two tight ends and three running backs, along with the “Playmaker” package, four receivers. The passing game included the connection of quarterback DeMarcus Nelson to wide receiver Warner West.

In the running game, when Thurston and James Parker wasn’t beating teams with power and speed on the perimeter, Devon Geter was gouging teams between the tackles. Like Thurston, West, Parker and Geter were defensive standouts. The former at linebacker and the latter as a ballhawking safety. On the defensive end, Ed Whittington and Steve Batten were a nightmare for opposing tackles and tight ends.

For all of that success, the Apaches’ season was not going to be judged on Games 1-10, it was going to be judged on Games 11 and thereafter.

This game would be played in muddy conditions. Keep in mind, Corbus Field was a natural grass surface before being replaced by FieldTurf in 2003.

Thumbnail sketch of the game: Vallejo led 8-0 with 2:30 left in the third quarter before Thurston’s 4-yard touchdown run and subsequent two-point conversion doubled the advantage to 16-0. The Apaches, however, fell asleep at the wheel thereafter.

Atwater’s Billy Bremen returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards to paydirt. Falcons’ quarterback Matt Granado connected with Cory Fagan for the two-point conversion to shave the lead in half, 16-8. Four minutes later, West muffed a punt deep in Apaches’ territory that Atwater recovered and turned into a Dan Hull rushing touchdown. Fortunately for Vallejo, a wide open Eddie Olivarez dropped the ensuing two-point conversion on a Granado pass.

That dropped pass turned out to be the difference in the game but so too was the Vallejo defense. The Apaches stymied the Falcons’ offense the entire night and if not for special teams’ blunders, Vallejo might have pitched a shutout.

To add further perspective of Vallejo’s defensive prowess, Atwater running back Marcus Jackson entered the game averaging 108 yards per contest. The Apaches stuffed him for 35 yards on 10 carries. Granado had thrown for over 1,200 yards but completed just 2 of 13 passes for 13 yards.

West would enjoy a measure of redemption later. With 42-seconds left in the contest, he intercepted a Granado Hail Mary pass near midfield. From there, the Apaches ran out the clock and sealed the win, breaking a 10-year drought for postseason wins.

What it meant: In the short run, very little, since the Apaches’ season ended one week later with a 21-14 loss to Lincoln (Stockton). In the bigger picture, Vallejo contributed to the MEL’s postseason success. The MEL had not won a postseason football game since 1998.

In 2001, Fairfield would reach the SJS Div. I title game before losing to Elk Grove, which was pushed to the brink in the first-round before losing to Bethel (Vallejo) 22-15.

The 2001 campaign, however, would be Vallejo’s last sniff at greatness. The Apaches went 6-4 in 2002, missing the postseason.

In 2003, the MEL was realigned and Vallejo moved to the Solano County Athletic Conference. The Apaches would go 8-4 the following season and reach the second round of the CIF Sac Joaquin Section Div. II playoffs. On the other hand, Vallejo has gone 31-88 since 2003 and has had just one, non-losing season (5-5 in 2003).

Time machine: 2001 football playoffs: Jesse Bethel at Elk Grove

Sometimes you remember a game because a team gets more respect following a loss than it did any of its wins.

The Jesse Bethel (Vallejo) High Jaguars 22-15 loss to the Elk Grove Thundering Herd in the first-round of the CIF Sac Joaquin Section Div. I playoffs had exactly that feeling. Elk Grove would eventually win the SJS Div. I title, beating Fairfield 34-12 but on this night in November 2001, Bethel would establish its presence as a perennial contender.  

Setting the stage: Bethel opened its doors in 1998-1999 with just freshmen and sophomores before adding the junior class in 1999-2000. The school had all four grades in 2000-2001. With no juniors on its roster, the Jaguars went 2-8 in 2000 but the 2001 campaign included a roster seniors that were improved from a season ago coupled with three transfer student-athletes from crosstown rivals, Andrew Green and Dallas Bernstine from Vallejo and Carl Jiles from Hogan.

Bethel started the 2001 season 2-0 by outscoring Oakland and Hogan by a combined score of 95-20. For the remainder of the regular season, the Jaguars alternated each week with a win followed by a loss to go 6-4. The Jaguars were member of the Monticello Empire League, which had ten teams. The league had four allotted playoff berths. Bethel needed a 46-14 win over winless Benicia in the season finale to secure the MEL’s fourth postseason berth.

The swing win, however, was a 59-38 win over Vintage (Napa). In that game, Bernstine rushed for a North California record 553 yards and five touchdowns. Like Bethel, Vintage finished tied for fourth in the MEL with a 5-4 record but Bethel won the tiebreaker based on beating the Crushers head-to-head.

Elk Grove outscored opponents by an average of 38.6 to 12.0 during the regular season. The lowest margin of victory during the regular season was 12 points (34-22 over Laguna Creek in Game 4). The Thundering Herd’s 26-6 win over Woodland represented their lowest point total of the regular season.

Suffice it to say, Elk Grove entered this contest against the upstart Jaguars as an overwhelming favorite. I remember driving to the game thinking, “If the Jaguars stay within three touchdowns I’ll be impressed.”

Thumbnail sketch of the game: Elk Grove got first-half touchdown runs of 65 yards from Tyrice Daniels, who finished with 195 yards on 18 carries, a one-yard run by Marcus Riley and a 12-yarder from Allen Murry to achieve its 22-0 halftime lead. Two of those touchdowns were the result of a short field where the Thundering Herd took over after turnovers inside the Bethel 25-yard line.

Bernstine’s score was a 23-yarder on fourth and one that capped off an 11-play, 66-yard drive. Bernstine carried 26 times for 170 yards. Bernstine would later take the reigns at quarterback as Jaguars signal-caller Maurice Butler left the game with a finger injury. Jiles’ touchdown was a 47-yarder on third and 10, the first play of the fourth quarter. Jiles accumulated 120 yards on 15 carries.

The Jaguars later faced fourth-and-two near midfield with 9:41 left in the contest. Bethel head coach Jeff Turner elected to punt but since Bethel had just one time out remaining, the Thundering Herd were able to run out the clock and escape with a win.

Another subplot to the game was that Elk Grove had two second-half touchdowns nullified by penalty. Conversely, the Jaguars had two red zone trips go by the boards because of turnovers.

What it meant: Elk Grove had yet another close win one week later (28-27 over Nevada Union) before winning its next two games decisively (34-15 over Hiram Johnson and 34-12 over Fairfield) for its fifth SJS title and third in the last four years.

The next season the MEL split into two leagues with Bethel winning the MEL II title, going 7-2-1, beating Del Campo for its first postseason win in school history. In 2003, the Solano County Athletic Conference was formed, where the Jaguars have been ever since. Bethel fell short to Rodriguez in its only SJS title game appearance in 2007 but has been a regular participant in the postseason.

What I remember about this game was that it got the attention of people throughout Northern California. I remember covering a track & field meet at UC Davis. I would have conversations with other coaches and media members. At least, five if not more commented on this game six months later.

People are often dismissive of the term “moral victory.” I am that way too because let’s not kid ourselves, one team wins and one team loses. However, I also believe that some losses are more honorable than others. For the Jaguars, there was nothing dishonorable about this loss.

Time machine: DeMarcus Nelson

Sometimes you know that you are watching greatness.

Though most of my career as a sports reporter was in the Napa Valley, I spent two very enjoyable years covering the Vallejo and Benicia beats from March 2001-May 2003 for a startup internet news service called GetLocalNews.com. Between myself, Brian Cornelius and Chris Navalta, we made an impact on local sports coverage in those communities. Unfortunately, the momentum we generated was curtailed because of a staff-wide layoff. I liken our success to the 1997 Florida Marlins winning the World Series and the team getting broken up. It was an unfair death but that’s another story for another time.

My main beats were Vallejo and Jesse Bethel High Schools. With covering the Vallejo Apaches (now the Redhawks thanks to the politically correct mongers), witnessing the greatness of DeMarcus Nelson on the basketball court was a treat.

From Vallejo High to Sheldon High (Sacramento) to Duke University and his European career that is still going, his resume could fill a phonebook. Nelson, who was known as “Markie” by teammates, coaches and peers, played three seasons at Vallejo before transferring to Sheldon as a senior.

While I will always remember his spectacular talent on the court, what I recall most about Nelson is that at a very young age, he had a celebrity status that came with much scrutiny. Nelson handled that scrutiny with more grace and dignity than anyone I know. Lesser people would have allowed the attention to have a negative impact. There have been professional adults that didn’t handle fame with the grace he did as a teenager and that was before social media.

While I do not know the quote unquote real reason for Nelson having transferred, I do know there were some underlying issues. I would go as far to say that some, if not many, had a jealousy complex against Nelson regarding the success he achieved and the attention he garnered. I do not know if that enviousness played a role in his transferring but it didn’t help. As for the real reason, we can speculate but let’s keep things in perspective, it is high school and at that level I will never expect anyone to air their dirty laundry.

The community of Vallejo as well as Vallejo Unified School District has frequently had a negative reputation because of its urban poverty, crime and academics. Nelson was a tremendous athlete, well-grounded human being and intelligent young man that was not only a great representative for the school but for the community. Was he infallible? No but who is. However, Nelson was mature beyond his years.

While basketball is a team sport and the then-Apaches had some other key contributors on those teams such as Madison Butts, Warner West and Amos Carter to name a few. Nelson also benefited Vallejo High athletics as well as opposing teams at the gate because Nelson’s presence alone would pack the gym.

What’s easy to forget about Nelson is that besides starring on the basketball court, he was the quarterback of an Apache football team that went 10-2 as a sophomore. In May of his sophomore season, Nelson was playing in a tournament in North Carolina. Mike Krzyzewski, as in the legendary head coach at Duke, was in attendance and offered Nelson a scholarship. Nelson became the first high school sophomore to get offered a scholarship. I’m normally against such early signings given the overhype that recruits receive but when Coach K offers a sophomore a scholarship, who am I to argue? After inking his scholarship, Nelson opted to forgo football.

The numbers Nelson accumulated speak volumes. He holds the California state high school record with 3,462 career points. The most misguided idea about Nelson was that he was selfish and a ball-hog. Prolific scorers often get that label but with Nelson, nothing could be further from the truth. For further proof, he ranks in the state’s Top 10 in career rebounds (third, 1,522) and assists (ninth, 791). Those numbers demonstrate that any notion of him being selfish were ignorant. Nelson was named Mr. Basketball in the state of California and second team Parade All-America as a senior after averaging 30.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.

Nelson could undeniably do it all on the court from passing to shooting to penetrating to playing defense. His biggest Achilles heel was shooting free throws, specifically in college arena backdrops.

He could make the routine plays as well as the spectacular plays. I remember a CIF Sac Joaquin Section Div. I playoff game against Lodi at the Spanos Center at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. The 6-foot-4 Nelson had the most ferocious slam-dunk I have ever seen in a high school game. You think of a dunk in a high school game coming on a fast break where no defender is in position to make a play. In this instance, Nelson fielded a pass on the left wing, drove by a Lodi defender, took off just south of the free throw line and threw down a rim-rocking dunk. I remember sitting next to Vallejo Times Herald sports reporter Tom Zulewski. We looked at each other and said, “Did we REALLY just see that!”

Nelson went on to play four years at Duke and was the team’s lone captain as a senior. He had a brief cup of coffee in the NBA with both the Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls in 2008-2009. Since then, he has played on various Europeon teams and achieved Serbian citizenship in 2014. Nelson currently plays in the Turkish European League for team Unicaja.

From his talents on the court to his grace away from it, Nelson is hard to forget.

Lesser of two evils voters are the albatross weighing down the US

With elections, the most commonly uttered phrases are: "If you don't vote you have no right to complain." The other one is "Don't waste your vote."

I agree with the former but not for the reason most people state. If you vote dishonest and incompetent people into office, you are part of the problem because your vote helped them get there. The person that did not vote, had nothing to do with getting them in office. That logic is like saying, there was a plane crash in Toronto but let’s blame the pilot of the plane at the Atlanta airport that hasn’t left the ground for the crash. That example sounds extreme but you should vote because people fought wars for the right to do it. However, the ones that vote have less of a right to complain than those who did not.

The “don’t waste your vote” theory is aimed at those who either write in a candidate or vote for a third party. This logic is where I take issue. The general election is slated for November 8. The front-runners are Donald Trump (Republican) and Hillary Clinton (Democrat), the latter despite opposition from Bernie Sanders, who is the United States Senator from Vermont.

Trump and Clinton are two polarizing figures. The Trump supporters champion two things: a) “He tells it like it is!” shouts the card-carrying Republican; and b) He’s a businessman not a career politician. Telling it like it is suddenly makes you qualified to be president? Well, I met a clerk at 7-11 “tells it like it is” but he is not making it to the White House. I’m all for getting career politicians out of office in favor of a businessman. However, Trump has used bankruptcies four times, yet he has all the answers. You can give me whatever reason you want but if you are selling me that a businessman is better than a politician, I can forgive one bankruptcy because anyone can make one bad decision but four is a pattern.

Clinton is in her second run to become president. She served as the US Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, the junior US Senator representing New York from 2001 to 2009, First Lady of the US from 1993-2001 and First Lady of Arkansas for 12 years. She remains dogged by two scandals from her time as secretary of state — the terrorist attack on the diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, and her use of a private email account for official business. That’s not my idea of honorability.

Sanders had been the longest-serving independent in U.S. congressional history, though his caucusing with the Democrats entitled him to committee assignments and at times gave Democrats a majority. Sanders became the ranking minority member on the Senate Budget Committee in January 2015 after serving two years as chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Sanders is a self-proclaimed democratic socialist who is pro labor and favors greater economic equality. Good luck on finding economic equality, Bernie.

I’m no Barack Obama supporter, I did not vote for him in 2008 or 2012 and I wouldn’t vote him for a third term. However, with these three jokers, the US’s problems won’t get solved by Obama leaving office.

I’ll say this for Sanders, he’s transparent about who he is but on philosophical differences alone, I can’t vote for him.

I’ll be 44-years old this August. I was registered Republican for almost 20 years (1992-2011) before I went to rehab. I briefly became independent before joining the Libertarian Party. Gary Johnson, who was the party’s nominee in 2012 and recently secured the party’s nomination in 2016, describes the party as more culturally liberal than Democrats and more fiscally conservative than Republicans. With the latter, I would add the word more fiscally responsible as well.

The Republicans lost me mostly because they don’t practice what they preach about fiscal responsibility. They won’t get me back anytime soon. The Democrats will never get me as long as they keep feeding the moocher mentality. I’m all for helping the needy but I’m not into enabling the lazy.

I give Clinton, Trump and Sanders the Rasberry. That leaves Johnson for me. I can hear the pundits already saying, “A non-vote for Clinton is a vote for Trump” or “A non-vote for Trump is a vote for Clinton,” or “Why waste your vote on someone who’s not going to win.”

Let me number the ways I can expose that pathetic argument. For openers, you only help a candidate by voting for them. If you don’t vote for them, that doesn’t help them. The same people that make those statements subscribe to voting the “lesser of two evils” theory. Now THAT is wasting your vote because you are voting for someone you don’t believe in. That is an ass backwards and outmoded principle.

How many elections are so close that one vote decides it? None. Plus, it’s not the voters’ job to decide the election. It’s the candidate’s job to earn the voters’ support.

The lesser of two evils approach is a defensive vote. Evil is still evil. To draw a parallel, 20 miles per hour over the speed limit to 20 miles per hour over the speed limit whether you go 80 in a 60 or 60 in a 40.

I keep hearing about how there are all of these Republicans and Democrats that are angry with their party. In the same breath, they will tell you that they want a third party alternative. Yet when election time comes, they circle back to the lesser of two evils approach. What these people fail to realize is that if you want change, you have to help create it. That means vote it out. The best way to get your message through is to hit them where it hurts. If you’re a Republican or Democrat angry with your party, vote a third party candidate whether it’s Libertarian, Green Party or Peace and Freedom, whatever. Just don’t keep going down the same pathetic road you keep travelling that puts our country in a ditch, or even worse off the cliff. That principle is no different than if you don’t like the food in a restaurant, you go to a different one.

Most moderate Democrats and Republicans are Libertarians, they just don’t know it yet.

If you vote lesser of two evils, you are no better than a drug addict enabler. My voting Johnson as a Libertarian is my way of telling the Republicans and Democrats, “I’m not tolerating you any longer.” When you vote lesser of two evils, you are making no stance. Instead, you are just preserving a system that is clearly not working.

OK, Republicans and Democrats, I’m challenging you to make a really hard decision -- be honest with yourself. The question is -- are you even capable? I would love to be proven wrong.

Are you are voting Trump, Clinton or Sanders because you truly believe in your heart of hearts, they are the ones to turn this country around? If so, I can respect your decision even if I might not like it. However, if you are going lesser of two evils or if you are waffling by saying, “(insert name) is not ideal but is better than (insert name),” it’s time to make a change and vote for that change. Most importantly, if you are in this camp and vote for Trump or Clinton, you have a problem and need counseling. Make that you ARE the problem. Politicians are no saints but at some point, the people suck, not the politicians. YOU keep electing them and then complain about the direction of our country.

If you want change, it won’t happen by voting lesser of two evils. That is a message of compromise, meaning you will settle for a good America but not the best. Well, it’s time to stop settling.

It’s better to vote for what you want and not get it than vote for what you don’t want but you get it anyhow.

Election day is about five months away, use that time to cleanse and be honest with yourself.