It is always dangerous dipping one’s toes into the political discourse of the day, but this year’s presidential election has too much at stake to not take advantage of the forum I am fortunate to have with this column.

It should be noted that anything I write does not in any way reflect the opinions of the Finger Lakes Times or anyone else.

First off, I am registered as “no political party choice” but will say that I am fiscally conservative and socially liberal. In the past I have supported such presidential candidates as independent John Anderson, Democrat John Edwards, and Republican Ron Paul. I am not sure I have ever aligned myself fully with the total agenda/ideology of any politician.

In 2009, I photographed Barack Obama’s first Inauguration (accompanying photo). Eight years later, I photographed Donald Trump’s Inauguration.

This commentary is fact-based. I expect and welcome rebuttals and will be happy to run some in another column — although they will be fact-checked.

Letters to the Editor run in the newspaper allowing anyone to say absolute nonsense and lies without corrections. Regular readers know the names of some of those particular writers.

For the upcoming election, it is not hyperbole to say that democracy as we know it may very well be at risk. I hope everyone voting will think about the future of their children, grandchildren, and the world in which they live.

Not everyone is a news junkie like me. While some are familiar with the content I provide here, others are not as well-informed on the candidates and issues. Understandable, since the political divide in the country has some people at a point of blocking out all things political.

To start, I found it interesting that Republican Nikki Haley may have stated it best when she said the first political party that replaced the top of their ticket would........

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