RowdyRebel

If you didn't have 17 Republicans to choose from, you must not have voted in the Republican primary. That is nobody's fault but your own. If you voted in the Democrat primary, you would've had a handful of options to choose from to select their party's nominee. If you opted to sit out during the primaries, it's your own damn fault you don't feel as though you were represented in the general election. You're NEVER going to have a candidate running that you agree with 100% of the time on 100% of the issues...unless YOU are on the ballot...in which case NOBODY you are asking to vote for you will agree 100% on 100% of the issues with you. Therefore some level of compromise is necessary...you look at who is running, and select the one that most closely reflects your opinions...or the one you disagree with the least. It really isn't much different than buying a used truck. You know what you're LOOKING for, but sometimes you have to settle for "close enough".

The system provided Republicans the choice of 17 possible candidates. The Democrats put up their own handful of possibilities. THE PEOPLE of each party selected the 1 candidate they felt best represented what their party needed in order to win. If you didn't like those 2 candidates, the Libertarians had their usual nominee, and I think it was the Green party that had yet another option on the ballot. If you didn't like the nominees in the general election, did you participate in the primaries? If not, you don't have anyone to blame but yourself for the choice you were left with in the general election. If you DID vote in the primary and your candidate lost, that's life. You DON'T always get what you want, because not everybody thinks like you. I for one am GLAD we don't have direct elections, or else the entire country would look like Calif***ya, Illinois, New York, etc...where the population of a large city or two completely dominates and overpowers the vote in the other 98% of the state. Take a look at the "county-by-county" maps. Even the bluest of blue states is red as can be...except for the big city. Hell, the Illinois legislature only has 1 Democrat left in the house and Senate combined South of I64...but the City of Chigago sends so many reps to Springfield that there is still a veto-proof majority in the Senate and near veto-proof majority in the house. That's what happens when mob rules...the major population centers that are riddled with crime and poverty start pushing THEIR failed policies onto the rest of the State. The Electoral College ensures that the smaller states get a voice, too.

The Constitution requires the President be a Natural Born Citizen, thus the birth certificate may be requested in the event there is doubt as to the whereabouts or circumstances of one's birth. Tax forms aren't going to show anything about "special interests" because the source of revenues is not shown...just dollar figures. How much came in. How much was written off. How much was donated. How much was paid in taxes. Completely irrelevant to the job, unless you're trying to nit-pick and twist things around to make a big stink over nothing. Professional politicians don't mind disclosing their tax forms because they have based their filings upon perceived public perception of what they may or may not put on those forms. You make sure that the form "looks" good...that you're paying your "fair share" even if that means screwing yourself by not claiming deductions you'd otherwise be entitled to...or worse, making sizable "charitable donations" to your own damn charity when you're the one controlling that money anyway in order to appear like you've given a lot to charity. When you're a private citizen, you're using the tax codes to the best of your ability to minimize your tax liability. Appearances to potential prying eyes never crosses your mind, only minimizing what you owe. That automatically places the non-politician at a disadvantage to the career politician if they disclose this unnecessary info.

I don't give a rat's ass if a politician makes his tax records public or not. When was the last time YOU applied for a job and was asked to turn those documents over to your prospective employer? I know I've never been asked to produce them, and would likely refuse if asked because it is none of my potential employer's business what I made last year, how much I wrote off, or what my total tax bill was. The ONLY thing they need to be concerned with is what THEY are going to pay me going forward for the work I'm going to do for them. I don't know where or why this whole "show us your tax records" bullshit got started, but it is NOT a Constitutional prerequisite to holding ANY elected office.

Since I don't have cable, I was limited to flipping between ABC, NBC, and CBS. It was fun watching these people who THINK they are the smartest people in the room realize they don't have a clue what they are talking about...and yet they kept talking.

"President Elect Trump" certainly does have a nice ring to it...considering what it MIGHT have been. Only Senate seatto "flip" was here in Illinois, which hasn't elected a republican to the Senate in a presidential election year since 1972...and Kirk was an absolute disgrace, so not really all that big of a deal. Some long-term big-name democrats lost in the state house elections...only 1 democrat remains in Springfield from South of I64. But yes, after 8 years of democrats running full steam ahead implementing policies and regulations AGAINST the will of the people, ramrodding THEIR wants and desires down our throats, it's time for them to stand aside and let our side try to fix their f*ck-ups...and get back to a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people". I was a Ted Cruz supporter in the primaries. The day Trump clinched the nomination, he had my support.

Rear barn doors won't open. Got the interior panel peeled back to access the interior stuff, and it seems like the latch @ the bottom of the door is stuck. Not much room to work, but got it soaked with some WD40 for now. Have all new latches to install once I get the damn thing open...just being a pain in the ass. Gotta order the rear handle, too, because it broke as I was messing with it. Anyway, if I haven't mentioned it already, I hate working inside doors.

Funny how one Clinton's wiener got him in trouble, and the other Clinton is getting in trouble because she was too close to the Wieners.

I run BFG All-Terrain's on my F250...LT285/75R16. Never NOT been able to go anywhere I've ever needed to go. Used to have 33x12.5x16.5 tires and ran the BFG All-Terrains then, too...bought new rims (looked identical to the old ones) because I needed a more "available" tire size instead of "special order only, might be a while". Wife's Suburban has the General Grabbers, and despite having a similar tread pattern, they don't have NEAR as much bite. Tried backing up to a shed where the hay wagons were stored to hook up & pull them out and couldn't back up the hill....ended up pushing the hay wagons down the hill to the Suburban. Sure, it was muddy...but the tires were brand new. Same hill backing up to the same shed, this time with MORE mud (it had just rained the night before) and pushing a hay dolly with a round bale on it behind me, my F250 didn't slip a tire even though the tires have a few years and several thousand miles on 'em. Both are 4x4 with open diffs. I won't buy another set of the Generals...rather pay a little more and get the BFG's. ...was going to add that it's the same LT285/75R16 tire size on the wife's Suburban...

I look at it this way: I have a responsibility to my family to not only return home at the end of the run, but to also continue to provide for them...roof over their head, food on their plate, and clothes on their back. I can't do that if I'm upside down in a ditch. I can't do that if I'm hurt or killed. I can't do that if my truck is wrecked or nobody will hire me because I ran my truck off the road intentionally wrecking myself in order to avoid having to watch the knuckleheads in the lane next to me wreck. Can I live with knowing I might have been able to sacrifice MY life and/or MY livelihood to spare someone with a severe case of head-up-the-ass-itis from killing themselves? Yes. And that's MUCH BETTER in my opinion than NOT living long enough to pat myself on the back for sparing them from themselves. How would your family feel about an officer showing up at the door notifying them you weren't coming home? Would THEY sleep better at night knowing you committed suicide in order to provide an "out" to an impatient driver who insisted upon passing you in the face of oncoming traffic? That's IF anybody who saw what happened actually stopped to bear witness to the event. (Don't count on it). The story your family might be fed was that you fell asleep at the wheel and ran it off the road. Will they sleep well at night after hearing that? I don't care to put my family in that position, so I'll gladly hold my lane and let the 2 cars duke it out beside me.

That last one with the guy talking? If the bone-head behind me can't wait until it's clear to pass, THEY can make the decision between taking the ditch or the head-on. The way I figure, it ain't MY problem. ME putting MY truck in the ditch to allow YOU an out just isn't going to happen. I'm not programmed to think that way, and my self preservation instinct simply blocks that as a possible solution to YOUR predicament. In other words, the thought of me leaving my lane would never cross my mind in that scenario. Pretty much looks like dash cam videos from anywhere in the world where cars and trucks try to share the road...nothing too special about the location. Hell, this happened 30 minutes from my house when a kid on his way to high school pulled away from a stop sign on a gravel side road into the side of my trailer tires as I went by @ 55 mph. People just don't pay much attention to what they are doing behind the wheel.

Not "perfect"...but it'll have to do 'til I can get out of Cardinal territory so I can find the appropriate stickers.

Can't sleep...so I'm doing some quick painting on the Mack...

Grandpa NEVER got to see THAT!!!!

It was a Fox News headline. I have never (and WILL NEVER) touch one of their magazines...especially if THAT is the sort of CRAP they are putting out there. LONG LIVE CLEAVAGE!!!

It's TIME!

Vogue announces the end of cleavage: It's 'over' Please tell me they are full of $#!+...next they'll tell us mini-skirts and shorty-shorts are no longer in style. Maybe this just proves the fashion industry is overpopulated by wimins and gay men? NO STRAIGHT MAN WOULD EVER AGREE WITH THIS!!!

Tonight I couldn't watch...driving...interesting mix of broadcasts with AM670 out of Chicago and AM1100 out of Cleveland going back and forth as to which one I could get from the road. Cleveland announcers kept whining and crying about the 2-run double in the 1st and how "...it SHOULD've been 1-0 after the 1st..."

Bourbonnais (sp?) IL...not far from Kankakee...forget the year. Steel hauler drove away after an Amtrak train clobbered his loaded trailer. Ripped the pin off the trailer, truck was pretty much untouched. Train derailed and a bunch of passengers died. That's the only one I can think of.

CUBS WIN!!! CUBS WIN!!! HOLY COW!!! Game 7 here we come!

So it's still 0-dark-30 when I climb up into the truck to leave this morning otherwise I'd have the dash cam footage since the rail crossing is pretty much straight ahead when the truck is parked. Anyway, I climb in and close the door just as the crossing lights start to flash. There's a pair of lumber trucks and a car just getting to the crossing...first truck makes it across before the arms begin to move. Second truck follows as the gates began to lower. Car driver couldn't make up their mind whether they ought to stop or keep rolling across as the gates are nearing "all of the way down" position...so they stopped...ON THE TRACKS. Yup. Lights blinking, gates completely down, train blaring its horn rapidly approaching...car STOPPED on the tracks between the gates. Reverse lights come on and they start backing up...but there's a gate behind them...so they stop again... Train STILL coming, getting stupid with its horn. Finally, the car puts it in a forward gear and drives off the tracks (which should have been the obvious choice since the gates barely reach across the center line of the road...really wasn't anything obstructing their path ahead. Less than 5 seconds later, the train barrels through the crossing, probably doing every bit of the 55-60 mph they typically run through here. I'm glad they got out of the way, because it was a Northbound train, and I live just North of the crossing. My driveway would have likely been a debris field of whatever scraps would've been left of what would've formerly been a car. Seriously, though, HOW do people THAT STUPID manage to survive long enough to even drive a car? I guess the answer to that could probably be found on any seemingly harmless product that gets plastered with warning labels by the lawyers... Maybe we'd all be better off if we'd just let 'em succumb to their own stupidity?

Regarding the FBI re-opening the investigation against Hillary and her e-mails: The election is tight, and Hillary is starting to worry about the possibility of losing the election despite the fraud and deceit Democrats love to deny exists. She knows that if Trump wins, a special prosecutor WILL be appointed and since she knows full well what she's done, she's aware of the consequences of that happening. So, just as the FBI director did her bidding to close the investigation WITHOUT recommending charges be brought (despite laying out the evidence FOR the charges), he has re-opened the case, thereby hedging her bets. We'll find out in the days AFTER the election. If she wins, there will be another "nothing to see here" press conference to announce the case is once again closed and no charges will be brought. HOWEVER, if Trump wins, that press conference will announce that sufficient evidence exists to formally charge Hillary with everything under the sun that she may have possibly done. Obama's Justice Dept will expedite those charges, and she'll plead guilty at her arraignment. This all needs to happen quickly, because Obama will pardon her before he leaves office. Once that happens, it becomes next to impossible to touch her for any of this, because you'd have to prove Obama was a co-conspirator and use that as a basis for challanging the pardon. Either way, she stays out of jail. Y'alls thoughts?

Efforts to collect have been "suspended". That is their way of saying "News reports about us taking $20,000 back from service members we willingly gave it to in order to convince them to re-enlist will hurt Democrats this election. They still OWE the money, we'll just wait 'til the lame duck AFTER the election to continue with collections". Sad thing is, these men & women CAN'T take back the years they might not have given to the government had the bonuses NOT been offered. And if the government DOES do the right thing and say "You know what, keep it.", the IRS will want the tax money for that $20,000 debt that was forgiven...it's considered "income", they'll say. Nevermind the fact that the taxes were paid when they received the bonus. If the government wants to collect on the wrongful payments, go up the chain of command. Find the officer highest up the chain who approved or encouraged the offering of the unauthorized bonuses and hold HIS feet to the fire. The recipients of the bonus only took what was offered by the recruiters. The contracts offered up by the recruiters SHOULD be binding on BOTH parties. If the bonuses were in the contracts, they rightfully are owed to the recipients and should NOT be allowed to be taken back at a future date. If the bonuses were not authorized, find out who included them in the contracts...who allowed it...and who should have caught the error WHEN IT HAPPENED. The person accepting the offer isn't to blame, and should not be punished.

How can you call voter fraud a "demonstrably false myth" when the dead have been voting Democrat for years in cities such as Chicago? THIS YEAR ALREADY during early voting, there are problems with the electronic machines...people voting for Trump, and when it gets to the summary page to "verify" who you're voting for, that Trump vote was switched to Hillary. I guess THAT doesn't count, because the person is supposed to verify their Hillary vote despite casting their ballot for Trump. The harder the Democrats fight AGAINST common sense things to combat voter fraud (such as voter ID laws and purging the voter rolls of the deceased, duplicates, and people who no longer reside in the precinct), the more we know these tactics are used to pad the vote counts for Democrat candidates. And let's not forget the voter intimidation! Black Panthers caught ON VIDEO guarding a polling site in Philly...making sure voters would cast ballots for Obama. No surprise there when the Obama Justice Department refused to press charges. But hey, it's just a "myth" because it's the DEMOCRATS benefiting, and their lap dogs in the media will gladly report whatever they need to in order to further the cause of liberalism. They are a ruling minority, and they know it, and it scares the hell out of them. That's why they HAVE to cheat to win. That's why they fight tooth and nail AGAINST common sense measures to insure the intergrety of the elections.

Tonight's game was SO much more fun to watch...but I would've benched that catcher. Trying to backhand the balls out of the dirt, not moving his body to keep the ball in front of him...cost a few bases and the 1 run the Indians scored. I would've been running laps all practice if I'd done that as a kid (I was the catcher). Those "baseball basics" type errors committed at that level...no excuse for it at all. ON TO WRIGLEY!!! Series tied 1-1