44 10-4 Magazine / October 2026 of a job? It’s not just your future I’m referring to – it’s the generational linage that will follow. Your children and grandkids will be affected if we head down the wrong road. Maybe you don’t have any children, so what difference will it make? It could greatly influence your retirement, your style of living, and how soon you can start collecting those Social Security dollars you have been counting on – or if you will collect them at all! What about your medical plan? Does it survive the next iteration of who pays for what and for how much? Last month I mentioned how easy it is for politicians to spend other people’s money, but what happens when they run out? NEWS FLASH: they will come for more through higher taxes and more regulations. This isn’t just a California or Ohio thing – it is every state and every jurisdiction. How many representatives we have in Congress and the composite makeup of the Senate is at stake! This trickles all the way down to every local office. Some of these candidates have run off the rails of common sense. They will and have said anything in hopes of getting elected. Case in point: look at New York City. How is that working out for them, so far? As voters, we – every one of us – must not only listen to their rhetoric, but we must also compare it to their record. How they governed in the past is just as important as how they claim they will in the future. Most animals don’t change their spots (habits) unless they think it will benefit them at the moment. They eventually revert back to their former selves. Their old habits and their known associates will all slink back after the election is over. All those promises will soon be forgotten, and what you get is more bad governance! I know this from experience. I live in a small country town not far from a major city. Years ago, people started moving out to the country for a better life but continued to work in the city. Our town became known as a bedroom community because it offered many of the freedoms the city had lost. Along with the people came their politics. At first, no one noticed, then a few of them ran for office. They got elected and the crazy ideas that caused them to leave the city started creeping into our small town. Over a short period of time, we transitioned from a farming community to an anti-truck town, even though the highway still rolled through it. Although the city still enjoyed the tax dollars generated by the highway traffic, road signs marked NO TRUCK PARKING sprang up. How many times have you seen this? I was even banned from parking my own truck in my own driveway! In time, the businesses that catered to that highway traffic closed or moved out of town. I was going to be forced to relocate to a more truck friendly location. Fortunately, the local township gave me I variance, which allowed my heavy trucks. Bad ideas don’t always come from bad people, but they are the end result of those who don’t feel it will affect them. When we drive in traffic our eyes are always moving – we are constantly looking down the road for dangers that communicate what will impact our lane of travel. In business, we do the same, watching trends, following technology, and making adjustments that benefit the bottom line. If you intend to stay in business, then it is imperative you pay attention to who is running for office and just exactly what their plan to govern in the future will be, should they happen to get elected. Once again, I am reminding you to get registered to vote and to make sure all your information is current. Voting is your constitutional right, and it is a responsibility for every legal citizen to exercise. Even though the President and Vice President are not on this next ballot, their policies are. If we hope to see their progress continue in the near future then please take this seriously and participate in the process. We have too many rules and regulations cropping up in this industry that restrict the free movement of goods and services – the very things we transport. If you need an example, look at the California CARB regulations and ask yourself if it’s worth the risk to run out there if you are not compliant. The agencies that control them are put in place by elected politicians, and they are the only ones who can remove them, as well. But first we must elect people who put America’s working class and their prosperity front and center. This November, when it comes time to cast your ballot, know who stands with your values, our ethics, and your fellow countryman. It’s time to elect a slate of people who will do what they promise and make no excuses for doing the right thing, even when it’s not popular with the mainstream media. There is an old guard in Washington and most state capitals that live by a simple rule: “Do as I say, not as I do!” They consider themselves to be the ruling elite, untouchable, and above the law. It’s time to send them packing and run them out of office. It would be nice if a few of them went to jail for their part in programs that we (the people) would already be rotting in if we did it. Let’s send a message to all of them – we are done with their stupid ideas – no more New Green Deal, no more anti-ICE, get your hands out of our pockets, and stop with the free stuff for people who are too lazy to work. If you are not here legally, the only thing you should get for free is a ride back to where you came from, and we intend to make that loud and clear this election cycle. Let’s stop playing the telephone game, which distorts the truth, and put America and Americans first, 10-4! n
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