My show was cancelled too.  I have such great memories of that tour...

This is just my opinion:

Axl isn't a leader, he's a follower.  By definition, followers don't lead, they can't lead.  Leaders make the tough decisions when they need to be made, but also empower those that they are leading.  Axl could make the tough decisions, but instead of being confident in his decisions, he surrounded himself with people that would support whatever decision he made because he lacked the confidence to take construcive criticism.  Once he owned the b(r)and, anybody that questioned him was out: management, band members, hanger-ons, etc. 

As much as Axl hated being questioned, in retrospect, he obviously needed it.  Being challenged motivated Axl.  I don't remember where I read it, but I think he said he had a hard time writing Coma because Slash wrote this great song and he had a hell of a hard time coming up with the lyrics to match the music.  Ultimately he did and that song is regarded by most fans of the band as one of if not the greatest Guns song ever.  I don't want to start an old vs new debate, but Slash took songs written by other people and took a lot (certainly not all) of them to a new level.  I don't think Slash is a great song writer for the most part.  History bears that out (though there are a few exceptions).  What he does best is taking an existing song and putting down a killer guitar track that compliments the style of that song, but also fits his playing style.  Axl is a great songwriter, but doesn't understand the band element enough to complete a masterpiece by himself.  Axl is a genius at what he does - lyrics and song structures.  Slash is a genius at what he does - killer solos and guitar melodies.  That is the perfect storm from a rock band perspective and I believe a big reason why neither is as good without the other, but both do well enough on their own to get by.

You're obviously too smart for the rest of us, so you'll have to lower yourself to communicating in a caveman manner (sorry Geico guys) like the rest of us or accept that we're not always going to understand your ultimate wisdom on first take.

Wrong.  Very, very wrong.  The illusions album were not Axl's vision.  They were a mish mosh of everybody's vision.  Axl, Izzy, Slash, and Duff all had songs on there of their choosing.  It was done in an effort to keep the peace and keep all sides as happy as possible.  Obviously it didn't work, but if you think the Illusions albums were all Axl's vision, you need to go back and listen to them again.

Actually it's been brought on by the democratic party.  The good news (for them) is that there's still plenty of time to overcome this.  Really, no poll right now makes a difference.  As someone that leans towards Republican, I can honestly say I hope none of the candidates win.  I think they all suck, but I'm sticking with my "Anybody but Hillary" campaign.  There's got to be something better than this out there.