FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— DuPage board rejects referendum on eliminating elected coroner position.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/13/dupage-board-referendum-coroner-examiner/
DAILY HERALD
— DuPage board rejects proposed referendum on eliminating coroner elections. DD: I served as a Trustee of the Milton Township Cemeteries Authority 2001-2004.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260813/news/dupage-county-board-rejects-proposal-for-referendum-on-coroners-office/
— A twofold mission: Historic cemeteries deserve to be both preserved and visited
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260814/editorials/daily-herald-opinion-a-twofold-mission-historic-cemeteries-deserve-to-be-both-preserved-and-visite/
CBS2
— Chicago’s Agents of Hope Training & Information Center works to connect refugees with jobs. DD: All my employers would have hired noncitizens instead of me if they could have. My critics/opponents cannot say that because they had wealthy parents. Noncitizens work for less money and they are easier to exploit. I did yard work 1962-1964. I delivered newspapers 1962-1966. I washed dishes 1964-1966. I cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, and pumped gasoline in 1966. I delivering mail 1966-1969. I worked on an automotive assembly line in 1970. I sold tires, automotive services, and major appliances 1970-1971. I pumped more gasoline 1971-1972. I collected delinquent federal taxes 1971-1980. I audited federal agencies 1980-1997. Many, if not most, if not virtually all of my peers would not have stooped to take the aforesaid bad jobs that I took.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicagos-agents-of-hope-training-information-center-refugees/
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Bears keep Illinois on hold.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/08/14/bears-keep-indiana-on-hold-01037042
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/14/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-791/
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/13/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-578/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— Illinois taxpayers provide nearly $190 million for state fair.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_5c826519-4401-4b3a-9c8e-3062a52233e3.html
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Democrats pick classic tax-and-spend leftist David Crowley for Wisconsin governor. Milwaukee’s county executive brings higher taxes, bigger government and socialist-friendly policies.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/13/democrats-pick-classic-tax-spend-leftist-david-crowley-wisconsin/
— America’s marijuana addiction fuels a public-health crisis. Daily use now outpaces cigarettes and alcohol as high-THC products raise risks for teens, drivers and workers. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly push more pot. In 2019, I led the successful effort to ban the sale of pot in Wheaton.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/12/editorial-americas-marijuana-addiction-fuels-public-health-crisis/
— Radical Islam’s three-stage framework for cultural capture. America now faces the point where accommodation turns into political power.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/13/radical-islams-three-stage-framework-cultural-capture/
— State Department cancels DEI diplomacy; ‘White Fragility,’ BLM lessons expunged from training.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/13/state-department-cancels-dei-diplomacy-white-fragility-blm-lessons/
— The Democrats’ socialist moment: Revolution or rebranding? Hillary Clinton is worried that GOP branding of progressive candidates as communists ‘is going to be a very effective attack.’
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/12/democrats-socialist-moment-revolution-rebranding/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— 26,000 truckers can’t read English road signs. Why are they driving 80,000-pound missiles?
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4684338/commercial-trucker-english-proficiency-rule/
— State Department abolishes ‘ideologically extreme and discriminatory’ DEI policies in Foreign Service.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign-policy/4686789/state-department-abolishes-dei-policies-foreign-service/
— Dearborn isn’t a ‘walk for peace’: How Tehran launders the extremism America refuses to see.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4685462/dearborn-walk-for-peace-tehran-extremism-americas-streets/
— The most dangerous socialists aren’t in DC. They’re running for governor.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4684714/most-dangerous-socialists-running-for-governor-francesca-hong-wisconsin/
— California is democratic socialism’s future — and it’s dead last.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4685813/blue-state-affordability-crisis-capitalism/
— COLA increase estimated to be 3.2% in 2027 after summer inflation reports. DD: COLAs have helped me deal inflation big time. My critics/opponents are furious that I got COLAs while I worked for the federal government 1966-1969 and 1971-1997 and that I have continued to get COLAs as a federal retiree since 1997 and as a Social Security recipient since 2010.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/4686000/social-security-cost-of-living-adjustment-2027-inflation/
— Catalina Lauf takes on the ‘swamp’ in her new book. Now she wants a seat in it.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/4683661/catalina-lauf-new-book-congress/
NEW YORK POST
— NYC will spend $180K in effort to curb rampant dog poop problem.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/13/us-news/nyc-will-spend-180k-in-effort-to-curb-rampant-dog-poop-problem/
— Vance warns Republicans not to blame young Americans for the appeal of socialism. DD: Republican-haters love it that Vance blames Republicans when young people blame capitalism for their problems and want socialism to fix their problems. I never blamed capitalism for my problems. What problems have you had? My critics/opponents stress that under capitalism, even though I did the following, I never earned more than $154,682/year in today’s dollars. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree (management). I earned three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance). I earned six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting). I earned a job-related professional license (CPA). In my defense, I stress that I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government. For them, the federal government exists to hire, retain, and promote Democrats. Because I refused to become a Democrat, they wasted my career and got rid of me. If I had become a Democrat, they would have forgiven my avoiding the Vietnam War draft.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/14/us-news/jd-vance-warns-republicans-not-to-blame-young-americans-for-the-appeal-of-socialism/
AMERICAN GREATNESS
— Nearly Half of Young Americans Still Living With Parents as Affordability Squeeze Delays Adulthood. DD: I lived with and helped support my mother and brother in Crete for 25 months after I graduated from college. My father had died suddenly when he was 47 and I was 21 in October of 1969. He was earning only $50,000/year in today’s dollars. My mother had never attended high school, she had never worked outside the home, and my brother was having problems. I graduated from NIU in August of 1970 and I got a job working for the Firestone Store in Chicago Heights that month. I applied for and I got a financial hardship draft deferment. I lived with mother and brother in Crete and helped support them until September of 1972 when I bought a new townhome in University Park.
https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/13/nearly-half-of-young-americans-still-living-with-parents-as-affordability-squeeze-delays-adulthood/
AMERICAN THINKER
— If Democrats Walk Like Socialists And Talk Like Socialists, They’re Socialists. The media and other Democrats keep trying to tell us there’s daylight between the Democrat and the Democrat Socialists, but that’s increasingly hard to believe.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/if-democrats-walk-like-socialisst-and-talk-like-socialists-maybe-they-re-socialists/
— The Mohammunist Manifest—Trojan-Horsing Society’s Institutions. When they are weak, communists and Muslims create seemingly durable pluralist partnerships that they then ruthlessly destroy once they achieve power.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/the-mohammunist-manifest-trojan-horsing-society-s-institutions/
— AOC retains the option to become a ‘birthing person.’ AOC has debilitating daddy issues. She also has malevolent mental issues. In fact, the former often exacerbates the latter.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/aoc-retains-the-option-to-become-a-birthing-person/
BIZ PAC REVIEW
— Colorado’s planned purchase permit system for semi-auto guns just got slapped with legal hurdle.
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/08/13/colorados-planned-purchase-permit-system-for-semi-auto-guns-just-got-slapped-with-legal-hurdle-1654696/
BREITBART
— Dallas Airport Installing Foot Washing Stations for Muslim Travelers.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/13/dallas-airport-installing-foot-washing-stations-for-muslim-travelers/
— 52 Percent of Gen Z Morons Have Moved Money From Investments to Sports Betting. DD: Sports Betting is a vice.
https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2026/08/13/nolte-52-percent-of-gen-z-morons-have-moved-money-from-investments-to-sports-betting/
— Socialists and Islamists have this in common: anti-Jew, anti-Israel, and covetousness.
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2026/08/13/exclusive-dennis-prager-the-one-thing-socialists-and-islamists-have-in-common/
FEDERALIST
— Lawsuit: It’s Unconstitutional That Education Is ‘Free,’ But Only At Government Indoctrination Mills. DD: My parents sent me to Missouri Synod Lutheran grade schools 1953-1962. That put me on track to earn a job-related bachelor’s degree, three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license. I avoided Democrat indoctrination by majoring in business, accounting, and finance.
https://thefederalist.com/2026/08/13/lawsuit-its-unconstitutional-that-education-is-free-but-only-at-government-indoctrination-mills/
FOX NEWS
— Speaker Johnson slams Dems after noncitizens were charged with illegally voting in battleground state.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/speaker-johnson-slams-dems-after-noncitizens-charged-illegally-voting-battleground-state
NEWSMAX
— Eight Senate Democrats, including Schumer call on GAO to audit Trump’s White House ballroom project, citing concerns over its funding, contracting practices, and lack of congressional oversight.
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/gao-white-house-ballroom/2026/08/13/id/1266017/
REAL CLEAR MARKETS
— Socialism’s Failures Run Roughshod Over Its Promises.
https://www.realclearmarkets.com/2026/08/14/socialisms_failures_run_roughshod_over_its_promises_1200303.html
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— DD: Republican-haters love it that Vance blames Republicans when young people blame capitalism for their problems and want socialism to fix their problems. I never blamed capitalism for my problems. What problems have you had? My critics/opponents stress that under capitalism, even though I did the following, I never earned more than $154,682/year in today’s dollars. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree (management). I earned three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance). I earned six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting). I earned a job-related professional license (CPA). In my defense, I stress that I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government. For them, the federal government exists to hire, retain, and promote Democrats. Because I refused to become a Democrat, they wasted my career and got rid of me. If I had become a Democrat, they would have forgiven my avoiding the Vietnam War draft.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6028771-vance-gop-socialism-young-voters/
CNN
— As Chicago rethinks its monuments, an artist surrounds George Washington with ‘Other Washingtons.’
https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/11/style/chicago-washington-monument-amanda-williams
AOL
— Why Traditional Middle-Class Milestones Like Kids, Marriage, and Cars Are Out of Reach for Many Americans. DD: What did you do to qualify yourself for better paying jobs? I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://www.aol.com/articles/why-traditional-middle-class-milestones-190500000.html
NEWSWEEK
— How China Is Changing Its Social Credit System. DD: What costs you points in the Democrat/RINO Social Credit System? For me, it is my being conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and my having ancestors who have been in America for a long time. For me, it is my promoting conservative principles and the personal responsibility, traditional marriage and family, right to life, immigration, anti-vice, Second Amendment, and equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks in the Republican Party platform.
https://www.newsweek.com/how-china-changing-its-social-credit-system-11079499
NEW YORK TIMES
— DD: My critics/opponents are woke, that is, they promote dependency on government and charity, LGBTQ, abortion, mass/illegal immigration, vices, diminishment of Second Amendment rights, and Affirmative Action and DEI, that is, race and gender based preference giving, patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/14/opinion/republicans-woke-radical.html
USA TODAY
— College costs are rising. Here’s what the average family pays. DD: Back in the good old days, in 1970, I was able to graduate debt-free with a bachelor’s degree in management from NIU and owning a 1969 Dodge Charger SE a) by living with my parents in Crete while I took classes at UIC 1966-1968, weekends during my first semester at NIU in 1969, and the summer of 1969 and b) by working part-time for the Park Forest Post Office while classes were in session and full-time during the summers of 1967, 1968, and 1969. In today’s dollars, my postal salary increased from $19.57/hour to $20.87/hour.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personal-finance/2026/08/12/college-costs-inflation-student-loans-tuition/91257662007/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— AOC Tries to Make a Joke of Woke. Ask those who were canceled, or killed by released criminals, how funny it was. DD: My critics/opponents are woke, that is, they promote dependency on government and charity, LGBTQ, abortion, mass/illegal immigration, vices, diminishment of Second Amendment rights, and Affirmative Action and DEI, that is, race and gender based preference giving, patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/aoc-tries-to-make-a-joke-of-woke-f5ca5733?mod=opinion_lead_pos8
NAPLES DAILY NEWS
— Things continue to worsen in the American classroom. In the U.S., test scores have been sliding since 2013, while students in Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, South Korea and many European countries have made steady improvements. DD: Democrats run education in America. For Democrat educators, cranking out good little Democrats is their top priority.
https://www.naplesnews.com/story/opinion/2026/08/14/things-continue-to-worsen-in-the-american-classroom-opinion/91284126007/
WBUR
— Is upward mobility still possible? Fewer Americans out-earn their parents than in previous generations. DD: Back in the good old days, I was able to out-earn my father when I was 21 in 1970 because I earned a bachelor’s degree in management from NIU.
https://www.wbur.org/the-wbur-festival/2026/08/13/wbur-fest-chetty-boston
WBAP
— State Department Ends DEI Agenda In Foreign Service, Restores Merit-Based Standards. DD: All my coworkers who my Democrat superiors in the federal government promoted over me were Democrats who had less education than I had, had less work experience than I had, had no professional certification or fewer than I had, and/or had no professional license like the one I had and/or b) were minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or had ancestors who had not been in America for a long time.
https://www.wbap.com/2026/08/13/state-department-ends-dei-agenda-in-foreign-service-restores-merit-based-standards/
NEWS 24
— Democratic socialists are people of privilege.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7ER_IEiInQ
CBS12
— Single adults need to make over $100,000 to live comfortably in Florida. DD: I did not start earning $100,000/year in today’s dollars until I was 25 in 1974. I had worked for IRS for 3 years. I had completed ten graduate evening business courses at Loyola.
https://cbs12.com/news/local/gallery/single-adults-need-to-make-over-100000-dollars-to-live-comfortably-in-florida-smartasset-study-says-palm-beach-county-109200-martin-county-101338-st-lucie-county-99341-cost-of-living-expense-inflation-earnings-families-affordability
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
— Grant County auditor candidates discuss experience, qualifications. DD: I worked hard to elect Grogan and reelect Grogan as DuPage County Auditor in 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024. Grogan and I are both long-time DuPage County residents, Republican Precinct Committeemen, licensed CPAs, Certified Fraud Examiners, and members of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and Illinois CPA Society. Grogan represented me on the IRP State Central Committee 2018-2022.
https://columbiabasinherald.com/news/2026/jul/28/grant-county-auditor-candidates-discuss-experience-qualifications/
FLORIDA POLITICS
— Catalina Lauf send cease and desist letter to Jim Oberweis over attack ads.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/813658-catalina-lauf-send-cease-and-desist-letter-to-jim-oberweis-over-attack-ads/
POLITICO
— Trump backs Catalina Lauf for Congress to replace Byron Donalds. Lauf worked as a Commerce Department adviser in Trump’s first administration.
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026/08/trump-backs-catalina-lauf-for-congress-to-replace-byron-donalds-01037485
— Trump waged war on EVs. Now he’s helping them out.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/12/trump-waged-war-on-evs-now-hes-helping-them-out-01032336
FORTUNE
— Here’s Why China’s Social Credit System Is So Warped. DD: What costs you points in America’s Social Credit System? For me, it is my being conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and my having ancestors who have been in America for a long time.
https://fortune.com/media/8abcdbb2-0402-4e44-bf8e-c2f606286669/
FACT CHECK
— DD: I often served as a fact checker while I worked for GAO 1986-1997 at the GS-13 Step 1-10 Levels, currently $118,984-$154,682/year.
https://www.factcheck.org/2026/08/trump-uses-deceptive-chart-in-false-inflation-boast/
NEWS ONE
— The Anti-DEI Trump Admin Is Boasting About Speedily Hiring Video Gamers As Air Traffic Controllers. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that his office has taken a huge step towards solving the nation’s air traffic controller shortfall problem by recruiting video gamers to do the job. DD: According to Google AI, “In the United States, video game player ethnicity data shows that approximately 68% of gamers are White/Caucasian, 22% are Hispanic, 15% are Black/African American, 4% are Native American/Alaskan, and 2% are Asian/Pacific Islander.)
https://newsone.com/6868990/video-game-players-air-traffic-controllers/
PROGRESSIVE
— ‘We Are Coming to Get Our Check.’ Black Americans have sought reparations for slavery since the Emancipation Proclamation. DD: Affirmative Action (AA) and DEI are reparations. Blacks have been given many trillions of dollars in AA and DEI since the 1960s.
https://progressive.org/magazine/we-are-coming-to-get-our-check-baker-20260813/
COMMON DREAMS
— Can AOC Win the Working Class? Before running for president, she needs to prove she can build a national working-class coalition. DD: What did you do to qualify yourself for better paying jobs? I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/aoc-win-working-class
