FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— Trump floats renaming Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America,’ denies claim he’d interfere with Canadians speaking French. The U.S. and Canada jointly manage the waterway.
https://abc7chicago.com/story/trump-floats-renaming-lake-ontario-america-denies-claim-hed-interfere-canadians-speaking-french/19733253/
WTTW
— ‘Do It Early’: Officials Urge Illinoisans to Submit Mail-In Ballots Well Before Election Day Amid Supreme Court ‘Chaos.’
https://news.wttw.com/2026/08/25/do-it-early-officials-urge-illinoisans-submit-mail-ballots-well-election-day-amid
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: Illinois leaders anxious about Supreme Court ruling allowing Trump to push mail-in voting restrictions.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/25/supreme-court-ruling-mail-in-voting-illinois/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Mail ballots are secure, Illinois election officials stress after Supreme Court ruling. Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon said it’s “business as usual,” and she prepares for the election by fighting misinformation, expanding drop boxes for mail ballots and prepares for an influx of early voting, which begins Oct. 19
https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2026/08/25/mail-ballots-secure-illinois-election-officials-supreme-court-ruling-trump-executive-order
— Working class men. DD: Since the 1960s, women have ever-increasing been given more preference over men. That has ever-increasingly brought down men. Because I am a man, I would be nowhere today if I had not earned a job-related bachelor’s degree, three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license. As time when on, more and more and more of my coworkers were women. All those who my Democrat superiors promoted over me a) had less education than I had, b) had less work experience than I had, c) had no professional certification or fewer than I had, and/or d) had no professional license like the one I had.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2026/08/25/working-class-men-black-white-american-inequity-1879-ben-jealous
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly fight efforts to fight voter fraud.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2026/08/25/us-supreme-court-ruling-mail-in-voting-donald-trump-executive-order
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2026/08/25/marimar-martinez-ice-border-patrol-midway-blitz-chicago-police-cpd
DAILY HERALD
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: Hostage crisis? Conroy offers more election funding amid dispute with clerk.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260825/news/hostage-crisis-conroy-offers-more-election-funding-amid-dispute-with-clerk/
— The $6 billion plan that would give the suburbs control over supplying Lake Michigan water.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260824/news/suburban-leaders-detail-6-billion-plan-for-water-independence-amid-pushback-from-chicago/
SOUTHERN
— Caucus to select Republican nominee for Marion County Sheriff set for Tuesday night with questions looming about the process.
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2026/08/25/caucus-to-select-republican-nominee-for-marion-county-sheriff-set-for-wednesday-night-with-questions-looming-about-the-process/
PEORIA JOURNAL STAR
— Why are flags lowered in Illinois? Trump orders to honor Dolly Parton.
https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/25/why-are-flags-at-half-staff-today-in-illinois-trump-order-lowered-dolly-parton-death-pritzker/91462262007/
FOX ILLINOIS
— Trump and Vance to keynote Republicans’ midterm convention in Texas. As if there was any doubt, Republicans’ midterm convention will be the Donald Trump show, with the president appearing at both nights of the event in Dallas next month.
https://www.foxillinois.com/news/nation-world/trump-and-vance-to-keynote-republicans-midterm-convention-in-texas/article_7c11c295-a1dd-5301-9a7f-0f10f89fef86.html
NPR ILLINOIS
— Will Supreme Court’s order on mail-in ballots impact voting in Illinois?
https://www.nprillinois.org/illinois/2026-08-25/will-supreme-courts-order-on-mail-in-ballots-impact-voting-in-illinois
WGEM
— Pritzker, Bailey offer different visions for Illinois education.
https://www.wgem.com/2026/08/25/pritzker-bailey-offer-different-visions-illinois-education/
CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS
— Bailey implores Republicans to improve turnout as he plans to shift focus to Chicago. Republican nominee for governor says late August downstate tour is last of the campaign.
https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/bailey-implores-republicans-to-improve-turnout-as-he-plans-to-shift-focus-to-chicago/
CAPITOL CITY NOW
— Pritzker, Bailey offer different visions for Illinois education.
https://capitolcitynow.com/news/248842-pritzker-bailey-offer-different-visions-for-illinois-education/
ILLINOIS
— Governor Pritzker Announces $1 Billion to Expand High-Speed Internet Across Illinois. DD: To put together and send out GOPUSA ILLINOIIS newsletters, I have spent lots of money for high-speed internet, backup internet, computers, and backup computers.
https://www.illinois.gov/news/release.html?releaseid=32862
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— What if America had been socialist when you were young? When I was young, because I would have refused to be a socialist, a) UIC would not have accepted me in 1966, NIU in 1969, Loyola in 1972, DePaul in 1976, or IIT in 1992, b) the Post Office would not have hired me in 1966, IRS in 1971, or GAO in 1980, and c) I would not have been able to pass the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979, pass the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt in 1981, become a licensed CPA in 1981, or earn four more job-related professional certifications in 1990, 1994, 1996, and 1997. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Mainstream media love Arabs — as long as they hate Jews.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/25/mainstream-media-love-arabs-long-hate-jews/
— Musk faces no criminal charges for million-dollar voter giveaway. DD: Democrats run the federal government. To get more votes for Democrat candidates from their employees, they give their Democrat employees lots of preference.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/25/elon-musk-faces-no-criminal-charges-million-dollar-voter-giveaway/
— FEMA broke federal law by skipping homes with Trump signs after hurricane. DD: I have had a Vote Republican sign in front of my front porch for decades.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/25/fema-refused-visit-11-pro-trump-houses-2024/
— Florida restricts welfare benefits for ‘nonessential’ purchases. Items banned include vapes, tattoos, and spa services.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/25/florida-restricts-welfare-benefits-nonessential-purchases/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Consulting firm Deloitte to pay US government $21.5 million in DEI settlement. DD: The accounting profession had no interest in me a) because I did not pass the CPA examination until I was 30 in 1979, b) because I did not earn a master’s degree in accounting until I was 31, c) because I did not pass the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt until I was 32, and d) because I did not become a licensed CPA until I was 32. But the accounting profession would have been interested in me if I had been a minority or a female.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/business/4700165/deloitte-us-government-dei-settlement/
NEW YORK POST
— Affordability trumps all other issues in midterm battleground states. DD: What did you do to afford things? I took jobs that my peers would not stoop to take. 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://nypost.com/2026/08/26/us-news/affordability-trumps-all-other-issues-in-midterm-battleground-states-grassroots-survey-reveals/
DAILY SIGNAL
— Will Supreme Court Ruling Make It Harder for Noncitizens to Vote?
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/08/25/will-supreme-court-ruling-make-it-harder-for-noncitizens-to-vote/
FOX NEWS
— Utah library confirms LGBTQ ‘Pride’ book for its ‘smallest patrons’ is kept easily accessible. DD: How successful have Democrats been making your children and grandchildren LGBTQers?
https://www.foxnews.com/media/utah-library-confirms-lgbtq-pride-book-its-smallest-patrons-kept-easily-accessible.amp
NEWSMAX
— Democrats embracing socialism.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/democrats-embracing-socialism-043004488.html
— Florida Bars Tattoos, Tanning, Tobacco From Welfare.
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/ron-desantis-florida-tanf/2026/08/25/id/1267295/
OPM
— Restoring Merit With the Right Civil Service Exam. DD: If I had not passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination (FSEE) in 1970, the Democrats who ran IRS would not have hired me in 1971. My having been a public sector employee for almost 3 years harmed my efforts to get good job in the private sector after I earned a bachelor’s degree in management from NIU when I was 21 in 1970. In anticipation of that, as a fallback, I took and passed the FSEE before I graduated.
https://www.opm.gov/news/secrets-of-opm/restoring-merit-with-the-right-civil-service-exam/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The exam that hired one in twenty. This is not the federal government’s first rodeo. In fact, we had civil service exams from 1955 to 1982 – the Federal Service Entrance Examination (FSEE) and its successor, the Professional and Administrative Career Examination (PACE) – that were intended to allow an applicant to earn their desk by out-scoring the competition in a proctored exam hall. In practice, however, relatively few civil servants were hired through the FSEE or PACE exam.)
TOWNHALL
— We Now Have the First Details of the Republican Midterm Convention.
https://townhall.com/news/josephchalfant/2026/08/25/we-now-have-the-first-details-of-the-republican-midterm-convention-n2681889
— No Amnesty Ever.
https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2026/08/26/get-it-through-your-thick-heads-gop-no-amnesty-ever-n2681808
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
NBC NEWS
— Democratic socialists notch another win in the Oklahoma Senate primary runoff. Nurse N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas has won the Democratic Senate nomination in Oklahoma, NBC News projects, defeating an older, more moderate opponent. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/nkiyla-jasmine-thomas-wins-oklahoma-senate-primary-democrat-rcna593618
CBS NEWS
— Who qualifies for the IRS Fresh Start program? DD: While I worked for IRS’s Collection Division 1971-1980, I made many ability to pay decisions.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/who-qualifies-for-the-irs-fresh-start-program/
— U.S. airman faces charges under military justice system for criticizing Trump over Iran war. DD: My Democrat GAO superiors forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997 because I was an active member in a class action lawsuit that charged them with reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation. In Diersen v. GAO, the court ruled that was OK.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jason-watson-charged-trump-criticism-air-force-article-88/
FOX NEW YORK
— New York’s law banning police cooperation with ICE takes effect. DD: Democrat leaders have declared a Second Civil War on Republicans. Illegals are their soldiers in their Democrat Army.
https://www.fox5ny.com/news/new-york-bans-police-cooperation-with-ice-287-g
REUTERS
— Unions sue OPM over rules on ‘suitability firings,’ ranked performance reviews. DD: I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government for almost 30 years. According to them, I was never a suitable federal employee, not only because I was not a Democrat, but because I was not a minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and I had ancestors who had been in America for a long time. My Democrat superiors used the subjectivity in their performance appraisal rules to waste my career and to force me to retire when I was 49 in 1997.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/unions-sue-opm-over-rules-suitability-firings-ranked-performance-reviews-2026-08-25/
NEW YORK TIMES
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: Hegseth’s Purge of Top Generals Leaves the Army Rudderless. DD: My Democrat GAO superiors purged many while I worked for GAO 1980-1997. They were overwhelmingly White, male, older, and/or non-veteran.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/us/hegseth-purge-army-generals.html
— DD: Democrat leaders want voters on welfare because voters on welfare vote for Democrats.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000011107033/how-welfare-became-a-tool-of-humiliation.html
USA TODAY
— Here’s when the Social Security COLA update is expected to be released. DD: What has helped you deal with inflation? COLAs have helped me deal with 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.usatoday.com/story/money/personal-finance/retirement/2026/08/25/social-security-cola-2027-announcement-date/91454199007/
— A single Corvette just sold for $18,705,000. What makes it special?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/cars/news/2026/08/21/corvette-grand-sport-sells-record-price/91409884007/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Ascendant No More, Democrats Are a Coalition of the Pathetic. The party’s base—and its ideological vanguard—consists of downwardly mobile college graduates.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/ascendant-no-more-democrats-are-a-coalition-of-the-pathetic-50d7c6b9
— The Socialism We Already Have. The fundamental flaw in the Marxian slogan: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” is who decides? DD: According to Democrat leaders, since the 1960s, those who are Republican, White, male, older, and/or non-veteran have the ability to pay and those who are Democrat, minority, female, younger, and/or veteran need money. All my coworkers who my Democrat superiors promoted over me were Democrats who a) were minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or had ancestors who had not been in America for a long time and b) 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.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-socialism-we-already-have-1328767f
FORTUNE
— The Trump administration proposes $103,000 fee for H-1B visas that DHS itself estimates would paralyze 76% of small businesses. DD: All my employers would have hired noncitizens instead of me if they could have. My critics/opponents cannot say that because they did not have to take bad jobs like I had to because they had wealthy parents. I should write about my critics/opponents.
https://fortune.com/2026/08/25/trump-h1b-visas-fee-startups/
— Gen Z wants to be ‘tradwives.’ New data reveals the exact salary your spouse needs to earn—and in most states it’s under $100K. DD: How old were you when you started earning $100,000/year in today’s dollars? For me, it was when I was 25 in 1974. I had worked for IRS for 3 years. I had completed 10 graduate business evening business courses at Loyola.
https://fortune.com/2026/08/26/stay-at-home-parent-tradwife-exact-salary-spouse-needs-to-earn-revealed-below-100k/
— Every politician says they’re for the working man, so why are only 1% of elected officials from the working class? DD: 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.
https://fortune.com/2026/08/25/working-class-representation-global-democracies/
TIME
— DD: There are tremendous incentives to vote for Democrat candidates. Democrat elected officials give tremendous preference to those who vote for them. I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government for almost 30 years. My Democrat superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates got tremendous preference from Democrat elected officials.
https://time.com/article/2026/08/26/the-false-fear-of-noncitizen-voting/
TAMPA FREE PRESS
— Voters Lean Toward Enforcing Existing Gun Laws Over New Bans As Midterms Loom.
https://www.tampafp.com/voters-lean-toward-enforcing-existing-gun-laws-over-new-bans-as-midterms-loom-poll-finds/
NAPLES DAILY NEWS
— More voters trust Democrats over GOP on cost of living. DD: What has helped you deal with inflation? COLAs have helped me deal with 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.naplesnews.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/25/voters-trust-dems-gop-affordability-new-poll/91464740007/
LAKE COUNTY EXAMINER
— Who rigged the economy against workers? DD: What did you do to fight the rigged economy? I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree, three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license.
https://www.lakecountyexam.com/townnews/work/opinion-who-rigged-the-economy-against-workers/article_3a5db58f-0965-458a-9ee5-5c5bb61bcb83.amp.html
NATIONAL NEWS DESK
— Young Democrats increasingly pick socialism in fight against economic woes. DD: When you were young, what did you do to fight economic woes? I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree, three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license.
https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/young-democrats-increasingly-pick-socialism-in-fight-against-economic-political-woes-establishment-primary-elections
WTMJ
— Where are teens supposed to go? DD: When you were a teen, what did you do when you were not in school? 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 delivered mail 1966-1969.
https://wtmj.com/shows/point-taken/2026/08/25/what-happened-to-third-spaces-for-teenagers/
FEDERAL NEWS NETWORK & NFFE
— Unions challenge Trump admin overhaul of suitability, performance rules. DD: I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government for almost 30 years. According to them, I was never a suitable federal employee, not only because I was not a Democrat, but because I was not a minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and I had ancestors who had been in America for a long time. My Democrat superiors used the subjectivity in their performance appraisal rules to waste my career and to force me to retire when I was 49 in 1997.
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/litigation/2026/08/unions-challenge-trump-admin-overhaul-of-suitability-performance-rules/
https://www.nffe.org/news/unions-challenge-trump-administration-rules-governing-federal-employee-performance-evaluations-and-job-suitability-decisions/
FED WEEK
— Within Grade Increases and Who Gets Them. DD: My critics/opponents were furious when I got within grade increases.
https://www.fedweek.com/ask/federal-pay/within-grade-increases/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: General schedule employees. . ..are eligible for within grade increases unless they are denied for poor performance, after the following waiting periods: 52 weeks for advancement to steps 2-4; 104 weeks for advancement to steps 5-7; and 156 weeks for advancement to steps 8-10. . .Within grade increases not meant to be “routine.”)
TAXPAYER ADVOCATE
— IRS halts most unannounced collection employee visits to taxpayers. DD: I made many unannounced visits to taxpayers to collect delinquent taxes while I worked for IRS’s Collection Division as a Revenue Officer 1971-1980.
https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/news/tax-news/irs-halts-most-unannounced-collection-employee-visits-to-taxpayers/2023/08/
POLITICO
— Trump scoffs at ‘affordability’ issues. DD: What did you do to afford things? I took jobs that my peers would not stoop to take. 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.politico.com/news/2026/08/25/trumps-political-gamble-on-beef-shows-his-growing-anxiety-over-affordability-01049917
— Political newcomer Darline Graham wins South Carolina’s GOP Senate runoff. DD: My critics/opponents in DuPage County, Milton Township, and Wheaton have always demonized me, denigrated me, and condemned me as being a newcomer. They have always stressed that I have lived in the aforesaid only since I was 29 in 1978, that I never attended any schools there, that I never attended any churches there, and that I never raised any children there.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/25/darline-graham-wins-south-carolina-senate-runoff-01050320
PBS
— Courting the independent vote. DD: I have been a Republican Precinct Committeeman since 1999. Republican candidates on ballots in my precinct have always gotten more votes because I hand-deliver to the independent voters in my precinct sample ballots, Republican voter guides, and campaign literature from Republican candidates.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/in-arizona-courting-the-independent-vote-requires-a-new-playbook
