FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— Oak Brook display of thousands of American flags seeks to humanize 9/11 attacks. DD: I organized Wheaton’s 9/11 ceremonies in 2003 and 2004. Far too many Democrats and RINOs boycotted the ceremonies.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/911-news-healing-fields-memorial-made-thousands-american-flags-seeks-humanize-attacks-twin-towers-pentagon/19812691/
NBC5
— ‘Let’s roll:’ Wheaton College graduate remembered as 9/11 hero. Sept 11, 2001, Todd Beamer, a Wheaton College student and basketball player, was on United flight 93 when the plane got hijacked. DD: I organized Wheaton’s 9/11 ceremonies in 2003 and 2004. Far too many Democrats and RINOs boycotted the ceremonies.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/lets-roll-wheaton-college-graduate-remembered-as-9-11-hero/3987109/
— Republican convention pays tribute to Charlie Kirk one year after his killing.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/charlie-kirk-tribute-republican-convention/3987493/
WGN9
— CPS data shows 13 high schools are 80% empty.
https://wgntv.com/news/wgn-investigates/cps-data-shows-13-high-schools-are-80-empty/
WTTW
— 25 Years Later, Sept. 11 Impacts Felt at Home and Abroad.
https://news.wttw.com/2026/09/10/25-years-later-sept-11-impacts-felt-home-and-abroad
WGN RADIO
— Trump to commemorate 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks at the Pentagon. DD: I organized Wheaton’s 9/11 ceremonies in 2003 and 2004. Far too many Democrats and RINOs boycotted the ceremonies.
https://wgnradio.com/news/political-news/ap-trump-to-commemorate-25th-anniversary-of-9-11-attacks-at-the-pentagon/amp/
WBEZ
— Construction sites will be required to be more welcoming to women under a new Illinois law. A successful legislative push embraced by Gov. JB Pritzker means the state’s male-dominated construction industry soon will have to make new job-site accommodations to employees who lactate and menstruate. Illinois is the second state with such a mandate. DD: While I worked for GAO in its Chicago office in the 1990s, it converted its smoking room to a lactation room.
https://www.wbez.org/politics/2026/09/11/construction-jobs-women-job-sites-illinois-law-pritzker-zahrah-hill
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— DD: Democrat leaders use Dolly Parton to promote LGBTQ.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/09/10/dolly-parton-driver-gender-affirming-care/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— DD: Democrat and RINO leaders use Affirmative Action and DEI to destroy Republicans.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2026/09/11/attacks-against-dei-stop-america-from-reaching-its-full-promise
— Chicago-area consultant, along with other experts, raised alarms about sloppy airport security before 9/11. But proposed reforms, such as the government taking over passenger screening from contractors hired by airlines, didn’t happen until it was too late. DD: I organized Wheaton’s 9/11 ceremonies in 2003 and 2004. Far too many Democrats and RINOs boycotted the ceremonies.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2026/09/10/ohare-airport-security-terrorism-airlines-checkpoint-government-oversight
DAILY HERALD
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH PICTURE: Why suburban police are teaming up to fight video gambling smash-and-grabs. DD: In 2009, I led the successful effort to ban video gambling in Wheaton. In 2019, I led the successful effort to ban the sale of pot in Wheaton.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260910/crime/suburban-police-form-task-force-to-target-video-gambling-smash-and-grabs/
OUR QUAD CITIES
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more dependency on government and charity.
https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/local-news/illinois-to-expand-access-to-grocery-stores/
HOMEWOOD FLOSSMOOR CHRONICLE
— Illinois Education Association, local union presidents release joint statement after racist actions at high school football game.
https://www.hfchronicle.com/2026/09/11/illinois-education-association-local-union-presidents-release-joint-statement-after-racist-actions-at-high-school-football-game/
NPR ILLINOIS
— DD: The more that you do to promote Trump, the more that Democrats and RINOs do to destroy you.
https://www.nprillinois.org/2026-09-11/empty-seats-socialism-and-trump-dominate-the-republican-midterm-convention
— Vance, Trump issue plea for Americans to vote Republican on last night of convention. DD: What is your Republican Precinct Committeeman doing to get out the vote? I hope that each of the 18 Republican candidates on the November 3, 2006 ballot in my precinct will soon provide the Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO) with enough of their campaign literature pieces so that I can pick up 400 for each of them and hand-deliver them to the 400 residences in my DuPage County Milton Township Precinct 59 in Wheaton that have at least one registered Republican or Independent voter. That is 7,200 pieces (400 X 18). So far, I have placed 660 DuPage County Election Division-provided mailing labels on 400 DuPage County GOP-provided envelopes. I have split them into five batches and put them in walk order. I want to start stuffing those envelopes with MTRO-provided outstanding Voter Guides and the literature pieces ASAP. I want to start stuffing as soon as I have at least 100 pieces from each of the candidates. As soon as the sample ballot for my precinct is available, I will make 400 photocopies, stuff them, and head out the door. The 18 candidates are Tracy, Bailey/Del Mar, Fioretti, Harris, Drew, Soloman, Oakley, Lewis, Vrankovich, Grasso, Noonan, Schiappa, Henry, Eckhoff, Michaud, Schultz, Quirk, and Helland.
https://www.nprillinois.org/2026-09-10/vance-trump-issue-plea-for-americans-to-vote-republican-on-last-night-of-convention
CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— Republican convention pays tribute to Charlie Kirk one year after his killing.
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/politics/ap-republican-convention-pays-tribute-to-charlie-kirk-one-year-after-his-killing/
FOX ILLINOIS
— Prosecutor brought in to lead investigation of Trump foes says he has resigned his position. DD: To get rid of me, my Democrat superiors did far more than just investigate me. My Democrat Post Office superiors disallowed my sick leave requests in 1968 and 1969 and forced me to resign in 1969. My Democrat IRS superiors a) got rid of the IRS manager who had promoted me in 1972, 1973, and 1974, b) disallowed my travel vouchers in 1974, c) disallowed my education deductions in 1978, and d) made it clear that they would never promote me to GS-13. My Democrat GAO superiors a) forced me to take a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS in 1980, b) delayed my promotions to GS-11, GS-12, and GS-13 and made it clear that they would never promote me to GS-14, c) kept me off audits of IRS for all but 3 of the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO, d) got rid of the GAO manager in 1987 who had arranged my transfer from IRS in 1980 and was finally able to assign me to audits of IRS and to promote me to GS-13 in 1986, e) always ranked me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance, and f) forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997. If I had been a Democrat, minority, female, and/or veteran, they would not have taken the aforesaid adverse actions against me.
https://www.foxillinois.com/news/nation-world/prosecutor-brought-in-to-lead-investigation-of-tru. mp-foes-says-he-has-resigned-his-position/article_f2a70791-5020-5c5b-8b04-b7fbd2102668.html
BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO
— Democratic Socialists Are Winning Big Across America. Are They Losing Ground In Chicago?
https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/09/10/democratic-socialists-are-winning-big-across-america-are-they-losing-ground-in-chicago/
ILLINOIS
— Illinois Welcoming Centers Program. DD: Under Pritzker, those who are the following are ever-increasingly unwelcome in Illinois: conservative, Republican, American, White, male, older, non-poor, heterosexual, married, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time.
https://omb.illinois.gov/public/gata/csfa/Program.aspx?csfa=1493
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— State Sen. Dave Syverson, a Republican from Cherry Valley, is sponsoring legislation requiring Illinois schools to teach about the events of 9/11 every year.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/09/11/marylands-moore-rallies-illinois-dems-01071867
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/09/11/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-805/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— 25 years later, America honors 9/11 heroes with solemn memorial services. DD: I organized Wheaton’s 9/11 ceremonies in 2003 and 2004. Far too many Democrats and RINOs boycotted the ceremonies.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/sep/11/25-years-later-america-honors-911-heroes-solemn-memorial-services/
WASHINGTON FREE BEACON
— Why They Hate Us: The Sources of Terrorist Conduct.
https://freebeacon.substack.com/p/why-they-hate-us-the-sources-of-terrorist
NEW YORK POST
— Vance takes on Abdul El-Sayed and ‘Mexican’ protester in rousing RNC midterm speech on ‘birthright’ American values.
https://nypost.com/2026/09/10/us-news/vice-president-jd-vance-reignites-spat-with-abdul-el-sayed-in-gop-midterm-convention-speech/
— Protester heckles JD Vance, spices up his GOP midterm convention speech: ‘Just discovered the symbol of the far-left.’
https://nypost.com/2026/09/10/us-news/protester-heckles-jd-vance-spices-up-his-gop-midterm-convention-speech/
— Vance steals 2028 show at GOP convention — attendees deem VP ‘ready’ to be crowned Trump’s MAGA heir.
https://nypost.com/2026/09/11/us-news/jd-vance-steals-2028-show-at-gop-convention-attendees-hail-him-as-trumps-maga-heir/
AMERICAN CONSTITUTION SOCIETY
— Affirmative Consideration, Not Affirmative Action. DD: Ever since the 1960s, all those above me have been under ever-increasing pressure to give more preference to those who do not share my demographics. If had been born decades later if not years later, I never would have been able to work my way through college, earn a job-related bachelor’s degree, earn three job-related master’s degrees, earn six job-related professional certifications, or earn a job-related professional license.
https://www.acslaw.org/expertforum/affirmative-consideration-not-affirmative-action/
BILLY GRAHM EVENGELICAL ASSOCIATION
— Australian Principal Forced to Resign for Refusing to Promote LGBTQ Content to Elementary Students. DD: My Democrat superiors in the federal government wasted my career and forced me to retire because I refused to promote their a) race and gender based preference giving, b) political affiliation discrimination, c) reverse discrimination, d) age discrimination, e) religious discrimination, and f) national origin discrimination.
https://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/articles/principal-forced-to-resign-for-refusing-to-promote-lgbtq-content-to-elementary-students
— University of Georgia Training Claims Religious Liberty Is ‘License to Discriminate’ Against ‘LGBTQ People’
https://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/articles/university-of-georgia-training-claims-religious-liberty-is-license-to-discriminate-against-lgbtq-people-1
BIZ PAC REVIEW
— Parents have new way to determine if their child’s doctor is part of pro-trans group.
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/09/10/exclusive-parents-have-new-way-to-determine-if-their-childs-doctor-is-part-of-pro-trans-group-1658402/
BLAZE
— Socialists and Antifa agitators tussle with Christians outside GOP convention — riot police respond.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/antifa-christians-gop-convention-video
— Outgoing Democrat demands taxpayers pay for transgender health care for detained illegal aliens.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/al-green-trans-healthcare-illegals
BREITBART
— Capacity Crowd Goes Wild for Trump, Vance at Midterm Convention Closing.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/10/capacity-crowd-wild-trump-vance-midterm-convention-closing/
DAILY SIGNAL
— True Democratic Socialists Can’t Run on Their Real Platform.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByJPzlCHGlo
DAILY WIRE
— The Hidden AI Battle For America’s Classrooms. Universities are pushing for AI tools to adopt DEI priorities.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-hidden-ai-battle-for-americas-classrooms
CHRISTIAN POST
— Trump reiterates warning against Democrat ‘dark age’ in final RNC address.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/trump-reiterates-warning-against-dark-age-from-democrats-at-rnc.html
COLLEGE FIX
— UCLA features terror sympathizers at 9/11 anniversary symposium. DD: I organized Wheaton’s 9/11 ceremonies in 2003 and 2004. Far too many Democrats and RINOs boycotted the ceremonies.
https://www.thecollegefix.com/ucla-features-terror-sympathizers-at-9-11-anniversary-symposium/
EPOCH TIMES
— Never Forget
https://lists.theepochtimes.com/archive/ByjaBQktD/Jlid8tcrj/wQqUiYhGYFPe
FOX NEWS
— Crowd erupts as Vance smacks down protester waving Mexican flag.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/crowd-erupts-vance-smacks-down-protester-waving-mexican-flag-get-your-over-there
— ‘He is PROUD of those taking the stage tonight,’ ‘Charlie Kirk Show’ producer says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxub7I7fblw
— America should not be a safe haven for those who promote terrorism.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6393500638112
— Moderate Muslim activist warns Mamdani promoting extremist politics.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6396678566112
— Socialists will ‘kill the American Dream.’
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6404907893112
— History proves socialism goes hand in hand with bigotry.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6404897454112
— Socialist anti-Trump protester blames ‘right-wing provocateurs’ for confrontation outside RNC.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6404905551112
NEWS BUSTERS
— The View HATES Fetterman’s GOP Message, Claims DSA Only About ‘Social Security.’
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-fondacaro/2026/09/10/view-hates-fettermans-gop-message-claims-dsa-only-about
— CNN’s Hunt Lets Pritzker Go Unchallenged on More ‘Trump Has Dementia’ Garbage.
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/steve-malzberg/2026/09/11/soft-cnns-hunt-lets-pritzker-go-unchallenged-more-trump-has
PJ MEDIA
— Sodom and Gomorrica: Foster the Children.
https://pjmedia.com/benbartee/2026/09/10/sodom-and-gomorrica-foster-the-children-n4957078
— RNC Convention Honors Victims of Illegal Alien Crime, Remembers Those Lost on 9/11. DD: I organized Wheaton’s 9/11 ceremonies in 2003 and 2004. Far too many Democrats and RINOs boycotted the ceremonies.
https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2026/09/10/rnc-convention-honors-illegal-alien-crime-victims-911-heroes-n4957106
STAND
— 9/11 25 Years Later. DD: I organized Wheaton’s 9/11 ceremonies in 2003 and 2004. Far too many Democrats and RINOs boycotted the ceremonies.
https://afa.net/the-stand/culture/2026/09/911-25-years-later/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Lately, we have seen the rise of influence of Islamists in our culture. Islamist and socialist Hasan Piker is a pal of Michigan Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, Abdul El-Sayed. Piker has a lot of influence among many young people on the Left – he reportedly has 3 million followers. Piker says America deserved 9/11. He’s not the only one. Democratic Socialist Candidate Melot Kiros, running for the U.S. Congress in the Denver area, basically said the United States deserved what happened to us that fateful Tuesday a quarter of a century ago. Meanwhile, the media often downplays the Islamic angle to 9/11. But, in contrast, scholars note that the Qur’an teaches the faithful Muslim should “Fight those who do not believe in Allah” (Surah 9:29). Recently, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said that they would not allow people to call 9/11 a “terrorist” attack. But the hue and outcry caused them to reverse course, only for the case of 9/11. One of the lessons the West seems not to have learned in these 25 years is to recognize that there is a vibrant strand within Islam that is committed to violent Jihad. No whitewashing can wish this away. Post 9/11, one study found a 31% increase in mosques in the United States, just from 2010 to 2020. We cherish religious freedom in America, and well we should. But we don’t welcome those who would kill to advance their faith. Of course, there are virtually no churches in Islamic countries.)
TOWNHALL
— The Border Has Gone Quiet – but Here’s What the Cartels Are Up To.
https://townhall.com/news/cameron-arcand/2026/09/10/the-borders-gone-quiet-but-heres-what-the-cartels-are-up-to-n2682799
— Diet Coke Socialism. DD: My mother was raised on a farm and she never attended high school. She stayed home and raised me and my brother. To afford that, my father almost always worked second jobs. He died suddenly when I was 47 and I was 21 in 1969. He never earned more than $75,000/year in today’s dollars. I had to work my way through college.
https://townhall.com/columnists/erickerickson/2026/09/11/diet-coke-socialism-n2682757
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The Trump administration is drafting a rule that would let married couples with a stay-at-home spouse collect federal welfare benefits. The money comes from a 1990s Health and Human Services fund meant to cover daycare so low-income parents could work or go to school. About 870,000 families draw on it now, roughly 80 percent headed by a single working mom, and it pays about $9,000 per child per year. Vice President JD Vance champions the change, and the administration intends to do it without a vote in Congress. Superficially, the policy sounds good. Children raised in two-parent, single-earner homes outperform every other group in school and in earnings, and those families are the only ones reproducing above the replacement rate. We should want more stay-at-home mothers, and the vice president’s heart is in the right place. His plan is still a terrible idea. He is offering socialism-lite, and Diet Coke socialism never beats the real thing. Republicans spent 30 years arguing that welfare made people dependent on government. In the 1990s, former President Bill Clinton and the GOP restructured welfare to end dependency by allowing single moms to work or get a degree while their childcare costs were covered. The Vance Plan hands that money to mothers who stay home with working husbands, so long as the husbands do not earn too much and the mothers do not work. The income cap is near $75,000 in most states, and a couple with two children would collect $18,000 a year. If the father makes $70,000 and his boss offers a promotion with a 10 percent raise, the $7,000 increase takes the household to $77,000 and wipes out the entire $18,000. The father must turn down that promotion, and the next one, because the math does not change until the children turn 18. By then he is in his 50s and has passed on every rung of the ladder. The mom cannot take a part-time job, because anything paying less than $18,000 is a pay cut. A nurse who steps away for 5 years to raise kids can get recertified. A nurse who steps away for 25 years starts over at 50. That is the benefits cliff conservatives spent a generation warning about, and it remains even when the recipient is married and votes Republican. My Christian friends praising this idea are making families dependent on government and turning stay-at-home mothers into welfare queens. Many of the voices cheering this plan spent last year going through grocery receipts to decide whether a poor woman could buy a Coke with an EBT card. A subsidy conditioned on staying home invites a rule defining what staying home requires, and they will write it. The socialist left loves the collective and the post-liberal right knows what is best for your household, and both want a bureaucrat in Washington controlling your family. There is a better answer, which is to not take the money at all. Give an uncapped deduction per child for as long as that child is at home or in college, and let parents who homeschool or pay tuition deduct the school taxes they pay for a system they do not use. Then address the national debt, because people do not have children when they have given up on the future and the debt destroys the private sector’s opportunities. The people most supportive of this plan have given up on America and want to manage its decline. They have replaced the Republican establishment that gave us Medicare Part D and now want welfare expansion. Democrat-lite never beats Democrat. The vice president is gambling that socialists will balk at subsidizing stay-at-home mothers over working mothers. They will not balk. Democrats will take the deal and raise it, and each raise gets easier once Republicans concede that Washington should put families on welfare. It is also amateurish to divide the right this close to the midterms, pitting stay-at-home mothers against the mothers who work and will pay for it. Let parents keep their own money and run their households as they see fit. Pay down the debt, grow the private sector, and give hope back to the people instead of trying to manage a decline that itself is a choice.)
TURNING POINT USA
— Freedom Built to Last | Honoring Charlie Kirk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Log3saPGGk
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ASSOCIATED PRESS
— 9/11 overshadows other major events of the past 25 years for many Americans.
https://apnews.com/article/sept-11-25th-anniversary-polling-4df26c1a52c88c9cd1d1bf07367db4d7
— Republican convention pays tribute to Charlie Kirk one year after his killing.
https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-anniversary-gop-convention-5b5985c228a2e6d9128e7dc748c1da29
ABC NEWS
— Vance? Rubio? DeSantis? Cruz? Republicans at Dallas convention ponder options for post-Trump leader.
https://abcnews.com/Politics/wireStory/vance-rubio-desantis-cruz-republicans-dallas-convention-ponder-136354801
— Hegseth blocks promotion of several Navy officers to 1-star rank. DD: My Democrat GAO superiors blocked my promotion to GS-14, my Democrat IRS superiors to GS-13, and my Democrat Post Office superiors to GS-5. My Democrat GAO superiors forced me to retire. My Democrat Post Office superiors forced me to resign.
https://abcnews.com/Politics/hegseth-blocks-promotion-navy-officers-1-star-rank/story?id=133498412
— DD: According to Democrat and RINO leaders, nearly half of Americans view the Republican Party platform as being “too conservative.” They ignore, downplay, dismiss, and belittle the fact that a similar share view the Democratic Party platform as being “too liberal.’ Since 2000, RINO leaders of the Milton Township Republican Organization, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, Illinois Republican Party (IRP), Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois have used my promotion conservative principles and the Republican Party platform against me big time. Previously the RINO leaders of TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois and Illinois Center Right Coalition used that against me big time. Ever-increasingly, the aforesaid blame me and blame my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters for defeats suffered by Republican candidates on ballots in my precinct. They ever-increasingly hint/imply/argue/shout at Republican candidates on ballots in my precinct that the more that I do to help elect them, the fewer votes that they will get, and especially from Independent voters. They would be overjoyed if I left the IRP and joined the Conservative Party of Illinois ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Party_(United_States)#Illinois ).
https://abcnews.com/Politics/thirds-americans-country-headed-wrong-direction-abc-newswashington/story?id=132583099
NBC NEWS
— Vance positions himself as a fighter for family values.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/jd-vance/vance-positions-fighter-family-values-national-birthright-rcna596594
NEW YORK TIMES
— Vance, Eying 2028, Relishes the Spotlight at Trump’s Convention.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/11/us/politics/vance-republican-convention-speech-trump.html
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly fight efforts to fight terrorism.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/opinion/911-patriot-act-trump-politics.html
— What Would Charlie Kirk Do Today?
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/us/politics/charlie-kirk-killing-one-year.html?searchResultPosition=1
WASHINGTON POST
— Vance appears more like Trump’s heir apparent at GOP convention.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/09/10/vance-keynote-speech-gop-midterm-event-strengthens-image-heir/
DENVER GAZETTE
— Republicans competitive in blue-state Senate races thanks to socialists, not Trump, as party gathers in Dallas.
https://www.denvergazette.com/2026/09/10/republicans-competitive-in-blue-state-senate-races-thanks-to-socialists-not-trump-as-party-gathers-in-dallas/
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
— Vance and Cruz share Dallas stage, offering a preview of the GOP’s future.
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/article/vance-auditions-for-2028-as-cruz-makes-own-pitch-22425798.php
— Vance claps back at protester who interrupted his speech with a Mexican flag.
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/article/vance-protester-gop-convention-22426655.php
DETROIT NEWS
— Vance seizes MAGA spotlight as Republicans begin looking beyond Trump.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2026/09/10/vance-seizes-maga-spotlight-as-republicans-begin-looking-beyond-trump/91701887007/
DESERET NEWS
— Vance pushes restoration of nuclear family, traditional marriage in primetime convention speech. The vice president spent much of his nearly half-hour speech highlighting the importance of the nuclear family and how the most important thing to do is find someone ‘who’s worth building a life with.’
https://www.deseret.com/politics/2026/09/10/jd-vance-donald-trump-gop-convention-speeches/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Trump Targets the Wrong Base. It’s the ‘traditional Republicans’ he needs to get to the polls, not MAGA enthusiasts. DD: I have always been a traditional Republican.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trump-targets-the-wrong-base-d5886214
— The 9/11 Lessons for Next Time. The U.S. homeland is more vulnerable now than it was 25 years ago.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/9-11-25th-anniversary-twin-towers-terrorism-7fcb6674
— How the Unity of 9/11 Sowed the Seeds of America’s Deep Political Division.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/how-the-unity-of-9-11-sowed-the-seeds-of-americas-deep-political-division-41cf4d13
FORBES
— ‘The Story Of Socialism Is A Story Of Mass Suffering’: Trump Jr. Laces Into Dems Over ‘Communism.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtEDJ_KkCNk
FED WEEK
— An arbitrator has ruled in favor of the NTEU union in a grievance over firings of some 3,500 probationary employees at HHS last year, agreeing that they were a “reduction in force masquerading as probationary terminations” and not meeting the employee protections and other requirements of a RIF. The arbitrator also agreed with the union that the boilerplate language many agencies used to justify the layoffs on performance grounds was a pretext—another argument common to the challenges. (OPM since has changed the rules to no longer require that agencies cite performance reasons for firing a probationary employee.) DD: After I transferred from IRS to GAO when I was 31 in 1980, my Democrat GAO superiors were furious when they learned that they could not use probationary procedures to get rid of me. Nevertheless, they did everything that could to get me to transfer back to IRS, to transfer to another federal agency, or to quit. They gave me bad job assignments, unfair performance expectations, and unfair performance appraisals. They kept me off audits of IRS. They delayed my promotions and never promoted me beyond GS-13. Further, previously, in 1970, my Chicago Heights Firestone Store boss refused to let me start until after I passed a 2-week probationary period in Indiana. He would never had hired me, but his boss had assigned me to him. He did not have a college degree and he disapproved of my avoiding the Vietnam War draft, my being Protestant, my being German American, my having ancestors who had been in America since 1844, and my living in Crete.
https://www.fedweek.com/fedweek/arbitrator-rules-for-union-on-probationary-employee-firings/
PSY POST
— DD; Democrat leaders crow about their success in getting women to blame Republicans for all their problems.
https://www.psypost.org/when-equality-rises-egalitarians-start-defending-the-establishment/
FROM FOREIGN SOURCES
DAILY MAIL
— Karoline Leavitt trades White House podium for tough campaign talk as she unleashes on ‘extreme socialist’ Democrats.
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16121781/Karoline-Leavitt-campaign-Republicans-Democrats.html
NEWS24
— Attempts at silencing Charlie Kirk have only amplified his voice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv9VO6pGBs8
GUARDIAN
— How far would you go to give your children a better chance in life? DD: My parents sent me to Missouri Synod Lutheran grade schools. 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.
https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/jul/20/how-far-would-you-go-give-your-children-better-chance-life-richard-reeves
Tag: alien
September 5, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— Socialism 2026 conference opens in Chicago, Bailey criticizes Pritzker. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC0flNUDQAE
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/bailey-criticizes-pritzker-socialism-2026-234057445.html
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— ALL OIF THE FRONT PAGE: DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/bearing-the-blitz/2026/09/04/midway-blitz-bovino-grand-jury-chicago
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Minnesota can be the firewall to stop the spread of socialism across our country, or we can be the next domino to fall. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/patriotism-unity/4710209/minnesota-dsa-socialist-policies-peggy-flanagan/
— Elon Musk is right: Hitler was a socialist. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4712226/was-hitler-a-socialist-nazi-economy/
WASHINGTON STAND
— The Promise of Socialism Is Misery for All. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://washingtonstand.com/article/perkins-the-promise-of-socialism-is-misery-for-all
— Dems Declare War on Moderates but Tolerate Their Socialist Fringe. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://washingtonstand.com/article/dems-declare-war-on-their-moderates-but-tolerate-socialist-fringe
NEW YORK POST
— The DSA’s socialist plans carry a $212T price tag — and every one of us will pay. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://nypost.com/2026/09/04/opinion/dsa-plan-has-a-212t-price-tag-and-all-of-us-will-pay/
— Ted Cruz names Mamdani ‘most powerful Democrat in the country’ as he warns of socialist rise. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://nypost.com/2026/09/05/us-news/ted-cruz-names-mamdani-most-powerful-democrat-in-the-country-as-he-warns-of-socialist-rise/
BREITBART
— Socialism Conference Draws Radicals for Lessons on Marxism and ‘Fighting Fascism’ in Chicago. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.breitbart.com/education/2026/09/04/video-socialism-conference-draws-radicals-lessons-marxism-fighting-fascism-chicago/
— Blue Collar Boom.
https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2026/09/04/breitbart-business-digest-blue-collar-boom-labor-day-special-edition/amp/
— ICE Breaks Record, Arrests Nearly 51K Illegal Aliens Across U.S. in August.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/04/ice-breaks-record-arrests-nearly-51k-illegal-aliens-across-u-s-in-august/amp/
CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES
— The Employment Effects of Immigration Enforcement. DD: All my employers would have hired noncitizens instead of me if they could have.
https://cis.org/Academic-Articles/Employment-Effects-Immigration-Enforcement-Initial-Assessment
CONSERVATIVE HQ
— Ten Times Democrats in Congress Put Their Dangerous Socialist Agenda Ahead of the American People. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://conservativehq.com/post/ten-times-democrats-in-congress-put-their-dangerous-socialist-agenda-ahead-of-the-american-people
FOX NEWS
— ‘Socialism 2026’ conference kicks off, teaches lessons from the Russian Revolution. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6404630195112
NEWSMAX
— On Socialism, GOP Should Tell Us What They Believe and Oppose. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.newsmax.com/revjimharden/crank-republican-quebec/2026/09/04/id/1268362/
NUMBERS USA
— 17 million Americans want work this Labor Day. DD: All my employers would have hired noncitizens instead of me if they could have.
https://www.numbersusa.org/blog/newsletter-17-million-americans-want-work-this-labor-day/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Mandatory E-Verify would accelerate self-removals, discourage future illegal immigration, and crack down on the illegal hiring that deprives Americans of wealth, wages, and opportunities.)
PJ MEDIA
— Socialism: The Nightmare From Which We May Never Wake Up. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://pjmedia.com/rick-moran/2026/09/04/the-nightmare-from-which-we-may-never-wake-up-n4956882
REAL CLEAR MARKETS
— Socialist Takeover Spreads From Town Halls to Classrooms. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.realclearmarkets.com/2026/09/05/socialist_takeover_spreads_from_town_halls_to_classrooms_1204456.html
SCALISE
— Socialists Have Taken Over the Democrat Party. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://scalise.house.gov/press-releases/scalise-socialists-have-taken-over-the-democrat-party
TOWNHALL
— Parents Must Be Their Own School Investigators. DD: My parents sending me to Missouri Synod Lutheran grade schools 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.
https://townhall.com/columnists/adamguillette/2026/09/05/parents-must-be-their-own-school-investigators-n2682463
— Illegal Alien Charged in $1.3 Billion Medicare Fraud Money Laundering Scheme.
https://townhall.com/news/scott-mcclallen/2026/09/04/illegal-alien-charged-in-13-billion-medicare-fraud-money-laundering-scheme-n2682523
WESTERN JOURNAL
— Left-Wing Outlet (Mediaite) Says It’s a ‘Racist Conspiracy Theory’ to Talk About Immigrants Replacing American Voters. DD: Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly replace citizens of America with citizens of foreign countries. Democrat leaders because noncitizens vote for Democrats and RINO leaders because RINOs want cheap labor.
https://www.westernjournal.com/left-wing-outlet-says-racist-conspiracy-theory-talk-immigrants-replacing-american-voters/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— Democrats worry rising socialism turning off Hispanic voters. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6070463-democrats-hispanic-voter-socialism/amp/
NEWSWEEK
— Map Shows States Where It’s Hardest to Survive on $120,000 Per Year. DD: I did not earn $120,000/year in today’s dollars until I was 39 in 1987. By then, I had worked for GAO for 7 years and for IRS for almost 9 years before that. I had passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt and became a licensed CPA in 1981. I had earned a master’s degree in accounting in 1980 and an MBA in 1976.
https://www.newsweek.com/map-shows-states-where-its-hardest-to-survive-on-120000-per-year-12387962
LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL
— Democrat leader Jefferies saves wrath for moderates, not socialists. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-democrat-leader-saves-wrath-for-moderates-not-socialists-3881588/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— 25 Years of Thinking About 9/11. DD: I have flown an American flag off my front porch 24 hours a day since September 11, 2001. I organized Wheaton’s 2003 and 2004 9/11 ceremonies. Sadly, my critics/opponents boycotted the events.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/25-years-of-thinking-about-9-11-c95cc9c7
— Young People See a Different America Than Older People. Where Do You Fit In? Take our quiz, based on 1,862 survey responses, to find the new fault lines in U.S. values. DD: Survey results show the damage that Democrat leaders are doing to young people.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/young-people-see-a-different-america-than-older-people-where-do-you-fit-in-571f768c
— More Secret School Gender Transitions. The Justice Department sues over transgender guidance.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trump-administration-kansas-city-lawsuit-gender-transitions-schools-7ea59e90
FORBES
— Socialism Is Not Just About Bad Policy. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK49RqIbia8
COURSERA
— Average Salary With a Master’s Degree. DD: In today’s dollars, my salary was $106,731/year when I earned my MBA from Loyola when I was 27 in 1976, $89,703/year when I earned my master’s degree in accounting from DePaul when I was 31 in 1980, and $154,682/year when I earned my master’s degree in financial markets and trading from IIT when I was 48 in 1997. I worked for the Democrats who ran IRS 1971-1980 and for the Democrats who ran GAO 1980-1997.
https://www.coursera.org/articles/average-salary-with-masters-degree
PBS
— DD: Oppressed people. My critics/opponents paint themselves as being champions of oppressed people. The ever-increasingly shout at those who are the following that they are oppressed and that conservative Republicans like me oppress them: liberal/moderate, Democrat, RINO, minority, female, younger, unmarried, LGBTQ, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time, noncitizen, etc.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/heres-what-to-know-about-international-womens-day-a-celebration-and-a-call-to-action
COMMON DREAMS
— CEOs Get Rich Underpaying Their Workers and Then Don’t Stand Up for Them.
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/ceos-don-t-defend-workers
FROM FOREIGN SOURCES
INDEPENDENT
— Big decisions. DD: My big decisions include a) following conservative principles, b) working my way through college instead of enlisting and earning a job-related bachelor’s degree, three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license, c) working for the Post Office, IRS, and GAO, d) buying new cars, real estate, and collector cars, e) filing grievances and lawsuits, f) becoming the subject of a 4-page Money Magazine “One Person’s Finances” article, g) getting married and my wife and I giving up trying to have children, h) complaining about political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination, i) taking a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO, j) serving as a leader of a professional association Chicago chapter for 13 years, k) becoming an active member in a class action lawsuit that charged my Democrat GAO superiors with the aforesaid discrimination, l) succumbing to my Democrat GAO superior’ threats and taking their early retirement” offer, and m) promoting conservative principles by becoming a Republican Precinct Committeeman, the GOPUSA Illinois Editor, a Pat O’Malley for Governor supporter, an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee member, and the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairman.
https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/psychology-life-changing-decisions-impacts-b2998398.html
August 31, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— 1 killed, 14 injured as gunfire erupts while police try to disperse crowd in Washington Park.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-violence-weekend-man-killed-9-others-hurt-washington-park-mass-shooting-cottage-grove-avenue-police-say/19763213/
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Why Illinois should not let elected officials hold multiple public offices.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/30/brad-stephens-thaddeus-jones-tiffany-henyard-harry-benton-public-officials/
— In Cook County, politics are being pursued, not justice.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/30/opinion-chicago-politics-justice-states-attorney-eileen-burke/
— ‘Our contingency plans have contingency plans’: Officials preparing for potential changes ahead of Election Day.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/30/our-contingency-plans-have-contingency-plans-officials-preparing-for-potential-changes-ahead-of-election-day/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— DD: To get more votes from women, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more abortion.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2026/08/30/abortion-law-personhood-women-rights-steinberg-health
DAILY HERALD
— Federal scholarship program can build the workforce suburban businesses need.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260831/business/federal-scholarship-program-can-build-the-workforce-suburban-businesses-need/
BLOOMINGTON PANTAGRAPH
— Bailey implores Republicans to improve turnout as he plans to shift focus to Chicago. DD: What is your Republican Precinct Committeeman doing to improve turnout? I hope that each of the 18 Republican candidates on the November 3, 2006 ballot in my precinct will provide enough of their campaign pieces to the Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO) so that I can pick up 400 pieces for each of them and hand-deliver them to the 400 residences in my DuPage County Milton Township Precinct 59 in Wheaton that have at least one registered Republican or Independent voter. That is 7,200 pieces (400 X 18). So far, I have placed 660 DuPage County Election Division-provided mailing labels on 400 DuPage County GOP-provided envelopes. I have split them into five batches and put them in walk order. I want to start stuffing those envelopes with MTRO-provided outstanding Voter Guides and the literature pieces ASAP. I want to start stuffing as soon as I have at least 100 pieces from each of the candidates. As soon as the sample ballot for my precinct is available, I will make 400 photocopies of the ballot, stuff them, and head out the door. The 18 candidates are Tracy, Bailey/Del Mar, Fioretti, Solomon, Harris, Drew, Soloman, Oakley, Lewis, Vrankovich, Grasso, Noonan, Schiappa, Henry, Eckhoff, Michaud, Schultz, Quirk, and Helland.
https://pantagraph.com/image_530bcb45-6801-4094-a061-07b33d77d36f.html
ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR
— Amid scandals, Illinois Republicans hoping to flip legislative seats.
https://www.rrstar.com/story/news/2026/08/31/illinois-republicans-hope-to-flip-legislative-amid-democratic-scandals/91411140007/
OUR QUAD CITIES
— Tracy says Illinois needs to be a two-party state.
https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/4-the-record/u-s-senate-candidate-tracy-says-illinois-needs-to-be-a-two-party-state/
JOURNAL NEWS
— Bailey, Del Mar Host Meet-And-Greet In Nokomis.
https://www.thejournal-news.net/stories/bailey-del-mar-host-meet-and-greet-in-nokomis,245014?
WQAD
— Bailey campaigns at closed Tyson plant, meets with laid-off workers.
https://www.wqad.com/video/news/local/bailey-campaigns-at-closed-tyson-plant-meets-with-laid-off-workers/526-d8372121-d5b7-4b35-8a24-b1c6e2910925
CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— Trump still teases seeking a third term. But he’s now talking more about post-presidency life.
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/politics/ap-trump-still-teases-a-third-presidential-run-but-hes-talking-more-and-more-about-life-after-2028/
— US Treasury blocks certain journalists from G20 meeting.
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/politics/ap-us-treasury-blocks-certain-journalists-from-g20-meeting-in-north-carolina/amp/
ALMAS
— Meet the Candidates: DuPage County Open House & Candidate Forums on 9/9
https://www.almascommunity.org/event-details/dupage-county-forum
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Rahm Emanuel, potential 2028 candidate, says democratic socialists aren’t part of Democratic Party.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/30/rahm-emanuel-potential-2028-candidate-says-democratic-socialists/
— Complaints of white privilege are a losers’ lament. DD: According to my critics/opponents, I am a loser. But If I had been born a minority or a female, and even though I was not a Democrat or a veteran, the Democrats who ran the federal government would have promoted me into their Senior Executive Service long before I was 40 in 1988. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree (management) when I was 21 and job-related master’s degrees (business and accounting) when I was 27 and 31. I earned job-related professional certifications (accounting and internal auditing) when I was 29 and 32. I had earned a job-related professional license (CPA) when I was 32. But because I was not a minority, female, Democrat, or veteran, my Democrat superiors did not promote me to GS-12 until I was 25 and to GS-13 until I was 38 and they never promoted me to GS-14.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/30/complaints-white-privilege-losers-lament/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Rahm Emanuel shuts socialists out of Democratic tent: ‘Run as a separate party.’ DD: Democrats and RINOs want to shut conservatives out of the Republican tent. Political parties exist to help elect candidates who can and will defend and advance their platform. The Republican Party platform is conservative.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/presidential/4705567/rahm-emanuel-socialists-democratic-party-tent/
— Trump says el Sayed is ‘out of it’ and predicts socialism will sink Democrats.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/4705693/trump-el-sayed-predicts-socialism-sink-democrats/
AMERICAN THINKER
— Socialist Promises, Promises. The increasing popularity of socialism in America is frightening. DD: Socialists hint/imply/argue/shout that under socialism, all you need to do to advance is to be a socialist, just like all you need to do to advance under Democrats is to be a Democrat. Socialism, just like Democrats, destroys motivation and meritocracy. All my coworkers who my Democrat superiors promoted over me were Democrats a) 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) who 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.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/socialist-promises-promises/
BLAZE
— The left’s next phase is even worse than woke.
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/rufo-lomez/the-lefts-next-phase-is-even-worse-than-woke
— The government would like to discuss your allowance. Democratic socialism turns an old American presumption upside down: Your property is yours unless Washington decides you have more than you need. DD: According to my critics/opponents, I have always had more than I need. According to them, all the jobs and all the promotions that I got should have been given to needy Democrats, needy minorities, needy females, needy younger people, needy veterans, needy non-Protestants, needy non-German Americans, needy those whose ancestors had not been in America for a long time, and/or needy noncitizens.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/the-government-would-like-to-discuss-your-allowance
— The WNBA’s identity crisis is bigger than basketball. A league for women now struggles to define the category its own name depends on. The intellectual roots of that confusion run deep.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/the-wnbas-identity-crisis-is-bigger-than-basketball
BREITBART
— Rahm Emanuel: ‘I Don’t Consider Democratic Socialists Part of the Democratic Party.’
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2026/08/30/rahm-emanuel-i-dont-consider-democratic-socialists-part-of-the-democratic-party/
— Officials Fielded Thousands of Food Safety Violations by Illegal Street Vendors But Now Do Nothing.
https://www.breitbart.com/health/2026/08/30/33585072report-officials-fielded-thousands-of-food-safety-violations-by-illegal-street-vendors-but-now-do-nothing/
CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES
— The Oxymoronic ‘Criminal Alien’ Arguments that Now Define the Immigration Debate. DD: To come into a country illegally and/or to stay in a country illegally demonstrates gross disrespect for the rule of law and for that country.
https://cis.org/Arthur/Oxymoronic-Criminal-Alien-Arguments-Now-Define-Immigration-Debate
FOX NEWS
— Chicago mayor demands companies reveal whether leaders ‘reflect diversity’ for city contracts.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/chicago-mayor-demands-companies-reveal-whether-leaders-reflect-diversity-city-contracts
— Socialists gain ground in primaries as midterms approach.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6404316605112
— Former Obama chief of staff rejects socialism as part of Democratic Party. Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel weighs in on far-left Democrats and the impact of socialism on the party.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6404314299112
— Star Asian student rejected by 16 colleges, hired by Google, gets legal win in racial discrimination suit.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/star-student-rejected-16-colleges-hired-google-gets-legal-win-racial-discrimination-suit
LAW ENFORCEMENT TODAY
— Australia’s Warning to America: Socialism, Censorship, and Government Overreach Are Coming for You, Too.
https://lawenforcementtoday.com/australias-warning-to-america-socialism-censorship-and-government-overreach-are-coming-for-you-too
NEWSMAX
— Homan: ICE Will Go ‘Where We Need to Go’ for Deportations.
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/tom-homan-ice-immigration/2026/08/30/id/1267776/
REAL CLEAR POLITICS
— Dems’ Demonization of Trump To Blame for Rise of Socialism.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2026/08/31/dems_demonization_of_trump_to_blame_for_rise_of_socialism_154460_comments.html
TOWNHALL
— The Gospel of Envy. DD: My Democrat Post Office (1966-1969), IRS (1971-1980), and GAO (1980-1997) superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates were filled with envy. They always painted themselves as being underpaid. After I got married in 1978, they were ever-increasingly furious at my and my wife’s ever-increasing income and net worth. To turn everyone against me, my they stressed a) the new cars that I bought when I was 17, 19, 20, 23, 25, 29, etc., b) the real estate that I bought when I was 24, 25, 27, 29, and 35, c) the collector cars that I bought when I was 40 and 45, d) the college degrees that I earned when I was 21, 27, 31, and 48, e) the professional certifications that I earned when I was 30, 32, 41, 45, 47, and 48, f) the professional license that I earned when I was 32, g) the vacations that my wife and I took, h) etc. Some of my Democrat IRS and GAO superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates circulated copies of Money Magazine’s 4-page February 1978 article on me and my wife. SEE https://gopillinois.com/documents/
https://townhall.com/columnists/allenwest/2026/08/31/the-gospel-of-envy-n2682112
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
WASHINGTON POST
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/08/30/trump-pausing-visa-applications-worldwide-undermines-legal-immigration/
NEW YORK TIMES
— DD: Democrat leaders use wokeness/wokeism to promote hatred against Republicans.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/opinion/democrats-wokeness-republicans.html
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: A U.S. Court Reliably in Texas Aids Trump’s Aims. DD: In 2000, my Democrat GAO superiors succeeded in transferring Diersen v. GAO ( https://gopillinois.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DiersenGAOFifthAmendedComplaint.pdf ) from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. They knew that court would rule against me. And of course, it did.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/30/us/politics/texas-judge-trump-agenda.html
— In Latin America, Democratic Socialists Are the Toast of the Party. The success of progressive candidates in the United States is inspiring leftists abroad struggling under pressure from the Trump administration and its allies. DD: Anticipate/expect that hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters will ever-increasingly blame Trump for socialism’s advances.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/world/americas/latin-america-democratic-socialists.html
USA TODAY
— Parents often complain about how hard it is to balance the cost of child-rearing with saving for retirement. DD: According my Democrat GAO superiors, if my wife and I had children, I would not have been able to a) pass the CPA examination on my first attempt when I was 30, b) afford to take a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO and earn a master’s degree in accounting when I was 31, c) pass the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt and become a licensed CPA when I was 32, d) have a home built in Wheaton when I was 35, g) buy collector cars when I was 40 and 45, save lots for our retirement, etc. My Democrat GAO superiors ever-increasingly demonized, denigrated, and condemned my wife and I as being disgusting selfish rich DINKs. They would not have done that if I had been a Democrat, minority, female, or veteran. They decried the time and money they spent raising their children. They painted themselves as being grossly underpaid. They decried the little or no income that their wives had. They knew full-well that both my wife and I had major fertility problems. Should I write about my Democrat GAO superiors?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personal-finance/2026/08/22/childless-single-retirement-savings/91387188007/
U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
— Pros, Cons of High School Jobs for College Applicants. DD: During my junior and senior years in high school 1964-1966, I spent far too many hours washing dishes instead of studying. I washed dishes 28 hours a week in the basement of the SS Kresge in Chicago Heights when classes were in session and 40 hours a week during the summer of 1965. Because of that job, virtually no one saw me as being college material even though I took college preparatory courses, I earned an ACT score of 24, and I graduated in the upper 20% of my class.
https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/articles/pros-cons-of-high-school-jobs-for-college-applicants
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Cons of Working in High School. . .Can Hurt Academic Performance. . .May Not Be Relevant to Academics.)
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Who’s ‘Working Class’ Anymore? Classes are now arbitrarily ranked by income, power and social connections. DD: My critics/opponents look down on if not despise wage earners. I was a wage earner 1964-1997. 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://www.wsj.com/opinion/whos-working-class-anymore-47e87ac0
— Pence: A Republican Time for Choosing. Will we remain the party of conservative principles or embrace progressivism in the guise of populism? DD: Trump would not have won the Republican primary in 2016 if he had not promised Phyllis Schlafly that he would defend and advance the Republican Party platform if elected.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/a-republican-time-for-choosing-c1f4f8a4
— America’s Systemic Munitions Shortfall. The U.S. needs more than new weapons. It needs new ways of enlisting allies to produce weapons. DD: I worked for GAO on an audit of the Department of Defense FY 1990 ammunition budget request. SEE: https://www.gao.gov/assets/nsiad-90-23.pdf
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/americas-systemic-munitions-shortfall-21206b43
FORBES
— 5 Ways To Get Promoted. DD: My coworkers who my Democrat superiors promoted over me were Democrats a) who were minority, female, younger than me, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or had ancestors who had not been in America for a long time and/or b) 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.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jodiecook/2026/08/27/5-ways-to-get-promoted-at-work-before-ai-makes-your-job-redundant/
FAST COMPANY
— 5 underrated career strategies for getting promoted. DD: My coworkers who my Democrat superiors promoted over me were Democrats a) who were minority, female, younger than me, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or had ancestors who had not been in America for a long time and/or b) 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.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91586421/5-underrated-promotion-strategies
BUSINESS UPTURN
— Layoff survivor guilt: why keeping your job after coworkers lose theirs can feel complicated. DD: My Democrat GAO (1980-1997), IRS (1971-1980), and Post Office (1966-1969) superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates were always overjoyed when my Democrat superiors took adverse actions against me. They were overjoyed when my Democrat GAO superiors forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997, always ranked me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance, kept me off audits of IRS for all but 3 of the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO, got rid of the GAO manager in 1987 who had arranged my transfer from IRS in 1980 and was finally able to assign me to audits of IRS and to promote me to GS-13 in 1986, delayed my promotions and never promoted me to GS-14, and forced me to take a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS in 1980. They were overjoyed when my Democrat IRS superiors never promoted me to GS-13, disallowed my education deductions in 1978, disallowed my travel vouchers in 1974, and got rid of the IRS manager in 1974 who had promoted me in 1972, 1973, and 1974. They were overjoyed when my Democrat Post Office superiors denied my sick leave requests in 1968 and 1969 and forced me to resign in 1969.
https://businessupturn.com/sectors/health/mental-health/layoff-survivor-guilt-why-keeping-your-job-after-colleagues-lose-theirs-can-feel-complicated/
FINANCE BUZZ
— 8 Useful College Degrees Employers Are Always Looking To Hire. DD: In retrospect, with benefit of hindsight, I should have majored in accounting from the beginning. I erroneously thought that I could never pass the CPA examination. But I did pass the CPA examination on my first attempt when I was 30 in 1979. Then, I finished the requirements for a master’s degree in accounting when I was 31. Then, I passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt and became a licensed CPA when I was 32. But by then it was too late. The accounting profession saw me as being far too old to have a successful career in accounting. On top of that, the profession was under tremendous pressure to hire, retain, and promote young minorities and young females.
https://financebuzz.com/news/useful-college-degrees-employers-want-6
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Accounting. Businesses and individuals need someone to maintain their financial health and records and ensure they’re compliant with laws and regulations. This makes accounting popular with employers across various industries. Individuals with an accounting degree master accounting principles, know how to manage financial records, and understand tax legislation. You could land a job as a tax consultant, auditor, or accountant and earn a median annual wage of $81,680.)
UNCF
— How Mentorship Can Shape Your College and Career Journey. DD: To get rid of me, my Democrat IRS superiors got rid of the IRS manager who had promoted me when I was 23, 24, and 25. To get rid of me, my Democrat GAO superiors got rid of the GAO manager who had arranged for my transfer from IRS when I was 31 and was finally able to assign me audits of IRS when I was 37 and to promoted me when I was 38.
https://uncf.org/the-latest/how-mentorship-can-shape-your-college-and-career-journey
NATIONAL PRESS CLUB
— Pence defends traditional conservatism. DD: Trump would not have won the Republican primary in 2016 if he had not promised Phyllis Schlafly that he would defend and advance the Republican Party platform if elected.
https://www.press.org/newsroom/pence-defends-traditional-conservatism
(FROM THE ARTICLE: He described two political dangers facing the U.S. today: what he calls the “socialist left” taking over the Democratic Party, and a “populist right” threatening the traditional conservative principles of the Republican Party. He defended the record of the Trump-Pence administration of 2016-2020, and noted that it and the current Trump administration “get it right” about issues including border control, the Department of Education and Iran. But he drew the line at tariffs, the nationalization of U.S. companies and the surrender of “right to life” decisions to the states, suggesting that the current administration “has stops and starts.”)
ATLANTIC
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote birthright citizenship.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/10/birthright-citizenship-trump-barbara-supreme-court/688342/
PYSCOLOGY TODAY
— High school reunions. DD: My 60th Crete-Monee High School reunion is approaching. Sadly, my interactions with my classmates was limited, especially during my junior and senior years because I washed dishes 28 hours a week in the basement of the SS Kresge in Chicago Heights when classes were in session and 40 hours a week during the summer in between. Because of that job, virtually no one saw me as being college material even though I took college preparatory courses, I earned an ACT score of 24, and I graduated in the upper 20% of my class.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/emotional-nourishment/201804/the-importance-reunions-high-school-family-and-friends
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Attending reunions can present psychological, financial, and logistical problems. That is clearly not the intent of reunions; yet, these issues often exist. Why? High school reunions tend to bring up old memories, some of which may be unpleasant—like seeing the “mean girls” who used to make fun of you or the girl who turned you down when you asked her to the prom. People may also be reluctant to go to their high school reunion because of feeling embarrassed about their physical appearance or insecurity about their lack of achievements since graduation. The idea that individuals will be compared now to their adolescent self or their grown classmates may carry the risk for regretting how their life turned out. On the other hand, high school reunions can be eye-opening. We usually develop wisdom and maturity as we age. Encountering our former classmates and recalling old memories, good and bad, may help us gain better insight into who we are now and how we got here.)
FROM FOREIGN SOURCES
MEAWW
— Democratic heavyweight has a message for socialists: ‘Start your own party.’ Rahm Emanuel challenged Democratic Socialists to run independently, drawing a sharp line in the party’s growing fight over its future.
https://news.meaww.com/democratic-heavyweight-has-a-message-for-socialists-start-your-own-party
FINANCIAL TIMES
— The face of America’s socialist insurgency. The Democratic congressional candidate’s improbable rise has spooked the party establishment.
https://www.ft.com/content/2ca855a9-be0d-4915-b4f0-b48355c6aa4a?syn-25a6b1a6=1
August 10, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— DD: To get more votes, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more dependency on government.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/10/head-start-proposed-rule-change-trump-illinois/
— DD: To get more votes, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly blame Republicans for everything that is bad including bad weather.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/10/editorial-climate-migration-could-be-a-big-boost-for-chicago/
STARVED ROCK MEDIA
— Bailey rides in Mendota parade; addresses audience at Civic Center.
https://www.starvedrock.media/wlpo/bailey-rides-in-mendota-parade-addresses-audience-at-civic-center/article_f2e39a97-e1c2-45d5-b15f-647ccd520c30.html
SHAW LOCAL
— Wheaton: Three-bedroom home goes for $1.43 million.
https://www.shawlocal.com/real-estate/2026/08/09/wheaton-three-bedroom-home-goes-for-143-million/
NORTHERN PUBLIC RADIO
— Mike Lindell touts Trump ties in race for governor of Minnesota, where Trump has lost. DD: What losses have you suffered? I am no longer a) the Republican fundraiser for Wheaton Independence Day parades and fireworks, b) the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairman, c) an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee member, and d) the Milton Township Republican Organization webmaster.
https://www.northernpublicradio.org/2026-08-10/mike-lindell-touts-trump-ties-in-race-for-governor-of-minnesota-where-trump-has-lost
CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— DD: To get more votes, Democrats ever-increasingly promote more vice.
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/national/problem-in-america-sports-betting-marijuana-use-soars/
NPR ILLINOIS
— DD: To get more votes, Democrats ever-increasingly promote more abortion.
https://www.nprillinois.org/2026-08-09/theres-a-birth-control-backlash-online-can-it-explain-the-rise-in-abortions
25 NEWS NOW
— DD: To get more votes, Democrats ever-increasingly promote more pot.
https://www.25newsnow.com/2026/08/09/hospital-visits-condition-linked-frequent-marijuana-use-rise-cdc-study-says/
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Illinois Democrats are watching Michigan for clues about where their party is headed — and keeping a close eye on tomorrow’s Wisconsin primary, too.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/08/10/the-democratic-crystal-ball-01030324
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/10/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-787/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— What’s Happening to Illinois Ex-Pat Congressional Candidates Running Again in Southwestern Florida. Both Jim Oberweis and Catalina Lauf in Serious Contention as Fundraising Success Draws Attacks from Leading Candidate.
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/09/whats-happening-to-illinois-congressional-candidates-running-again-in-southwestern-florida/
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
— Pritzker’s third-term bid for Illinois governor would be barred in 37 states.
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/pritzkers-third-term-bid-for-illinois-governor-would-be-barred-in-37-states/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— What does ‘Woke 1’ mean, and where does the phrase come from? What to know.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/4680628/what-does-woke-1-mean-what-to-know/
NEW YORK POST
— Resentful lefties are making a new push for reparations. DD: Affirmative Action and DEI are reparations.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/09/opinion/lefties-pushing-for-reparations-dont-get-american-history/
— A Sacramento dispensary has become the first in the state approved to let customers purchase cannabis products through self-checkout kiosks — a retail twist that would have sounded like a futuristic fever dream just a few years ago. DD: In 2019, I led the successful effort to ban the sale of pot in Wheaton. DD: My critics/opponents want to buy pot in Wheaton, they want to make money selling pot in Wheaton, and/or they want Wheaton to get tax revenue from the sale of pot in Wheaton.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/05/business/california-dispensary-launches-cannabis-self-checkout-kiosks/
AMERICAN THINKER
— Correctly calling them commies.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/correctly-calling-them-commies/
BREITBART
— Six Shot, 1 Stabbed, Overnight in Gun-Controlled Chicago.
https://www.breitbart.com/2nd-amendment/2026/08/09/six-shot-1-stabbed-overnight-in-gun-controlled-chicago/
FEDERALIST
— Socialists’ Demands To Abolish Police And Prisons Will Mean More Dead Americans.
https://thefederalist.com/2026/08/10/socialists-demands-to-abolish-police-and-prisons-will-mean-more-dead-americans/
FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION
— Equality of Opportunity, Not Equality of Outcome, Is What Made America Great.
https://fee.org/articles/equality-of-opportunity-not-outcome-is-what-made-america-awesome/
FOX NEWS
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shrugs off past ‘defund the police’ comments, joking ‘Woke 1 was crazy.’ The democratic socialist distanced herself from DSA national positions while defending her past comments.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-shrugs-off-past-defund-police-comments-joking-woke-1-crazy
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403126649112
— DHS reports over 1.4M illegal alien departures since January 2025.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403126744112
— DD: Republican candidates, elected officials, and party leaders should know the arguments against socialism and should articulate them.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403125245112
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/young-conservatives-reveal-whats-top-mind-gop-democrats-battle-hopeless-gen-z-voters
— We have to be the ‘firewall’ that stops the spread of socialism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_m_spwkYUI
PJ MEDIA
— DD: Republican candidates, elected officials, and party leaders should know the arguments against socialism and should articulate them.
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/08/09/are-democrats-underestimating-their-socialism-problem-n4955958
POST MILLENNIAL
— More than 1,200 illegal immigrants arrested in Atlanta immigration sweep.
https://thepostmillennial.com/more-than-1200-illegal-immigrants-arrested-in-atlanta-immigration-sweep
REAL CLEAR EDUCATION
— Colleges Train Future Teachers to Push Woke Agenda.
https://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2026/08/09/colleges_train_future_teachers_to_push_woke_agenda_1199368.html
REASON
— The GOP Is Becoming Anti-Conservative. DD: To get more votes, the Illinois Republican Party, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, and Milton Township Republican Organization are increasingly Democrat Lite if not anti-conservative.
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/03/04/jonah-goldberg-the-gop-is-becoming-anti-conservative/
TOWNHALL
— Prepare for the DSA Revolution.
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/08/10/prepare-for-the-dsa-revolution-n2680947
WASHINGTON REPORTER
— Catalina Lauf on her campaign to keep Florida’s 19th District in GOP hands.
https://washingtonreporter.news/interview-catalia-lauf-on-her-campaign-to-keep-floridas-19th-district-in-gop-hands/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— The damaging effects of shifting from equal opportunity to ‘equal outcomes.’ DD: My critics/opponents promote equal outcome, that is, they reject equal opportunity.
https://thehill.com/opinion/education/529262-the-damaging-effects-of-shifting-from-equal-opportunity-to-equal-outcomes/
NEW YORK TIMES
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: Insults, Expletives and Fat-Shaming: Vance Trolls Critics on the Right and Left. The vice president has dispensed with the decorum and restraint of his predecessors to directly take on opponents and journalists on social media with sometimes profane and often personal jabs.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/us/politics/jd-vance-insults.html
— If You’re Struggling to Pay Day-to-Day Bills, There’s Help. DD: When my wife and I got married, in anticipation of our having children, we lived on just one of our salaries and we saved as much as we could.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/07/your-money/debt-bills.html
WASHINGTON POST
— DD: To get more votes, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote socialism.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/08/09/democratic-party-socialist-trend-signals-old-style-politics-return/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Viva la DSA Revolution! Abolishing the Senate and getting rid of the presidency are only a few things on the list.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/viva-la-dsa-revolution-c1df0d6e
— DD: Republican candidates, elected officials, and party leaders should know the arguments against socialism and should articulate them.
https://www.wsj.com/video/series/journal-editorial-report/wsj-opinion-the-gop-search-for-a-socialist-attack-line/88F24B47-1F15-47C6-BDDF-18BE9356DAF8
— Francesca Hong, the Socialists’ Next Hope. Forget the tweets. The frontrunner in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin Governor wants a 17% income tax and ‘public groceries.’
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/francesca-hong-the-socialists-next-hope-9dc2f3c2
FORTUNE
— Backstabbing is the new office norm: Gen Z and millennials are blame-shifting, snitching, and setting others up to fail—but so are managers. DD: Far too many of my Democrat superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates in the federal government were backstabbers.
https://fortune.com/article/gen-z-millennials-backstabbing-get-ahead-career-new-office-norm-rto-research/
FORBES
— Ten Signs Your Coworkers Are Jealous Of You. DD: My Democrat superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates in the federal government were filled with envy. They were ever-increasingly furious at my and my wife’s ever-increasing income and net worth. To turn my superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates against me, my Democrat superiors stressed a) the new cars that I bought when I was 17, 19, 20, 23, 25, 29, etc., b) the real estate that I bought when I was 24, 25, 27, 29, and 35, c) the collector cars that I bought when I was 40 and 45, d) the college degrees that I earned when I was 21, 27, 31, and 48, e) the professional certifications that I earned when I was 30, 32, 41, 45, 47, and 48, f) the professional license that I earned when I was 32, g) the vacations that my wife and I took, h) etc.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2018/01/09/ten-signs-your-coworkers-are-jealous-of-you/
FORBES & ENTRENEUR
— So Why Did Someone Else Get Promoted? DD: All my coworkers who my Democrat Post Office, IRS, and GAO superiors promoted over me did little or nothing to get promoted. They got promoted because they were Democrats, minorities, females, and/or veterans. To get promoted, I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree (management), three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance), six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and a job-related professional license (CPA). All my coworkers who my Democrat superiors promoted over me were Democrats who 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://www.forbes.com/sites/andymolinsky/2026/04/01/youre-crushing-your-goals-so-why-did-someone-else-get-promoted/
https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/why-am-i-not-getting-promoted-3-frustrating-reasons-high-performers-get-passed-over
FAST COMPANY
— Why being good at your job isn’t enough to get promoted anymore. DD: To get promoted, my Democrat superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates in the federal government destroyed their superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates who were Republican, White, male, older, nonveteran, Protestant, German American, and/or had ancestors who had been in America for a long time.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91541422/why-being-good-at-your-job-isnt-enough-to-get-promoted-anymore
BUSINESS INSIDER
— Get promoted in 2026: 7 steps to take right now. DD: To get promoted, my Democrat superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates in the federal government destroyed their superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates who were Republican, White, male, older, nonveteran, Protestant, German American, and/or had ancestors who had been in America for a long time.
https://www.businessinsider.com/things-do-january-want-promotion-december-2026-1
YAHOO
— Losing a job in your 50s can derail even the best-laid retirement plans. DD: My retirement income and savings are dramatically less because my Democrat superiors wasted my career and forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997.
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/articles/forced-retirement-51-losing-job-223139843.html
— Taking a gigantic pay cut. DD: Who do you know who has suffered a gigantic loss of income? My wife and I could afford my taking a $86,042/year (56%) loss of income in today’s dollars when I was 49 in 1997 because I succumbed to my Democrat GAO superiors who forced me to their early retirement “offer.” We could afford taking that gigantic loss of income a) because of my wife’s salary and benefits, b) because we had no children, c) because we had no debts, d) because we already had substantial retirement savings, and e) because our 72% health insurance premium subsidy continued.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/taking-gigantic-pay-cut-better-203423435.html
MINNEAPOLIS FED
— The broken rungs on the U.S. job ladder. DD: Who do you know who voluntarily took a pay cut to get promoted? I voluntarily took a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO when I was 31 in 1980. I did that to get promoted to GS-13. My Democrat IRS superiors had made it clear that they would never promote me to GS-13 because I refused to become a Democrat. They had gotten rid of the IRS manager who had promoted me when I was 23, 24, and 25. They had disallowed my travel vouchers when I was 25. They had disallowed my education deductions when I was 29. GAO ultimately did promote me to GS-13, but not until I was 38. By then, I had become a licensed CPA when I was 32, passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt when I was 32, earned a master’s degree in accounting when I was 31, passed the CPA examination on my first attempt when I was 30, and earned an MBA when I was 27. The Democrats who ran GAO would never have promoted me to GS-13 if the GAO manager who had arranged my transfer had not gotten back into power. They forced him to retire when I was 38.
https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2026/what-explains-the-broken-rungs-on-the-us-job-ladder
NEW YORKER
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/tps-haitian-new-york-sanctuary-city-mamdani-trump.html
FROM FOREIGN SOURCES
AUSTRALIAN
— Anti-conservative rhetoric fueled the Charlie Kirk tragedy.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/a-beacon-for-crazy-people-how-anticonservative-rhetoric-fuelled-the-charlie-kirk-tragedy/video/0e749bb7d97521124c913a8e43b5eefb
TELEGRAPH
— The diversity industry jettisoned ‘equality of opportunity’ for ‘equality of outcome.’ DD: My critics/opponents promote equal outcome, that is, they reject equal opportunity.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/13/equity-equality-act-public-services-nhs-police/
— Reform would end student loans for ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees.
https://www.aol.com/articles/reform-end-student-loans-mickey-063000000.html
GUARDIAN
— Millions in China cram for civil service exam and the hope of a job for life. Amid troubled economic times, many in China are shifting back towards the certainty of a career in the public sector. DD: I would not have spent almost 30 years of my life working in the public sector if my high school friend had not asked me to join him to take the postal employment test in 1966. Because I passed, I was a part-time postal employee while I attended UIC 1966-1968 and NIU in 1969. I graduated from NIU in 1970 and accepted the only job offer that I got, to be the Retail Sales Manager in a Firestone Store, a job that not really require a college degree. Potential employers saw me as being draft bait. They did not believe that my application for a financial hardship draft deferment to help support my mother and brother would be approved. I accepted a job offer from Oldsmobile in 1971, but Oldsmobile withdrew that offer saying it had just agreed to stop hiring Whites to settle an EEOC complaint. My Firestone Store boss rudely fired me because I had accepted that offer. Because I had to have a job, I accepted a job offer that I got from IRS. I had taken and passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination while I was a NIU student as a backup because public sector employees are viewed negatively.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/28/china-civil-service-exam-age-limit-changed
August 9, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Brandon Johnson’s City Hall can’t find anyone willing to collect debt on the city’s behalf. Shocking, but hardly surprising. DD: Just kidding, but should form a company to collect those debts? I worked for IRS’s Collection Division for almost 9 years, the last 5 1/2 years of which at the GS-12 Step 1-5 Levels, currently $100,059-$113,402/year.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/09/editorial-brandon-johnson-debt-collection-budget-banks-aldermen/
(FROM THE EDITORIAL: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration has informed aldermen that a proposed sale of outstanding debts owed to the city of Chicago, which was supposed to net $90 million in this year’s budget, is garnering no interest from banks or other financial services firms. The apparent failure of the debt sale looks like it will blow a hole in the current year’s budget that will need to be addressed, although the size of that shortfall is yet to be determined. We certainly agree with members of the council majority who included the debt sale among other revenue-raising measures that the mayor and his administration gave their idea no real chance of succeeding. From the start, Johnson castigated the plan to sell some of the $8 billion owed to the city in unpaid ambulance charges, water bills, red-light and speeding camera tickets and other obligations as “immoral” and “morally bankrupt.” This page rejected his argument, saying among other things that it’s unfair to the people who pay their debts to give a tacit pass to those who just don’t. Johnson allowed the budget containing the proposed debt law to become law without his signature.)
HERALD WHIG
— Bailey pledges to lead Illinois with integrity.
https://whig.com/2026/08/08/bailey-pledges-to-lead-illinois-with-integrity/
BLOOMINGTON PANTAGRAPH
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://pantagraph.com/news/local/education/article_fbe4e232-596c-4374-8400-f8538c003d9e.html
ABC7
— DD: My “Republican” critics/opponents are really Democrat Lite, if not anti-conservative, if not Democrat plants. Political parties exist to help elect candidates who can and will defend and advance their platform. The Republican Party platform is conservative.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/jim-durkin-illinois-house-republican-resigning/12678017/
VILLA PARK PATCH
— League of Women Voters “Unite & Rise” for Voting Rights!
https://patch.com/illinois/villa-park-il/calendar/event/20260808/2f82b133-686c-4891-a6ff-41630e21389c/league-of-women-voters-unite-rise-for-voting-rights
JUSTICE FOR ALL
— Justice For All is an American Human Rights organization, specifically advocating for the rights of Muslim minorities. Its main office is located in Chicago, with additional teams in Washington DC, Boston, New York, Toronto, and Ottawa.
https://www.justiceforall.org/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
JOHN KASS
— The Democratic Socialists Are Coming!
https://johnkassnews.com/the-democratic-socialists-are-coming/
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— GOP State Senate Calls Out Democrats on Ethics
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/03/gop-state-senate-calls-out-democrats-on-ethics/
— 80 Years for Gun Toting Marengo Circle K Robber
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/03/80-years-for-marengo-circle-k-robber/
— DeWitte Criticizes Chicago School District’s Lust for Money from the Rest of Illinois
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/04/dewitte-criticizes-chicago-school-districts-lust-for-money-from-the-rest-of-illinois/
— Where School Spending Goes
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/04/where-school-spending-goes/
— State Senator Darby Hills Explains New E-Bike Law and Channel 7
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/04/darby-hills-explains-new-e-bike-law-and-channel-7/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— The media act like cheerleaders with press credentials — they’re supposed to be instant replay. DD: The mainstream news media exists a) to elect and to reelect Democrats and b) to defeat Republicans.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4674625/media-bias-objective-journalism-press-referees/
AMERICAN THINKER
— Wealth Taxes Don’t Work. Envy is the second of the seven deadly sins, and Zohran Mamdani seems to want a more envious New York (and America). Instead of worrying about how much money Ken Griffin has (reportedly some $50 billion), why not begin by starting wherever you are qualified and working your way up?
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/wealth-taxes-don-t-work/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Inciting envy is the modus operandi of all socialists. It is their means of fomenting division and attracting voters, but it is a particularly ugly way of doing so because it demeans the very people they would lead and creates the potential for violence. One reason envy is so destructive is that it saps the initiative of those who might otherwise be striving to improve their own situation. Instead of worrying about how much money Ken Griffin has (reportedly some $50 billion), why not begin by starting wherever you are qualified and working your way up? This has always been the American way, but socialists undermine this healthy instinct and replace it with the promise of equality of outcomes, which is their means of gaining power. Anyone who has studied the history of socialism knows that it does not produce equality.
Zohran Mamdani and others like to pretend wealth taxes can produce enough revenue to pay for their promises of free transportation, free daycare, subsidized groceries, and even Medicare for all.)
— How Little has Changed Between ‘Political Correctness’ and ‘Woke.’
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/how-little-has-changed-between-political-correctness-and-woke/
— The Democrat embrace of Islamo-socialism is party suicide.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/the-democrat-embrace-of-islamo-socialism-is-party-suicide-comments/
— The Mohammunist Manifesto—Public Or Private, Nothing Is Beyond Our Control. Whether the government is Islamic or communist, the leaders can reach into every sphere of life and can truly make the rules up as they go along.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/the-mohammunist-manifesto-public-or-private-nothing-is-beyond-our-control/
BREITBART
— Reject Cheap Foreign Labor. 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.
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/08/08/reject-cheap-foreign-labor-former-utah-rep-jason-chaffetz-condemns-sen-john-curtiss-amnesty-plan/
— Democrats Are Running to Destroy the Country, They Want to Blow Up the Constitution.
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2026/08/08/blackburn-democrats-running-to-destroy-the-country-they-want-to-blow-up-the-constitution/amp/
COLLEGE FIX
— Illegal alien students demand U. California system comply with court ruling, hire them for campus jobs.
https://www.thecollegefix.com/illegal-alien-students-demand-u-california-system-comply-with-court-ruling-hire-them-for-campus-jobs/
— The Education Department is being praised by some for recently ending its disparate impact race-quota regulations, with an editorial in The Washington Post arguing civil rights laws “exists to protect individuals from discrimination, not to guarantee equal statistical outcomes.” The department in late July removed disparate impact from Title VI regulations, meaning it will no longer treat neutral school policies or practices that produce unequal outcomes by race as violations of federal law. DD: To curry favor with minorities and with females, my critics/opponents want equal outcome. Only about 20% of those who take the CPA and Certified Internal Auditor examinations pass the examinations on their first attempt like I did. Virtually all of those who passed the examinations on their first attempt with me were White males.
https://www.thecollegefix.com/bulletin-board/in-washington-post-education-department-praised-for-ending-outcome-based-discrimination-rules/
FEDERALIST
— RINOs Are Tanking The Entire Republican Party, Not Just Trump. DD: RINOs fail/refuse to defend and advance the Republican Party platform.
https://thefederalist.com/2026/08/07/rinos-are-tanking-the-entire-republican-party-not-just-trump/
— The Average Man Rejected Socialism. White Affluent Liberals Chose It For Him. DD: To vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://thefederalist.com/2026/08/05/the-average-man-rejected-socialism-white-affluent-liberals-chose-it-for-him/
FOX BUSINESS
— America is the envy of the world.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6403015347112
FOX NEWS
— Socialism appeals to young voters because the ideology allows them to blame external systems rather than taking personal responsibility. DD: According to my critics/opponents, if I had worked in the private sector instead of the public sector, I would not have gotten the promotions that I got. According to my Democrat GAO superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates, if I had worked for GAO instead of IRS, I would not have gotten promoted to GS-9 (currently $68,999/year) when I was 23 in 1972, to GS-11 (currently $83,482/year) when I was 24 in 1973, and to GS-12 (currently $100,059/year) when I was 25 in 1974. They stress that I did not earn an MBA until I was 27 in 1976 and that I did not pass the CPA examination on my first attempt until I was 30 in 1979. They used that to force me to take a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars, a downgrade from GS-12 Step 5 (currently $113,403/year) to GS-9 Step 10 (currently $89,703/year).
https://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/truth-socialisms-appeal-young-voters-115047273.html
— Gen Z spending faces scrutiny amid affordability concerns. DD: While I worked for IRS’s Collection Division for almost 9 years, I took and analyzed financial statements from many taxpayers who wanted payment agreements.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403080483112
— Vance slams blue states for failing to verify welfare eligibility.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403054464112
NATIONAL REVIEW
— Socialists Want the DNC to Sign Its Own Death Warrant.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/08/the-socialists-want-the-dnc-to-sign-its-own-death-warrant/
— A Foreseeable and Dire Munitions Crisis. DD: I worked for GAO on an audit of the Department of Defense FY 1990 ammunition budget request. SEE: https://www.gao.gov/assets/nsiad-90-23.pdf
https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/08/a-foreseeable-and-dire-munitions-crisis/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CNN
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote socialism.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/ar-AA28yb43
https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/08/politics/video/smerconish-will-the-democratic-party-become-the-party-of-democratic-socialism
AOL
— DD: I avoided Democrat indoctrination by majoring in business, accounting, and finance.
https://www.aol.com/articles/why-sending-kids-college-become-100232000.html
U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
— Republicans Must Stop Being Democrat-Lite. DD: My “Republican” critics/opponents are really Democrat Lite, if not anti-conservative, if not Democrat plants. Political parties exist to help elect candidates who can and will defend and advance their platform. The Republican Party platform is conservative.
https://www.usnews.com/debate-club/is-the-gops-problem-in-its-strategies-or-its-policies/republicans-must-stop-being-democrat-lite
— Affordable New Cars With Lots of Horsepower in 2026. DD: Because I wanted to buy a new car before I graduated from Crete-Monee High School in 1966, In May of 1966, I bought a new Pontiac Tempest Sprint ( https://over-drive-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/1965-12-CD-1966-Pontiac-Tempest-Sprint-Test-1-4.pdf ), a poor man’s GTO, instead of a GTO. But then my Park Forest Post Office salary enabled me to buy a new 1968 Oldsmobile 442 in 1967 and then a new 1969 Dodge Charger SE in 1968.
https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/advice/cheap-cars-with-a-lot-of-horsepower
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Our Top Picks Overall: 2026 Ford Mustang — The Ford Mustang rolls into 2026 with a few styling tweaks and no other changes, which means this sports car is still a fantastic driving machine.)
NEW YORK TIMES
— Trump Gains a Loyal Enabler at the Justice Dept. DD: My critics/opponents was loyal enablers. They destroy those like me a) who they cannot manipulate or dominate, b) who refuse to glorify or praise them, c) who refuse to pander to them, d) who refuse to serve as one of their operatives or dupes, e) who refuse to cover up their wrong doing, and/or f) who refuse to give them money. I should write about my critics/opponents. I would focus on those who have lots of government, political, financial, and/or religious clout in Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois. I would focus on those who have had their operatives and their dupes take the most/biggest adverse actions against me lately.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/08/us/politics/blanche-attorney-general-doj-trump-power.html
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote socialism.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/09/us/politics/gustavo-gordillo-democratic-socialists.html
— DD: Socialists win because they falsely hint/imply/argue/shout that if you do not get promotions, it is because of capitalism. Democrats win because they falsely hint/imply/argue/shout that if you do not get promotions, it is because of Republicans. All my coworkers who my Democrat Post Office, IRS, and GAO superiors promoted over me did little or nothing to get promoted. They got promoted because they were Democrats, minorities, females, and/or veterans. To get promoted, I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree (management), three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance), six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and a job-related professional license (CPA). All my coworkers who my Democrat superiors promoted over me were Democrats who 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. Consequently, because I was not a Democrat, minority, female, or veteran, my Democrat Post Office superiors refused to promote me beyond GS-4, my Democrat IRS superiors beyond GS-12, and my Democrat GAO superiors beyond GS-13.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/08/opinion/socialist-wave-democratic-party.html
— The Bagpiper’s Endless Quest for a Place to Practice. DD: Between 2005 and 2019, I raised $2,500 a year from Republican candidates, elected officials, and party leaders for “DuPage Republicans” to be the lead sponsor for Wheaton Independence Day parades and fireworks. My critics/opponents ended that by stopping sponsorships. $1,000 each year of the money I raised was for bagpipers to walk in the parades. My critics/opponents do not like, if not despise, if not hate bagpipers. For them, they walked too slow.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/nyregion/bagpipes-new-york.html
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH BIG GRAPHIC: How a Nation of Immigrants Traces Its Roots. Melting pot, tapestry, mosaic, kaleidoscope, salad bowl. Every cliché is true. DD: My critics/opponents have always used against me the fact that all my ancestors immigrated from what is now Germany during the 1840s and 1850s when slavery was legal. In their defense, I have always stressed that they always lived in northeast Illinois.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/07/01/us/america-identity-ancestry-census.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: After 1840, immigration from Western Europe began to rise quickly as political instability in Germany and the famine in Ireland drove people to leave. Asian immigrants, drawn by the discovery of gold in California in 1848, were recruited to work on farms and railroads. Later in the 19th century, pogroms across Eastern Europe and the aftermath of Italian reunification drove a surge of migration to the United States. From 1880 to 1920, 24 million immigrants arrived. They went almost everywhere except the South, where the land-owning elite already had cheap labor from the formerly enslaved and poor tenant farmers. Cities swelled. In 1910, according to the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration, three-quarters of the residents of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and New York City were immigrants or children of immigrants.)
— FRONT PAGE: For More College Graduates, Moving Home Is a No-Brainer. DD: I lived with and helped support my mother and brother in Crete for 25 months after I graduated from college. My father died suddenly when he was 47 and I was 21 in October of 1969. He was earning $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 them in Crete and helped support them until September of 1972 when I bought a new townhome in University Park.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/business/college-graduates-living-at-home.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Moving Back Home After College? All Your Friends Are Doing It. More young adults are living with their parents. The development suggests that they face a weak job market, but also that fewer face stigma in returning to the roost.)
UNION LEADER
— Socialism is a sin and a death sentence for America.
https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds/mary-jane-beauregard-socialism-is-a-sin-and-a-death-sentence-for-america/article_5dd566ea-6124-47bb-82b0-66b1a4e219d9.html
DALLAS EXPRESS
— Why Young Americans Are Turning To Socialism — And What JD Vance Says Must Change.
https://dallasexpress.com/national/why-young-americans-are-turning-to-socialism-and-what-jd-vance-says-must-change/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Vance stated that “A lot of Americans look at this rising tide of socialism and say, ‘How did we get here?’ We got here by 40 years of bipartisan leaders selling our industrial base to foreign countries, allowing low-wage immigrants to come in and compete with Americans for jobs, by destroying the foundation of the middle class. That’s how you got socialism.” He continued: “How you fix that problem is by doubling down on Donald Trump’s economic nationalism, not going back to the way we’ve done things for the past 40 years. It’s failed everywhere it’s tried, and it always leads to socialism. It always leads exactly where we are. The only way to get out of it is to double down on the economics of the past 18 months.” Vance also described Democratic candidates he called “limousine socialists” as offering redistribution rather than industry or good jobs, saying manufacturing remains the foundation of middle-class prosperity.)
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— ICE Is Weaponizing Social Media Against Its Critics. Agency says its surveillance program searches for threats to agents, but critics see free-speech infringements.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/ice-surveillance-internet-critics-e3b22f49
24/7 WALL STREET
— Only 30% of Americans Ever Receive an Inheritance. Those Who Do Get It at 58, Not 30. DD: My wife and I never anticipated receiving inheritances. Therefore, we lived our lives like that. We saved as much as we could for our retirement.
https://247wallst.com/personal-finance/2026/06/24/only-30-of-americans-ever-receive-an-inheritance-those-who-do-get-it-at-58-not-30/
MONEY LION
— These 16 US Colleges Now Cost More Than $100K a Year. DD: University of Chicago is $103,821/year. 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 working part-time for the Park Forest Post Office while classes were in session and full-time during the summers 1966-1969 and b) 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. In today’s dollars, my postal salary increased from $19.57/hour to $20.87/hour.
https://www.aol.com/articles/16-us-colleges-now-cost-153011000.html
COMPLETE COLORADO
— Democratic socialism is just an opening act for communism. Socialism is a devil’s brew of delusional utopianism, economic malpractice, hatred of capitalism, and unlimited government control of every aspect of our lives. It’s a philosophy based on envy and resentment dressed up as “social justice.”
https://completecolorado.com/2026/08/03/democratic-socialism-opening-act-communism/
COLORADO POLS
— Pence Slams Trump at Revamped Western Conservative Summit. DD: Ever-increasingly, the more conservative that you are, that is, the more conservative principles that you promote, that is, the more planks in the Republican Party platform that you promote, the faster that you are gotten rid of. I am no longer a) the Republican fundraiser for Wheaton Independence Day parades and fireworks, b) the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairman, c) an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee member, and d) the Milton Township Republican Organization webmaster.
https://www.coloradopols.com/diary/227239/pence-slams-trump-at-western-conservative-summit
(FROM THE ARTICLE: “In our movement there are people who have been nibbling away at the very principles that have made America strong and prosperous and free and have defined a conservative agenda,” said former Vice President Mike Pence, CCU’s newest 2026 faculty member, who refused President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. “In fact, in many respects in recent years we’ve seen our movement toss about at a tempest of populism, protectionism, and on occasion even isolationism. On the world stage, we saw the administration’s initial stops and starts when it comes to Ukraine after that brutal and unprovoked invasion by Russia four years ago. I have held since that moment that America, as the leader of the free world, should continue to marshal the West to give the brave Ukrainian people what they need to repel and defeat that Russian invasion. “At home, we’ve seen the rise of protectionist policies,” continued Pence. “The so-called ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs of a year ago represented the largest tax increase in American history, imposed on friend and foe alike. They impacted families, literally at the grocery store and at the counter. We’ve also witnessed populist policies that have taken on the free market tradition of our movement, nationalizing American businesses. The headlines this morning are that a dozen more businesses have received direct equity investments by the federal government. And we’ve seen price controls on everything from consumer credit to medicines. And perhaps most troubling to traditional conservatives like me is there’s been a marked departure, a marginalizing of our commitment to the sanctity of human life.”)
ALTOONA MIRROR
— Reunions a time to reflect, reconnect. DD: Sadly, it looks like there will not be a 60th reunion for my Crete-Monee High School Class of 1966. Sadly, my interaction with my classmates decreased dramatically during my junior and senior years because I worked 28 hours a week during the school years and 40 hours a week during the summer in between washing dishes for the minimum wage in the basement of the SS Kresge in Chicago Heights.
https://www.altoonamirror.com/news/local-news/2026/08/reunions-a-time-to-reflect-reconnect/
POST AND COURIER
— Education pathways to prosperity. DD: When you were young, what did you do to advance your career? I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree when I was 21 in 1970; job-related master’s degrees in 1976, 1980, and 1997; job-related professional certifications in 1979, 1981, 1990, 1994, 1996, and 1997; and a job-related professional license in 1981.
https://www.postandcourier.com/moultrie-news/news/education-pathways-to-prosperity/article_8678cc81-0b75-40e0-a27c-9d7c1d27ff10.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: August marks back-to-school season. It’s a season filled with anticipation for new coursework and academic progress, but also a time for students and families to reflect on the career pathways that education can help make possible. It’s understandable that many young people are questioning the value of higher education. National student loan debt now exceeds $1.87 trillion, with borrowers in South Carolina carrying an average balance of about $34,000 per learner, slightly below the national average of roughly $37,000 to $39,000. Meanwhile, unemployment among South Carolinians ages 16 to 24 is approximately 9.2 percent, twice the state’s overall unemployment rate of 4.6 percent. While concerns about the value of college are very real, the data indicate that post-secondary education still provides the best pathways to increased lifetime income. In South Carolina, community college graduates will earn $220,000 to $335,000 more over their lifetime than those with just a high school diploma. Four-year graduates (including transfer students) will earn nearly $800,000 more over their lifetime. However, the biggest barriers to obtaining a college degree are cost, time to completion, accessibility and flexibility to accommodate competing life priorities. Certificates, associate degrees and bachelor’s degrees. Post-secondary education provides multiple pathways to economic success through professional certificates, associate degrees, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees. The key is to choose the pathways that offer the best job security and ROI. Professional certificates are the fastest and least expensive way to earn a credential that validates a desired skillset. Certificates can serve as a stackable on-ramp toward a degree, provide timely skills, or help you qualify for upward mobility.)
TRIB LIVE
— Potential of 3-year bachelor’s degrees spark debate of affordability, quality. DD: Immediately after I completed 16 graduate evening business courses one course at a time 1972-1976 and earned an MBA from Loyola, Loyola cut its requirement for an MBA to 12 courses if you had a bachelor’s degree in business which I did. My not earning an MBA sooner than I did harmed my IRS career.
https://community.triblive.com/news/4110996
CENTER FOR RETIREMENT RESEARCH
— Let’s Elect Candidates Who Will Make the Wealthy Pay Taxes. DD: The less income you have, the less income tax that you pay.
https://crr.bc.edu/lets-elect-candidates-who-will-make-the-wealthy-pay-taxes/
COMMON DREAMS
— Who Is ‘Authentically’ Working Class? DD: My critics/opponents look down on if not despise the working class. I was a member of the working class 1962-1997. 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 taxes 1971-1980. I audited federal agencies 1980-1997.
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/who-is-the-working-class
LAW
— DD: Democrats and RINOs will always use Affirmative Action, DEI, and wokeness/wokeism to get rid of Republicans.
https://www.law.com/article/almID/53G6-WMG1-JBM3-R52C-00000-00/
FEDERAL RETIREMENT
— DD: My critics/opponents have always been furious that I qualified myself for both a Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) pension, currently $68,640/year, and Social Security, currently $18,712/year. I paid into Social Security for 10 years and into CSRS for almost 30 years including into both at the same time for almost 3 years. While I worked part-time for the Post Office for almost 3 years, I paid into both Social Security and CSRS and got full-time CSRS credit even though I worked only part-time. They are beyond furious that because of a Bill that Biden signed, my Social Security increased from about $3,000/year to about $6,000/year and then to $18,712/year.
https://federalretirement.net/social-security/csrs-social-security/
COLLEGE NEWS
— Best U.S. Companies for Entry-Level Jobseekers. DD: After you earned your bachelor’s degree, what was your entry-level job? When I graduated from NIU with a bachelor’s degree in management in 1970, I accepted the only job offer that I got. It was to be the Retail Sales Manager for the Firestone Store in the Chicago Heights. Potential employers saw me as being draft bait. They did not believe that my application for a financial hardship draft deferment to help support my mother and brother would be approved. Because advancement working for Firestone looked bleak, I accepted a job offer from Oldsmobile in 1971, but Oldsmobile withdrew that offer saying it had just agreed to stop hiring Whites to settle an EEOC complaint. My Firestone Store boss rudely fired me because I accepted that offer. Because I had to have a job, I accepted a job offer that I got from IRS. I had taken and passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination while I was a NIU student.
https://www.collegenews.com/which-are-the-best-us-companies-for-entry-level-jobseekers/
August 6, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— Community leaders call for accountability after Southwest Side street takeover. DD: What is your municipality doing to stop Democrat teen takeovers? 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://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-community-leaders-call-accountability-southwest-side-street-takeover-47th-cicero-avenue/19633041/
NBC5
— Dolton board votes to move up curfew, set penalty in effort to curb teen gatherings. The unanimously approved ordinance established a 9 p.m. curfew in Dolton for anyone under the age of 18, and any teens caught out without adult supervision could be fined between $250 to $2,500. DD: What is your municipality doing to stop Democrat teen takeovers?
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/dolton-board-votes-to-move-up-curfew-establish-penalty-in-effort-to-curb-teen-gatherings/3971192/
CBS2
— Chicago’s own Mamdani? Behind DSA’s fight to elect socialists to City Council first. DD: Ever-increasingly, to vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicago-mamdani-effect-dsa-election-socialism/
FOX32
— Dolton combatting teen takeovers with curfew of 9 p.m. for children. DD: What is your municipality doing to stop Democrat teen takeovers?
https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/fmc-razxmsyro71otja5.amp
WTTW
— What Happened to the American Dream? New Documentary Asks 1,000 People Across 50 States. DD: When you were young, what did you do to pursue the American Dream? I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree when I was 21 in 1970; job-related master’s degrees in 1976, 1980, and 1997; job-related professional certifications in 1979, 1981, 1990, 1994, 1996, and 1997; and a job-related professional license in 1981. 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 taxes 1971-1980. I audited federal agencies 1980-1997.
https://news.wttw.com/2026/07/23/what-happened-american-dream-new-documentary-asks-1000-people-across-50-states
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Chicago grocers are severely affected by reductions to SNAP: ‘We need to bail out this industry.’ DD: How dependent on SNAP are the grocers in your county, township, municipality, and school district?
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/05/chicago-grocery-stores-snap-cuts/
— Disability advocates march on Gov. JB Pritzker’s office demanding more alternatives to nursing homes. DD: While I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO’s Chicago office for almost 18 years, they assigned me to supervise all the disabled employees they hired.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/05/nursing-home-alternatives-rally-pritzker/
— Man who jumped fence into JB Pritzker’s backyard didn’t know it was governor’s home.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/05/jb-pritzkers-backyard/
— DD: Ever-increasingly, to vote for Democrats is to vote for socialism.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/05/letters-080526-democratic-socialists/
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/05/chicago-dj-tunjo-ice-midway-airport/
BLOOMINGTON PANTAGRAPH
— Chicago grocers are severely affected by reductions to SNAP: ‘We need to bail out this industry.’ DD: How dependent on SNAP are the grocers in your county, township, municipality, and school district?
https://pantagraph.com/news/state-regional/business/article_845819ec-b858-589b-b99f-8a9f938898fb.html
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Alexi Giannoulias is spending six figures to introduce himself to Chicago voters as a mayoral candidate — not secretary of state.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/08/06/welch-hindsight-is-20-20-01026606
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/06/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-785/
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/05/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-572/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER RIGHT SOURCES
GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— To advance under socialism, all you need to do is be a socialist. To advance under Democrats, all you need to do is be a Democrat. When you were young, if America had been socialist, would your career have advanced more? My career would not have advance more because just like I refused to become a Democrat to advance, I would have refused to become a socialist to advance. While I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO 1980-1997, you had to be a Democrat to be promoted to GS-14. While I worked for the Democrats who ran IRS 1971-1980, you had to be a Democrat to be promoted to GS-13. While I worked for the Democrats who ran the Post Office 1966-1969, you had to be a Democrat to be promoted to GS-5. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Socialism disincentivizes work. Capitalism and pursuit of the American Dream motivated me to work my way through college and earn a job-related bachelor’s degree (management), three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance), six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and a job-related professional license (CPA). Sadly, extremely few of my peers did anything close to that. My peers included my Crete-Monee High School classmates 1962-1966, my UIC classmates 1966-1968, my NIU classmates 1969-1970, my Post Office coworkers 1966-1969, my IRS coworkers 1971-1980, and my GAO coworkers 1980-1997. Under socialism, even fewer of my peers would have done anything close to what I did. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Back in the 1970s, the Democrats who ran IRS’s Chicago office wanted the broadest definition possible of Chicago’s commuting area to make it easier for them to meet their Affirmative Action quotas. My grievance frustrated that big time. SEE: https://www.gao.gov/assets/b-180010.11.pdf – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Indianapolis TV Station Features Vacation Spots in McHenry County
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/29/indianapolis-tv-station-features-vacation-spots-in-mchenry-county/
— Dem Says ICE Detention in Kentucky Devastating, They Could Be in McHenry County Jail without Dems’ Law
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/29/dem-says-ice-detention-in-kentucky-is/
— Corbett Calls Bailey Extremist on IDV, Relates Personal Experience
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/29/corbett-calls-bailey-extremist-on-idv-relates-personal-experience/
— Six Months for Libertyville Man Threatening Judges
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/29/six-months-for-libertyville-man-threatening-judges/
— Brilliant Takedown of an Unresponsive City Council
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/29/brilliant-takedown-of-an-unresponsive-city-council/
— Another Federal Gun Prosecution, This Time After Illinois Judge Releases Felon Under SAFE-T Act Rules
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/29/another-federal-gun-prosecution-this-time-after-illinois-judge-releases-felon-under-safe-t-rules/
— Juliana Stratton’s Position on Medicare for All Criticized by Washington Post: “Taxes for All”
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/30/juliana-strattons-position-on-medicare-for-all-criticized-by-washington-post-taxes-for-all/
— Deep Southern Illinois Legislator Reveals Concern at Pritzker’s Moving Jobs into the Chicago Metropolitan Area
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/30/deep-southern-illinois-legislator-reveals-concern-at-pritzkers-moving-jobs-into-the-chicago-metropolitan-area/
— McLaughlin Warns of BIG Pension Problem
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/30/mclaughlin-warns-of-big-pension-problem/
— Part of Woman’s Head Decapitated When Speeding Boat Crashed into Her Boat Found in Fox River
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/30/part-of-womans-head-decapitated-when-speeding-boat-crashed-into-her-boat-found-in-fox-river/
— Pritzker Takes the Typical Democratic Party Attack Approach – “He’s Too Extreme!!”
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/30/21424/
— Inspired by Constituent Tragedy, McLaughlin Law Requires Training in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver for Day Care Centers with More Than 12 Kids
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/30/21414/
— State Sets Up Whistle Blower Webpage for Many Licensed Professionals
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/31/state-sets-up-whistle-blower-webpage-for-many-licensed-professionals/
— The Results of One Party Government
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/01/21386/
— Kat Off the Hook, Whether It Helped or Hurt Her Campaign Up in the Air
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/05/kat-off-the-hook/
— Video of Apparition in McHenry County
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/26/video-of-apparition-in-mchenry-county/
— Illinois Stopped from Allowing Illegal Aliens Lower Tuition Than Americans Living Out of State
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/26/illinois-stopped-from-allowing-illegal-aliens-lower-tuition-than-americans-living-out-of-state/
— Support for Cessation of Treating Illegals Better Than American Citizens
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/27/support-for-cessation-of-treating-illegals-better-than-american-citizens/
— UPDATE: Allegedly Drunk Fox River Killer Boat Driver Set To Remain in McHenry County Jail Until August 5th; Before SAFE-T Act, Meeting Large Cash Bail Would Have Probably Gotten Him Out FROM STATE’S ATTORNEY
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/27/drunk-fox-river-killer-boat-driver-set-to-remain-in-mchenry-county-jail-until-august-5th-before-safe-t-act-meeting-large-cash-bail-would-have-probably-gotten-him-out/
— Republican Marty Mohr Gains Union Endorsement
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/28/marty-mohr-gains-union-endorsement/
— McHenry County Farmer Scores $45,000 of $4 Million Grant Money
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/28/mchenry-county-scores-45000-of-4-million-grant-money/
— Background Discussion on the Rodeo Ordinance That Didn’t Pass Last Tuesday
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/28/background-discussion-on-the-rodeo-ordinance-that-didnt-pass-last-tuesday/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Trump vows to punish ‘leakers’ who said U.S. munitions are running short. DD: I worked for GAO on an audit of the Department of Defense FY 1990 ammunition budget request.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/6/donald-trump-vows-punish-leakers-who-said-us-munitions-running-short/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Social media has jeopardized immigrant assimilation. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly discourage assimilation. Because my ancestors were slow to assimilate, my father was only the first of them to earn a high school diploma and my mother never attended high school. All my grandparents spoke German.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/beltway-confidential/4666462/social-media-immigrant-assimilation/
— The conservative case for a market-based immigration system. 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.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/patriotism-unity/4669862/conservative-case-market-based-immigration/
— America was never just an idea — or just a heritage. DD: America is a country with borders and laws.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/patriotism-unity/4669755/american-heritage-culture-creed-assimilation-immigrants/
WASHINGTON FREE BEACON
— Mamdani Backs Squatters’ Rights in Video Demonizing ‘Billionaire’ Jewish ‘Slumlord.’
https://freebeacon.substack.com/p/mamdani-backs-squatters-rights-in-9f4
AMERICAN THINKER
— Catastrophe Is Left-Wing. When left-wing or socialist policies dominate power, crises not only arrive — they worsen.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/catastrophe-is-left-wing/
— Ceuta: The Time-Lapse Photo Of Western Collapse. Just one week in Ceuta provided a perfect microcosm of what’s been happening across Europe for a decade, and always with European governments’ connivance.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/ceuta-the-time-lapse-photo-of-western-collapse/
BIZ PAC REVIEW
— Major gun ruling could spark chain reaction ending at Supreme Court.
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/08/05/major-gun-ruling-could-spark-chain-reaction-ending-at-supreme-court-1653543/
BREITBART
— Illegal Alien Caught with Several Molotov Cocktails in Mokena.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/05/prosecutors-illegal-alien-caught-with-several-molotov-cocktails-in-chicago-suburb/
— The Fatal Flaw With Democratic Socialists: ‘You Can’t Just Steal People’s Money’
https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2026/08/05/joe-rogan-explains-the-fatal-flaw-with-democratic-socialists-you-cant-just-steal-peoples-money/amp/
CAMPUS REFORM
— Southern Illinois University system continues DEI agenda despite Trump’s crackdown. Southern Illinois University’s latest strategic progress report continues to identify DEI as a core institutional priority while celebrating a national DEI leadership award. The report comes as the Trump administration has directed federally funded institutions to eliminate DEI programs that may conflict with federal civil rights law. DD: Democrats use DEI to get rid of Republicans.
https://www.campusreform.org/article/southern-illinois-university-system-continues-anti-racism-dei-agenda-despite-trumps-crackdown/30373
DAILY CALLER
— Major Gun Ruling Could Spark Chain Reaction Ending At Supreme Court.
https://dailycaller.com/2026/08/05/third-circuit-ruling-could-thrust-another-case-to-supreme-court/
DAILY SIGNAL
— Senate Committee Votes to Hold Fauci in Contempt of Congress.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/08/06/all-he-had-to-do-was-tell-the-truth-senate-committee-advances-contempt-votes-on-fauci/
DAILY WIRE
— Socialists Sweep the Primaries.
https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-260806
EPOCH TIMES
— 12 Glaring Realities of Marxist Socialism.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/opinion/twelve-glaring-realities-of-marxist-socialism-6068509
— Progressive El-Sayed Wins Michigan’s Democratic Senate Primary. El-Sayed faced more than $60 million in outside spending in support of Stevens, compared with about $4.6 million spent to support his campaign. The race became a flashpoint in a wider ideological battle taking place nationwide in the Democratic Party between progressives and establishment centrists.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/progressive-el-sayed-wins-michigans-democratic-senate-primary-6070694
FOX BUSINESS
— Can Republicans beat socialism in the Midterms? The far-left of the Democratic party has a field day in the Michigan primaries.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/larry-kudlow-can-republicans-beat-socialism-midterms
FOX NEWS
— Taxpayer-funded housing for illegal immigrants in GOP’s crosshairs: ‘It’s got to stop.’ The legislation would also deny Community Development Block Grants to sanctuary cities and require citizenship verification. DD: The second audit I worked for GAO on in 1980 was of Community Development Block Grants in Aurora.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/taxpayer-funded-housing-illegal-immigrants-gops-crosshairs-got-to-stop
— Trump blasts Democratic socialist candidate as ‘full of s—‘ and Dems are skipping socialism ‘for communism.’ President argues Dems are embracing communism, calling it the greatest threat facing the US.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-blasts-democratic-socialist-candidate-full-dems-skipping-socialism-communism
NATIONAL REVIEW
— El-Sayed’s Coalition Is More Highly Educated and White Than He Lets On. DD: I avoided Democrat indoctrination by majoring in business, accounting, and finance.
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/el-sayeds-coalition-is-more-highly-educated-and-white-than-he-lets-on/
— The Pendulum Has Swung Back: Standardized Testing Is Again a Core Requirement in College Admissions.
https://natlawreview.com/press-releases/pendulum-has-swung-back-standardized-testing-again-core-requirement-college
NEWSMAX
— New York Business Leaders Cave to Mamdani.
https://www.newsmax.com/finance/streettalk/zohran-mamdani-socialism-new-york/2026/08/05/id/1265158/
— 62 Percent of Voters Support SAVE America Act.
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/save-america-act-poll-majority-support/2026/08/05/id/1265183/
OPM
— OPM Launches Online Service for Former Federal Employees to Access Personnel Records. DD: I should take advantage of this.
https://www.opm.gov/news/news-releases/opm-launches-online-service-for-former-federal-employees-to-access-personnel-records/
PATRIOT POST
— Zohran Mamdani Should Be Barred From 9/11 Memorial.
https://patriotpost.us/articles/129680-zohran-mamdani-should-be-barred-from-9-11-memorial-2026-08-05
— Why Are Muslim American Politicians Uniformly Democrats? DD: Islam rejects democracy.
https://patriotpost.us/opinion/129710-why-are-muslim-american-politicians-uniformly-democrats-2026-08-05
TOWNHALL
— Driving DEI Through Litigation.
https://townhall.com/columnists/kenblackwell/2026/08/06/driving-dei-through-litigation-n2680746
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
— Illinois Man Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Failing to Pay Employment Taxes. DD: While I worked for IRS’s Collection Division 1971-1980, the last 5 1/2 years of which at the GS-12 Step 1-5 Levels, currently $100,059-$113,402/year, I collected lots of delinquent employment taxes.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwi/pr/illinois-man-sentenced-15-months-prison-failing-pay-employment-taxes
(FROM THE PRESS RELEASE: Brad D. Schimel, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on July 30, 2026, United States District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller sentenced George Dilles (age 55) of Inverness, Illinois, to 15 months in prison. Dilles had pled guilty to one count of failure to truthfully account for and pay employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7202. According to court records, Dilles was the president and part-owner of NG Enterprises, Inc. (d.b.a. Visiting Angels), a company that provided elderly home personal care in the Milwaukee area and employed from 50 to 110 workers. Dilles was required to withhold federal income taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare taxes from his employees’ wages, hold those amounts in trust, and pay them over to the IRS. Additionally, he was responsible for filing quarterly tax returns (Forms 941) reporting those amounts to the IRS, and for paying the employer’s matching portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes. For 17 quarters from 2019 through 2023, Dilles willfully failed to file employment tax returns and pay over taxes to the IRS of more than $1.2 million. Dilles used some of the funds on personal expenses, including mortgage payments and purchases of a Maserati and a McLaren. He also used employment tax returns, which he had not filed with the IRS, to obtain a Paycheck Protection Program loan in the amount of $312,500. At the sentencing hearing, Judge Stadtmueller emphasized the serious nature of Dilles’ conduct, the substantial loss to the IRS, and the need to provide adequate deterrence to others who might engage in similar conduct. He also ordered Dilles to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release.)
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— Democrats quickly coalesce around El-Sayed after Michigan primary win.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6011745-democrats-back-el-sayed-vs-rogers/
— Vance says El-Sayed has no ‘constituency among the working class.’ DD: I was a member of the working class 1964-1997, that is, I was a wage earner 1964-1997. My critics/opponents look down on the working class, that is, they look down on wage earners. According to them, wage earners are grossly overpaid. They stress that in today’s dollars, I was paid $154,682/year in 1997.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6012719-vance-criticizes-el-sayed-michigan/
CBS NEWS
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote socialism.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/how-democratic-socialism-is-shifting-politics-in-washington/
— Federal workers sour on government work, decrying eroding job security. DD: For Democrats, the federal government exists to hire, retain, and promote Democrats who are minority, female, younger, and/or veteran. I am none of the aforesaid. To get rid of me, my Democrat Post Office, IRS, and GAO superiors punished me a) for my not becoming a Democrat, b) for my avoiding the Vietnam War draft, c) for my complaining about their political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation, and d) for my being an active member in a class action lawsuit that charged them with the aforesaid.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/federal-workers-survey-public-service-job-security/
— DD: What are you loyal to? I am loyal to conservative principles and to the Republican Party platform.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-attacks-supreme-court-justice-neil-gorsuch-loyalty/
NBC NEWS
— DD: What are you loyal to? I am loyal to conservative principles and to the Republican Party platform.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/trump-loyalty-test-thomas-massie-primary-kentucky-georgia-pennsylvania-rcna345556
REUTERS
— Republicans seize on Michigan progressives’ wins, but party is split on socialism message. DD: What positions on socialism do the Republican candidates on the November 3, 2026 ballot in your precinct have on socialism?
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/republicans-seize-michigan-progressives-wins-party-is-split-socialism-message-2026-08-05/
AOL
— Planning to work until 65 is a risky strategy. DD: Federal employees under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) who are the following are expected/forced to retire as soon as they are eligible, that is, as soon as they have 30 years of service and are 55 years old: Republican, White, male, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. I am all of the aforesaid. I became eligible to take GAO’s early retirement “offer” when I was 45 in 1993. My Democrat GAO superiors succeeded in forcing me to take their early retirement “offer” when I was 49 in 1997 because since I was 40 in 1988, I had been an active member in a class action lawsuit that charged them with reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation. That dramatically reduced my CSRS pension and my retirement savings.
https://www.aol.com/articles/suze-orman-says-planning-until-104500000.html
NEW YORK TIMES
— Inside the Oval Office Showdown Between Trump and Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. She told Trump that his interior secretary, Doug Burgum, had misled him with a self-serving cover story for his own mistakes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/us/politics/trump-jeanine-pirro-showdown.html
WASHINGTON POST
— July sees most ICE arrests of Trump’s second term. The agency continued its heightened enforcement efforts despite two fatal shootings, detaining more than 43,000 people last month.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2026/08/06/july-sees-most-ice-arrests-trumps-second-term/
— DD: To get more votes from Blacks, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly push socialism on Blacks. Under Democrats, all you need to do to succeed is to be a Democrat. Under socialism, all you need to do to succeed is to be a socialist. All my coworkers who my Democrat superiors in the federal government promoted over me were Democrats a) who had less education than I had, b) who had less work experience than I had, c) who had no professional certification or fewer than I had, and/or d) who had no professional license like the one I had.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/08/05/black-voters-views-democratic-socialism-resist-categorization/
USA TODAY
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote socialists.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2026/08/04/michigan-primary-democrats-republican-scare-tactics/91152627007/
— This is the salary needed ($110,000/year) to afford a typical US home in 2026. DD: Back in the good old days, I bought a new townhome in University Park ( https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/774-Sunset-Ct-5-University-Park-IL-60484/5451474_zpid/ ) when I was 24 in 1972. In today’s dollars, I paid about $180,000 for it in today’s dollars and the down payment would have been about $36,000 in today’s dollars. In today’s dollars, my IRS Revenue Officer salary had just increased from $56,409/year to $68,999/year. The down payment came from what I had earned working for IRS for 15 months and for a Firestone Store part-time for 18 months and full-time for 7 months before that. According to Zillow, the townhome is currently worth $92,200. That says worlds about real estate values in University Park. I did not earn $110,000/year in today’s dollars until I was 29 in 1978. I had worked for IRS for almost 7 years. I had earned an MBA from Loyola in 1976 and I was taking graduate evening accounting courses at DePaul. I lived in a one bedroom condo in the Outer Drive East building that I had bought in 1976. I was renting out a that townhome I had bought new in 1972. I owned a 1972 Corvette that I had bought new in 1971. See Money Magazine’s 4-page February 1978 article on my wife and I at https://gopillinois.com/documents/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2026/08/05/income-needed-afford-typical-us-home-2026-redfin-report/91185869007/
FORTUNE
— Socialism is a disaster. DD: My critics/opponents blame some, many, most, virtually all, if not all their problems on conservative principles and on planks in the Republican Party platform, most commonly, its personal responsibility, traditional marriage and family, right to life, immigration, anti-vice, Second Amendment, equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks. But some, many, most, virtually all, if not all of them also blame capitalism.
https://fortune.com/2026/08/05/socialism-disaster-ackman-mamdani-left-wing-housing-policy-affordability/
24/7 WALL STREET
— A City Electrician Dreaded the Windfall Elimination Cut to His Social Security. Then a 2025 Law Erased It. DD: Because of that law, my Social Security increased from about $3,000/year to about $19,000/year.
https://www.aol.com/articles/city-electrician-dreaded-windfall-elimination-110124000.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The Social Security Fairness Act repealed both WEP and GPO in January 2025, restoring benefits for roughly 2.7 million retirees and surviving spouses. Teachers, police, firefighters, and municipal workers who split careers between covered and non-covered jobs benefited most; lifelong private-sector workers saw no change. Affected retirees should confirm SSA recalculated their benefit by July 2025 and revisit tax withholding, since higher Social Security income can increase federal tax exposure.)
BLACK WALL STREET TIMES
— 600,000 Black Women Pushed Out of the Workforce. DD: All my coworkers who my Democrat superiors in the federal government promoted over me were Democrats a) who were minority, female, younger than me, and/or veteran and/or b) 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 d) had no professional license like the one I had.
https://theblackwallsttimes.com/2026/08/05/600000-black-women-pushed-out-of-the-workforce-new-iwpr-report-examines-why/
BANKING RATES
— All the Jobs that you can get Notoriously Overpaid. DD: According to my critics/opponents, I was always grossly overpaid.
https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/jobs/overpaid-jobs/
NBC SAN DIEGO
— Housing affordability remains out of reach for most San Diegans; average home over $1M. In San Diego County, 17% of households could afford to purchase the county’s median-priced single-family home of $1.075 million during the second quarter, according to a new report by the California Association of Realtors. DD: What is the average home price in your precinct? What is the average household income in you precinct? Home prices and household incomes are extremely diverse in my DuPage County Milton Township Precinct 59 in Wheaton.
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/housing-affordability-holds-steady-in-san-diego-county/4057720/
ROCHESTER SENTINEL
— DD: To get more votes from Blacks, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promise to give Blacks more and more and more preference forever.
https://www.rochsent.com/news/national/white-parents-who-tell-their-kids-that-race-doesn-t-matter-are-ignoring-the-long/article_39cc079a-c883-5ad7-b4a2-48e8e6a707e5.html
KFOX TV
— Ted Cruz: Democrat El-Sayed’s primary success part of Islamic ‘takeover’ of US. DD: Ever-increasingly, to vote for Democrats is to vote for Islam.
https://kfoxtv.com/news/nation-world/senator-ted-cruz-michigan-democrat-abdul-el-sayeds-senate-primary-success-part-of-islamic-takeover-of-us
JD SUPRA
— Illinois Employers Should Prepare for New Menopause Accommodation and Anti-Discrimination Requirements Under HB 5284. DD: While I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO’s Chicago office for almost 18 years, they assigned me to supervise all the female \employees they hired.
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/illinois-employers-should-prepare-for-4140607/
GOVERNING
— Promising Approaches for Keeping Our Seniors Housed and Healthy. States and localities need to improve housing affordability, availability and accessibility. DD: My wife and I saved far more for our retirement than our peers. My critics/opponents ignore/dismiss/belittle/badmouth that. They stress that I avoided the Vietnam War draft and that my wife and I gave up trying to have children without trying IVF, we did not adopt, and we did not become foster parents.
https://www.governing.com/urban/promising-approaches-for-keeping-our-seniors-housed-and-healthy
FED SMITH
— Facing a RIF, Suitability Action, or Probationary Firing? Here Is Your New, Narrower Appeal Process. RIF retention now runs on performance, not tenure, and appeals go to OPM instead of MSPB. Here is what federal employees need to know. DD: Federal employees who are the following have no Civil Service protections: conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-veteran, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. Unions provide some protection. But GAO did not unionize until 2007. If GAO had been unionized when I transferred from IRS in 1980, my Democrat GAO superiors might not have been able to take the many big adverse actions against me that they did including forcing me to retire when I was 49 in 1997.
https://www.fedsmith.com/2026/08/04/new-narrower-appeal-process-for-rif-suitability-or-probationary-firing/
FED WEEK
— For 250 Years, Federal Workers Have Kept America Running. DD: For Democrats, the federal government exists to hire, retain, and promote Democrats who are minority, female, younger, and/or veteran. I am none of the aforesaid. To get rid of me, my Democrat Post Office, IRS, and GAO superiors punished me a) for my not becoming a Democrat, b) for my avoiding the Vietnam War draft, c) for my complaining about their political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation, and d) for my being an active member in a class action lawsuit that charged them with the aforesaid.
https://www.fedweek.com/fedweek/for-250-years-federal-workers-have-kept-america-running/
FEDERAL NEWS NETWORK
— Key parts of federal employee performance overhaul ‘non-negotiable,’ OPM says. DD: While I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government for almost 30 years, they used the subjectivity in their employee performance systems a) to waste the careers of their Republican employees and b) to get rid of their Republican employees.
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/unions/2026/08/key-parts-of-federal-employee-performance-overhaul-non-negotiable-opm-says/
— Comment on veterans’ preference shines a light on the broken hiring process. Pete Waterman touched the third rail of federal hiring. He publicly criticized the use of veterans’ preference. DD: Because I was not a veteran, but more significantly, because I avoided the Vietnam War draft, my Democrat Post Office, Firestone Store, IRS, and GAO superiors used the veterans’ preference to waste my career and to get rid of me. All my coworkers who my Democrat superiors in the federal government promoted over me who were Democrat veterans 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. I should write about my many Democrat superiors and supervisors who took many big adverse actions against me.
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/hiring-retention/2026/08/comment-on-veterans-preference-shines-a-light-on-the-broken-hiring-process/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The thing about Waterman’s comments on his personal LinkedIn account, in which he expressed his frustrations with the process and how it kept FedRAMP from hiring the best and brightest cloud security engineers, is he said out loud what many federal executives have been saying privately for decades. The problem Waterman highlighted, maybe less eloquently than he should’ve, has nothing to do with not supporting veterans or recognizing their sacrifice for the country. The issue Waterman shined the light on is all about the federal hiring process. “Pete’s problem is he was dumb enough to stay it out loud, but he shouldn’t be punished for it. People have been saying this behind the scenes for years and have found ways around it,” said Traci DiMartini, the former chief human capital officer at the General Services Administration and the IRS. “It’s not veterans’ preference that is bad. It’s how we are adjudicating the best candidates for the job.”)
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/trumps-cherry-picked-inflation-boast/
GALLUP
— 39% view socialism positively. DD: The more problems that you have, the more likely that you view socialism positively. What did you do to avoid problems? I worked my way through college and earned a job-related bachelor’s degree (management), three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance), six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and a job-related professional license (CPA). Extremely few of my peers did anything close to that. My peers included my Crete-Monee High School classmates 1962-1966, my UIC classmates 1966-1969, my NIU classmates 1969-1970, my Post Office coworkers 1966-1969, my IRS coworkers 1971-1980, and my GAO coworkers 1980-1997.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/713144/americans-view-capitalism-socialism-free-enterprise.aspx
POLITICO
— Senate panel votes to hold Fauci in contempt.
https://www.paul.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ROM26376.pdf
— The new fight over who gets to be ‘working class.’ Candidates are struggling to define who’s struggling in an age of affordability woes. DD: I was a member of the working class 1964-1997, that is, I was a wage earner 1964-1997. My critics/opponents look down on the working class, that is, they look down on wage earners. According to them, wage earners are grossly overpaid. They stress that in today’s dollars, I was paid $154,682/year in 1997.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/06/the-new-political-arms-race-proving-youre-working-class-01023704
FROM FOREIGN SOURCES
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
— DD: America-haters ever-increasingly encourage false amnesty claims.
https://www.amnestyusa.org/toolkits/a-guide-to-fighting-authoritarian-practices-in-the-u-s-without-losing-hope/
WORLD SOCIALIST WEB SITE
— Michigan primary shows continued shift to the left in US.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/08/06/ezkd-a06.html
August 5, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Dolton changes curfew to 9 p.m., adds penalty to prevent teen takeovers. DD: What is your municipality doing to stop Democrat teen takeovers?
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/04/dolton-changes-curfew-penalty-teen-takeovers/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— 10 arrested at muddy Lollapalooza, including a backstage brawler, drone operator and poncho seller.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/lollapalooza/2026/08/04/lollapalooza-crime-arrest-chicago-police
— DD: Democrats ever-increasingly promote dependency on government.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/2026/08/05/public-owned-grocery-store-sav-a-lot-food-desert-south-west-sides-erion-malasi
HERALD WHIG
— Illinois joins lawsuit challenging federal data-sharing policy for welfare recipients. DD: Democrat leaders want as many voters on welfare as possible because they vote for Democrats.
https://whig.com/2026/08/03/illinois-joins-lawsuit-challenging-federal-data-sharing-policy-for-welfare-recipients/
CAPITOL CITY NOW
— Durbin to vote against Blanche. DD: My critics/opponents demand blind loyalty. They destroy those like me a) who they cannot manipulate or dominate, b) who refuse to glorify or praise them, c) who refuse to pander to them, d) who refuse to serve as one of their operatives or dupes, e) who refuse to cover up their wrong doing, and/or f) who refuse to give them money. I should write about my critics/opponents. I would focus on those who have lots of government, political, financial, and/or religious clout in Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois. I would focus on those who have had their operatives and their dupes take the most/biggest adverse actions against me lately.
https://capitolcitynow.com/news/248842-durbin-voting-against-blanche-nomination-says-he-cant-be-trusted/
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Running for two jobs at once.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/08/05/running-for-two-jobs-at-once-01024633
(FROM THE NEWSLETTER: Darren Bailey says Chicago Pastor Corey Brooks has endorsed his campaign for governor and will join him on the campaign trail along with other pastors and churches around Chicago. “They know that change has to come, so they’re replicating that message,” Bailey said during a town hall in Lockport on Monday with his running mate, Aaron Del Mar. Leaning in: Bailey, the Republican candidate for governor, is leaning into a strategy that has long been a staple of Chicago politics — building relationships with faith leaders and using trusted community voices to mobilize voters. On the road: The Lockport event was one of a series of town halls and community stops Bailey has been making across Illinois as he builds his 2026 campaign. The money game: While Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker spent roughly $7 million on TV and digital advertising during the second fundraising quarter, Bailey has relied more heavily on face-to-face outreach. The Republican former state senator has raised just over $1.3 million during the same period, according to the latest campaign finance reporting. It’s a financial disparity that’s forced Bailey’s campaign to keep its messaging lean and heavily dependent on grassroots organizing. In addition to a statewide bus tour, Bailey’s campaign has spent more than $900,000 on direct-mail fundraising services used to solicit donations. Getting out the vote: Bailey, who lost to Pritzker by 12 points in 2022, said his focus is on motivating voters who already share his views to show up. “The key to winning, and that is exactly why we lost four years ago, friends, is people show up to vote,” Bailey told Monday’s crowd. “We’ve got everything at our fingertips to win if people show up to vote.” Bailey’s big worry: The midterm elections often fail to generate the kind of enthusiasm seen during presidential contests. The campaign is urging supporters to register voters, fill vacant Republican precinct committee positions and encourage friends, family and younger voters to participate. And his message: Bailey hopes voters’ concerns about the economy and public safety will help propel turnout, and he’s talking unity. “I don’t want any more political divide. It has to end,” he said. “That’s exactly what we’re focused on doing. And so far, it seems to be working pretty good.” PUSHBACK: Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker criticized Bailey for his town hall comments about immigration enforcement. Bailey said Operation Midway Blitz targeted “the most dangerous people,” a point that Pritzker’s team pushes back on, noting that “81 percent of those arrested had no criminal convictions.”)
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/04/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-570/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Sanctuary policies undermine laws and destroy trust in government.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/patriotism-unity/4669714/sanctuary-policies-undermine-laws-destroy-trust/
— Sanctuary cities are a national sovereignty problem.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/patriotism-unity/4667730/sanctuary-cities-national-sovereignty-problem/
— Assimilation. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly discourage assimilation because immigrants who do not assimilate vote for Democrats.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/patriotism-unity/4669658/american-citizenship-immigration-assimilation-culture/
— Ceuta and weapons of mass migration.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/4674005/ceuta-and-the-weapon-of-mass-migration/
NEW YORK POST
— Socialist Mamdani launches new war on NYC business leaders — kicking them off mayor’s fund that backs city programs.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/04/us-news/socialist-mamdani-launches-new-war-on-nyc-business-leaders-kicking-them-off-mayors-fund-that-backs-city-programs/
— Markwayne Mullin is under attack because he’s doing his job right — and telling the truth on immigration.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/04/opinion/markwayne-mullin-is-under-attack-because-hes-doing-his-job-right-and-telling-the-truth-on-immigration/
— Democrats mock Trump’s alarm bells — but the DSA’s communist coup is real.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/05/opinion/democrats-mock-trumps-alarms-but-the-dsas-communist-coup-is-real/
AMAC
— House Passes AMAC Action-Backed “Deporting Fraudsters Act” to Punish Illegal Alien Welfare Fraud.
https://amac.us/advocacy/house-passes-amac-action-backed-deporting-fraudsters-act-to-punish-illegal-alien-welfare-fraud
AMERICAN GREATNESS
— DHS Confirms Over 3 Million Total Deportations, Highlights Arrests of Five More “Worst of the Worst’ Criminal Illegals.
https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/04/dhs-confirms-over-3-million-total-deportations-highlights-arrests-of-five-more-worst-of-the-worst-criminal–illegals/
AMERICAN THINKER
— Socialist Revival In Academia. The recurring nightmare: forced collectivism and the menace of historical amnesia.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/socialist-revival-in-academia/
AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY
— What Americans are telling us about the cost of living.
https://americansforprosperity.org/blog/what-americans-are-saying-about-the-cost-of-living-crisis/
CAMPUS REFORM
— DePaul, America’s largest Catholic university continues LGBTQ studies as critics question its mission. DD: I earned a master’s degree in accounting from DePaul in 1980. My wife earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from DePaul in 1986.
https://www.campusreform.org/article/nations-largest-catholic-university-continues-lgbtq-studies-critics-question-mission/30360
CATO INSTITUTE
— Ten Democratic Socialists of America Arguments for Socialism and Why They’re Wrong.
https://www.cato.org/blog/ten-democratic-socialists-america-dsa-arguments-socialism-why-theyre-wrong
CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES
— Who Gets to Be a Citizen? International Experts Examine Citizenship Policies Around the World. DD: From wat I see, far too many citizens of foreign countries who are the following want to be citizens of America because Democrat and RINO leaders give them tremendous preference: minority, female, and/or younger.
https://cis.org/Transcript/Panel-Transcript-Who-Gets-Be-Citizen
COLLEGE FIX
— Black students don’t feel welcome at Hispanic-serving institutions.
https://www.thecollegefix.com/black-students-dont-feel-welcome-at-hispanic-serving-institutions-study-finds/
DAILY CALLER
— Democratic Socialists Of America Supporters Have These Demographics In Common. DD: Democrat socialists tend to be highly educated. I avoided Democrat indoctrination by majoring in business, accounting, and finance. Democrats and RINOs have always ignored/dismissed/belittled my credentials. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree (management), three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance), six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and a job-related professional license (CPA). I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government for almost 30 years. If I had been a Democrat, minority, female, or veteran, they would have promoted me into their Senior Executive Service, currently $197,200/year, long before I was 40 years old.
https://dailycaller.com/2026/08/03/democratic-socialists-income-education-data/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Supporters of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) tend to be highly educated but fall into the lower-to-middle income brackets. The DSA voting bloc consists of voters who graduated college but are in the lower-to-middle income bracket. Eighty percent of DSA members aged 25 or older had bachelor’s degrees, while 45% had household incomes below $60,000 per year, according to the DSA North Star’s most recent survey from 2021. Thirty-five percent of this demographic earned graduate degrees, according to the survey. Common occupations among DSA members include teachers, social workers, non-profit and public sector employees, according to DSA North Star. A third of respondents were teachers, scholars, academics, private-sector white-collar workers, or tech workers. Fifteen percent of the voter bloc were also unemployed, disabled or retired, according to the survey. Just 4% were blue-collar workers.)
DAILY WIRE
— Dem Socialist Candidate Rails Against American ‘Cult Of Hard Work.’ DD: What did you do to qualify yourself for better paying jobs? I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree (management), three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance), six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and a job-related professional license (CPA).
https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-socialist-candidate-rails-against-american-cult-of-hard-work
FEDERALIST
— The Lawless Zone In Madison, Wisconsin Is A Preview Of America Under Socialism. DD: Where are the Democrat lawless zones in your county, township, municipality, and school district?
https://thefederalist.com/2026/08/04/the-lawless-zone-in-madison-is-a-preview-of-america-under-socialism/
FOUNDATION FOR GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY,
— Welfare doesn’t check if you’re really you, and fraudsters have noticed. DD: How many are on welfare in your county, township, municipality, school district, and precinct? Democrat leaders want voters on welfare because they vote for Democrats.
https://thefga.org/op-eds/welfare-doesnt-check-if-youre-really-you-and-fraudsters-have-noticed/
FOX NEWS
— Trump warns socialism will ‘ruin our country’
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6402828044112
— ‘Squad’ socialist scores re-election nod as radical wave continues to sweep party. The DSA-backed ‘Squad’ member secured her fifth-term nomination as far-left candidates unseat incumbents across the country.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/squad-socialist-scores-reelection-nod-radical-wave-continues-sweep-party
— The GOP needs to offer an ‘alternative vision’ to socialism, Vivek Ramaswamy says. DD: Political parties exist to help elect candidates who can and will defend and advance their platform. The Republican Party platform is conservative. There are far too many planks in the Republican Party platform that far too many Republican elected officials are failing/refusing to defend and advance.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6402797299112
— Ramaswamy: The American Dream feels ‘unaffordable,’ especially for young people. DD: When you were young, what did you do to afford things? I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree when I was 21 in 1970; job-related master’s degrees in 1976, 1980, and 1997; job-related professional certifications in 1979, 1981, 1990, 1994, 1996, and 1997; and a job-related professional license in 1981. 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 taxes 1971-1980. I audited federal agencies 1980-1997.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6402796098112
HERITAGE FOUNDATION
— Import Socialists, Get Socialism.
https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/commentary/import-socialists-get-socialism
INSTITUTE FOR FAMILY STUDIES
— America’s Demoralized Men. DD: To get more votes from women, Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly use Affirmative Action and DEI to give women more preference, that is, they ever-increasingly discriminate against men. All the women who Democrats and RINOs 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://ifstudies.org/report-brief/americas-demoralized-men-part-ii-lost-pathways-greater-struggles
(FROM THE ARTICLE: “Demoralized” is the term we use to characterize a state of mind reflected in agreement with such self-appraisals as “I am inclined to think that I am a failure” (43%), and such expressions of powerlessness as “I often feel that I have little control over the things that happen to me” (61%), and of being found insufficient, such as “I never seem to do enough to please people” (54%). We also report here on the dispiriting experience of feeling lonely (25%), isolated (26%) or lacking community (48%) much of the time.)
— What’s Behind America’s Marriage Divide? DD: What helped you become marriage material? By the time I got married when I was 29 in 1978, I had worked for IRS for almost 7 years and my salary was $110,066/year in today’s dollars. I had earned an MBA from Loyola in 1976 and I was taking graduate evening accounting courses at DePaul. I lived in a one bedroom condo in the Outer Drive East building that I had bought in 1976. I was renting out a town home in University Park that I had bought new in 1972. I owned a 1972 Corvette that I had bought new in 1971. See Money Magazine’s 4-page February 1978 article on my wife and I at https://gopillinois.com/documents/ Things that impressed me about my outstanding wife included that her first job after high school was working for the FBI. She soon became the Corporate Secretary of the U.S. League of Savings Institutions. She did much to help elect Big Jim Thompson governor in 1976. She earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from DePaul in 1986.
https://ifstudies.org/blog/beyond-the-paycheck-whats-behind-americas-marriage-divide
— Demoralized But Not Defeated: What 2,000 Young Men Told IFS About Their Lives.
https://ifstudies.org/blog/demoralized-but-not-defeated-what-2000-young-men-told-ifs-about-their-lives
NRCC
— A new poll confirmed what Americans already knew: the Democrat Party has gone full socialist. One-third of Democrats identify as democratic socialists, and 64 percent of the remaining Democrats would be comfortable nominating one.
https://www.nrcc.org/2026/08/04/the-socialists-takeover-is-complete/
NEWS BUSTERS
— WHAT? NBC Nightly News Shows Socialism’s Unpopularity Among Voters.
https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/jorge-bonilla/2026/08/05/what-nbc-nightly-news-shows-socialisms-unpopularity-among-voters
PJ MEDIA
— DePaul, the biggest U.S. Catholic University, should stop claiming to be Catholic. DD: I earned a master’s degree in accounting from DePaul in 1980. My wife earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from DePaul in 1986.
https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2026/08/04/biggest-us-catholic-university-should-stop-claiming-to-be-catholic-n4955806
POST MILLENNIAL
— Abdul El-Sayed glad to campaign with Hasan Piker, promises drivers’ licenses to illegals, claims Trump is ‘fascist.’
https://thepostmillennial.com/abdul-el-sayed-glad-to-campaign-with-hasan-piker-promises-drivers-licenses-to-illegals-claims-trump-is-fascist
REAL CLEAR POLICY
— Deportation Is Key to Fixing Our Broken Immigration System.
https://www.realclearpolicy.com/2026/08/04/deportation_is_key_to_fixing_our_broken_immigration_system_1198388.html
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may face balancing act with democratic socialists.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6009035-aoc-democratic-socialist-endorsement/
— America’s retirement nightmare has arrived. DD: My retirement income and savings are dramatically less because my Democrat superiors in the federal government wasted my career and forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997.
https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/labor/6003046-ai-impact-job-market/
— Mamdani is open to slavery reparations.
https://www.aol.com/articles/mamdani-signals-open-slavery-reparations-161830000.html
REUTERS
— American Bar Association rejects plan to scrap DEI rule for law schools. DD: Democrats and RINOs use Affirmative Action and DEI to get rid of Republicans.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/american-bar-association-rejects-plan-scrap-dei-rule-law-schools-2026-08-04/
NEWSWEEK
— Kids Who Joined Social Media Earlier Have Lower Test Scores.
https://www.newsweek.com/kids-who-joined-social-media-earlier-had-lower-test-scores-study-finds-12281673
ABC NEWS
— ICE arrests hit record high in July as enforcement quietly ramps up.
https://abcnews.com/Politics/ice-arrests-hit-record-high-july-enforcement-quietly/story?id=135356433
— Hegseth again looks to punish Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly over military comments. DD: What have you been punished for? My Democrat Post Office, IRS, and GAO superiors punished me a) for my not becoming a Democrat, b) for my avoiding the Vietnam War draft, c) for my complaining about their political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation, and d) for my being an active member in a class action lawsuit that charged them with the aforesaid.
https://abcnews.com/Politics/hegseth-punish-democratic-sen-mark-kelly-military-comments/story?id=132853171
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly hint/imply/argue/shout that Jesus condemns the concepts of countries, borders, and laws.
https://abcnews.com/Politics/trumps-attacks-pope-leo-hurting-recent-gop-gains/story?id=132065847
— Some Haitian immigrants in Ohio told to report to ICE and given ankle monitors. The Trump administration last month ended TPS for about 350,000 Haitians.
https://abcnews.com/US/haitian-immigrants-ohio-told-report-ice-ankle-monitors/story?id=135356277
CBS NEWS
— Employers shift to merit-based pay increases. DD: In 1989, the Democrats who ran GAO instituted pay-for-performance (PFP) to get rid of their employees who they had not promoted to GS-15, currently $165,386-$197,200/year, and who were Republican, White, male, older, and/or non-veteran. They used the subjectivity in their PFP system to always rank me in the bottom half of my coworkers.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/peanut-butter-pay-raises-merit-based-pay-2027/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Economics Drive Populism and Socialism. Their solutions would make things worse, but real problems are behind their appeal.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/economics-drive-populism-and-socialism-8369a2b8
— Democratic Socialism Is No Tea Party. It’s far more dangerous to the country. But its appeal is similar to that of the 2009-10 GOP insurgency.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/democratic-socialism-is-no-tea-party-52937f87
— Socialists May Prove Surprisingly Strong in November. Democrats stayed away when Bernie Sanders came to Congress. Now he has become a kingmaker.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/socialists-may-prove-surprisingly-strong-in-november-e25ade15
DENVER 7
— New gun law requires approval from sheriff and safety courses to buy some semi-automatic firearms. Under the law, Coloradans who want to buy magazine-fed, gas-powered semi-automatic firearms must go through a new state process. DD: Colorado today, Illinois tomorrow.
https://www.denver7.com/news/politics/new-gun-law-requires-approval-from-sheriff-and-safety-courses-to-buy-some-semi-automatic-firearms
POST INDEPENDENT
— Personal responsibility. DD: My parents and teachers promoted personal responsibility. 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.
https://www.postindependent.com/opinion/whiting-column-personal-responsibility-requires-greater-independence/
HERALD BULLETIN
— Universities’ academic choices, polices discourage men. DD: To get more votes from women, Democrat and RINO leaders have ever-increasingly used Affirmative Action and DEI to give women more preference, that is, to discriminate against men. All the women who Democrats and RINOs 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://www.heraldbulletin.com/opinion/richard-mcgowan-column-universities-academic-choices-polices-discourage-men/article_adfd01ef-4bd3-4a1a-b0db-ad9af51add89.html
MIT SLOAN
— The Elusiveness of Merit-Based Hiring. DD: To hire, retain, and promote Democrats and RINOs, employers replace objectivity with subjectivity. DD: If I had not earned a high school diploma and passed the postal employment test, the Democrats who ran the Post Office would not have hired me in 1966. If I had not earned a bachelor’s degree in business, Firestone Stores would not have hired me in 1970. If I had not passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination, the Democrats who ran IRS would not have hired me in 1971. If I have not been taking graduate evening business courses, my Democrat IRS superiors would not have promoted me in 1972, 1973, and 1974. If I had not earned an MBA and passed the CPA examination on my first attempt, the Democrats who ran GAO would not have hired me in 1980. If I had not earned a master’s degree in accounting, passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt, and became a licensed CPA, the Democrats who ran GAO would not have promoted me in 1986.
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-elusiveness-of-merit-based-hiring/
FAST COMPANY
— Where are Elon Musk’s former DOGE staffers now? The key figures behind DOGE have moved into federal agencies, Republican politics, and a new wave of AI and defense startups. DD: If Gingrich had reformed GAO, there would have been no need for DOGE. If Gingrich had reformed GAO, my Democrat GAO superiors would not have been able a) to force me to retire when I was 49 in 1997, b) to always rank me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance, c) delay my promotions and never promote me beyond GS-13, d) to keep me off audits of IRS for all but 3 of the almost 13 years that I worked for GAO, and e) to force me to take a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO in 1980.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91584801/where-are-elon-musks-former-doge-staffers-now
HR BREW
— DD: To get more votes from voters who are the following, Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly shout at them that Republicans cause all their problems: liberal/moderate, minority, female, younger, LGBTQ, veteran, poor, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time.
https://www.hr-brew.com/stories/new-york-citys-chief-equity-officer-on-her-herculean-job-achieving-racial-equity
SECRETS OF OPM
— Restoring Merit With the Right Civil Service Exam. DD: I took and passed the FSEE when I was 21 in 1970. Because of that and because I had earned a bachelor’s degree in business in 1970, IRS offered me a job in 1971 that I accepted.
https://usopm.substack.com/p/restoring-merit-with-the-right-civil
(FROM THE ARTICLE: 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. In FY1978, the government hired 152,771 people into the competitive service. Only 7,587 were hired via PACE. That is 4.97 percent. That’s not a typo, nor an off year: OPM’s own records show 8,254 PACE hires in FY1976 and 8,521 in FY1977. Go back further to the FSEE era and the numbers are the same order of magnitude: the FSEE was administered to roughly 150,000 applicants a year and used to fill about 10,000 positions annually — roughly five to seven percent of register-based hires.)
FEDERAL NEWS NETWORK
— OPM drops ‘disparate impact’ guidelines from federal hiring regulations. DD: According to Democrats and according to RINOs, whenever those who are White and/or male do better at something than those who are minority and/or female, it is because those who are White and/or male discriminate against those who are minority and/or female.
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/hiring-retention/2026/08/opm-drops-disparate-impact-guidelines-from-federal-hiring-regulations/
COUTHOUSE NEWS
— Aging New York judges lose challenge to forced retirement at 76. DD: Federal employees under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) who are the following are expected/forced to retire as soon as they are eligible, that is, as soon as they have 30 years of service and are 55 years old: Republican, White, male, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. I am all of the aforesaid. I became eligible to take GAO’s early retirement “offer” when I was 45 in 1993. My Democrat GAO superiors succeeded in forcing me to take their early retirement “offer” when I was 49 in 1997 because since I was 40 in 1988, I had been an active member in a class action lawsuit that charged them with reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation. That dramatically reduced my CSRS pension and my retirement savings
https://courthousenews.com/aging-new-york-judges-lose-challenge-to-forced-retirement-at-76/
LEGAL DEFENSE FUND
— Todd Blanche. DD: My critics/opponents demand blind loyalty. They destroy those like me a) who they cannot manipulate or dominate, b) who refuse to glorify or praise them, c) who refuse to pander to them, d) who refuse to serve as one of their operatives or dupes, e) who refuse to cover up their wrong doing, and/or f) who refuse to give them money. I should write about my critics/opponents. I would focus on those who have lots of government, political, financial, and/or religious clout in Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois. I would focus on those who have had their operatives and their dupes take the most/biggest adverse actions against me lately.
https://www.naacpldf.org/press-release/ldf-condemns-senate-judiciary-committee-approval-of-todd-blanche-for-u-s-attorney-general/
GOOD MEN PROJECT
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly destroy traditional marriage and family. How successful have Democrat leaders been destroying traditional marriage and family in your county, township, municipality, school district, and precinct?
https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/do-we-still-need-tradwives-in-2026/
PSYCHOLOGY TODAY
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly destroy traditional marriage and family. How successful have Democrat leaders been destroying traditional marriage and family in your county, township, municipality, school district, and precinct?
https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/staying-sane-inside-insanity/202204/is-marriage-a-lousy-deal-for-women
CHRONICLES MAGAZINE
— Meritocracy. DD: According to Democrats and according to RINOs, whenever those who are White and/or male do better at something than those who are minority and/or female, it is because those who are White and/or male discriminate against those who are minority and/or female. Virtually all those who took and passed on their first attempt he CPA and Certified Internal Auditor examinations with me were White and/or male.
https://chroniclesmagazine.org/web/gracie-abrams-and-the-myth-of-meritocracy/
NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTERS
— Is Pope Leo a Socialist? DD: Socialists destroy all religions. Socialists replace religions with bigger and bigger and bigger government.
https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/pope-leo-democratic-socialist
GOVERNING
— Illinois County Clerks Work to Rebuild Confidence in Elections. DD: In 2019, oversight of elections in DuPage County was dramatically reduced when voters replaced DuPage County’s separate standalone election commission with a division withing the DuPage County Clerk’s office.
https://www.governing.com/politics/illinois-clerks-work-to-rebuild-confidence-in-elections
FROM FOREIGN SOURCES
INDIA TIMES
— Punishment should fit the offender. DD: For Democrats, the federal government exists to hire, retain, and promote Democrats who are minority, female, younger, and/or veteran. I am none of the aforesaid. To get rid of me, my Democrat Post Office, IRS, and GAO superiors punished me a) for my not becoming a Democrat, b) for my avoiding the Vietnam War draft, c) for my complaining about their political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation, and d) for my being an active member in a class action lawsuit that charged them with the aforesaid.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/punishment-should-fit-the-offender-ex-judge-fined-5000-for-blocking-ice-arrest-no-jail-time/videoshow/132287361.cms
August 3, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CBS2
— FRESH Illinois program provides food benefits to those who lost SNAP. DD: According to Google AI, “able-bodied” means an adult is physically and mentally fit for work, is aged 18 through 64, and does not have a dependent child under age 14 in their household. You are automatically exempt from these strict rules if you meet any of the following conditions: You receive federal or state disability benefits (like SSI or SSDI). A doctor or medical professional verifies that you are physically or mentally unable to work. You are pregnant. You live with a child under 14, even if that child isn’t yours or isn’t on your SNAP case. You are experiencing homelessness, are a veteran, or are a young adult aging out of foster care.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/fresh-illinois-program-food-benefits-those-who-lost-snap/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: A new Illinois program launched this weekend, providing food benefits to people who lost their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits because of federal changes. The Families Receiving Emergency Support for Hunger, or FRESH, program kicked off on Saturday. State lawmakers put aside $70 million in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget for the program. On May 1, as many as 150,000 Illinois SNAP participants were set to lose their benefits due to new, stricter eligibility rules in the Trump Administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” The bill requires all able-bodied adults 64 or younger to meet new work requirements to keep their food stamp benefits by either working, volunteering, or going to school for at least 80 hours a month. The new requirements apply to people ages 18 to 64, including veterans and unhoused people. Now, households that lost their SNAP benefits have been automatically enrolled to get to receive a $400 payment from the state.)
WGN9
— Chicago church holds lakefront baptisms to reach young adults after summer of teen takeovers. DD: What is your municipality doing to stop Democrat teen takeovers?
https://wgntv.com/news/features/chicago-church-holds-lakefront-baptisms-to-reach-young-adults/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvEzeUWpiJg
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Joining mayor’s race, Giannoulias casts himself as a coalition builder, says Johnson ‘has not met the moment.’ Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias enters the race as a presumed frontrunner, with a political target on his back after raising $22 million from business leaders and building trade unions.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2026/08/02/alexi-giannoulias-chicago-mayor-candidate-2027-february-election-secretary-of-state
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES & WBEZ
— Many women with high-risk pregnancies can’t get abortions in their home states. Illinois welcomes them. More people travel to Illinois than to any other state for an abortion. A program helps the small percentage who need care in a hospital.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/health/2026/08/03/many-women-with-high-risk-pregnancies-cant-get-abortions-in-their-home-states-illinois-welcomes-them
https://www.wbez.org/health-medicine/2026/08/03/many-women-with-high-risk-pregnancies-cant-get-abortions-in-their-home-states-illinois-welcomes-them
DAILY HERALD
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: Special interests have dropped more than $4 million on suburban congressional races.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260802/us-congress-politics/special-interests-have-dropped-more-than-4-million-on-suburban-congressional-races/
— Residents submit nearly 9,000 signatures seeking Aurora recall referendum.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260802/local-politics/residents-submit-nearly-9000-signatures-seeking-aurora-recall-referendum/
CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is running for mayor.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics-policy/ccb-alexi-giannoulias-mayoral-campaign-20260802/
SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly fight efforts to stop voter fraud.
https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/08/03/illinois-pushes-back-on-federal-voter-roll-threats/91098671007/
BLOOMINGTON PANTAGRAPH
— Illinois launches new program to provide food benefits to people who lost SNAP. DD: According to Google AI, “able-bodied” means an adult is physically and mentally fit for work, is aged 18 through 64, and does not have a dependent child under age 14 in their household. You are automatically exempt from these strict rules if you meet any of the following conditions: You receive federal or state disability benefits (like SSI or SSDI). A doctor or medical professional verifies that you are physically or mentally unable to work. You are pregnant. You live with a child under 14, even if that child isn’t yours or isn’t on your SNAP case. You are experiencing homelessness, are a veteran, or are a young adult aging out of foster care.
https://pantagraph.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/article_f6368e6b-604d-5f5a-89b6-a6f2c5de1bd9.html
CHICAGO CRUSADER
— Just 14 percent of Chicago voters want Mayor Johnson to run again.
https://chicagocrusader.com/poll-says-just-14-percent-of-chicago-voters-want-mayor-johnson-to-run-again-2/
NPR ILLINOIS
— Trust in public health institutions is eroding.
https://www.nprillinois.org/2026-08-02/trust-in-public-health-institutions-is-eroding-what-can-officials-do
CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— DD: Democrat leaders say Senate Republicans see Trump as a growing political liability.
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/hill-politics/senate-republicans-see-trump-as-a-growing-political-liability/
HINSDALE PATCH
— Bailey Campaign Tied To Hinsdale Woman Who Bashed Blacks, ‘Mexican Parades.’ The lieutenant governor candidate says the woman would have been his running mate had he sought the top job.
https://patch.com/illinois/hinsdale/bailey-campaign-tied-hinsdale-woman-who-bashed-blacks-mexican-parades
(FROM THE ARTICLE: A Hinsdale woman who has criticized Black people, Muslims, the LGBTQ community and “Mexican parades” could have been the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor. Kristina McCloy, who founded the conservative Concerned Parents of Illinois, introduced Republican lieutenant governor candidate Aaron Del Mar during a campaign launch event last fall in Oak Brook. It was for Del Mar and GOP governor candidate Darren Bailey, who chose Del Mar. During the event, McCloy, a former Republican Downers Grove Township trustee, introduced Del Mar. After reaching the podium, Del Mar called McCloy “a woman of integrity, courage and deep conviction.” “Kristina stood ready to run alongside me when I was preparing to launch my own campaign for governor,” Del Mar said, adding that he shares her values. Afterward, McCloy said it was a pleasure to speak at the Bailey-Del Mar event. “When Aaron Del Mar explored a run for governor, he asked me to be his running mate, and I was truly honored,” she wrote on the Concerned Parents social media page. More than a week ago, Patch asked McCloy about her past statements and her ties to the Bailey campaign. In response, McCloy said she had retained legal counsel in the matter. She also sent a link to a piece in the conservative DuPage County Policy Journal that she published after she received the Patch inquiry. In it, McCloy lays out a case that she says shows that the local Patch reporter is biased against conservatives. Del Mar and the Bailey campaign did not return messages for comment over the last week. ‘Mexican parades’ In 2024, McCloy asserted on the Concerned Parents’ Facebook page that schools are hiding the issue of African American children attacking white children. “Black children on white children attacks are frequently trending on social media,” McCloy said. “Schools, parents and towns have been downplaying and even hiding it.” She said some are scared to be at the forefront of the issue for fear of being labeled a racist. Lately, she has been criticizing Greg Hart, who became Hinsdale’s village president last year. He is a former Republican member of the DuPage County Board. On her Concerned Parents social media page, McCloy criticized Hart for “participation in LGBTQ community events, Mexican parades, Muslim events, public support for (Black Lives Matter), publicly complimenting the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), and thanking Joe Biden for his service.” ‘Illegal aliens’ In a DuPage Policy Journal piece, she also said Hart has not been aggressive enough in opposing Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s housing proposal, known as the BUILD Act, which would reduce local zoning powers. (Hart said on social media that he has let legislators and regional leaders know that Hinsdale opposes less local control. That effort has included his visiting Springfield, he said.) McCloy said Pritzker’s proposal would open the door to “increased Section 8 affordable housing” and more crime. As for crime, she said a Hinsdale robbery suspect did not speak English and lives in an area with a lot of Section 8 housing full of “illegal aliens.” Also in the DuPage Policy Journal, she denounced Hinsdale Republican Kari Galassi, a District 3 member of the DuPage County Board. She said Galassi backed giving money for Section 8 housing, the social services arm of the Islamic Circle of North America and “illegal alien assistance.” McCloy also posted a photo of Galassi wearing a headscarf while attending a Muslim community event, an appearance that McCloy said brought Galassi accusations of political pandering. On social media, McCloy posted a meme saying that no foreign-born people should hold powerful elected positions in the United States. She was referring to a President Joe Biden-appointed federal judge, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago. As it turns out, President Donald Trump appointed at least one foreign-born judge, James Ho, who is from Taiwan. At one point, Ho was under consideration for the Supreme Court. ‘Won’t apologize’ Recently, Village President Greg Hart responded on social media to McCloy’s criticism. He said he would work with Republicans, Democrats and independents whenever it advances Hinsdale. “I won’t apologize for believing our community should be welcoming, safe and full of opportunity for every law-abiding resident,” he said. Hart also pointed to McCloy’s passage about Mexican parades, Muslim events, LGBTQ functions and the NAACP. “In reading this op-ed, it seems like the views of the Concerned Parents founder belong in 1826,” he said. “I’ll keep governing in 2026.” In a social media response, Galassi said McCloy, whom she did not name, was criticizing her service for something she considers a strength – working with people of different perspectives to get things done. She said she invited McCloy to meet for “a respectful conversation to discuss our differences.” “Unfortunately, those invitations have been repeatedly denied,” Galassi said. ‘Certified young racist’ Among those responding to Galassi was Hinsdale conservative Jeff Waters, a member of the Hinsdale High School District 86 board. “That commentary is gum on your shoes, Kari – long on criticism and short on solutions,” Waters said. “Keep being you, KG. Since you stepped up to serve your friends and neighbors, the community has benefited greatly. Those who throw stones without ever picking up a shovel contribute zero, zilch, nada. And that’s no mystery to anyone.” In June, Zoe Marsh-Leigh, who is an African American conservative from Chicago, called McCloy “a certified young racist.” She applied the same label to Del Mar. She pointed to Patch’s 2024 story about McCloy’s warning of black children attacking white ones. “Black Chicago, we’re going to have to sit this out until Del Mar voluntarily withdraws,” Marsh-Leigh said on social media. Marsh-Leigh is a co-founder of Chicago Flips Red, which supports GOP candidates.)
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Giannoulias makes it official
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/08/03/giannoulias-makes-it-official-01021972
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/03/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-783/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS
— Pritzker’s Worship Of Fauci Led To The Covid Bafoonery In IL.
https://www.breakthrough-ideas.com/read/2026/08/02/pritzkers-worship-of-fauci-led-to-the-covid-bafoonery-in-il
CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— Grocery store closures reignite debate over taxpayer-funded food access
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_00a0a83a-e71f-4103-8530-caf85e502c9e.html
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
— Stacy Davis Gates: The scandal-plagued leadership of a teachers union president
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/stacy-davis-gates-the-scandal-plagued-leadership-of-a-teachers-union-president/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Republicans should make Democrats own the radical agenda they refuse to reject. Voters deserve to know what the Democratic Party’s ‘big tent’ now includes. DD: Ever-increasingly, to vote for a Democrat is to vote for socialism.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/2/republicans-make-democrats-radical-agenda-refuse-reject/
— A federal appeals court has given the go-ahead for an Oregon school system to fire a social worker who displayed books defending the idea that there are only two sexes. DD: Democrats ever-increasingly promote more LGBTQ.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/1/court-says-school-employee-punished-displaying-books/
— Democrats’ anti-ICE fervor eclipses Laken Riley’s murder by illegal immigrant, the law named for her.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/2/democrats-anti-ice-fervor-eclipses-laken-rileys-murder-illegal/
WASHINGTO.N EXAMINER
— Bernie Sanders says he’s confident socialists can win in purple states
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/4672307/bernie-sanders-confident-socialist-win-purple-states/
NEW YORK POST
— Asylum-fraud crackdown is another key step in fixing the US immigration system. DD: What percent claim asylum falsely?
https://nypost.com/2026/08/02/opinion/asylum-fraud-crackdown-is-another-key-step-in-fixing-the-us-immigration-system/
— California Democrats need more spine to stop the socialists.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/02/opinion/california-democrats-need-more-spine-to-stop-the-socialists/
— Members of Mamdani’s DSA pledge to ‘support’ and ‘defend’ China: ‘Survival of Chinese socialism is a crucial matter’
https://www.aol.com/articles/members-mamdani-dsa-pledge-support-224305000.html
AMERICAN THINKER
— Boomer-era Democrats’ growing concerns about the socialist monster they created do not resonate with the young people they’ve trained to love socialism and communism. DD: What generation are you? What percent of them are Democrats?
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/older-dems-ok-boomer-problem-with-communism-in-their-party/
BLAZE
— Credentialed jobs are treated as precious, low-wage jobs are kept cheap, and working-class Americans are expected to disappear from the equation entirely. The left suddenly fears that artificial intelligence will replace American workers. It showed far less concern when illegal immigration undercut wages and jobs. The double standard reveals a larger economic vision: protection for the credentialed class, cheap labor at the bottom, and little concern for the working Americans caught between them. DD: If I had not earned an MBA when I was 27 in 1976 and passed the CPA examination on my first attempt when I was 30, the Democrats who ran GAO would not have hired when I was 31 because I was not a Democrat, minority, female, younger, or veteran. If had not earned a master’s degree in accounting when I was 31, passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt and became a licensed CPA when I was 32, earned four more professional certifications when I was 41, 45, 47, and 48, and earned a master’s degree in finance when I was 48, my Democrat GAO superiors would have gotten rid of me much sooner than they did because I was not a Democrat, minority, female, younger, or veteran.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/americas-two-tier-economy-is-working-exactly-as-planned
BREITBART
— Donna Brazile to Dems: Don’t Get Caught in This ‘Socialist Wave’
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2026/08/02/donna-brazile-democratic-party-cant-get-caught-in-this-socialist-wave/amp/
FOX BUSINESS
— The rise of ‘Gen Z affordability socialism,’ why younger voters are embracing government intervention to address the cost-of-living crisis. DD: When you were young, what did you do to afford things? I did not seek government intervention. I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree when I was 21 in 1970; job-related master’s degrees in 1976, 1980, and 1997; job-related professional certifications in 1979, 1981, 1990, 1994, 1996, and 1997; and a job-related professional license in 1981. 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 taxes 1971-1980. I audited federal agencies 1980-1997.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aCddPoh6WQ
FOX NEWS
— Socialism’s war on success. DD: Under socialism, to be successful, all you need to do is be a socialist. Under Democrats, to be successful, all you need to do is be a Democrat. For Democrats, the federal government exists to hire, retain, and promote Democrats who are minority, female, younger, veteran, disabled, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time. I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government for almost 30 years. All my coworkers who my Democrat superiors promoted over me were Democrats who 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 and/or were a) minority, b) female, c) younger, d) veteran, e) non-Protestant, f) non-German American, and/or g) had ancestors who had not been in America for a long time.
https://www.aol.com/articles/socialisms-war-success-champion-running-090055000.html
— Entire Squad endorses Abdul El-Sayed days before Michigan Democratic Senate primary.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/squad-endorses-abdul-el-sayed-days-before-michigan-democratic-senate-primary.amp
— Trump targets Biden-era billion-dollar Smithsonian budgets amid anti-‘woke’ push.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-targets-biden-era-billion-dollar-smithsonian-budgets-amid-anti-woke-push
LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
— Candidate Vulnerability Assessment
https://leadershipinstitute.org/event/701VL00000xvu8MYAQ
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Identify the Problem Before Your Opponent Does. Every candidate enters a race with potential vulnerabilities. These may include previous statements, professional history, financial records, social media activity, personal relationships, policy positions, or inconsistencies in the candidate’s public record. Campaigns often devote significant time and resources to researching their opponents while failing to conduct the same level of research on their own candidate. This can leave a campaign unprepared when a reporter, opponent, activist, or social media account uncovers damaging information. Join Tom Jones and the Leadership Institute’s Advanced School of Politics for a one-hour online workshop exploring how campaigns can identify, evaluate, and prepare for candidate vulnerabilities before they become public crises. This workshop will provide a practical introduction to internal candidate research and help participants understand how successful campaigns uncover potential problems early, determine the seriousness of each issue, and prepare accurate and defensible responses.)
NEWSMAX
— Mamdani’s Grocery Plan Is Socialist.
https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/fernando-mateo-mamdani-nyc/2026/08/02/id/1264806/
— ICE Detentions Hit Trump 2nd-Term High.
https://www.newsmax.com/us/ice-migrants-detention/2026/08/02/id/1264826/
PJ MEDIA
— How Noncitizen Voters Sway Presidential Election Results.
https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2026/08/02/presler-shows-how-noncitizen-voters-can-sway-presidential-election-results-n4955729
REAL CLEAR POLITICS
— The Election Questions Democrats Won’t Answer.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2026/08/03/the_election_questions_democrats_wont_answer_154384.amp.html
TOWNHALL
— All the Democrats Are Marxists.
https://townhall.com/columnists/allenwest/2026/08/03/dont-be-fooled-all-the-democrats-are-marxists-n2680492
— Democrats Want to Close the Prisons, Except Not for People Like You.
https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2026/08/03/democrats-want-to-close-the-prisons-except-not-for-people-like-you-n2680504
— For people who scream about wanting affordability, Democrats have yet to deliver on any of it. They have made education, housing, and healthcare costs skyrocket thanks to government intervention under the guise of “lowering costs.” DD: When you were young, what did you do to afford things? I did not seek government intervention. I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree when I was 21 in 1970; job-related master’s degrees in 1976, 1980, and 1997; job-related professional certifications in 1979, 1981, 1990, 1994, 1996, and 1997; and a job-related professional license in 1981. 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 taxes 1971-1980. I audited federal agencies 1980-1997.
https://townhall.com/news/amy-curtis/2026/08/02/sun-vip-ny-dems-nuke-affordability-10-percent-discount-on-self-checkout-n2680469
— The Trump Administration Just Prosecuted Another Case of Election Fraud.
https://townhall.com/news/josephchalfant/2026/08/02/the-trump-administration-just-prosecuted-another-case-of-election-fraud-n2680527
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CBS NEWS
— ICE detentions set Trump-era high in July, as immigration crackdown widens. DD: How many illegals are Democrats harboring in Illinois, in your county, in your township, in your municipality, in your school district, and in your precinct?
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-detentions-trump-high-july-2026-immigration-crackdown-widens/
NEW YORK TIMES
— ‘Comradely’ Talks and a ‘Deer Leader’ Mascot: Scenes From the D.S.A. Summit. At a national meeting of the Democratic Socialists of America, nervous energy and a sprawling tableau of sometimes-competing interests were on display.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/us/politics/democratic-socialists-america-convention.html
— What the Crackup of the Heritage Foundation Says About the Post-Trump Right. The bastion of American conservatism best known for Project 2025 has been consumed by an ideological — and generational — civil war.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/magazine/heritage-foundation-trump-republicans.html
WASHINGTON POST
— A democratic socialist in the White House? Activists are thinking big. The Democratic Socialists of America summit was abuzz about whether to endorse a presidential candidate, potentially Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. DD: Ever-increasingly, to vote for a Democrat is to vote for socialism.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/08/02/democratic-socialists-are-already-eyeing-2028-with-aoc-mind/
USA TODAY
— Democratic Socialists of America propose radical overhaul of US govt. The Democratic Socialists of America want to fight for working-class Americans by offering free healthcare and abolishing the U.S. Senate. What else does their “Workers Deserve More” platform say? DD: For non-Republicans, government exists to take opportunities, money, and everything else away from Republicans and to give it all to non-Republicans.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/02/democratic-socialists-america-platform/91092595007/
— What Trump’s asylum change means for people seeking protection.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/08/03/what-trumps-new-asylum-policy-means-for-migrants-the-excerpt/91125161007/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Trump Team Feuds Over Whether Reflecting Pool Was Hit by Vandals or Botched Work. President criticizes Jeanine Pirro, his appointee as U.S. attorney, for dropping vandalism charge.
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/trump-team-feuds-over-whether-reflecting-pool-was-hit-by-vandals-or-botched-work-4c02ed6b
— Will Michigan’s Democrats Choose Socialism? Abdul El-Sayed looks headed for a victory.
https://www.wsj.com/video/series/journal-editorial-report/wsj-opinion-will-michigan-democrats-choose-socialism/21F80F90-77B4-4882-8196-656E2F5ABE43
— Socialist Chic and the ‘Medicare for All’ Sham. What Abdul El-Sayed proposes is a single-payer system nothing like the program for the elderly.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/socialist-chic-and-the-medicare-for-all-sham-ceb05ab4
GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE
— Who watches the watchdogs? GAO finds flaws in inspector general oversight system. President Donald Trump has fired nearly 20 IGs, and his administration last year put a hold on funding for the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. DD: While I worked for GAO for almost 18 years and served on the Association of Government Accountants Chicago Chapter Executive Committee for 13 years, I had lots of interactions with IG employees. I worked for GAO on an audit of EPA’s IG office in 1985.
https://www.govexec.com/oversight/2026/06/who-watches-watchdogs-gao-finds-flaws-inspector-general-oversight-system/414195/
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
— How College Impacts Salary and Future Earning Potential. DD: If I had not earned a bachelor’s degree in business, Firestone Stores would not have hired me when I was 21 in 1970. If I had not passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination, IRS would not have hired me when I was 22. If I have not been taking graduate evening business courses, IRS would not have promoted me when I was 23, 24, and 25. If I had not earned an MBA when I was 27 and passed the CPA examination on my first attempt when I was 30, GAO would not have hired me when I was 31. If I had not I earned a master’s degree in accounting when I was 31 and passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt and became a licensed CPA when I was 32, GAO would not have promoted me when I was 38.
https://www.umassglobal.edu/blog-news/how-college-impacts-salary-and-future-earning-potential
PHILLY VOICE
— With school out, Philly teens say they need more places to build community and stay safe. Young people feel overpoliced and misunderstood when gathering in public and say they want more spaces dedicated just for them. 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://www.phillyvoice.com/philly-teens-public-gatherings-third-spaces-school-summer/
July 31, 2026 Evening Edition
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
NBC5
— Disgraced former Illinois official broke sexual harassment law
https://www.nbcchicago.com/video/investigations/disgraced-former-illinois-official-broke-sexual-harassment-law-report/3968975/
— Chicago-area residents urged to limit laundry, showers amid heavy rain threat. In addition to skipping showers and laundry, officials advised people across the Chicago area to flush less frequently and wait to use the dishwasher.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-area-residents-urged-to-limit-laundry-showers-amid-heavy-rain-threat/3968838/
FOX32
— Study accuses Amazon, Walmart of deceiving shoppers with false ‘Made in USA’ claims.
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/study-accuses-amazon-walmart-deceiving-shoppers-false-made-usa-claims
— Pritzker signs bill recognizing gambling addiction as disorder under legal framework. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote gambling, pot, and other vices. I 2009, I led the successful effort to ban video gambling in Wheaton. I 2019, I led the successful effort to ban the sale of pot in Wheaton.
https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/fmc-dtdyosta4rngj55h
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Public disservice announcement — beginning Saturday, Chicagoans will pay $10.50 on every $100 in retail purchases.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/31/northern-illinois-transit-authority-sales-tax-transit-transit-bailout-illinois-chicago-sales-tax-cook-county-sales-tax-illinois-sales-tax/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— DD: Democrat leaders want the Senate to defy Trump.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2026/07/31/senate-republicans-trump-save-act-todd-blanche-bill-pulte-s-e-cupp
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2026/07/31/trump-no-humor-funny-white-house-correspondents-association-mona-charen
https://chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/2026/07/31/president-donald-trump-cold-blooded-leader-death-iran-ice-shootings-covid-measles-david-mcgra
CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Cook County Health projects $100M spike in charity care as Medicaid rolls shrink.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/health-care/ccb-cook-county-health-2027-budget-20260731/
— Alcohol distributor Republic National cutting nearly 300 jobs in Illinois.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/consumer-products/ccb-republic-national-layoffs-illinois-20260731/
RIVER BENDER
— Duckworth, Hirono Introduce WARRIOR Act to Codify Women’s Right to Serve in Combat.
https://www.riverbender.com/news/details/duckworth-hirono-introduce-warrior-act-to-codify-womens-right-to-serve-in-combat-95550.cfm
FOX ILLINOIS
— Trump administration pushes tougher English rules for Mexican train crews crossing into the US.
https://www.foxillinois.com/news/nation-world/trump-administration-pushes-tougher-english-rules-for-mexican-train-crews-crossing-into-the-us/article_b195da9e-9ee9-51be-9a65-6527cc201914.html
CAPITOL FAX
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/07/31/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-568/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— GOP sounds alarm: Spain’s border collapse is a wake-up call for America
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jul/31/republicans-say-spains-migrant-surge-foreshadows-america-democrats/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Democrats’ swing state ‘blue wall’ becomes a haven for socialists.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/beltway-confidential/4671106/democrats-swing-state-blue-wall-haven-for-socialists/
— I toured Smithsonian’s Native American Museum. What I saw was pure anti-American propaganda.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4670261/smithsonian-political-bias-drag-queens-founding-fathers-american-indian/
— Millionaires got 3%, and working families got 27%. The Left’s tax narrative is dead.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4670321/working-families-tax-cuts-middle-class/
— Mamdani promised to tax the 1%. Then 960,000 people ended up on the list.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4670273/mamdani-hochul-nyc-pied-a-terre-tax-list-expansion/
— They packaged potent THC to look like children’s candy — and fought to keep it that way.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4669697/gas-station-marijuana-thc-packaged-like-kids-candy-legal-loophole-nonintoxicating/
— A 4-year-old died from ‘gas station weed.’ Don’t let Congress save the industry.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4670001/congress-delta-8-hemp-gummies-ban-farm-bill/
— Does citizenship matter anymore? If not, neither does voting.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4670137/noncitizen-voting-devalues-american-citizenship-debate-exceptions-become-norms/
NEW YORK POST
— Young Dems’ radicalism threatens to doom their party in midterms — and beyond.
https://nypost.com/2026/07/30/opinion/young-democrats-radicalism-threatens-to-doom-party-in-midterms-and-beyond/
— Dems’ hatred of Trump created this socialist monster — and now it’s turning on them.
https://nypost.com/2026/07/31/opinion/democrats-hatred-of-donald-trump-created-this-socialist-monster-and-now-its-turning-on-them/
— Trump warns migrant ‘catastrophe’ in Spain would look ‘small time’ if Dems regain power.
https://nypost.com/2026/07/31/world-news/trump-warns-spain-migrant-catastrophe-would-look-small-time-if-dems-regain-power/
— Over 50K federal employees and their $2B in salaries eliminated under Trump in 2025. DD: My critics/opponents continue to be overjoyed that my Democrat Post Office, IRS, and GAO superiors wasted my career and forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997. My critics/opponents continue to ignore/dismiss/belittle that while I was a federal employee for almost 30 years, I used my personal time and my salary 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.
https://nypost.com/2026/07/31/us-news/more-than-50000-federal-employees-2b-in-salaries-eliminated-under-trump-in-2025/
— Newsom announced Friday that California’s statewide minimum wage will increase to $17.40 per hour beginning January 1, 2027. I worked for the minimum wage 1964-1966. In today’s dollars, it was $13.06/hour. I worked 28 hours a week for 16 months and 40 hours a week for 3 months. With the money I earned, I bought a new 1966 Pontiac Tempest Sprint ( https://over-drive-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/1965-12-CD-1966-Pontiac-Tempest-Sprint-Test-1-4.pdf ) in May of 1966.
https://nypost.com/2026/07/31/us-news/californias-minimum-wage-to-increase-in-2027-gavin-newsom-announces/
BREITBART
— Courts Say ICE Must Give Bond Hearings to Illegal Aliens if They’re Caught Anywhere Inside U.S. Borders.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/07/30/appeals-courts-reject-trump-mandatory-detention-illegal-aliens/
FEDERALIST
— Spain’s Illegal Alien Invasion Shows It Would Take Democrats Only A Few Hours To Destroy Trump’s Border Progress.
https://thefederalist.com/2026/07/31/spains-illegal-alien-invasion-shows-it-would-take-democrats-only-a-few-hours-to-destroy-trumps-border-progress/
LEGAL INSURRECTION
— U. Minnesota Receives $600K Grant for Study Aiming to Reduce ‘Racial Bias’ in White Kids.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/07/u-minnesota-receives-600k-grant-for-study-aiming-to-reduce-racial-bias-in-white-kids/
NEWSMAX
— Rep. Mary Miller to Newsmax: Trump Securing Highways From Illegal Truckers.
https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/mary-miller-donald-trump-migrants/2026/07/31/id/1264652/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CNN
— ICE’s vetting, training, vehicular stops ‘all being reviewed’ after fatal shootings. DD: IRS would not have hired me to be a Revenue Officer when I was 22 in 1971 if I had not had a bachelor’s degree in business and had passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination. The first 6 months I worked for IRS was in classroom training.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/26/politics/video/tom-homan-maine-ice-shooting-sotu
CBS NEWS
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly blame Trump for inflation and for everything else that is bad.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-poll-analysis-cost-of-living-democrats-republicans/
— Democrats in Congress demand training, vetting information on ICE agent who killed immigrant in Maine. DD: IRS would not have hired me to be a Revenue Officer when I was 22 in 1971 if I had not had a bachelor’s degree in business and had passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination. The first 6 months I worked for IRS was in classroom training.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/democrats-congress-ice-maine-shooting-letter-training-vetting/
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote race based politics. They ever-increasingly shout at Hispanics that Republicans cause all the problems that Hispanics have.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/latino-organizations-voters-2026-midterm-elections/
NEW YORK TIMES
— Why Mitch McConnell Isn’t Giving Up His Senate Seat.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/us/why-mitch-mcconnell-isnt-giving-up-his-senate-seat.html
WASHINGTON POST
— Trump administration reviewing ICE vetting process after Maine shooting. DD: IRS would not have hired me to be a Revenue Officer when I was 22 in 1971 if I had not had a bachelor’s degree in business and had passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination. The first 6 months I worked for IRS was in classroom training.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/26/trump-administration-reviewing-ice-vetting-process-after-maine-shooting/
USA TODAY
— DD: Democrat leaders say Illinois guards against noncitizen voting.
https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/politics/elections/2026/07/31/illinois-guards-against-noncitizen-voting/91126207007/
July 30, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— DeKalb Man, Naperville woman accused of breaking into Naperville home, fatally shooting dog.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/dekalb-man-andre-bridges-naperville-woman-nicole-smith-accused-animal-cruelty-alleged-capistrano-court-home-invasion/19598802/
CBS2
— Community helps food pantry in Wheaton affected by storms, power outages. Two coolers, three standing coolers and a walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer, all filled with food, had to be thrown away after the center lost power for 14 hours. DD: I bought a whole house backup generator in 2011. I should write about my Wheaton critics/opponents who have demonized/denigrated/condemned my decision the most.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/video/community-helps-food-pantry-in-wheaton-affected-by-storms-power-outages/
WGN9
— Illinois vote-by-mail applications open August 5
https://wgntv.com/news/illinois/illinois-vote-by-mail-applications-open-august-5/
FOX32
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly push more pot.
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/marijuana-daily-than-alcohol-cigarettes-federal-survey
WTTW
— Mayor Johnson Signs Executive Order Designed to Ban Purchases From Gun Dealers That Flout Laws.
https://news.wttw.com/2026/07/29/mayor-johnson-signs-executive-order-designed-ban-purchases-gun-dealers-flout-laws
— Chicago Can’t Keep Trying to Poison Its Way Out of Rat Problem.
https://news.wttw.com/2026/07/29/chicago-can-t-keep-trying-poison-its-way-out-rat-problem-watchdog-report
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— FRONT PAGE: DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/29/ice-venezuelan-brothers-kidney-transplant/
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/30/courthouse-immigration-families/
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/29/forest-park-cemetery-workers-arrested-during-operation-midway-blitz-seek-damages/
— What do Democratic socialists want? We took a look at their platform. DD: What do conservatives want? They want Republicans to defend and advance conservative principles. Failing that, to oppose liberal principles including the promotion of dependency on government and charity, LGBTQ, abortion, mass/illegal immigration, vices, diminishment of Second Amendment rights, and Affirmative Action and DEI, that is, wokeness/wokeism, race and gender based preference giving, patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/30/editorial-what-do-democratic-socialists-want-we-took-a-look-at-their-platform/
— Former gubernatorial candidate Rick Heidner buys $5.2M Barrington mansion from Motorola Solutions CEO.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/29/rick-heidner-motorola-solutions/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Latino high schools hit especially hard by teacher cuts in CPS budget heading for vote.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2026/07/29/latino-high-schools-hit-especially-hard-by-teacher-cuts-in-cps-budget-heading-for-vote
DAILY HERALD
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH BIG PICTURE: Community rallies to help Wheaton pantry that lost three tons of food after storm. DD: I bought a whole house backup generator in 2011. I should write about my Wheaton critics/opponents who have demonized/denigrated/condemned my decision the most.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260729/news/so-caring-community-rallies-to-help-wheaton-pantry-that-lost-three-tons-of-food-after-storm/
CHALKBEAT
— As more teen boys turn to sports betting, financial literacy teachers rush to show gambling’s real odds. DD: Democrats ever-increasingly promote more vice.
https://www.chalkbeat.org/2026/07/29/sports-betting-among-teens-rises-as-teachers-warn-of-gambling-in-schools/
AXIOS CHICAGO
— THC drinks debut at Lollapalooza before Illinois regulates hemp market. DD: Democrats ever-increasingly promote more vice.
https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2026/07/30/thc-drinks-lollapalooza-illinois-hemp-pritzker-johnson-rythm-seniorita
POLITICO ILLINOIS
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/07/30/hanah-jubehs-political-pivot-01015959
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/07/30/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-781/
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/07/29/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-566/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WIREPOINTS
— Pritzker Followed Fauci’s Guidance Blindly: The Illinois COVID Failures Nobody Owns.
https://wirepoints.org/from-faucis-mouth-to-pritzkers-rules-illinois-pandemic-blunders-wirepoints/
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Don Tracy: Washington Post Debunks Stratton’s Healthcare Tax Myth
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/30/juliana-strattons-position-on-medicare-for-all-criticized-by-washington-post-taxes-for-all/
— After announcing yesterday that his wife is pregnant with their second child, conceived naturally after their first child was born via IVF, Independent candidate for Illinois Governor Collin Corbett is raising awareness about the importance of fertility treatments for Illinois families while taking aim at his Republican opponent, Darren Bailey, for his extreme record against IVF.
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/29/corbett-calls-bailey-extremist-on-idv-relates-personal-experience/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Illegal immigrant population surged to all-time high of 15.8 million under Biden.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/immigration/4667790/illegal-immigrant-population-surged-all-time-high-15-8-million-biden-study-says/
NEW YORK POST
— ICE is now busting migrants who overstayed visas when they check into airports — reversing a Biden policy.
https://nypost.com/2026/07/29/us-news/ice-arresting-visa-overstayers-at-us-airports-as-trump-admin-ramps-up-immigration-enforcement/
AMERICAN THINKER
— Demographics, debt, and destiny. DD: To get more votes from those who are the following, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly shout at them that Republicans cause all their problems: liberal/moderate, minority, female, younger, LGBTQ, poor, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/07/demographics-debt-and-destiny/
— Communism had little natural appeal to a people formed by Judeo-Christian values; it could only take root in soil that had already been prepared to receive it.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/07/the-sudden-long-goodbye/
— How the 1964 Civil Rights Act Eviscerated the American Constitution. James Madison would be horrified. DD: Democrat and RINO leaders use the 1964 Civil Rights Act to get rid of those who are conservative, Republican, American, White, male, older, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/07/how-the-1964-civil-rights-act-eviscerated-the-american-constitution/
BIZ PAC REVIEW
— Trial lawyers quietly using woke lawfare to hamper American businesses.
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/07/29/exclusive-trial-lawyers-quietly-using-woke-lawfare-to-hamper-american-businesses-1652683/
BLAZE
— As personal responsibility withers, governmental control increases. DD: To get more votes from those who are the following, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly shout at them that Republicans cause all their problems: liberal/moderate, minority, female, younger, LGBTQ, poor, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-most-seductive-lie-in-politics
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Personal responsibility used to be something that most Americans believed in. Most Americans still do, but pretty much nobody in our political class does, because the most seductive line in American politics is: “It’s not your fault.”)
COLLEGE FIX
— Columbia to offer new minor based on ‘what it means to live in a ‘just’ society.’ DD: According to Democrats, justice means taking opportunities, money, and everything else away from Republicans and giving it all to Democrats. My Democrat GAO superiors took my GAO job away from me and gave it to my Black Democrat subordinate.
https://www.thecollegefix.com/columbia-to-offer-new-minor-based-on-what-it-means-to-live-in-a-just-society/
DAILY WIRE
— The rise in “adultism” training that teaches children that their parents are the oppressors.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-teacher-training-trend-has-parents-in-its-crosshairs
— History Already Told Us How This Radical Alliance Ends. Islamists and Marxists have long been united in their pursuit to destroy the West.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/history-already-told-us-how-this-radical-alliance-ends
— Obama To Headline Dem Gerrymandering Fundraiser In Posh Martha’s Vineyard. The Massachusetts island is a popular getaway locale for Democratic political figures and donors.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/obama-to-headline-dem-gerrymandering-fundraiser-in-posh-marthas-vineyard
FEDERALIST
— NeverTrumpers Are Banking On Iran War To Drive MAGA Into Extinction.
https://thefederalist.com/2026/07/29/nevertrumpers-are-banking-on-iran-war-to-drive-maga-into-extinction/
— Counting Noncitizens In The Census Undermines American Democracy.
https://thefederalist.com/2026/07/29/counting-noncitizens-in-the-census-undermines-american-democracy/
FOX NEWS
— Trump taps veterans to fix illegal alien trucking problem plaguing US roadways. The program expands CDL eligibility for veterans while removing over 24,000 licenses under English proficiency rules. DD: I often drove postal trucks while I worked for the Post Office 1966-1969.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-taps-veterans-fix-illegal-alien-trucking-problem-plaguing-us-roadways
— Controversial teacher training targets parental authority as oppression.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/controversial-teacher-training-targets-parental-150037673.html
LEGAL NEWSLINE
— Chicago PD can’t curb class action over race-based traffic stops.
https://www.legalnewsline.com/cook-county-record/chicago-pd-can-t-curb-class-action-over-race-based-traffic-stops/article_85db0c61-4fdf-4268-b606-ccd64458ac27.html
NEWSMAX
— ICE Plans 5,500 New Detention Beds.
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/ice-detention-centers-illegal-immigration/2026/07/29/id/1264484/
PJ MEDIA
— White House Streamlines the Deportation Process. Leftists Are Not Taking It Well.
https://pjmedia.com/tim-o-brien/2026/07/29/white-house-streamlines-the-deportation-process-leftists-are-not-taking-it-well-n4955562
TOWNHALL
— One Standard for Government Failure.
https://townhall.com/columnists/joe-abraham/2026/07/29/one-standard-for-government-failure-n2680309
— The New York Times Is Very Upset About ICE Enforcing Immigration Laws at Airports.
https://townhall.com/news/amy-curtis/2026/07/29/ice-detaining-people-at-airports-nyt-n2680314
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— Deportation helps make affordability possible.
https://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/5995665-immigration-drives-housing-costs/
— DD: Democrats and RINOs have joined up with America’s enemies to destroy America.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/opinion-fix-birthright-citizenship-declare-170000303.html
— DD: How has EEOC impacted you? EEOC had a tremendous impact on me. When I was 22 in 1971, I accepted a job offer from Oldsmobile. But Oldsmobile withdrew that job offer because it had just agreed to stop hiring Whites to settle an EEOC complaint. Because I had accepted that offer, my Firestone Store boss rudely fired me. Because of that, I accepted a job offer from IRS.
https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/5994270-trump-anti-dei-campaign/amp/
LOS ANGELES TIMES
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote communism.
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2026-07-29/republicans-want-to-turn-clock-back-to-red-baiting-fifties
— DD: What harmed your ACT score and your high school GPA? Instead of studying, I spent far too many hours (28 hours a week during the school years and 40 hours a week during the summer in between) washing dishes in the basement of the SS Kresge in Chicago Heights while I was a Crete-Monee High School student 1964-1966.
https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/opinion/story/2026-07-29/apodaca-unwelcomereturn-of-sat-bias
MIAMI HERALD
— Best ACT Prep Courses. DD: What harmed your ACT score and your high school GPA? Instead of studying, I spent far too many hours (28 hours a week during the school years and 40 hours a week during the summer in between) washing dishes in the basement of the SS Kresge in Chicago Heights while I was a Crete-Monee High School student 1964-1966.
https://www.miamiherald.com/careers-education/best-act-prep-courses/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— FRONT PAGE: A Small Band of Socialists Is Sowing Panic in the Democratic Party. Once a fringe wing, the movement is wielding surprising political power, capitalizing on popular discontent. Mainstream Democrats see a ‘fundamental threat.’
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/democratic-socialists-mamdani-midterms-party-ca2ddf9a
— Democratic Socialists’ Rise Rattles Mainstream Democrats
https://www.wsj.com/world/democratic-socialists-rise-rattles-mainstream-democrats-e7ed7ee1
— Rove: Who’s Afraid of the DSA? Mark Kelly and Tim Kaine can’t find the courage to oppose their party’s radicals.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/whos-afraid-of-the-dsa-db539ece
— The ‘Downward Mobility’ of Struggling Young Baby Boomers. Staples of middle-class life now seem like luxuries. DD: While I am much more successful financially than what my father was, he was much less successful financially than what his father was, and his father was much less successful financially than what his father was.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-downward-mobility-of-struggling-young-baby-boomers-b82cab21
— Mamdani’s Class Enemies List. He publishes the names and addresses of his new pied-a-terre tax targets. DD: In Money Magazine’s 4-page February 1978 article on me ( https://gopillinois.com/documents/ ), to paint be as being grossly overpaid, it called my Outer Drive East condo a pied-a-terre because I owned a townhome in University Park at the time. I owned that townhome because I could not sell it unless took a big loss.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/zohran-mamdani-pied-a-terre-tax-list-ali-najmi-ed22425b
— ‘Restorative Justice’ Brings Violent Schools. Why would anyone think you could discipline bullies by inviting them to talk about their feelings?
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/restorative-justice-brings-violent-schools-e6a55a39
NATIONAL LAW REVIEW
— DD: Democrat and RINO leaders use disparate impact to get rid of those who are conservative, Republican, American, White, male, older, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time.
https://natlawreview.com/article/disparate-impact-name-only-what-federal-agencies-shift-intentional-discrimination
HR DRIVE
— DD: Democrat and RINO employers have used, are using, and will forever use DEI a) to not hire Republicans and b) to get rid of their Republican employees.
https://www.hrdive.com/news/pulling-back-from-dei-increases-legal-risk-women/826430/
FROM OTHER SOURCES
WRITERS COLLEGE
— Writing from Personal Experience. DD: To promote conservative principles, I cite my personal experiences. I urge all conservatives to do that. My following conservative principles enabled me to a) earn a job-related bachelor’s degree when I was 21, job-related master’s degrees when I was 27, 31, and 48, job-related professional certifications when I was 30, 32, 41, 45, 47, and 48, and a job-related professional license when I was 32, b) buy new cars when I was 17, 19, 20, 23, 25, 29. etc. and collector cars when I was 40 and 45, c) buy real estate when I was 24, 25, 27, 29, 35, etc., d) get married when I was 29, e) etc.
https://www.thewriterscollege.com/writing-from-personal-experience-tips-and-techniques/