Tag: certified

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

NBC5
— Democrat leaders say “Drawing huge crowds, Bernie Sanders steps into leadership of the anti-Trump resistance. For now, at least, Sanders stands alone as the only elected progressive willing to mount a national campaign to harness the fear and anger of the sprawling anti-Trump movement.”
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/huge-crowds-bernie-sanders-anti-trump-resistance/3692595/

FOX32
— Democrat leaders say “How Trump admin cuts affect Illinois farmers, food banks.”
https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/1605518

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— FRONT PAGE WITH PICTURE: DuPage County and county Sheriff James Mendrick agree to $11 million payout for jail death
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/10/dupage-jail-death-settlement/
—  Democrat leaders organize an anti-Trump, anti-Musk protest at Orland Park Tesla, but it is countered by MAGA demonstrators
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/08/anti-trump-musk-protest-orland-park-tesla/
— Democrats leaders say that their legal community is stunned by Trump’s attacks on DEI.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/09/legal-community-stunned-by-trumps-attacks-on-dei-professor-says/
— Democrat leaders say “Investors are thrown by Mr. Trump’s wild tariff ride” and ask “Will the president listen to the market?”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/10/editorial-donald-trump-tariffs-market-warnings/
— Democrat leaders say “Chicago’s storied U.S. attorney’s office at crossroads as indictments dip, search for leader underway.” (COMMENT: If there had been a different U.S. Attorney when Diersen v. GAO was pending in Chicago 2000-2005, everything could have been different for me. SEE: https://gopillinois.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DiersenGAOFifthAmendedComplaint.pdf  My critics/opponents have always stressed that the U.S. Attorney sided with the Democrats who ran GAO against me.)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/10/chicago-us-attorney-office/

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Democrat leaders say “Trump’s HUD cuts would devastate Illinois.”
https://chicago.suntimes.com/letters-to-the-editor/2025/03/10/trump-cuts-hud-housing-homelessness-civilian-office-police-accountability-andrea-kersten
— Democrat leaders say “Republican plan for ‘school choice’ is just a scheme for private school vouchers.” (COMMENT: I should write about my critics/opponents who have used against me my parents having sent me to Missouri Synod Lutheran schools the most.)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/2025/03/10/republican-school-choice-is-really-a-scheme-for-private-school-vouchers

DAILY HERALD
— FRONT PAGE WITH PICTURE: Keeping Henry Hyde’s legacy alive: Addison Township looks to use sign removed from DuPage courthouse (COMMENT: After I met with Hyde in the Addison Township building in 1989, he came to my defense and got my Democrat GAO superiors to back off from their tremendous efforts to get rid of me.  As your GOPUSA Illinois reporter, I attended Hyde’s press conference in that building in which he endorsed Roskam in 2006. Those around Hyde and Roskam not want me to attend that press conference. They threatened me to not ask any questions. They were setting me up to be the scapegoat if Roskam lost to Duckworth.)
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250309/news/keeping-henry-hydes-legacy-alive-addison-township-looks-to-use-sign-removed-from-dupage-courthouse/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: During Hyde’s 32 years as a congressman, his local office was in the township building at 401 N. Addison Road.)

WGN RADIO
— For Democrat leaders, education exists to crank out good little Democrats
https://wgnradio.com/lets-get-legal/the-homeschool-act-aims-to-implement-regulations-to-protect-kids-in-illinois/

NPR ILLINOIS
— Democrat leaders claim credit for reducing illegal immigration
https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-03-09/the-trump-administration-claims-credit-for-a-quiet-border-the-data-shows-otherwise
— Democrat leaders oppose extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts
https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-03-09/trump-wants-to-extend-his-2017-tax-cuts-an-economist-explains-what-that-would-do

CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— Democrat leaders say “Musk and DOGE try to slash government by cutting out those who answer to voters.”
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/politics/ap-musk-and-doge-try-to-slash-government-by-cutting-out-those-who-answer-to-voters/
— The harder that you work against Trump, the greater that Democrat and RINO leaders promote you
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/business/ap-meet-the-federal-worker-who-went-rogue-i-hope-that-it-lights-a-fire-under-people/

ADVANTAGE NEWS
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more illegal immigration
https://www.advantagenews.com/news/local/illinois-motions-to-dismiss-doj-case-against-state-s-migrant-sanctuary-policies/article_cb0b4a50-fab1-11ef-b3b1-03060e68b24b.html

AXIOS CHICAGO
— Universities quietly adjust DEI policies amid Trump threats
https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/03/10/chicago-universities-dei-trump-funding-cuts

CHICAGO MAGAZINE
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more illegal immigration
https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/april-2025/how-much-sanctuary-does-chicago-really-offer-immigrants/

POLITICO ILLINOIS
— It’s LaHood v. LaHood over Musk
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2025/03/10/its-lahood-v-lahood-over-musk-00220235

CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2025/03/10/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-470/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WIREPOINTS
— A sample of trans-genderism taught in Illinois 4th-grade classrooms
https://wirepoints.org/a-sample-of-trans-genderism-taught-in-illinois-4th-grade-classrooms-wirepoints/

CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— CPS per student spending soars while private school excels on thin budget
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_8e52b4c4-fb9f-11ef-88f2-77f11202e363.html

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— If you have the power to fire, you have the power to reinstate. GAO works for Congress. My Democrat GAO superiors had the power to force me to retire when I was 49 years old in 1997. My critics/opponents stress that those who gave them that power include my U.S. Congressman Hyde and my U.S. Senators Durbin and Braun at the time. Subsequently, they and my U.S. Senators Fitzgerald, Obama, Burris, Kirk, and Duckworth and Speakers Gingrich, Hastert, Pelosi, Boehner, Ryan, and McCarthy had the power to reinstate me. Johnson has the power to reinstate me now. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— If you have the power to fire, you have the power to reinstate. If you were forced to retire early, would you take a reinstatement offer? After my Democrat GAO superiors forced me to retire when I was 49 years old in 1997, a low-level employee in GAO’s personnel office hinted verbally that he might be able to get me reinstated. I asked that he put the terms in writing, but he never did. To force me to retire, my Democrat GAO superiors made it clear to me that if I did not, they would make my next 6 years until I would be eligible for regular retirement a living hell for me. According to them, they would demote me, give me adverse transfers, give me bad job assignments, give me unfair performance expectations and appraisals, and even worse things. Previously, they had always ranked me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance purposes, delayed my promotions and never promoted me beyond GS-13, kept me off audits of IRS for all but 3 years, and forced me to take a $23,472/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer to GAO from IRS when I was 31 years old in 1980. Previously, they had focused on making all my superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates despise me, if not hate me. They stressed that I was conservative, Republican, White, male, older, draft-avoider, Protestant, German American, my ancestors had been in America since 1844, a Crete resident 1948-1972, a Wheaton resident since 1978, an IRS employee 1971-1980. They stressed that my wife had a good job, that we had no children or other dependents, that we had a more built in Wheaton in 1984, that we had no debts, that we owned two collector cars, etc. If GAO had been unionized, my GAO superiors would not have been able to take the aforesaid adverse actions against me that they did. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— The more money that your parents have, the better chance that you have to become an Ivy League university graduate. How much money did your parents have? My father never earned more than $50,000/year in today’s dollars. He almost always worked second jobs to pay the family’s bills. He died suddenly when he was 47 and I was 21. Neither of my parents attended college. My father was only the first of my ancestors to earn a high school diploma. My mother never attended high school. Consequently, I had to work my way through college. That harmed my GPA. During my junior and senior years in high school, I spent far too many hours washing dishes instead of studying. While I took undergraduate courses at UIC and NIU, I spent far too many hours delivering mail instead of studying. While I took graduate courses at Loyola and DePaul, I spent far too many hours working for IRS instead of studying. While I took graduate courses at IIT, I spent far too many hours working for GAO instead of studying. Consequently, I got no scholarships. Consequently, I got no Ivy League degree. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— What do you stress to defend yourself? I stress that I earned three masters degrees, six professional certifications, and a professional license. But my critics/opponents stress that my ACT score was only 24 and that I only just barely made it into the upper 20% of my high school class. They stress that I got no scholarships. They stress that none of my degrees are from Ivy League universities, that my GPAs were not that great, and that I spent 21 long years earning those degrees. They stress that I earned only two of my professional certifications by passing tests, that while I passed those tests on my first attempt, my scores were not that great, and that I earned my other four professional certifications by grandfathering in. They stress that while I earned a professional license, I let it go inactive in 2000. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— The federal government hired me and promoted me a) for objective reasons, not for subjective reasons and b) notwithstanding the fact that I was not a Democrat, female, or veteran. I would not have become a postal employee when I was 18 years old in 1966 if my high school classmate had not asked me to join him taking the postal employment test and I passed that test. I would not have become an IRS employee in 1971 a) if I had not taken and pasted the Federal Service Entrance Examination in 1970 as a backstop if I could not get a job in the private sector and b) if my Firestone Store boss had not rudely fired me in 1971 because I had accepted a job offer from Oldsmobile. But Oldsmobile withdrew that offer saying that it had just agreed to stop hiring Whites to settle an EEOC complaint. I would not have become a GAO employee in 1980 if I had not earned an MBA from Loyola in 1976, passed the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979, and almost completed the requirements for a master’s degree in accounting from DePaul. GAO would not have promoted me in 1986 if I had not a) earned a master’s degree in accounting from DePaul in 1980, b) passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt in 1981, and c) became a licensed CPA in 1981. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Democrats have introduced a bill forcing Trump to rehire fired veterans. According to my critics/opponents, all the jobs that I got were bad jobs that they would never stoop to take. Notwithstanding that, accord to my critics/opponents, all those jobs should have been given to veterans instead of me. Further, according to my critics/opponents, all the promotions that I got should have been given to veterans instead of me. My critics/opponents applaud GAO’s sheltering its employees who were veterans from any adverse impacts from Republican budget cuts. Since I was 18 years old in 1966, my critics/opponents have stressed that I avoided the Vietnam War draft.)
—  Democrats run the federal government. For them, the federal government exists to hire, retain, and promote Democrats, and especially Democrats who are minority, female, younger, LGBTQ, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestor who have not been in America for a long time. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Gingrich should have reformed GAO during the 1990s instead of gutting it. Trump should reform IRS now instead of gutting it. Democrat leaders say “Stalled Audits and a Skeleton Staff: Inside Trump’s War on the I.R.S.  Trump is planning to gut the work force while trying to turn the I.R.S. into a more political agency.” I worked for the Democrats who ran IRS for almost 9 years 1971-1980. I should write about my IRS superiors who despised/hated Republicans the most. I would focus on those who took the biggest/most adverse actions against me. I would focus on those who a) disallowed my travel vouchers 1974, b) got rid of my mentor in 1975 who had promoted me in 1972, 1973, and 1974, c) never promoted me beyond GS-12, and d) disallowed my education deductions in 1978. They did the aforesaid even though I earned an MBA in 1976 and passed the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Ever-increasingly, under the Democrats and under the RINOs, since the 1960s, everyone above me has been under ever-increasing pressure to give ever-increasing preference to those who do not share my demographics, that is, to discriminate against those who share my demographics. Those who share my demographics are conservative, Republican, American, White, male, older, non-poor, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. Trump is doing things to stop the aforesaid. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WASHINGTON TIMES
— Sen. Rick Scott: Elon Musk does not have the power to fire people (COMMENT: If you have the power to fire, you have the power to reinstate. GAO works for Congress. My Democrat GAO superiors had the power to force me to retire when I was 49 years old in 1997. My critics/opponents stress that those who gave them that power include my U.S. Congressman Hyde and my U.S. Senators Durbin and Braun at the time. Subsequently, they and my U.S. Senators Fitzgerald, Obama, Burris, Kirk, and Duckworth and Speakers Gingrich, Hastert, Pelosi, Boehner, Ryan, and McCarthy had the power to reinstate me. Johnson has the power to reinstate me now.)
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/mar/9/rick-scott-florida-republican-elon-musk-power-fire-people/

WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Democrats have turned Women’s History Month into a joke
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/equality-not-elitism/3341676/democrats-have-turned-womens-history-month-into-a-joke/

AMERICAN GREATNESS
— Trump’s Democratic ‘Allies’  Democrats’ obsessive Trump hatred blinds them to their own unpopularity, making his counter-revolution seem inevitable—and even normal.
https://amgreatness.com/2025/03/10/trumps-democratic-allies/

BIZ PAC REVIEW
— From wokeism to nationalism: Corporations are changing strategies in the Trump era
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2025/03/10/from-wokeism-to-nationalism-corporations-are-changing-strategies-in-the-trump-era-1527868/

BREITBART
— Trump isn’t alone in his geopolitical aspirations. Some in Illinois and Oregon want change too.
https://www.breitbart.com/news/trump-isnt-alone-in-his-geopolitical-aspirations-some-in-illinois-and-oregon-want-change-too/

CHRISTIAN POST
— The Left’s spectacle of ‘resistance’ to Trump is becoming pathetic
https://www.christianpost.com/voices/the-lefts-spectacle-of-resistance-to-trump-is-pathetic.html

DAILY CALLER
— Trump Blowing Dems Out Of Water On Every Issue That Matters Most To Americans
https://dailycaller.com/2025/03/09/opinion-trump-dems-issue-americans-larry-elder/
— Dems Still Can’t Figure Out Why Americans Don’t Like Them
https://dailycaller.com/2025/03/09/opinion-dems-americans-poor-messaging-josh-hammer/

DAILY WIRE
— Feds Can’t Hire For Competence Because Jimmy Carter Said It Was Racist. Trump Wants To Fix That. Trump admin to seek to overturn prohibition on using tests to identify top federal job applicants. (COMMENT: The federal government hired me and promoted me a) for objective reasons, not for subjective reasons and b) notwithstanding the fact that I was not a Democrat, female, or veteran. I would not have become a postal employee when I was 18 years old in 1966 if my high school classmate had not asked me to join him taking the postal employment test and I passed that test. I would not have become an IRS employee in 1971 a) if I had not taken and pasted the Federal Service Entrance Examination in 1970 as a backstop if I could not get a job in the private sector and b) if my Firestone Store boss had not rudely fired me in 1971 because I had accepted a job offer from Oldsmobile. But Oldsmobile withdrew that offer saying that it had just agreed to stop hiring Whites to settle an EEOC complaint. I would not have become a GAO employee in 1980 if I had not earned an MBA from Loyola in 1976, passed the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979, and almost completed the requirements for a master’s degree in accounting from DePaul. GAO would not have promoted me in 1986 if I had not a) earned a master’s degree in accounting from DePaul in 1980, b) passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt in 1981, and c) became a licensed CPA in 1981.)
https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-cant-hire-for-competence-because-jimmy-carter-said-it-was-racist-trump-wants-to-fix-that
(FROM THE ARTILE: If government bureaucrats seem a little slower than employees elsewhere, it could be because a court order prohibits the federal government from using tests to objectively rank job applicants — on the basis that hiring the most competent employees had an “adverse impact” on blacks and Hispanics. A 1981 court order blocked agencies from using any test for job applicants that would result in a statistically significant difference in hiring rates between blacks and Hispanics on one hand, and whites on the other. That is akin to blocking colleges from using the SAT. Now, the Trump administration is set to ask a Washington, D.C., court to dissolve the 40-year ban, arguing that it illegally puts race over merit when it comes to federal hiring, The Daily Wire has learned. The move seems likely to prevail given the Supreme Court’s ban on affirmative action, and could allow Donald Trump to permanently reshape the permanent federal workforce into one comprised of the best and brightest. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management “must be relieved of the Luevano Consent Decree to return common sense to federal hiring,” the Trump administration will tell the D.C. federal court, according to a motion exclusively obtained by The Daily Wire. The motion says that the decree “blatantly conflicts with current law” because it “requires the federal government to make hiring decisions using explicit racial classification” and “this kind of blatant racial favoritism is not permitted under current Supreme Court precedent.” It cites a string of cases, including the 2023 Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard case that ended affirmative action. “By favoring the applications of blacks and Hispanics, the Decree disfavors all other racial groups. Like school admissions, hiring in the federal government is a ‘zero-sum’ proposition,” it says. The administration will argue that the decree blocks the president from using “heavily researched and predictive tests that would streamline the federal hiring process and lead to a more capable workforce.” In the 1970s, OPM evaluated hiring prospects via a written test called the Professional Administrative Career Examination (PACE). Its scores accurately predicted who would go on to be exemplary employees. But a class-action lawsuit said that testing for cognitive ability would reduce the number of blacks and Hispanics in the workforce. President Jimmy Carter’s administration maintained that PACE was rigorously developed to be fair and was accurate and useful. But in the final days of Carter’s term, the administration agreed to a legal settlement with the plaintiffs agreeing to stop using the test and give them veto power over any replacement. In the next decade, OPM developed six different tests to attempt to satisfy the decree. But every test that accurately identified the most competent workers also had “the greatest adverse impact” to blacks, the court was told years ago, even though nothing in the tests was, on its face, racist. In 1990, OPM tried another test, which combined objective questions that measured cognitive ability with a “self-rating section that helps reduce adverse impact.” That still wasn’t enough to create the exact statistical equity demanded by the ruling. As a result, OPM began using solely the self-rating section. In other words, the only test OPM has found to result in a large portion of blacks in the workforce is one that essentially measures boastfulness. Many federal agencies now hire based on a multiple choice questionnaire where applicants rank themselves based on how great they are at different tasks. This has become a common method of ranking applicants to federal jobs, even though the Merit Systems Protection Board found that is “far less able to predict future performance.” “By relying solely on self-assessments of ‘life and work experience and training,’ the rating schedule struggles to distinguish between entry-level candidates, none of whom have ‘a great deal of experience,’” the Trump administration’s motion says. “As a result, many agencies have expressed ‘dissatisfaction with the quality of candidates referred by OPM from this rating schedule.’” The Carter-era settlement also gave a boost to those with “oral Spanish language proficiency and/or the requisite knowledge of Hispanic culture,” while not even mentioning any racial groups except blacks and Hispanics. The Trump administration will argue that “such institutional reform decrees were never intended to turn the federal court into an ‘indefinite institutional monitor.’” It said that the government can only use race in certain “narrowly-tailored” situations that must “be flexible, have a sunset provision, and be of limited duration.” It said that when the Supreme Court struck down Harvard’s affirmative action program, it pointed out that affirmative action was supposed to have been temporary. The Luevano Consent Decree said “jurisdiction shall expire…five years after the cessation of the use of PACE results,” yet the motion says that “was more than forty years ago, and there is still no end in sight.” Even if it were permissible to make hiring decisions to achieve racial outcomes, none of its plans have worked as intended, the motion adds. OPM also added a fast-track to hiring for employees who had a high GPA or ranked near the top of their class, intended to attract people from historically black colleges. Yet “white women came to be the primary group hired through the Outstanding Scholar Program.” A Daily Wire analysis of OPM data showed that blacks are over-represented in the federal workforce, not under-represented, making it hard to justify the continuance of the affirmative action decree. Eighteen percent of cabinet agency employees are black, about 50% higher than the percentage of blacks in the population of the United States. At some agencies, the disproportionality is astounding, such as 36% at the Department of Education and Department of Housing and Urban Development, and 29% at the Department of Treasury. The 1981 consent decree relies on the “disparate impact” theory — which holds that, any time an outcome doesn’t exactly mirror the races of the overall population, it is enough to prove racism even if no tangible racism occurred — that has been rejected by even many Democrats. Many on the Left have been reduced to arguing that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) measures don’t pit racial identity against competence — something that is plainly untrue when it comes to OPM using competency tests. Colleges that flirted with going SAT-free around 2021 have largely reversed their decisions. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has told New York City Democrats to stop trying to do away with the entrance exam to a math magnet high school just because mostly Asians do well on it. President Joe Biden signed a law getting rid of a similar “life experience” survey used to boost minority hiring for air traffic controllers after outrage about how it could put lives at risk. The motion will be argued by the office of U.S. Attorney for D.C. Ed Martin, a hard-charging conservative who has sought to undo liberals’ use of the D.C. court system for political purposes, including dismissing January 6 cases after Trump pardoned them. He has also indicted an alleged Chinese spy, investigated a Kamala Harris staffer for alleged fraud, and vowed to imprison “thugs with guns.” The motion set to be filed soon by the Trump administration says that “by favoring the applications of blacks and Hispanics, the Decree disfavors all other racial groups. Like school admissions, hiring in the federal government is a ‘zero-sum’ proposition.”)

FOX NEWS
— It is a crime to illegally cross the border. Illegal entry into the United States violates Title 8 USC 1325 and can be punishable with up to six months in prison.  (COMMENT: To come into a country illegally is to demonstrate gross disrespect for the rule of law and for that country.)
https://www.foxnews.com/media/jasmine-crockett-insists-its-not-crime-illegally-cross-border
— ICE forced to release some illegal migrants who could pose danger to Americans. Congress, in FY 2024, funded ICE to have 41,500 beds for migrants.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/ice-forced-release-some-illegal-migrants-who-could-pose-danger-americans-immigration-attorney

HOT AIR
— The Democratic Fork in the Road and the Woke Repudiation Imperative
https://hotair.com/josh-hammer/2025/03/08/the-democratic-fork-in-the-road-and-the-woke-repudiation-imperative-n3800533

NEWSMAX
— Rev. Corey B. Brooks Celebrates Trump’s DEI Rebuke
https://www.newsmax.com/platinum/dei-donald-trump-pastor/2025/03/02/id/1201047/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC NEWS
— UAW chief: Trump’s Canada, Mexico tariffs try to ‘stop the bleeding’ in US economy
https://www.aol.com/news/trump-canada-mexico-tariffs-stop-134400185.html
— Democrats introduce bill forcing Trump administration to rehire fired veterans. (COMMENT: According to my critics/opponents, all the jobs that I got were bad jobs that they would never stoop to take. Notwithstanding that, accord to my critics/opponents, all those jobs should have been given to veterans instead of me. Further, according to my critics/opponents, all the promotions that I got should have been given to veterans instead of me. My critics/opponents applaud GAO’s sheltering its employees who were veterans from any adverse impacts from Republican budget cuts. Since I was 18 years old in 1966, my critics/opponents have stressed that I avoided the Vietnam War draft.)
https://abcnews.go.com/US/democrats-introduce-bill-forcing-trump-administration-rehire-fired/story?id=119619654

NEW YORK TIMES
— Affirmative Action for the rich (COMMENT: The more money that your parents have, the better chance that you have to become an Ivy League university graduate. How much money did your parents have? My father never earned more than $50,000/year in today’s dollars. He almost always worked second jobs to pay the family’s bills. He died suddenly when he was 47 and I was 21. Neither of my parents attended college. My father was only the first of my ancestors to earn a high school diploma. My mother never attended high school. Consequently, I had to work my way through college. That harmed my GPA. During my junior and senior years in high school, I spent far too many hours washing dishes instead of studying. While I took undergraduate courses at UIC and NIU, I spent far too many hours delivering mail instead of studying. While I took graduate courses at Loyola and DePaul, I spent far too many hours working for IRS instead of studying. While I took graduate courses at IIT, I spent far too many hours working for GAO instead of studying. Consequently, I got no scholarships. Consequently, I got no Ivy League degree.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/27/podcasts/the-daily/college-legacy-admissions.html
— Inside the Explosive Meeting Where Trump Officials Clashed With Elon Musk. Simmering anger at the billionaire’s unchecked power spilled out in a remarkable Cabinet Room meeting. The president quickly moved to rein in Mr. Musk.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/us/politics/trump-musk-doge-power.html
— Stalled Audits and a Skeleton Staff: Inside Trump’s War on the I.R.S.  Trump is planning to gut the work force while trying to turn the I.R.S. into a more political agency. (COMMENT: I worked for the Democrats who ran IRS for almost 9 years 1971-1980. I should write about my IRS superiors who despised/hated Republicans the most. I would focus on those who took the biggest/most adverse actions against me. I would focus on those who a) disallowed my travel vouchers 1974, b) got rid of my mentor in 1975 who had promoted me in 1972, 1973, and 1974, c) never promoted me beyond GS-12, and d) disallowed my education deductions in 1978. They did the aforesaid even though I earned an MBA in 1976 and passed the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/us/politics/irs-taxes-trump-musk-federal-workers.html
— Trump’s Tariffs Could Help Tesla, by Hurting Its Rivals More. The electric car company led by Elon Musk builds all the cars it sells in the United States in California and Texas, shielding it from tariffs that could devastate competitors. (COMMENT: I just bought an EV that was built in Canada. I took delivery of my red 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona R/T EV Saturday. If you share my interest in the car, please let me know. I owned a 1969 Dodge Charger SE 1968-1971. Some at NIU called me “Daytona Dave” because I drove it to Daytona Beach for the 1969 and 1970 spring breaks. I owned a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T 1994-2005.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/08/world/asia/trump-trade-musk-tesla.html

USA TODAY
— For Democrats, education exists to crank out good little Democrats.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2025/03/08/trump-eliminates-education-department-consequences/81766553007/

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Trump’s Choice in Ukraine: Chamberlain or Eisenhower?  To avoid another Munich, follow the example of the 1953 armistice that resolved the Korean War.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trumps-choice-in-ukraine-chamberlain-or-eisenhower-567ee1da
— To Win McConnell’s Senate Seat, Kentucky Hopefuls Run Away From Mitch. As contest turns nasty, onetime allies now seek Trump’s endorsement in sign of how GOP politics have shifted.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/to-win-mcconnells-senate-seat-kentucky-hopefuls-run-away-from-mitch-4b53f0bc

AMERICAN PROSPECT
— Democrats say “Trump Rips Up the Government’s Agreement With Its Workers.” (COMMENT: Democrats run the federal government. For them, the federal government exists to hire, retain, and promote Democrats, and especially Democrats who are minority, female, younger, LGBTQ, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestor who have not been in America for a long time.)
https://prospect.org/labor/2025-03-10-trump-rips-up-governments-agreement-with-workers/

FED SMITH
— Understanding the Costs and Downsides of Retiring Early (COMMENT: I should write about the terrible negatives of being forced to retire early.)
https://www.fedsmith.com/2025/03/06/understanding-the-costs-and-downsides-of-retiring-early/

NPR
— Postal workers conducting the census is part of a Trump pitch for a USPS takeover (COMMENT: I worked for the Democrats who ran the Post Office 1966-1969.)
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/10/nx-s1-5311969/usps-privatization-trump-commerce-lutnick

PBS
— Schools brace for immigration arrests after Trump administration changes ICE policy
https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Da4RHUeXU6KY

INSIDE HIGHER EDUCATION
— AG Bondi Tells ABA to Drop DEI Requirement (COMMENT: Ever-increasingly, under the Democrats and under the RINOs, since the 1960s, everyone above me has been under ever-increasing pressure to give ever-increasing preference to those who do not share my demographics, that is, to discriminate against those who share my demographics. Those who share my demographics are conservative, Republican, American, White, male, older, non-poor, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. Trump is doing things to stop the aforesaid.)
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/03/10/ag-bondi-tells-aba-drop-dei-requirement