FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— New recruits joining military in big numbers, but not for reason Hegseth says. The economy is driving young Americans’ enlistments, according to Pentagon data.
https://abc7chicago.com/story/us-military-news-new-recruits-enlisting-big-numbers-not-reason-defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-says/19693144/
— Dramatic decline in people becoming new citizens in Chicago area this year. DD: Democrat leaders give tremendous benefits to noncitizens.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-area-naturalizations-drop-dramatically-more-80-2026-federal-citizenship-data-shows/19599022/
— Bailey calls for ending tolls; Pritzker questions funding plan. Toll revenues fund construction projects.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/republican-illinois-governor-candidate-darren-bailey-calls-ending-tolls-gov-jb-pritzker-questions-funding-plan/19694196/
NBC5
— Wheaton ZIP code 60187 named among America’s hottest housing markets for 2026.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/suburban-chicago-zip-code-named-among-americas-hottest-housing-markets-for-2026/3976579/
CBS2
— Some NIPSCO customers in northwest Indiana frustrated after nearly week without power. DD: The more that overhead lines bring power to your home, the more that those lines are near trees, the more that I recommend getting a whole-house backup electric generator.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/northwest-indiana-power-outage-nipsco/
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Illinois spent big during COVID and the migrant crisis. Who was watching the bills?
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/17/favorite-staffing-covid-migrants-contractor-chris-meister/
— Northwest Indiana communities frustrated with extended NIPSCO outages. DD: The more that overhead lines bring power to your home, the more that those lines are near trees, the more that I recommend getting a whole-house backup electric generator.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/17/northwest-indiana-frustrated-extended-nipsco-outages/
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/17/ice-legal-insurance-local-officers/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Thousands of Gary residents still without power after last week’s deadly storms. As of Monday afternoon, more than 100,000 Indiana residents were without electricity, according to utility company NIPSCO, after over 300,000 people lost power because of the storms. DD: The more that overhead lines bring power to your home, the more that those lines are near trees, the more that I recommend getting a whole-house backup electric generator.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/weather/2026/08/17/gary-indiana-residents-without-power-deadly-storms
— DD: To get more votes from Blacks, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly shout at non-Whites that Republicans cause all the problems that non-Whites have.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/2026/08/17/anti-dei-trump-chicago-cps-firefighters-black-brown-equity-donathan-brown
DAILY HERALD
— Geneva’s annual Concours d’Elegance returns Aug. 23 with 200 vintage cars.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260817/submitted-content/genevas-annual-concours-delegance-returns-aug-23-with-over-200-vintage-cars/
SAUK VALLEY
— Tri-County GOP candidates’ meet-and-greet event set for 3 counties at 3 locations at 3 times Sept. 24.
https://www.shawlocal.com/sauk-valley/2026/08/17/tri-county-gop-candidates-meet-and-greet-event-set-for-3-counties-at-3-locations-at-3-times-sept-24/
BURR RIDGE PATCH
— Burr Ridge Park District Bars Patricia Kladis-Schiappa’s Event. The candidate is asking the agency to reconsider. She says she cannot accept “the suppression or cancellation” of a community discussion.
https://patch.com/illinois/burrridge/burr-ridge-agency-wont-allow-local-politicians-event
IPM NEWS
— Bailey on SAFE-T Act, budget, and Illinois schools.
https://ipmnewsroom.org/republican-gubernatorial-candidate-darren-bailey-on-safe-t-act-budget-and-illinois-schools/
CAPITOL FAX
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/17/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-580/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— What is your Republican Precinct Committeeman going to do to get out the vote? As the Republican Precinct Committeeman for DuPage County Milton Township Precinct 59 in Wheaton, I will hand-deliver to the 400 residences in my precinct that have at least one Republican or one Independent registered voter a copy of the sample ballot, campaign literature from all the candidates who provide their literature to the Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO), and a MTRO voter guide. I have obtained a PDF file from the DuPage County Election Division mailing with labels for the 660 Republican and Independent registered voters in my precinct. I have printed out those labels and I am in the process of affixing them to envelopes provided by MTRO and putting them into five batches in walk order. I will be stuffing those envelopes with MTRO’s voter guide, literature that candidates provided MTRO, and the sample ballot. The Republican candidates on the ballot in my precinct are: Tracy, Bailey/Del Mar, Fioretti, Harris, Drew, Soloman, Oakley, Lewis, Vrankovich, Grasso, Noonan, Schiappa, Henry, Eckhoff, Michaud, Schultz, Quirk, and Helland. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— New Law Allows Veterans Second Set of Special License Plates
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/15/new-law-veterans-second-set-of-special-license-plates/
— State Believes It Can Create and Preserve Affordable Housing
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/15/state-believes-it-can-create-and-preserve-affordable-housing/
— Steve Willson’s Letter Blasting Proposed Rockford-Chicago Passenger Trains Make Front Page of Rockford Register-Star Email
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/15/steve-willsons-letter-blasting-proposed-rockford-chicago-passenger-trains-make-front-page-of-rockford-register-star-email/
— Running for Chicago Mayor, Mike Quigley Willing to Risk His Future to Save Chicago, Is Trump Willing to Do the Same to Beat Iran?
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/15/running-for-chicago-mayor-mike-quigley-willing-to-risk-his-future-to-save-chicago-is-trump-willing-to-do-the-same-to-beat-iran/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote voters who are anti-conservative, anti-Republican, anti-American, anti-White, anti-male, anti-older people, anti-Christian, anti-German American, and/or anti-those who have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. That is, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote the Democrat Party’s base.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/17/catholic-league-warns-massachusetts-legislation-would-give/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Democrats are embracing socialism. Americans aren’t.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4687755/democrats-embracing-socialism-polling/
NEW YORK POST
— Shoplifting isn’t need, it’s just plain greed.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/17/opinion/hey-progressives-shoplifting-isnt-need-its-just-plain-greed/
DAILY SIGNAL
— The DSA Has a Diversity Problem.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/08/17/the-dsa-has-a-diversity-problem-dsa/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
FLORIDA POLITICS
— Millions were spent in CD 19 GOP Primary, but will a late Donald Trump endorsement decide the race?
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/814362-millions-were-spent-in-cd-19-gop-primary-but-will-a-late-donald-trump-endorsement-decide-the-race/
PEW RESEARCH
— Refugee admissions to the U.S. are dropping sharply in Trump’s second term.
https://www.pewresearch.org/publications/
FROM OTHER SOURCES
REALTOR
— FOR SALE IN MY WHEATON PRECINCT:
25W451 Plamondon Road – $3,300,000
25W471 Plamondon Road – $2,400,000
1021 Greenwood Drive – $1,000,000
1160 Midwest Lane – $1,000,000
1028 Lodalia Court (lot) – $415,000
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/60189/sby-2
HOMES
— FOR SALE IN MY WHEATON PRECINCT: 25W328 Plamondon Road (lot) – $299,900
https://www.homes.com/property/25w328-plamondon-rd-wheaton-il/n6npjnwsm9jnz/
Tag: diversity
August 17, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
NBC5
— 16 teens arrested at vacant Congress Theater, 1 week after illegal rave. The teens, ages 13 to 19, were all charged with one misdemeanor count for criminal trespassing. The mass arrest comes after a local DJ held an unsanctioned rave at the theater on Aug. 8 that drew several young people. DD: What is your municipality doing to stop Democrat teen takeovers?
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/16-teens-arrested-at-vacant-congress-theater-1-week-after-illegal-rave/3976097/
— Frustrations grow as power outages persist in NW Indiana after derecho. DD: The more that overhead lines bring power to your home, the more that those lines are near trees, the more that I recommend getting a whole-house backup electric generator.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/video/news/local/frustrations-grow-as-power-outages-persist-in-nw-indiana-after-derecho/3976247/
CBS2
— 16 teenagers arrested after trespassing inside Congress Theater on Northwest Side. DD: What is your municipality doing to stop Democrat teen takeovers?
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/16-teenagers-arrested-trespassing-congress-theater/
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH PICTURE: DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/17/ice-out-chicago/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Darren Bailey accepts campaign money from sex offender who’s now pastor, attends service at his church. Victor D. Barr was convicted of sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl when she was a Rockford high school student and he was a teacher. He and his household have made three campaign donations to the Republican candidate for governor, who also visited Barr’s congregation in June. Bailey didn’t know Barr’s background and now plans to give the contributions to charity, an aide says.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2026/08/17/darren-bailey-campaign-money-registered-sex-offender-victor-barr-pastor-faith-center-rockford
— ALLL OF THE FRONT PAGE: DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/08/17/broadview-six-judge-april-perry-trump-vance
DAILY HERALD
— Midwest shows DSA left could take over the Democratic Party.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260816/syndicated-columnists/midwest-shows-dsa-left-could-take-over-the-democratic-party/
WBEZ
— Muslim families look to Arabic immersion education to give their children a foundation in faith and identity. Chicago-area Muslim families are flocking to a small southwest suburban school for its rigorous, play-based curriculum taught entirely in Arabic. DD: Democrat leaders fight assimilation.
https://www.wbez.org/education/2026/05/30/chicago-muslim-families-arabic-immersion-education-faith-identity-bridgeview-quran-mas-blossoms
NPR ILLINOIS
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more LGBTQ.
https://www.nprillinois.org/2026-08-16/what-are-we-going-to-do-the-mom-of-a-trans-teen-grapples-with-trumps-medicaid-move
— Staying in a job for the health insurance? About 1 in 4 Americans do. DD: The federal government paying 72% of my healthcare insurance since 1966 and then also paying 72% of my wife’s healthcare insurance since 1978 helped me endure tremendous efforts by my Democrat superiors in the federal government to waste my career and to get rid of me. For Democrats, the federal government exists to hire, retain, and promote Democrats who are minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time.
https://www.npr.org/2026/07/22/nx-s1-5902333/health-insurance-jobs-gallup
ILLINOIS TIMES
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more hatred against Trump.
https://www.illinoistimes.com/news/democracy-rising-rally-held-at-old-state-capitol/
PATRICIA KLADIS-SCHIAPPA FOR DUPAGE COUNTY CLERK
— Burr Ridge park district cancels meet and greet event
https://www.facebook.com/61579580051028/posts/for-immediate-release-burr-ridge-illinois-8162026i-regret-to-inform-the-communit/122178940904986001/
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— State Fair glow meets ethics shadow
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/08/17/state-fair-glow-meets-ethics-shadow-01038943
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Analysis of Catalina Lauf’s Probable Victory in Southwest Florida’s 19th Congressional District.
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/16/analyzing-catalina-laufs-probable-victory-in-southwest-florildas-19th-congresisonal-district/
BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS
— AOC: Cunning and Callous
https://www.breakthrough-ideas.com/read/2026/08/12/aoc-cunning-and-callous
— Abdul El-Sayed’s Equally Radical Half-Sister Eman Abdelhad. She is an assistant professor at the University of Chicago in the Department of Comparative Human Development.
https://www.breakthrough-ideas.com/read/2026/08/14/abdul-el-sayeds-equally-radical-half-sister-eman-abdelhadi
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin sees room for leftists in ‘big tent’ party. Summer meeting ends without resolving ICE fight, Israel rift or midterm cash gap.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/16/democratic-national-committee-chair-ken-martin-sees-room-leftists-big/
— Democrats need an agenda before socialists write one for them. Empty opposition to Trump keeps handing energy to the party’s radical wing.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/16/democrats-need-agenda-socialists-write-one/
— Radical Democrats gearing up for woke 2.0. Slogans may change, but the extreme leftist agenda remains.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/16/radical-democrats-gearing-woke-20/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Half of Democratic voters hold negative view of capitalism. DD: How successful have Democrat leaders been promoting socialism in your county, township, municipality, school district, and precinct?
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/4689225/half-democratic-voters-negative-view-capitalism-poll/
NEW YORK POST
— Dems now favor socialism over capitalism by this overwhelming amount.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/16/us-news/dems-now-favor-socialism-over-capitalism-by-this-overwhelming-amount-new-poll/
— Gingrich: Iran betting it can outlast Trump if Dems take Congress. ‘Trying to win in America politically’ like North Vietnam.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/16/us-news/iran-betting-it-can-outlast-trump-if-dems-take-congress-gingrich-says/
— If we don’t face WHY men are giving up on work, America’s future is grim. DD: Democrat and RINO employers ever-increasingly give more preference to young women and to young minorities.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/16/opinion/if-we-dont-face-why-men-are-giving-up-on-work-americas-future-is-grim/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: This dysfunction leads to higher rates of drug abuse and suicide, both far worse among men than women, as well as “failure to launch” that now sees one in five men aged 25 to 34 living “at home,” markedly more than their female peers. And men who can’t serve as the family’s prime breadwinners tend not to form families at all, driving both the rise in single-parent (almost always a woman) homes and the decline in US birth rates. Demographers predict that by 2038 more Americans will die than be born.)
AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
— DD: What do you say to those a) who are able-bodied, b) who refuse to work, and c) who demand welfare?
https://www.aei.org/commentary/are-you-a-bad-citizen/
BRETBART
— Democratic Committee Urges Congress to Defund ICE, Free Illegals.
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/08/17/democratic-committee-urges-congress-to-defund-ice-free-illegal-migrants/amp/
— Democrats Swamp State Legislatures with 250 Pro-Migrant Bills to Obstruct Trump’s Deportation Mandate.
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/08/16/democrats-swamp-state-legislatures-with-250-pro-migrant-bills-to-obstruct-trumps-deportation-mandate/
CAMPUS REFORM
— The new DEI witness protection program at universities. DD: Because of Affirmative Action and because of DEI, that is, because of political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination, those who are the following should anticipate/expect that will always have to do more to advance: conservative, Republican, White, male, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. Because I am all of the aforesaid, to advance, I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license. If I had been liberal/moderate, Democrat, minority, female, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or had ancestors who have not been in America for a long time, the Democrats who ran the federal government would have promoted me into their Senior Executive Service, currently $197,200/year, long before I was 40 years old. Instead, they wasted my career and forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997.
https://www.campusreform.org/article/new-dei-witness-protection-program-universities-analysis/30401
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Changing the acronym may change the press release, but it does not change the requirements of federal civil rights law. At universities across the country, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices are undergoing transformations that would make the Federal Witness Protection Program proud. Diversity becomes “community.” Inclusion becomes “belonging.” Equity becomes “excellence.” Administrators acquire new titles. Departments get new signs.)
DAILY CALLER
— Chicago Has 7 Times The Murders Of Cities In State That Respects Gun Rights.
https://dailycaller.com/2026/08/16/a-study-in-contrasts-one-city-in-anti-2a-state-has-seven-times-the-murders-as-three-in-a-state-that-respects-2a-rights/
FOX NEWS
— Woke 1 looks TAME compared to Woke 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DfdhvAn5sKa8
— Reince Priebus: Donald Trump is the ‘biggest’ reason why ‘Woke 1.0’ is dead. DD: All my critics/opponents are some degree of woke.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403538809112
— Long Island street takeover erupts as drivers block road, perform donuts, burnouts. DD: What is your municipality doing to stop Democrat teen takeovers?
https://noticias.foxnews.com/us/long-island-street-takeover-erupts-drivers-block-road-perform-donuts-burnouts-police
HOT AIR
— Chicago Teachers Union’s Sustainable Community Schools Is a Scam.
https://hotair.com/headlines/2026/08/15/chicago-teachers-unions-sustainable-community-schools-is-a-scam-n3817991
TOWNHALL
— If Democrats Win, Trump Will Be Impeached Again.
https://townhall.com/columnists/jeffcrouere/2026/08/17/if-democrats-win-trump-will-be-impeached-again-n2681343
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— Fetterman warns of socialism’s rise in the Democratic Party: ‘This is lunacy’
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6032418-fetterman-warns-socialism-rise/
NBC NEWS
— Tough economy forces Gen Z to rewrite the American dream playbook. Squeezed by high costs, an unwelcoming housing market and uncertain career prospects, younger adults are making hard choices — and getting creative. DD: How many Gen Zers are doing what I did? I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I worked two jobs for 18 months. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/gen-z-rewrites-american-dream-playbook-rcna591764
CBS NEWS
— Most Americans believe a free market system is a good thing. Americans are net-negative on socialism. Capitalism is better-liked. But those ideas aside, right now they say it’s harder now to do things like buy a house, raise a family, and to just feel financially secure than for the last generation. Younger people are especially apt to feel opportunities are fewer. So most also call the current U.S. economic system unfair, in terms of the way it works for chances to get ahead. DD: To get ahead under socialists, you have to be a socialist. To get ahead under Democrats, you have to be a Democrat. To get ahead under RINOs, you have to be a RINO. To get ahead under Affirmative Action and DEI, you have to be a female or a minority.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/democrats-socialism-economy-political-parties-opinion-poll/
NEWSWEEK
— Best Test Prep 2026. DD: I would not have passed the CPA examination on my first attempt when I was 30 in 1979 if I had not a) taken the Becker CPA Review, b) taken graduate evening accounting courses at DePaul, c) earned an MBA from Loyola, and d) worked for IRS for 8 years.
https://www.newsweek.com/readerschoice/best-test-prep-2026
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Becker provides professional education and exam preparation programs for individuals pursuing accounting, finance and business certifications. Best known for its CPA Exam review courses, Becker offers comprehensive study materials, practice questions, lectures and personalized learning tools. Its programs help students and professionals prepare for certification exams while building the knowledge and skills needed for career advancement.)
WASHINGTON POST
— His family fled socialism. He’s trying to spread it. A young Cuban American is selling democratic socialism door-to-door across Miami. But he cannot bring himself to discuss it across his family’s kitchen table.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/08/16/an-activist-tries-sell-socialism-miami-people-who-fled-castro/
USA TODAY
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly blame Trump for inflation.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/grocery/2026/08/10/families-using-credit-grocery-stores-costs/91128536007/
SEATTLE TIMES
— About one-third of single, unemployed Americans have paused dating. 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://www.seattletimes.com/business/one-of-them-was-unemployed-could-they-afford-to-date/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Why White-Collar Workers Can’t Get Ahead. DD: What did you do to get ahead? I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/why-white-collar-workers-cant-get-ahead-a5b4870e
— Democrats Try to End Internal Squabbling.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/democrats-turn-focus-to-winning-after-months-of-internal-fights-29c49635
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 were backstabbers. Far too many who claim to be religious, conservative, and/or Republican are backstabbers.
https://fortune.com/article/gen-z-millennials-backstabbing-get-ahead-career-new-office-norm-rto-research/
BUSINESS WIRE
— Getting ahead. DD: What did you do to get ahead? I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260324580106/en/New-Employer-Ratings-Reveal-Where-Workers-Actually-Get-Ahead-Role-by-Role
24/7 WALL STREET
— A couple earning $110,000 combined with $65,000 in student debt got Ramsey’s green light to have a baby, thanks largely to $45,000 in imminent PSLF forgiveness. Staying a two-income household is the single variable that determines success. Dropping to $55,000 makes the $2,200 mortgage financially crushing. Jade Warshaw recommends building a faux budget before the baby arrives, modeling both dual- and single-income scenarios with real daycare quotes. 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, and g) buy a collector car when I was 40. 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 knew full-well that both my wife and I had major fertility problems. They painted themselves as being grossly underpaid. They decried the time and money they spent raising their children. They decried the little or no income that their wives had. Should I write about my Democrat GAO superiors?
https://247wallst.com/personal-finance/2026/08/16/dave-ramsey-tells-couple-earning-110000-they-can-afford-a-baby-but-one-decision-could-change-everything/
HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL
— Defining a “Good Job” DD: What jobs have you had? Overwhelmingly, when I was young, my peers a) had parents who had more money than my parents did, b) did not have to take jobs let alone take bad jobs, and/or c) viewed the jobs that I took as being bad jobs that they would never stoop to take. I did yard work 1962-1964. I delivered newspapers 1962-1966. I washed dishes 1964-1966. I cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, and pumped gasoline in 1966. I delivering mail 1966-1969. I worked on an automotive assembly line in 1970. I sold tires, automotive services, and major appliances 1970-1971. I pumped more gasoline 1971-1972. I collected delinquent federal taxes 1971-1980. I audited federal agencies 1980-1997.
https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/wiener/programs/economy/our-work/reimagining-economy-blog/daniel-schneider-defines-a-good-job
SHRM
— What’s the Difference Between a ‘Good’ Job and a ‘Bad’ Job? 10 Dimensions of Job Quality. DD: What about how jobs are viewed? All the jobs that I had were viewed as being bad jobs. I did yard work 1962-1964. I delivered newspapers 1962-1966. I washed dishes 1964-1966. I cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, and pumped gasoline in 1966. I delivering mail 1966-1969. I worked on an automotive assembly line in 1970. I sold tires, automotive services, and major appliances 1970-1971. I pumped more gasoline 1971-1972. I collected delinquent federal taxes 1971-1980. I audited federal agencies 1980-1997.
https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/employee-relations/whats-difference-good-job-bad-job
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Level of pay. Stable and predictable pay. Stable and predictable hours. Control over hours and/or job location. Job security. Employee benefits. Career advancement opportunities. Enjoying the day-to-day work. Having a sense of purpose and dignity at work. Having the power to change things that are unsatisfying at work.)
BEST COLLEGES
— 40 Companies That Pay for College With Tuition Reimbursement. DD: I worked for the Post Office 1966-1969, Firestone Stores 1970-1972, IRS 1971-1980, and GAO 1980-1997. Because they did not reimburse tuition or reimbursed only token amounts, I paid lots of my own money for tuition a) to earn a job-related bachelor’s degree from NIU in 1970 (many courses), b) to earn a job-related master’s degree from Loyola in 1976 (16 courses), c) to pass a job-related professional examination in 1979, d) to earn a job-related master’s degree from DePaul in 1980 (12 courses), e) to pass a job-related professional examination in 1981, and f) to earn a job-related master’s degree from IIT in 1997 (14 courses). To add insult to injury and to get rid of me, my Democrat IRS superiors disallowed my education deductions in 1978 outrageously, disgustingly, falsely, and unethically arguing that the courses I took a) did not relate to my job duties, b) did not maintain or improve my job skills, c) were taken by me to get a job in the private sector, and d) qualified me for a new trade or business.
https://www.bestcolleges.com/resources/companies-with-tuition-reimbursement/
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
— Student debt: The hidden affordability crisis. DD: Because I worked my way through college, I graduated debt-free with a bachelor’s degree in management from NIU in August of 1970 owning a 1969 Dodge Charger SE. Not that I could have gotten a student loan, but if I had gotten one, I would not have been able to a) buy a new 1972 Corvette in October of 1971, b) pay tuition for graduate evening business courses starting in January of 1972, or b) buy a new townhome in September of 1972.
https://www.aft.org/column/student-debt-hidden-affordability-crisis
BUZZ FEED
— Jobs That Are Either Criminally Underpaid Or Wildly Overpaid. DD: According to my critics/opponents, I was always overpaid. I did yard work 1962-1964. I delivered newspapers 1962-1966. I washed dishes 1964-1966. I cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, and pumped gasoline in 1966. I delivering mail 1966-1969. I worked on an automotive assembly line in 1970. I sold tires, automotive services, and major appliances 1970-1971. I pumped more gasoline 1971-1972. I collected delinquent federal taxes 1971-1980. I audited federal agencies 1980-1997.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/29-jobs-either-criminally-underpaid-110103399.html
— Turning To Socialism. DD: To get ahead under Democrats, you have to be a Democrat. Because I refused to become a Democrat, I did not get ahead in the federal government. To get ahead under RINOs, you have to be a RINO. Because I refused to become a RINO, I did not get ahead in the Milton Township Republican Organization, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, or Illinois Republican Party.
https://www.aol.com/articles/fox-news-host-blaming-gop-202209000.html
POLITICO
— DD: Some blame Bernie Sanders for Hong’s defeat. I should write about the following who have blamed me and have blamed my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters the most for defeats suffered by Republican candidates on ballots in my precinct since 2000: past and present a) leaders of the Milton Township Republican Organization, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, Illinois Republican Party, TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois, and Illinois Center Right Coalition, b) Republican leaders of Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois, c) Republican candidates on ballots in my precinct and their political consultants, major donors, fundraisers, pollsters, campaign managers, campaign staff members, and campaign volunteers, d) conservative leaders, and e) religious leaders.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/13/bernie-sanders-wisconsin-progressives-hong-01037121
AXIOS
— America is quickly becoming Sin Nation. Or, as President Trump put it while discussing prediction markets in the Oval Office last month: “The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino.” Why it matters: Once-forbidden vices — weed, gambling and porn — are no longer confined to back alleys or the desert. They’re ubiquitous, digital and spreading at a pace that has outstripped the country’s social and regulatory guardrails. Governments didn’t turn a blind eye to most of this behavior. They encouraged it. We’re scaling sin in real time.
https://www.axios.com/2026/05/12/america-gambling-weed-deepfakes
PSY POST
— DD: As fewer and fewer and fewer men earn college degrees, college women increasingly marry men without degrees. My wife and I got married when I was 29. She was impressed that I earned a bachelor’s degree in management when I was 21 and an MBA when I was 27 and I was taking graduate evening accounting courses.
https://www.psypost.org/college-women-are-increasingly-marrying-men-without-degrees-as-college-demographics-shift/
August 12, 2016
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Illinois and Chicago campaigns defy conventional monied wisdom.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/12/column-illinois-chicago-campagins-defy-convention-washington/
— Backlash against Meta’s smart glasses grows. DD: Republican Precinct Committeemen should consider wearing them to document threats against them when they hand-deliver sample ballots, campaign literature, and voter guides in their precinct.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/11/meta-smart-glasses/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The social media giant dominates the market for smart glasses, which allow people to capture photos and videos, listen to music, take phone calls and ask questions to an artificial intelligence assistant. Some people are using the glasses — which look like a pair of regular spectacles — to record people without their knowledge and publish the videos on social media. The users secretly videotape and share what happens when they try to pick up women. Now, a growing number of people are worried they could be covertly recorded at the gym or even during sex. The backlash has prompted Meta to update its glasses to address privacy concerns, and some places have banned them, adding to the angst surrounding technology that’s rapidly evolving. It’s too early to tell whether the criticism will dent sales of smart glasses, said Jitesh Ubrani, a director at the market research company IDC.)
— If you’re not wealthy, you’re making concessions on big-ticket purchases. Consumers are OK with not getting the fancy car. Homes? That’s a bigger problem.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/12/jd-power-zillow-auto-cars-homebuyers-housing-rich/
DAILY HERALD
— The persecution of Anthony Fauci, a public servant. DD: I should write about federal employees who have had big adverse actions taken against them, what those adverse actions were, who took those adverse actions against them, and those who could/should have come to their defense but did not, and why.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260812/syndicated-columnists/the-persecution-of-a-public-servant/
FOX32
— USDA: SNAP enrollment drops by 5.3 million following new work rules – State-by-state breakdown. DD: Democrat leaders want as many people as possible on SNAP because people on SNAP vote for Democrats.
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/snap-fewer-recipients-after-new-rules-implemented
PEORIA JOURNAL STAR
— Tracy labels Iran war costs ‘required sacrifices.’
https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/11/don-tracy-calls-iran-war-costs-required-sacrifices/91263175007/
EVANSTON NOW
— Uihlein family giving $35M to NU football.
https://evanstonnow.com/uihlein-family-giving-35m-to-nu-football/
FOX ILLINOIS
— DD: While I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government for almost 30 years, their top priority was hiring, retaining, and promoting Democrats who were minority, female, younger, and/or veteran.
https://www.foxillinois.com/news/nation-world/researchers-advocates-rail-against-governments-efforts-to-end-workforce-data-collection/article_36c0db76-e1b3-51f4-9ca6-0c160b2045d6.html
NPR ILLINOIS
— Trump-backed Mike Lindell loses primary for Minnesota governor to Lisa Demuth.
https://www.nprillinois.org/2026-08-11/trump-backed-mike-lindell-loses-primary-for-minnesota-governor-to-lisa-demuth
WGLT
— New Illinois law empowering sexual assault survivors runs into shortage of female officers.
https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2026-08-11/new-illinois-law-empowering-sexual-assault-survivors-runs-into-shortage-of-female-officers
WFMD
— Chicago’s South Side is drowning in excuses, dependency and decay.
https://www.wfmd.com/2026/04/28/chicagos-south-side-is-drowning-in-excuses-dependency-and-decay/
RACE AND EQUITY PROJECT
— Nowhere to go: Chicago teens on ‘takeovers,’ curfews, and lost community spaces. 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://www.raceandequityproject.org/article/chicago-teen-takeover-police-hyde-park-community-spaces
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— DNC plans a Chicago bootcamp.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/08/12/dnc-plans-a-chicago-bootcamp-01034396
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/12/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-789/
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/11/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-576/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
JOHN KASS
— Democrat Socialist of America: The Threat is Real.
https://johnkassnews.com/democrat-socialist-of-america-the-threat-is-real/
ILLINOIS REVIEW
— 10 Criminal Complaints Filed Against Federal Agents Over Operation Midway Blitz as DHS Calls Effort a ‘Political Stunt’
https://www.illinoisreview.com/illinoisreview/2026/08/10-criminal-complaints-filed-against-federal-agents-over-operation-midway-blitz-as-dhs-calls-effort-a-political-stunt.html
— Why Are the Courts Clogged? Ask the Democrats Who Created the Crisis.
https://www.illinoisreview.com/illinoisreview/2026/08/why-are-the-courts-clogged-ask-the-democrats-who-created-the-crisis.html
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
— Pritzker record: He added $300 million last year to Chicago pension woes.
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/pritzker-added-300-million-last-year-to-chicago-pension-woes/
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Double-Dipping, Something Illinois Legislators Won’t Stop. DD: My critics/opponents have always been furious a) that I earned both Civil Service Retirement System and Social Security credits a) while I worked for the Post Office 1966-1969 and b) for IRS and Firestone Stores 1971-1972.
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/11/double-dipping-something-illinois-legislators-wont-stop/
GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— Under socialism, all you need to do to advance is be a socialist. Under Democrats, all you need to do to advance is be a Democrat. If I had listened to socialists, I would have become a Democrat. That would have discouraged me from doing what I did to advance. To advance, a) I worked my way through college, b) I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree (management), c) I earned three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance), d) I earned six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and e) I earned a job-related professional license (CPA). All of my coworkers who my Democrat Post Office, IRS, and GAO superiors promoted over were Democrats. None of them came close to doing what I did to advance. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Who do your critics/opponents blame problems on? My critics/opponent blame problems on conservatives who are White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time, have more money than they do, and/or have more professional credentials than they do. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Men (not) at work: Social instability looms as men shun the labor force. DD: Since the 1960s, Democrat and RINO employers have ever-increasingly focused on hiring, retaining, and promoting women, and especially women who are minority and/or younger.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/12/men-not-work-social-instability-looms-men-shun-labor-force-analysts/
— Blame colleges for the socialist conquest. They recruit and tolerate Jew-hating professors, students.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/11/blame-colleges-socialist-conquest/
WASHINGTON FREE BEACON
— Abdul El-Sayed Proclaimed ‘Obligation’ To Follow Sharia Law Until the Day He Dies.
https://freebeacon.substack.com/p/abdul-el-sayed-proclaimed-obligation
NEW YORK SUN
— Abdul El-Sayed’s Success Is Owed to Western Values and American Meritocracy That He Seeks To Abolish. He is one of the luckiest people to ever live, and an extremist by choice.
https://www.nysun.com/article/abdul-el-sayeds-success-is-owed-to-western-values-and-american-meritocracy-that-he-seeks-to-abolish
AMERICAN THINKER
— Learn to listen, listen to learn. Leftists today aren’t interested in respectful exchanges of viewpoints, or in offering rationales for their own ideas. Socialism is but a step toward communist oppression. Among the dangers it promotes is the abolition of popular dissent. DD: Under socialism, all you need to do to advance is be a socialist. Under Democrats, all you need to do to advance is be a Democrat. If I had listened to socialists, I would have become a Democrat. That would have discouraged me from doing what I did to advance. To advance, a) I worked my way through college, b) I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree (management), c) I earned three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance), d) I earned six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and e) I earned a job-related professional license (CPA). All of my coworkers who my Democrat Post Office, IRS, and GAO superiors promoted over me were Democrats. None of them came close to doing what I did to advance.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/learn-to-listen-listen-to-learn/
— The Diversity Blindspot. The Arday illusion: academia’s shameful infatuation with the diversity poster boy.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/the-diversity-blindspot/
AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY
— The Upward Mobility Act is a Step Forward on Welfare Reform. DD: The Democrat Party platform a) discourages personal responsibility and b) promotes dependency on government.
https://americansforprosperity.org/policy-corner/the-upward-mobility-act-is-a-step-forward-on-welfare-reform/
BIZ PAC REVIEW
— Trump administration has lost nearly 17,000 immigration rulings. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/08/11/report-trump-administration-has-lost-nearly-17000-immigration-rulings-1654342/
BLAZE
— DEI’s favorite trick: Failure proves discrimination. DD: Democrats shout at those who fail that Republicans caused their failures.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/deis-favorite-trick-failure-proves-discrimination
BREITBART
— Pritzker: Trump ‘Put People in Harm’s Way to Save Himself’
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2026/08/11/pritzker-trump-put-people-in-harms-way-to-save-himself/amp/
CAMPUS REFORM
— University of Illinois Chicago offers clinicians $5K stipend, abortion training fellowship. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more abortion.
https://www.campusreform.org/article/university-illinois-chicago-offers-clinicians-5k-stipend-abortion-training-fellowship/30380
CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES
— The Biggest Myth About H-1B Is That It’s ‘Broken.’ 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://cis.org/Miano/Biggest-Myth-About-H1B-Its-Broken
DAILY WIRE
— David Crowley Stuns Socialist Frontrunner In Wisconsin Dem Governor Primary. The result marked a dramatic reversal from pre-election polling.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/david-crowley-stuns-socialist-frontrunner-in-wisconsin-dem-governor-primary
AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
— What’s Wrong with Personal Responsibility? DD: The Democrat Party platform a) discourages personal responsibility and b) promotes dependency on government.
https://www.aei.org/commentary/whats-wrong-with-personal-responsibility/
FEDERATION FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION REFORM
— A License to Kill on American Highways. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.fairus.org/opinion/license-kill-american-highways
FEDERATION FOR GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
— Why States Should Ban Universal Basic Income Schemes. DD: The Democrat Party platform a) discourages personal responsibility and b) promotes dependency on government.
https://thefga.org/research/why-states-should-ban-universal-basic-income-schemes/
FOX BUSINESS
— A working-class party without workers. Why are leading Democrats welcoming socialists into their big tent.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/larry-kudlow-working-class-party-without-workers
— Socialists are going to give the GOP the Senate.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6403227460112
FOX NEWS
— Democrat establishment strikes back as socialist candidate downed in battleground primary. Milwaukee County Executive backed by Gov. Tony Evers will face Republican nominee Tom Tiffany in the general election.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/wisconsin-governor-primary-crowley-hong
— Socialists are preparing to come for EVERYTHING you have. DD: The more that you have, the more that you should fight socialism. Anticipate/expect that the less that people have, the more that they will fight for socialism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcEeda5C8Ug
— Socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403230468112
HERITAGE FOUNDATION
— Why the U.S. Has a Culture of Dependency. DD: The Democrat Party platform a) discourages personal responsibility and b) promotes dependency on government.
https://www.heritage.org/poverty-and-inequality/commentary/why-the-us-has-culture-dependency
LEGAL INSURRECTION
— FAA’s Gamer Recruitment Campaign Scores Over 2,000+ Air Traffic Controller Candidates. Hopefully, the rest of the FAA’s air traffic control enhancement plan will prove as successful.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/08/faas-gamer-recruitment-campaign-scores-over-2000-air-traffic-controller-candidates/
MINDING THE CAMPUS
— America’s Universities Are Still Shutting Out Conservative Faculty. Campuses are ideologically imbalanced, hostile to dissent, and unwilling to reform. Secretary McMahon’s call for accountability is much needed.
https://mindingthecampus.org/2026/08/11/americas-universities-are-still-shutting-out-conservative-faculty/
PJ MEDIA
— DSA on Illegals: ‘You Don’t Have to Have Papers to Have Power.’ DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2026/08/11/dsa-on-illegals-you-dont-have-to-have-papers-to-have-power-n4956025
— Can Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ride the socialist wave to lead Democrats in 2028 amid party shifts?
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/08/11/is-there-one-democrat-who-can-ride-the-socialist-wave-to-2028-n4956039
REASON
— Americans Grow Increasingly Dependent on Government Payments. Many citizens of the land of the free are hooked on government checks. DD: The Democrat Party platform a) discourages personal responsibility and b) promotes dependency on government.
https://reason.com/2024/10/04/americans-grow-increasingly-dependent-on-government-payments/
TOWNHALL
— Democratic Socialists Are Officially Part of the Democratic Party.
https://townhall.com/columnists/jtyoung/2026/08/12/democratic-socialists-are-officially-part-of-the-democratic-party-n2681026
U.S. HOUSE
— More Americans Dependent on Welfare Checks, at the Expense of Work. DD: The Democrat Party platform a) discourages personal responsibility and b) promotes dependency on government.
https://waysandmeans.house.gov/2025/01/08/new-report-shows-more-americans-dependent-on-welfare-checks-at-the-expense-of-work/
— Growth of the Welfare State. DD: The Democrat Party platform a) discourages personal responsibility and b) promotes dependency on government.
https://oversight.house.gov/release/grothman-opens-second-hearing-on-examining-the-growth-of-the-welfare-state/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC NEWS
— Charlotte police chief proposes expanding curfew to combat ‘teen takeovers.’ 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://abcnews.com/US/charlotte-police-chief-proposes-expanding-curfew-combat-teen/story?id=135544849
NEW YORK TIMES
— If you’re single and unemployed, it may make sense to prioritize job hunting. But that doesn’t have to mean putting your life on pause. DD: I met my outstanding wife at a Presbyterian singles event. She is Catholic and I am Missouri Synod Lutheran. 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://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/11/business/dating-unemployed.html
— Optimizing your life. Instead of focusing solely on retirement savings balance, workers should figure out how they want to spend their time. DD: I spent a tremendous amount of my time and my money a) working my way through college, b) earning a job-related bachelor’s degree (management), c) earning three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance), d) earning six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and e) earning a job-related professional license (CPA). My wife and I focused on saving money for child raising expenses, but when our fertility problems ended that, we focused on saving for our retirement.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/18/business/retirement-plan.html
WASHINGTON POST
— How today’s generation is turning homebuying on its head. DD: Extremely few of my peers did what I did. I bought a new townhome when I was 24 in 1972. SEE: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/774-Sunset-Ct-5-University-Park-IL-60484/5451474_zpid/ . In today’s dollars, I paid about $180,000 for it and the down payment would have been about $36,000. 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 $93,200. That says worlds about real estate values in University Park.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/brand-connect/nar/how-todays-generation-is-turning-home-buying-on-its-head/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Trump vs. Socialism: Which Do Voters Revile More? The midterms were the Democrats’ to lose. With candidates like Abdul El-Sayed, they just might.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trump-vs-socialism-which-do-voters-revile-more-2d0d0d10
— The GAO Precedent for Fed Independence. DD: GAO is not independent. GAO is non nonpartisan. Virtually all, if not all GAO employees are Democrats. When I was 31 in 1980, I was one of the last Republicans GAO hired. GAO wasted my career and forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997. GAO would not have done that if I had been A democrat, minority, female, or veteran.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-gao-precedent-for-fed-independence-b7b37cc4
— AOC for President? Don’t Rule It Out. As Democrats flirt with socialism, she’s a serious candidate.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/aoc-for-president-dont-rule-it-out-084f5619
FORBES
— Millennials Want Workplace Diversity. Why Don’t They Ask For It? DD: To promote diversity is to dump meritocracy.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/adiaharveywingfield/2026/08/12/millennials-want-workplace-diversity-why-dont-they-ask-for-it/
FLORIDA POLITICS
— Kat Cammack, Greg Steube line up behind Catalina Lauf in contentious CD 19 Primary.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/812950-kat-cammack-greg-steube-line-up-behind-catalina-lauf-in-contentious-cd-19-primary/
FLORIDA CAPITOLIST
— Early turnout builds ahead of Florida primary. Catalina Lauf is the founder of Defense of Freedom PAC and has two previous runs for congress in Illinois. Jim Oberweis previously served in the Illinois Senate from 2013 to 2021 and has several unsuccessful runs under his belt in Illinois.
https://thecapitolist.com/early-turnout-builds-ahead-of-florida-primary/
HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTION
— DD: To promote Affirmative Action and DEI is to dump meritocracy.
https://www.hcamag.com/us/specialization/diversity-inclusion/us-boardrooms-are-rapidly-dropping-diversity-rules-hr-cant-ignore-the-fallout/585762
EDUCATION NEWS
— Merit or seniority? Teachers question TSC promotion scoring. Teachers are calling for greater emphasis on merit, competence and measurable performance in TSC promotions. DD: All my coworkers who my Democrat Post Office, IRS, and GAO superiors 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://educationnews.co.ke/merit-or-seniority-teachers-question-tsc-promotion-scoring/
EDUCATION NEXT
— DD: The Democrat Party platform a) discourages personal responsibility and b) promotes dependency on government.
https://www.educationnext.org/whats-wrong-with-personal-responsibility/
JD SUPRA
— Illinois’ Menopause Equity and Care Act Expands Employment Protections.
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/illinois-menopause-equity-and-care-act-9912689/
August 11, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH BIG PICTURE: Pritzker and Bailey spar over Trump tariffs and farm economy at ag forum.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/10/jb-pritzker-darren-bailey-ag-forum/
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote socialism.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/10/column-democrats-democratic-socialism-progressives-donald-trump-red-scare-page/
SHAW LOCAL
— ‘This race is winnable’: Bailey calls on La Salle County Republicans for support in quest for governor’s chair. Candidate stopped in Mendota for appearance in Sweet Corn Fest Grand Parade.
https://www.shawlocal.com/illinois-valley/2026/08/10/this-race-is-winnable-bailey-calls-on-la-salle-county-republicans-for-support-in-quest-for-governors-chair/
CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— Governor candidates fight for the farmers vote.
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/your-local-election-hq/illinois-gov-candidates-agriculture/
CAPITOL CITY NOW
— Illinois Republicans fight for name recognition.
https://capitolcitynow.com/news/248842-il-republicans-fight-for-name-recognition/
CHICAGO PARENT
— These are the 10 best places to raise a family in Chicagoland. Explore the top family-friendly suburbs in Chicagoland with great schools, low crime rates and affordable housing. DD: If your municipality is not on the list, why is that?
https://www.chicagoparent.com/how-do-i/these-are-the-10-best-places-to-raise-a-family-in-chicagoland-cbd38771
CHICAGO READER
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more LGBTQ.
https://chicagoreader.com/city-life/chicago-gay-games-2006/
BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/08/10/chicagoans-alleging-crimes-by-ice-agents-seek-police-help-after-feds-fail-to-act/
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Is Wisconsin becoming Illinois north?
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/08/11/is-wisconsin-becoming-illinois-north-01032223
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/11/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-788/
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/10/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-575/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Dangers of issuing commercial driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. States that weaken CDL standards put American families at deadly risk.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/10/dangers-issuing-commercial-drivers-licenses-illegal-aliens/
— Trump says Democrats are electing ‘jihadists.’
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/10/trump-says-democrats-electing-jihadists/
— Young adults are having trouble finding potential spouses. DD: I met my outstanding wife at a Presbyterian singles event. She is Catholic and I am Missouri Synod Lutheran. 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://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/10/young-people-looking-love-wrong-places/
— Ceuta invasion another step toward a Muslim Europe. Americans can ill afford to be smug.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/10/editorial-ceuta-invasion-another-step-toward-muslim-europe/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Rainbow reds are more dangerous than communists of old.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/community-family/4680978/rainbow-reds-more-dangerous-communists-no-god-debasing-science-pampered/
— Too conservative. DD: According to Democrats and according to RINOs, I am too conservative, that is, I promote too many conservative principles, that is, I promote too many planks in the Republican Party platform. Most commonly, they reject the personal responsibility, traditional marriage and family, right to life, immigration, anti-vice, Second Amendment, equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/in_focus/4681101/new-fusionism-blueprint-uniting-gop/
— AOC, 2028, and the coming of woke 2.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/presidential/4682228/aoc-2028-woke-1-socialist-democrats/
— Democrats try to dodge ‘Woke 1’
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/4681169/the-democrats-crazy-woke-1-dodge-past-comments-trailing-candidates/
— ‘We have to smash the state’: The Left prepares for war.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/in_focus/4681140/we-smash-state-left-prepares-war/
WASHINGTON FREE BEACON
— Move Over, Thanksgiving: Francesca Hong Hosted ‘Feast of the Feminine.’
https://freebeacon.substack.com/p/move-over-thanksgiving-francesca
NEW YORK POST
— DSA darling Francesca Hong doesn’t just want to cancel Thanksgiving — here’s all her nuttiest takes ahead of pivotal Wisconsin primary.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/10/us-news/dsa-darling-francesca-hong-doesnt-just-want-to-cancel-thanksgiving-all-her-nuttiest-takes-ahead-of-pivotal-wisconsin-primary/
— Democratic socialists will act like communists once elected.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/10/opinion/fresh-proof-that-democratic-socialists-will-act-like-communists-once-elected/
— Judge Wayne Ozzi derails Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax. DD: I had a second home in the Outer Drive East building in downtown Chicago 1974-1978, but only because I would have had to suffer a big loss if I had sold my University Park townhome.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/10/opinion/judge-squelches-mamdanis-enemies-list-but-the-socialists-have-still-put-you-on-notice/
AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE
— Do Hegseth’s Reforms to Military Universities Go Far Enough? Wokeness isn’t the only problem at war colleges and service academies.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/do-hegseths-reforms-to-military-universities-go-far-enough/
BLAZE
— Socialism’s favorite bait-and-switch.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/socialisms-favorite-bait-and-switch
DAILY CALLER
— Woke 2
https://dailycaller.com/2026/08/11/duke-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-woke-1-crazy-francesca-hong/
DAILY SIGNAL
— Far-Left Democrats Lose to Far-Far-Left DSA Challengers.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/08/10/far-left-democrats-far-far-left-dsa-challengers/
DAILY WIRE
— America’s Professors Break Century-Long Precedent To Go Full Socialist.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/americas-professors-break-century-long-precedent-to-go-full-socialist
FOX BUSINESS
— Let’s not punish the rich.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6403158657112
FOX NEWS
— Socialist tax-the-rich plan to face NY judge. DD: Who wants you to pay more taxes and why? My critics/opponents have always wanted me to pay more taxes. Their justifications include a) my having avoided the Vietnam War draft, b) my having worked for the Post Office 1966-1969, for IRS 1971-1980, and for GAO 1980-1997, c) my being a federal retiree since 1997, d) my getting promotions in 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1986, e) my wife and I giving up trying to have children without trying IVF, our not adopting, and our not becoming foster parents, and f) me and my wife having itemized. According to my critics/opponents, I have always had more income because I benefit from discrimination against those who share their demographics.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403179217112
— Will Wisconsin be the place that stops socialism?
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403165635112
— Mamdani clashes with Democratic Socialists’ push to abolish police and prisons. DD: Of course, criminals vote for socialist candidates.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/mamdani-clashes-democratic-socialists-push-abolish-police-prisons
GREENWALD
— The tactic of AOC and her allies to giggle away the ‘craziness’ of Woke-era abuses should not be tolerated. The so-called “Woke 1” period is not something to laugh off. It was a repressive and destructive mob rule which unjustly destroyed careers and requires a reckoning.
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/the-tactic-of-aoc-and-her-allies
HERITAGE FOUNDATION
— Some Migrants Hate America on Arrival.
https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/commentary/some-migrants-hate-america-arrival
INSTITUTE FOR FAMILY STUDIES
— It’s still not good for man to be alone. New research on the state of men in America shows the benefits of marriage, family, and work.
https://wng.org/opinions/its-still-not-good-for-man-to-be-alone-1786340259
JONATHAN TURLEY
— “Niceness as Whiteness”: Professors Denounce Niceness as White Privilege.
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/08/11/niceness-as-whiteness-professors-denounce-niceness-as-perpetuating-white-privilege/comment-page-1/amp/
NEWSMAX
— Democrats Are Embracing Communism.
https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/russell-fry-democrats-communism/2026/08/10/id/1265670/
— ICE Arrests Hit Record Highs.
https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/tom-homan-newsmax-ice/2026/08/10/id/1265685/
TOWNHALL
— Congress Can Still Act on Birthright Citizenship.
https://townhall.com/columnists/jeremy-beck/2026/08/11/congress-can-still-act-on-birthright-citizenship-n2680998
— A Staten Island judge has blocked a tax hike on second homes proposed by Mamdani. DD: I had a second home in the Outer Drive East building in downtown Chicago 1974-1978, but only because I would have had to suffer a big loss if I had sold my University Park townhome.
https://townhall.com/news/josephchalfant/2026/08/10/new-york-judges-halts-mamdanis-aggressive-socialist-policy-n2681015
— Wisconsin Will Stop the Socialist Wave.
https://townhall.com/news/amy-curtis/2026/08/10/tom-tiffany-wisconsin-will-stop-socialism-n2680967
— Did Abdul El-Sayed Really Say This About White Truck Drivers?
https://townhall.com/news/amy-curtis/2026/08/10/abdul-el-sayed-afraid-of-white-truck-drivers-n2680973
WESTERN JOURNAL
— The House’s Push to Purge LGBT Propaganda from Children’s Shows.
https://www.westernjournal.com/houses-push-purge-lgbt-propaganda-childrens-shows/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— DD: The more problems that Democrats and RINOs have, the more likely that they will a) blame capitalism for their problems and b) want socialism to solve their problems. What did you do to avoid problems? 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.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdSicnRRBC0
AOL
— Illinois breaks top 20 best states to live in. DD: The more of the following that you are, the better that Illinois is for you: liberal/moderate, Democrat, RINO, minority, female, younger, unmarried, LGBTQ, veteran, poor, non-Protestant, non-German American, have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time, and/or are in America illegally.
https://www.aol.com/articles/study-illinois-breaks-top-20-175518000.html
NEW YORK TIMES
— Homeland Security Intensifies Pursuit of Noncitizens on Voter Rolls.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/10/us/politics/noncitizens-vote-crackdown.html
— Women’s Share of Top Military Promotions Falls as Hegseth Blocks Nominees. DD: All my coworkers who were women and 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) no professional license like the one I had.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/upshot/military-promotions-women-hegseth.html
— Now Coming to a Black Media Outlet Near You: Mayor Mamdani. Zohran Mamdani’s “all of the above” media strategy, which encompasses ethnic media, influencers and content creators, has led to a recent Black media blitz. DD: Everyone sees how the following treat me and treat my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters: past and present a) leaders of the Milton Township Republican Organization, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, Illinois Republican Party, TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois, and Illinois Center Right Coalition, b) Republican leaders of Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois, c) Republican candidates on ballots in my precinct, d) conservative leaders, and e) religious leaders.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/09/nyregion/black-media-mamdani.html
WASHINGTON POST
— Trump administration takes aim at website listing diversity scholarships. DD: My critics/opponents have always used my not getting scholarships against me.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/08/10/trump-administration-takes-aim-website-listing-diversity-scholarships/
USA TODAY
— $110,000 needed to afford a typical US home in 2026. DD: What did you do to buy your first home? 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 and the down payment would have been about $36,000. 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.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2026/08/05/income-needed-afford-typical-us-home-2026-redfin-report/91185869007/
— As Trump drastically rolls back rules for Head Start, some Republicans are wary. DD: My critics/opponents have always used my parents’ sending me to kindergarten at Trinity Lutheran Grade School in Crete in 1953 to falsely hint/imply/argue/shout that they were filthy rich.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/09/head-start-trump-rfk-jr-preschool-senate-republicans-alarmed/91213407007/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong’s Wisconsin Primary Lead Alarms Establishment Democrats. Party insiders worry Hong would lose the general election for governor in November.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/democratic-socialist-francesca-hongs-wisconsin-primary-lead-alarms-establishment-democrats-e3b9a1ce
— How to Plan for the Staggering Costs of Fertility Treatments. The amount of money spent can rival a house purchase or college tuition. It’s crucial for couples to figure out the financial equation ahead of time. DD: In 1989, my Democrat GAO superiors pulled out all the stops to get rid of me. That included their viciously demonizing, denigrating, and condemning me for my wife and I giving up trying to have children without trying IVF. They stressed that my wife’s health insurance covered the costs. They ignored/dismissed/belittled our doctor’s advising against it because we both had major fertility problems. They viciously demonized, denigrated, and condemned our not adopting and our not becoming foster parents. They painted themselves as being grossly underpaid. They decried the time and money they spent raising their children. They decried the little or no income that their wives had.
https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/fertility-treatment-costs-planning-976703b7
FORTUNE
— We have a happiness-segregated society by marriage. DD: My Democrat IRS superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates were furious when I got married when I was 29 in 1978. To get rid of me, they had ever-increasingly painted me as being so bad that I would never get married. They were especially furious because my wife had a good job. SEE: https://gopillinois.com/documents/
https://fortune.com/2026/08/10/americans-unhappy-marriage-rates-peltzman/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The first instinct is to blame money, but Peltzman says it’s not that simple. Yes, while grocery bills and gas prices have soared, blaming the affordability crisis would make sense if the unhappiest Americans were the ones getting squeezed hardest. But Peltzman’s data says the opposite. The people who fell furthest after 2020 were the ones who had the most going in: white, high-income, college-educated, right-leaning Americans. “The affordability business is not an upper-income kind of concern,” he said. “It’s a lower-income kind of concern, and the upper-income people have been hit hardest in the happiness crash. “Any story which says that it’s inequality,” Peltzman said, “those kind of stories are not consistent with the facts.” ‘We have a happiness-segregated society by marriage’ Married people are still, on net, happy. Unmarried people, about 45% of American adults, are now, on net, unhappy. “The only people who are positive, where there’s a clear positive balance in happiness, are married people,” Peltzman said. “We have a happiness-segregated society by marriage.” The obvious next question is whether this is just the marriage rate falling and the crash is only picking that up. It isn’t. The marriage rate itself hasn’t moved in 15 years: “It’s 55/45, and it’s been that way,” Peltzman said. Marriage rates did decline for decades, from the 1970s through the early 2000s, and in an earlier paper, Peltzman found that decline explained most of the happiness slide that came before the pandemic. But that slide had already leveled off well before 2020. The country’s split between married and unmarried adults going into the crash is the same split as today. What changed was not how many people are married, but how much worse it now feels to be unmarried, while married people mostly held their ground.)
— Jamie Dimon says Gen Z is wrong to give up on the American Dream—but admits it’s dying for the bottom 20% of households. DD: Neither of my parents attended college. My father was only the first of my ancestors to earn a high school diploma. He 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, My mother never attended high school. All my grandparent spoke German. I had to work my way through college.
https://fortune.com/2026/08/10/jamie-dimon-gen-z-giving-up-american-dream-wrong-understandable/?ref=biztoc.com
BUSINESS INSIDER
— Job loss. DD: After my Democrat GAO forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997, I soon gave up searching for a job appropriate for someone with my work experience, education, professional certification, and professional license because my Democrat GAO superiors had damaged me so much. Prior to their forcing me to retire, they had a) always ranked me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance, c) delayed my promotions and never promoted me beyond GS-13, d) kept me off audits of IRS for all but 3 of the almost 13 years that I worked for GAO, and e) forced me to take a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO in 1980.
https://www.businessinsider.com/laid-off-single-mom-part-time-garden-new-perspective-2026-8
WEEK
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote socialism.
https://theweek.com/politics/should-democrats-embrace-democratic-socialists
FLORIDA POLITICS
— Super PAC’s new CD 19 ads warn voters: Don’t let Catalina Lauf ‘Illinois our Florida.’ In the Republican Primary to succeed U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, “Illinois” is now a verb. A week after loading three out-of-state candidates into an AI-generated clown car, Southwest Florida First is back with ads aimed at just one of them: Catalina Lauf. DD: My critics/opponents in DuPage County have always stressed that I did not move to DuPage County until I was 29 in 1978.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/812570-super-pacs-new-cd-19-ads-warn-voters-dont-let-catalina-lauf-illinois-our-florida/
ALTERNET
— Former GOP chair Michael Steele: Republicans are socialists — but only for themselves.
https://www.alternet.org/trump-farmers-2677684186/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: President Donald Trump is accusing Democrats of being “communists” and “socialists,” but as a former Republican National Committee chair pointed out on Monday, he supports socialist policies… as long as they benefit Republican constituencies like farmers. “People fundamentally do not understand socialism,” MS NOW commentator and former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele said on Monday. “They do not understand communism. What is it — the median grade level in the United States is eighth grade. Okay? We’re not teaching civics. We’re not teaching world history. We’re not teaching the fundamentals of how all of this comes together. So these terms from the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s are being thrown out into the ecosystem.” He then mentioned Trump’s proposed $17.3 billion bailout to farmers, a group that has been disproportionately economically harmed by his tariffs, his mass deportations and his war against Iran. “Y’all know the Farm Bill is socialism; y’all know that, right?” Steele said.)
LAW
— DD: Democrats and RINOs use Affirmative Action and DEI to get rid of Republicans.
https://www.law.com/article/almID/900005518698/
— STOP THE CLOCK ON AGE RETIREMENTS. DD: Federal employees under the Civil Service Retirement System and who are the following are forced to retire as soon as they are eligible, that is, when they are 55 and have 30 years of service: conservative, Republican, White, male, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time. I am all of the aforesaid. I became eligible for early retirement when I was 45 in 1993. My Democrat GAO succeeded in forcing me to retire when I was 49 in 1997 when their early retirement “offer” expired. I would not have been eligible for regular retirement until I was 55 in 2003. They made it very clear that if I did not take their “offer,” they would make those 6 years a living hell for me. They would constructively demote me, give me adverse transfers, give me unfair performance expectations, give me unfair performance appraisals, and even worse things. SEE: https://www.law.com/article/almID/53G5-97S1-JBM3-R0DM-00000-00/https://gopillinois.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DiersenGAOFifthAmendedComplaint.pdf
FED SMITH
— Beyond One Senate Race: What AFGE’s Endorsement Reveals About Federal Employee Unions. AFGE’s endorsement of Abdul El-Sayed highlights the political role of federal employee unions and raises questions about representing a non-partisan workforce. DD: Virtually all federal employees are 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. Many if not most of them a) paint themselves as being “in need” and b) blame Republicans for their many problems. While I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government for almost 30 years, none of my coworkers did what I did. I earned a) three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance), b) six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and c) a job-related professional license (CPA).
https://www.fedsmith.com/2026/08/10/afge-endorsement-federal-unions-senate-race/
PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE
— Civil Service Protections. DD: Democrats run the federal government. 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. 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 to GAO when I was 31 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://ourpublicservice.org/know-the-facts/blog/merit-systems-protection-board-mspb-removal-conditions-retaliation-protections
HIGHER EDUCATION DIVE
— Elite colleges are returning to the SAT and ACT. Will others follow? Top-ranked colleges and the Trump administration are embracing the exams, but that doesn’t mean test-optional policies are falling out of favor everywhere. DD: UIC would not have accepted in 1966 if my ACT score had not been 24 and I had not graduated in the upper 20% of my class.
https://www.highereddive.com/news/elite-colleges-are-returning-to-the-sat-and-act-will-others-follow/827299/
DAILY KOS
— DD: Democrat leaders continue to reject the fact that in 2024, voters elected Trump and gave control of the House and Senate to Republicans.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/8/10/800082538/community/forget-the-socialist-scare-americas-crisis-is-capitalism-without-democracy/
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 4, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— Chicago mayoral contenders trade early jabs as 2027 race begins to take shape. Some mayoral candidates are also seeking reelection in their current positions.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/voters-react-illinois-secretary-state-alexi-giannoulias-joins-crowded-race-chicago-mayor/19619412/
NBC5
— Nearly 20% of Illinois federal student loan holders now in default. DD: What percent of those who took out student loans had no intent of paying those loans back? I never sought a student loan or got a student loan. I worked my way through college. Because of that, my GPA suffered. That harmed my job searches. Students who took out student loan should be expected to have much higher GPAs than those who had to work their way through college.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/nearly-20-of-illinois-federal-student-loan-holders-now-in-default/3970188/
CBS2
— Chicago’s own Mamdani? Behind DSA’s fight to elect socialists to City Council first.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicago-mamdani-effect-dsa-election-socialism/
WTTW
— Who Is Running, or Thinking About Running, to Become Chicago’s Next Mayor. DD: If you ran for an office, which of your qualifications would you stress? I would stress a) my having worked for GAO for almost 18 years, the last 11 years of which at the GS-13 Step 1-10 Levels, currently $118,984-$154,682/year, b) my having worked for IRS 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, c) my having become a licensed CPA and a certified public accountant, internal auditor, fraud examiner, government financial manager, financial services auditor, and forensic accountant, and d) my having earned master’s degrees in business, accounting, and finance.
https://news.wttw.com/2026/06/30/who-running-or-thinking-about-running-become-chicago-s-next-mayor
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The former cardiologist and whistleblower launched a bid for Chicago mayor July 7. Nee began her career as a nurse and later became an interventional cardiologist. While working at Hines VA Hospital, Nee spoke out about failures in patient care that put veterans at risk. The Humboldt Park native said her priorities include making Chicago affordable for working families; trusted leadership for a safer city; and fiscal responsibility that protects the next generation from inherited debt. “I think the qualifications start with being a lifelong Chicagoan,” Nee said. “The other qualifications, though, have followed me on the journey from nurse to physician to whistleblower, breast cancer survivor, going into corporate, health equity and now really wanting to lead the city. I think it’s a combination of all of those things that you learn to navigate difficult situations but also learn where your leverage is and who your stakeholders are to get things solved for people.”)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— More Americans are saying no to alcohol.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/03/editorial-more-americans-are-saying-no-to-alcohol-so-too-is-new-federal-guidance/
CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— DD: Democrats and RINOs ever-increasingly use Affirmative Action and DEI to get rid of Republicans.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/opinion/commentary/ccb-baird-diversity-oped-20260803/
— Illinois ranks second to last in U.S. on building new housing. DD: It is not zoned residential, but new car condos are being built west of Iron Gate Motor Condos in Naperville. SEE: https://www.irongatemotorcondos.com/
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/real-estate/residential/ccb-illinois-homebuilding-ranking-20260804/
ILLINOIS VALLEY
— Republican gubernatorial candidate Bailey coming to Mendota Sweet Corn Fest. La Salle County GOP hosting campaign event, America 250 celebration Aug. 9.
https://www.shawlocal.com/illinois-valley/2026/08/03/republican-gubernatorial-candidate-bailey-coming-to-mendota-sweet-corn-fest/
BLACK CHRONICLE
— Burr Ridge mayor OK to sue rival’s consultant over campaign tax claims.
https://blackchronicle.com/politics/burr-ridge-mayor-ok-to-sue-rivals-consultant-over-campaign-tax-claims/
BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO
— The Chicago Mayor’s Race Is Heating Up. Here’s Who Is Running So Far. Mayor Brandon Johnson hasn’t formally said if he’s running for a second term, but a dozen candidates have already launched campaigns ahead of 2027’s election.
https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/08/03/who-is-running-for-chicago-mayor/
IPM NEWS
— GOP U.S. Senate candidate Don Tracy talks abortion, ICE shootings, and Iran war on 21st Show.
https://ipmnewsroom.org/gop-u-s-senate-candidate-don-tracy-talks-abortion-ice-shootings-and-iran-war-on-21st-show/
COD COURIER
— Rising Transportation Costs Create New Challenges for College of DuPage Commuters. Higher gas prices are creating financial challenges for College of DuPage (COD) students who rely on commuting to campus. DD: With money I earned washing dishes and delivering mail, I bought new cars in 1966, 1967, and 1968 to commute to classes at UIC and NIU from my parents’ home in Crete.
https://codcourier.org/rising-transportation-costs-create-new-challenges-for-college-of-dupage-commuters/
POLITICO ILLINOIS
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/08/04/illinois-dems-michigan-mission-01023014
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/03/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-569/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— Rivals question Giannoulias’ dual runs for office.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_048862ef-f6b3-4790-a5f0-a37a0a3bce58.html
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Judge blocks New York’s anti-ICE mask law but preserves law barring cooperation on ICE arrests.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/4/judge-blocks-new-yorks-anti-ice-mask-law-preserves-law-barring/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Obama, the red Trojan horse: How the ‘change’ president mainstreamed Marxism.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4672366/communism-rise-america-obama/
— Highly credentialed, underemployed, and furious: Meet the DSA. DD: 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 (management) bachelor’s degree, three job-related (business, accounting, and finance) master’s degrees, six job-related (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting) professional certifications, and a job-related (CPA) professional license. 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://www.washingtonexaminer.com/in_focus/4672701/credentialed-underemployed-underpaid-furious-dsa-urban-areas-minority-within-minority/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: According to a 2021 DSA survey, the median respondent is 33. More than 80% of members over 25 hold at least a bachelor’s degree. Median household income falls between $60,000 and $80,000, while 45% earn under $60,000, more than double the comparable share among college graduates nationally. These are not traditional blue-collar workers. Many are teachers, scholars, nonprofit employees, or technology workers. They followed higher education’s script and found the promised rewards had diminished. The DSA does not measure homeownership, but ownership rates are likely below already-depressed national averages for young adults, concentrated as members are concentrated in some of the U.S.’s most expensive metropolitan areas. The survey’s broader demographic profile is revealing. Seventy-seven percent identify as white alone, down from 96% in 2013. Sixty-four percent are male, 27% female, and 10% non-binary. Thirty-two percent identify as LGBT. Sixty percent describe themselves as agnostic or atheist. Only 21% belong to a union, down from 31% in 2013, and just 5% have military service, concentrated in the organization’s oldest members.)
WASHINGTON FREE BEACON
— Extremist Michigan Imam Urges Followers To Turn Out for Abdul El-Sayed: ‘Deal the Zionist a Blow’
https://freebeacon.substack.com/p/extremist-michigan-imam-urges-followers
NEW YORK POST
— Anti-American socialists trying to hijack the Democrat Party.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/03/us-news/dem-rep-josh-gottheimer-rips-anti-american-socialists-trying-to-hijack-party/
AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
— States Can Strengthen Families and Fight Welfare Dependence and Fraud.
https://www.aei.org/commentary/states-can-strengthen-families-and-fight-welfare-dependence-and-fraud/
BREITBART
— American Manufacturing Expands At Fastest Pace Since 2022.
https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2026/08/03/american-manufacturing-expands-at-fastest-pace-since-2022/amp/
DAILY CALLER
— State-Run Visa Scheme Offering Amnesty To Illegals.
https://dailycaller.com/2026/08/03/john-curtis-state-visa-bill-amnesty-illegal-immigrants/
FOX BUSINESS
— This is what socialism is really about.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6402734779112
FOX NEWS
— Americans are going to realize how ‘destructive’ socialism is.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6402735785112
BREITBART
— Trump’s DHS Arresting Average of 1,500 Illegals Every Day in U.S.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/03/report-trumps-dhs-arresting-average-of-1500-illegal-aliens-every-day-in-u-s/amp/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC NEWS
— 2 DOGE staffers say ‘no’ regrets for people losing income, didn’t reduce the deficit: Depositions. The DOGE employees defended the effort to cut “useless agencies.” 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://abcnews.com/Politics/2-doge-staffers-regrets-people-losing-income-reduce/story?id=131050170
— Hegseth blocks promotion of several Navy officers to 1-star rank. DD: My Democrat GAO superiors a) forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997, b) blocked my promotion to GS-14, c) delayed my promotion to GS-13, and d) forced me to take a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars, a demotion from GS-12 Step 5 down to GS-9 Step 10, to transfer from IRS to GAO in 1980. My Democrat IRS superiors blocked my promotion to GS-13. My Democrat Post Office superiors blocked my promotion to GS-5 and forced me to resign when I was 20 in 1966.
https://abcnews.com/Politics/hegseth-blocks-promotion-navy-officers-1-star-rank/story?id=133498412
CBS NEWS
— 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.wwaytv3.com/democrats-in-congress-demand-training-vetting-information-on-ice-agent-who-killed-immigrant-in-maine/
NEW YORK TIMES
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote socialism.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/us/politics/democratic-socialists-midterms-democrats-republicans.html
WASHINGTON POST
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2026/08/03/ice-begins-outfitting-haitian-immigrants-with-ankle-monitors-attorneys-say/
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote socialism.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/08/03/amid-democratic-socialist-surge-dsa-asks-itself-whats-next/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— How Democratic Socialists Are Shaking Up the Midterms.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/how-democratic-socialists-are-shaking-up-the-midterms-c3e5e6c2
— Trump Has Discussed Ousting Jeanine Pirro After Reflecting Pool U-Turn. The U.S. attorney in D.C. and longtime ally of the president had dropped criminal charges over damage to the pool. DD: Who has ousted you from what? I should write about my critics/opponents who had their operatives and their dupes oust me a) as an Illinois Republican Party State Convention Platform and Resolutions Committee member in in 2024, b) as the Republican fundraiser for Wheaton Independence Day parades and fireworks in 2021, c) as the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairman in 2012, d) as an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee member in 2007, e) as the Milton Township Republican Organization webmaster in 2010 and 2004, f) as a GAO employee in 1997, and g) as a Post Office employee in 1969.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-says-jeanine-pirro-folded-like-an-umbrella-in-reflecting-pool-case-89a06be2
FORTUNE
— DD: Were you overpaid? According to my critics/opponents, I was always grossly overpaid. They have always been furious that while I was a union member when I was a postal employee for almost 3 years 1966-1969 and then an IRS employee for almost 9 years 1971-1980, my salary increased from $19.57/hour to $113,402/year in today’s dollars. In my defense, during that time, I earned a bachelor’s degree in business, I earned an MBA, I passed the CPA examination on my first attempt, and I almost completed the requirements for a master’s degree in accounting. In today’s dollars, my IRS salary was $56,409/year when I was 22 in 1971, $68,999/year when I was 23, $83,482/year when I was 24, $100,059/year when I was 25, and $113,402/year when I was 31. In today’s dollars, my GAO salary was $89,703/year when I was 31, $118,984/year when I was 38, and $154,682/year when I was 49. I earned a master’s degree in accounting when I was 31. I passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt and became a licensed CPA when I was 32. I earned four more job-related professional certifications when I was 41, 45, 47, and 48. I earned a master’s degree in finance when I was 48. 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 am none of the aforesaid.
https://fortune.com/2026/08/03/one-bad-pay-decision-can-cost-a-company-more-than-10000-per-employee-new-research-finds/
FORBES
— Empty Suit Syndrome. DD: In its February 1978 4-page article on me ( https://gopillinois.com/documents/ ), Money Magazine hinted/implied/argued/shouted that I was grossly overpaid, that is, that IRS had promoted me far too fast. IRS had a) hired me when I was 22 in 1971 as a GS-7 Revenue Officer (currently $56,409/year), b) promoted me to GS-9 (currently $68,999/year) when I was 23, c) promoted me to GS-11 (currently $83,482/year) when I was 24, d) promoted me to GS-12 (currently $100,059/year) when I was 25, and e) promoted me to GS-12 Step 4 (currently $110,066/year) when I was 29. Constructively, Money Magazine ignored/dismissed/belittled the fact that I had a) earned a bachelor’s degree in management when I was 21, b) passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination when I was 21, c) earned an MBA when I was 27, and d) completed seven graduate evening accounting courses. Money Magazine would not have done that if I had been a Democrat, minority, female, and/or veteran.
https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbescoachescouncil/2021/09/22/empty-suit-syndrome-why-it-is-wise-to-challenge-vertical-career-growth/
BLOOMBERG LAW
— Chicago Democratic Socialist Sues to Make Congressional Ballot.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/chicago-democratic-socialist-sues-to-make-congressional-ballot
JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTANCY
— If you possess the skill, smarts, and persistence to become a licensed CPA, that should be something to celebrate and declare in your business dealings. The CPA license is a powerful, proven differentiator — a mark of public trust, professional rigor, and long-term career value. DD: Ever since I became a licensed CPA when I was 32 in 1981, my critic/opponents have ignored, dismissed, and belittled that.
https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2025/may/display-that-cpa/
NAPLES DAILY NEWS
— Meet Congressional District 19 hopeful Jim Oberweis ahead of election.
https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/08/04/florida-election-congress-district-19-candidate-oberweis/90938556007/
LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL
— The inadequacy of opposing socialism.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/opinion-columns/victor-joecks/victor-joecks-the-inadequacy-of-opposing-socialism-3858119/
CATHOLIC REVIEW
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly hint/imply/argue/shout that Jesus condemns the concepts of countries, borders, and laws.
https://catholicreview.org/america-at-250-we-must-remember-we-are-still-a-nation-of-immigrants/
NPR
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5910714
CIVIC MEDIA
— DD: According to past and present leaders of the Milton Township Republican Organization, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, Illinois Republican Party, TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois, Illinois Center Right coalition, etc., I have always been too conservative, I am too conservative, and I always be too conservative. They reject some, many, most, if not virtually all conservative principles and planks in the Republican Party platform. Most commonly, they reject 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. They are really anti-conservative if not conservative-haters. I should write about those who have taken the most/biggest adverse actions against me.
https://civicmedia.us/news/2026/08/03/how-wisconsins-sore-loser-law-protects-the-two-party-system
AXIOS & PSYCHOLOGY TODAY
— Blind loyalty. 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.axios.com/2026/06/26/trump-senate-republicans-blind-loyalty
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/insight-therapy/202504/eyes-wide-shut-the-temptation-of-blind-loyalty
FROM FOREIGN SOURCES
INDIAN EXPRESS
— 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://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/a-strong-woman-is-not-marriage-material-neena-gupta-reveals-that-95-of-men-want-women-who-are-helpless-10462475/
August 2, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Judge rules Illinois not required to turn over voter rolls to Feds. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly fight efforts to stop voter fraud.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/01/judge-rules-illinois-not-required-to-turn-over-voter-rolls-to-feds/
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly use MLK to promote more hatred against Republicans, that is, to get more votes from Blacks.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/01/marchers-return-to-marquette-park-60-years-after-historic-mlk-visit/
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH BIG PICTURE: DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/02/dick-durbin-retiring-dream-act/
— Financially plan ahead for having children. DD: In anticipation of our having children, when my wife and I got married, we lived on just one of our salaries. But because we both had major fertility problems, we gave up trying to have children without trying IVF. We did not adopt or become foster parents. My Democrat GAO superiors used that against me viciously. They decried the time and money that they spent raising their children. They decried their wives having little or no income. They ever-increasingly demonized, denigrated, and condemned my wife and I as being selfish disgustingly rich DINKs. They would not have done that if I had been a Democrat, minority, female, or veteran. I should write about Democrat GAO superiors.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/07/27/jill-on-money-managing-the-high-cost-of-kids/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/letters-to-the-editor/2026/08/01/dhs-ice-durbin-retail-immigrants-children-race-riot-1919-flooding-healthcare-joliet-ac
— DD: Democrats and RINOs use Affirmative Action and DEI to get rid of Republicans.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2026/08/01/dei-black-consumers-businesses-diversity-equity-inclusion-marc-morial
EDWARDSVILLE INTELLIGENCER
— Illinois election law gives political parties too much power over voters.
https://www.theintelligencer.com/opinion/article/illinois-open-primary-ballot-access-22360592.php
ADVANTAGE NEWS
— State Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterich, praises federal ruling blocking in-state tuition benefits for students in U.S. illegally.
https://www.advantagenews.com/news/local/illinois-lawmaker-praises-federal-ruling-blocking-in-state-tuition-benefits-for-students-in-u-s/article_1411a678-6da5-4545-8de2-672fa0b371c5.html
CITIES 92.9
— Parental rights concerns raised after Illinois expands minors’ access to birth control. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more LGBTQ.
https://www.cities929.com/2026/08/01/parental-rights-concerns-raised-after-illinois-expands-minors-access-to-birth-control/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Democratic socialist is socialist, and socialist is communist.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/1/democratic-socialist-socialist-socialist-communist/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— The Heritage Foundation still leads the conservative movement. DD: According to my critics/opponents, I have always been too conservative because I promote the following planks in the Republican Party platform: personal responsibility, traditional marriage and family, right to life, immigration, anti-vice, Second Amendment, and equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks. My critics/opponents reject some, many, most, virtually all, if not all of the aforesaid planks.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/4421947/heritage-foundation-still-leads-conservative-movement/
— American citizenship is being exploited.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4669902/birthright-citizenship-legal-immigration-exploited-reinforce-citizenship-significance/
— The Peter Pan generation chooses pets. DD: My former neighbor Dr. Dan Kiley wrote the Peter Pan Syndrome. SEE: https://www.amazon.com/Peter-Pan-Syndrome-Never-Grown/dp/0380688905
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/premium/4667440/peter-pan-generation-chooses-pets-over-children/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Accusations of Peter Pan syndrome have long dogged Generation Z and millennials. And young Americans have given their critics fresh ammunition: they prefer pets to children during their prime family-forming years. A new Harris Poll revealed that 40% of Americans selected pets when forced to choose. Make no mistake: respondents were also offered the option of having both children and pets, which 39% chose. Still, the plurality of Americans who would rather forgo children altogether is cause for concern. Young Americans are apprehensive about marriage and family. As previously reported, Americans believe 26.5 is the ideal age for marriage and that married couples should have their first child a year later. But the median age at first marriage has risen to 28.6 for women and 30.2 for men, years beyond Americans’ preferred timeline for marriage and family. In other words, there is a schism between the family timeline Americans consider ideal and the one they can achieve. Alas, 45% of those who prefer pets believe they are currently incapable of raising children. Some see pets as a cheaper alternative to children. But many more have resigned themselves: just over half of Gen Z and millennials who are not parents “have thought about building a life around pets instead of having children.” Amid a growing number of chronically single Americans, 49% of pet owners rely on their animals for the companionship they no longer seek from a significant other. Americans believe the rite of homeownership should precede child-rearing. In fact, young Americans view their inability to afford a home as an obstacle to forming families. Half of adults ages 18 to 26 consider a fenced backyard essential when buying a home — a nod to the traditional vision of a home, a white picket fence, and two and a half children. Curiously, their fervor for spacious yards does not extend to children’s playrooms or double sinks in primary bathrooms. Why? Renters offer a clue. City dwellers have developed a new fixation beyond the coveted dishwasher or in-unit laundry. They now seek “pet-friendly” apartments. More than a third organize birthday parties, subscribe to monthly care packages, and purchase strollers for their furry friends. Pet-friendly cafes and “bark mitzvahs” are increasingly common. Hotels offer “dog butlers” and canine treats on holiday menus. And yet, the same childless pet owners roll their eyes at toddlers crying in restaurants or on airplanes. They would like more “adults-only” options for dining and vacations. Almost two-thirds of Gen Z and millennials opt for home cooking, and many give up pricey grocery brands and other creature comforts to afford pet expenses. Perhaps financial responsibility has found an unlikely instructor. Despite economic pressures, the American Pet Products Association reports that Gen Z and millennials remain steadfast in their commitment to pet ownership. But can young pet owners actually balance their books? About 30% are carrying pet-related debt, compared with 14% among Generation X and baby boomers. Worse, nearly a third say they have “delayed paying off debt,” 4 in 10 say they take on extra work to afford their pets, and a quarter skip medical appointments to cover pet expenses. It is no wonder that a supermajority of pet owners would claim their pets as dependents if legally permitted and demand tax breaks for expenses similar to child-related deductions. Amanda Reynolds, a New York City resident, filed a lawsuit against the IRS in June of last year. She claimed that her golden retriever, Finnegan, meets the functional criteria for defining dependents. The IRS, she argued, violated the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause because the agency unfairly treats taxpayers with nonhuman dependents. Rest assured: young Americans are capable of responsibility, sacrifice, and concern for something beyond themselves. Don’t parents seek housing best suited to their children? Don’t they budget for clothes, toys, and treats, and celebrate birthdays? Parents often feel squeezed, taking on debt to ensure that their children’s childhoods remain carefree. I grant your objection: children are not pets. But devotion is no symptom of Peter Pan syndrome, either. Young Americans are marrying later than they would like. The age of first-time homebuyers has risen well beyond the age at which they would like to have their first child. Young Americans’ parental instincts toward their pets prove that they are capable of caring for others. Conservatives must offer solutions in earnest, not patronize them as overgrown children.)
AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
— Wokeness in Higher Education Is Still Alive and Kicking. DD: I avoided Democrat indoctrination by majoring in business, accounting, and finance.
https://www.aei.org/commentary/wokeness-in-higher-education-is-still-alive-and-kicking/
— American Men Need to Start Taking More 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.aei.org/multimedia/american-men-need-to-start-taking-more-personal-responsibility/
AMERICAN THINKER
— Victim/Oppressor Golf. Who knew golfing, skydiving, and scuba diving were a “white” thing?
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/victim-oppressor-golf/
BREITBART
— Trump Admin Cancels 28,000 Trucker Licenses Held by Illegal Aliens.
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/08/01/trump-admin-cancels-28000-trucker-licenses-held-by-illegal-aliens/
DAILY SIGNAL
— Victor Davis Hanson: The Socialist Monster Awakens.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/08/01/socialist-monster-awakens/
— Mamdani’s Tax List Reveals the Dark Side of Socialist Class Warfare. DD: To get more votes from those who have less money than others, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more class warfare.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/07/28/mamdani-tax-list-socialist-class-warfare/
FOX NEWS
— Trump admin’s push to scrap DEI in federal government takes landmark step with new hiring rule. DD: The Democrats who ran the Post Office in 1966, IRS in 1971, and GAO in 1980 hired me because they could not find a qualified Democrat, minority, female, younger person, or veteran who would take the job.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-admin-push-scrap-dei-federal-government-landmark-step-new-hiring-rule
— Senate Republican pushes merit-based military promotions, targets Biden-era DEI policies. Jim Banks’ measure would refocus promotion boards on merit and replace DEI training with military values instruction.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-republican-pushes-merit-based-military-promotions-targets-biden-era-dei-policies
HEARTLAND
— Class Warfare. DD: To get more votes from those who have less money than others, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more class warfare.
https://heartland.org/opinion/class-warfare/
NEW AMERICAN
— TV Is Too White, Woke Professor Claims — and It Intensifies White Kids’ Racism. DD: To get more votes from non-Whites, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more hatred against Whites.
https://thenewamerican.com/us/culture/tv-is-too-white-woke-professor-claims-and-it-intensifies-white-kids-racism/
OPM
— Merit-Based Federal Hiring and Restoring Accountability. DD: The Democrats who ran the Post Office in 1966, IRS in 1971, and GAO in 1980 hired me because they could not find a qualified Democrat, minority, female, younger person, or veteran who would take the job.
https://www.opm.gov/news/news-releases/icymi-opm-director-scott-kupor-discusses-merit-based-federal-hiring-and-restoring-accountability-on-the-ingraham-angle/
U.S. HOUSE
— DEI is Discriminatory and Illegal. DD: Democrats and RINOs use Affirmative Action and DEI to get rid of Republicans.
https://oversight.house.gov/release/hearing-wrap-up-dei-is-discriminatory-and-illegal/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— Class warfare is smoldering in America — and it’s about to catch fire. DD: To get more votes from those who have less money than others, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more class warfare.
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/5880610-working-class-anger-arson-wake-up/
ASSOCIATED PRESS
— DD: To get more votes from minorities, females, younger people, veterans. those who have less money than others, non-Protestants, non-German Americans, and those whose ancestors have not been in America for a long time, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly shout at those who are the aforesaid that Republicans cause all the problems that those who are the foresaid have.
https://philasun.com/week-in-review/urban-league-report-says-trump-administration-is-harming-black-americans-chances-at-american-dream/
NEW YORK TIMES
— It Wasn’t a ‘Civil War.’ It Was the Slaveholders’ Rebellion. DD: My critics/opponents have always used against me the fact that all my ancestors immigrated during the 1840s and 1850s. In their defense, I have always stressed that they always lived in northeast Illinois.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/opinion/civil-war-slaveholders-rebellion-slavery.html
— DD: To get more votes from non-Whites, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more hatred against Whites
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/opinion/elon-musk-far-right-remigration.html
— Heritage Foundation. DD: According to my critics/opponents, I have always been too conservative because I promote the following planks in the Republican Party platform: personal responsibility, traditional marriage and family, right to life, immigration, anti-vice, Second Amendment, and equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks. My critics/opponent reject some, many, most, virtually all, if not all of the aforesaid planks.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/magazine/heritage-foundation-trump-republicans.html
— Nike Was the Poster Child for Diversity Efforts. That Made It a Trump Target. DD: GAO was a poster child for political affiliation discrimination. That made it a target for Republican budget cuts.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/us/politics/nike-dei-trump-eeoc.html
— Are You a Jerk or a Sucker? Do only creeps or chumps still believe in the American dream? DD: What did you do to achieve the American Dream? I followed conservative principles. I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree and three job-related and master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/26/opinion/your-friends-and-neighbors-apple-tv.html
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: G.O.P. Kills Bid to Expand I.V.F. Access in the Military. DD: My Democrat GAO superiors 1980-1997 a) decried the time and money that they spent raising their children and b) decried the little or no income that their spouses had. They used against me big time a) my wife and I giving up trying to have children without trying IVF, our not adopting, and our not becoming foster parents and b) my wife’s good job. According to them, were it not for the aforesaid, we would not have been able to buy two new cars and a home in Wheaton when we got married in 1978 and I would not have been able a) to pass the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979, b) to take a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO in 1980, c) to earn a master’s degree in accounting in 1980, d) to pass the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt in 1981, e) to become a licensed CPA in 1981, and f) to have a home built in Wheaton in 1984. 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 knew full-well that both my wife and I had major fertility problems. Should write about my Democrat GAO superiors?
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/us/politics/gop-ivf-military.html
LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL
— What happened to 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.reviewjournal.com/opinion/letters/letter-whatever-happened-to-personal-responsibility-3732141/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— India’s Affirmative-Action Lesson for America. Quotas hold the country back, even as China’s meritocracy fuels its economic advancement.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/indias-affirmative-action-lesson-for-america-26f2dbaf
(FROM THE ARTICLE: India’s long-running debate about affirmative action has a new point of comparison: China. As Indians argue about expanding caste quotas in government jobs and public higher education, opponents of affirmative action want their country to learn from its northern neighbor. They compare India’s quota-ridden system—DEI on steroids—with China’s brutal meritocracy, which has produced economic and technological results that many Indians envy.)
BLOOMBERG LAW
— The Trump administration plans to dramatically reduce discrimination complaint processing options for federal workers, according to two people familiar with the proposal. 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://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/federal-worker-eeo-process-eyed-for-major-overhaul-in-trump-plan
FEDERAL NEWS NETWORK
— Essay questions on many federal job applications, asking candidates how they would advance the Trump administration’s policies. DD: For Democrats, the federal government exists to hire, retain, and promote Democrats who are minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time.
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/hiring-retention/2026/04/federal-job-applicants-cant-skip-loyalty-question-that-opm-says-is-optional-court-filings-claim/
— Trump administration tosses degree requirements. DD: If I had not earned a high school diploma and passed the 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.
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/hiring-retention/2026/04/trump-administration-tosses-degree-requirements-for-federal-it-managers/
FINANCIAL EXPRESS
— DD: To get more votes from non-Whites, Pritzker ever-increasingly promotes more hatred against Trump.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVLKVZ7Qq1Y
URBAN INSTITUTE
— DD: What are the biggest personal choices that you made? Mine include earning a job-related college degree even though no one saw me as being college material.
https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/poverty-results-structural-barriers-not-personal-choices-safety-net-programs-should-reflect-fact
BROOKINGS
— DD: What are the biggest personal choices that you made? Mine include earning a job-related college degree even though no one saw me as being college material.
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/following-the-success-sequence-success-is-more-likely-if-youre-white/
YALE INSIGHTS
— Are Leaders Responsible for Employee Wellbeing? DD: While I worked for the Democrats who ran the Post Office 1966-1969, IRS 1971-1980, and GAO 1980-1997, they ever-increasingly worked harder to get rid of me. They would not have done that if I had been a Democrat, minority, female, and/or veteran.
https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/are-leaders-responsible-for-employee-wellbeing
ATLANTIC
— DD: What are the biggest personal choices that you made? Mine include earning a job-related college degree even though no one saw me as being college material.
https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/07/get-out-of-poverty-success-sequence/566414/
POLITICO
— Heritage Foundation. DD: According to my critics/opponents, I have always been too conservative because I promote the following planks in the Republican Party platform: personal responsibility, traditional marriage and family, right to life, immigration, anti-vice, Second Amendment, and equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks. My critics/opponent reject some, many, most, virtually all, if not all of the aforesaid planks.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/08/01/heritage-foundation-young-republicans-groypers-hiring-01006937
NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER
— Vatican issues sweeping defense of traditional marriage. DD: My critics/opponents fail/refuse to promote traditional marriage.
https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-issues-sweeping-defense-traditional-marriage-pushing-back-polygamy
PSYCHOLOGY TODAY
— Sometimes, the best next step forward is a step back. DD: When I was 31 in 1980, to get promoted to GS-13, I took a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO. My Democrat IRS superiors had made it very clear that they would never promote me to GS-13 even though I had earned an MBA when I was 27 and had passed the CPA examination on my first attempt when I was 30. 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. They would not have done that if I had been a Democrat, minority, female, and/or veteran.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-awesome-career/202604/why-your-next-career-move-might-be-a-demotion
FROM FOREIGN SOURCES
MEAWW
— Hegseth: Meritocracy reigns supreme in the Pentagon. DD: To promote Affirmative Action and DEI is to dump meritocracy. 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 and/or b) who were minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time.
https://news.meaww.com/meritocracy-reigns-supreme-hegseths-pentagon-fires-back-after-mark-kellys-race-and-gender-claims
July 29, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Rep. Fred Crespo: Did Illinois’ Speaker of the House normalize sexual harassment?
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/29/opinion-illinois-house-speaker-sexual-harassment-emanuel-chris-welch/
— Milwaukee makes a bid for laid off Chicago Public Schools teachers. DD: While Republicans dramatically downsized GAO while I worked for it 1980-1997, employers did not bid for the GAO employees who were dumped. Those employees were overwhelmingly White, male, and/or older.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/28/milwaukee-seeks-cps-teachers/
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/28/operation-midway-blitz-lawsuit/
— JB Pritzker and Rahm Emanuel are on a collision course in the 2028 presidential race.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/29/column-jb-pritzker-rahm-emanuel-2028-presidential-race-washington/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— ALL OF THE FRONT PAGE: As Illinois House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch navigates a new crisis, an older scandal remains unresolved.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2026/07/28/illinois-house-speaker-emanuel-chris-welch-harry-benton-michael-j-madigan-sexual-harassment-inquiry
DAILY HERALD
— Schaumburg Township Republican Organization to hold annual picnic Aug. 2.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260728/local-politics/schaumburg-township-republican-organization-to-hold-annual-picnic-aug-2/
— Second arrest made in Wheaton carjacking.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260728/crime/second-arrest-made-in-wheaton-carjacking/
— FRONT PAGE WITH PICTURE: Around 170,000 ComEd customers remained without power Tuesday. As of 2:15 p.m., there were still 29,870 customers without power in DuPage County. 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/20260728/news/dupage-was-hit-hard-tornado-confirmed-in-glen-ellyn-straight-line-winds-strike-carol-stream-dow/
— The practical struggle for relevance: Campaign finance picture shows the challenge of being taken seriously.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260727/editorials/daily-herald-opinion-the-practical-struggle-for-relevance-campaign-finance-picture-shows-the-chall/
(FROM THE EDITORIAL: Our Russell Lissau’s campaign finance update for the November election last Sunday painted a grim picture for Republican candidates at the state and federal level in Illinois. Even more important is the grim picture it forebodes for American politics broadly. First, consider the immediate circumstance. As Lissau reported, Democratic candidates are overwhelmingly better fortified financially than Republicans, with many of their coffers swelling with $1 million or more. For the GOP, only one candidate reports having saved more than $100,000. In such a setting, Republican candidates cannot hope to keep pace with their opposition in getting their message out to voters through public appearances, online and broadcast advertising or other avenues. As a result, in the manner of a vicious circle, potential donors are holding onto their money, which only deepens the candidates’ predicament. College of DuPage political science professor Melissa Mouritsen described the situation in chilling terms. “This little cash so late in the game,” she said, “means few are taking them seriously.” It is troubling enough when a candidate in even one race is so irrelevant that he or she is not taken seriously. When the condition applies to a large body of candidates or even an entire party, that is a disturbing commentary on the state of our politics and the health of our democracy. Nor does the situation involve simply a lack of money. To an even greater extent, it involves the ability of some candidates to amass too much money, often from sources with much to gain from political favor. In such cases, the vicious cycle works in reverse, steadily expanding the war chests of candidates with an already decisive edge. Even before the 2010 Citizens United decision threw open the doors to unrestricted political donors and donations, many political observers fretted about the influence of money in politics. Sixteen years later, the situation is reaching a state of crisis. This crisis is exacerbated by another political factor — this one, too, enabled by a compliant Supreme Court seemingly indifferent to the quality of American self-government. It is the remaking of political boundaries that allows a party in power to tilt voting outcomes in its favor, commonly known as gerrymandering. To be sure, the Trump-shackled Republican Party suffers from certain self-inflicted ailments related to failures on traditional issues like guns and butter. But even discounting those, gerrymandering and all-but-unrestricted campaign fundraising have combined to put Republicans in Illinois in a life-or-death struggle for relevancy. This is not exactly a surprising or new observation, and its opposite is abundantly present in states like Republican-entrenched Florida, South Carolina and many more. But what is surprising is that more candidates of both parties are not rebelling against the conditions that so threaten the health of our political system. The solutions to gerrymandering and financial inequity among campaigns are not simple, and likely demand the difficult and complicated intercession of constitutional amendments. So, it is understandable that politicians avoid the complex, ugly work of producing systemic change and instead shift their messaging toward topics that involve people’s lives more directly and immediately. But it also should be obvious, as Republicans in Illinois offer ample evidence, that getting those messages out — not to mention getting them across — is growing more difficult by the year. At some point, and we urge candidates to make it soon, we’ve got to begin building more prominent messages about the fundamental scaffolding required to take seriously discussions of those direct and immediate issues.)
STATELINE
— Undocumented immigration population reached as high as 15.8M, report finds. Numbers from 2024 may have dropped under Trump administration policies. DD: How many millions of their illegals are Democrats harboring in Illinois, in your county, in your township, in your municipality, in your school district, and in your precinct?
https://stateline.org/2026/07/29/undocumented-immigration-population-reached-as-high-as-15-8m-report-finds/
WAND TV
— Republicans decry a new Democratic Socialists of America platform as Dem primaries split the party. A new platform from the progressive Democratic Socialists of America is sparking Republican attacks.
https://www.wandtv.com/news/national/republicans-decry-a-new-democratic-socialists-of-america-platform-as-dem-primaries-split-the-party/article_7c4bd890-debf-5618-99c4-52b366e74066.html
NPR ILLINOIS
— DD: To get more votes from those who have less money, Democrat candidates ever-increasingly promise to ever-increasingly use government a) to take more money from those who have more money and b) give that money to those who have less money. It is called redistribution of wealth.
https://www.nprillinois.org/2026-07-29/to-win-over-working-class-voters-democrats-need-to-stop-talking-about-democracy
WGLT
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly push more pot.
https://www.wglt.org/2026-07-28/how-cannabis-effects-our-sleep-and-our-dreams
PEOPLE’S RESOURCE CENTER WHEATON
— Urgent Need: 3 tons of food lost at PRC Wheaton. The power on our Wheaton Campus is restored. We are replenishing what we lost with donations of avocados, clementines, corn, bell peppers, onions, and watermelon. 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.facebook.com/peoplesresourcecenter/posts/the-power-on-our-wheaton-campus-is-restored-however-due-to-yesterdays-power-outa/1460225049475009/
ILLINOIS PATCH
— Over 214,000 Still Without Power Across Chicago Area After Monday’s Severe Weather. ComEd said that 80 percent of outages should be restored by noon on Wednesday. Damage/tornado surveys are happening Tuesday. 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://patch.com/illinois/across-il/over-214-000-still-without-power-across-chicago-area-after-mondays-severe-weather
CWB CHICAGO
— Migrant detained after allegedly dragging CPD officer with car, biting cop during arrest.
https://cwbchicago.com/2026/07/migrant-detained-after-allegedly-dragging-cpd-officer-with-car-biting-cop-during-arrest.html
WINDY CITY TIMES
— The unapologetic queer history at the new Obama Presidential Center.
https://windycitytimes.com/2026/07/28/opinion-the-unapologetic-queer-history-at-the-new-obama-presidential-center/
PRITZKER
— Dangerous Darren Bailey. He’s too extreme for Illinois. DD: According to my critics/opponents, I am too extreme for my precinct, for Wheaton, for Milton Township, for DuPage County, and for Illinois. I challenge my critics/opponents to put their charges against me in writing and to give me an opportunity to respond.
https://www.dangerousdarrenbailey.com/
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Petition season fuels mayoral suspense.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/07/29/petition-season-fuels-mayoral-suspense-01014573
CAPITOL FAX
— Illinois NOW: ‘We should be able to trust that men in leadership, who claim to want to protect women, will actually do so’
https://capitolfax.com/2026/07/28/illinois-now-we-should-be-able-to-trust-that-men-in-leadership-who-claim-to-want-to-protect-women-will-actually-do-so/
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/07/29/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-780/
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/07/28/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-565/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
CHICAGO CONTRARIAN
— The Red Dawn of Realism: Why Brandon Johnson’s Base Is Fleeing Chicago’s Progressive Circus.
https://www.chicagocontrarian.com/blog/red-dawn-realism-brandon-johnson-chicago-progressive-circus
CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— Tracy rips Stratton for liberal policies, not committing to debate.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_fc3a8aec-95de-47e7-ac47-255b9e423dc6.html
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Two Assistant State’s Attorneys Represent Private Client Using Courthouse Recourses– “Felonious Official Misconduct” Claimed in Suit
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/22/two-assistant-states-attorneys-represent-private-client-using-courthouse-recourses-felonious-official-misconduct-claimed-in-suit/
— Corbett Offers Video of Tuesday Night Questions from Listeners and His Answers
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/22/corbett-offers-video-of-tuesday-night-questions-from-listeners-and-his-answers/
— Ultra-Low-Temperature Cryogenic Systems Announce Facility in Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park — 21 New Jobs
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/23/ultra-low-temperature-cryogenic-systems-announce-facilty-in-illinois-quantum-and-microelectronics-park/
— In Public Comment, Kelly Liebman Keeps Pressure on County Board on Home Rule
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/23/in-public-comment-kelly-liebman-keeps-pressure-on-county-board-on-home-rule/
— Corbett Comments on State Police Killing Mother in St. Clair County
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/23/corbett-comments-on-state-police-killing-mother-in-st-clair-county/
— Feds Take Down Woman Who Embezzled from a Sports Team Booster Club
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/23/feds-take-down-woman-who-embezzled-from-a-sports-team-booster-club/
— What’s Happening to Illinois Ex-Pats Running for Congress in Florida?
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/23/whats-happening-to-illinois-ex-pats-running-for-congress-in-florida/
— TSA Screening Will Be Faster as New Imaging Process Is Implemented
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/24/tsa-screening-will-be-faster-as-new-imaging-process-is-implemented/
— Don Tracy, GOP Candidate for the U.S. Senate Releases Video
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/24/don-tracy-gop-candidate-for-the-u-s-senate-releases-video/
— Building Solar Farms Could Require Much Less Manpower
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/24/building-solar-farms-could-require-much-less-manpower/
— Female Highland Park Coyote Sentence to Nine Years for Forcing Illegal Aliens into Indentured Servants
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/24/female-highland-park-coyote-sentence-to-nine-years-for-forcing-illegal-aliens-into-indentured-servants/
— Bailey Finally Addresses Issue Suburbanites Can Relate To: Tolls
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/24/bailey-finally-addresses-issue-suburbanites-can-relate-to-tolls/
— District 300 Tax Hikers Vote 7-0 to Ask Voters for Permission to Borrow
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/24/district-300-tax-hikers-vote-7-0-to-ask-voters-for-permission-to-borrow/
— Woodstock Man One of Six Arrested and Kept in Jail for Running Brothels
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/24/woodstock-man-one-of-six-arrested-and-kept-i-jail-for-running-brothels/
— A Pension System Better Than State and local Government Employees
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/25/a-pension-system-better-than-state-and-local-government-employees/
— GOP Leader Calls for Common Sense at the Federal Drug Administration
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/25/gop-leader-calls-common-sense-at-the-federal-drug-administration/
— Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Don Tracy Criticizes Opponent’s Party’s Tax and Salary Hikes
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/25/republican-u-s-senate-candidate-don-tracy-criticizes-opponents-partys-tax-and-salary-hikes/
— Credit Will Be Given to Park Grant Requests That Seek Inclusive Designs That Go Beyond Minimum Accessibility Standards
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/25/credit-will-be-given-to-park-grant-requests-that-seek-inclusive-designs-that-go-beyond-minimum-accessibility-standards/
— Video of Apparition in McHenry County
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/26/video-of-apparition-in-mchenry-county/
— The Second Amendment Explained by Man Who Signed All Four Founding Documents
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/26/the-second-amendment-explained-by-man-who-signed-all-four-founding-documents/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Abortion pills don’t empower women. They empower abusive men.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4665054/abortion-pills-empower-abusive-men-pressure-deception-into-pill-popping/
1819 NEWS
— Tuberville bashes Mamdani’s plan for government-run grocery stores, says customer base will be illegal aliens.
https://1819news.com/news/item/tuberville-bashes-mamdanis-plan-for-government-run-grocery-stores-argues-customer-base-will-be-illegal-aliens
AMERICAN ENTERPISE INSTITUTE
— Lessons from the 1996 Welfare Reform Law Approaching Its 30th Anniversary. DD: Because voters who receive welfare vote for Democrats, Democrat leaders put as many voters on welfare as they can. What did you do to avoid being on welfare? I did yard work 1962-1964, delivered newspapers 1962-1966, washed dishes 1964-1966, cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, and pumped gasoline in 1966, delivered mail 1966-1969, worked on an automotive assemble line in 1970, sold tires, automotive services, and major appliances 1970-1971, pumped more gasoline 1971-1972, collected delinquent taxes 1971-1980, and audited federal agencies 1980-1997. I worked my way through college and earned a job-related bachelor’s degree, three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license.
https://www.aei.org/commentary/lessons-from-the-1996-welfare-reform-law-approaching-its-30th-anniversary/
BREITBART
— Retiring GOP Rep. Don Bacon says “hate” and ‘stupidity” are motivating the citizens who oppose his support of a cheap labor bill for the rural economy– even as multiple other GOP representatives are quietly quitting the amnesty push. 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/politics/2026/07/28/hate-stupidity-rep-bacon-slams-citizen-opposition-to-visa-workforce-bill/amp/
— Democrat-run Chicago Blames Trump for 7 More Grocery Store Closings.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/07/28/nolte-democrat-run-chicago-blames-trump-for-7-more-grocery-store-closings/
COLLEGE FIX
— Professors push ‘antiracism’ therapy to train ‘white allies’ at psychology conference. DD: I should write about my White critics/opponents who promote hatred against Whites to curry favor with non-Whites. I should write about my male critics/opponents who promote hatred against males to curry favor with females. I should write about my older critics/opponents who promote hatred against older people to curry favor with younger people. I should write about my “heterosexual” critics/opponents who promote hatred against heterosexuals to curry favor with LGBTQers. I should write about my “conservative” critics/opponents who promote hatred against conservatives to curry favor with liberals and moderates. I should write about my “Republican” critics/opponents who promote hatred against Republicans curry favor with non-Republicans. I would focus on the aforesaid who have had their operatives and their dupes take the most/biggest adverse actions against me.
https://www.thecollegefix.com/professors-push-antiracism-therapy-to-train-white-allies-at-psychology-conference/
DAILY SIGNAL
— Mamdani’s Tax List Reveals the Dark Side of Socialist Class Warfare.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/07/28/mamdani-tax-list-socialist-class-warfare/
FOX NEWS
— The welfare state broke Black families. Work can help restore the dream. Rooftop Revelations: Mothers on Chicago’s South Side are completing electrician training and passing the police exam to escape dependency.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/welfare-state-broke-black-families-work-restore-dream
FOUNDATION FOR GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
— Fake and Stolen Identities Lead to Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Welfare Programs.
https://thefga.org/research/fake-stolen-identities-welfare-programs/
LEGAL INSURRECTION
— University at Buffalo Dental Orientation Includes DEI-Focused Required Training.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/07/university-at-buffalo-dental-orientation-includes-dei-focused-required-training/amp/
— NYC Democrat Socialists Say They’re Coming For The School Kids. “They are emboldened by their win in the New York City Mayor’s race, and they’re going straight for the children.”
https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/07/nyc-democrat-socialists-say-theyre-coming-for-the-school-kids/
NEWSMAX
— Dems Open 12-Point Lead on Healthcare. DD: The federal government paying 72% of my healthcare insurance since 1966 and then also paying 72% of my wife’s healthcare insurance since 1978 helped me endure tremendous efforts by my Democrat superiors in the federal government to waste my career and to get rid of me. For Democrats, the federal government exists to hire, retain, and promote Democrats who are minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time.
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/healthcare-rasmussen-democrats/2026/07/28/id/1264290/
TOWNHALL
— Here’s Chicago’s Latest Solution to Crime on the Subway.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/amy-curtis/2026/07/29/chicagos-solution-to-crime-on-the-subway-n2680286
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— Corporate boardroom diversity sinks to lowest in more than a decade. DD: The Democrats who ran the Post Office in 1966, IRS in 1971, and GAO in 1980 hired me because they could not find a qualified Democrat, minority, female, younger person, or veteran who would take the job. All my coworkers who they promoted over me were Democrats who were minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time. They all 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. For Democrats, the federal government exists to hire, retain, and promote Democrats who are minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time.
https://thehill.com/business/5995257-corporate-boardroom-diversity-sinks-to-lowest-in-more-than-a-decade-analysis/
ASSOCIATED PRESS
— The Trump administration wants soldiers to consider becoming truck drivers when they leave the military to help replace the tens of thousands of immigrant drivers who lost their licenses in a crackdown this year. A new campaign launched Friday will promote programs that let veterans who recently drove large military vehicles skip the required skills test for a commercial driver’s license. Other soldiers can attend a commercial driving school during their last six months of active duty. The GI Bill will also pay for 100% of commercial driver’s license training and for some people even pay a housing allowance while they are in school. DD: I often drove postal trucks while I worked for the Post Office 1966-1969.
https://www.wftv.com/news/business/white-house-wants/ZBOS2L2IPI7NDPRNHPDJEKBWXU/
ABC NEWS
— Trump lobs insults at political opponents, press during rescheduled White House correspondents’ dinner. DD: My critics/opponents have their operatives and dupes lob insults at me. I should write about the biggest insults lobed at me at Milton Township Republican Organization, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, Illinois Republican Party, TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois, and Illinois Center Right Coalition events since 2000.
https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-attend-rescheduled-white-house-correspondents-dinner-friday/story?id=135027808
NEW YORK TIMES
— FRONT PAGE: A California Beach City Struggles to Cope With Rowdy Outsiders. More than 400 people were arrested in Newport Beach on the July 4 weekend after a social media “takeover” got out of hand. Now the city is trying to figure out how to stop it from happening again. DD: What is your municipality doing to stop Democrat teen takeovers?
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/us/newport-beach-california-teen-takeover.html
WASHINGTON POST
— Whom will Democrats nominate in 2028? The scales just tilted. The DNC’s primary schedule is set to favor the establishment. South Carolina leads the way.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/07/28/dnc-proposes-2028-primary-schedule-that-could-hurt-socialists/
— DD: Because voters who receive welfare vote for Democrats, Democrat leaders put as many voters on welfare as they can. What did you do to avoid being on welfare? I did yard work 1962-1964, delivered newspapers 1962-1966, washed dishes 1964-1966, cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, and pumped gasoline in 1966, delivered mail 1966-1969, worked on an automotive assemble line in 1970, sold tires, automotive services, and major appliances 1970-1971, pumped more gasoline 1971-1972, collected delinquent taxes 1971-1980, and audited federal agencies 1980-1997. I worked my way through college and earned a job-related bachelor’s degree, three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/ripple/2026/07/27/clinton-welfare-trump-big-beautiful-bill/
USA TODAY
— Trump says the northern border is weak.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/07/29/trump-us-canada-border-what-its-like/90832679007/
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2026/07/22/ice-killing-maine-texas-dhs-records-misconduct/90959563007/
— Almost anyone can be an ICE agent now. That’s a problem. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement hiring push lowers the bar for recruits, including reduced training, slower background checks and lower physical abilities. 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 passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination. The first 6 months I worked for IRS was in classroom training.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2025/12/03/ice-hiring-border-patrol-jobs-immigration-agents/87483770007/
SEATTLE WEEKLY
— When newspapers go, partisanship grows and lies are believed. DD: Do you help fill voids? I do. I put together and send out GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters every morning and often in the evening too. Those newsletters help fill tremendous voids in government and political news and commentary reporting from a conservative perspective in Illinois, DuPage County, Milton Township, and Wheaton. My critics/opponents reject many conservative principles and many 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. They are anti-conservative if not conservative-haters. 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.
https://www.seattleweekly.com/2026/07/28/when-newspapers-go-partisanship-grows-and-lies-are-believed-the-free-press-initiative/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Trump Has a Point About the Smithsonian. Its American history museum has become an instrument of left-wing culture warriors.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trump-has-a-point-about-the-smithsonian-ac436cc4
— The Welfare State That Ate Britain. The new Prime Minister learns he has narrow fiscal running room. DD: Because voters who receive welfare vote for Democrats, Democrat leaders put as many voters on welfare as they can. What did you do to avoid being on welfare? I did yard work 1962-1964, delivered newspapers 1962-1966, washed dishes 1964-1966, cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, and pumped gasoline in 1966, delivered mail 1966-1969, worked on an automotive assemble line in 1970, sold tires, automotive services, and major appliances 1970-1971, pumped more gasoline 1971-1972, collected delinquent taxes 1971-1980, and audited federal agencies 1980-1997. I worked my way through college and earned a job-related bachelor’s degree, three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/u-k-welfare-state-treasury-disability-payments-andy-burnham-d09c9fa7
— Supersizing Your Retirement Account. DD: IRS and GAO employees have to file financial disclosure reports with their superiors annually. As I worked for the Democrats who ran IRS 1971-1980 and GAO 1980-1997, they were ever-increasingly envious/furious at what I and then what my wife and I had saved for our retirement.
https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/retirement/the-everyday-guide-to-supersizing-your-retirement-account-8e914e8e
BLOOMBERG LAW
— Professors Notch Court Wins Over States Banning ‘Woke’ Teaching. DD: To promote wokeness/wokeism is to promote more hatred against Republicans who are conservative, White, male, older, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. My critics/opponents promote wokeness/wokeism.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/professors-notch-court-wins-over-states-banning-woke-teaching
PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE
— Merit Systems Protection Board 101: Individual cases, including agency elimination, restructuring, probationary employees and more. 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://ourpublicservice.org/know-the-facts/blog/merit-systems-protection-board-mspb-cases-agency-elimination-restructuring-probationary-employees
MORNING POLITICS
— Senate Confirms Jay Clayton as Intelligence Chief on Party-Line Vote. The former SEC chair and Manhattan prosecutor takes over 18 spy agencies with no career intelligence background. DD: Democrats do not want Republicans to audit Democrats. The Democrat GAO Audits the Democrat IRS. To force me to take a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut to transfer from IRS to GAO when I was 31 in 1980, my Democrat GAO superiors outrageously, disgustingly, and unethically ignored/dismissed/belittled/badmouthed a) what I had learned working 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, b) my having passed the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979, c) my earning an MBA from Loyola in 1976, and d) the fact that much of what I did for IRS was similar to what I would do for GAO. They kept me off audits of IRS’s Collection Division for all of the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO but did let me work on audits of IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division for 3 years. They would not have wasted my knowledge of IRS if I had been a Democrat, female, or veteran.
https://www.morningpolitics.com/articles/senate-confirms-jay-clayton-as-intelligence-chief-on-party-line-vote
FED SMITH
— TSP Millionaires Hit New Record as Markets Rebound in Q2. A record 224,420 federal employees and retirees now hold $1 million or more in their TSP. Here is how the numbers shifted in 2026. DD: My Civil Service Retirement System pension and my retirement savings are dramatically less because my Democrat superiors wasted my career and forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997.
https://www.fedsmith.com/2026/07/27/tsp-millionaires-hit-new-record-as-markets-rebound-in-q2/
AARP
— What to Do If You Can’t Afford Your Health Insurance. DD: The federal government paying 72% of my health insurance since 1966 and then also paying 72% of my wife’s health insurance since 1978 helped me endure tremendous efforts by my Democrat superiors in the federal government to waste my career and to get rid of me. For Democrats, the federal government exists to hire, retain, and promote Democrats who are minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time.
https://www.aarp.org/health/healthcare/cant-afford-health-insurance/
MANHATTAN INSTITUTE
— New York City’s Migrant Crisis A Case Study of Welfare Magnet Effects. DD: How successful have Democrat leaders been attracting welfare recipients to your county, township, municipality, school district, and precinct? I should write about their success in attracting welfare recipients to DuPage County, Milton Township, Wheaton, Wheaton Warrenville School District 200, and my precinct.
https://manhattan.institute/article/new-york-citys-migrant-crisis-a-case-study-of-welfare-magnet-effects
PSYCHOLOGY TODAY
— Why It’s So Hard to Catch a Master Manipulator. DD: My critics/opponents have their operatives and their dupes 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.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-at-any-age/202412/its-remarkably-hard-to-catch-the-master-manipulator
LGBTQ NATION
— Gen Z adults are staying away from churches because of Trump.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/07/gen-z-adults-are-staying-away-from-churches-because-of/
FROM OTHER SOURCES
CONSUMER REPORTS
— How to Buy a New Car. DD: I have bought many new cars since I was 17 in 1966.
https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/buying-a-car/how-to-buy-a-car-in-todays-challenging-market-a7648220054/
July 27, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CBS2
— Police respond to large gathering outside CTA station in Chicago’s Englewood community. A teen takeover ended with multiple people in police custody in Chicago’s Englewood community overnight Saturday into Sunday. DD: What is your municipality doing to stop Democrat teen takeovers?
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/video/police-respond-to-large-gathering-outside-cta-station-in-chicagos-englewood-community/
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— In historic shift, Latino officers soon to be largest racial group in Chicago Police Department.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/27/chicago-police-racial-diversity/
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH BIG PICTURE: DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/27/illinois-green-card-ice-detention/
CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Giannoulias’ money is reshaping the Chicago mayor’s race — before he’s even entered it.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics-policy/ccb-alexi-giannoulias-brandon-johnson-20260727/
ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO
— Should Illinois require IDs to vote? Madison County residents will be asked in November.
https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2026-07-27/illinois-require-ids-vote-madison-county-asked-november
POLITICO ILLINOIS
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/07/27/states-take-center-stage-in-chicago-01012350
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— 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/
— $349,845 in Private Money for Each “Affordable Housing” Dwelling Unit Announced by Governor JB Pritzker
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/16/349845-affordable-housing-dwelling-united-announced-by-governor-jb-pritzker/
— Illinois Unemployment at 5.1%, Up Almost One Percentage Point from Last Year, Unemployed Up 16% Over Last Year
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/16/illinois-unemployment-at-5-1-up-almost-one-percentage-point-from-last-year-unemployed-up-16-over-last-yearr/
— McHenry County Libertarian Leader Trashes Home Rule & County Executive Form of Government by Asking Questions for Which No Answer Has Been Given
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/16/mchenry-county-libertarian-leader-trashes-home-rule-county-executive-form-of-government/
— “Court rules McHenry County must allow solar farms after County Board rejects them”
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/14/court-rules-mchenry-county-must-allow-solar-farms-after-county-board-rejects-them/
— Illinois Second in Loss of Millionaires from 2010 thru 2022
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/14/illinois-second-in-loss-of-millionaires-from-2010-thru-2022/
— Northwest Herald Reporter Misses Real Reason Municipalities and McHenry County Want Home Rule Power
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/14/northwest-herald-reporter-misses-real-reason-municipalities-and-mchenry-county-wants-home-rule-power/
— UPDATE: Still Another Big Company–True Value–Taking Leave of Illinois, INDIANA KICKING IN $3.4 MILLION
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/13/still-another-big-company-true-value-taking-leave-of-illinois/
BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS
— Bye, Bye In-State Tuition for Illegals & Naperville Hippies Protest the Wrong Thing.
https://www.breakthrough-ideas.com/read/2026/07/26/bye-bye-in-state-tuition-for-illegals-naperville-hippies-protest-the-wrong-thing
— Is Pritzker China’s Favorite Governor? Follow the Money.
https://www.breakthrough-ideas.com/watch-listen/reveille/is-pritzker-chinas-favorite-governor-follow-the-money
— From Where Did All the Revolutionaries Come?
https://www.breakthrough-ideas.com/read/2026/07/22/from-where-did-all-the-revolutionaries-come
— Leftism Metastasizes to and Within the Smithsonian.
https://www.breakthrough-ideas.com/read/2026/07/25/leftism-metastasizes-to-and-within-the-smithsonian
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
— Proposed toll hikes would cost drivers $17 billion in next 15 years.
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/proposed-toll-hikes-would-cost-drivers-17-billion-in-next-15-years/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINTON TIMES
— Congressional Democrats say AOC has emerged as party leader, but less sure about ‘28 prospects.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jul/24/congressional-democrats-say-aoc-emerged-party-leader-less-sure-28/
— Rural voters have soured on President Trump again, according to a new poll that found his standing with the group flipping from positive to negative in the span of a single month.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jul/25/rural-voters-turn-trump-poll-swings-14-points/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— DSA co-chair reaffirms calls to abolish the Senate, ICE, and borders.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/entertainment/4663817/dsa-calls-to-abolish-senate-ice-borders-interview/
— Sanders rebukes Rahm Emanuel and establishment Democrats: ‘Status quo is not working’
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/4663857/sanders-rahm-emanuel-establishment-democrats/
NEW YORK POST
— Mamdani, DSA aim to ‘transform’ America — by pushing barbarism.
https://nypost.com/2026/07/27/opinion/mamdani-dsa-aim-to-transform-america-by-pushing-barbarism/
— The media’s anti-Trump bias was on full display at redo of White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
https://nypost.com/2026/07/25/opinion/michael-goodwin-the-medias-anti-trump-bias-was-on-full-display-at-re-do-of-white-house-correspondents-dinner/
AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE
— Trump’s Immigration Success—And Its Discontents.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trumps-immigration-success-and-its-discontents/
DAILY CALLER
— DD: My critics/opponents paint themselves as being woke to curry favor with those who do not share my demographics.
https://dailycaller.com/2026/07/26/wokeness-made-people-more-respectful-and-empathetic-fuentes-says-during-hunter-biden-interview/
DAILY SIGNAL
— Obama recently gave America another reminder of how his presidency—once expected to bring the country together—left us more divided on race.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/07/26/trumps-america-involves-same-arguments-historical-period-that-gave-birth-klan-barack-obama-says/
EPOCH TIMES
— Half of Students Now Get A’s, but Actual Achievement Is Declining. Your child’s report card may be sending the wrong signal. Grades and GPAs increasingly reflect institutional incentives rather than academic achievement. DD: I passed the CPA examination and the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt even though my ACT score and my GPAs were not that great.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/opinion/half-of-students-now-get-as-but-actual-achievement-is-declining-6066451
FOX NEWS
— Lindsey Graham left behind modest wealth despite decades in Washington’s elite circles. Graham held nearly all assets in mutual funds and government bonds, avoiding stock trading controversies.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/lindsey-graham-left-behind-modest-wealth-despite-decades-washingtons-elite-circles
HERITAGE FOUNDATION
— Why the U.S. Has a Culture of Dependency. DD: According to Democrat leaders, you cannot succeed in America without massive government assistance. According to my critics/opponents, I owe all my successes life to my federal employment. According to them, without my postal employment, I would not have been able to buy a new 1968 Oldsmobile 442 in 1967, buy a new 1969 Dodge Charger SE in 1968, or graduate debt-free from NIU owning that Charger in 1970. According to them, without my IRS employment, I would not have been able to buy a new 1972 Corvette in 1971, buy real estate in 1972, 1974, 1976, or 1978, buy a new car in 1973, earn an MBA from Loyola in 1976, get married in 1978, buy a home in Wheaton in 1978, buy two new cars in 1978, or pass the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979. According to them, without my GAO employment, I would not have been able to earn a master’s degree in accounting in 1980, pass the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt in 1981, become a licensed CPA in 1981, have a home built in Wheaton in 1984, buy collector cars in 1989 and 1994, earn professional certifications in 1990, 1994, 1996, and 1997, or earn a master’s degree in finance in 1997.
https://www.heritage.org/poverty-and-inequality/commentary/why-the-us-has-culture-dependency
PJ MEDIA
— Why Is National Review Pretending Barack Obama Was a Moderate?
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/07/26/why-is-national-review-pretending-barack-obama-was-a-moderate-n4955465
PATRIOT POST
— The Hard Truth About the Sanctuary Movement.
https://patriotpost.us/opinion/129443-the-hard-truth-about-the-sanctuary-movement-2026-07-27
REAL CLEAR POLITICS
— Communism – It’s Back.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2026/07/27/communism__its_back_154369.html
TOWNHALL
— More Than Half of Democrats Support Socialism. DD: Capitalism is what made America great.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/josephchalfant/2026/07/26/new-poll-shows-that-more-than-half-of-democrats-support-socialism-n2680137
— Democratic Socialist Platform Includes Open Borders, Amnesty for Illegals. DD: Socialists are anti-American.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/scott-mcclallen/2026/07/26/democratic-socialists-co-chair-admits-platform-includes-open-borders-amnesty-n2680142
U.S. HOUSE
— More Americans Dependent on Welfare Checks, at the Expense of Work
https://waysandmeans.house.gov/2025/01/08/new-report-shows-more-americans-dependent-on-welfare-checks-at-the-expense-of-work/
— Growth of the Welfare State.
https://oversight.house.gov/release/grothman-opens-second-hearing-on-examining-the-growth-of-the-welfare-state/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— Hakeem Jeffries doubles down on Dems’ and affordability ahead of midterms. DD: What did you do to help you afford things? I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree 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://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5991507-jeffries-target-gop-control/
USA TODAY
— Retiring early. DD: My Civil Service Retirement System pension is dramatically less a) because my Democrat superiors wasted my career and b) because they forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997. I should write about the adverse actions that my Democrat GAO superiors would have taken against me if I had tried to work to my regular retirement age of 55 in 2003. They had made it clear that they would constructively, if not literally, demote me and that they would have given me adverse transfers, bad job assignments, unfair performance expectations, and unfair performance evaluations. I continue to ask myself what exactly would have happened if I had not succumbed to their threats. Would Speaker Gingrich, Speaker Hastert, U.S. Senator Fitzgerald, U.S. Representative Hyde, and/or the Bush Administration have come to my defense? The aforesaid did not come to my defense in Diersen v. GAO.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2026/07/23/americans-retire-sooner-than-planned-retirement-saving/91011967007/
https://www.usatoday.com/videos/money/2026/07/23/many-americans-retire-early-and-face-costly-retirement-regrets/91029370007/
FLORIDA POLITICS
— New attack ad targets Jim Oberweis’ past immigration comments in CD 19 Republican Primary.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/809660-new-attack-ad-targets-jim-oberweis-past-immigration-comments-in-cd-19-republican-primary/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— The Republicans Who Enable Socialists. GOP lawmakers can’t agree on spending reform, so they keep funding the tax-eating nonprofits.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-republicans-who-enable-socialists-16dae2d1
FORTUNE
— DD: Were you overpaid? According to my critics/opponents, I was always grossly overpaid. They have always been furious that while I was a union member when I was a postal employee for almost 3 years 1966-1969 and then an IRS employee for almost 9 years 1971-1980, my salary increased from $19.57/hour to $113,402/year in today’s dollars. In my defense, during that time, I earned a bachelor’s degree in business, I earned an MBA, I passed the CPA examination on my first attempt, and I almost completed the requirements for a master’s degree in accounting. In today’s dollars, my IRS salary was $56,409/year when I was 22 in 1971, $68,999/year when I was 23, $83,482/year when I was 24, $100,059/year when I was 25, and $113,402/year when I was 31. In today’s dollars, my GAO salary was $89,703/year when I was 31, $118,984/year when I was 38, and $154,682/year when I was 49. I earned a master’s degree in accounting when I was 31. I passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt and became a licensed CPA when I was 32. I earned four more job-related professional certifications when I was 41, 45, 47, and 48. I earned a master’s degree in finance when I was 48. 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 am none of the aforesaid.
https://fortune.com/2026/07/26/hannah-williams-salary-transparent-street-millennial-job-hopped-90k-at-23-become-salary-negotiation-guru/
FEDERAL NEWS NETWORK
— Federal employees report low productivity, morale. DD: While I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO 1980-1997, employee morale and productivity ever-increasing decreased because of Republican success in disseminating the agency.
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2026/07/after-returning-to-the-office-federal-employees-report-low-productivity-morale/
— DD: Virtually all, if not all, GAO employees are Democrats. Therefore GAO cannot call itself nonpartisan. When I was 31 in 1980, I was one of the last Republicans GAO hired. Virtually all, if not all, IRS employees are Democrats. Therefore IRS cannot call itself nonpartisan. When I was 22 in 1971, I was one of the last Republicans IRS hired. Virtually all, if not all, postal employees are Democrats. Therefore USPS cannot call itself nonpartisan. When I was 18 in 1966, I was one of the last Republicans USPS hired.
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/management/2026/07/after-slaughter-decision-mspb-no-longer-calling-itself-independent/
GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE
— OPM shrinks its workforce by a third, seeks further staffing cuts. DD: If I had been a Democrat, minority, female, or veteran, OPM would have offered me a job. I passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination when I was 21 in 1970. My 1970 bachelor’s degree was in personnel management. My 1976 MBA area of concentration was in personnel management.
https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2026/07/opm-shrinks-its-workforce-third-seeks-further-staffing-cuts/414895/
NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE
— Affordability For All: It’s Time To Rescue The American Dream. DD: What did you do to achieve the American Dream? I worked my way through college and earned a job-related bachelor’s degree, three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license.
https://nul.org/news/affordability-all-its-time-rescue-american-dream
PEW RESEARCH
— NOVEMBER 23, 2015 FLASHBACK: Since the late 1990s, the public’s feelings about the federal government have tended more toward frustration than either anger or contentment. That remains the case today: 57% feel frustrated with the government, while smaller shares either feel angry (22%) or are basically content (18%). DD: Who do you know who is/was a federal employee? I was a federal employee for almost 30 years. Who do you know who is/was a federal retiree? I have been a federal retiree for almost 29 years. Many, if not most, of my critics/opponents despise/hate federal employees and federal retirees.
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2015/11/23/2-general-opinions-about-the-federal-government/
FROM FOREIGN SOURCES
INDEPENDENT
— Why your town is at risk from a teen takeover this summer. DD: What is your municipality doing to stop Democrat teen takeovers?
https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/teen-link-ups-trend-summer-snapchat-b3021125.html
July 16, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— GOP senator singles out former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot during Todd Blanche DOJ hearing.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/15/lori-lightfoot-todd-blanche/
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH BIG PICTURE: DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/16/ice-chicago-traffic-stops/
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/16/editorial-when-an-ice-tactic-keeps-ending-in-tragedy-it-must-be-rethought/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Ex-Mayor Lori Lightfoot bashed during Todd Blanche confirmation hearing that featured no Boutros questions.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/us-senate/2026/07/15/lori-lightfoot-todd-blanche-confirmation-hearing-us-attorney-general-us-attorney-andrew-boutros
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2026/07/15/brandon-johnson-city-council-ice-immigration-midway-blitz
https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2026/07/15/ice-should-keep-making-traffic-stops-despite-recent-shootings-trump-says
https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2026/07/15/chicago-immigrant-advocates-abolish-ice-fatal-shootings-houston-maine
CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Congressional hearing on UIC med school veers from antisemitism to DEI, gender care
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/health-care/ccb-uic-medical-school-antisemitism-congress-20260715/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Dr. Enrico Benedetti, along with officials from the University of California Los Angeles and University of California San Francisco, was initially accused of being soft on antisemitism on campus since the Trump administration took office, but the debate about the state of medical education has shifted since the congressional probe began last year. The Committee on Education & the Workforce began investigating the colleges in light of “complaints of severe antisemitism” at the schools, which committee Chairman Tim Walberg, R-Michigan, said stemmed from an activist infrastructure the universities had constructed. Walberg accused the schools of teaching that incited antisemitism, including “labeling of Jews as white, and therefore privileged and oppressors.” In his opening comments, Walberg went on to say the schools have integrated DEI into their admissions decisions and curricula, promoting courses that have nothing to do with medical science, but seek to turn medical students into “far left activists.” In opening testimony, Benedetti addressed the questions over antisemitism at the medical school, which has campuses in Chicago, Peoria and Rockford, saying the school has taken steps to better deal with religious and other bigotry. Benedetti testified the medical school had discontinued an internal communication channel that had become a forum for inappropriate and offensive commentary; changed its leadership structure to ensure clear lines of accountability, in which a new vice dean of education will now have oversight over student complaints regarding misconduct; and is updating the curriculum to better ensure that all of its physicians are trained to effectively treat patients from all communities. Benedetti was joined by Dr. Sam Hawgood, chancellor at UCSF, and Dr. Steve Dubinett, dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Roger Mitchell Jr., president of the National Medical Association, the organization serving Black physicians, also testified. Benedetti and the other two school officials testified that their universities do not use race as a factor in determining acceptance into medical school. “The college’s primary goal is simple: to train excellent physicians who provide the best care to all patients, regardless of their own background or the background of those they serve,” Benedetti testified. “We provide a medical education that focuses on science, evidence-based medicine and the professional competencies required to care for patients.” The hearing moved away from antisemitism to diversity, with Walberg stating that medical education ought to be based on merit and “organic diversity” versus “merit flexibility with manufactured diversity.” He asked each dean whether students of different races were treated differently and whether students are chosen on the basis of race. Benedetti testified that race is not considered “when we choose the best student.” However, Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., said UI Medical College still states it is “committed to diversity and inclusion,” concluding that it was “clear that DEI is still the core mission” of the school. The ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. Robert Scott of Virginia, said that while the committee had begun by investigating antisemitism, it became a discussion of DEI, as Republicans “abandoned good faith efforts to end discrimination,” turning a blind eye to other members of their party who actively promote bigotry. He defended the role of DEI in medical education, saying teaching about diversity is how to combat discrimination. Schools need to teach future doctors “to recognize and confront bias,” he said. “Inclusion isn’t just fair, it’s more effective medicine,” Scott said. Gender care at UI Health. Questioning turned to transgender care when Rep. Robert Onder, R-Mo., noted the Illinois university’s health system, UI Health, had suspended gender-affirming surgeries for minors in August 2025. Benedetti testified the system had “immediately” followed President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for a halt to all gender surgical procedures for minors. However, Benedetti could not answer whether minor patients could still receive puberty blockers or “cross-sex hormones” at UI Health, which Onder said should also be abolished for minors. “UI Health remains steadfast in its mission to provide compassionate, inclusive and patient-centered care,” the health system said in an emailed statement today. “The hospital suspended gender-affirming surgical procedures for patients under age 19, effective August 1, 2025. We have made no additional changes to our services.”)
FOX32
— Start your business with Chicago’s free entrepreneur certificate program.
https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/fmc-cxnkhnca9f3rulcp
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Senate hearing spotlights Lightfoot
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/07/16/senate-hearing-spotlights-lightfoot-01000127
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/07/15/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-556/
— Giannoulias generates most excitement in early mayor’s race.
https://capitolfax.com/2026/07/15/poll-giannoulias-generates-most-excitement-in-early-mayor%e2%80%99s-race/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER RIGHT SOURCES
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Corbett Takes on Bailey
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/07/15/corbett-takes-on-bailey/
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
— Toll and sales tax hikes: What Pritzker said vs. what Pritzker did. The governor said Illinoisans wouldn’t be interested in a toll increase to keep the Bears. Then he signaled support for what would be the largest passenger toll hike in state history.
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/toll-and-sales-tax-hikes-what-pritzker-said-vs-what-pritzker-did/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Democratic Socialists of America’s new platform calls for abolishing ICE and the U.S. Senate.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jul/15/updated-dsa-platform-calls-abolishing-ice-scrapping-senate/
— Mike Lindell wins Trump’s endorsement for Minnesota governor.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jul/15/mike-lindell-wins-trumps-endorsement-minnesota-governor/
— Government just keeps spending. Low hopes for Vance’s attempt to rein in deficit.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jul/15/government-keeps-spending/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Democrats are as extreme as their most radical faction.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/beltway-confidential/4649918/democrats-extreme-most-radical-faction/
— Socialist Democrats represent the rich, white voters in their party.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/beltway-confidential/4649944/socialist-democrats-represent-the-rich-white-voters-in-their-party/
— Trump says ‘proud American veterans’ will replace illegal immigrant truck drivers. DD: I often drove postal trucks while I worked for the Post Office 1966-1969. 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/news/white-house/4650629/trump-veterans-replace-illegal-immigrant-truck-drivers/
— Joy Behar calls Darline Graham Nordone a DEI hire for South Carolina. DD: According to Google AI, “Relevant work experience means any past professional or academic activity that equips you with the transferable skills, knowledge, and abilities needed to perform a specific target job.” GAO Audits IRS. To force me to take a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut to transfer from IRS to GAO when I was 31 in 1980, my Democrat GAO superiors outrageously, disgustingly, and unethically ignored/dismissed/belittled/badmouthed a) what I had learned working 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, b) my having passed the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979, c) my earning an MBA from Loyola in 1976, and d) the fact that much of what I did for IRS was similar to what I would do for GAO. They kept me off audits of IRS’s Collection Division for all of the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO but did let me work on audits of IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division for 3 years. They would not have wasted my knowledge of IRS if I had been a Democrat, female, or veteran.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/4649663/joy-behar-graham-nordone-dei-hire-south-carolina-senate/
— Republicans whistle while Big Abortion seeks their defeat.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/community-family/4650113/republicans-whistle-planned-parenthood-seeks-their-defeat/
CHRONICLES MAGAZINE
— Blame Democrats, Not ICE, for Recent Deadly Shootings.
https://chroniclesmagazine.org/web/blame-democrats-not-ice-for-recent-deadly-shootings/
COLLEGE FIX
— A federal appeals court reinstated a medical professor’s defamation and civil rights retaliation case against the University of Pittsburgh last week over an article he wrote criticizing affirmative action. DD: When I was a 40-year-old GAO employee in 1988, I did much more than write an article. I became an active member in a class action lawsuit that charged my superiors with reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation. I represented all of GAO’s Chicago office employees who were White, male, more than 40 years old, and GS-14, currently $140,604-$182,790/year in today’s dollars, or below. To punish me, my Democrat GAO Chicago office superiors immediately threw me off audits of IRS for the rest of my GAO career, gave me a very bad job assignment, gave me very unfair performance expectations, gave me a very unfair performance appraisal, and ranked me at the bottom of my coworkers for pay-for-performance.
https://www.thecollegefix.com/court-sides-with-u-pittsburgh-professor-demoted-for-criticizing-affirmative-action/
DAILY SIGNAL
— Socialist War on Public Safety Coming to a Town Near You
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/07/15/socialist-war-on-public-safety-coming-to-a-town-near-you-socialist/
— Foreign-born truckers who illegally immigrated to the United States are receiving inadequate driving instruction, taking jobs away from American workers, and endangering the lives of fellow drivers. DD: I often drove postal trucks while I worked for the Post Office 1966-1969. 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.dailysignal.com/2026/07/15/illegal-alien-truckers-documentary/
FEDERALIST
— Democrat Senator Wants ICE Agents To Choose Between Getting Run Over And Going To Jail.
https://thefederalist.com/2026/07/15/democrat-senator-wants-ice-agents-to-choose-between-getting-run-over-and-going-to-jail/
FEDERATION FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION REFORM
— No English, No Problem — Until the Crash Happens. DD: I often drove postal trucks while I worked for the Post Office 1966-1969. 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.fairus.org/opinion/no-english-no-problem-until-crash-happens
FOX NEWS
— How the ‘long march’ through the institutions led to socialist takeover of Dem Party.
https://www.aol.com/news/long-march-institutions-led-socialist-144158152.html
— Powerful LGBTQ+ group’s endorsements could tank vulnerable Dems over radical youth trans agenda. DD: How successful have Democrat leaders been in making everyone a LGBTQer in your county, township, municipality, school district, and precinct?
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/powerful-lgbtq-groups-endorsements-could-tank-vulnerable-dems-radical-youth-trans-agenda.amp
— Sunny Hostin calls Lindsey Graham’s sister a ‘DEI’ hire, questions her qualifications. DD: According to Google AI, “Relevant work experience means any past professional or academic activity that equips you with the transferable skills, knowledge, and abilities needed to perform a specific target job.” GAO Audits IRS. To force me to take a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut to transfer from IRS to GAO when I was 31 in 1980, my Democrat GAO superiors outrageously, disgustingly, and unethically ignored/dismissed/belittled/badmouthed a) what I had learned working 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, b) my having passed the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979, c) my earning an MBA from Loyola in 1976, and d) the fact that much of what I did for IRS was similar to what I would do for GAO. They kept me off audits of IRS’s Collection Division for all of the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO but did let me work on audits of IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division for 3 years. They would not have wasted my knowledge of IRS if I had been a Democrat, female, or veteran.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/sunny-hostin-calls-lindsey-grahams-sister-dei-hire-questions-qualifications
(FROM THE ARTICLE: “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin criticized South Carolina on Wednesday over Republican Gov. Henry McMaster’s appointment of Darline Graham to replace her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, arguing the state’s first female senator lacked the political experience needed to represent its residents in Washington. Hostin branded the appointment an example of diversity-based hiring and nepotism after co-host Joy Behar called Graham’s selection “the very definition of DEI.” “Correct, correct. It’s everything that the Republican Party stands against. Everything!” Hostin said. “It’s DEI. Nepotism. All these things thrown in together.” Hostin also attacked South Carolina for reaching the milestone through an appointment rather than the election of a female candidate. “She’ll be the first woman to be a U.S. senator in South Carolina in the history of the state, and I think that that’s just — it’s just fundamentally wrong that South Carolina just couldn’t elect a woman and this is the only way that it was done,” Hostin said. The former federal prosecutor questioned Graham’s qualifications, referring to her as a certified optician and arguing that her professional background did not prepare her for the Senate. “I think the experience does matter,” Hostin said. “While she is a certified optician and while she has done great work in that field, I don’t think that she should be representing the people of South Carolina in the U.S. Senate. I just don’t.” Behar agreed and argued that public office required specialized knowledge. “It’s not like taking over your mother’s job at McDonald’s,” Behar said. “You’re in government. You have to know what you’re doing.” Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, who served as the White House Director of Strategic Communications in President Donald Trump’s first term, pushed back, noting that Graham would serve as a caretaker and comparing the appointment to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s selection of Laphonza Butler after the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein. “You guys are putting too much stock in who’s currently in Congress,” Griffin said. “Yeah, you got a point,” co-host Whoopi Goldberg said. Hostin tied the appointment to reports that War Secretary Pete Hegseth had blocked several proposed promotions of Navy officers, including women and people of color. “I feel like our government is fundamentally broken,” Hostin said. “I just — I disagree with this.” . . . Darline Graham, a native of Central, S.C., has dedicated her career to public service,” the spokesperson added. “She has served the people of South Carolina for nearly 30 years, and the governor believes she is the right person to finish her brother’s work.” Graham has served as commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind since 2019, working to expand employment and independent-living opportunities for residents who are blind or have low vision, according to the governor’s office. She previously held roles with Clemson University, the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce and the South Carolina Department of Vocational Rehabilitation.)
HERITAGE FOUNDATION
— DEI Is a Threat to the Republic. DD: Affirmative Action (AA) and DEI are political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination. My critics/opponents promote AA and DEI a) because they personally benefit from AA and DEI and/or b) because they want to curry favor with those who benefit from AA and DEI.
https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/report/dei-threat-the-republic
MINDING THE CAMPUS
— The Fourth Year Is on Trial. If colleges can’t prove a fourth year is worth the cost, states should keep cutting. 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://mindingthecampus.org/2026/07/15/the-fourth-year-is-on-trial/
POST MILLENNIAL
— Trump to replace illegal alien truckers with American veteran drivers. All veterans with experience driving US military trucks will automatically be eligible for a commercial driver’s license (CDL). DD: I often drove postal trucks while I worked for the Post Office 1966-1969. 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://thepostmillennial.com/president-trump-to-replace-illegal-alien-truckers-with-american-veteran-drivers
TOWNHALL
— Democrats Want to Put DEI Before Your Health and Safety.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/amy-curtis/2026/07/15/dei-in-medical-schools-n2679470
— Leftist Podcasters Trash Christianity and Homeschooling: ‘It’s Child Abuse’
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/julia-cassidy/2026/07/15/leftist-podcasters-sound-off-on-christianity-and-homeschooling-its-child-abuse-n2679513
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
AOL
— O’Reilly pushes personal responsibility amid affordability crisis. What did you do to help you afford things? I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree 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.aol.com/articles/o-reilly-pushes-personal-responsibility-035055000.html
NEW YORK TIMES
— DD: All of my coworkers who my Democrat superiors in the federal government promoted over me were Democrats who a) had less education than I had, had less work experience than I had, had no professional certification or fewer than I had, and/or had no professional license like the one I had and/or b) were minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or had ancestors who had not been in America for a long time.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/us/hegseth-blocks-navy-promotions.html
USA TODAY
— These 5 states (California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Washington, DC,) still penalize you if you don’t have health insurance. DD: The federal government paying 72% of my health insurance since 1966 and then also paying 72% of my wife’s health insurance since 1978 helped me endure tremendous efforts by my Democrat superiors in the federal government to waste my career and to get rid of me.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2026/03/18/states-penalty-no-health-insurance/89168539007/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— India’s Affirmative-Action Lesson for America. Quotas hold the country back, even as China’s meritocracy fuels its economic advancement. DD: All of my coworkers who my Democrat superiors in the federal government promoted over me were Democrats who a) had less education than I had, had less work experience than I had, had no professional certification or fewer than I had, and/or had no professional license like the one I had and/or b) were minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or had ancestors who had not been in America for a long time.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/indias-affirmative-action-lesson-for-america-26f2dbaf
— Democrats Fall for Socialism Again.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/democrats-fall-for-socialism-again-71155b18
POLITICO
— In seismic shift, more than 100 House Democrats vote to end Israel aid. The amendment to block military assistance failed, but partisan split cemented the increasingly polarized view of the U.S. ally. Rep. Lauren Underwood — a leader of House Democrats’ campaign arm who flipped her Illinois seat blue in 2018 — voted for the amendment as well.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/15/israel-aid-vote-house-democrats-00999917
— The military benefits bill that’s tearing the veterans community apart. The Take Care of America’s Veterans Act may not get a House vote this week because of ongoing controversy surrounding the measure.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/15/house-take-care-veterans-act-00999260
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), chair of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and sponsor of the measure, held a rally outside the capitol Tuesday to marshal support for the bill, featuring supportive remarks from the American Legion, Wounded Warrior Project, the Tragedy Assistance Program For Survivors and Vietnam Veterans of America.)
— DD: Democrat and RINO leaders blame Trump for affordability problems. What did you do to help you afford things? I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree 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.politico.com/news/2025/12/04/poll-americans-trump-voters-affordability-crisis-00674747
HR DRIVE
— DD: Democrat and RINO employers use Affirmative Action and DEI a) to not hire Republicans and b) get rid of their Republican employees.
https://www.hrdive.com/news/eeoc-2026-agenda-enforcement/825281/
FROM FOREIGN SOURCES
SKY NEWS
— Trump to stop blue cities registering illegal aliens to vote as Mamdani continues to brag
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdYQ20aNxc8
INDIAN EXPRESS
— 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://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/a-strong-woman-is-not-marriage-material-neena-gupta-reveals-that-95-of-men-want-women-who-are-helpless-10462475/
FROM OTHER SOURCES
HAGERTY
— Your definitive 1968–70 Dodge Charger buyer’s guide. DD: My dream car is a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T, As it came from the factory, Numbers matching/correct, Like new, 440 or 426, Automatic, Blue exterior, Black vinyl roof, Black leather interior, and Air conditioning. I owned a 1968 R/T 1994-2005 and a 1969 SE 1968-1971.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/definitive-1968-70-dodge-charger-buyers-guide/