March 6, 2025

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly demonize, denigrate, and condemn tariffs.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/05/trumps-tariffs-explainer/
— The historic Crown Point Courthouse saw one of several demonstrations organized across 50 states ahead of President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress Tuesday evening.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/05/region-residents-join-nationwide-demonstrations-on-eve-of-trump-speech-in-congress/
— Hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters ever-increasingly promote more hatred against Trump.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/05/lake-countys-congressmen-give-trump-speech-the-cold-shoulder-he-stands-for-only-one-thing-himself/
— Under the Democrats and under the RINOs, homelessness will ever-increasingly increase.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/06/opinion-homelessness-criminalization-grants-pass-camping-bans-illinois-legislation/
— Early voting for April 1 election begins Friday in Kane County
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/05/early-voting-for-april-1-election-begins-friday-in-kane-county-officials-say/

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— ALL OF THE FRONT PAGE: Hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters ever-increasingly a) promote the hate-filled Trump-hating Mayor of Chicago  and b) demonize, denigrate, and condemn Trump..
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2025/03/05/brandon-johnson-sanctuary-city-hearing-chicago-house-oversight-committee
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly demonize, denigrate, and condemn tariffs.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/small-business/2025/03/05/trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-china-illinois-businesses-facing-scary-times
— Robert Crimo III signs trial waiver ‘Donald Trump’ after pleading guilty to Highland Park parade shooting. Experts say his guilty plea should stand. “He can sign Mickey Mouse or Donald Trump,” said Richard Kling, a law professor at Kent College of Law. What matters, he said, is that there is a transcript of Crimo orally pleading guilty, which Crimo did Monday.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/highland-park-parade-shooting/2025/03/05/highland-park-parade-shooting-robert-crimo-trial-waiver-donald-trump

DAILY HERALD
— Early voting ahead of April 1 election begins Friday for some, March 17 for others (COMMENT: As a Republican Precinct Committeeman, I will use 805 mailing labels to hand-deliver Republican campaign literature and marked sample ballots to the 400 residences in my DuPage County Milton Township Precinct 59 in Wheaton that have at least one registered Republican or one Independent voter.)
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250305/local-politics/early-voting-ahead-of-april-1-election-begins-friday-for-some-march-17-for-others/
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH PICTURE: Lisle mayor, trustees at odds over police chief hiring process (COMMENT: How did you get your jobs? The Democrats who ran GAO in 1980, IRS in 1971, and the Post Office in 1966 hired me because they could not find a qualified Democrat who was minority, female, younger, or veteran who would take the job. For the Post Office job, I had passed the postal employment examination and I had earned a high school diploma. For the IRS job, I had passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination and earned a bachelor’s degree in business from NIU. For the GAO job, I had earned an MBA from Loyola, passed the CPA examination on my first attempt, and almost completed the requirements for a master’s degree in accounting from DePaul.)
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250305/news/lisle-mayor-trustees-at-odds-over-police-chief-hiring-process/

NBC5
— Appeals court allows Trump to remove Office of Special Counsel (OSC) ethics watchdog Hampton Dellinger — for now (COMMENT: OSC did not come to my defense when my Democrat GAO, IRS, and Post Office superiors took many big adverse actions against me a) because I blew the whistle on their political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination and b) because I became an active member in a class action lawsuit when I was 40 years old in 1988 that charged my GAO superiors with reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation.)
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/business/money-report/appeals-court-allows-trump-administration-to-remove-federal-ethics-watchdog/3689910/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: “The Special Counsel’s job is to look into and expose unethical or unlawful practices directed at federal civil servants, and to help ensure that whistleblowers who disclose fraud, waste, and abuse on the part of government agencies can do so without suffering reprisals,”)
— DOGE recommends closing multiple Social Security offices across the U.S., including in Illinois. The proposed closure comes after reports that the Social Security Administration is preparing to lay off least 7,000 people from its workforce. (COMMENT: My Medicare is more than my Social Security. That may explain why I did not get a SSA-1099. But the Social Security website would not let me request one and no one answered at Social Security after hours of being in hold.)
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/doge-recommends-closing-multiple-social-security-offices-across-the-u-s-including-in-illinois/3689639/

FOX32
— LaHood calls Johnson ‘tone deaf’ to needs of Chicago
https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DTtTNdlAl7lA

SOUTHERN
— Trump administration hit with over 100 lawsuits since inauguration
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2025/03/06/trump-administration-hit-with-over-100-lawsuits-since-inauguration/

RIVER BENDER
— What percent of those in your county, township, municipality, school district, and precinct are dependent on federal spending?
https://www.riverbender.com/news/details/trump-administration-cuts-funding-for-grants-that-support-illinois-farmers-and-food-banks-80297.cfm?

STATELINE
— What percent of those in your county, township, municipality, school district, and precinct are dependent on federal spending?
https://www.mystateline.com/news/illinois-gov-pritzker-warns-1-million-may-lose-health-care-coverage-if-medicaid-funding-cut/

CLINTON JOURNAL
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly demonize, denigrate, and condemn tariffs.
https://theclintonjournal.com/stories/tariffs-on-illinois-largest-trading-partners,86466

WAND TV
— What percent of those in your county, township, municipality, school district, and precinct are dependent on federal spending?
https://www.wandtv.com/news/statehouse/legislative-leaders-urge-illinois-gop-congressional-delegation-to-vote-against-medicaid-cuts/article_88944766-fa08-11ef-b1f9-632b456fc219.html

NORTHERN PUBLIC RADIO
— Appeals court rules that Trump can remove head of  the Office of Special Counsel (OSC). OSC did not come to my defense when my Democrat GAO, IRS, and Post Office superiors took many big adverse actions against me a) because I blew the whistle on their political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination and b) because I became an active member in a class action lawsuit when I was 40 years old in 1988 that charged my GAO superiors with reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation.)
https://www.northernpublicradio.org/2025-03-05/trump-administration-can-remove-head-of-federal-watchdog-agency-appeals-court-rules
(FROM THE ARTICLE: OSC is responsible for guarding the federal workforce from illegal personnel actions, such as retaliation for whistleblowing. It investigates whistleblower claims of reprisal, can pursue disciplinary action against employees who punish whistleblowers and provides a channel for employees to disclose government wrongdoing.)

AXIOS CHICAGO
— What percent of those in your county, township, municipality, school district, and precinct are dependent on federal spending?
https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/03/05/house-budget-medicaid-cuts-illinois

POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Brandon Johnson gets a D.C. grilling
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2025/03/06/brandon-johnson-v-darin-lahood-00215402

CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2025/03/06/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-468/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WIREPOINTS
— One of the first targets for an Illinois DOGE? Chicago’s 20 nearly-empty, failing schools. Here’s the 2025 list.
https://wirepoints.org/one-of-the-first-targets-for-an-illinois-doge-chicagos-20-nearly-empty-failing-schools-heres-the-2025-list-wirepoints/

COOK COUNTY RECORD
— Illinois officials have the constitutional authority to essentially thumb their nose at federal immigration agents and complicate federal efforts to locate and remove illegal immigrants, according to a new filing from Illinois’ state attorney general. (COMMENT: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly reject the rule of law.)
https://cookcountyrecord.com/stories/670297274-new-filing-illinois-has-constitutional-authority-to-ignore-immigration-law-complicate-deportations

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— The Democrat-led mainstream news media ever-increasingly spins negatively everything that Trump says and does. – Dave Diersen
http://gopillinois.com
— All during the almost 30 years that I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government, they ever-increasingly lowered standards to hire, retain, and promote more Democrats who were minority, female, younger, and/or veteran. That ever-increasingly rendered worthless a) my job-related bachelor’s degree, b) my three job-related master’s degrees, c) my six job-related professional certifications, and d) my job-related professional license. All my coworkers who my Democrat superiors promoted over me were the aforesaid and a) had less work experience than I had, b) had less education than I had, c) had no professional certifications or fewer than I had, and/or d) had no professional license like the one I had. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— The Office of Special Counsel’s (OSC) job is to look into and expose unethical or unlawful practices directed at federal civil servants, and to help ensure that whistleblowers who disclose fraud, waste, and abuse on the part of government agencies can do so without suffering reprisals, But OSC did not come to my defense when my Democrat GAO, IRS, and Post Office superiors took many big adverse actions against me a) because I blew the whistle on their political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination and b) because I became an active member in a class action lawsuit when I was 40 years old in 1988 that charged my GAO superiors with reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com

MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Oberweis Tries for Congress Again (COMMENT: I did much to help Oberweis win general elections. Of course, my critics/opponents always hinted/implied/argued/shouted at him that I caused all his defeats. I should write about my critics/opponents.)
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/05/oberweis-tries-for-congress-again/

ILLINOIS REVIEW
— Trump Declares ‘America is Back’ as House Speaker Removes Rep. Al Green for Disrupting Presidential Speech to Congress
https://www.illinoisreview.com/illinoisreview/2025/03/trump-declares-america-is-back-as-house-speaker-removes-rep-al-green-for-disrupting-presidential-speech-to-congress.html

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

U.S. HOUSE
— Sanctuary Mayors Refuse to Change Policies That Obstruct Federal Immigration Enforcement and Protect Dangerous Criminal Aliens
https://oversight.house.gov/release/hearing-wrap-up-sanctuary-mayors-refuse-to-change-policies-that-obstruct-federal-immigration-enforcement-and-protect-dangerous-criminal-aliens/

WASHINGTON TIMES
— Democrats are delusional in their open embrace of illegals
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/mar/6/democrats-delusional-open-embrace-illegals/

AMERICAN THINKER
— Trump’s triumphant vision as America’s renewal shines in historic address
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/03/trump_s_triumphant_vision_as_america_s_renewal_shines_in_historic_address.html

BREITBART
— Trump Reforms Yield Several Arrests of Illegal Aliens Taking American Jobs
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2025/03/05/trump-reforms-yield-several-arrests-illegals-taking-american-jobs/
— The more demographics that you have that vote for Republicans and the longer that your ancestors have been in America, the more hatred that Democrat and RINO leaders promote against you.
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2025/03/05/there-is-no-america-without-migrants-says-democrat-attorney-general/

DAILY CALLER
— Soaring Levels Of Non-English Speaking Students May Be Driving National Reading Test Scores Into Ground (COMMENT: Delay in dumping German held my ancestors back big time. All my ancestors immigrated from what is now Germany during the 1840s and 1850s. Yet, all my grandparents still spoke German. Neither of my parents attended college. My father was only the first of my ancestors to earn a high school diploma. My mother never attended high school.)
https://dailycaller.com/2025/03/05/soaring-levels-of-non-english-speaking-students-may-be-driving-national-reading-test-scores-into-ground/

FOX BUSINESS
— Mayors gave ‘woke wonderment’ and ‘double-talk’
https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6369653272112

FOX NEWS
— DNC hires new top exec with long history of pushing racial grievances, leftist ideology. Roger Lau previously worked for progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dnc-hires-new-top-exec-with-long-history-pushing-racial-grievances-leftist-ideology?lid=4j232h861vbo
— Republican, independent voters react positively to Trump declaring US ‘woke no longer’  Democrats in the focus groups tests did not react at all favorably to Trump’s statements during his address to Congress.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/republican-independent-voters-react-positively-trump-declaring-us-woke-no-longer

GREG GIROUX
— Former Illinois state Sen. Jim Oberweis (R), who relocated to SW Florida after close loss to Rep. Lauren Underwood (D) in 2020, filed papers to seek #FL19 seat Rep. Byron Donalds (R) is giving up to run for governor. (COMMENT: I did much to help Oberweis win general elections. Of course, my critics/opponents always hinted/implied/argued/shouted at him that I caused all his defeats. I should write about my critics/opponents.)
https://x.com/greggiroux/status/1897388737275031939

JAMES A. FUREY
— Education bureaucrats lower standards in the name of ‘equity’ and call it progress.  In reality, they are condemning students, particularly the most vulnerable, to a lifetime of limited opportunity. (COMMENT: All during the almost 30 years that I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government, they ever-increasingly lowered standards to hire, retain, and promote more Democrats who were minority, female, younger, and/or veteran. That ever-increasingly rendered worthless a) my job-related bachelor’s degree, b) my three job-related master’s degrees, c) my six job-related professional certifications, and d) my job-related professional license. All my coworkers who my Democrat superiors promoted over me were the aforesaid and a) had less work experience than I had, b) had less education than I had, c) had no professional certifications or fewer than I had, and/or d) had no professional license like the one I had.)
https://x.com/JamesAFurey/status/1897400171593654726

JIM OBERWEIS FOR CONGRESS
https://votejimo.com/

NEWSMAX
— Sanctuary City Mayors ‘Put Illegals First’
https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/james-comer-chicago-denver/2025/03/05/id/1201616/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

REUTERS
— Trump plans to revoke legal status of Ukrainians who fled to US
https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-trump-plans-revoke-legal-111130604.html

NEWSWEEK
— Sanctuary City Hearing Descends Into Chaos: ‘This Is My Right!’ (COMMENT: How strongly are your county, county district, township, municipality, municipal district, school district, and precinct sanctuaries for illegals?)
https://www.newsweek.com/sanctuary-city-hearing-james-comer-ayanna-pressley-chaos-2040235

C-SPAN
— Trump Praises Efforts to End DEI “Woke” Policies in Defense Dept.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5155812/president-trump-praises-efforts-end-dei-woke-policies-defense-dept

CBS NEWS
— Highland Park parade shooter signed “Donald Trump” on trial waiver rather than his own name after guilty plea
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/highland-park-parade-shooter-donald-trump-name-document/

NEW YORK TIMES
— More Than 70 Million Americans Are on Medicaid. This Is Where They Live. (COMMENT: How many are on Medicaid in your county, township, municipality, school district, and precinct? Why are they on Medicaid?)
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/27/us/politics/medicaid-enrollment.html
— There Is No Musk Exception in the Constitution
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/opinion/elon-musk-trump-constitution.html
— ‘Hamilton’ Cancels Kennedy Center Run Over Trump’s Takeover. “We’re not going to be a part of it while it is the Trump Kennedy Center,” said the show’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/theater/hamilton-kennedy-center-trump-miranda.html

WASHINGTON POST
— D.C. U.S. attorney tells Georgetown he won’t hire from any school with ‘DEI’ (COMMENT: To promote DEI is to lower standards for Democrats who are minority, female, and/or younger.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/03/05/dc-us-attorney-ed-martin-georgetown-law-dei/
— The Democratic fight over how to respond to Trump has already begun (COMMENT: I wonder what the hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters will shout at me as I hand-deliver sample ballots and Republican campaign literature in my precinct.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/05/democrats-trump-speech-reaction-debate/

USA TODAY
— Canadian province leader threatens to cut off energy to 3 US states, imposes 25% surcharge
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/04/ontario-canada-tariff-retaliation-energy-states/81350351007/
— Democrats and RINOs ever-increasingly use DEI to get rid of Republicans.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/03/04/trump-dei-backlash-explained/81170427007/

NEW YORKER
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more illegal immigration.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-many-immigrants-will-die-in-us-custody

FINANCIAL REVIEW
— All during the almost 30 years that I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government, they ever-increasingly lowered standards to hire, retain, and promote more Democrats who were minority, female, younger, and/or veteran. That ever-increasingly rendered worthless a) my job-related bachelor’s degree, b) my three job-related master’s degrees, c) my six job-related professional certifications, and d) my job-related professional license. All my coworkers who my Democrat superiors promoted over me were the aforesaid and a) had less work experience than I had, b) had less education than I had, c) had no professional certifications or fewer than I had, and/or d) had no professional license like the one I had.
https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/gender-data-shows-any-lack-of-meritocracy-is-working-in-favour-of-men-20250225-p5lf18

PRESS AND GUIDE & NEWS HERALD
— Today in history: John Belushi’s death shocks hometown of Wheaton
https://www.pressandguide.com/2025/03/05/today-in-chicago-history-john-belushis-death-shocks-the-city/
https://www.thenewsherald.com/2025/03/05/today-in-chicago-history-john-belushis-death-shocks-the-city/

March 5, 2025 Evening Edition

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC7
— Chicago Mayor Johnson defends spending on migrant crisis during Capitol Hill hearings
https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-mayor-brandon-johnson-defends-spending-migrant-crisis-during-sanctuary-city-hearings-washington-dc/15981771/
— Mayor Brandon Johnson testifies in DC at sanctuary city hearing
https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-mayor-brandon-johnson-set-testify-washington-dc-sanctuary-city-hearing/15979555/
— Trump issues ‘last warning’ to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza
https://abc7chicago.com/post/trump-issues-last-warning-hamas-release-remaining-hostages-held-gaza/15981541/
— Trump administration plans to fire over 70K employees at Department of Veterans Affairs
https://abc7chicago.com/post/president-donald-trumps-administration-planning-fire-70k-employees-us-department-veterans-affairs-memo-shows/15981426/
— ‘Partisan and divisive’: House leadership on Trump’s joint address
https://abc7chicago.com/post/democrats-republicans-react-president-trumps-joint-address-congress/15980125/
— Illinois legislative revenue estimate more than $700M lower than Gov. Pritzker’s proposed budget
https://abc7chicago.com/post/illinois-legislative-revenue-estimate-737-million-lower-governor-jb-pritzkers-proposed-state-budget/15982106/

NBC5
— House Republicans seek to censure Rep. Al Green after interrupting Trump’s speech
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/house-republicans-seek-to-censure-rep-al-green-after-interrupting-trumps-speech/3689903/
—  LaHood questions Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson during testimony before Congress
https://www.nbcchicago.com/top-videos-home/il-rep-darin-lahood-questions-chicago-mayor-brandon-johnson-during-testimony-before-congress/3689776/

CBS2
— Mayor Brandon Johnson defends Chicago’s immigration policies on Capitol Hill; “Chicago is and always has been a proud city of immigrants.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/after-prep-mayor-johnson-testify-capitol-hill-immigration/

FOX32
— Mayor Brandon Johnson delivers opening statement in sanctuary cities hearing
https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DliSvuXQIHh8

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Mayor Brandon Johnson defends Chicago’s sanctuary laws in GOP-led congressional hearing
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/05/mayor-brandon-johnson-congress-committee-sanctuary-laws/
— Democrat leaders say “Trump uses Democrats as stooges at address to Congress” and ask “When will the party learn some common sense?”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/05/editorial-donald-trump-uses-democrats-as-stooges-at-state-of-the-union-when-will-the-party-learn-some-common-sense/
— City begins rehousing efforts for Gompers Park homeless encampment residents
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/05/chicago-rehousing-efforts-gompers-park-homeless/
— Aurora mayoral candidates Richard Irvin, John Laesch to answer questions at upcoming forum (COMMENT: While I was the chairman of TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois 2005 -2012, far too many Republican candidates objected to my asking them after their speeches that if elected, would they defend and advance all the planks in the Republican Party platform.)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/05/aurora-mayoral-candidates-richard-irvin-john-laesch-to-answer-questions-at-upcoming-forum/

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Heavily-scripted Mayor Brandon Johnson survives congressional hot seat on Chicago’s sanctuary city policy
https://chicago.suntimes.com/brandonjohnson/2025/03/05/chicago-sanctuary-city-brandon-johnson-testimony-updates-file

DAILY HERALD
— ‘Insulting and disrespectful’: Suburban Democratic lawmakers slam Trump’s address to Congress
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250305/us-congress-politics/insulting-and-disrespectful-suburban-democratic-lawmakers-slam-trumps-address-to-congress/
— Illinois lawmakers boycott, bring pointed guests to Trump speech
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250304/nation-and-world-politics/illinois-lawmakers-boycott-bring-pointed-guests-to-trump-speech/

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Brandon Johnson argues sanctuary city law keeps Chicago safer in high-profile House testimony
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/brandon-johnson-defends-chicagos-sanctuary-city-law-dc

SOUTHERN
— Trump, Musk raise questions about whether nation’s gold at Fort Knox has been stolen
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2025/03/05/trump-musk-raise-questions-about-whether-nations-gold-at-fort-knox-has-been-stolen/

NPR ILLINOIS
— Volunteers help fired federal workers re-enter the job market (COMMENT: No one helped me or my Republican GAO coworkers who were fired because of Republican-led budget cuts during the 1980s and 1990s.)
https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-03-05/volunteers-help-fired-federal-workers-re-enter-the-job-market

NEWS CHANNEL 20
— Republicans push for special master in Illinois redistricting lawsuit
https://newschannel20.com/news/local/republicans-push-for-special-master-in-illinois-redistricting-lawsuit#

KDHL RADIO
— Cannabis Edible Sends Illinois Teen To Emergency Room
https://kdhlradio.com/ixp/722/p/cannabis-edible-illinois/

WHEATON
— Women of Wheaton (COMMENT: What About Men of Wheaton?)
https://www.wheaton.il.us/1069/Women-of-Wheaton

CAPITOL FAX
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2025/03/05/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-261/
— Underutilized CPS schools driving up costs
https://capitolfax.com/2025/03/05/report-underutilized-cps-schools-driving-up-costs/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— It all comes out in the wash. As time goes on, it becomes all the more clear that all my critics/opponents who claim to be religious, conservative, and/or Republican reject many, most, if not virtually all of the planks in the Republican Party platform, most commonly, its personal responsibility, traditional marriage and family, right to life, immigration, illegal drugs, Second Amendment, and/or equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks. I should write about my critics/opponents. I would focus on those who still have lots of religious, government, political, and/or financial clout in Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois and have had their operatives and their dupes take the most/biggest adverse actions against me lately. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WASHINGTON TIMES
— Antics at speech highlight Democrats’ Trump problem
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/mar/5/antics-speech-highlight-democrats-trump-problem/

WASHINGTON FREE BEACON
— Chicago Mayor: Sanctuary Policies Make Cities Safer Because ‘Undocumented Immigrants Come Forward To Report Crimes’
https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/chicago-mayor-sanctuary-policies-make-cities-safer-because-undocumented-immigrants-come-forward-to-report-crimes/

BREITBART
— Biden Quadrupled Unvetted Immigration Through Parole Program Abuse
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2025/03/05/report-biden-quadrupled-unvetted-immigration-through-parole-program-abuse/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

CNN
— USDA employees fired en masse by Trump administration reinstated  (COMMENT: I was among the more than 3,000 GAO employees who Republicans fired during the 1980s and 1990s. What if we had been reinstated?)
https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/05/politics/usda-employees-fired-reinstatement/index.html

NBC NEWS
— Trump grants automakers a 1-month exemption on tariffs; Vance visits southern border
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/live-blog/live-updates-trump-vance-musk-doge-immigration-russia-ukraine-rcna194067

CBS NEWS
— JD Vance touts Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration in Texas
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/jd-vance-touts-trump-administrations-crackdown-on-illegal-immigration-in-texas/
— House Speaker Mike Johnson’s chief of staff arrested for DUI after Trump speech
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mike-johnson-chief-of-staff-hayden-haynes-arrested-dui-trump-speech/

NEW YORK TIMES
— Chicago’s Mayor Pushes Back as Republicans Attack Immigration Policies
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/us/brandon-johnson-chicago-mayor-sanctuary-city-hearing.html

WASHINGTON POST
— Americans don’t love Trump’s methods on Ukraine
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/05/americans-dont-love-trumps-methods-ukraine/
— Trump administration plans 15 percent cut to VA workforce (COMMENT: While I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO during the 1980s and 1998s, Republicans cut half its workforce.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/05/veterans-affairs-cut-employees-trump-doge/

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Trump Tariff Concerns Paralyze Businesses, Raising Uncertainty
https://www.wsj.com/video/trump-tariff-concerns-paralyze-businesses-raising-uncertainty/9883E3CA-F5B0-4DB2-A2FB-0845198B7542

INDEPENDENT
— Speaker Mike Johnson’s chief of staff arrested on DUI charge after Trump’s speech
https://www.yahoo.com/news/speaker-mike-johnson-chief-staff-213942800.html

March 5, 2025

WHITE HOUSE
— Democrats Showed Whose Side They’re On — And it’s Not the American People
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/03/democrats-showed-whose-side-theyre-on-and-its-not-the-american-people/

ILLINOIS GOP
— ILGOP Responds to President Trump’s Address To Joint Session Of Congress: Following President Trump’s first address to a joint session of Congress in his second term as president, ILGOP Chair Kathy Salvi released the following statement: “Tonight, President Trump addressed millions of Americans around the country and outlined his administration’s first 43 days in office – common sense solutions, securing our border, stopping government waste and abuse, and putting America First. The next four years will be full of prosperity as we get our country back on track and the Illinois Republican Party will continue to work with President Trump to help Illinois families and Make America Great Again.”
https://illinois.gop/ilgop-responds-to-president-trumps-address-to-joint-session-of-congress/

EPOCH TIMES
— 12 Takeaways From Trump’s First Major Policy Speech to Congress. Trump touted his administration’s achievements in its first 42 days, and promised greater prosperity and security for the nation.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/12-takeaways-from-trumps-first-major-policy-speech-to-congress-5820120
(FROM THE ARTICLE: 1. Tax Cuts Promised for All Americans. . .2. Border Closed, Deportations Underway. . .3. Trump Touts ‘Common Sense Revolution’. . .including rooting out “woke” ideas from the government and federally-funded programs. He referenced an executive order signed early in his second term declaring that the federal government recognizes only two sexes, based on biological sex at conception and not “gender ideology.” Trump highlighted his executive order stripping federal funding for schools that allow males to compete in female sports. One order declared that it is the official policy of the United States that Title IX applies to women and not men who identify as transgender females. The first gallery guest introduced by Trump was Payton McNabb, a female athlete who suffered injuries while playing volleyball against a male player. Trump also referenced merit-based hiring—rather than hiring to meet diversity quotas—as part of his “common sense revolution” agenda. . .4. Tariffs Explained, ‘A Little Disturbance’. . .5. DOGE Findings Highlighted. . .6. Promises Balanced Budget. . .7. Victims Spotlighted. . .8. Direct Appeal to Greenlanders. . .9. Letter From Zelenskyy. . .10. New Shipbuilding Office. . .11. Arrest of Top Terrorist Responsible for Abbey Gate. . .12. Democrats Respond)

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC7
— Democrat leaders spin Trump’s speech against  him
https://abc7chicago.com/post/key-takeaways-pres-trumps-speech-congress/15979123/
https://abc7chicago.com/live-updates/trump-joint-session-of-congress-live-updates/15977198/entry/15978756/
— Democrat leaders fact check Trump’s speech. During the last 11 years that I worked for GAO at the GS-13 Step 1-10 Levels, currently $117,807-$153,151/year, I often worked as a fact-checker.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/fact-checking-trumps-speech-congress/15978671/
— A disjointed response from the Democrats
https://abc7chicago.com/live-updates/trump-joint-session-of-congress-live-updates/15977198/entry/15978647/
— Chicago-area protests held as Trump delivers address to Congress; local politicians weigh in
https://abc7chicago.com/post/donald-trump-speech-today-federal-plaza-chicago-protest-among-several-held-area-response-address-congress/15978909/
— Trump administration ends reimbursements for Illinois food programs. USDA funds are part of nearly $2 billion being withheld from Illinois, Pritzker says. (COMMENT: To what extent are those in your country, township, municipality, school district, and precinct dependent on federal food programs?)
https://abc7chicago.com/post/donald-trump-administration-ends-reimbursements-program-designed-help-farmers-supply-fresh-food-illinois-banks/15978548/
— Stocks tumble after Trump tariffs take effect
https://abc7chicago.com/live-updates/trump-joint-session-of-congress-live-updates/15977198/entry/15978114/

CBS2
— CTU holding rallies, walk-ins in Chicago for “Protect our Kids” day of action
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicago-teachers-rally-protect-our-kids/

FOX32
— Illinois politicos react to Trump’s first speech to Congress in 2nd term
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/trump-speech-reax-illinois
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEBpaq1CGhg
— Chicago activists push for immigrant rights amid scrutiny of sanctuary cities. As Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson prepares to face questioning from members of Congress over the city’s sanctuary laws, local activists argued for the importance of the city upholding immigrants’ rights.
https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/1602832
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly use tariffs against Trump
https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/1603216
— Krishnamoorthi expects ‘attack on Chicago’ at Johnson hearing
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/illinois-congressman-expects-attack-chicago-johnson-hearing

WTTW
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more illegal immigration
https://news.wttw.com/2025/03/04/illinois-attorney-general-kwame-raoul-trump-administration-birthright-citizenship-and

WBEZ
— Democrats and RINOs ever-increasingly use DEI to destroy Republicans.
https://www.wbez.org/education/2025/03/05/dei-isnt-just-lawful-its-mission-critical

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD IN NAPERVILLE SUN: After nearly four-month break, gun arrests outside Naperville Topgolf resume with three busts in four weeks
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/04/naperville-police-topgolf-gun-firearm-arrest/

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Trump’s Justice Department files to join legal challenge to Illinois nonprofit diversity law
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/trump-justice-department-join-challenge-illinois-dei-law

ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR
— Trump says he’ll cut funds to colleges for ‘illegal’ protests, arrest and deport agitators
https://www.rrstar.com/story/news/local/2025/03/05/rockford-activists-say-trump-lacks-authority-over-on-campus-protests/81380530007/

SOUTHERN
— Who do you blame for high grocery prices and why?
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2025/03/05/in-democratic-response-slotkin-says-trump-has-no-credible-plan-to-lower-grocery-prices/

FOX ILLINOIS
— Trump touts success of immigration crackdown, pushes Congress to pass funding
https://foxillinois.com/news/connect-to-congress/president-donald-trump-touts-success-of-immigration-crackdown-pushes-congress-to-pass-funding-migrants-asylum-border-wall-deportations-ice-dhs-title-42

NPR ILLINOIS
— Trump says he is ‘just getting started,’ as he faces vocal protests from Democrats
https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-03-04/trump-says-he-is-just-getting-started-as-he-faces-vocal-protests-from-democrats

WIFR
— Illinois representatives react to Trump’s joint address to congress
https://www.wifr.com/2025/03/05/illinois-representatives-react-trumps-joint-address-congress/

WCIA
— Democrats ever-increasingly push pot in Danville
https://www.wcia.com/news/vermilion-county/seven-point-dispensary-to-expand-in-danville-after-approval-of-consumption-lounge/

NORTHERN PUBLIC RADIO
— You want privacy with that? (COMMENT: I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government for almost 30 years, including almost 9 years for IRS and 3 years for GAO on audits of IRS. Federal employees who are Republican should anticipate/expect that their Democrat superiors will get your tax information and use it against you. My Democrat IRS superiors used my tax information to disallow my education deductions. My Democrat GAO superiors used my and my wife’s tax information to paint me as being undeservedly filthy rich.)
https://www.northernpublicradio.org/wnij-news/2025-03-05/perspective-you-want-privacy-with-that
(FROM THE ARTICLE: We’re well into a particularly dreaded time of year. Ah, yes. It’s time to pay 2024 taxes. According to a 2023 report from an ad hoc Congressional committee, “Big Tax Prep has recklessly shared tens of millions of taxpayers’ sensitive personal and financial data…for years in what appears to represent a violation of taxpayer privacy laws.” That’s pretty scathing. Think about this: the instant you open that commercial tax package and start uploading your data, you may be risking the loss of your financial privacy. It has me thinking about going back to the twentieth century and filing on paper! Fortunately, Congress and the Internal Revenue Service are rolling out a remedy. This year, it’s now possible for taxpayers in twenty-five states (including Illinois and Wisconsin) to file directly with the IRS – for free. The process will forever be (dare I say) taxing. But at least we’re getting some privacy protections with the new IRS Direct File program. I suppose we can call that……progress.)

AXIOS CHICAGO
— What percent of those in your county, township, municipality, school district, and precinct are dependent om Medicaid?
https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/03/05/house-budget-medicaid-cuts-illinois

BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO
— ICE Says It Will Reveal Who Was Arrested In Chicago ‘As Soon As Possible’ — Which Might Be Never
https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/03/04/ice-says-it-will-reveal-who-was-arrested-in-chicago-as-soon-as-possible-which-might-be-never/

STATE OF ILLINOIS
— Pritzker Acts to Support Federal Workers. State of Illinois will host two career fairs in March for former federal employees in Edwardsville and Chicago.  (COMMENT: I have been a former federal employee for more than 27 years. Illinois has never indicated that it might want to hire me. It has never helped me find a job appropriate for my work experience, education, professional certifications, and professional license. For that matter, neither has DuPage County, Milton Township, Wheaton, or Wheaton Warrenville School District 200.)
https://www.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/illinois/iisnewsattachments/30997-030525-cms-march-job-fairs-press-release.pdf.pdf

POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Trump: ‘Wokeness is trouble’
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2025/03/05/trump-wokeness-is-trouble-00213050

CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2025/03/05/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-467/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WIREPOINTS
— We shouldn’t be proud to have 3.6 million Illinoisans on Medicaid, it means we’re an economic failure
https://wirepoints.org/we-shouldnt-be-proud-to-have-3-6-million-illinoisans-on-medicaid-it-means-economic-failure-wirepoints-on-chicago-tonight/
— So-called voter education group — League of Women Voters — says don’t attend, engage or watch State of Union speech
https://wirepoints.org/so-called-voter-education-group-league-of-women-voters-says-dont-attend-engage-or-watch-state-of-union-speech-wirepoints-quickpoint/
— Be ready for Mayor Johnson to wiggle out of every question he’s asked
https://wirepoints.org/be-ready-for-mayor-johnson-to-weasel-out-of-every-question-hes-asked-wirepoints-on-am-560-chicagos-morning-answer/

CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— Early childhood agency proposes budget, questioned about ‘White Fragility’
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_9012a9d8-f94a-11ef-af4e-2b0663225ced.html

COOK COUNTY RECORD
— IL high court questions if GOP gerrymandering suit is ‘timely;’ GOP: ‘Unquestionably’ so
https://cookcountyrecord.com/stories/670216205-il-high-court-questions-if-gop-gerrymandering-suit-is-timely-gop-unquestionably-so

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— What discourages you from helping elect Republican candidates? For me, it includes my seeing far too many of them who I have helped elect since 2000 a) dump planks in the Republican Party platform if not work against those planks and/or b) blame me and blame my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters for their defeats. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Democrats and RINOs are woke. To be woke is to work against Americans who are conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-poor, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. Wokeness/wokeism is Affirmative Action, DEI, race and gender based preference giving, patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination. Since the 1960s, Democrats and RINOs have ever-increasingly used the aforesaid to get rid of me. If my Democrat superiors in the federal government had not used the aforesaid against me, I would have made Senior Executive Service, currently $195,200/year, long before I was 40 years old. I say that because a) I earned job-related master’s degree when I was 27, 31, and 48, b) I earned job-related professional certifications when I was 30, 32, 41, 45, 47, and 48, and c) I became a licensed CPA when I was 32. I passed the CPA examination on my first attempt when I was 30. I passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt when I was 32. None of my coworkers had accomplishments anywhere near the aforesaid. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— If my parents had not sent me to Missouri Synod Lutheran Grade Schools, I would not have been able to a) get an ACT score of 24, graduate in the upper 20% of my class, or c) get accepted by UIC. To teach wokeness/wokeism is to demonize, denigrate, and condemn students who are White, male, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com

MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— League of Women Voters Advised “DO NOT ATTEND, ENGAGE, OR WATCH THE STATE OF THE UNION”
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/05/league-of-women-voters-advises-do-not-attend-engage-or-watch-the-state-of-the-union/
— CBS Turns Burton’s Bridge Brushfire into a Climate Change Story, Three Stations Use Alex Vucha’s Stunning Photos
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/05/cbs-turns-burtons-bridge-brushfire-into-a-climate-change-story-three-stations-use-alex-vuchas-stunning-photos/
— LaHood Comments on President’s Speech
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/05/lahood-comments-on-presidents-speech/
— Two Subjects Trump Did Not Talk About
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/05/two-subjects-trump-did-not-talk-about/
— The Wrath of God’
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox?compose=DmwnWrRsqXnvpzZnJQcwnDnbnqTbbgzdsqPDLMrJsHxshZzzctVLVhdPLBfmpLqXfKkqpTvmnlwB
— Legislative Reaction to Data Centers’ Electricity Sucking
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/04/legislative-reaction-to-data-centers-electricity-sucking/
— Dems’ Illegal Alien Health Care Lives Down to Republican Expectations
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/03/dems-illegal-alien-health-care-lives-down-to-republican-expectations/
— No Car? How To Get Around in McHenry County
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/03/no-car/
— Illinois Still Has Second Highest Property Taxes
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/03/illinois-still-has-second-highest-property-taxes/
— Pritzker Urged to Ban Chinese Communist Party DeepSeek Software on State Devices
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/03/pritzker-urged-to-ban-chinese-communist-party-deepseek-software-on-state-devices/
— Lakewood’s Golfing Elected Officials In for a Surprise When They Read This
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/03/lakewoods-golfing-elected-officials-in-for-a-surprise-when-they-read-this/
— Barack’s Crumbling Tower of Babble
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/02/baracks-crumbling-tower-of-babble/
— Darin LaHood Interviewed on WGN Radio, Blames Putin for Starting the War
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/01/darin-lahood-interviewed-on-wgn-radio-blames-putin-for-starting-the-way/

ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
— Teachers unions don’t want teachers evaluated on how well students are learning
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/teachers-unions-dont-want-teachers-evaluated-on-how-well-students-are-learning/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WASHINGTON TIMES
— Trump promises that U.S. ‘will be woke no longer’ (COMMENT: Democrats and RINOs are woke. To be woke is to work against Americans who are conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-poor, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. Since the 1960s, Democrats and RINOs have ever-increasingly used wokeness/wokeism to get rid of me.)
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/mar/4/donald-trump-promises-us-woke-longer/
— Speaker Johnson says Democratic Rep. Al Green faces censure for disrupting Trump speech
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/mar/5/speaker-mike-johnson-says-democratic-rep-al-green-faces-censure/

WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Trump brings back sanity, rebukes the LGBT lobby
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/equality-not-elitism/3336980/trump-brings-back-sanity-rebukes-lgbt-lobby/#google_vignette

NEW YORK POST
— Trump hails his whirlwind, six-week ‘common sense revolution’ — as downbeat Dems protest address to Congress
https://nypost.com/2025/03/04/us-news/trump-hails-whirlwind-six-weeks-as-common-sense-revolution-as-dems-heckle-and-protest-address-to-congress/

AMERICAN THINKER
— Trump Is On The Verge Of Ending The EPA’s Tyranny
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/03/trump_is_on_the_verge_of_ending_the_epa_s_tyranny.html

BREITBART
— Trump Touts Getting Wokeness Out of the Military, Recruiting Numbers Up
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/03/04/trump-touts-getting-wokeness-out-of-the-military-recruiting-numbers-up/
— Trump: Deporting Biden’s Migrants Is ‘Great Liberation of America’
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2025/03/05/trump-deporting-bidens-migrants-is-great-liberation-of-america/
— Trump: We Needed a ‘New President,’ Not ‘New Legislation’ to Secure Border
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2025/03/04/trump-needed-new-president-not-new-legislation-secure-border/
— Trump Shutting Down Biden’s Texas-Based Soft Sided Migrant Detention Centers
https://www.breitbart.com/border/2025/03/04/exclusive-trump-shutting-down-bidens-texas-based-soft-sided-migrant-detention-centers-says-source/

DAILY CALLER
— Trump Overpowers Democrat Protests With Verbal Highlight Reel Of First Six Weeks In Office
https://dailycaller.com/2025/03/04/donald-trump-address-joint-session-congress-al-green-protest/

DAILY SIGNAL
— 13 Winners and Losers From Trump’s Address to Congress
https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/03/04/winners-losers-trumps-address-to-congress/

DAILY WIRE
— Trump: It Is Time For America To ‘Wage War On The Cartels’
https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-it-is-time-for-america-to-wage-war-on-the-cartels
— Trump Will Use ‘Full Might’ Of Government To Crush Cartels
https://www.dailywire.com/news/tom-homan-tells-daily-wire-trump-will-use-full-might-of-government-to-crush-cartels

FOX NEWS
— Chicago alderman says Mayor Brandon Johnson can’t defend sanctuary city policies: ‘Lamb to the slaughter’  The Chicago mayor has promised to defend the sanctuary city’s policies on illegal immigrants.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/chicago-alderman-says-mayor-brandon-johnson-cant-defend-sanctuary-city-policies-lamb-slaughter
— Trump takes on ‘toxic ideologies’ in schools and gender surgeries in children: ‘Wokeness is trouble’
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6369618651112
— Trump proclaims that ‘wokeness is dead,’ calls to permanently ban sex changes for minors. Trump said that wokeness is ‘out of our society.’
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-proclaims-wokeness-dead-calls-permanently-ban-sex-changes-minors
— Trump promises ‘this will be our greatest era’ in joint address to Congress
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-promises-this-our-greatest-era-joint-address-congress

NEWSMAX
— Democrats Backing Largest Tax Hike in History
https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/kevin-hern-democrats-joe-biden/2025/03/04/id/1201402/
— Dem Mayors in Congress Talking Sanctuary Cities Protecting Criminal Illegals
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/democrat-sanctuary-city/2025/03/05/id/1201461/

PJ MEDIA
— Trump Honors Girls Murdered by Illegals, Dems Refuse to Applaud
https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2025/03/05/trump-tells-story-of-angel-laken-murdered-by-illegal-n4937580

TOWNHALL
— Under President Trump, America’s Borders Are Secure Again
https://townhall.com/columnists/congressmanandybiggs/2025/03/05/under-president-trump-americas-borders-are-secure-again-n2653226

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ASSOCIATED PRESS
— Trump vows to press ahead on reshaping America in speech to Congress as Democrats register dissent
https://apnews.com/article/trump-speech-congress-immigration-tariffs-guests-93f6107ede260854f90c65c4bde60de8

REUTERS
— Trump touts relentless start to term in speech to Congress, drawing catcalls from Democrats
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-address-congress-after-upending-us-foreign-domestic-policies-2025-03-04/

NBC NEWS
— Key takeaways from Trump’s speech to Congress: A focus on culture wars and GOP unity, as Democrats protest. Trump defended his tariffs, bashed “wokeness” and outlined his tax agenda as Democrats heckled him, while some in the party chose between audible and silent protests.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-speech-highlights-takeaways-congress-address-rcna193844

NEW YORK TIMES
— Full Transcript of President Trump’s Speech to Congress. In a speech to Congress in his first weeks in office, the president laid out his vision to remake U.S. policy on the military, trade, immigration and foreign aid.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/us/politics/transcript-trump-speech-congress.html
— Congressional Speech Highlights: Trump Asserts Term Is Off to a ‘Swift and Unrelenting’ Start. President Trump highlighted the many actions his administration has taken in the past six weeks, including drastic cuts to the federal work force and the eradication of diversity initiatives.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03/04/us/trump-speech-congress
— What Republican Men Think About Trump and Masculinity
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/upshot/trump-men-masculinity-gender.html

WASHINGTON POST
— Defiant Trump signals full speed ahead on divisive policies. Trump addressed a divided nation in a speech marked by acrimony, as a Texas Democrat was escorted from the chamber within the first few moments and as Trump taunted Democrats in the room.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/04/trump-speech-to-congress/
— Republicans applaud Trump address to Congress; Democrats blast it as divisive
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/05/trump-presidency-news-speech/

USA TODAY
— Elon Musk gets high praise and a shoutout in Trump’s joint address: ‘He didn’t need this’
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/04/elon-musk-gets-shoutout-by-trump-in-joint-address/81155034007/
— Trump puts tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, China. Where does the tariff money go? (COMMENT: I am importing a 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona R/T from Canada. How will tariffs impact that?)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/03/05/where-does-tariff-money-go/81375235007/
— Democrats and RINOs use DEI to destroy Republicans.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/03/04/trump-dei-backlash-explained/81170427007/
— FRONT PAGE WITH PICTURE: Trust in Trump’: President’s supporters dismiss alarm bells from critics (COMMENT: What discourages you from helping elect Republican candidates? For me, it includes my seeing far too many who I have helped elect since 2000 a) dump planks in the Republican Party platform if not work against those planks and/or b) blame me and blame my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters for their defeats.)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/04/trump-trust-joint-address-congress/78245523007/

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Trump Touts Rapid Action on Border, Budget and Economy
The State-of-the-Union-style address gave the president a chance to sell his agenda to the American public six weeks into his second term
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/donald-trump-speech-congress-32b8bda1
— Trump’s Tariffs Whack Trump Voters. Whatever happened to GOP concern for the working class?
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-china-working-class-voters-dc140dbc

BLOOMBERG
— Democrat leaders say “Trump “delivered the biggest speech of his presidency yet, hitting on partisan talking points favored by his conservative base, while largely sidestepping the effects of his sweeping tariff proposals on consumers.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-05/tariff-defense-democrats-protest-takeaways-from-trump-s-speech
— Democrat leaders say “How Trump Is Fueling the Backlash Against DEI.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-04/dei-trump-s-executive-orders-targeting-diversity-policies-are-fueling-backlash

POLITICO
— Trump celebrates disruption and defies backlash. “The people elected me to do the job, and I’m doing it.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/04/trump-joint-address-speech-what-happened-00212916

PBS
— Trump says his administration is getting ‘wokeness out of our schools’ (COMMENT: If my parents had not sent me to Missouri Synod Lutheran Grade Schools, I would not have been able to a) get an ACT score of 24, graduate in the upper 20% of my class, or c) get accepted by UIC. To teach wokeness/wokeism is to demonize, denigrate, and condemn students who are White, male, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGVXBniEsz8


NDTV
— “Permanently Ban Sex Change, End This Lie”: Trump Rages Against ‘Wokeness’ Trump also said he had “removed the poison of critical race theory” from public schools, referring to a framework identifying racial bias as inherent in parts of Western society.
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/donald-trump-us-congress-speech-us-2-gender-policy-ban-sex-change-permanently-ban-sex-change-end-this-lie-trump-rages-against-wokeness-7851999

March 3, 2025

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC7
— Hundreds rally for Ukraine in downtown Chicago after shouting match between Trump, Zelenskyy (COMMENT: If you, if your parents, if your grandparents, or if any of your ancestors are/were from Ukraine, what are you doing about this, what are you going to do about this? All my ancestors immigrated from what is now Germany during the 1840s and 1850s. My grandfather on my father’s side fought the Germans in WWI. My uncles on my mother’s side fought the Germans in WWII. My father would have fought the Germans in WWII if he had not been 4-F.)
https://abc7chicago.com/post/ukraine-chicago-protest-today-demonstrators-rally-justice-heated-donald-trump-volodymyr-zelenskyy-meeting/15970169/
— Proposed Medicaid cuts could put nearly 1M Illinois residents at risk of losing coverage. A Humboldt Park Health official said people can expect much longer wait times in the emergency room if the cuts are approved.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/medicaid-illinois-chicago-protest-today-proposed-cuts-held-humboldt-park-health/15966039/

NBC5
— ‘Reverse Robin Hood scam’ or windfall for middle class? Lawmakers debate Trump tax plan extensions. (COMMENT: My critics/opponent have always hinted/implied/argued/shouted that I should pay more federal taxes. I should write about my critics/opponents.)
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/business/money-report/reverse-robin-hood-scam-or-windfall-for-middle-class-lawmakers-debate-trump-tax-plan-extensions/3687002/

CBS2
— Emotions run high at rally for Ukraine in Chicago’s Daley Plaza
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/video/emotions-run-high-at-rally-for-ukraine-in-chicagos-daley-plaza/
— More than 1,000 protest for Ukraine, lambaste President Trump in downtown Chicago
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/protest-for-ukraine-lambaste-president-trump-downtown-chicago/

FOX32
— Chicago mayor to be ‘held accountable’ for sanctuary policies in Capitol Hill hearing, GOP reps say
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/republican-chicago-johnson-hearing

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Chicagoans rally in support of Ukraine after Zelenskyy’s contentious meeting with Trump
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/02/chicago-ukraine-rally/
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more opposition to Republican budget cuts. While I worked for GAO 1980-1997, there was virtually no opposition to Republicans cutting GAO’s budget.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/02/federal-employment-cuts-to-national-park-service-other-agencies-draw-sharp-criticism-here/
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more illegal immigration
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/02/chicago-guatemalans-community/
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/02/fear-of-ice-arrests-keeping-customers-at-home-immigrant-owned-businesses-in-aurora-say-the-streets-were-so-lonely/
— Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly replace those who have demographics that vote for Republicans with those who have demographics that vote for Democrats.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/02/northbrook-celebrates-diversity-with-cultural-fair/
— Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly discourage assimilation.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/03/opinion-multilingualism-us-spanish/

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Musk’s DOGE moves to cancel leases for federal offices across Illinois. The Trump administration is aiming to unload half the buildings the government owns and cancel 50% of leases for offices across the country.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2025/03/03/elon-musk-doge-leases-federal-offices-illinois

DAILY HERALD
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH BIG PICTURE: Reflecting history: County board considering update to DuPage Heritage Gallery
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250302/news/reflecting-history-county-board-considering-update-to-dupage-heritage-gallery/
— District 207 candidates oppose Trump plans to abolish U.S. Education Department, use public funds for private schools (COMMENT: I should write about my critics/opponents who have used against me the most my attending a) Trinity Lutheran Grade School in Crete 1953-1961 and b) Hope Lutheran Grade School in Park Forest 1961-1962.)
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250228/local-politics/district-207-candidates-oppose-trump-plans-to-abolish-u-s-education-department-use-public-funds-fo/

CHAMPAIGN/URBANA NEWS GAZETTE
— Nothing new about financial mismanagement in Illinois
https://www.yahoo.com/news/editorial-nothing-financial-mismanagement-illinois-155100049.html

OUR QUAD CITIES
— Illinois governor plays Nazi Trump card
https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/4-the-record/illinois-governor-plays-nazi-trump-card/
— Democrat leaders not only oppose cutting federal spending for those who vote for Democrats, they want that spending to be increased. Those who vote for Democrats include those who are liberal/moderate, minority, female, younger, unmarried, LGBTQ, non-rich, non-Protestant, non-German American, have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time, are in America illegally, boozers, gamblers, stoners, and criminals.
https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/local-news/whats-ahead-as-illinois-lawmakers-push-to-stop-medicaid-cuts/

FOX ILLINOIS
— Trump is not the first U.S. President to lose patience with Zelenskyy reports show
https://foxillinois.com/news/nation-world/trump-is-not-the-first-us-president-to-lose-patience-with-zelenskyy-reports-show-volodymyr-former-president-joe-biden-jd-vance-oval-office-russia-ukraine-war-foreign-aid

CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— Trump’s speech to Congress comes as he wields vast power almost daring lawmakers, courts to stop him
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/politics/ap-trumps-speech-to-congress-comes-as-he-wields-vast-power-almost-daring-lawmakers-courts-to-stop-him/
— Trump’s past speeches to Congress asked them to pass his agenda. Now, he’s willing to go it alone. (COMMENT: Trump got elected by promising to defend and advance the Republican Party platform.)
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/politics/ap-trumps-past-speeches-to-congress-asked-them-to-pass-his-agenda-now-hes-willing-to-go-it-alone/

WSIU
— Democrats say “What Putin thinks of the tensions between Trump and Zelenskyy.”
https://www.wsiu.org/2025-03-03/what-putin-thinks-of-the-tensions-between-trump-and-zelenskyy

WCIA
— Conan O’Brien swipes at Trump with ‘Anora’ joke: Americans ‘excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian’
https://www.wcia.com/news/national/conan-obrien-swipes-at-trump-with-anora-joke-americans-excited-to-see-somebody-finally-stand-up-to-a-powerful-russian/

WAND TV
— Following Trump’s lead, his allies lash out at Ukraine’s Zelenskyy and suggest he may need to resign
https://www.wandtv.com/news/national/following-trumps-lead-his-allies-lash-out-at-ukraines-zelenskyy-and-suggest-he-may-need/article_56d77fe3-1f42-5d25-88d5-3626b63a97ed.html

NPR ILLINOIS
— Foreign students say the threat of Trump’s executive orders is getting real
https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-03-03/foreign-students-say-the-threat-of-trumps-executive-orders-is-getting-real
— Democrat leaders say “Majorities say state of the union is not strong, and Trump is rushing change.”
https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-03-03/poll-majorities-say-state-of-the-union-is-not-strong-and-trump-is-rushing-change

DAILY NORTHWESTERN
— How Northwestern has responded to Trump’s anti-DEI orders
https://dailynorthwestern.com/2025/03/03/campus/the-daily-explains-how-northwestern-has-responded-to-trumps-anti-dei-orders/

AXIOS CHICAGO
— Democrat leaders say “What’s at stake if we lose sanctuary city laws.”
https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/03/03/sanctuary-city-chicago-immigration-house-hearing

POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Former Gov. Bruce Rauner is among Republicans looking at Elon Musk and President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency with a bit of nostalgia, uncertainty and caution. In an interview, Rauner acknowledged the challenges of trimming government. “There are all kinds of restrictions and union rules and regulatory rules for what you can do as an executive versus what needs legislative or other approvals, including union approvals and employee approvals,” he said. “It was very, very, very tough to shrink.” . . . Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump’s funding freeze, will host Lauri Morrison-Frichtl during the president’s speech before Congress on Tuesday. Morrison-Frichtl is executive director of the Illinois Head Start Association, which has been affected by the freeze. Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04) will bring Eric Rodriguez for Trump’s speech. Rodriguez is a disabled Army veteran who works at the Hines VA Hospital and is concerned about Trump’s cuts to veterans’ services and the rights of unionized federal employees, according to Garcia’s team.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2025/03/03/this-week-is-going-to-be-viral-00206948

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— Democrat leaders not only oppose cutting federal spending for those who vote for Democrats, they want that spending to be increased. Those who vote for Democrats include those who are liberal/moderate, minority, female, younger, unmarried, LGBTQ, non-rich, non-Protestant, non-German American, have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time, are in America illegally, boozers, gamblers, stoners, and criminals. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gpoillinois.com
— The Democrat mainstream news media, that is, Democrat leaders, ever-increasingly spins everything against Trump and against the 77 million who voted for Trump. The more demographics that you share with Trump, the more that Democrats assume that you voted for Trump. Trump is conservative, Republican, White, male, older, married, non-poor, Protestant, German American, and his ancestors have been in America for a long time. I am all of the aforesaid. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Trump is following Gingrich’s policy of gutting of federal agencies instead of reforming them. While Gingrich was a U.S. Representative 1979-1999, and especially while he was the Speaker of the House 1995-1999, he became ever-increasingly critical of GAO. He cut GAO’s budget in relative terms, and increasingly, in absolute terms. My Democrat GAO superiors punished me severely for that. If Gingrich had reformed GAO instead of gutting it, there would be no need for DOGE today. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Were you a bad employee? My critics/opponents ever-increasingly hint/imply/argue/shout that I must have been an extremely bad employee because my superiors in the federal government took so many big adverse actions against me. They stress that my GAO superiors forced me to retire when I was 49 years old EVEN THOUGH I had earned three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Democrats have invited fired federal employees to Trump’s congressional address. The move comes as lawmakers hear from constituents over President Trump’s and Elon Musk’s efforts to slash federal spending and cull the civil service ranks. My Democrat GAO superiors fired me in 1997, that is, they forced me to retire. What if my U.S. Congressman Henry Hyde and my U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald had invited me to Congressional addresses? My critics/opponents have always hinted/implied/argued/shouted that Hyde and Fitzgerald sided with GAO against me. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— What would your critics/opponents stress to Trump and to his supporters to turn them against you? My critics/opponents would stress that I am not a team player, that is, that I have not ever been and that I will never be blindly loyal to any individual, that is, that I am instead loyal to conservative principles and to the Republican Party platform. Further, they would stress that I cannot be manipulated or dominated and that I refuse orders to a) glorify, praise, demonize, denigrate, or condemn people, b) pander to people, c) serve as an operative or dupe for anyone, d) coverup wrongdoing, and e) give money to anyone. No offense to Trump or to his supporters, but I take the aforesaid as a badge of honor. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Since 2000, as your GOPUSA Illinois Editor, I have served as a conservative Republican political and government news and commentary aggregator. Of course, my critics/opponents do not want me to influence anything. That is why they a) ended my service as the Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO) webmaster in 2004 and 2010, b) ended my bid to serves as MTRO Treasurer in 2004, c) ended my service as an American Association of Political Consultants Midwest Chapter board member in 2004, d) almost got Illinois Center Right Coalition (ICRC) to censure me for my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters in 2006, e) ended my ICRC Steering Committee membership in 2007, f) ended my Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee membership in 2011, g) ended my TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairmanship in 2012, h) gerrymandered my precinct in 2015, i) ended my service as the Republican fundraiser for Wheaton Independence Day parades and fireworks in 2021, and j) ended my Illinois Republican Party State Convention Platform and Resolutions Committee membership in 2024. I should write about my critic/opponents. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com

WIREPOINTS
— Willful indifference to cost: Illinois’ noncitizen healthcare scandal is worse than new audit shows
https://wirepoints.org/willful-indifference-to-cost-illinois-noncitizen-healthcare-scandal-is-worse-than-new-audit-shows-wirepoints/

BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS
— Illinois Commits to Using Schools to Harm and Indoctrinate Minors
https://www.breakthrough-ideas.com/read/2025/02/28/illinois-commits-to-using-schools-to-harm-and-indoctrinate-minors

ILLINOIS REVIEW
— Illinois Schools to Trump: We’re Keeping DEI, Even If It Costs Millions!
https://www.illinoisreview.com/illinoisreview/2025/03/illinois-schools-to-trump-were-keeping-dei-even-if-it-costs-millions.html

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WASHINGTON TIMES
— Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is directing the civilian workforce at the Pentagon to respond to the Office of Personnel Management’s request for a list of their accomplishments for the past week. (COMMENT: My accomplishments last week include my putting together and sending out GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters with links to 500 articles.)
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/mar/2/defense-secretary-directs-civilian-employees-comply-opm-request/
— Islam is killing Germany. To survive, Europe must return to its roots.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/mar/2/islam-killing-germany/
— Trump Is right: Fire bad federal employees and reward good ones (COMMENT: My critics/opponents ever-increasingly hint/imply/argue/shout that I must have been an extremely bad employee because my superiors in the federal government took so many big adverse actions against me. They stress that my GAO superiors forced me to retire when I was 49 years old EVEN THOUGH I had earned three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license.)
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/mar/2/trump-right-fire-bad-federal-employees-reward-good-ones/

WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Hollywood’s decline is an American tragedy
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/3334133/hollywood-decline-is-an-american-tragedy/

NEW YORK POST
— Vance family moved to ‘undisclosed location’ after hundreds of pro-Ukraine protesters swarm ski resort ahead of vacation
https://nypost.com/2025/03/01/us-news/jd-vances-visit-to-vermont-ski-resort-interrupted-by-pro-ukraine-demonstrators-after-zelensky-exchange/

AMERICAN THINKER
— Fonda disproves the adage age brings wisdom
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/03/fonda_disproves_the_adage_age_brings_wisdom.html

CAMPUS REFORM
— ‘LGBTQ+ words for elementary students’: 10 ways Maine’s Department of Education spends its money
https://www.campusreform.org/article/lgbtq-words-elementary-students-10-ways-maines-department-education-spends-money-/27577

FOX NEWS
— Illinois GOP chair Kathy Salvi unleashes on governor for ‘grandstanding’ with special demand of Trump admin. ‘Governor Pritzker is grandstanding for his 2028 run for president instead of focusing on the mess that he’s left with us in Illinois,’ she said.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/blue-state-gop-chair-unleashes-governor-grandstanding-demand-trum-admin

NATIONAL REVIEW
— Trump’s Worthy Effort to Rein In ‘Independent’ Agencies (COMMENT: GAO is supposed to be an independent agency, but instead, it is an arm of the Democrat Party.  If Gingrich had reformed GAO instead of gutting it, there would be no need for DOGE today.)
https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/03/trumps-worthy-effort-to-rein-in-independent-agencies/

NEWSMAX
— Zelenskyy Should Work With Trump to End Ukraine War
https://www.newsmax.com/drlucjaswiatkowskicannon/zelenskyy-trump-ukraine/2025/02/26/id/1200577/

WESTERN JOURNAL
— Wheaton College Alumni Send Clear Message on School’s Woke Drift
https://www.westernjournal.com/christian-college-alumni-send-clear-message-schools-woke-drift/
— Canada Spent $320 Million to Fuel Anti-Christian Hate But Came Up Empty-Handed
https://www.westernjournal.com/canada-spent-320-million-fuel-anti-christian-hate-came-empty-handed/
— Have We Become the Party of Handouts?
https://www.westernjournal.com/become-party-handouts/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

NEW YORK TIMES
— Elon Musk Is South African. We Shouldn’t Forget It. (COMMENT: My critics/opponents have always demonized, denigrated, and condemned my hometown of Crete where I lived 1948-1972. They stress that while I lived there, it was overwhelmingly Lutheran and German American.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/opinion/elon-musk-south-africa.html
— Hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters ever-increasingly promote more hatred against Trump. Soon, if not already, Democrat and RINO employers will officially a) not hire you unless you hate Trump and b) fire you if you do not hate Trump.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/03/opinion/trumps-masculinity-democrats.html
— Democrats Invite Fired Federal Workers to Trump’s Congressional Address. The move comes as lawmakers hear from constituents over President Trump’s and Elon Musk’s efforts to slash federal spending and cull the civil service ranks. (COMMENT: My Democrat GAO superiors fired me in 1997, that is, they forced me to retire. What if my U.S. Congressman Henry Hyde and my U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald had invited me to Congressional addresses? My critics/opponents have always hinted/implied/argued/shouted that Hyde and Fitzgerald sided with GAO against me.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/02/us/politics/democrats-trump-federal-workers.html
— Trump and the press
https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/dynamic/render?campaign_id=9

WASHINGTON POST
— Trump’s opponents decry a sweeping crackdown on free speech. In an effort to stamp out “woke” racial and gender messages, critics say, the president is running afoul of the First Amendment.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/02/trump-free-speech-censorship/
— Tariffs on Canada, Mexico to take effect Tuesday barring Trump reprieve
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/03/trump-presidency-news/
— A closer look at DEI and veterans’ preference (COMMENT: According to my critics/opponents, all the jobs that I got and all the promotions that I got should have been given to veterans instead of me because I avoided the Vietnam War draft. I should write about that.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/03/03/dei-preference-veterans-military-families/

LOS ANGELES TIMES
— Trump is surrendering a century’s worth of U.S. global power in a matter of weeks
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2025-03-03/trump-ukraine-russia-global-power

USA TODAY
— Trump orders additional troops, armored vehicles to southern border
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/01/pentagon-troops-armored-vehicles-southern-border/80972784007/
— Dismantling agencies and firing workers: How Trump is redefining relations with Congress and courts. Trump has adopted a theory from former Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia that presidents control the entire executive branch. (COMMENT: Trump is following Gingrich’s policy of gutting of federal agencies instead of reforming them. While Gingrich was a U.S. Representative 1979-1999, and especially while he was the Speaker of the House 1995-1999, he became ever-increasingly critical of GAO. He cut GAO’s budget in relative terms and increasingly in absolute terms. My Democrat GAO superiors punished me severely for that. If Gingrich had reformed GAO instead of gutting it, there would be no need for DOGE today.)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/02/president-trump-unitary-executive-branch-congress/80517757007/

CBS NEWS
— Trudeau to bring up Trump’s threat to annex Canada in meeting with King Charles
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trudeau-meeting-king-charles-trump-annex-threat/

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
— Despite federal deadline, N.Y. colleges make few changes to DEI programs
https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/03/02/despite-federal-deadline-ny-colleges-make-few-changes-to-dei-programs/

BOSTON GLOBE
— Musk and Trump aren’t just decimating the federal workforce. They’re denigrating it. (COMMENT: Overwhelmingly, Republicans view federal employees negatively. Why is that? I have always been a Republican. I was a federal employee for almost 30 years and I have been a federal retiree for more than 27 years. To demonize me, denigrate me, and condemn me, my Republican critics/opponents have always stressed that I was a federal employee 1966-1969 and 1971-1997 and that I have been a federal retiree since 1997. They stress that I was an IRS employee 1971-1980. I should write about my Republican critics/opponents.)
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/02/opinion/doge-federal-workforce-layoffs/

MIAMI HERALD
— Democrats Denounce Their Own Party: ‘Over-the-Top Wokeism’
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democrats-denounce-their-own-party-over-the-top-wokeism/ss-AA1A6goG

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Some of Illinois Wants to Join Indiana
https://www.wsj.com/video/series/journal-editorial-report/wsj-opinion-some-of-illinois-wants-to-join-indiana/04100582-95B9-4BA1-B267-3BC902D84795
— FRONT PAGE: ‘Garage Mahals’ Are Driving Neighbors Nuts. When a regular garage isn’t big enough, Minnesotans turn to luxury storage spaces. (COMMENT: My critics/opponents despise/hate cars, and especially American nameplate cars, and more especially muscle cars, and even more especially Corvettes. I have owned my 1972 Corvette since I bought it new in 1971. If I sought a political office or a government office, my critics/opponents would stress the Iron Gate Motor Condo in Naperville that I used to own, the one that I own now, and the one that I am buying.)
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/garage-mahal-man-cave-car-barn-storage-shed-45681baa
(FROM THE ARTICLE: With his three-car garage in this Minneapolis suburb already full, Bret Bailey had to keep his racing Porsche in a trailer outside through brutal Minnesota winters. Then one March, as he prepared for a race, Bailey discovered the wheels of the trailer had frozen to the ground. “For two weeks, I’m throwing salt out there,” said the 64-year-old retired IT manager. Now, Bailey is part of a man-cave-meets-Storage Wars revolution spreading across the country. He keeps his two Porsches, Ferrari, custom Harley, dune buggy and racing trailer in a nearly 2,700-square-foot space outfitted like a sleek European car dealership. It sports a tequila bar, heated floors, bathroom with a shower, giant TV, leather sofa, stack of racing tires and a car lift. He’s among 100 owners in a complex of garage condos called Chanhassen AutoPlex whose car shows attract thousands of people on summer weekends. When a regular garage just isn’t big enough to stash all their cars, boats, snowmobiles, RVs or even quilting gear and golf simulators, some people turn to luxury storage spaces where they can be close to their toys with all the comforts of home. Call them car barns, barndominiums, toy sheds, garage mahals or shouses (for shop houses), they are a big hit in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.)

FORBES
— DOJ Civil Rights Chief Nominee Harmeet Dhillon Decries Affirmative Action In College Admissions (COMMENT: If Affirmative Action pressure had been stronger when I was young, minorities and females would have been admitted instead of me. I only just barely made it into the upper 20% of my high school class and my ACT score was only 24. If qualified minorities and females had applied in 1966, UIC would have admitted them instead of me. The same for NIU in 1969, Loyola in 1972, DePaul in 1976, and IIT in 1992.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKtKDNN0L0Q

INC.
— To get more votes from women, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly hint/imply/argue/shout that women are superior to men.
https://www.inc.com/stephanie-mehta/this-banks-board-is-78-percent-female-but-dont-credit-dei/91154397

REASON
— Mass Firings Aren’t Meritocracy
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mass-firings-aren-t-meritocracy/ar-AA1zZEcv

PEW RESARCH CENTER
— No consensus on who comes to mind when Americans are asked to name a news influencer (COMMENT: Since 2000, as your GOPUSA Illinois Editor, I have served as a conservative Republican political and government news and commentary aggregator. Of course, my critics/opponents do not want me to influence anything. That is why they a) ended my service as the Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO) webmaster in 2004 and 2010, b) ended my bid to serves as MTRO Treasurer in 2004, c) ended my service as an American Association of Political Consultants Midwest Chapter board member in 2004, d) almost got Illinois Center Right Coalition (ICRC) to censure me for my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters in 2006, e) ended my ICRC Steering Committee membership in 2007, f) ended my Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee membership in 2011, g) ended my TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairmanship in 2012, h) gerrymandered my precinct in 2015, i) ended my service as the Republican fundraiser for Wheaton Independence Day parades and fireworks in 2021, and j) ended my Illinois Republican Party State Convention Platform and Resolutions Committee membership in 2024.)
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/02/19/no-consensus-on-who-comes-to-mind-when-americans-are-asked-to-name-a-news-influencer/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: About one-in-five U.S. adults (21%) say they regularly get news from news influencers on social media, according to our recent study. The study is part of the Pew-Knight Initiative, a research program funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. But because the idea of “news influencers” is relatively new, we also wanted to know who Americans are thinking of when they hear the term. So in an open-ended question, we asked U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from news influencers to name the first one who comes to mind for them. In response, half named a person (as opposed to an organization or entity) or gave no response. The 425 people they named reflect a wide range of backgrounds – from journalists to opinion commentators to politicians to content creators. Most of these people fit the definition of news influencers in our larger study – that is, people with large followings on social media who regularly post about news or politics. The influencers our respondents most often named include Philip DeFranco (volunteered by 3%), Tucker Carlson (2%), Ben Shapiro (2%), V Spehar from Under the Desk News (2%) and Carlos Eduardo Espina (2%).)

DAILY MAIL
— Trump shocks as he makes huge concession to Russia
https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/world/trump-shocks-as-he-makes-huge-concession-to-russia/ss-AA1A8EKk

March 2, 2025

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Mayor Brandon Johnson’s upcoming testimony before Congress will unfold in an arena of political risk — and theater
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/02/mayor-brandon-johnsons-upcoming-testimony-before-congress-will-unfold-in-an-arena-of-political-risk-and-theater/
— Democrat leaders organize a protest against Trump.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/01/at-rally-in-st-charles-protestors-decry-trump-policies-show-support-for-ukraine/
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more LGBTQ.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/01/judge-blocks-trump-trans-youth-care-order/
— Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly use DEI to get rid of Republicans who are conservative, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America fora long time.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/02/column-reverse-discrimination-marlean-ames-page/
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/21/heidi-stevens-banning-dei-and-race-based-programs-in-schools-chips-away-at-the-very-mission-of-education/

NBC5
— Pentagon sending about 3,000 more active-duty troops to the US-Mexico border. Already, about 9,200 U.S. troops in total are at the southern border, including 4,200 deployed under federal orders and about 5,000 National Guard troops under the control of governors.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/pentagon-sending-3000-active-duty-troops-us-mexico-border/3686444/
— Zelenskyy’s fiery White House visit gets ‘SNL’ cold open treatment. The sketch featured comedian Mike Myers as billionaire Elon Musk.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/zelenskyys-white-house-visit-snl-cold-open/3686448/
— To get more votes from Blacks, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote reparations. To promote reparations, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly hint/imply/argue/shout at Blacks that all the problems that Blacks have are caused by Republicans who are conservative, White, male, older, non-poor, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkEr7AI_JBg
— Trump objected to Zelenskyy’s tone and body language in Oval Office clash, White House says
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/business/money-report/trump-objected-to-zelenskyys-tone-and-body-language-in-oval-office-clash-white-house-says/3686305/

CBS2
— Democrat leaders organize a protest against Trump.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZx_r7TE9NY
— Judge rules head of federal watchdog agency fired by Trump must keep job. A judge has ruled the head of a federal watchdog agency must stay in his job, saying President Trump’s bid to remove the special counsel was unlawful. (COMMENT: While I was a federal employee for almost 30 years, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel had no problem with my Democrat GAO, IRS, and Post Office superiors taking big adverse actions against me a) because I complained about their political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination or b) because I became an active member in a class action lawsuit that charged my Democrat GAO superiors with reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation.)
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/video/judge-rules-head-of-federal-watchdog-agency-fired-by-trump-must-keep-job/

WGN9
— Democrat leaders organize a protest against Trump.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz0EBtMaqng

FOX32
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more illegal immigration.
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/chicago-sanctuary-city-explainer

CHAMPAIGN/URBANA NEWS GAZETTE
— Multiple Republicans contemplate challenging Pritzker in 2026 (COMMENT: Aaron Del Mar is mentioned.)
https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/columns/jim-dey-multiple-republicans-contemplate-challenging-pritzker-in-2026/article_dc32bae0-f546-11ef-ab51-779479fadd55.html

CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— The head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel must remain in his job, a judge in Washington ruled on Saturday, saying Trump’s bid to remove him was unlawful. (COMMENT: While I was a federal employee for almost 30 years, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel had no problem with my Democrat GAO, IRS, and Post Office superiors taking big adverse actions against me a) because I complained about their political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination or b) because I became an active member in a class action lawsuit that charged my Democrat GAO superiors with reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation.)
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/politics/ap-judge-rules-head-of-watchdog-agency-must-keep-his-job-says-trumps-bid-to-oust-him-was-unlawful/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sided with Hampton Dellinger, who leads the Office of Special Counsel, in a legal battle over the president’s authority to oust the head of the independent agency that’s likely headed back to the U.S. Supreme Court. Dellinger sued Trump last month after he was fired, even though the law says special counsels can be removed by the president “only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” Jackson, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic president Barack Obama, quickly reinstated Dellinger in the job while he pursued his case. Jackson rejected the Trump administration’s claims that the special counsel’s removal protections are unconstitutional because they prevent the president from rightfully installing his preferred agency head. The judge said allowing the president to remove the special counsel at will would have a chilling effect on his crucial duties, which include guarding the federal workforce from illegal personnel actions, such as retaliation for whistleblowing. “The Special Counsel is supposed to withstand the winds of political change and help ensure that no government servant of either party becomes the subject of prohibited employment practices or faces reprisals for calling out wrongdoing — by holdovers from a previous administration or by officials of the new one,” Jackson wrote in her decision.)

DAILY ILLINI
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly organize protests against Trump’s deportation policies. What if Republican leaders had organized protests against Biden’s invasion policies?
https://dailyillini.com/news-stories/university-news/protests-strikes/2025/03/01/psl-rally-trumps-deportation-policies/

WHEATON RECORD
— Democrat leaders organize a Wheaton College student protest against Trump
https://thewheatonrecord.com/2025/03/01/wheaton-prayer-demonstration-trump-tower/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— What is your Republican Precinct Committeeman/Captain going to do to help elect Republican candidates on the April 1, 2025 ballot in your precinct? In my DuPage County Milton Township Precinct 59 in Wheaton, I am going to hand-deliver campaign literature from Republican candidates and a marked copy of the sample ballot to the 400 residences in my precinct that have at least one Republican or Independent registered voter. I will use 800 mailing labels to do that. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— The more of the following that you are, the more that your critics/opponents use DEI against you: conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or if your ancestors have been in America for a long time. I am all of the aforesaid. I should write about the following who have used DEI against me the most: past and present a) leaders of the Milton Township Republican Organization, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, and Illinois Republican Party, b) Republican leaders of Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois, c) conservative leaders and activists, and d) religious leaders and activists. Of course, because political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination are illegal, the aforesaid use pretexts. I would focus on the pretexts that they have used to justify their adverse actions against me. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— What do you say to those who work against those who share their demographics to curry favor with those who do not share their demographics? What do you say to those who falsely claim to religious, conservative, and/or Republican to give themselves standing to destroy those who are religious, conservative, and/or Republican? I should write about my critics/opponents who do the aforesaid. I would focus on those who have lots of religious, government, political, and/or financial clout in Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois. I would focus on those who have had their operatives and their dupes take the biggest adverse actions against me lately. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— To harm you, what do your critics/opponents stress about you? My critics/opponents stress a) that I was a federal employee for almost 30 years, including almost 9 years for IRS, b) that my superiors took many big adverse actions against me and never promoted me beyond GS-13 even though I had 3 job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license, c) that my GAO superiors forced me to take their early retirement “offer” and that I have been a federal retiree for more than 27 years, d) that so far, in today’s dollars, the Civil Service Retirement System has paid me more than $1.8 million dollars, e) that the federal government continues to pay 72% of my and my wife’s health care insurance premiums, f) that the Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO), let alone the DuPage County Republican Central Committee (DCRCC) and Illinois Republican Party (IRP) have never asked me to serve as an officer, g) that MTRO, DCRCC, and IRP leaders have taken many big adverse actions against me, h) that Republican leaders of Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois have taken many big adverse actions against me, i) that many religious and conservative leaders have taken many big adverse actions against me, j) that Illinois Center Right Coalition and TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois took big adverse actions against me, k) that many Republican candidates on ballots in my precinct blame me and blame my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters for their defeats, and l) that my demographics are terrible. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com

JOHN KASS
— Zelensky the Fool
https://johnkassnews.com/zelensky-the-fool/

MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Darin LaHood Interviewed on WGN Radio, Blames Putin for Starting the War
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/01/darin-lahood-interviewed-on-wgn-radio-blames-putin-for-starting-the-way/
— Evidence of Campaign Against Democrats’ Sales Tax in Kane County
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/01/evidence-of-campaign-against-democrats-sales-tax-in-kane-county/
— A Story about Lobbyists That You Won’t Read in Illinois
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/01/a-story-about-lobbyists-that-you-wont-read-in-illinois/
— Bribery Makes the Comics
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/01/bribery-makes-the-comics/
— Minutes from Administrative Services Committee Meeting on Increasing Peter Austin’s Salary to $250,000
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/01/minutes-from-administrative-services-committee-meeting-on-increasing-peter-austins-salary-to-250000/
— Schakowsky Joins Protest in Chicago
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/03/01/schakowsky-joins-protest-in-chicago/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— ICE has not yet arrested children in school under Trump
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/education/3333502/ice-no-children-arrested-school-education-leaders-trump/

NEW YORK POST
— Jamie Dimon’s woke demons won’t halt JPMorgan’s DEI
https://nypost.com/2025/03/02/business/jamie-dimons-woke-demons-wont-halt-jpmorgans-dei/

AMERICAN GREATNESS
— Donald Trump and the American Cultural Renaissance
https://amgreatness.com/2025/03/02/donald-trump-and-the-american-cultural-renaissance/

AMERICAN THINKER
— DEI Universities Defy Trump
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/03/dei_universities_defy_trump.html

BREITBART
— Rahm Emanuel on Chicago: We Have ‘Disaster’ on Crime in Some Dem Cities Due to Permissiveness
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2025/03/01/rahm-emanuel-on-chicago-we-have-disaster-on-crime-in-some-dem-cities-due-to-permissiveness/

ONE AMERICA NEWS
— Trump Administration Orders Military To Remove All DEI Content (COMMENT: How has DEI impacted you? My Democrat superiors in the federal government used DEI big time to waste my career and to get rid of me. My RINO superiors in Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois continue to use DEI big time to get rid of me. I should write about that.)
https://www.oann.com/newsroom/trump-admin-orders-military-to-remove-all-dei-content/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

THE HILL
— Ever-increasingly, the mainstream news media acts like Democrat leaders pay it to do what it does, namely, demonize, denigrate, and condemn Republicans.
https://www.aol.com/news/trump-claims-media-paid-write-152811489.html

ASSOCIATED PRESS
— Protests erupt at Tesla stores nationwide over Musk’s role in Trump spending cuts
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2025/03/02/protests-erupt-at-tesla-stores-nationwide-over-musks-role-in-trump-spending-cuts/

REUTERS
— Anti-Musk protesters arrested outside New York Tesla dealership
https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idRW556002032025RP1/

MSN
— Hollywood is run by Democrats who promote the Democrat Party platform
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/donald-trump-has-demonized-dei-practices-across-the-us-but-hollywood-will-fight-back-says-sitcom-alum/ar-AA1A3Pso
— Nine arrested at New York Tesla dealership as anti-Musk protests break out
https://www.msn.com/en-ae/money/news/nine-arrested-at-new-york-tesla-dealership-as-anti-musk-protests-break-out/ar-AA1A52H4

NBC NEWS
— ‘SNL’ recreates Trump-Zelenskyy clash, with appearance by Mike Myers as Musk
https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/snl-recreates-trump-zelenskyy-clash-appearance-mike-myers-musk-rcna194376
— ACLU sues Trump administration to halt immigrant transfers to Guantanamo
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/aclu-sues-trump-administration-halt-immigrant-transfers-guantanamo-rcna194358

CBS NEWS
— In the room where it happened: Trump advisers recall what led up to Oval Office confrontation
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-advisers-recall-what-led-up-to-oval-office-confrontation-volodymyr-zelenskyy/

NEW YORK TIMES
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: How Elon Musk Executed His Takeover of the Federal Bureaucracy. The operation was driven with a frenetic focus by the billionaire, who channeled his resentment of regulatory oversight into a drastic overhaul of government agencies. (COMMENT: There would be no need for DOGE if Gingrich had reformed and expanded GAO instead of gutting it.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/us/politics/musk-federal-bureaucracy-takeover.html

WASHINGTON POST
— Democrats say “How the Trump-Zelensky Oval Office meeting spiraled into chaos.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/01/how-trump-zelensky-oval-office-meeting-spiraled-into-chaos/
— Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly force everyone in America to speak, read, and write Spanish. They want to make it illegal to employ anyone who does not speak, read, and write Spanish.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/03/01/trump-english-official-language-explainer/

USA TODAY
— Peter Navarro: Trump tariffs will save American jobs and level the playing field. Trump’s tariffs on aluminum imports is about far more than a trade battle. It’s a fight for the survival of an essential American industry. (COMMENT: My brother lost manufacturing jobs because of unfair foreign competition.)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2025/02/28/trump-tariffs-aluminum-steel-canada-mexico-economy/80694166007/
— ‘Illegal actions’? Trump tried to remove officials who could save federal workers’ jobs  (COMMENT: While I was a federal employee for almost 30 years, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel had no problem with my Democrat GAO, IRS, and Post Office superiors taking big adverse actions against me a) because I complained about their political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, and age discrimination or b) because I became an active member in a class action lawsuit that charged my Democrat GAO superiors with reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation.)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/28/trump-firing-federal-employees-labor-board/79339420007/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The fired officials, all nominated by Democrat Joe Biden and confirmed to fixed terms by the Senate, have sued Trump and his administration in an effort to be reinstated, saying their firings are illegal. Judges have temporarily reinstated two of them. The officials run independent agencies that were designed by Congress to be the only place that federal workers can go to challenge a firing. The firings came right before Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency fired thousands of probationary, early-hire status employees. . .The law created the Office of Special Counsel as an independent agency whose head, the Special Counsel, is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate to serve a set term but cannot be removed on a whim. The office is designed to be a first stop for federal employees who think they’ve been unlawfully fired, especially as a result of whistleblowing. The Special Counsel can make requests on employees’ behalf to the Merit Systems Protection Board, the same way a prosecutor would make a case to a judge. The three-member board can then decide on whether a firing was wrongful. Presidents nominate board members to terms, and the Senate confirms them, in a similar system designed to be insulated from politics. Permanent workers can also go directly to the Merit Systems Protection Board in order to get a decision on a wrongful firing, but probationary employees can only get there if the Office of Special Counsel represents them.)
— ‘Inseminated person’ vs. ‘mother’? Dems keep proving they’ve lost common sense
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/02/28/inseminated-person-wisconsin-evers/80491973007/
— Trump’s federal workforce cuts: A timeline of firings and court reversals (COMMENT: I should write about Republican GAO workforce cuts 1980-1997.)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/01/key-dates-trump-federal-workers-firings/80835324007/
— I’m a veteran and I worked with USAID. It is essential to our national security. Trump and Musk are destroying a vital tool of American soft power – a tool that protects US interests at home and abroad.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2025/03/01/cutting-usaid-trump-musk-demonizing-patriots/80259032007/

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Executive Orders Put Trump’s Opponents on Back Foot. Most of president’s efforts remain standing, after advisers rewrote 2017 playbook.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/all-gas-executive-orders-put-trumps-opponents-on-back-foot-ddae594b

INDIA TODAY
— Trump touts ‘record-low’ illegal immigration numbers: Invasion of US is over
https://www.indiatoday.in/world/us-news/story/trump-touts-record-low-illegal-immigration-numbers-invasion-of-us-is-over-2687666-2025-03-02

February 28, 2025

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

NBC5
— Democrats plan to boycott major corporations during ‘Economic Blackout’ protest. The one-day event is designed to bring attention to dissatisfaction with the Trump administration’s push to eliminate DEI initiatives at U.S. companies. (COMMENT: Democrat and RINO leaders use DEI to get rid of Republicans.)
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicagoans-plan-to-boycott-major-corporations-during-economic-blackout-protest/3685163/

WGN9
— DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick announces GOP run for Illinois governor
https://wgntv.com/news/dupage-county/dupage-county-sheriff-james-mendrick-announces-gop-run-for-illinois-governor/

WBEZ
— Illinois Democrats have bold words for Trump. What action can they take? The U.S. Constitution gives federal law authority over conflicting state law, but state lawmakers have some means to push back.
https://www.wbez.org/springfield/2025/02/28/illinois-democrats-have-bold-words-for-trump-what-action-can-they-take

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly encourage children to be sexually active LGBTQers.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/28/opinion-transgender-children-sports-donald-trump/

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— How Trump is taking an ax to federal government in Chicago and the State of Illinois (COMMENT: I should write about how Republican-led budget cuts took an ax to GAO’s Chicago office while I worked for it 1980-1997.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9VN4HU489g

DAILY HERALD
— Amy Erkenswick: 2025 candidate for Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 board
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250226/local-politics/amy-erkenswick-2025-candidate-for-wheaton-warrenville-unit-district-200-board/
— Brooke Gennaro: 2025 candidate for Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 board
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250226/local-politics/brooke-gennaro-2025-candidate-for-wheaton-warrenville-unit-district-200-board/

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Illinois and Chicago economies on shaky ground
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/illinois-and-chicago-economies-shaky-moodys-cogfa-report

SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— Hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters ever-increasingly promote Duckworth.
https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/2025/02/27/tammy-duckworth-is-usa-today-women-of-the-year-honoree-for-illinois/77679604007/

SOUTHERN
— Education Department launches ‘END DEI’ website (COMMENT: My critics/opponents have always used DEI to get rid of Republicans who are conservative, White, male, older, married, non-poor, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time.)
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2025/02/27/dei-needs-to-go-education-department-launches-end-dei-website/

JOURNAL COURIER
— To get more votes from voters who have less money than others, Democrat and RINO candidates ever-increasingly promise to use government to give more money to those voters who have less money than others. Those voters are liberal/moderate, minority, female, younger, unmarried, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time. Democrat and RINO candidates ever-increasingly shout at the aforesaid voters that Republicans cause all their financial and other problems.
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/article/more-americans-of-all-political-stripes-support-20191490.php

HERALD REVIEW
— Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly promote Edgar.
https://herald-review.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/article_b8cdf40f-05fb-582d-8af6-f00a62210b23.html

FOX ILLINOIS
— Trump poised to sign order making English the official US language
https://foxillinois.com/news/nation-world/trump-poised-to-sign-order-making-english-the-official-us-language-reports-suggest

WAND TV
— DOGE cuts 2400 VAs jobs, Illinois veterans lose access to services (COMMENT: I should write about the tremendous damage caused by Republican-led gutting of GAO. If Republicans had reformed GAO instead of gutting it, there would be no need for DOGE.)
https://www.wandtv.com/news/doge-cuts-2400-vas-jobs-illinois-veterans-lose-access-to-services/article_b7e54534-f575-11ef-9fd1-57a21ce38ff1.html

CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS
— Legislation aims to help first-time homebuyers. Bill would create tax deductible accounts to save for down payment.
https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/legislation-aims-to-help-first-time-homebuyers/

POLITICO ILLINOIS
— The sheriff who wants to be governor
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2025/02/28/the-sheriff-who-wants-to-be-governor-00206652
(FROM THE ARTICLE: AND SO IT BEGINS: DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick took the low-key approach to roll out his announcement that he’s running for the Republican nomination for governor in 2026. It was a message on Facebook. And it created plenty of buzz. Mendrick’s been receiving calls and emails ever since, including donation offers. It’s still in the works. Mendrick doesn’t even have a campaign manager yet. His wife, a psychiatric nurse, filled the role in his two bids for sheriff, “but this will be too big for her to do alone so we’re going to figure all that out this weekend,” he said in an interview with your Playbook host. Mendrick doesn’t have Ken Griffin or Dan Proft working behind the scenes for him. And didn’t even think to call Republican Chair Kathy Salvi before he made his announcement. “I did not plan on running for sure,” Mendrick said. He made the surprise move after choosing not to leave Illinois because he didn’t like how it’s being run. He’s now staying put in Woodridge after his 25-year-old son said he wasn’t budging. Mendrick and his wife also have a 22-year-old son with autism and are active in the disability community, he said. His campaign should be taken seriously, according to a GOP insider we talked to. Mendrick has been a police officer since 1996, following in the footsteps of his father. He’s been sheriff since 2018. Now, instead of retiring outright, he’s going to enter the state’s biggest political ring: the governor’s race. It doesn’t scare him. Mendrick currently oversees the county-wide correctional facility, where he says he sees first-hand how crime and immigration has challenged the state. Mendrick is focused on the SAFE-T Act. He disagrees with letting potential offenders out on bail instead of letting them clean up their addictions and get mental health assistance in jail. “I do believe that we’re doing God’s work,” he said. The sheriff opposes the state’s TRUST Act, which makes Illinois a sanctuary state. He calls it an “unfunded mandate” that prompts new immigrants from all over the country to move to Illinois, putting a strain on services. As for the state budget, Mendrick says, “I very much believe everything should be done within our economic footprint. You should never go outside what you can afford.” His politics: “I’m a Republican with a lot of conservative values,” Mendrick said, adding he doesn’t want to be labeled in a political way, though his social media posts suggest he leans far right. “It’s hard to be a slave to the politics,” he said. “It’s just about doing the right thing.” Mendrick is the first Republican officially in the race, but there will be others. Aaron Del Mar, a 2022 lieutenant governor candidate, is mulling a bid. Also mulling: Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker has yet to announce whether he’ll run for a third term in 2026 — and/or if he’ll make a run for president in 2028.)

CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/28/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-464/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— Johnson responds to congressional probe
https://www.aol.com/news/illinois-quick-hits-johnson-responds-214000056.html

WIREPOINTS
— Illinois’ own auditors admit they don’t know where all the state’s money goes (COMMENT: I should write about my critics/opponents who have ignored/dismissed/belittled/badmouthed my auditing experience the most. I passed the CPA examination on my first attempt. I passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt. I became a licensed CPA and a certified fraud examiner, financial services auditor, and forensic accountant. I earned a master’s degree in accounting. I worked for GAO as an Analyst for almost 18 years, the last 11 years of which at the GS-13 Step 1-10 Levels, currently $117,807-$153,151/year.  I worked for IRS for almost 9 years, the last 5 1/2 years of which at the GS-12 Step 1-5 Levels, currently $99,069-$112,280/year. I would focus on my critics/opponents in the Milton Township Republican Organization, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, Illinois Republican Party, Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois.)
https://wirepoints.org/illinois-own-auditors-admit-they-dont-know-where-all-the-states-money-goes-wirepoints-on-with-jeff-daly-of-wzus-decatur-radio/

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
—  Democrat and RINO leaders use DEI to get rid of Republicans. My critics/opponents have always used DEI to get rid of Republicans like me who are conservative, White, male, older, married, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. To get more votes from voters who have problems, Democrat and RINO candidates ever-increasingly promise to use government to give them more preference and more money. Those voters are liberal/moderate, minority, female, younger, unmarried, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time. Democrat and RINO candidates ever-increasingly shout at the aforesaid voters that Republicans cause all their problems. I should write more about the aforesaid. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— What do you attribute your financial success to? I attribute my financial success to following conservative principles. I earned 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). But my critics/opponents attribute my financial success to my benefitting from discrimination against those who share their demographics. My critics/opponents are liberal/moderate, minority, female, younger, unmarried, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— I should write about my critics/opponents who have ignored/dismissed/belittled/badmouthed my auditing experience the most. I passed the CPA examination on my first attempt. I passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt. I became a licensed CPA and a certified fraud examiner, financial services auditor, and forensic accountant. I earned a master’s degree in accounting. I worked for GAO as an Analyst for almost 18 years, the last 11 years of which at the GS-13 Step 1-10 Levels, currently $117,807-$153,151/year. I worked for IRS for almost 9 years, the last 5 1/2 years of which at the GS-12 Step 1-5 Levels, currently $99,069-$112,280/year. I would focus on my critics/opponents in the Milton Township Republican Organization, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, Illinois Republican Party, Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— The more planks in the Republican Party platform that candidates on ballots in my precinct promise to defend and advance if elected, the more that I do to help elect them. According to my critics/opponents, the more that I do to help elect those candidates, the fewer votes that they get. My critics/opponents reject some, many, most, if not virtually all the planks in the Republican Party platform. Most commonly, they reject the personal responsibility, traditional marriage and family, right to life, immigration, illegal drugs, Second Amendment, and/or equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com

ILLINOIS REVIEW
— Jeanne Ives, Who Backed DeSantis for President, Now Throws Support Behind DuPage County Sheriff Mendrick for Governor
https://www.illinoisreview.com/illinoisreview/2025/02/sources-jeanne-ives-who-backed-desantis-for-president-now-throws-support-behind-dupage-county-sheriff-mendrick-for-governor.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Multiple sources also confirmed with this publication early this morning that Republican State Central Committee member Jeanne Ives – also a DuPage County resident, is supporting Mendrick’s candidacy and also serving in a behind-the-scenes advisory role. Ives is also rumored to be eying a run for governor or Lt. Governor.)

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

NEW YORK POST
— Experts break down how Trump’s illegal immigrant registry will help ICE round up millions – and why migrants may register
https://nypost.com/2025/02/27/us-news/how-trumps-illegal-immigrant-registry-will-make-it-easier-for-ice-to-round-up-millions-more-migrants/

AMERICAN GREATNESS
— Morning Greatness: ICE Arrested More Than 20,000 Illegal Aliens in Trump’s First Month
https://amgreatness.com/2025/02/28/morning-greatness-ice-arrested-more-than-20000-illegal-aliens-in-trumps-first-month/

COLLEGE FIX
— Professor sues University of. Illinois for discriminating against him as a White male. (COMMENT: If I had been a minority or a female, my Democrat superiors in the federal government would not have taken the adverse actions against me that they did. They would have promoted me into their Senior Executive Service before I was 40 years old. None of my coworkers who they promoted over me did what I did. I earned three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a professional license.)
https://www.thecollegefix.com/professor-sues-u-illinois-claims-it-discriminated-against-him-as-a-white-male/

DAILY SIGNAL
— ICE Arrests of Illegal Aliens Up 627% Under Trump
https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/02/27/ice-arrests-illegal-aliens-increase-627-under-trump/

FOX NEWS
— Blue state governor’s ‘gross mismanagement’ cost taxpayers $1.6B for illegal immigrant healthcare. Illinois GOP’s Senate leader wants to see state’s liberal governor be more ‘cooperative’ with Trump migrant crackdown.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/blue-state-govs-gross-mismanagement-cost-taxpayers-1-6b-illegal-immigrant-healthcare-audit

LAW ENFORCEMENT TODAY
— Trump administration set to launch mandatory registration program for illegal aliens
https://lawenforcementtoday.com/trump-administration-set-to-launch-mandatory-registration-program-for-illegal-aliens

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC NEWS
— Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise illegals and b) blame Republicans for all the problems that illegals have.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/confinement-unbearable-migrants-describe-held-guantanamo/story?id=119270282

NEW YORK TIMES
— What to Know About Filing Taxes as the I.R.S. Sheds Workers (COMMENT: I was involved in IRS’s 1974 tax season big time. Have you ever phoned IRS with a tax question? If you did during the 1974 filing season, the IRS employee who answered your call was one of my subordinates. Back then, as a 25-year-old GS-11 (currently $82,655/year) IRS Revenue Officer, I supervised all of the IRS employees, which included a rotating staff of about 90 IRS Revenue Agent trainees, in IRS’s new downtown Chicago office who answered taxpayer questions using IRS’s new tollfree CentiPhone system. Because of my job performance, the IRS manager who had given me that developmental opportunity and who had promoted me in 1972 and 1973 promoted me to GS-12 (currently $99,069/year) in 1974.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/business/irs-tax-refund.html

WASHINGTON POST
— Trump officials start gutting civil rights offices, as part of DOGE’s plan. Legal experts said that unwinding a civil rights-era bulwark designed to safeguard employees’ rights removes a crucial check on institutional power. (COMMENT: Democrats run the federal government. Ever-increasingly, since the 1960s, they have used Affirmative Action and DEI a) to not hire Republicans and b) to get rid of their Republican employees.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/28/doge-trump-civil-rights-office-closing-eeoc/
— Federal workers could get a second email Saturday. It might require a response. A new strategy might compel employees to respond with bulleted lists of what they did in the past week.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/28/federal-workers-second-email-elon-musk/
— Transgender troops will be removed from U.S. military, Pentagon says
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/02/27/transgender-ban-us-service-members-military-pentagon/

USA TODAY
— Commendations, cash awards, positive reviews. Then they were fired for poor performance. (COMMENT: Democrats run the federal government. The job performance appraisal systems that they use are extremely subjective. My Democrat superiors took many big adverse actions against me. To justify that, they used the aforesaid subjectivity and hinted/implied that I was a poor performer. But my doing the following frustrated that. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree and three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-relate professional license.)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/27/federal-employees-firing-letters-claim-poor-work/80269905007/
— US household income growth is slowing, posing risks for consumer spending and economy. (COMMENT: Because my Democrat GAO superiors forced me to retire when I was 49 years old in 1997, in today’s dollars, my income has been $86,371/year (56%) less since then.)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/02/24/income-growth-slowing-economy/79339787007/
— FRONT PAGE WITH PICTURE OF TRUMP: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly shout at Blacks that Republicans cause all the problems that Blacks have.)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/02/27/dei-backlash-erase-black-executives-gains/78475480007/

NBC PHILADELPHIA
— Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise illegals and b) blame Republicans for all the problems that illegals have.
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/panama-costa-rica-turning-black-hole-migrants-deportees-from-us/4121338/

CBS19
— Senator Cruz reintroduces act to abolish sanctuary cities in Texas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAWBQGmUWVg

ECONOMIST
— Democrats run the mainstream new media
https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/02/27/america-has-never-had-state-media-like-it-does-today

February 27, 2025 Evening Edition

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC7
— DuPage Co. Sheriff James Mendrick to run for governor of Illinois
https://abc7chicago.com/post/illinois-elections-2026-dupage-county-sheriff-james-mendrick-announces-candidacy-governor/15959495/
— Audit finds Illinois’ noncitizen health care programs far outstripped original cost estimates
https://abc7chicago.com/post/audit-finds-illinois-migrant-health-care-programs-far-outstripped-original-cost-estimates-pritzker-has-proposed-cutting-1/15959981/

NBC5
— DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick announces run for Illinois governor. Mendrick is the first candidate to officially declare his candidacy in the 2026 race.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-politics/dupage-county-sheriff-james-mendrick-announces-run-for-illinois-governor/3685170/
— Chicago mayor among those quoted in video ahead of hearing on sanctuary city status. Johnson preparing to testify about sanctuary city status.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-mayor-among-those-quoted-in-video-ahead-of-hearing-on-sanctuary-city-status/3685037/

FOX32
— DuPage County sheriff announces run for Illinois Governor
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/dupage-county-sheriff-james-mendrick-illinois-governor
— Duckworth lays into Trump over veteran layoffs: ‘middle finger to our heroes’
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/duckworth-trump-veteran-layoffs

WGN9
— Musk dominates, disparages federal workers at first Trump Cabinet meeting (COMMENT: What is your attitude toward federal employees and retirees? I was a federal employee for almost 30 years and I have been a federal retiree for more than 27 years.)
https://wgntv.com/news/musk-dominates-disparages-federal-workers-at-first-trump-cabinet-meeting/
— This salary is needed to be ‘upper-middle class’ in Illinois, study says
https://wgntv.com/news/illinois/this-salary-is-needed-to-be-upper-middle-class-in-illinois-study-says/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: According to GoBankingRates, an individual living in Illinois needs to make a salary of at least “$127,092” to be considered upper middle class. The study determined the state’s middle-class income range to be $54,468 to $163,404. Anything lower is presumably considered working-class, while anything higher is presumably considered upper-class.

WTTW
— Audit Finds Illinois’ Noncitizen Health Care Programs Far Outstripped Original Cost Estimates
https://news.wttw.com/2025/02/27/audit-finds-illinois-noncitizen-health-care-programs-far-outstripped-original-cost

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick seeking GOP bid for Illinois governor in 2026
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/27/dupage-county-sheriff-james-mendrick-running-for-governor/
— As Trump’s deadline to eliminate DEI nears, few schools openly rush to make changes
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/27/trump-dei-schools/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Mendrick made the announcement early Thursday morning via social media. He added he will not run for his third term as DuPage County sheriff next year. “We need a secure future for our state and we will make Chicago and Illinois safe again,” he said on social media. The next Illinois gubernatorial election will be held in November 2026.)
— Chicago faith and civic leaders encourage people to participate in nationwide ‘Blackout Friday’
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/27/chicago-faith-leaders-blackout-friday/

DAILY HERALD
— DuPage sheriff James Mendrick announces he will run for governor in 2026
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250227/illinois-state-politics/dupage-sheriff-announces-he-will-run-for-governor-in-2026/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Prompted by what he calls “radical” changes in Illinois’ criminal justice system, DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick is skipping a potential third term as the county’s top cop and setting his sights instead on the governor’s mansion. Mendrick, a Republican from Woodridge, announced Thursday he will run for Illinois governor in the 2026 election. He’s the first candidate to formally declare for the race. In a phone interview Thursday, Mendrick said he’s been thinking about running for about two years, as he’s watched legislation like the state’s SAFE-T Act — which eliminated the cash bail system in Illinois — have what he sees as negative impacts on law and order. “It’s been very frustrating to me to see how many people (charged with a crime) are being let go, and the judges are saying they can’t do anything about it because of the law,” he said. “I’ve been in law enforcement 29 years — it will be 30 when I end my term as sheriff — and I’ve seen a lot of changes, but nothing as radical as the last four years.” Besides putting potentially dangerous people back on the streets, Mendrick said the law deprives defendants of opportunities to take part in his jail’s rehabilitation efforts, such as a gang tattoo removal program that’s received national acclaim. Mendrick first announced his intentions Thursday in an interview on WLS-AM’s Ray Stevens show and a Facebook post. He took aim at Gov. JB Pritzker in the latter, accusing the two-term Democrat of imposing policies that conflict with federal law and make communities less safe. “My family and I have decided that we want our State back,” he wrote. “We don’t like being fearful of crime that is randomly occurring now in our streets, homes and our retail stores due to soft on crime legislation. We don’t want to move out of Illinois like so much of our population. “Our culture is being eliminated by senseless laws created by our current government that persecutes cops and empowers criminals,” he added. “I’m here to stop the bleed.” Pritzker has not said whether he will run again in 2026. With a growing national profile as an outspoken opponent of President Donald Trump, his name also has been floated as a possible Democratic nominee for president in 2028. Press secretary Alex Gough said via email Thursday that nothing has changed regarding Pritzker’s reelection plans, and declined to comment on Mendrick’s announcement. Mendrick acknowledges that running for governor is a costly proposition, especially if he ultimately faces off with a self-funded billionaire like Pritzker. Even so, he said he didn’t make much effort to contact Republican leadership to line up support and fundraising before Thursday. “I think my message is strong enough that it will draw support,” he said, adding that he’s already been inundated with calls and messages from people offering support. “It’s overwhelming, but overwhelming in a good way.” DuPage GOP leaders said they’re excited about Mendick’s campaign and optimistic about its prospects. “It will be exciting to have one of our own from DuPage County on the top of the ticket,” said Kevin Coyne, chair of the DuPage County Republicans. “Crime is a top concern for Illinois voters, and no one can speak to that better than Sheriff Mendrick,” he added. “I think he has the ability to make it a competitive race.” Jim Zay, a longtime DuPage County Board member and former chairman of the DuPage GOP, said the decision to run for governor is something that Mendrick is “not taking lightly.” “I know Jim and many of us have been frustrated with the direction of Illinois for a while,” said Zay, a Carol Stream Republican. “He felt strongly enough with his views that he can make a difference and change the direction in which the state’s going. With his plans to leave the sheriff’s office next year, Mendrick said he will support Undersheriff Eddie Moore as his successor. “He has no equal in a race for DuPage County Sheriff,” he wrote on Facebook.)
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250227/illinois-state-politics/dupage-sheriff-announces-he-will-run-for-governor-in-2026/

SOUTHERN
— DHS registry for migrants in US illegally raises alarm from immigration advocates  (COMMENT: Democrats and RINOs are illegal immigration advocates.)
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2025/02/27/dhs-registry-for-migrants-in-us-illegally-raises-alarm-from-immigration-advocates/
— Economists say Trump tariff threats, DOGE job cuts are ‘chilling’ the economy
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2025/02/27/economists-say-trump-tariff-threats-doge-job-cuts-are-chilling-the-economy/

JOURNAL COURIER
— Lawsuit threatens Illinois minority teachers scholarship (COMMENT: My critics/opponents have always used my not getting any scholarships against me.)
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/article/pritzker-minority-teacher-scholarship-lawsuit-20189556.php

NEWS CHANNEL 20
— Illinois lawmakers debate gun insurance requirement
https://newschannel20.com/news/local/illinois-lawmakers-debate-gun-insurance-requirement

CAPITOL FAX
— DuPage County sheriff says he’s running for governor
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/27/dupage-county-sheriff-says-hes-running-for-governor/
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/27/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-257/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

JOIHN BIVER
— Searching for Willie Brown
https://johnbiver.com/searching-for-willie-brown/

ILLINOIS REVIEW
— Illinois lawmakers are considering a bill that would decriminalize prostitution
https://www.illinoisreview.com/illinoisreview/2025/02/illinois-lawmakers-consider-bill-to-legalize-adult-services-industry.html

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WASHINGTON TIMES
— Trump endorses DOGE, email as Musk dominates Cabinet meeting
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/26/donald-trump-defends-elon-musk-email-doge-cabinet-meeting/

WASHINGTON FREE BEACON
— Americans Overwhelmingly Support Israel’s Right to Defend Itself, Poll Finds. Eighty-two percent of U.S. adults also believe that Hamas should be removed from power.
https://freebeacon.com/israel/americans-overwhelmingly-support-israels-right-to-defend-itself-poll-finds/

DAILY SIGNAL
— 71% of Americans Favor Removing Illegals From Medicaid, Adding Work Requirements
https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/02/27/71-americans-favor-removing-illegals-medicaid-adding-work-requirements/

HOT AIR
— Trump Ending Benefits to Illegals Is a Game Changer
https://hotair.com/headlines/2025/02/27/trump-ending-benefits-to-illegals-is-a-game-changer-n3800234

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

YAHOO NEWS
— Hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters ever-increasingly promote Duckworth.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/sen-tammy-duckworths-lived-experience-142350169.html

FLORIDA POLITICS
— Who will run for Byron Donalds’ seat in Congress?
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/723169-who-will-run-for-byron-donalds-seat-in-congress/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Former Illinois state Sen. Jim Oberweis could also jump in. The investment manager and frequent CNBC guest now lives in Southwest Florida and could bring an opportunity to self-fund. Catalina Lauf, another former Illinois congressional candidate who worked in the Commerce Department under Trump, has also moved to Florida and been suggested as a possible candidate.)

February 25, 2025 Evening Edition

WHITE HOUSE
— Sick Politicians Want Killers, Rapists Roaming Our Streets
https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/02/sick-politicians-want-killers-rapists-roaming-our-streets/
— Statement on Trump White House Victory Against the Associated Press
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/02/statement-on-trump-white-house-victory-against-the-associated-press/
— New Poll Shows Massive Support for President Trump and His Agenda
https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/02/new-poll-shows-massive-support-for-president-trump-and-his-agenda/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC7
— Federal employees may get more demands to justify their work at Elon Musk’s direction
https://abc7chicago.com/post/president-donald-trump-backs-musk-he-roils-federal-workforce-demands-threats/15953583/
— Is Mayor Brandon Johnson is ready to defend Chicago’s sanctuary city law to Congress?
https://abc7chicago.com/post/ex-congressman-luis-guttierez-questions-chicago-mayor-brandon-johnson-is-ready-defend-sanctuary-city-law-congress/15954965/
— Rudy Giuliani satisfies Fulton County election workers’ $148 million defamation case
https://abc7chicago.com/post/rudy-giuliani-satisfies-fulton-county-election-workers-148-million-defamation-case/15952884/

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Search for next US attorney in Chicago underway, again, in dramatically changed landscape  (COMMENT: My critics/opponents have always stressed that my Republican U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald appointed U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald who sided with my Democrat GAO superiors in Diersen v. GAO. Previously, Peter Fitzgerald also appointed Amy St. Eve to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois who also sided with my Democrat GAO superiors. To side with my Democrat GAO superiors is to promote Affirmative Action and DEI, that is, to promote race and gender based preference giving, patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination.)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/25/search-for-next-us-attorney-in-chicago-underway-again-in-dramatically-changed-landscape/
— Democrat leaders always hint/imply/argue/shout that Republicans are responsible for racist graffiti
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/25/officials-promise-immediate-consequences-after-racist-graffiti-found-at-oak-park-and-river-forest-high-school/
— Social Security says higher payments are on the way for millions of former public workers
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/25/social-security-payments/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: More than 3.2 million Social Security recipients who received pensions from their time as teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public service jobs will soon see a boost in their benefits. Most people will receive their one-time retroactive payment by the end of March, and new monthly payments will begin in April, the agency says. The Social Security Administration announced it would immediately begin processing retroactive payments and will send increased monthly payments to people affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, which were rescinded in the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act that former President Joe Biden signed into law last year. The Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset limited Social Security benefits for recipients if they got retirement payments from other sources, including public retirement programs from a state or local government. Advocates say the Social Security Fairness Act rights a decades-old disparity, though it also puts a strain on Social Security Trust Funds, which face a looming insolvency crisis.)
— Apple shareholders reject proposal to scrap company’s diversity programs
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/25/apple-diversity-programs-2/
— Federal employees may get more demands to justify their work at Elon Musk’s direction
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/25/federal-employees-elon-musk/
— Elon Musk renews threat to fire federal workers despite pushback from various agencies
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/25/elon-musk-federal-workers/

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Rep. LaHood calls Trump policies a ‘priority’ as he opens search for new top federal prosecutor. The Peoria Republican also noted that the Northern District of Illinois has gone more than 22 months without a confirmed U.S. attorney.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/2025/02/25/lahood-opens-u-s-attorney-search-by-calling-trump-policies
— Anticipate/expect that hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters will ever-increasingly hint/imply/argue/shout that rump is a Nazi. To hint/imply/argue/shout that someone is a Nazi in America today is like hinting/implying/arguing/shouting that someone is a Jew in Germany in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/letters-to-the-editor/2025/02/25/pritzker-trump-comparison-nazi-hitler-academic-commentary
— With intensifying assaults on the press, is it time for a ‘NATO for news’?  To protect the free press in America, we need to agree that “an attack on one is an attack on all.”
https://chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/2025/02/24/president-donald-trump-assault-press-news-media-associated-press-ap-nato-news-jim-friedlich

DAILY HERALD
— Wheaton College in political, religious crosshairs over congratulating Trump appointee
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250225/news/wheaton-college-in-political-religious-crosshairs-over-congratulating-trump-appointee/
— Some GOP lawmakers start to call out DOGE — carefully
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250225/nation-and-world-politics/some-gop-lawmakers-start-to-call-out-doge-carefully/
— College of DuPage to host College Poll Worker Recruitment Summit April 11
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250224/submitted-content/college-of-dupage-to-host-college-poll-worker-recruitment-summit-april-11/

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Who will be Chicago’s next U.S. attorney? Rep. LaHood is taking applications.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/darin-lahood-kicks-search-chicagos-us-attorney

SHAW LOCAL
— White House says it ‘will decide’ which news outlets cover Trump, rotating some traditional ones
https://www.shawlocal.com/news/2025/02/25/white-house-says-it-will-decide-which-news-outlets-cover-trump-rotating-some-traditional-ones/

ALTON TELEGRAPH
— Apple shareholders reject proposal to scrap company’s diversity programs
https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/politics/article/alert-apple-shareholders-reject-proposal-to-20186932.php

CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— DeSantis talks up his wife as next Florida governor. Here’s what to know about Casey.
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/national/ap-as-desantis-talks-up-his-wife-as-next-florida-governor-heres-what-to-know-about-casey/

NORTHERN PUBLIC RADIO
— Rollback of diversity efforts leaves teachers wondering about effects on Black History Month
https://www.northernpublicradio.org/2025-02-25/rollback-of-diversity-efforts-leaves-teachers-wondering-about-effects-on-black-history-month

CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS
— Pritzker positions himself at forefront of Trump opposition by invoking Nazis’ rise to power
https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/pritzker-positions-himself-at-forefront-of-trump-opposition-by-invoking-nazis-rise-to-power/
— Lawsuit threatens Illinois minority teachers scholarship. Conservative group seeks to overturn race-based financial aid. (COMMENT: My critics/opponents have always used my not getting any scholarships against me.)
https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/lawsuit-threatens-illinois-minority-teachers-scholarship/

POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Edgar disses Trump
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2025/02/25/edgar-battles-cancer-disses-trump-00205911

CAPITOL FAX
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/25/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-255/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Milena McConchie, Wife of Recently Resigned State Senator Dan McConchie Succumbs to Cancer from Chernobyl Radiation, R.I.P.
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/25/milena-mcconchie-wife-of-recently-resigned-state-senator-dan-mcconchie-succumbs-to-cancer-from-chernobyl-radiation-r-i-p/
— Carbondale Retreats To Keep Sidewalk Counseling Case Out of U.S. Supreme Court
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/25/carbondale-retreats-to-keep-sidewalk-counseling-case-out-of-u-s-supreme-court/
— Algonquin Township Supervisor Randy “My Way or the Highway” Funk Mails Out Newsletter Right Before Election Day
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/25/algonquin-township-supervisor-randy-my-way-or-the-highway-funk-mails-out-newsletter-right-before-election-day/
— Schakowsky Continues Picketing Agencies Musk Targets
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/25/schakowsky-continues-picketing-agencies-musk-targets/
— Federal Gun Dealer Takedown
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/25/federal-gun-dealer-takedown/
— State Reps Reick and Keicher Set Tele-Town Hall Meeting February 26th
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/25/state-reps-reick-and-keicher-set-tele-town-hall-meeting-february-26th/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WASHINGTON TIMES
— DHS warns illegal immigrants to self-deport
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/25/dhs-warns-illegal-immigrants-self-deport/

WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Chicago keeps electing Democrats to disastrous results
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/beltway-confidential/3329826/chicago-keeps-electing-democrats-disastrous-results/
— Hospitals conducting transgender procedures on children supported by billions in taxpayer dollars
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/3329731/hospitals-transgender-procedures-children-billions-taxpayer-dollars/

NEW YORK POST
— Trump administration ends use of controversial app to allow migrants to fly without ID
https://nypost.com/2025/02/25/us-news/trump-administration-ends-use-of-app-to-allow-migrants-to-board-flights-without-id/

CITY JOURNAL
— How Universities Get Away With Hiring Radicals. Fellow-to-faculty programs have seeded academia with activists.
https://www.city-journal.org/article/universities-fellow-to-faculty-programs-activists

DAILY WIRE
— Nearly 100 Illegals Captured In Colony Ridge Deportation Raids. Border Czar Tom Homan said “several child sexual predators” were arrested in the Texas development.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/nearly-100-illegals-captured-in-colony-ridge-deportation-raids

NATIONAL REVIEW
— Homan Wants to Double ICE Footprint in Sanctuary Cities. Musk Is Helping Him Get There.
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/tom-homan-wants-to-double-ice-footprint-in-sanctuary-cities-elon-musk-is-helping-him-get-there/

NEWS BUSTERS
— The View Celebrates Black History Month By Promoting Discredited 1619 Project
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-fondacaro/2025/02/25/view-celebrates-black-history-month-promoting-discredited

ONE AMERICA NEWS
— DHS Secretary Noem Says She Discovered Some Officials ‘Tipping Off’ Illegals About Deportation Plans: ‘They Will Be Fired’
https://www.oann.com/newsroom/dhs-secretary-noem-says-she-discovered-some-officials-tipping-off-illegals-about-deportation-plans-they-will-be-fired/

WESTERN JOURNAL
— Poetic Justice: Obama Library Delayed – Discrimination Lawsuits, Environmental Injunctions, Enrichment Allegations
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/poetic-justice-obama-library-delayed-discrimination-lawsuits-environmental-injunctions-enrichment-allegations/ar-AA1zCG31

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

CBS NEWS
— Federal workers urge congressional lawmakers to reverse job cuts
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/federal-workers-urge-congressional-lawmakers-to-reverse-job-cuts/
— Case surge from fired federal workers jams federal board
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/case-surge-from-fired-federal-workers-jams-merit-systems-protection-board/

NTD
— House Hearing on ‘The Government Accountability Office’s 2025 High-Risk List’
https://www.ntd.com/live-1-pm-et-house-hearing-on-the-government-accountability-offices-2025-high-risk-list_1049779.html

WASHINGTON POST
— What has Trump done today?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2025/trump-administration-actions/

USA TODAY
— Trump pitches $5 million gold card path to citizenship for foreign investors
https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/politics/2025/02/25/trump-pitches-gold-card-path-to-citizenship-for-foreign-investors/80355877007/

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Trump Proposes Fines, Prison Time for Migrants Who Don’t Join Registry. Administration plans to establish registration website as soon as this week.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-immigration-migrant-registry-jail-time-95c405a7

POLITICO
— White House says it will determine which reporters have access to the president
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/25/trump-white-house-press-pool-access-00206001

PBS
— Elon Musk may direct more demands on federal employees to justify their work
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/elon-musk-may-direct-more-demands-on-federal-employees-to-justify-their-work

RASMUSSEN REPORTS
— Is Trump Acting Like a Dictator? 74% of Democrats Say So
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/trump_administration_second_term/is_trump_acting_like_a_dictator_74_of_democrats_say_so

February 25, 2025

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC7
— Federal employees in Chicago react to confusion over ‘disrespectful’ Musk email request. Trump administration also looking to sell off a number of government-owned buildings, including a couple in Chicago. (COMMENT: I worked in the Kluczynski building 1973-1980 for IRS and then for GAO 1980-1981. If I was still working for GAO, my Democrat superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates would have killed me by now figuratively if not literally.)
https://abc7chicago.com/post/federal-employees-chicago-react-confusion-disrespectful-president-donald-trump-elon-musk-doge-email-request/15952453/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Some people working in the Kluczynski federal building were walking on eggshells Monday morning. One 40-year Treasury Department veteran did not want to go on camera, but called the current climate “overwhelming and mentally distressing.”)

FOX32
— USPS rallies against Trump’s possible agency takeover. “Fight like hell” is what USPS workers are saying in response to President Donald Trump’s proposal to take over the agency. (COMMENT: I worked for the Democrats who ran the Post Office 1966-1969.)
https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/1598376
— Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly crow about their success in manipulating and in dominating religious leaders.
https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/1598601

WGN RADIO
— OPM tells HR leaders that response to Musk is ‘voluntary’
https://wgnradio.com/news/opm-tells-hr-leaders-that-response-to-musk-is-voluntary/

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— US refuses to blame Russia for Ukraine war, splitting with European allies in UN votes
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/24/us-russia-ukraine-war/
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: Former two-term Gov. Jim Edgar diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/24/former-gov-jim-edgar-pancreatic-cancer/

CHICAGO SUN-TMES
— ALL OF THE FRONT PAGE: Trump’s cozying up to Russia comes as ‘slap in the face’ to Ukrainian Americans in Chicago. “It’s a betrayal of that ideal that I believe made America what it is — a place in the world where those that don’t have hope can look forward to hope,” said Walter Tun, whose Ukrainian parents immigrated to the U.S. after World War II.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/ukraine/2025/02/24/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-russia-ukraine-war-third-anniversary-chicago-ukrainians
— Passengers at O’Hare know flying is safe, but some have concerns after plane crashes (COMMENT: I often flew out of O’Hare a) as a GAO employee 1980-1997 and b) with my wife on her business trips to luxury resorts 1978-1992.)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/transportation/2025/02/24/air-travel-safety-anxiety-transportation

DAILY HERALD
— FRONT PAGE: Sooner or later, if not already, under the Democrats and under the RINOs, everyone in America will a) be handing out welfare and/or b) receiving welfare.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250224/news/new-building-expands-peoples-resource-centers-capacity/

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters ever-increasingly spin everything negatively against Trump.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/crains-forum-whats-ahead-medicaid/medicaid-funding-cuts-could-hit-illinois-hard

SOUTHERN
— Democrats outline playbook to target House Republicans on Medicaid, budget and DOGE
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2025/02/25/democrats-outline-playbook-to-target-house-republicans-on-medicaid-budget-and-doge/

SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— New bill would raise age in which Illinois seniors need to take a driving test
https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/state/2025/02/25/new-bill-would-raise-age-illinois-seniors-need-to-take-driving-test/79226496007/

CHAMPAIGN/URBANA NEWS GAZETTE
— Did Pritzker’s ‘Nazi’ ploy have intended effect for 2028?
https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/columns/jim-dey-did-pritzkers-nazi-ploy-have-intended-effect-for-2028/article_ec56f494-f2e5-11ef-9823-e7e608d77383.html

STATELINE
— No property tax on new homes? Rockford considers extending 3-year program (COMMENT: My wife and I had a home built in Wheaton in 1984. I should write about our fight to get its assessed valuation lowered because of construction defects and unrecorded easements. SEE: https://casetext.com/case/diersen-v-joe-keim-builders-inc )
https://www.mystateline.com/news/local-news/no-property-tax-on-new-homes-rockford-considers-extending-3-year-program/

NPR ILLINOIS
— U.S. Office of Special Counsel asks for stay of terminations of six probationary federal employees fired over the past two weeks. (COMMENT: When I transferred from IRS to GAO when I was 31 years old in 1980, my Democrat GAO superiors were furious that could not just fire me because I had served my probationary period working for IRS.)
https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-02-24/federal-watchdog-agency-intervenes-in-trumps-purge-of-probationary-employees

AXIOS
— Illinois schools will teach LGBTQ+ history despite federal pushback
https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/02/25/illinois-schools-transgender-history-curriculum

CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/25/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-461/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— Pritzker’s budget proposal maintains spending levels on abortions (COMMENT: To vote for Democrats is to promote abortion.)
https://www.mdjonline.com/neighbor_newspapers/extra/news/pritzker-s-budget-proposal-maintains-spending-levels-on-abortions/article_f47e1142-8cb7-547c-90c3-911d68a72187.html

WIREPOINTS
— Beyond the Nazi accusations. What you should know about Gov. Pritzker’s budget address
https://wirepoints.org/beyond-the-nazi-accusations-the-many-deflections-in-gov-pritzkers-2026-budget-address-wirepoints/

MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Lakewood Set to Give Golf Discounts to All Sorts of Insiders
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/25/lakewood-set-to-give-golf-discounts-to-all-sorts-of-insiders/
— Fourth Mailing by Algonquin Township Road Commissioner Danijela Sandberg
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/25/fourth-mailing-by-algonquin-township-road-commissioner-danijela-sandberg/
— Politico Covers McHenry County GOPAC Fundraiser Featuring Lara Trump
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/25/politico-covers-mchenry-county-gopac-fundraiser-featuring-lara-trump/
— McLaughlin Calls Out Democrats for Again Seeking to End Flat Rate Income Tax
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/24/mclaughlin-calls-out-democrats-for-again-seeking-to-end-flat-rate-income-tax/

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— I am a platform Republican. To run for an office as a Republican is to obligate yourself to defend and advance the Republican Party platform if elected. I help elect Republican candidates because if they are elected, they are obligated to defend and advance the Republican Party platform. But sadly, if not outrageously, if not disgustingly, if not tragically, after they are elected as Republicans, far too many fail/refuse to defend/advance the Republican Party platform. But nevertheless, I continue to help elect them because Democrat elected officials are much worse. There are many RINOs, but there are virtually no DINOs. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— What if you were ordered to report what you accomplished during the last 7 days? I put GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters together and sent them out. Between Tuesday, February 18, and Monday, February 24, they included links to 522 articles. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters ever-increasingly promote more hatred against Trump and against those who share Trump’s demographics: conservative, Republican, American, White, male, older, non-poor, married, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America foe a long time. More than 77 million voted for Trump. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— GAO is supposed to be doing what DOGE does, plus much more. Bur GAO is just a shell of what it once was. That is because Gingrich gutted GAO instead of reforming it. Because of that, my Democrat GAO superiors forced me to retire when I was 49 years old in 1997. Before that, they always ranked me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance, delayed my promotions and never promoted me beyond GS-13, kept me off audits of IRS for all but 3 of the almost 18 years that I worked for them, and forced me to take a $23,472/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS in 1980. GAO did not unionize until 2007. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— The federal government is not nonpartisan. Virtually all federal employees are Democrats who despise/hate Republicans. For Democrats, the federal government exists to hire, to retain, and to promote Democrats. I should write about that. I would use as examples the three federal agencies that I worked for: GAO 1980-1997, IRS 1971-1980, and Post Office 1966-1969. I would use as examples the adverse actions that the aforesaid took against me to waste my career and to get rid of me because I was a Republican who complained about their use of budget cuts, up-or-out, subjectivity in job assignment and performance appraisal systems, and Affirmative Action and DEI, that is, race and gender based preference giving, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination to not hire Republicans, to not retain Republicans, to not promote Republicans, and to get rid of Republicans. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Have you been collateral damage? I want to believe that my big GAO employment problems 1980-1997 were simply collateral damage caused by Republican budget cuts. But Hastert and my Republican U.S. Senators and Representatives not coming to my defense in Diersen v. GAO argues against that. It argues that they did not really oppose GAO’s political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination. It argues that they rejected the equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) plank in the Republican Party platform. According to my critics/opponents, they did not come to my defense because they believed that I was a bad employee. In my defense, while I worked for GAO, I earned two job-related master’s degrees, five job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license. Previously, while I worked for IRS, I earned a job related master’s degree and a job-related professional certification. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— How much religious, political, government, and/or financial clout do your critics/opponents have. My critics/opponents have tremendous religious, political, government, and/or financial clout in Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois. Because of that, virtually no one has come to my defense since I moved to Wheaton in 1978. Everyone especially fears my critics/opponents who I have sued and their lawyers. They are especially wealthy, vicious, and vindictive. –  Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WASHINGTON TIMES
— Musk forges ahead with DOGE demand for list of federal workers’ tasks. Says failure to respond a second time could result in firing.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/25/elon-musk-forges-ahead-doge-demand-list-federal-workers-tasks/

WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Defunding the teacher trainers
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/equality-not-elitism/3328504/defunding-teacher-trainers/

AMERICAN CONSERVAIVE
— The Distraction of Mexico’s 10,000 Troops. The Mexican president must disband her country’s network of NGOs that bring millions of illegals to the U.S. border. (COMMENT: To send people into a country illegally is an act of war.)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-distraction-of-mexicos-10000-troops/

BREITBART
— Governors Ask President Trump to Let Them Import Foreign Workers
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2025/02/24/governors-ask-president-trump-to-let-them-import-foreign-workers/
— Survey Reveals Trump’s Mass Deportation Policy Has 62% Approval
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2025/02/24/nolte-survey-reveals-trumps-mass-deportation-policy-has-62-approval/

DAILY CALLER
— GOP Senator Suffers Brain Bleed After Slipping On Ice (COMMENT: Brain bleeds are very serious. The one that I suffered slipping on ice picking up newspapers on my driveway stopped me from putting GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters together and sending them out for a while. I still have not fully recovered and I probably never will.)
https://dailycaller.com/2025/02/25/gop-senator-suffers-brain-bleed-after-slipping-on-ice/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Republican North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer suffered a brain injury Sunday afternoon after slipping on ice in the backyard of his North Dakota home. Cramer, 64, said he was hospitalized and diagnosed with a “severe concussion, a seizure and a slight brain bleed” in a statement posted to Facebook Monday evening. He said he did not know when he plans to return to Washington, D.C., but that he could return quickly for a critical vote if necessary.

DAILY SIGNAL
— DOGE Follows GAO in ‘Identifying Trillions of Dollars Lost’ (COMMENT: I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO 1980-1997.)
https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/02/24/comer-doge-follows-gao-identifying-trillions-dollars-lost/

EPOCH TIMES
— US Votes Against Ukraine-Drafted UN Resolution Seeking Full Russian Withdrawal (COMMENT: What does the Republican Party platform say about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?)
https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/us-votes-against-ukraine-drafted-un-resolution-seeking-full-russian-withdrawal-5815380
— Afrikaners Stand in Line for Trump’s Refugee Offer. Tens of thousands of white Afrikaners want to move to the United States to escape alleged racial persecution in South Africa. (COMMENT: But if a Democrat or RINO is elected U.S. President in 2028, America will immediately go back to discriminating against Whites, that is, America will immediately reinstate Affirmative Action and DEI.)
https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/afrikaners-stand-in-line-for-trumps-refugee-offer-5813397

FOX NEWS
— Noem ends Biden-era use of controversial app to allow migrants to board flights, except to self-deport. Trump ordered the shutdown of the CBP One app to parole migrants last month.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/noem-ends-biden-era-use-controversial-app-allow-migrants-board-flights-except-self-deport
— Woke actors have toxic empathy
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6369283984112

NATIONAL REVIEW
— Trump Agency Heads Ignore Musk’s Ultimatum to Federal Employees, in Farcical Episode
https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/02/trump-agency-heads-ignore-musks-ultimatum-to-federal-employees-in-farcical-episode/

TOWNHALL
— ‘Did Not Know It Was Even Possible to Go That Low’: You Won’t Believe Chicago Mayor’s Favorable Ratings
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/rebeccadowns/2025/02/24/did-not-know-it-was-even-possible-to-go-that-low-you-wont-believe-chicago-mayors-approval-rating-n2652711

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

THE HILL
— The federal government is not nonpartisan. Virtually all federal employees are Democrats who despise/hate Republicans. For Democrats, the federal government exists to hire, to retain, and to promote Democrats. I should write about that. I would use as examples the three federal agencies that I worked for: GAO 1980-1997, IRS 1971-1980, and Post Office 1966-1969. I would use as examples the adverse actions that the aforesaid took against me to waste my career and to get rid of me because I was a Republican who complained about their use of budget cuts, up-or-out, subjectivity in job assignment and performance appraisal systems, and Affirmative Action and DEI, that is, race and gender based preference giving, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination to not hire Republicans, to not retain Republicans, to not promote Republicans, and to get rid of Republicans.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/opinion-america-s-civil-service-must-remain-nonpartisan/ar-AA1thDR8

CBS NEWS
— Trump praises Musk for email threatening termination to federal workers (COMMENT: Of course, my critics/opponents would stress to Trump a) that I was a federal employee for almost 30 years and that I was a union member for almost 12 of those years, b) that I never made GS-14 and that I was forced to retire early even though I had three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license, and c) that I have been a federal retiree for more than 27 years.)
https://www.cbs19.tv/video/news/local/president-donald-trump-praises-elon-musk-for-email-threatening-termination-to-federal-workers/501-1e6be9de-a762-47cb-9db2-38ebc643c5e8

MSN
— Trump Didn’t Campaign on Decimating the Federal Government (COMMENT: Trump got elected by promising to defend and advance the Republican Party platform.)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/trump-didn-t-campaign-on-decimating-the-federal-government/ar-AA1zHNDh
— 10 Fast Cars From The ’60s That No One Talks About (COMMENT: The list includes 1962 Chevy Impala SS. I owned one 1989-2005. My Democrat GAO superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates were furious that I bought and owned that collector car.)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/other/10-fast-cars-from-the-60s-that-no-one-talks-about/ar-AA1zB6kv

ASSOCIATED PRESS
— Ex-Secret Service agent and conservative media personality Dan Bongino picked as FBI deputy director (COMMENT: One of my close friends during the 1960s and 1970s was a Secret Service Agent.)
https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-bongino-patel-cad5f4ea22ada9768ea90a08168568d1

NEW YORK TIMES
— Musk deepened the confusion and alarm of workers across the federal government Saturday by ordering them to summarize their accomplishments for the week, warning that a failure to do so would be taken as a resignation. (COMMENT: What did your accomplish during the last week? I put GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters together and sent them out. Since Tuesday, February 18, 2025, they included links to 522 article.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/us/politics/elon-musk-email-federal-employees.html
— America and Russia Are on the Same Side Now
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/opinion/russia-europe-trump-vance.html

DALLAS NEWS
— Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly analogize illegals to runaway slaves.
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2025/02/25/why-are-christians-fleeing-persecution-among-trumps-deportees/

ORLANDO SENTINEL
— DeSantis creates a Florida DOGE to audit universities, local governments (COMMENT: GAO is supposed to be doing what DOGE does, plus much more. Bur GAO is just a shell of what it once was. That is because Gingrich gutted GAO instead of reforming it. Because of that, my Democrat GAO superiors forced me to retire when I was 49 years old in 1997. Before that, they always ranked me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance, delayed my promotions and never promoted me beyond GS-13, kept me off audits of IRS for all but 3 of the almost 18 years that I worked for them, and forced me to take a $23,472/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS in 1980. GAO did not unionize until 2007.)
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/02/24/desantis-to-create-a-florida-doge-to-audit-universities-local-governments/

KXLY
— USPS workers rally against Trump  (COMMENT: I worked for the Democrats who ran the Post Office 1966-1969.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC18AT46N70

KGET
— Federal employee unions expand lawsuit to Musk firing threat if they don’t justify work (COMMENT: I was a union member while I worked for the Post Office 1966-1969 and for IRS 1971-1980. If GAO had been unionized when I worked for it 1980-1997, I might still be a GAO employee.)
https://www.kget.com/video/federal-employee-unions-expand-lawsuit-to-musk-firing-threat-if-they-don%e2%80%99t-justify-work/10484134/

HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL
— Analyzing DOGE actions one month into Trump’s second administration  (COMMENT: I want to believe that my big GAO employment problems 1980-1997 were simply collateral damage caused by Republican budget cuts. But Hastert and my Republican U.S. Senators and Representatives not coming to my defense in Diersen v. GAO argues against that. It argues that they did not really oppose GAO’s political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination. It argues that they rejected the equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) plank in the Republican Party platform. According to my critics/opponents, they did not come to my defense because they believed that I was a bad employee. In my defense, while I worked for GAO, I earned two job-related master’s degrees, five job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license. Previously, while I worked for IRS, I earned a job related master’s degree and a job-related professional certification.)
https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-research/policy-topics/democracy-governance/analyzing-doge-actions-one-month-trumps-second
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Even if legal and institutional safeguards eventually rein in some of the collateral damage, it will take years for government to recover from the shocks of his tenure.)

FAST COMPANY
— Democrat and RINO employers use DEI a) to not hire Republicans and b) to get rid of their Republican employees.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91282124/a-practical-guide-to-doing-dei-work-in-a-hostile-era

NPR
— U.S. votes against a U.N. resolution urging Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine (COMMENT: According to Democrat and RINO leaders, if you support Trump, you support Putin. But what does the Republican Party platform say about this? Trump got elected by promising to defend and advance the Republican Party platform.)
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/24/g-s1-50473/un-ukraine-resolution-russia
(FROM THE ARTICLE: In a win for Ukraine on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, the U.N. General Assembly on Monday adopted two resolutions calling for an end to the war, while rejecting a U.S. draft that never mentioned Moscow’s aggression. Instead, both resolutions make clear Russia was the aggressor. The United States, reflecting the extraordinary turnaround under President Donald Trump, joined Russia in voting against a Europe-backed Ukrainian resolution. The U.S. then abstained from voting on its own resolution after Europeans succeeded in amending it. It was a setback for the Trump administration in the 193-member world body, whose resolutions are not legally binding but are seen as a barometer of world opinion.)

NEW YORK MAGAZINE
— Trump Didn’t Campaign on Decimating the Federal Government
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-didnt-campaign-on-decimating-the-federal-government.html

ACLU
— Hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters ever-increasingly promote more hatred against Trump and against those who share Trump’s demographics: conservative, Republican, American, White, male, older, non-poor, married, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America foe a long time. More than 77 million voted for Trump.
https://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/state-and-local-governments-are-saying-no-to-trumps-radical-agenda

WORKERS WORLD
— Black History Month, every day!
https://www.workers.org/2025/02/84011/

ECONOMIC TIMES
— IRS will lay off roughly 7,000 employees amid tax filing season in Trump downsizing spree (COMMENT: I worked for the Democrats who ran IRS 1971-1980.)
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/global-trends/us-news-irs-layoffs-will-lay-off-roughly-7000-employees-amid-tax-filing-season-in-trump-downsizing-spree-10-point-explainer/articleshow/118448606.cms

February 24, 2025

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC7
— Father Pfleger, faith leaders call for boycott of Target after company scales back DEI initiatives (COMMENT: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly crow about their success in getting religious leaders to do their bidding. The Democrat Party platform is extremely anti-religious.)
https://abc7chicago.com/post/target-boycott-father-michael-pfleger-among-faith-leaders-calling-consumer-company-scales-back-dei-initiatives/15942947/

NBC5
— ‘Dark MAGA’ spreads as conservatives embrace Musk’s influence on Trump. The black “Dark MAGA” hats made popular by Elon Musk was heavily noticeable at an annual gathering of conservative activists.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/dark-maga-spreads-conservatives-musks-influence-trump/3681062/

CBS2
— Oak Park seeks to regulate hemp-derived THC products (COMMENT: Pot pushers want THC to be regulated because THC sales cut into pot sales.)
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/oak-park-illinois-regulate-hemp-derived-thc-products/

FOX32
— Musk email to federal employees met with resistance (COMMENT: Because GAO is part of the legislative branch, if I was still working for GAO, I presume that I would not have gotten Musk’s email. But if had gotten his email, I would have stressed specific things that I did to fight fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal government. See https://www.google.com/search?q=gao+analyst+%22position+description for a description of what GAO Analysts do. During my last 11 years at GAO, I worked at the GS-13 Step 1-10 Levels, currently $117,807-$153,151/year.)
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/elon-musk-email-federal-employees-trump-what-did-you-do-last-week
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been directed to tell the Office of Personnel Management what they accomplished over the last week. Elon Musk, who’s been tasked with slashing federal spending, said they must reply within 48 hours or risk losing their jobs. Key federal agencies from the FBI and State Department to the Pentagon have instructed their employees not to comply.)

WBEZ
— Chicagoans mark three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As the administration in Washington grows critical of Ukraine, hundreds waving flags filled the Wrigley Building plaza downtown Saturday to call for an end to the war.
https://www.wbez.org/politics/2025/02/23/ukraine-war-putin-zelenskyy-trump-nato-chicago

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Democratic governors balance whether to fight or pacify after Donald Trump threatens one of their own
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/23/democratic-governors-after-trump-threatens/?clearUserState=true
— The more planks in the Republican Party platform that a group promotes, the more that RINO leaders hint/imply/argue/shout that that group is an extremist group if not a hate group. Illinois Center Right Coalition (ICRC) and TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois promoted all the planks in the Republican Party platform. I should write about my critics/opponents who did the most to destroy ICRC and TAPROOT. I would focus on those who are still in power.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/23/chicago-police-extremism-task-force/
— Under the Democrats and under the RINOs, the more of the following that you are, the less likely that you will be hired, retained, and/or promoted: citizen of America, heterosexual, Republican, conservative, White, male, older, married, non-poor, Protestant, German American, and/or if your ancestors have been in America for a long time.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/24/opinion-end-racism-dei-affirmative-action/
— Hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters ever-increasingly promote more hatred against Trump.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/24/column-republican-voters-donald-trump-page/

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— ALL OF THE FRONT PAGE: Soon, if not already, everyone in health care in America will be more and more and more of the following: citizens of foreign countries, non-conservative, non-Republican, minority, female, younger, LGBTQ, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2025/02/24/illinois-medical-school-amissions-race-affirmative-action-black-hispanic-students

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Trump and Musk take aim at Loop’s Kluczynski, Metcalfe buildings  (COMMENT: I worked in the Kluczynski building 1973-1980 for IRS and then for GAO 1980-1981.)
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/trump-and-musk-take-aim-loops-kluczynski-metcalfe-buildings

SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— Overcoming sexual stigma: Springfield massage therapist shares experiences, hardships  (COMMENT: Illinois Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote prostitution.)
https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/local/2025/02/24/how-unlicensed-massage-parlors-sexually-stigmatize-massage-therapy/79187661007/

WCIA
— Trump, Musk aren’t the first to make deep cuts: Clinton-era initiative saved billions (COMMENT: During the Clinton-era, I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO. They used Clinton budget cuts to get rid of their Republican employees like me who were conservative, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or had ancestors who had been in America for a long time.)
https://www.wcia.com/news/national/trump-musk-arent-the-first-to-make-deep-cuts-clinton-era-initiative-saved-billions/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The Clinton administration also worked with Congress to authorize $25,000 buyouts for federal workers and ended up eliminating what Kamarck said were more than 400,000 federal positions between 1993 and 2000 through a combination of voluntary departures, attrition and a relatively small number of layoffs.)

NPR ILLINOIS
— Democrats say “CPAC is an annual meeting of conservative leaders” and ask “How’s it changed in recent years?” (COMMENT: From what I see, CPAC has ever-increasingly moved more toward Libertarianism.)
https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-02-22/cpac-is-an-annual-meeting-of-conservative-leaders-hows-it-changed-in-recent-years
— Democrats say “Two conservative events show how Trump has created a divide in the Republican Party.” (COMMENT: Trump got elected by promising to defend and advance the Republican Party platform. What Trump does against that platform divides the Republican Party.)
https://www.nprillinois.org/2025-02-23/two-conservative-events-show-how-trump-has-created-a-divide-in-the-republican-party

WREX
— Democrats ever-increasingly push more pot.
https://www.wrex.com/news/illinois-senate-to-be-presented-with-bill-that-could-stop-police-from-searching-a-vehicle/article_c91efbd2-f25b-11ef-8879-0b0dd6cd474e.html

NORTHERN PUBLIC RADIO
— What does Trump’s pick for labor secretary tell us about his priorities for workers? (COMMENT: I should write about what picks by Republican leaders say about those leaders. I would focus on the leaders of the Illinois Republican Party (IRP), DuPage County Republican Central Committee, Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO) and the Republican leaders of Illinois, DuPage County, Milton Township, and Wheaton since 2000. Ever-increasingly their picks reject more and more and more planks in the Republican Party platform. Ever-increasingly, their picks paint themselves as being Democrat-Lite, if not anti-conservative, if not anti-Republican. I would focus on those leaders whose picks took the most/biggest adverse actions against me. MTRO leaders fired me as MTRO webmaster in 2004 and 2010. Wheaton leaders fired me as a member of the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee in 2011 and as the Republican fundraiser for Wheaton Independence Day parades in 2021. IRP leaders fired me as a member of the IRP State Convention Platform and Resolutions Committee in 2024. Republican leaders had their operatives and dupes fire me as a) an American Association of Political Consultants Midwest Chapter board member in 2004, b) an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee in 2007, and c) as the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairman in 2012.)
https://www.northernpublicradio.org/2025-02-23/what-does-trumps-pick-for-labor-secretary-tell-us-about-his-priorities-for-workers

UIC TODAY
— FEBRUARY 17, 2015 FLASHBACK: Circle Back, UIC Forward: UIC remembers its roots (COMMENT: I attended UIC 1966-1968.)
https://today.uic.edu/circle-back-uic-forward/

AXIOS CHICAGO
— Why the Obama Presidential Center is immune to Trump’s cuts
https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/02/19/obama-presidential-center-immune-trumps-spending-cuts

ILLINOIS EAGLE
— State rep calls for equity in funding for HIV in Black community
https://illinoiseagle.com/2025/02/22/eaglets-state-rep-calls-for-equity-in-funding-for-hiv-in-black-community/

POLITICO ILLINOIS
— How Pritzker’s speech was written
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2025/02/24/how-pritzkers-speech-was-written-00205688
— A Trump visit (COMMENT: I used to attend such Republican events and post such reports on them, but not as detailed. But I stopped because leaders of the Milton Township Republican Organization, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, and Illinois Republican Party ever-increasingly punished me for doing that. I should write about the aforesaid leaders. I would focus on those still in power.)
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2025/02/24/how-pritzkers-speech-was-written-00205688
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Lara Trump, the former co-chair of the Republican National Committee and daughter-in-law of the president, visited Illinois on Friday making a bold statement that Illinois could turn red in 2028 — and she revealed some insight about President Donald Trump’s executive moves. She had stats: “Donald Trump in 2016 got 38 percent of the vote here. In 2020, 40 percent of the vote. In 2024, he got 45 percent of the vote in the state of Illinois. I want you guys to understand something. We are about to turn the state of Illinois in the next presidential election to a red state,” Trump told a crowd of 500 at Venuti’s Italian restaurant in Addison. The event was a fundraiser for McHenry County GOPAC. Lara Trump also offered a glimpse into the thinking of the president’s recent executive actions. During his first term, she said, the president was told repeatedly, “You need to fit into this specific mold. And so he tried to fit into that mold, and he got a lot of great things accomplished.” That changed in his second term: He’s “looking at things differently,” Lara Trump said. The president “isn’t trying to fit in that mold anymore. He said, ‘You know what? I’m going to come into this White House, and I’m going to do things my way this time.’” ABC 7’s Liz Nagy has more. SPOTTED: Illinois GOP Chair Kathy Salvi, House Republican Leader Tony McCombie and Republican state Reps. Martin McLaughlin, John Cabello, Jed Davis, Regan Deering, Bradley Fritts, Amy Grant, Jeff Keicher, Patrick Sheehan, Dennis Tipsword, Dan Ugaste and Tom Weber. Also in the room: Former state Sen. Darren Bailey, who’s mulling a run for office again. “Stay tuned,” he says.)

CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2025/02/24/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-460/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— What do your critics/opponents do? My critics/opponents focus on stopping me from sending out GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters, and failing that, they focus on stopping everyone from reading my newsletters. I should write about my critics/opponents and the biggest adverse actions that they have had their operatives and dupes take against me since 2000. I would focus on my critics/opponents who are still in power. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopollinois.com
— Are your critics/opponents anti-Trump? My critics/opponents are anti-Trump if not Trump-haters. I should write about my critics/opponents. I would focus on those who have taken the most/biggest adverse actions against e since 201`5. I would focus on those who are still in power. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Because GAO is part of the legislative branch, if I was still working for GAO, I presume that I would not have gotten Musk’s email. But if had gotten his email, I would have stressed specific things that I did to fight fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal government. See https://www.google.com/search?q=gao+analyst+%22position+description for a description of what GAO Analysts do. During my last 11 years at GAO, I worked at the GS-13 Step 1-10 Levels, currently $117,807-$153,151/year.- Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— The more planks in the Republican Party platform that a group promotes, the more that RINO leaders hint/imply/argue/shout that that group is an extremist group if not a hate group. Illinois Center Right Coalition (ICRC) and TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois promoted all the planks in the Republican Party platform. I should write about my critics/opponents who did the most to destroy ICRC and TAPROOT. I would focus on those who are still in power. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— During the Clinton-era, I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO. They used Clinton budget cuts to get rid of their Republican employees like me who were conservative, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or had ancestors who had been in America for a long time. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
—  I should write about what picks by Republican leaders say about those leaders. I would focus on the leaders of the Illinois Republican Party (IRP), DuPage County Republican Central Committee, Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO) and the Republican leaders of Illinois, DuPage County, Milton Township, and Wheaton since 2000. Ever-increasingly their picks reject more and more and more planks in the Republican Party platform. Ever-increasingly, their picks paint themselves as being Democrat-Lite, if not anti-conservative, if not anti-Republican. I would focus on those leaders whose picks took the most/biggest adverse actions against me. MTRO leaders fired me as MTRO webmaster in 2004 and 2010. Wheaton leaders fired me as a member of the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee in 2011 and as the Republican fundraiser for Wheaton Independence Day parades in 2021. IRP leaders fired me as a member of the IRP State Convention Platform and Resolutions Committee in 2024. Republican leaders had their operatives and dupes fire me as a) an American Association of Political Consultants Midwest Chapter board member in 2004, b) an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee in 2007, and c) as the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairman in 2012.)
— Who are the members of the conservative news media in Illinois? What are their positions on me and on my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters? According to my critics/opponents, me and my newsletters cause all their problems, all of your problems, all of my problems, and all of everyone’s problems. They want to stop me from sending my newsletters out, and failing that, they want to stop everyone from reading them. Everyone in Illinois sees how members of the conservative news media in Illinois treat me and treat my newsletters. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Why is DOGE needed? I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO for almost 18 years 1980-1997. Fewer and fewer and fewer of my superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinate were Republicans. Toward the end, virtually none were Republicans. If Gingrich had reformed GAO instead of gutting it in the 1990s, there would be no need for DOGE today. The Democrats who ran GAO used Gingrich’s budget cuts to get rid of the agency’s few remaining Republican employees including me. Federal agencies run by Democrats do not want Republicans to audit them. Federal agencies run by Republicans do not want Democrats to audit them. Solutions include requiring half of GAO’s employees and its audit teams to be Republicans and half to be Democrats. When auditing agencies headed by Democrats, the lead auditors would be Republicans. When auditing agencies headed by Republicans, the lead auditors would be Democrats. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Anticipate/expect that ever-increasingly, if you are a Republican in Illinois, the more of the following that you are, the more that hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters like Pritzker will call you a Nazi: conservative, White, male, older, non-poor, Protestant, German American, and/or if your ancestors have been in America for a long time. To call someone a Nazi in America today is like calling someone a Jew in Germany during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Pritzker ever-increasingly makes it clear that he is going to get rid of all Republicans in Illinois once and for all. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) paint Republicans as being oppressors and b) paint Democrats as being protectors.  According to Democrat leaders, Republicans oppress those who are liberal/moderate, minority, female, younger, LGBTQ, non-rich, disabled, non-Protestant, non-German American, have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time, citizens of foreign countries, boozers, gamblers, stoners, criminals, etc. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com

WIREPOINTS
— New Trier High School Led On Woke Education. It Should Lead The Way Out.
https://wirepoints.org/new-trier-high-school-led-on-woke-education-it-should-lead-the-way-out-wirepoints/

BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS
— Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are, Wheaton College Lefties
https://www.breakthrough-ideas.com/read/2025/02/21/come-out-come-out-wherever-you-are-wheaton-college-lefties

MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Danjela Sandberg Mails in Support of Her Candidacy for Road Commissioner on Tuesday
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/22/danjela-sandberg-mails-in-support-of-her-candidacy-for-road-commissioner-on-tuesday/
Danijela Sandberg Makes Second Mailing in Campaign to Remain Algonquin Township Road Commissioner
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/23/danijela-sandberg-makes-second-mailing-in-campaign-to-remain-algonquin-township-road-commissioner/
— You Won’t See Stories Like This about McHenry County Restaurants
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/23/you-wont-see-stories-like-this-about-mchenry-county-restaurants/
— Durbin Holds Lonely Protest
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/23/durbin-holds-lonely-protest/
— Rob Parrish Mails before Election on Which He Is Not on the Ballot
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/22/rob-parrish-mails/
— Reaction to Pritzker’s Announcement That Lake Michigan Shall Henceforth Be Called “Lake Illinois”
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/23/reaction-to-pritzkers-announcement-that-lake-michigan-shall-henceforth-be-called-lake-illinois/
— The Censures of Algonquin Township Supervisor Randy Funk – Part 7
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/23/the-censures-of-algonquin-township-supervisor-randy-funk-part-7/
— Pritzker Hit New Low with Nazi Charge, According to Jewish News Syndicate
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/23/pritzker-hit-new-low-with-nazi-charge-according-to-jewish-news-syndicate/
— The CBS Gal Who Thinks Freedom of Speech Led to the Nazi Holocaust
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/02/23/the-cbs-gal-who-thinks-freedom-of-speech-led-to-the-nazi-holocaust/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WASHINGTON TIMES
— GOP States threaten fines and jail time for local officials who resist Trump’s immigration crackdown. (COMMENT: What is Pritzker doing to stop enforcement of federal immigration laws in your county, township, municipality, and school district?)
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/23/gop-states-threaten-fines-jail-time-local-officials-resist-trumps/
— Patel tells FBI employees to ignore Musk’s email on work reporting, for now
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/23/kash-patel-tells-fbi-employees-ignore-elon-musk-email-work-reporting/

WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Pentagon tells personnel not to respond to Musk-backed accomplishments email
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense/3327666/pentagon-tells-personnel-not-respond-musk-accomplishments-email/

AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE
— The Mellon Foundation’s Assault on American History. The organization bankrolls the deconstruction of our heroes and founding principles.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-mellon-foundations-assault-on-american-history/

AMERICAN THINKER
— The AP’s feelings get hurt; it’s a First Amendment crisis!
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/02/the_ap_s_feelings_get_hurt_it_s_a_first_amendment_crisis.html
— Lies, damn lies, and statistics—or, in the case of Democrats, polls
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/02/lies_damn_lies_and_statistics_or_in_the_case_of_democrats_polls.html

BREITBART
— Jane Fonda Uses SAG Life Achievement Award Speech to Push Hollywood to Resist Trump: ‘Woke Means You Give a Damn About Other People’ (COMMENT: To be woke 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.)
https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2025/02/23/jane-fonda-uses-sag-life-achievement-award-speech-to-push-hollywood-to-resist-trump-woke-just-means-you-give-a-damn-about-other-people/
— More Artists and Celebrities Canceling Shows at Kennedy Center to Protest Trump (COMMENT: Overwhelmingly, increasingly, artists and celebrities are anti-conservative, anti-Republican, anti-American, anti-White, anti-male, anti-older people, anti-heterosexual, anti-non poor people, anti-Protestant, anti-German American, and/or anti-those who have ancestors who have been in America for a long time.)
https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2025/02/23/more-artists-and-celebrities-canceling-shows-at-kennedy-center-to-protest-trump/

DAILY SIGNAL
— What Has Changed in the Darien Gap Under Trump’s Presidency?
https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/02/23/darien-gap-migration-slows-from-torrent-trickle-under-trump/

FOX NEWS
— Musk’s demand that fed employees list their accomplishments roils workforce: ‘Mass civil disobedience’  ‘This is a good opportunity for mass civil disobedience,’ Democratic Rep. Sean Casten posted to X.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/musks-demand-fed-employees-list-accomplishments-roils-workforce-mass-civil-disobedience
— CPAC attendees say Trump ‘activated’ new media conservatism  (COMMENT: Who are the members of the conservative news media in Illinois? What are their positions on me and on my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters? According to my critics/opponents, me and my newsletters cause all their problems, all of your problems, all of my problems, and all of everyone’s problems. They want to stop me from sending my newsletters out, and failing that, they want to stop everyone from reading them. Everyone in Illinois sees how members of the conservative news media in Illinois treat me and treat my newsletters.)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/watch-cpac-attendees-trump-activated-140716949.html

LEGAL NSURRECTION
— Reports of the Death of DEI are Greatly Exaggerated (COMMENT: I should write about how DEI continues to be enforced in Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois.)
https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/02/video-reports-of-the-death-of-dei-are-greatly-exaggerated/
— American Bar Association Temporarily Suspends DEI Enforcement (COMMENT: I should write about how DEI continues to be enforced in Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County, and Illinois.)
https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/02/american-bar-association-temporarily-suspends-dei-enforcement/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

THE HILL
— Hegseth responds to blowback over Friday night Pentagon purge
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5159850-defense-secretary-hegseth-defends-firings/

ASSOCIATED PRESS
— Georgia and other states threaten fines and jail time for local officials who resist immigration crackdown
https://www.wabe.org/georgia-and-other-states-threaten-fines-and-jail-time-for-local-officials-who-resist-immigration-crackdown/

MSN
— Trump Sparks Firestorm By Sending Illegals to Guantanamo
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/appalling-trump-sparks-firestorm-by-sending-migrants-to-guantanamo/ss-AA1zu3Ht
— Trump Wants To End the EV Tax Credit — Are EVs Still Worth Buying? (COMMENT:  I have ordered a 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona R/T EV. What positions do my critics/opponents have on that?)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/trump-wants-to-end-the-ev-tax-credit-are-evs-still-worth-buying/ar-AA1yACUF

ABC NEWS
— Fired Joint Chiefs chairman posts farewell message (COMMENT: Because my Democrat GAO superiors forced me to retire when I was 49 years old in 1997, I did much more than post a farewell message, I sued them. SEE: https://gopillinois.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DiersenGAOFifthAmendedComplaint.pdf )
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/live-updates/trump-2nd-term-live-updates/?id=119115308

CBS NEWS
— Homan says he’s “bringing hell” to sanctuary city Boston
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/immigration-tom-homan-president-trump-sanctuary-city-boston/

NEW YORK TIMES
— Some Trump Officials Push Back Against Musk’s Ultimatum to Workers
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/23/us/politics/elon-musk-email-federal-workers.html
— Does Elon Musk Still Care About Selling Cars? Mr. Musk, one of President Trump’s main advisers, has not outlined a plan to reverse falling sales at the electric car company of which he is chief executive.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/business/elon-musk-tesla-trump.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The chief executive’s polarizing social media posts and work in the Trump administration were driving away customers, prompting some employees to leave and making it harder to recruit new talent to Tesla, the manager said, according to an audio recording of the meeting reviewed by The New York Times. . .Some investors said that Mr. Musk’s lack of interest in selling cars was apparent in how little he had said about Mr. Trump’s initiatives that could hurt Tesla’s sales. The chief executive of Ford, Jim Farley, last week said that some of Mr. Trump’s plans to repeal Biden era incentives for electric cars could force the company to lay off workers. But Mr. Musk has said nothing publicly about them.)
— Prison Officials Detail Treatment of Trans Inmates Under Trump Gender Order (COMMENT: Inmates who say that they are LGBTQ should be housed with other inmates who say that they are LGBTQ.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/us/trump-trans-women-prison.html
— Trump Just Fired 6,700 I.R.S. Workers in the Middle of Tax Season. That’s a Huge Mistake. (COMMENT: I was involved in IRS’s 1974 tax season big time. Have you ever phoned IRS with a tax question? If you did during the 1974 filing season, the IRS employee who answered your call was one of my subordinates. Back then, as a 25-year-old GS-11 (currently $82,655/year) IRS Revenue Officer, I supervised all of the IRS employees, which included a rotating staff of about 90 IRS Revenue Agent trainees, in IRS’s new downtown Chicago office who answered taxpayer questions using IRS’s new tollfree CentiPhone system. Because of my job performance, the IRS manager who had given me that developmental opportunity and who had promoted me in 1972 and 1973 promoted me to GS-12 (currently $99,069/year) in 1974.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/opinion/irs-taxes-trump.html

WASHINGTON POST
— Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly promote more illegal immigration
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/02/23/panama-united-states-migration-trump/4518008e-f226-11ef-acb5-08900d482a27_story.html
— Trump announces conservative podcaster Dan Bongino as FBI deputy director. The appointment of Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and NYPD officer turned conservative radio host, puts a second Trump ally at the top of the agency.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/02/23/dan-bongino-fbi-deputy-director-trump/

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Trump Paralyzes the U.S. Wind Power Industry. The president, who despises wind turbines, has paused federal permits and leasing for such projects, putting company plans in limbo.
https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/trump-paralyzes-the-u-s-wind-power-industry-21fd4c7a

FORBES
— Democrat and RINO employers ever-increasingly use DEI a) to not hire Republicans and b) to get rid of their Republican employees.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marybethgasman/2025/02/23/how-leaders-are-unpacking-trumps-anti-dei-actions/

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
— Trump and Musk cite fraud, but what does a government audit really look like? (COMMENT: I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO for almost 18 years 1980-1997. Fewer and fewer and fewer of my superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinate were Republicans. Toward the end, virtually none were Republicans. If Gingrich had reformed GAO instead of gutting it in the 1990s, there would be no need for DOGE today. The Democrats who ran GAO used Gingrich’s budget cuts to get rid of the agency’s few remaining Republican employees including me. Federal agencies run by Democrats do not want Republicans to audit them. Federal agencies run by Republicans do not want Democrats to audit them. Solutions include requiring half of GAO’s employees and its audit teams to be Republicans and half to be Democrats. When auditing agencies headed by Democrats, the lead auditors would be Republicans. When auditing agencies headed by Republicans, the lead auditors would be Democrats.)
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2025/0224/trump-musk-government-fraud-doge
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Every year, the federal government could be losing between $233 billion and $521 billion to fraud, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). At the high end, that is about 8% of the $6.75 trillion the federal government spent in its last fiscal year. . .If the GAO were to initiate an agency audit, it would use a standardized process that involves gathering the right group of people, meeting with interested parties to iron out goals and get feedback, collecting and examining evidence, reviewing comments on drafts and findings, and writing a comprehensive report. In all, the process might take nine months. “It’s a really rigorous process,” says Rebecca Shea, a director in GAO’s Forensic Audits and Investigative Service. “Every word in the report, every line, every number, is indexed and referenced. It is tied back, linked back, to a piece of evidence that we have collected.” DOGE, by contrast, has started down a much different path. Instead of deliberation, it has moved with entrepreneurial speed. Instead of the fact-checking rigor of a GAO audit, Mr. Musk has made unsubstantiated claims, some of which have turned out to be false. “Nobody’s going to bat a thousand,” he told reporters in a recent press briefing. He promised to quickly fix any problems.)

NPR
— Democrats say “Two conservative events show how Trump has created a divide in the Republican Party.”
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/23/nx-s1-5300044/two-conservative-events-show-how-trump-has-created-a-divide-in-the-republican-party

GOVERNING
— The Unacceptable Risk Sanctuary Cities Pose for Public Safety. The consequences of sanctuary policies extend far beyond the ideological debate surrounding immigration enforcement. These policies enable criminal networks to make communities more dangerous.
https://www.governing.com/urban/the-unacceptable-risk-sanctuary-cities-pose-for-public-safety

DAILY CAMPUS
— Anticipate/expect that ever-increasingly, if you are a Republican in Illinois, the more of the following that you are, the more that hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters like Pritzker will call you a Nazi: conservative, White, male, older, non-poor, Protestant, German American, and/or if your ancestors have been in America for a long time. To call someone a Nazi in America today is like calling someone a Jew in German during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Pritzker ever-increasingly makes it clear that he is going to get rid of all Republicans in Illinois once and for all.
https://dailycampus.com/2025/02/24/trump-and-hitler-drawing-the-parallels/

INSIDE HIGHER EDUCATION
— Democrats used to promote integration. Now they promote segregation.
https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2025/02/24/colleges-must-stand-new-segregationists-opinion

AXIOS
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) paint Republicans as being oppressors and b) paint Democrats as being protectors.  According to Democrat leaders, Republicans oppress those who are liberal/moderate, minority, female, younger, LGBTQ, non-rich, disabled, non-Protestant, non-German American, have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time, citizens of foreign countries, boozers, gamblers, stoners, criminals, etc.
https://www.axios.com/2025/02/23/trump-attacks-dei-diversity-disability

DAILY MAIL
— Pam Bondi’s brutal three-word response to Democrat governors refusing to deport illegal migrants
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14427009/pam-bondi-three-word-response-democrat-governor-deport-migrants.html